Racing Travel Last Saturday


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	INDEX OF ALL BEHIND THE SCENES EDITORIALS

August 22, 1998

Racing Travel Last Saturday

Last Saturday, August 15, I headed to Auburndale Speedway for a regular
weekly show. I had no idea what to expect, but I'd have to say I came away impressed.

Auburndale is a little quarter mile paved oval on the Polk County Fairgrounds. Coming from Melbourne, this meant close to a 2 hour drive as there is no direct route. I arrived at the track just after 7pm during time trials for the Mini Stocks who were the night's main event.

The concession area was clean as were the restrooms. I found myself a seat in the top row of the main grandstand. It's 25 rows high, so you have quite a view from the top row. It looked like most of the seats in the grandstand were good.

As I began watching the end of time trials, I realized they had a TON of mini stocks. I counted 34 in all. It's one of the few times in Florida I've seen such high car counts.

After time trials, out came the heat races. Two each for the street stocks, V8 Pure Stocks, and 4-cyl Pure stocks. One for the Limited Late Models. The Mini Stocks had more than enough cars for a consi. All of the classes except the Limiteds (11 cars) had good numbers.

I've been used to seeing action on high speed, half mile tracks. Auburndale's speeds weren't fast (understandably so because it's a small track), but they have plenty of in your face, door-to-door action. The racers were even pulling off three abreast moves on the backstraight. THAT is what makes good racing!

The intermission at the track seemed to drag a little bit but the features were worth it. 24 cars took the green for the street stock feature. That was followed by the Limited Late Model feature. Both races were again, action packed and the speedway didn't waste any time in between races. Next up was the 50 lap Mini Stock main event with about 30 cars taking the green. It's a good thing I had my earplugs. It sounded like a swarm of killer bees on the race track. The night finished up with 15 lap features for the 4cyl(24 cars) and V8 Pure Stocks (16 cars) with all racing done just before midnight.

On the whole, I'd give Auburndale an 8.5 out of 10. It offers tight racing on the track and the speedway seems to run a pretty tidy operation. Props to them! The only knocks I have on Auburndale was the long intermission and the distance I live from the track. If you live in the Lakeland or Orlando area, go check it out!

Next up for me, Volusia Speedway on August 22.

---John Matthews

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