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| Huge Weekend on Tap at SpeedWorld with Racing and Crash-a-Rama | by Dave Westerman
Fans will have plenty of action to see this weekend at Orlando Speedworld with top notch FASCAR stock car racing on Friday night and a special Crash-A-Rama on Saturday, the first in a series of events being filmed for an October presentation on Spike TV.
All six FASCAR divisions will be in action Friday Evening including Super Late Models, Open Wheel Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Sportsman, Super Stocks and Strictly Stocks.
Jared Allison is now the Super Late Model point leader by 20 over Ricky Wood, but Allison will be in his back-up car this week.
"I changed the oil in the engine then couldn't get much oil pressure when I started it up," said Allison. "We were going to change engines, but figured it would be simpler just to run the other car and focus on finding out what's wrong with our primary engine. we are still having trouble getting the new car right, so this one may actually be faster," he said.
Bobby Orr had picked up the ride in Allison's back-up machine which is now sponsored by Brevard County attorney Art Niergarth, but will have to sit at least this week out.
Allson and Wood are well ahead of Ronnie Roach and Patrick Conrad who are now tied for third in points. Roach caught Conrad last week by winning his first feature race of the year, while Conrad missed the show in his new mount as he was being taken to the hospital following a violent crash in the RE/MAX Legends car feature. Although sore, Conrad was not hurt although he did find out he had a sinus infection!
Ricky Wood maintains his lead in the Modifieds by 60 markers over Mark Emberson, who won his first career feature the last time the Modifieds ran. Wood ran several laps during Wednesday night practice looking to get his "edge" back in his Mike Samples owned racer.
The Modified point race looks to be a two driver shoot-out as third place Wayne Heckle is running a limited schedule as is fourth place Hoot Flynn.
Auburndale's Chad Ashley has opened up a 90 point advantage in the Mini Stock class over fellow Auburndale resident Sean Bass after taking another win last week. Dick Laszlo is 60 points behind Bass in third trailed by R.J. Arnone and rookie Steven Simpson.
Richard Hight of Intercession City heads the Sportsman point chase by 96 markers over Bobby Joe Woodley and Bruce Gayton who are tied for second place. Justin Hall and Bill Hall round out the current top five.
Ted Head continues to put some distance on the Super Stock field as he has opened up an 88 point advantage over Bob Beiler. Bill Loomis, Ron Whaley and Corey Freed round out the top five.
Strictly Stocks can get some needed "seat time" on Friday night before their special $500 to win event during Saturday's Crash-A-Rama.
Just about everything under the sun including four cylinder cars, six cylinder cars (and a Ford pick-up truck entered by Auto Parts of Taft) and V-8's will take to the track Saturday looking for the big money in a class that usually runs for just trophies.
The cars will be checked to insure that they are stock with stock wheels and tires, springs, shocks etc. Tech after the race may be more interesting than the race itself.
Saturday night's Crash-A-Rama will be similar to those in the past with some "twists" being added to the mix for TV. There will be a School Bus Figure Eight race, but this time the competitors will run as two bus teams chained together!
The Backwards Race will be done with mini-vans and later there will be a mini-van demo derby. The camper trailer race will feature campers that are a minimum of 20 feet long (no pop-up campers) and must be towed by a truck, SUV or station wagon. There will also be an SUV/pick-up truck flag pole race along with a roll-over contest open to any type of vehicle, a freestyle competition (do whatever you want to do with a motor vehicle... the most bizarre stunt wins), the School Bus Wall of Steel and an amazing stunt called the "Towering Inferno" where stunt man Tricky Travelstead will attempt to jump through a virtual "wall" of burning cars.
All that and who knows what else the producers from Spike TV will come up with. This will be the first of three Crash-A-Ramas taped over the next month. The crew will head to Desoto Super Speedway on August 7th then come back for yet another Crash-A-Rama at Orlando Speedworld on August 21st.
Regular Saturday night racing returns on July 31st and it will be a great night for race fans. On tap will be the RE/MAX Legends Cars, Bandoleros, FAST Karts, and the Race Cars of Yesteryear, who will take everyone back in time with their legendary machines.
This Friday night pit gates open at 4PM with grandstand gates open at 6PM. The first race starts promptly at 8PM. Adult admission to the grandstands is $10 with kids 11 and under free.
Grandstand gates are slated to open at 5PM Saturday, however may open earlier if needed. Fans should arrive early to get the best seats as it is expected to be standing room only by 7PM "crash time." Adult admission to Crash-A-Rama is $20, but bring the kids as the usual Speedworld policy will be in effect Saturday as all kids 11 and under get in free.
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