Goodwin still chasing first win at Orange
Show Speedway
SAN BERNARDINO (June 12, 2007) –
It’s taken Matt Goodwin longer to turn the corner into the winner’s
circle than anyone expected when the Orange Show Speedway racing season
got under way.
Goodwin,
17, was the ASA Stock Pony class rookie of the year in 2005, when he
finished fourth in the standings. Last season, he was third, just two
points behind class runner-up Adrianne Murlin, and finished in the top
five in all but two of the 13 races. So when he won two main events
during the speedway’s Winter Series, the general feeling was that
his first regular season win was just around the corner.
The seventh race of the season will be run Saturday
(June 16), when the Stock Pony regulars will join the Hype Manufacturing
Super Late Models, ASA Pro 4s, ASA Factory Fours and Stock Cars USA,
and Goodwin’s still waiting.
“It seems like our luck hasn’t
quite come around,” said Goodwin, who will graduate from Elsinore
High School on Wednesday (June 13) and celebrate his 18th birthday June
22. “Each time it looks like we’re going to do good, something
bad happens. We just have to get over this little bad streak, I guess.
“For the most part it’s just been
racing luck. We’ve had lapped cars run into us and stuff like
that.”
Goodwin has had two seconds in his past three starts
and just one finish out of the top five in the six races on the ASA-sanctioned
quarter-mile oval. But that finish, a 10th on May 12 after he and Eddie
Secord tangled in Turn 2 on the final lap while fighting for the lead
that Goodwin held, just underscores his “racing luck” theory.
“More or less, it just drives us harder
to get those wins,” said Goodwin, who has grandfather Bob Goodwin
building his engines and father Bobby serving as his crew chief. “We’re
really going to be out to win this one.”
Spectator gates open at 5 p.m. and racing gets under
way at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (62 and
over), handicapped and Juniors (13-16) and $2 for children (6-12). Active
military personnel and veterans with valid military identification are
admitted free of charge. In addition, in June members of the California
Department of Forestry (CDF) and California Department of Corrections
(CDC) who present their badges at the ticket office may receive up to
four free tickets, courtesy of Orange Show Speedway management.
Parking is $4 per car with entry through Gate 3 off
Mill Street .
Rick Chavez, of Lakeside , has expanded his Super
Late Model class lead to 34 points after posting his second win of the
season June 2. Chavez was third in the standings in 2005 and eighth
last year, but missed the opening race in ’05 and the finale last
year after suffering a heart attack. He is the only Super Late Model
driver to have finished in the top five every race.
Secord, of Oak Hills, will be after his fifth straight
win in the Pro 4 feature and has won five of the six events to date.
But he trails Rex Lockwood and Chuck Becker II in the standings because
he was forced to miss the second race, March 31, due to mechanical problems.
Spencer Samaro has matched Chavez for consistency,
finishing third or better in all six Factory Four races, and that has
given him a 10-point lead over Tony Dumont, who has three wins, but
was hurt by a ninth-place finish on April 21.
Mark Whitson of Riverside has used three wins to
take the lead in the Stock Cars USA series. The interesting battle in
that class, however, is between Jimmy Rouse Jr. and step-mom Michele
Rouse, who are tied for second, eight points behind Whitson, after finishing
one-two, respectively, in the most recent race May 19.
Racing at Orange Show Speedway is sponsored by Lucas
Oil, Blackhawk Protection, Hype Manufacturing, Del Taco, Star Auto Parts,
KTTD radio (AM 1350), Leno’s Rico Taco, Soboba Casino, Budweiser,
Hoosier Racing Tires, Frank’s Radio Service, Torco Racing Fuels,
Parker Pumper/BSR West, Eibach Springs, JP Striping, Center Chevrolet,
Pepsi, Matich Coporation, L. Curti Truck and Equipment, One Stop Landscape
Supply, Extreme Exhibits & Logistics, Little Green Onions and the
San Bernardino County Sun.
For further information, contact Jim Short
at 951-203-2649 or jimshort65@sbcglobal.net, call Orange Show Speedway
at 909-888-6788, X438, or visit the web site at www.nosevents.com.
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