Spectators invited to race at Speedway
| Wednesday, Aug 04 2010 07:10 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Aug 04 2010 07:10 PM
Hey buddy, can I borrow your car on Saturday night? I promise I won't put too many miles on it. Just out to Oildale and back. I'll even give it a hand wash before returning it on Sunday morning.
I'd drive my own car but I'm not too sure how my 8,000-pound Chevy Suburban with an 8.1-liter engine would handle on the Bakersfield Speedway third-mile clay oval.
Oops. Sorta let that slip out.
Here's the skinny:
Normally, the track out on the North Chester Avenue extension is reserved for race cars but on Saturday night anyone 18 or older (with a helmet, $20 and a valid registration for their car) can compete in a special spectator race.
That's right. Hop into your Mercedes CL600, your BMW M6 or your Cadillac CTS-V and see how it handles on the dirt.
Or better yet, borrow your mother-in-law's car. You know you want to.
Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks will provide the real racing action starting at 6, and when they're done it's time for the real fun -- spectator racing.
The format calls for just two competitors at a time on the track (to lesson the chance for automotive carnage). The two will take off from the start/finish line in Formula One style -- standing start -- and complete (hopefully) two laps.
The winner advances to another round and the loser gets to head to a car wash.
The last driver to win at the end of the night takes home $200.
Bakersfield Speedway owner Scott Schweitzer said he had wanted to do this type of event for a while and the opportunity came about when he canceled a Sprint Car race set for Saturday.
"I thought this would be a good way to fill up the show," he said. "I got the idea from my buddy, Toby Kruse, at Marshalltown Speedway in Iowa. He had it on Facebook and YouTube and it looked like fun."
Fun enough that Schweitzer's oldest son, Dakota, is asking to borrow the keys to the Bakersfield Speedway Toyota pickup on Saturday night.
"He really wants to enter it bad," Schweitzer.
So, apparently, do a lot of other people.
"There's quite a bit of interest. I've got a lot of people calling me asking questions about what they can run," Schweitzer said. "They say they're going to be here. Hopefully we'll have enough (entries) to make it a fun time."
Quick shifts
David Mayhew will be looking for his second win of the season as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West makes its inaugural visit to Montana Raceway Park in Kalispell on Saturday. Mayhew trails point leader Eric Holmes by 67 points.
Kevin Harvick's fourth-lace finish at Pocono last Sunday was his Sprint Cup series-best 15th top-10 placing of the year and fifth top-5 finish in the past six races. Harvick leads Jeff Gordon by 189 points with five races left before the Chase begins. However, if the Chase were to start today, Harvick, who has two wins, would be third in the standings, behind five-time winners Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin.
