A LONG BUMPY ROAD AT ROSEVILLE COMES TO AN END

7/22/2010

The unsightly white bumps that were installed in turn three of All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif. in April of last year are finally being removed, the track has confirmed to RACELINE.

All American Speedway has seen many changes throughout its 55 year history at the Placer County Fairgrounds outside Sacramento.  From going to pavement in 1972 and becoming a NASCAR sanctioned track in the 80s and early 90s.

In 2005 the track was widened and given new asphalt, which produced great racing and allowed Late Models to run on a regular basis.

But in 2007, with the funding and help of team owner / former track champion Bill McAnally and Late Model racer John Moore, the track was completely rebuilt and modernized.  Turns three and four were moved 150 feet to lengthen the straightaways and the backstretch was widened to make it one of the widest in motorsports.

After several successful seasons on the new layout, everything changed in 2010.  Jason Romero won three of the first four Late Model races, primarily using a strong passing attack on the low side of turn three.

With some of the credit going to fairboard president John Moore, who was second in the Late Model points, the track installed a series of white bumps in turn three to force cars to run a higher line into the corner.

These bumps have been the cause of several accidents including most recently when Bobby Grewohl and Bobby Butler notably tangled battling for the lead.

The bumps have also prevented drivers from getting side-by-side entering the corner, hence making passing at the historic venue nearly impossible.  Not only were the bumps preventing passing, but they are ugly as well.

The removal of the bumps is expected by either today’s testing or next weekend’s races.  It has come with unanimous approval from the competitors at the speedway.

18 year-old points leader Matt Scott says he used the bumps to help rotate his car through the corner, and that he expects a few more “dive bomb moves” into the turn.

19 year-old Jonathan Mawhinney has been a witness to the tweaking of turn three in Roseville, having raced the Late Model for three years.

“I think removing the bumps from the track will be the best outcome,” Mawhinney, who is second in the points, said.  “It will keep people from having to bump-to-pass coming out of turn four.  The best racing was when they were gone.”

But one aspect of changing the race track is that the fairgrounds is doing it midseason.  For some teams, this could be viewed as a financial burden for changing setups and also adding to the possibility of crashes.

One team that spoke to this was Thomas Motorsports with driver Tyler Thomas.  Tyler is a 17 year-old driver in the Late Model division.

“Right now, alot of the drivers hate going into three side-by-side.  There is simply not enough room and racing is tight,” said team owner and father Joe Thomas.  “The downside is that I would not make any changes to the track during the mid-point of the racing season.  Changes now would only lead to more damage to cars and points runs.”

The concern of increased crashes was echoed throughout the garage.

“I think there is the chance for more crashes so I have mixed feelings about it,” said Scott.

Today is expected to be a busy testing day at the speedway, bumps removed or not, as teams prepare for the home-stretch of the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

Saturday’s action is slated to include a 50 lap Late Model feature, plus Modifieds, Street Stocks, and Bombers.  The event is the 13^th points race of 2010.

For more information including ticket information and directions, visit www.allamericanspeedway.com

We will be live from All American Speedway both Friday and Saturday with more reactions to the track changes and with coverage of both testing and the races.