General
Irwindale host local electric racers
Irwindale, Calif. - - Irwindale Speedway's ½-mile oval will be busy on Saturday, January 13. No, the official racing season doesn't open until March 10 with an ASA 300-miler but there'll be plenty of competition as students of the 12 high ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Irwindale, Calif. - - Irwindale Speedway's ½-mile oval will be busy on Saturday, January 13. No, the official racing season doesn't open until March 10 with an ASA 300-miler but there'll be plenty of competition as students of the 12 high schools of the ISAAQ (Innovative Schools Advancing Air Quality) converge for a special practice session at the Speedway.
Over one hundred young pre-engineering students from Alhambra, Bell Gardens, Canyon, Centennial, Diamond Bar, Lakewood, South El Monte, Los Altos, Redondo Shores, and Schurr High Schools will be assembling at Irwindale Speedway to test their innovative designs for solar-powered bicycles and electric-powered mini-racers all in the quest to build the non-polluting "ZEV" (Zero Emissions Vehicle) of the (near) future.
Co-sponsored by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, more than 20 student-built and driven vehicles will race both for speed and endurance. "Last year one of the teams came close to setting a World's Record here at Irwindale, and we think that we can break it if everything goes right on Saturday," Franz remarked.
"Being able to practice and compete at a nationally-known and respected motorsport facility like Irwindale Speedway adds greatly to the impact of this program," said Bob Franz, a science teacher at Los Altos High and one of the organizers of the event. "Last year the students didn't know what to expect, this year the buzz is all about competing on the same track that so many famous racing drivers have run on. The beautiful, wide, ½-mile oval at Irwindale is a far cry from a bumpy shopping center parking lot, and the paved pits are perfect for us with plenty of electrical outlets for tools and battery chargers."
"Last year's ZEV 2000" event at Irwindale was a great success, we expect this year's edition (to be scheduled in April on a date as yet to be determined) to draw even more interested students and teachers," Franz added. "Making the facility available at no cost to these young students is a most commendable community activity, the Speedway management has gone out of its way to be accommodating to this grassroots event."
Speedway Vice President and CEO, Bob DeFazio sees the use as a good investment in the future. "We really enjoy having this event at Irwindale, it not only brings a lot of recognition to the track but to our city as well, Irwindale is a very proud city and this kind of area-wide high school involvement is something that the civic leaders see as very beneficial to our community image, as do we."
When word of Irwindale's proposed 1/8-mile Street Legal Dragstrip got to the ISAAQ there was immediate interest in producing electrically-powered machines to compete on that facility. "Irwindale Speedway has, you'll pardon the pun, really 'Sparked' tremendous interest in these students," Franz concluded. They see themselves in a more professional light, they take more pride in what they are doing knowing that they are taken seriously by professional operations like the Speedway."
The practice event will not be open to the general public, however interested parties will be allowed access to the Pits and Pit Grandstands at Irwindale Speedway on Saturday via the Pit Gates at the western end of the facility.
Irwindale Speedway will kick off its 2001 season early with the first-ever West Coast American Speed Association (ASA) Stock Car race on March 10. From there on its full speed ahead with 38 nights (all Saturdays but for the last one) of action-packed family-friendly short track racing. The Speedway is located on Live Oak Avenue just west of the 605 Freeway in Irwindale, California.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article ASTC: Owen kelly extends race program
Next article 750,000 Euros in purses for start money for 2001 season
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
Latest news
Colton Herta “maybe underestimated the difference” from IndyCar – F2 boss
FIA F2
F2 FIA F2 2 h
Colton Herta “maybe underestimated the difference” from IndyCar – F2 boss
WEC Barcelona: Genesis secures maiden series pole from Toyota
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
4 h
WEC Barcelona: Genesis secures maiden series pole from Toyota
Five-time IndyCar champion, first-time Indy NXT driver: Alex Palou tops IMS road course test
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 4 h
Five-time IndyCar champion, first-time Indy NXT driver: Alex Palou tops IMS road course test
Gabriel Bortoleto on Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar's F1 success: 'Let's see where we are in 20 years'
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
5 h
Gabriel Bortoleto on Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar's F1 success: 'Let's see where we are in 20 years'
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 Can-Am drivers
General
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 Can-Am drivers
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe