By Betty Glynn
LaSalle, IL – Two and a half years after the creation of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, the LaSalle Speedway is a favored destination in a tour that stretches across the country.
The schedule covers seventeen states with thirty nine stops. Since the first race in Flroida on February 3rd, there have been thirteen different winners in twenty one events so far.
“We look forward to coming to LaSalle and working with promoters Kerrianne and Kerry Izzo,” Series Director Spencer Wilson told during a recent phone interview.
The Izzo family has been promoting the speed arena since 1992 and has played host to some of the biggest shows in the country. Saturday night the $10,000 Illinois Valley Challenge 50 will top the venue along with the Midwestern Late Model and Street Stock classes.
It will be the second time the traveling series has invaded the ¼ mile clay oval this year.
“Kerrianne has been with us since we got this series off the ground and I am a big cheerleader for her up there.”
The feelings are mutual with the promoters and officials at the track.
“I love that organization,” Kerry said with a smile. “Every time they come I get excited their back. They work more closely with Kerrianne then me and I know she really enjoys working with them a lot.”
On Monday morning, speedway official Cody Sommers said they were painting and getting the track surface ready for the big show.
“Right now we are working hard to get everything done. This is definitely our biggest event and we look forward to them coming here.”
This is a sentiment shared by more then the promoters and series director as drivers, crews and racing enthusiasts alike have been gearing up for their return. The added bonus of the evening being taped by a national television channel makes it even more exciting.
The July 29th race will be captured by SPEED Channel cameras in front of what is sure to be a full house.
According to Wilson they will be arriving early in the area and enjoying their Northern home-away-from-home.
“Actually, we will probably be in town on Thursday,” Wilson shared. “We really like it there. We consider it to be our Northern home.”
Community Benefits: Local hotels are reaping the rewards of two types of racing this weekend. In addition to the Lucas Oil competitors and followers, the popular DePue Boat Races are this weekend. Out of the six local hotels contacted nearly all of them were sold out or very close to it.
Other businesses in the community are very likely to see increased revenues from both large attractions. On any given Saturday night, haulers and race car fans are spotted at the Illinois Valley eateries and gas stations.
The manager of Peru’s Steak N Shake appreciates their Saturday night racing customers.
“We do get a great push from the Speedway on Saturday’s after the races,”
according to Kimberly McElligott. She said they really notice the additional customers when the tours come through.
“People from the races stay here at the hotels down the street and then we get additional breakfast and lunch customers too,” she acknowledged.
Local Driver Concerns: Since the elimination of the super Late Model class it has presented some concerns for the LaSalle Speedway’s weekly racer.
To run or not to run?
The answer is not so simple. The Midwestern Late Model class is considered the premier division but they will be racing their own program Saturday.
With a mere three races to go, the driver’s have to decide whether to run with the big dogs and possibly be bumped out of their points standing or race their regular show.
“I don’t know what to do,” current points leader Mike Glynn said.
“We love racing the big shows. When you’re leading the points though, it’s a big decision. I never thought last year we would be so close in the points chase and I took a week off early in the season.”
“Well we were on a winning streak and made up ground then got rained out the last night of the points. I lost the championship by eight points. You get fifteen for just showing up so I felt pretty bad for our crew and sponsors.
They still haven’t let me forget that trip to Florida.”
Currently, Ralph Markham is 56 points behind Glynn. From second to sixth in the standings is close with a separation of approximately forty eight points.
If a driver were to make a clean sweep in the Midwestern class which is not uncommon, the points tallied would be: 15 Show Up, 4 Fast Time, 8 Heat Win, and 30 Feature for a nights total of 57 points. With two nights remaining after Saturday, the deficit would be too great to make up.
“I still don’t know what I’m doing Saturday,” Glynn said on Tuesday
Lucas Oil Points Battle: Florida’s Earl Pearson Jr. leads the quest by one hundred and twenty points over Indiana’s Don O’Neal. The points after the July 23rd race are: Pearson 3555, O’Neal 3435, Donnie Moran 3200 and Matt Miller 3005.
Lucas Oil Championship Pay: Winning the points battle is worth its weight in gold. In 2005, the winner claimed $30,000 but in 2006 they raised the stakes to $40,000 for the champ. Second through tenth pay is as follows: 2 - $25,000, 3 - $20,000, 4 – $18,000, 5 - $17,000, 6 – $16,000, 7 - $15,000, 8 – $14,000, 9 - $13,000, 10 - $12,000.
Recent touring races at LaSalle Speedway: Illinoisan Shannon Babb has become comfortable in LaSalle’s victory lane. He captured both 2006 big money events collecting $16,000 between the two different touring series.
He won the May 20th $10,000 Lucas Oil Spring Shootout and then the July 10th $6,000 UMP Summer Nationals race.
His dominance in the grueling UMP Summer Nationals, dubbed the ‘Babb Nationals’, has him conditioned for just about anything. If he rolls onto the grounds he may be the man to beat.
Lucas Oil Recent Events: Last weekend the big Lucas Oil winner was Muscatine racer Brian Birkhofer. He claimed the races at Knoxville, Iowa and Wheatland, Missouri netting himself a bank roll of $20,000 for his weekend warrior duties.
His website does not have LaSalle’s fifty lap race listed on his schedule but rumors are flying that he might be in attendance.
The Illinois Valley Challenge 50 Purse: 1 - $10,000, 2 - $5,000, 3 - $ 3,000, 4 - $2,500, 5 - $2,000, 6 - $1,500, 7 - $1,400, 8 - $1,300, 9 - $1,200, 10 - $1,100, 11 - $1,000, 12 - $950, 13 - $900, 14 - $875, 15 - $850, 16 - $825, 17 - $800, 18 - $775, 19 - $750, 20 - $725.
Adult general admission $25.00, children eleven and under are free, sky box admission $30.00 and pit passes $35.00.
Pit gates will open at 1:00pm with main gates opening at 4:00pm. Qualifying starts at 6:30pm, racing begins at 7:30pm.
LaSalle, IL – Two and a half years after the creation of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, the LaSalle Speedway is a favored destination in a tour that stretches across the country.
The schedule covers seventeen states with thirty nine stops. Since the first race in Flroida on February 3rd, there have been thirteen different winners in twenty one events so far.
“We look forward to coming to LaSalle and working with promoters Kerrianne and Kerry Izzo,” Series Director Spencer Wilson told during a recent phone interview.
The Izzo family has been promoting the speed arena since 1992 and has played host to some of the biggest shows in the country. Saturday night the $10,000 Illinois Valley Challenge 50 will top the venue along with the Midwestern Late Model and Street Stock classes.
It will be the second time the traveling series has invaded the ¼ mile clay oval this year.
“Kerrianne has been with us since we got this series off the ground and I am a big cheerleader for her up there.”
The feelings are mutual with the promoters and officials at the track.
“I love that organization,” Kerry said with a smile. “Every time they come I get excited their back. They work more closely with Kerrianne then me and I know she really enjoys working with them a lot.”
On Monday morning, speedway official Cody Sommers said they were painting and getting the track surface ready for the big show.
“Right now we are working hard to get everything done. This is definitely our biggest event and we look forward to them coming here.”
This is a sentiment shared by more then the promoters and series director as drivers, crews and racing enthusiasts alike have been gearing up for their return. The added bonus of the evening being taped by a national television channel makes it even more exciting.
The July 29th race will be captured by SPEED Channel cameras in front of what is sure to be a full house.
According to Wilson they will be arriving early in the area and enjoying their Northern home-away-from-home.
“Actually, we will probably be in town on Thursday,” Wilson shared. “We really like it there. We consider it to be our Northern home.”
Community Benefits: Local hotels are reaping the rewards of two types of racing this weekend. In addition to the Lucas Oil competitors and followers, the popular DePue Boat Races are this weekend. Out of the six local hotels contacted nearly all of them were sold out or very close to it.
Other businesses in the community are very likely to see increased revenues from both large attractions. On any given Saturday night, haulers and race car fans are spotted at the Illinois Valley eateries and gas stations.
The manager of Peru’s Steak N Shake appreciates their Saturday night racing customers.
“We do get a great push from the Speedway on Saturday’s after the races,”
according to Kimberly McElligott. She said they really notice the additional customers when the tours come through.
“People from the races stay here at the hotels down the street and then we get additional breakfast and lunch customers too,” she acknowledged.
Local Driver Concerns: Since the elimination of the super Late Model class it has presented some concerns for the LaSalle Speedway’s weekly racer.
To run or not to run?
The answer is not so simple. The Midwestern Late Model class is considered the premier division but they will be racing their own program Saturday.
With a mere three races to go, the driver’s have to decide whether to run with the big dogs and possibly be bumped out of their points standing or race their regular show.
“I don’t know what to do,” current points leader Mike Glynn said.
“We love racing the big shows. When you’re leading the points though, it’s a big decision. I never thought last year we would be so close in the points chase and I took a week off early in the season.”
“Well we were on a winning streak and made up ground then got rained out the last night of the points. I lost the championship by eight points. You get fifteen for just showing up so I felt pretty bad for our crew and sponsors.
They still haven’t let me forget that trip to Florida.”
Currently, Ralph Markham is 56 points behind Glynn. From second to sixth in the standings is close with a separation of approximately forty eight points.
If a driver were to make a clean sweep in the Midwestern class which is not uncommon, the points tallied would be: 15 Show Up, 4 Fast Time, 8 Heat Win, and 30 Feature for a nights total of 57 points. With two nights remaining after Saturday, the deficit would be too great to make up.
“I still don’t know what I’m doing Saturday,” Glynn said on Tuesday
Lucas Oil Points Battle: Florida’s Earl Pearson Jr. leads the quest by one hundred and twenty points over Indiana’s Don O’Neal. The points after the July 23rd race are: Pearson 3555, O’Neal 3435, Donnie Moran 3200 and Matt Miller 3005.
Lucas Oil Championship Pay: Winning the points battle is worth its weight in gold. In 2005, the winner claimed $30,000 but in 2006 they raised the stakes to $40,000 for the champ. Second through tenth pay is as follows: 2 - $25,000, 3 - $20,000, 4 – $18,000, 5 - $17,000, 6 – $16,000, 7 - $15,000, 8 – $14,000, 9 - $13,000, 10 - $12,000.
Recent touring races at LaSalle Speedway: Illinoisan Shannon Babb has become comfortable in LaSalle’s victory lane. He captured both 2006 big money events collecting $16,000 between the two different touring series.
He won the May 20th $10,000 Lucas Oil Spring Shootout and then the July 10th $6,000 UMP Summer Nationals race.
His dominance in the grueling UMP Summer Nationals, dubbed the ‘Babb Nationals’, has him conditioned for just about anything. If he rolls onto the grounds he may be the man to beat.
Lucas Oil Recent Events: Last weekend the big Lucas Oil winner was Muscatine racer Brian Birkhofer. He claimed the races at Knoxville, Iowa and Wheatland, Missouri netting himself a bank roll of $20,000 for his weekend warrior duties.
His website does not have LaSalle’s fifty lap race listed on his schedule but rumors are flying that he might be in attendance.
The Illinois Valley Challenge 50 Purse: 1 - $10,000, 2 - $5,000, 3 - $ 3,000, 4 - $2,500, 5 - $2,000, 6 - $1,500, 7 - $1,400, 8 - $1,300, 9 - $1,200, 10 - $1,100, 11 - $1,000, 12 - $950, 13 - $900, 14 - $875, 15 - $850, 16 - $825, 17 - $800, 18 - $775, 19 - $750, 20 - $725.
Adult general admission $25.00, children eleven and under are free, sky box admission $30.00 and pit passes $35.00.
Pit gates will open at 1:00pm with main gates opening at 4:00pm. Qualifying starts at 6:30pm, racing begins at 7:30pm.
