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| Classic Auto Racers head up Club Racing action Saturday at SpeedWorld | by Dave Westerman
The Classic Auto Racing Series will be taking part in a unique "experiment" set up by FASCAR and Orlando Speedworld General Manager Dick Westfall Saturday night at the three-eighths mile track that normally runs on Friday nights.
Joining the Classics for an evening of Spec Series "club" racing Saturday evening will be the Legends Cars, Pro Challenge Cars, Modified Lites, Mini Cup Cars and Florida TQ Late Models. Kids Bandelero racing, a regular Friday night feature at the track, will also be held.
"It's an experiment to say the least," says Westfall. "These drivers always put on a good show and here they'll get a chance to showcase their talents and compare notes, and I think we'll have some fun," he said.
Plans are to run this series of races on the first Saturday of the month through September. At least for the first event, the grandstand side of the race track will not be open. Spectators are invited to watch from the pit area grandstands and take a look at the wide variety of cars that will be in action up-close. As always, kids under 12 years of age are admitted free with the proper release form signed by a parent or guardian.
This will be the sixth race of a very busy season for the Classic Auto Racing Series drivers and this event is expected to draw the biggest field of the year.
The CARS point standings became much closer last week as the top two in points, Ben Booth and Bud Spencer, finished 14th and 13th respectively at East Bay Raceway Park. Booth still leads the overall point standings and the Door Operating Systems Rookie of the Year standings as well, but by only two markers over Spencer and fellow rookie Greg Helton, who won his heat last week, then came from the rear of the field twice to finish third in the feature, his best career outing.
Daryl Grief's second place at East Bay moved him into fourth in points, just ahead of E.B. Carr in fifth. Joey Strehle is sixth in points and plans to debut a new car this weekend while East Bay winner Frank Conrad vaulted from tenth to seventh in points. George Hall III, George Hall, Jr., and Simeon "The Garage Door Man" Spagnuolo round out the top ten in Classic Auto Racing Series points.
Pit gates will be open in the morning for any race teams that would like to arrive early and pit passes will begin being sold around 4PM.
Practice by class will take place from 5-6:30 PM with racing getting under way at 7PM.
Fans can find lots of other excitement in the same general area as Orlando Speedworld Dragway will be holding their regular Saturday night competituion followed by the monthly midnight street drags. Orange County Raceway, a small dirt track located next door to Speedworld will also be in action Saturday night with the Florida Mini Sprints as the featured attraction.
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