Monday, December 28, 2015

"Racin' In The New Year" At Havasu 95 Speedway This Saturday



Dave Grayson

The Havasu 95 Speedway will be treating their fans to what has now become a long standing holiday season tradition when they open their spectator gates this Saturday to present "Racin' In The New Year". This tradition will officially launch the second half of the speedway's 2015-2016 winter racing season. The famed quarter mile paved oval is located within the SARA Park complex in beautiful Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Due to ongoing chilly night temperatures in the area, this event will be a day race. The spectator gates will open at 12pm with racing at 2pm. The afternoon racing action is being sponsored by the Fraternal Order Of Eagles Lodge #4299.

The on track action will be highlighted by the Get It Gear Street Stocks who will be treating the fans to a 75 lap feature that pays $1,000 to win. Also on the race schedule will be the speedway's fan favorite Sam Nichols Electric Factory Stocks, the Main Solutions Team Factory Stocks and the Bandoleros who will be making their winter season debut by running twin main events.

The Havasu 95 Speedway is well known for its close championship points battles and it appears that the Get It In Gear Street Stocks are, once again, going to deliver the championship drama. The division has ran four races so far with hot shoe driver Gavin Bucy winning all of them. However, Bucy's current championship status is not exactly as secure as it may seem. That's because speedway veteran Bobby Keirns has finished second in the four previous races and is only eight points behind the leader. This pair of drivers will be the ones to watch this Saturday afternoon especially with a $1,000 winner's check on the line.

The fan favorite Sam Nichols Electric will be making their fourth appearance of the winter racing season this Saturday. In the three previous races, hot shoe Brent Delay has won all three of them and collected 150 championship points. However, still very much in this points profile, are driver Jose Guevara and Jeff Prieur who, based on three top finishes each, are only eight and twelve points respectively behind the leader.

The Main Solutions Team Factory Stocks is a concept that features three different drivers taking turns behind the wheel with at least one of them having to be a lady. To no real surprise, this division is also in the process of creating a very tight and dramatic championship points profile. In two previous appearances, team Take And Bake has a feature win, a third place finish and is on top of the standings with 96 points. However, they only hold a four point advantage over the Asphalt Junkies and six points over EWWWEEEE Racing. Also of interest here is John Deere Racing who is ranked fourth in the standings. The team missed the first event of the season only to return and win the second race. That alone says pay attention to this team.

The youngsters in their small, but very swift, Bandoleros will be making their season debut and will run twin main events on Saturday afternoon. This concept, which has its own national points championship, was developed decades ago to provide an entry level for youngsters who wanted to race. Some of these drivers are as young as six years old. Keep an eye on these youngsters this Saturday afternoon. You may be watching a future racing champion.

General admission tickets for this Saturday afternoon are $12 and $10 for seniors, military personnel and the handicapped. Kids tickets, age six to 16, are $6 with kids five and under admitted free. Additionally, students from the Lake Havasu Unified School District can receive a one dollar discount by presenting their school ID at the ticket booth. The speedway also offers a budget friendly family package, for $25, which admits two adults and two kids. Fans can also enjoy the amenities of the speedway's VIP section, featuring the best seats in the house, for $25. Advance tickets, always a good idea for getting a good seat at this speedway, are available from Peggy Gerchman at Peggy's Sunrise Café, located at 1584 Countryshire Avenue.

Friday, December 18, 2015

SPEARS Frequent Flyer Program Continues In 2016


SRL Media

BAKERSFIELD, CA – The SPEARS Southwest Tour Series, with the support of Spears Manufacturing, proudly announces the “SPEARS Frequent Flyer Program” will continue for the fifth consecutive year. For 2016, the “SPEARS Frequent Flyer Program” will award teams a minimum $1,000 for starting a SPEARS Southwest Tour Series main event after they have competed in just three consecutive series races.

In 2015, a team was required to have four consecutive starts, but that will change in 2016, as only three consecutive starts will be required to get on the SPEARS Frequent Flyer Program.

“The SPEARS Frequent Flyer Program rewards teams for their hard work and loyalty to the series,” stated the SRL’s Larry Collins. “It’s a great program for our teams and it shows the commitment that Spears Manufacturing has to this series.”

The SPEARS Frequent Flyer Program rewards a team with a minimum of $600 for their second consecutive series start, with their third consecutive race paying a minimum $1,000 and each consecutive race to follow a minimum $1,000 to start the event. A team’s consecutive race streak carries over from the 2015 season.

In other series news for 2016, each race on the 2016 schedule will pay a minimum of $5,000 to win.

The final touches are currently being put on the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series schedule of event and rules package for 2016.

About SPEARS MANUFACTURING: Spears Manufacturing is a world leader in plastic pipe products. SPEARS’ maintains over one million square feet of manufacturing facilities in four states and nine distribution centers across the USA for worldwide distribution. For more information go to http://www.spearsmfg.com. 



About the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series:
Celebrating its fifthteen season in 2015, the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series is a regional stock car series competing on paved ovals in the southwestern portion of the U.S. http://www.srlsouthwesttour.com. “The SPEARS Southwest Tour Series…Where the Champions Race”.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

West Coast Short Tracker Is Looking For Your Press/PR

Greetings!

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family. May the 2015 holiday season be a joyous one.

My name is Matthew Sullivan. For the past 15 plus years I have served as the track reporter for Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka, California. For the last seven seasons I have also videoed the races at Redwood Acres and posted them on YouTube so though you likely do not know me personally, you have probably seen some of my work.

I have been an auto racing fan my entire life of 30 plus years. Racing, particularly short track racing is my life's passion. I grew up going to tracks all over the region and watched great drivers in NASCAR's Southwest Tour and in the open comp days. Racing is as much a part of me and who I am as anything else and the health of short track racing in this region in the country is very important to me.

When the RacingWest website met its demise recently, a huge hole opened up. RacingWest was the central hub for west coast short track racing news. Without the website, updated news from tracks and touring series has become harder to find. While track and series websites are regularly updated with news and results, it is much harder for readers to keep up with everything going on when there isn't a central place to read it all.

Enter westcoastshorttracker.com

I have started a website/blog in hopes of trying to fill the void that RacingWest left. I want to do what I can to maintain, strengthen and build the reputations of tracks, series and drivers in the region. The site is going to focus on pavement racing, at least for the foreseeable future. Obviously Rome wasn't built in a day and my site is starting from the bottom but I would eventually like to be the leading source for short track racing news in the west coast.

While there were many positives to the RacingWest site, there were some negatives. My site will strictly be news and public relations only. There will NOT be message boards or forums on West Coast Short Tracker. I want the focus of the site to be on the racing aspect of everything. There will be NO gossip, rumors or any other sort of underlying inflammatory postings directed at drivers, tracks or series.

Again this site is literally in its infant stages but by this time next year, I hope that it is a top resource for racing news. Without you, this is not possible. I would appreciate your adding West Coast Short Tracker to your regular PR email rotation.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns please contact me at wcstpr@gmail.com . I look forward to hearing back from you and posting news, results and PR from your tracks/touring series.

Best wishes!

Monday, December 14, 2015

2016 Pacific Challenge Series Schedule Released



Steven Blakesley/PCS Media

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA (December 14, 2015) - The Pacific Challenge Series presented by PenneyLawyers.com has released its 2016 schedule which will see California's premier Super Late Model Series hit the road for 13 races across five different tracks.

"We are thrilled to present this schedule to the teams, fans, and sponsors," Series Director Jeff Munro said. "This is the best and busiest schedule we've assembled in series history and we're looking forward to some great racing!"

The series begins in a big way on March 19th with their first of two trips to Kenny Shepherd's Madera Speedway presented by Loanmart. Both Madera races will be televised in tape-delay on MAVTV as the first televised races in series history. The series enjoyed a debut race last season that saw 24 cars hit the one-third mile oval with Jeremy Doss outlasting Jacob Gomes for the victory. Pacific Challenge Series will return to Madera on August 13th as well.

All American Speedway in Roseville, CA has been a mainstay on the series calendar from the beginning and leads the series with four dates in 2016. PCS invades the one-third mile April 16th along with June 25th during the Placer County Fair and September 24th. The third annual October Classic 100 non points event will take place October 15th during the Bill McAnally Racing Promotions K&N West weekend at the one-third mile oval. Both the June 25th and September 24th races will be paired with the popular North State Modified Series as well.

Upper Northern California fans will be served a big dose of PCS action in 2016 as well, with three dates at David Furia's Ukiah Speedway. Super Late Models hit the quarter-mile on May 7th, July 18th, and for the second consecutive season the championship will be decided in Ukiah on October 1st.

Shasta Speedway returns to the PCS after a one-year hiatus during June 4th's Bill Schmitt Memorial with the K&N West Series also racing. The 3/8ths mile facility gives the PCS a total of four historic fairgrounds tracks on its agenda.

Tony & Carol Noceti's Stockton 99 Speedway will be the host of perhaps the most highly anticipated and hotly contested races on the PCS calendar with the Tri-Holiday Series. 2015 PCS champion John Moore won the Tri-Holiday Championship which he parlayed into a series championship. The Tri-Holiday Series is one of the oldest traditions in California stock car racing with 100 lap races on May 28th (Memorial Day weekend), July 2nd (Independence Day weekend), and September 3rd (Labor Day weekend).

Moore topped 2014 series champion Mike Beeler of Modesto for the 2015 crown, with both drivers expected to return in 2016. Moore's son Cole was third in the points and won Rookie of the Year honors. Elk Grove's Ron Chunn, Grass Valley's Don Swartz, Elk Grove's Mike Hite, Folsom's Hunter Corbitt, Eagle, ID's Travis Milburn, Upperlake's Jeremy Doss, and Auburn's Austin Gant rounded out the top-ten.

2015 championship awards banquet information is coming soon, the banquet tentatively scheduled for mid to late January on a Saturday night in the Sacramento region.

The Pacific Challenge Series is presented by: Penney Racing Supply, Penney & Associates, American Racer Tires, Maita Chevrolet, Compact-It, Northwest Compactors, Naake Suspension, Sunoco Fuels, Five Star Bodies, KB Fabrication, Lefthander Chassis, ARP Bodies, Joes Racing Products, Bassett Wheels, Frank's Radio, Racer Bling, and Blakesley Sports Media. All PCS Super Late Models race ABC Bodies or Muscle Car bodies on American Racer Tires with Sunoco Racing Fuel.

2016 Pacific Challenge Series Schedule
(Subject To Change)

March 19 Madera Speedway (Madera, CA) *Televised on MAVTV, presented by Loanmart*

April 16 All American Speedway (Roseville, CA)

May 7 Ukiah Speedway (Ukiah, CA)
May 28 Stockton 99 Speedway (Stockton, CA) *Round #1 of Tri-Holiday Series*

June 4 Shasta Speedway (Anderson, CA) *w/ K&N West Series*
June 25 All American Speedway (Roseville, CA) *w/ North State Modified Series*

July 2 Stockton 99 Speedway (Stockton, CA) *Round #2 of Tri-Holiday Series*
July 16 Ukiah Speedway (Ukiah, CA)

August 13 Madera Speedway (Madera, CA) *Televised on MAVTV, presented by Loanmart*

September 3 Stockton 99 Speedway (Stockton, CA) *Round #3 of Tri-Holiday Series*
September 24 All American Speedway (Roseville, CA) *w/ North State Modified Series*

October 1 Ukiah Speedway (Ukiah, CA) *2016 Championship Race*
October 15 All American Speedway (Roseville, CA) *w/ K&N West, Non-Points*

For more information on the Pacific Challenge Series, visit them online at www.PacificChallengeSeries.com or on Facebook.