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| Big Improvements being made at Orlando SpeedWorld, Entries pouring in for 2005 Winternationals | by Dave Westerman
It may be the Holiday season right now, but you would never know it if you were around Orlando Speedworld where work is under way to make many improvements to the 30 year old facility.
Three major projects are under way. First is a complete new drainage system that will eliminate the "bleeding" that takes place during the rainy season. When the area around the track becomes saturated from summer rains, the only place for the water to go has been to bleed through cracks in the racing surface and from between the walls and the track. The new drains are designed to allow this water to flow into nearby retention ponds and ditches rather than up to the surface.
The "ancient" public address system has been completely re-done with new wiring and speakers installed along the front grandstand area. The pit grandstands will also have a re-worked set of speakers as well.
Over 100 loads of a dirt/mulch mixture have been delivered to the speedway and will be used to increase the current size of the pit area. This work should be done by the first event of 2005 on Saturday, January 22nd. That event will be a big Enduro race and if it draws the number of cars the Enduro did earlier this month at New Smyrna Speedway, it should be quite a show.
Along with the Enduro race, the RE/MAX Legends Cars and Bandeleros have been added to the card to make it quite an evening of racing.
Entries are coming in quickly for the upcoming Winternationals in February. The Winternationals will consist of two weeks of racing this year. The Mod Lite/Open Wheel Lite, Pro Challenge and FMCRA Mini Cup cars invade the track from February 9-12. Then from February 14-19, it's the INEX 600 Racing RE/MAX Legends Cars, Bandeleros, Thunder Roadsters, Baby Grands, BM Modifieds, and
MMRA Mini Cup cars.
As of December 20, 43 INEX RE/MAX Legends cars from 13 states plus New Brunswick and Ontario, Canada have officially entered and well over 100 of the popular machines are expected by the time the event rolls around on Valentine's day.
INEX RE/MAX LEGENDS CAR ENTRIES (as of 12/20/04):
Kory Abbott, Apopka, FL
Chris Baluch, Loxahatchee, FL
Gary Bursey, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Bobby Byars, Palm Bay, FL
Alec Carll, Grand Rapids, MI
Jay Carll, Grand Rapids, MI
G.E. Chapman, Concord, NC
Tom Clarke, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Darin Coker, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Jeremy Colangelo, Longwood, FL
Jeff Deggeller, Palm City, FL
Kyle Dombeck, Palm Bay, FL
Ronnie Dunstan, Harleysville, PA
C.E. Falk, Virginia Beach, VA
Kenny Forth, Lynden, Ontario, Canada
James Fowlkes, McEwen, TN
Larry Friddle, Greenville, SC
Craig Goess, Greenville, NC
Jimmy Greene, Elm City, NC
Craig Haack, Lewisburg, TN
Tom Hutson, Wilmington, NC
Frank Johnston, Kemptville, Ontario, Canada
Tommy Jordan, Hartsville, SC
Richard Losh, Joppa, MD
Ricky Losh, Joppa, MD
Steven Meador, Hixon, TN
Ryan Meldrum, Lavonia, MI
John Memmer, Evansville, IN
Bob Merino, Plano, TX
Carlos "Mercury" Moore, Kannapolis, NC
Jeffery Paul, Ledyard, CT
Jason Rochelle, Harleysville, PA
Paddy Rodenbeck, Odessa, FL
Addison Rogers, Winchester, VA
Allen Rogers, Winchester, VA
Tom Sherman, Farmingdale, NY
Ben Stancill, Ayden, NC
Brandon Temple, Emporia, VA
Brandon Thomson, St. Cloud, FL
Herve Thibodeau, Sr., Saco MN
Herve Thibodeau, Jr., Saco MN
Bob "Wild Willie" Wilson, Beverly Hills, FL
Derrick Wood, Orlando, FL
BANDELERO ENTRIES (as of 12/20/04):
Jeffery Black, Merritt Island, FL
Marci Bristol, Sharpsburg, GA
Kara Clarke, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Marcel Rust, Port St. Lucie, FL
Ryan Rust, Port St. Lucie, FL
Gerald White, Jr., Lakeland, FL
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