LUCAS OIL MODIFIEDS MAKE FIRST VISIT TO ORANGE SHOW SPEEDWAY SATURDAY

Source: Orange Show Speedway Public Relations
Date: 06/06/2007

SAN BERNARDINO, California -- – 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.

See Also .:

• Orange Show Speedway Track Page

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