Lucas Oil Modifieds make first visit to
Orange Show Speedway Saturday
SAN BERNARDINO (June 6, 2007) –
Tim McMillin is old enough to remember the early days of Disneyland
, when the amusement park used paper tickets of various values for admission
to the attractions, and he said driving in the Lucas Oil ASA Modified
Series is an E-ticket thrill.
That was the designation given to the park’s
best or scariest rides, and McMillin said in terms of racing and excitement,
it’s a perfect fit for the touring series will make its first
stop of the year at Orange Show Speedway on Saturday (June 9).
The Modifieds will share the evening with the continuing
soap opera known as the BSR West Late Model class, the Lucas Oil Outlaw
Figure 8s and the Leno’s Rico Taco Legends Cars. The Legend Cars
also will race on Friday night (June 8) during an open practice from
5 to 10 p.m.
Spectator gates open at 5 p.m. and racing gets under
way at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (62 and
over), handicapped and Juniors (13-16) and $2 for children (6-12). Active
military personnel and veterans with valid military identification are
admitted free of charge. In addition, in June members of the California
Department of Forestry (CDF) and California Department of Corrections
(CDC) who present their badges at the ticket office may receive up to
four free tickets, courtesy of Orange Show Speedway management.
Parking is $4 per car with entry through Gate 3 off
Mill Street .
Anyone who can’t make it to the speedway but
wants to follow the racing action may do so by tuning in to the “Orange
Show Speedway Live” radio show, which is broadcast from 8 to 9
p.m. on The Toad (KTTD, 1350 AM) and simulcast on the Internet by www.nixacountry.com.
In addition, Bob Gardner of Racing West will be on
hand to do one of his excellent “Near Live” lap-by-lap accounts
of all the races for their web site, www.racingwest.com.
McMillin, 57, who competed in NASCAR events at Riverside
International Raceway and Ontario Motor Speedway and has been a crew
chief for several NASCAR Grand National West teams, said the radical-looking,
high-powered Modifieds are much different than anything he has driven
lately.
“It’s wide-open racing the way
we did it years ago. It reminds me of the days when we had all the Open
Comp races and you’d show up and everybody would be racing their
hearts out,” said McMillin, of Nuevo, a veteran driver, mechanic
and car builder who has been racing for more than 30 years.
“You have to be on your game to run with
these guys. There are some good drivers in this thing, some good shoes.”
The Lucas Oil ASA Modified Series consists of nine
races at three tracks – Orange Show Speedway, Lucas Oil I-10 Speedway
in Blythe and Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City , Ariz. –
with more than $80,000 in prize money and points fund payouts at stake.
Two 75-lap main events have been run – at Blythe and Lake Havasu
City – with Jason Patison of Corona winning both. The next three
events (June 9, July21, Aug. 4) will be at Orange Show Speedway, the
quarter-mile paved oval at the National Orange Show Events Center .
Jim Mardis, Orange Show’s 2006 Stock Pony champion,
is concentrating on the Modified series this year and has finishes of
eighth and 12th in his two starts. Patison, Doug Carpenter, Mike Salm
and others competed at the Orange Show in last year’s Modified
series. Tim McMillin and his son, Colby, both made their series debuts
at Lake Havasu City , but failed to make the 22-car main event.
The top 18 qualifiers advance to the main and the
final four spots go to the top four finishers in a 20-lap B main. There
were 28 cars at Blythe and 31 at Lake Havasu City , where the difference
between the pole and 19th in qualifying was just 3/10ths of a second.
“The first time I drove the car, the
guys said my eyes were the size of pizzas when I came off the track,”
Tim McMillin said. “I hadn’t driven anything like that,
with that much power, in 20 years.”
While the Lucas Oil Modifieds try to establish their
pecking order on a track that will be their home for the next two months,
Santee’s Dave Arce will be going for his third straight win in
the BSR West Late Model division, Lakewood’s Tom Smith will try
to stay perfect in the Outlaw Figure 8s and Darren Amidon and Bree Brewer
will battle for the Legends Cars lead.
Arce has won the past two Late Model races after
literally driving over a competitor’s car during two of the many
incidents that have occurred in that division. Smith is six-for-six
in the Figure 8s. Amidon, of Santee , and Brewer, of Riverside , are
tied for the Legends lead with 238 points following Brewer’s second
straight win May 26.
Racing at Orange Show Speedway is sponsored by Lucas
Oil, Blackhawk Protection, Hype Manufacturing, Del Taco, KTTD radio
(AM 1350), Leno’s Rico Taco, Soboba Casino, Budweiser, Hoosier
Racing Tires, Frank’s Radio Service, Torco Racing Fuels, Parker
Pumper/BSR West, Eibach Springs, JP Striping, Center Chevrolet, Pepsi,
Matich Corporation, L. Curti Truck and Equipment, One Stop Landscape
Supply, Extreme Exhibits & Logistics, Little Green Onions and the
San Bernardino County Sun.
For further information, contact Jim Short at 951-203-2649
or jimshort65@sbcglobal.net, call Orange Show Speedway at 909-888-6788,
X438, or visit the web site at www.nosevents.com.
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