Page 6
Derby
FROM PAGE 5
Championship class also are planned for
Thursday.
After a full day of qualification racing
Friday in both Oval and Sno-Cross, fans
will pack the AMSOIL Derby Track
grounds Friday night for the most progressive and most popular event — the Friday
Night Thunder show.
In what Decker calls “indisputably” the
best show in snowmobile racing, the
under-the-lights show features races in
Sno-Cross and Oval classes. Past events
have rocked the city with blasting rock ‘n’
roll music and an enormous fireworks display.
Because of the popularity of vintage
racing, the Friday night show also will feature three class finals in the Vintage SnoPro Series.
Returning, by popular demand, is the
Sweet Sixteen event where the top World
Championship qualifiers go head-to-head
under the lights to determine who will sit
the pole in Sunday’s championship race.
“We’re going to take the top 16 qualifiers, run two heat races with eight machines in each, and pull five racers from
each heat for the final,” said Decker. “The
winner is automatically qualified in the
Top 10 and will sit the pole position. The
winner won’t have to gruel it out in qualifications Saturday afternoon.”
Decker said the under-the-lights show
is “one of the innovative events that has
made the Derby the Indy 500 of snowmobile racing.”
Saturday will bring both class finals
and qualifying in the morning, with the
entire afternoon dedicated to qualifying
the Top 10 finalists for Sunday’s 3 p.m.
World Championship event.
Sunday, championship day, means finals in the most competitive classes. The
biggest races will be a Pro Open Sno-Cross
championship at 2:30 p.m. and the Oval
championship at 3 p.m.
“The title race with Champ 440 sleds is,
Action Tracks, Winter 2013-’14
by all measures, the single-most important snowmobile race of the year,” said
Decker.
Besides drawing the world’s best Oval
racers for a cash and prize purse that exceeds $100,000, Decker said the Derby attracts professional and amateur SnoCross racers for the high-flying, sharp-cornering thrills of what some call “motocross
on sleds.”
Hot seats, admission
The viewing stand accommodates VIPs,
manufacturers and race fans. It is in addition to the 17 indoor suites that have been
built since 1993.
Trackside motor-home parking is one of
the most comfortable ways to watch races
at the track. There are 35 parking spots
positioned between corners three and four.
Electricity and closed-circuit tele