Orange Show Speedway, closed for the past two weeks, will echo with sound of race cars again Saturday, May 2, as the stock car season resumes.
A busy and diverse program will be headed by the ASA Late Model class, which last season saw six different drivers win the nine races, and highlighted by the return of the powerful, exciting Outlaw Figure 8 cars.
Also on the schedule are the San Bernardino Pick-A-Part Street Stocks, Factory Fours, Bandoleros and the second appearance of the season for the Western Racing Association’s Vintage Sprint Cars and Midgets.
The two-week layoff, while not planned, did give Best in the West Racing officials and track personnel time to relax and take some deep breaths after a frenetic two-month period in which Best if the West owner Rick McCray and crew signed a five-year lease on the ASA-sanctioned quarter-mile, put together a schedule, made significant improvements to the 62-year-old facility and staged three racing programs.
That rest will be helpful now, because Saturday’s program is the first of five consecutive weekends of racing that will feature, among other things, the return of Trailer races (May 9) and the debut of the SouthWest Tour Trucks series (May 16).
Saturday will be the second races of the season for the Late Model, Street Stock and Outlaw Figure 8 classes and the third and fourth for the Factory Fours division, which will run a pair of 25-lap main events.
The initial appearances of the Late Models and Street Stocks resulted in two wins for the Conklin brothers of Big Bear. Older brother Jim Conklin, 55, a two-time class champion, held off the father-son duo of Ron and Ryan Daniel for a 0.174-second win in the 50-lap Late Model main. Cliff Conklin, 52, also a past class champion, was a winner over past champion and mountain neighbor Johnny Russo by 0.860 seconds in the 35-lap Street Stock feature.
Two races into the season, the Factory Fours already have a terrific championship fight going, with veteran Tony Dumont of Irvine and 13-year-old Ben Mahan of Oak Hills tied for the lead, but just two points ahead of high school teacher Kim Marzullo of San Bernardino and Dwayne Blay of Riverside, who won the most recent outing.
“Dirty Harry” Kuenniger of San Bernardino won the initial Outlaw Figure 8 race, a hastily-arranged contest on April 4, and is expected to have several more challengers this time around.
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