Big crowd prompts extension of $5 ticket offer
Published 12:42 am Saturday, November 29, 2008
HAMPTON — Buoyed by an enthusiastic response to last Saturday’s $5 ticket promotion, which yielded the season’s largest crowd, the “Race Fan Bailout” continues this Saturday when Arena Racing USA’s Hampton Roads series returns to action at the Hampton Coliseum.
Saturday’s lineup includes A, B and C Mains — 50 laps apiece. The top six finishers from the A Main and the top four finishers from the B and C Mains advance to the 50-lap Top Dog feature, the evening’s featured event.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and racing starts at 7. Drivers will be available to meet and greet fans before and after the program.
Like last week, all adult and children’s tickets for this Saturday’s program are just $5 (plus applicable fees). Kids under 3 are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Tickets are available at the Coliseum Box Office, TicketMaster locations and online at ticketmaster.com.
Defending series champion and Suffolk resident Scott Prillaman endured a rough outing last Saturday and has slipped from first to third in the current points rundown.
His travails began in time trials, usually a strong suit for Prillaman and his No. 98 machine. He was 14th-fastest among 36 drivers and landed in the B Main. Prillaman’s qualifying time — 8.370 seconds — was 0.191-second slower than the one posted by the pacesetter, Driver’s Adam Florian.
Prillaman drew the seventh starting spot for the B Main and emerged from the race-opening shuffle in fifth. On lap 7, however, he tangled with Pete Hunt in Turn 2 and was relegated to the rear of the field for the restart.
Still hopeful of nabbing a top-four finish and advancing to the Top Dog race, Prillaman, instead, was ensnared in a multi-car mess on lap 38. The incident sidelined the champ for the evening. He was 10th in the finishing order and was left out of the evening’s grand finale for the first time since joining the series on a full-time basis in January 2007.
Both Florian and Jordan Wood were able to capitalize on Prillaman’s misfortune, taking over first and second in the standings. Florian, a three-time Top Dog winner, now holds a one-point edge over two-time A Main winner Wood, 150-149. Prillaman is third with 140 points.
Derek Miller is fourth, nipping at Prillaman’s heels with 138 points. Charlie Green (133), Patrick Morgan (132), Jason Styron (128) and Greg Pass (124) occupy the fifth through eighth spots. At the end of the 15-race schedule, officials will drop each driver’s two worst finishes (and/or missed events) to arrive at the final points rundown for the 2008-09 season.
Arena Racing USA action continues at the Hampton Coliseum next Saturday, Dec. 6. Doors open at 6 p.m. and racing begins at 7.
The program shifts to Sunday afternoon on Dec. 14, the last event before the holiday break. On the 14th, doors open at 3 p.m. and racing gets underway at 4.