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Perris Auto Speedway
18700 Lake Perris Drive
Perris, CA 92571
(951) 940-0134
http://perrisautospeedway.com/
For further information, contact Scott Daloisio (909) 226-7768 or mailto:[email protected]
For Immediate Release
WEST COAST SPRINT CARS #1 SUPPORTER “BIG MIKE” GROSSWENDT!
(Perris, CA, November 7, 2017) One could use a lot of words when describing what “Big Mike” Grosswendt is in the sprint car world. He could be described as a supporter or a fan. Others could be sponsor, photographer or writer. He is indeed all of those, but perhaps the best description could be “sprint car lover.” Grosswendt’s company, All Coast Construction, is the presenting sponsor of this week’s 22nd Annual Budweiser Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway.
Grosswendt was not born into a racing family and thus he is not a lifelong fan. In fact, he only saw his first sprint car race a decade ago. Before that, he had no interest in racing or cars and had never even changed his own oil. However, he had been surfing at C Street in Ventura for years and he heard the cars racing at the Ventura Raceway. An employee first dragged him to the races and he was not that impressed. Then his brother “dragged” him up there and he saw Chris Wakim win a main event from the back and he has been hooked since.
Grosswendt’s early pilgrimages to races were at the 360 sprint car races at Ventura. Somehow, he eventually made the trek from his home north of Los Angeles to Perris Auto Speedway and he was hooked even deeper.
“I have no idea,” Grosswendt laughed when queried as to what fueled his passion for 410 sprint car racing. “I started watching 360’s one night at Ventura and I was hooked. I started coming down to Perris to check it out. To me, Perris with the 410 version of sprint car racing, is just the “Cadillac” version of sprint car racing. I just love it to death. I fell in love with the sound, the smell and the people. The amount of teamwork that goes into what appears to be a single participant sport is amazing. It is not a single participant sport. It is a team sport. Seeing how a car is set up affects its performance and it takes a whole team to get it right. It is not just the driver.”
A humble and relatively quiet person, talk of sprint car racing brings an excitement and seems to be pure joy for Grosswendt. And, talk of the Oval Nationals reveals his love affair with not only the sport, but for one of its biggest races.
“If you are into 410 sprint car racing on the West Coast, the Oval Nationals has a long history and it is a prestigious race,” Grosswendt said with a smile while attending the October 21st race at The PAS. “The Oval Nationals is a hard race to win and luck has a lot to do with it. The thing I like about the three-night format is you can have bad luck one night and you are not out. There is a lot of pressure and they (the drivers) can have an off night and still get to the front of the main. A lot of the guys have told me how important that is.”
One of the many people who Grosswendt has impressed during his association with the sport is long time Perris Auto Speedway promoter Don Kazarian. Kazarian has been involved with racing and mostly sprint cars since he was a youngster. He has seen a lot of people involved in the sport since day one, but he has seen few like Grosswendt.
“A lot of people are very passionate about sprint car racing, but I do not think there is anyone more passionate than “Big Mike,” Kazarian said. “You can feel it when you talk to him. He has such a desire to help the sport and support the racers. He always comes up with ideas on how we can better the sport. As far as the Oval Nationals are concerned, he came aboard with his company All Coast Construction a few years ago and injected a lot of extra enthusiasm into the event. It makes a huge difference. It is big things like adding to the purse, little things like making swag bags for the media and lot of other stuff in between. He is an amazing man and a tremendous asset to the sport. On top of everything else, he is a super nice person.”
The Oval Nationals, which pays $25,000.00 to win on the final night, is three nights of full points paying races for the USAC/CRA and USAC National Sprint Car Series. Each night will include qualifying, heat races and main events. Advance tickets for the most prestigious non-wing sprint car race in the nation are available at the following link: http://pas.tix.com/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=7 or by calling 1-800-595-4849.
As well as the USAC portion of the show, Saturday’s program also includes a special invitational debut of the Yamaha R1 DT race car. Drivers from several different racing disciplines including Natalie Decker, Cory Kruseman, Sammy Halbert, Donnie Moran, Josh Hays, C.J. Greaves, Kenshiro Gushi, Dustin Nelson and others, will be involved in the historic race.
In addition to the three nights of racing, there will be a practice session for Oval Nationals entered cars on Wednesday, November 8th. The practice will be free for fans in the grandstands and there will be $2.00 pizza, soda and beer. The practice will commence at 5:00 P.M.
Past Oval Nationals Champions
1996 Jimmy Sills
1997 Rip Williams
1998 Rodney Argo
1999 Rickie Gaunt
2000 Tony Jones
2001 Bud Kaeding
2002 Bud Kaeding
2003 Cory Kruseman
2004 Cory Kruseman
2005 Dave Darland
2006 Dave Darland
2007 Bud Kaeding
2008 Jesse Hockett
2009 Damion Gardner
2010 Chris Windom
2011 Damion Gardner
2012 Mike Spencer
2013 Dave Darland
2014 Robert Ballou
2015 Bryan Clauson
2016 Damion Gardner
Perris Auto Speedway wants to thank its corporate partners for the 2017 season. All Coast Construction, Amsoil, Ayers Hotel and Spa, Brass and Bass Firearms & Fishing Supplies, Budweiser, Bud’s Tire Pro, Center Point Church, Champion Towing, City of Perris, Country Values Magazine, Daytona Boat & RV Storage, Ed Moore Bullet Proof Driveshaft, Edelbrock, Flowdynamics, Full Throttle Scissor Lift Rental, Green Sheet, Harley’s Custom Cycles, HD Industries, Hoosier Tires, Indiana Truck Salvage, K&N Engineering, Living Water’s Hospice, Luke’s Transmission, Moreno Valley Magazine of Values, Paul Oil Company, Pepsi-Cola, Pick-A-Part Auto Salvage, Pole Position, Precision Engine of Murrieta, PrintItNow.com, Scott Sales, Shaver Specialties, Square H, Sunstate Equipment, Swedish Speed, Original Tommy’s Burgers, Trench Shoring, Valley News, Vista Paint and Weedmaps.
To keep up with all the latest Perris Auto Speedway news, photos, gossip and receive special offers, please use the following links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Perris-Auto-Speedway/113876798686480?ref=hl
Twitter: Perris Auto Speedway on Twitter.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perrisautospeedway/
Website: http://perrisautospeedway.com/
Video and DVD productions of open wheel racing events at Perris Auto Speedway are available from Loudpedal Productions. For more information on these productions you can contact them by calling (805) 844-3854, E-mailing mailto:[email protected] or you can visit the website LoudPedal Productions
Perris Auto Speedway is located on the Lake Perris Fairgrounds (home of October’s Southern California Fair), approximately one-hour east of Los Angeles and one-hour North of San Diego. To get to the track, take the 215 freeway, exit on the Ramona Expressway and go three miles east to the fairgrounds.
[email protected] is the only authorized Internet address to issue official media news released from The Perris Auto Speedway or Oval Entertainment.
2016-2017 PERRIS AUTO SPEEDWAY SCHEDULE
November 8th Oval Nationals Practice
November 9th Budweiser Oval Nationals “Presented by All Coast Construction"
November 10th Budweiser Oval Nationals “Presented by All Coast Construction"
November 11th Budweiser Oval Nationals “Presented by All Coast Construction"
NOTE; THIS SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
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