From The Grandstand

by Ron Rodda
December 21, 2004

Lincoln, CA…When December appears racing does not end in California, it just moves inside. We spent the first three Saturdays of the month enjoying indoor winged go kart racing at the fairgrounds in Red Bluff. The very successful series has been running for quite a few years on the small dirt oval set inside the Pauline Davis Pavilion with a season stretching from October until February.
Around 140 karts have been providing the entertainment this month with various classes offering an appropriate division for drivers from age 5 and up. Action is furious on the small track and while many yellows appear during the long program, the officials along with the transponder scoring used at Red Bluff keep things moving along.


Heat race action at Red Bluff

    The only thing I can never understand is the huge amount of time allowed to be consumed each show during the running of the six trophy dashes. Heats and mains are run in a very efficient manner while the dashes seem to take forever with the introductions and other time consuming actions. On the plus side, the announcing has changed for 2005 and it is a huge improvement. The young lady handling the announcing this year also does Cycleland south of Chico and her style and knowledge are excellent. Before this year’s change, listening to the announcing at Red Bluff was like being hit over the head with a hammer all night long.


A collection of karts in the Red Bluff pit area

    When the Red Bluff season ends and the outdoor racing resumes next March, one track that will see more racing that the past few years is the Tulare Thunderbowl, located in the county that gets to claim more dairy cattle than any other county in California. More intriguing than the four hoofed clan dominating the atmosphere in Tulare County is the four-wheeled types that will invade the 3/8 fairgrounds facility. Used sparingly in 2004, the Thunderbowl will see ten nights of action next year.
    The season opens on April 9th with the two divisions of SCRA nonwing sprint cars on the agenda. The 410 class will be joined by a newly forming 360 division for SCRA to offer the action for Tulare’s opener. The last Saturday in April will feature the return of the Golden State Challenge series after a year’s absence from the high-banks, joined by the 360 arm of the SCRA nonwing sprints.
    In May the 14th has the SCRA 360 group plus a division to be announced while June features the return of the GSC/SCRA 360 twin bill on the 11th. One week later in June both of SCRA’s divisions will provide the action. July has a single show on the 23rd with both of SCRA’s divisions on hand again while the single August show is on the 6th with the SCRA nonwing 360 season finale the show that night, running for a $10,000 purse along with another division yet to be determined.
    These seven shows will be in addition to the February 25th and October 14th and 15th World of Outlaw shows at Tulare. The 2nd weekend of October works for Tulare, as the Trophy Cup in nearby Hanford will be October 21 and 22 in 2005. Like all schedules for next season at this early time, all of the above should be considered tentative.
    Currently the person who is spearheading the SCRA 360 division effort is Richard Harvey Sr., a racer and car owner in the nonwing 360 division. The SCRA 360 engine rules will include allowing the ASCS head with no gasket or requiring the ASCS intake gasket for non-spec head engines. The Hoosier RC-3 tire will be mandatory on the right rear. Harvey stated that the purse will be $1000 to win with 800, 650, 550, and 500 completing the top five spots with $150 to start.
    Starting with the 2nd race, the 360 division will see two free pit passes to each team in the top ten in points. A goal of a 20 race season is being pursued with Hoosier putting $500 per race into a point fund. If sponsorship is secured, the goal for the point fund is to pay $5000 to the champion of the series.
    As for a schedule for the new division, potentially ten races will be contested at the new Antelope Valley Speedway in Lancaster with the 3/8 track hosting the division opener on April 2nd. Besides Tulare other venues are being discussed and a two day show at Pahrump, NV is also being considered.
    John Padjen schedules were out very quickly for the 2005 season and Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico will showcase nonwing spec sprints on six occasions, about a once a month plan. The Golden State Challenge schedule has a return to Petaluma as well as two dates each at Antioch and Watsonville. Placerville also has a couple of nights for spec sprints, and with Chowchilla getting more active with the division, the self-starting nonwing spec sprint clan will find 2005 to be very busy.