Published: April 30, 2009 10:59 pm      

BOWMAN: Speedway ready to kick off season

Local oval ready for action on Sunday

Although rain has dogged most outdoor activities this week, the extended forecast is calling for a break over the weekend which will allow the Kokomo Speedway to kick off its 62nd season-opener.

The card will feature the OmniSource Corporation non-wing sprint cars, Street Stocks and Thunder Cars as Allen Davis (Thunder Car) and Glen Gamblin (Street Stock) return as defending champions of their respective divisions. Sprint car titlist Scotty Weir has been without a ride thus far in 2009 after leaving the Edison Motorsports team following the final race at the track last year.

With Weir’s departure from the always-successful Edison Team, the seat is again filled by former track champion Shane Cottle, who along with the likes of Jon Stanbrough, Dave Darland, Josh Spencer, Cole Whitt and Casey Shuman to name a few, could well be in the championship hunt this season.

The track will have several special shows again this season, including visits from the USAC Mopar National Midget Series (June 14) and the USAC National Sprint Car Series (July 12). In addition will be the seventh-running of the Bob Darland Memorial (June 28) as well as the annual Vince Osman Memorial event (Sept. 6).

Upon checking out the schedule, there is but one Sunday evening show scheduled in August (Aug. 2) as track officials are using those dates as rain dates if needed. However on Saturday Aug. 8 there will be a Fan Appreciation Night with the full weekly program as well as the MMSA Mini-Sprints.

Another Saturday event will be held on Aug. 22 when the USAC and Kokomo Quarter Midget Clubs will converge on the track. The final points race of the season will be held on Sept. 6 with the running of the Osman Classic as noted earlier. As has been the case the last two years, the final races of the campaign will be Oct. 16-17 with the running of the Kokomo Klash.

The first night of the Klash will feature sprints, midgets, mini-sprints and Thunder Cars. Night two of the two-day show will have the Late Models at the forefront along with the U.M.P. Modifieds, Sportsman and Street Stocks.

There have also been some cosmetic changes fans will notice as well as the Men’s bathroom has been renovated and had some fresh paint put on the walls. Also, as a means to curtail safety issues in the pit area, a bridge is being constructed for fans and competitors alike to walk over the push-off lane. After speaking with track owner Jim O’Connor last week, he noted the bridge was just about completed and hopefully would be so by Sunday night.

“The boys have been working on that,” said the patriarch of the O’Connor family. “That will make it a lot safer for fans wanting to get from one side of the pits to the other without having to walk on the push-off lane. That’s seemingly been an accident waiting to happen back there and we are trying to make this track as safe as possible.”

Live-streaming video feeds are also a very good possibility this season as well, giving fans an opportunity to watch the races as they unfold on those nights they can’t make it out to the track. Dean Mills of Mills Video Productions, will be the cameraman with the public address announcers handling the play-by-play for those watching on the internet. Although it is not a certainty at this point, talks with fellow track announcer Rob Goodman led one to believe that it will happen this season.

“It’s something we’ve talked about for a while,” noted Goodman, who also helps as race-night coordinator and with event scheduling. “Dean [Mills] and all of us got together and thought it might be something that would help out fans who can’t make it to the track for whatever reason on any given race night. The plan is to have a small fee to have access to the event, then it will be kept on archive on the track’s Web site for a week for those who might have gone to the track but want to see the races again.”

In essence, the idea is similar to what the USAC racing website has been doing for selected events so far this season. As evidenced by the crowd at both races that were done live, the idea of having the races available on the world wide web hasn’t hindered attendance by any means.

Sunday night the pit gate opens at 3:30 while the main grandstand will open at 4 o’clock. Hot laps and group qualifying should begin around 6 p.m. with the first race around 7 p.m.

General admission is $12 for ages 11-adults. Kids 10 and under get in free with a paying adult. Those wishing to purchase a pit pass can do so for $25. For those needing more information, visit the track’s Web site at www.kokomospeedway.net. There a downloadable schedule is available along with several other interesting tidbits.

Brett Bowman is the Tribune’s auto racing columnist. He can be reached by e-mail at brettbowman29@aol.com