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RANLAY Racing

San Clemente, California

1999 Races Seen to Date

371. Irwindale Speedway - Irwindale, California

Irwindale Speedway is a state of the art asphalt short track. We saw the NASCAR Southwest tour stock cars.

Admission was a high $25 for folks over 12. Their regular admission price is $15. They race on the 1/2 mile on Saturday and the 1/3 mile track on Fridays.

They have a wide range of refreshments which are also high priced. Souvenier t-shirts are $22. Parking is $5 and race programs are $5.

Despite the high prices this is an excellent facility if you like asphalt racing. There is room to pass and the races we saw were exciting with one driver coming from 25th position in the 100 lap main to lose by 1 foot!

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370. I-76 Speedway - Fort Morgan, Colorado

I-76 Speedway is a 1/4 mile dirt track. Grandstand admission was $7 and a pit pass cost $15. They ran several classes with the IMCA modifieds being the top class. They also had micro sprints, street stocks, econo stocks and mini stocks.

The speedway had a very efficient way of running the races. They lined up cars in the pit lane so after each race was finished the next one could hit the track immediately. Many tracks could learn from this approach. They started promptly at 6:30 p.m. and ended by about 10:15 p.m.

Refreshments were limited to your basic race track food. I had a cheeseburger ($2.50) and a soda (.75).

The grandstand ran the entire length of the straightaway but was only 8 rows high. Every seat was close to the action. This was opening night and the wind blew hard straight into the grandstand. This created a bit of a dust problem. Overall, a fun track that kept the program moving.

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369. Oregon Trail Speedway - Gering, Nebraska

The OTS is a 1/4 mile asphalt track located about 5 miles east of Gering in the far west central portion of Nebraska. I had contacted the promoter, Dallas Whiting, a couple of weeks in advance to make sure they were running. Although we could only trade phone messages he told me he would have a free ticket waiting for me when I arrived at the track. I didn't want to take advantage so when I got to the ticket window I simply purchased my ticket. It was only $5, the second cheapest racing ticket I have purchased in the last 10 years or so.

When I met Dallas Whiting near the pit area the first thing he thought of was wanting to give me money back for the cost of the ticket! This shows the friendliness of all of the people I met at the track that night.

There were four classes racing on what was opening night for the track. They had 9 late models, 10 street stocks, 5 cruisers and 3 pure stocks. The cars were in very good shape and the racing was very competitive given the small fields. The cruisers class had two people in the car. The driver had control of the steering and brakes and the passenger controlled the gas. The late model group was very professional and ran some good races.

The refreshments were very low priced. Try this: 75 cents for a hot dog, 55 cents for a can of soda and 50 cents for hot chocolate. The grandstands were simple one board on a post seating and had seen better days. About 400 people were in attendance in perfect weather conditions. This was a rural track with friendly people. Give it a shot some time.

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368. Road Atlanta - Braselton, Georgia

I knew some people in this area drove Mercedes and Lexus automobiles. I just didn't know they all hung out at road races. If you like watching a football game where you can only see the players between the two forty yard line markers then you'll love road racing. Each lap takes a minute or so to complete one circuit of the track. It's rare, from any vantage point, to see more than about 10 seconds of racing before the cars go out of sight for the remaining 50 seconds.

Nevertheless, it was a nice day and the $15 admission price got me into the paddock (upscale language for the pits). This was the Walter Mitty Vintage Challenge race and they had about 200 cars in 8-10 classes. The cars were good looking but the racing, for the spectator left a lot to be desired.

Refreshments were about a D. The beef brisket at $5 had about 2 ounces of beef and and about 5 ounces of stale bread.

If you go to Road Atlanta pay the extra 5 bucks to drive your car into the inside of the track. This will allow you to get to several different vantage points quickly and is well worth the money.

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367. Lanier National Speedway - Gainesville, Georgia

This is an excellent 1/2 mile asphalt facility. The sightlines are excellent. The backstretch is terraced and approximately 150 cars can be parked and people can sit in their cars or the back of their trucks and watch the races. The main grandstand was large and was only about 40% full.

I saw the Dwarfs, Trucks, Late Models and Super Late Models contest their features. There wasn't too much passing. The cars were high quality and very well maintained bodies that you find at most good asphalt tracks.

Admission was $10. Refreshments were standard. Dill pickles went for one dollar.

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366. Peach State Speedway - Jefferson, Georgia

This was a very well organized 1/2 mile asphalt track that actually started on time. Their 250 lap U.S.A.R. program began at 7:00 p.m. and finished at 9:02 p.m.

They have a very large grandstand which offers a great view of the track. If you sit too low your view of the backstretch will be obstructed because of the haulers in the infield.

Refreshments consisted of your basic track food. I went with the cheeseburger $2.50 and corn dog $1.50. I'll give them a "C". They had only one cashier which created an unnessary 10 minute backup.

What made this racing day very unusual was the Ku Klux Klan rally held in a neighboring town, Ellijay, Georgia. This was right out of the 50s and 60s!

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365. Sugar Ridge Raceway - Blue Ridge, Georgia

This is a quarter mile dirt track. Grandstand admission was $8 and a pit pass was $15. The track was very difficult to pass on because it is so narrow. It was relatively dust free. After the street stocks ran a couple of heats they proceeded to time trial their top two late model classes at about 8:30 p.m. Although it only took about 30 minutes Ranlay Racing does not like time trials in the middle of the program..

The announcer was also the track photographer! Concessions were plentiful and reasonably priced. Try the pepper poppers.

They had three different late model classes and some street stocks. The cars and racing were professional except for the lack of passing and some questionable lighting.

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364. Desoto Speedway - Bradenton, Florida

We saw a daytime ASA stock car race. The track is a 3/8 mile asphalt oval. It was a warm day and the track began to come apart throughout the race. The track is located next to the Desoto Memorial Dragway.

The lines are very long at the concession stand. The waits were 15-20 minutes which is terrible.

The ASA sanctioning body does one thing that is great for the fans. About two hours before the race they allow fans to go onto the track and get autographs from the drivers.

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363. Auburndale Speedway - Auburndale, Florida

This track is a 1/4 asphalt oval. We saw a 100 lap late model event. The feature race was not very good due to the many yellow flags that occured.

The track is similar to Rockford Speedway in Rockford, Illinois except it doesn't have Rockford's high banks.

Parking is plentiful and the concessions are good. They even had boiled peanuts. The pits are located outside of the track.

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362. Edison International Field - Anaheim, California

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Future Tracks Tentatively Scheduled for 1999

Tipton Speedway - Tipton, Iowa

Adams County Speedway - Corning, Iowa

Sunset Speedway - Omaha, Nebraska

Butler County Speedway - Allison, Iowa

Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, Indiana

93 Speedway - Oak Hill, Ohio

Autodrome Edelweiss - Cantley, Quebec, Canada

Autodromemest, Eustache - St. Eustache, Quebec, Canada

Circuit F.H. - Coaticook, Quebeck, Canada

Cornwall Motor Speedway - Cornwall, Ontario, Canada

Autodrome Drummond - Drummondville, Quebec, Canada

The Fairgrounds at Kutztown - Kutztown, Pennsylvania

Hamlin Speedway - Hamlin, Pennsylvania

Irwindale Speedway - Irwindale, California

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Alabama

Alaska

Twin City Raceway, Kenai

Arizona

Central Arizona Raceway, Casa Grande

Manzanita Speedway-2, Phoenix

Phoenix Inernational Raceway, Phoenix

Tucson Raceway Park, Tucson

Yuma Speedway Park, Yuma

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover

Florida

Georgia

Atlanta International Raceway now known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, Atlanta

Thunderbowl Speedway, Valdosta

Waycross Motor Speedway, Waycross

Hawaii

Hawaii Raceway Park, Ewa Beach-Oahu

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Great Southern Speedway*, Angie

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

Bridgeport Speedway, Bridgeport

Central Jersey Speedway now known as New Egypt Speedway, New Egypt

East Windsor Speedway, Hightstown

Flemington Speedway, Flemington

Wall Stadium, Belmar

Atlantic City Convention Hall*, Atlantic City

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Bonneville Raceway Park now known as Rocky Mountain Raceway, Salt Lake City

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Alberta, Canada

Ontario, Canada

Quebec, Canada

New South Wales, Australia