LOS ANGELES — How does a race track promoter keep racing fans interested in attending races in person in an era of declining race car counts because of rising costs?
Perris Auto Speedway promoter Don Kazarian offered USAC/CRA 410 sprints and IMCA Modifieds along with 360 senior sprints and young guns in a rare tripleheader on April 30. The result was a spike in attendance.
Fans of the sprinters and modifieds were exposed to exciting racing with a type of racing they were not likely to attend otherwise. Fans of both series want to see more of this pairing.
After preliminaries were run for all three divisions, the main events began shortly after 8 p.m.
The seniors/young guns 20-lap event was first up with Richard McCormick taking the victory. Twenty-two USAC/CRA sprint car drivers raced 30 laps in a thriller won by Matt Mitchell over Charles Davis, Jr. by .053 seconds.
The 14 modifieds finished the show with a 20-lap race ending at 9:38 p.m.
When the USAC/CRA main concluded sprint fans remained in their seats to watch the modifieds main. They were happy they did so after modified drivers ran a competitive race won by Matthew Hicks. He also ran paved tracks in modifieds and INEX legend cars more than a decade ago and has won 14 main events at Irwindale Speedway.
I estimated the main grandstand was about two-thirds occupied with some spectators preferring bleacher seats in the first and fourth turns.
New fans of both series undoubtedly were created by the innovative pairing. Fans of both series streamed into the pits to talk to drivers and get autographs after the final feature concluded at a reasonable hour.
Fans of both touring series will have five more times this season to catch the exciting USAC/CRA and IMCA Modified twinbills with the seniors/young gun 360 sprints an added bonus. The dates are May 28, June 25, Aug. 20, Sept. 17 and Oct. 1.
Alyssa Smith, 19, started her No. 31a modified from the pole and led the first six laps. Hicks started eighth and led laps 7-20. Smith, daughter of Irwindale’s 2006 Figure-8 champion Tom Smith who was a PAS IMCA driver until seven years ago, taught Alyssa well as he competed against her at Perris.
She has won features and now races against her 23-year-old boyfriend, Austin Kiefer. Austin won four PAS mains last year and won the PAS March 26 opener. They have dated for two years.
Kiefer won the first heat Saturday and spun out on lap four of the feature. He restarted at the back and raced up to third at the finish. He trailed Alyssa by 30 yards at the finish and Alyssa trailed winner Hicks by 40 yards.
After Chris Holt concluded interviewing the top three finishers, Kiefer told me he hopes the IMCA modifieds continue to race after the sprint cars. He said the PAS surface was the best they have had at PAS.
Brenda Kirby is the petite daughter of retired USAC/CRA 410 sprint car champion and winning IMCA Modified driver Mike Kirby. The Kirby family moved years ago from the Torrance area to New River, Ariz.
Brenda deserves mention as well. She started ninth and raced her way up to third before a mechanical issue sidelined her.
Mitchell started second in the USAC/CRA main event and led all 30 laps for his first feature victory in six years. His Maxim opened a 35-yard lead by lap 26 using the outside groove.
Davis’ DRC sprinter used the inside groove not favored by other drivers and carved his way forward to the top five by lap 15. He was second on lap 25 after passing two Williams brothers (Cody and Austin) and nine-time series champion Damion Gardner in an exciting four driver battle. Gardner also passed both Williams to finish third.
A two-car spin on lap 27 in turn two wiped out Mitchell’s comfortable lead and caused a two-by-two restart for the final four laps. Davis was one length behind Mitchell after 29 laps and about a quarter length behind him at the finish.
Thriller finish is an understatement. Nineteen of 22 starters finished all 30 laps in a very fast field.