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VINTAGE RACE CARS AND TOYS FOR TOTS KICK OFF TO HIGHLIGHT HAVASU 95 SPEEDWAY ACTION SATURDAY NIGHT BY DAVE GRAYSON Racing's golden days of yesteryear will take center stage this Saturday night at the Havasu 95 Speedway. The most scenic quarter mile asphalt oval in the southwest, located within the Sara Park complex in Lake Havasu City-Arizona, will treat its fans to an evening of vintage race cars as well as high quality ASA sanctioned racing action from their Modified, Legend and Factory Stock divisions. Saturday night will also be the official kick off for the speedways' support for the community's annual Toys For Tots campaign. Open wheel sprint cars and midgets will highlight the racing action Saturday. These carefully restored, and still powerful, race cars are from the Lake Havasu City based West Coast Vintage Racing. Also on hand will be the vintage open wheel cars from the WRA, Western Racing Association, based out of San Dimas-California. They are true representatives of the golden years of open wheel racing in America when these teams went barnstorming across the country while creating racing legends in the process. These racing organizations, who are dedicated to preserving this American racing history, are often referred to as moving museums. During the course of the evening there will also be a special dedication to Walt James. The legendary open wheel racer who passed away this past September. James dedicated his life to open wheel racing and continued to drive in vintage racing events until the age of 86. The attractiveness of participating in one of these vintage racing shows has not escaped the attention of Bill Rozhon, the promoter of the Havasu 95 Speedway. Rozhon will be taking a break from his long time retirement as a driver to don a helmet, driver's uniform and then climb inside of a perfectly restored CHAMP car owned by Lake Havasu City's Ray Alvarez. On the topic of open wheel racing, the Havasu 95 Speedway's Modified division will also be seeing action Saturday night. That means the presence of the Lake Havasu City based Gerchman racing family. The trio of modified racers, sponsored by Peggy's Sunrise Cafe along with G&G Automotive, are expected to power drivers Larry, Dave and Chris Gerchman to the top of the standings just as they did last season when Chris Gerchman won the track championship. The Legend division will be making their first appearance of the Havasu 95 Speedway winter racing season. Sanctioned by the nationally known 600 Racing, out of North Carolina, the Legends features open wheel modifieds that resembles roadsters from the late 1930's and early 1940's. The series is considered to be a spec class with a very level playing field that stresses affordability for the participants. The cars are powered by a sealed 1250cc Yamaha motorcycle engines that produces 122 horsepower. They also produce very exciting door to door, wheel to wheel. racing. The fan favorite Factory Stock division will once again provide their usual high energy excitement while redefining that old adage that says "racing is rubbing." The Havasu 95 Speedway has an outstanding Factory Stock program with a very healthy car count that often requires multiple heat races and a B main to set the line up for the main event feature. Going into Saturday night Shawn Deitch leads the standings with 136 points based on a feature win and two top five finishes. But he only has a two point lead over Lisa Snell who is also a feature winner this season. Still very much in this early season division points structure are drivers Chris Blackwell, 132 points, the rotating drivers from Big O Tires Racing, 130, and former series champion Scott Allen, 128. Saturday night will also be the official kick off for the Havasu 95 Speedway's annual participation in the Marine Corp's Toys For Tots campaign. Speedway promoter Bill Rozhon said he wanted to do something different this year and has pledged $5 from every paid ticket to Saturday night's race to purchase bicycles for area children. Rozhon hopes to raise enough money during the annual campaign to provide at least 50 bikes. Accenting the Toys For Tots kick off will be the presence of the Marine Corp Mounted Color Guard who will present America's colors during the pre race opening ceremonies. The Havasu 95 Speedway's racing weekend actually begins Friday night with a test and tune session for the racing teams from 6 to 9 pm. This session is free to spectators and a concession stand will be available. On Saturday race day the spectator gates will open at 4 pm with the racing getting underway at 6 pm. General admission adult tickets for Saturday are $12 with $10 tickets available for seniors 55 plus, military personnel and the handicapped. Kids tickets, for ages six to 16 are $6 while kids five and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. The speedway also offers a family package, for $25, which admits two adults and two kids. Fans can also enjoy the special amenities of the speedway's VIP section, featuring the best seats in the house, for $25. |