Monday, January 12, 2009

Rules meetings scheduled for Redwood Acres Raceway divisions (2009)

Rules meetings scheduled for Redwood Acres Raceway divisions

By Matthew J. Sullivan

The 2009 racing season at Redwood Acres Raceway is only a few months away. The Sportsman cars, Thunder Roadsters, real stocks, mini stocks and limited street stocks will return to the speedway for another exciting season. The new year brings a new division to the 3/8-mile paved facility, the roadrunners. This new division is aimed at entry-level drivers who have little to no racing experience. Drivers as young as 14 years old are allowed to participate in the class. The cars allowed in the roadrunner division are three or four cylinder cars that are more or less stock. A roll cage and a racing seat with a five-point harness is required in each car while alterations to the engine are not forbidden.

Two unique features to the division are that every car must have a horn and a working stereo with speakers, but what may be the most interesting twist in the division is the claim rule. Drivers will be switching between different cars every race. No driver may claim any car more than once in the same season and the original owner may claim his car back only one time. This rule will likely make the division a very competitive one. Ultimately a driver’s skill behind the wheel should shine through more than the car that they are driving. Another new feature that fans should look for in 2009 will be the new body style for the thunder roadster cars. Chris Banfill gave everyone a sneak-peek to the new look in his white number 25 roadster in the Fall Spectacular last September. It’s likely that many of the drivers in the division will be running the new style this season.

Rules meetings for the mini stock and sportsman divisions are going to be held this Saturday January, 17th. The mini stock meeting is at 3:00PM while the sportsman meeting will be held at 4:00PM. Meetings for the limited street stocks, real stocks, Thunder Roadsters and the roadrunners will be held Saturday January 24th. The limited street stocks and real stocks will have their meeting at 10:00AM while the roadsters will meet at 11:00AM and the roadrunners at 12:00PM. All of the meetings will be held at Redwood Acres Raceway under the main grandstands. Anyone interested in obtaining the rules for the new roadrunner division should contact promoters Rich and Linda Olson 442-3232.