Charity Event Update

On February 13th, 2012, Irwindale Speedway LLC, the management group that runs the track located in Southern California, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. That same day, track management canceled the 2012 racing season. Apparently, poor attendance and participation at races and dwindling sponsors was the cause of the bankruptcy filing (Toyota bought the naming rights to the track back in 2008 but decided not to continue as the title sponsor at the end of the 2011 season). For a short time, the fate of the 32nd Annual Truckin’ for Kids Show & Drags, a trucking charity event that has been held at the speedway for the last five years, was in jeopardy. Upon hearing the news, Race Director Frank Pangburn quickly got the owners of the property, Nu-Way Industries Inc. in Arcadia, California, on the phone and worked out a new date for the event – October 6-7, 2012. Talking to Frank on the phone, he assured us that this year’s event would be “business as usual” (including the truck drag racing). The only uncertainty was whether or not there would be circle track racing on Saturday night, but other than that, the event will continue as it has for the last 31 years. Over the years, Truckin’ for Kids events have raised almost $600,000 for various charities – for the last few years, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has been their main beneficiary. So, be sure to update your calendars to this new date (October 6-7) and then be on the lookout for ads promoting the event in upcoming editions of 10-4 Magazine. For more information, you can also visit www.truckinforkids.org or call Frank Pangburn directly at (208) 448-2811. Frank is always looking for new sponsors and vendors, so if you or your company is interested, please give him a call. Hopefully, the track owners can find a new promoter to get the racing back as soon as possible, as Irwindale Speedway has brought some tremendous racing to fans in Southern California for many years.