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THE TRACK •..••••.•.
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11 Hey, it's flat 11 , that's the exc lama ti on you re most I ike ly to hear from someone , especially if that some-
one's a driver seeing Saugus Speedway's very flat, one-third mile paved oval for the very first time. There's
not another similar racing facility like it anywhere and and its history i"s long and colorful.
RACING PROGRAM WARM-UPS ••..••
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The firs t activity on the track is practice or hot-lapping 11 as it is known to the racing fraternity. While
not an official event it's a very important part in the makeup of a race-night at the "Super Track" . You'll
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notice that many of the cars will run a few laps then go to the pits, the garage 11 area of the speedway, re-
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turn to run more laps and they may continue this pattern for some time. They are fine tuning a 11 the com-
ponents to the track and the conditions that exist for that particular night. Some adjustments may be minor,
however, sometimes major corrections, including the changing of a complete engine will take place in this
practice· time slot, and it's a 11 very necessary in preparation for the competitive action later in the program.
QUALIFICATIONS ....•.
The formal part of almost every racing program begins with the time trials (qualifications). Each car usually
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receives two chances to race the clock 11 and the faster of the two timed laps will be the official qualifying
time. Starting positions in the heat and feature races are determined by the time recorded during these laps.
THE LINE-UP •........
All races here at Saugus are generally run from an inverted 11 start with the slowest car in the number one
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or pole 11 position and the faster qualified cars to the rear in the order of their qualifying times. Open-comp
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events such as the just-completed Saugus Spring Open and the season-ending 330 11 feature nstraight-up 11 starts
with the fastest cars in front. In inverted starts watch the faster cars work their way through the pack of slower
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cars for this is the ingredient that makes short-track 11 racing the great spectator sport that it is.
TROPHY DASH .•.....
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The trophy dash or fast car dash 11 is for the four fastest qualifiers in each division and they race for four
laps to determine a winner. In open- comp events it is usually the six fastest cars going six laps and they
start in inverted order also.
HEAT RACES .•...
The most closely competitive cars, those with similar quafifying times, are pitted against one another in
these short races of 8-laps duration. At Saugus the 24 fastest qualifiers are divided into two groups. The 13th
thru 24th qualifiers go to the line in the first heat race and the twelve fastest compete in the seconc;l heat race,
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sometimes called the fast 11 heat race. Participation in these preliminary events allows drivers and crews to
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size up the competition before the feature events and to make changes in equipment or strategy 11 •
SEMI-MAIN EVENTS •.•....
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Special consoloation 11 events for those cars not qualifying fast enough to make the 24-car starting line-up
a re ca I led semi-mains. It gives those drivers a cha nee to experience competitive driving and for many it is
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their first time in a door-handle to door-handle race. ·
MAIN EVENTS ...... .
The feature events and the longest on the night's racing program. The Street Stocks lead off with their cus-
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tomary 25-lap running gun battle", then it's those spirited Sportsman for a 30-lap show-down. When the
Modifieds aren't scheduled, the Sportsman main is a 40-lap affair.
· The Modifieds, the premier racing machines at Saugus take to the asphalt next for their 40-lap feature
event of the evening. It is a sight to behold when 24 fast, roaring Modifieds charge out of turn four and take
the starter's green flag and the beginning of forty laps of short-track racing at its best.
After the oval stockers, the Sportsman and the Modifieds have finished, then, and only then the infield is
cleared and the "wild and wooly 11 figure-eighter's take over for 15-laps of criss-cross madness. You can't
be- lieve the near-misses and the excitement created by the thirty trips through the intersection by each car.
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The manuevering and control as these expert drivers weave their way through the X will keep you on your
feet most of the time and the memories of their daring wi II remain long after tonight's action is over.
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That's what a night's racing is all about here at the Super Track", that is, unless it s the last Saturday of
the month, because on the last Saturday of each month we have a specia I added attraction. --
GI ANT DESTRUCTION DERBY ....... .
Picture, if you can, forty to eighty D / D (derby demo I iti on) cars Ii ned up awaiting the starting signa I, then
crashing and banging into each other until there's a winner, the only one still able to move under its own
power.
Well, there you have it. What Saturday night at Saugus Speedway is all about. There's really another
part to this story, that's about the fans of Saugus Speedway and we 11 save it for later. It's a I ong story, cause
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Saugus fans are the greatest ........ .
Lyn Pherigo