Orange Show racing will reach a bigger
audience with ‘Orange Show Speedway Live’
SAN BERNARDINO – The excitement surrounding Orange Show Speedway’s 60th anniversary season was heightened this week with the announcement of “Orange Show Speedway Live,” a one-hour program on radio station KTDD (1350 AM).
The program will feature racing action, interviews and other features and will be broadcast from 8 to 9 p.m. on each of the 30 Saturdays of stock car racing action scheduled for the quarter-mile paved oval.
Greg Cozzo, the voice of Orange Show Speedway and the long-time host of Race Radio, will be the primary announcer on “Live,” which will make its debut on March 3, the opening night of the 2007 season.
“We’re very excited by this,” director of racing Joe Ganino Jr. said. “It’s something that hasn’t been done before. We believe it’s really going to enhance the Orange Show Speedway experience for our fans and our racers, and it gives us another tremendous opportunity to expose our exciting product to the community.”
This year’s product and the way it is presented will be much improved as well. The quarter-mile track has a new look with the completion of striping for the Figure 8 course and various other details in preparation for opening night and a full line of apparel featuring the vibrant new logo will be on sale at the track.
An electronic scoreboard is being installed, as well, although delays in shipping some necessary parts may mean the scoreboard will not be operational on opening night.
The familiar stock car racing programs will continue to be the core of the schedule, with 30 events slated between March 3 and Nov. 3. Stock cars won’t be the only activity, though.
Drifting is coming to the speedway on 10 occasions, beginning March 18 and concluding with the International Drift Championship Racing series national championship Nov. 9-10, and the new Orange Show Quarter Midget Racing Association will have 10 races on a 1/20th-mile track laid out in the recently-paved infield.
The drifting events will be divided between the IDCR and Drift Buffet, a Southern California-based amateur group.
Drift Buffet will run seven competitions – one a month beginning March 18 and concluding Oct. 21. Terry Henderson, who is in charge of race control at the track, said their all-day events normally have between 40 and 60 entries and spectators are welcome, for a $10 admission charge. More information may be obtained on their web site at www.driftbuffet.com.
The IDCR this year is conducting competition in eight divisions and will bring the best from those divisions to Orange Show Speedway for the championship Nov. 10. Two Pacific Division events also are scheduled at the speedway, on May 27 and Sept. 1. For more information, visit their web site at www.idcracing.com.
The Orange Show Quarter Midget Racing Association is a new group formed from the core of the association that has been racing in the Pomona Valley for the past 50 years, but found itself without a home because of City of Pomona construction plans for the track site.
Association board member Kandice Attridge said that while the group hadn’t planned on moving at this time, it had been searching for a site that would have alleviated crowding at the old track and made it possible to host large invitational events. Orange Show Speedway provides that needed space and Attridge is excited about bringing the youth racing program to the area.
The OSQMRA offers racing in scaled-down open-wheel cars for drivers from 5 to 16 years old. The group’s initial practice is scheduled for March 25 and on April 1 there will be an “Arrive and Drive” that will give the public a chance to examine and test drive the race cars. The first of the 10 races is April 22.
In addition to the various racing series, veteran Midget and Sprint Car driver Wally Pankratz has made Orange Show Speedway the home for his USAC Focus Midget driving school. Pankratz said he takes only one driver per day, with each training session consisting of 200 laps of driving, divided into 15- and 20-lap segments. The cost is $1,650 per day. For more information, contact Pankratz at 714-749-4817.
Racing at Orange Show Speedway is sponsored by Lucas Oil, Blackhawk Protection, Golden West Tire, Leno’s Rico Taco, Soboba Casino, Budweiser, Hoosier Racing Tires, Frank’s Radio Service, Center Chevrolet, Pick A Part, Neff Rental, Pepsi, Loma Linda University Medical Center, J&M Trophy, Matich Corporation, La Salle Medical Associates, California Highway Patrol and the San Bernardino County Sun newspaper.
For further information, contact Jim Short at 951-203-2649 or jimshort65@sbcglobal.net, call 909-888-6788, X438, or visit the web site at www.nosevents.com.
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