He Hopes to Come Back Like a Lyon at Irwindale

Bob Lyon of Agua Dulce believes he holds the keys to victory lane at Irwindale Speedway when the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series makes the second of three stops at the new San Gabriel Valley one-half-mile paved oval for the Food 4 Less 100 Saturday night.

In the Irwindale 100 on May 15, the 37-year-old Lyon spun out early then fought steering problems while working his way from 30th place to finish 14th in the 100-lap race.

Greg Pursley of Newhall went wire to wire for the victory, beating Keith Spangler of Chatsworth by 19-thousandths of a second--closest finish in the tour’s 13-year history.

“Our goal is to slow down less than everybody else,” said Lyon, who has competed as a driver and car owner in Featherlite races since 1987, when the series was in its second year. “A lot of people don’t realize the cars slow down during a race, because the tires wear down and the engine heats up and the track conditions change. It may look like a guy is getting faster toward the end of a race when he extends his lead, but the lap times are actually slower.

“If I could consistently lose no more than two-tenths of a second, I’d win every Featherlite race there is.”

Lyon has made changes to the front of his No. 44 Pontiac Grand Prix since the Irwindale 100, and is eager to see how the changes pan out.

He also has a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which will serve as a backup car.

“We know what to do with the setup this time,” Lyon said. “The track will be a little different, between the change in seasons and all of the local shows they’ve had there since [May], but most of the stuff should remain constant.”

Lyon started his career driving in the Sportsman class at Saugus Speedway in 1981. He switched to a Modified in 1985, and began traveling to different tracks on the West Coast the following year.

He caught the racing bug when he grew up 15 minutes from Saugus Speedway. In 1979, during his junior year at Canyon High, Lyon joined Gary Baker’s pit crew.

Lyon is still a fan who attends races at Irwindale with his 6-year-old son when the Featherlite Series has an off week, and is occasionally accompanied by his 7-year-old daughter and his wife, Allison.

Lyon looks at the Los Angeles Street Race scheduled for Labor Day in Exhibition Park as another opportunity to generate fan interest.

“Bringing the race to downtown is such a great idea, because it can bring the race to people who have never seen [one],” Lyon said. “People can get involved from that, first as a fan, then maybe as a participant.”

In the early laps of the race last year, Lyon ran neck and neck with Winston Cup star Mark Martin, but the rear end in Lyon’s car gave out.

Although Lyon watches Winston Cup races on television, he doesn’t plan to attend another one unless he’s in the driver’s seat.

“It’s very tough to go to a Winston Cup race as a fan when you are used to being a competitor,” Lyon said.

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Irwindale Speedway had a record 121 competitors on Saturday, although the new Super Saturday schedule will not begin until Aug. 7.

The previous best was 113 racers April 2, on the first night of NASCAR competition.

Attendance figures for last weekend reveal why Irwindale chose to abandon Friday night racing midway through its inaugural season. The Friday program drew 2,195, while 4,860 showed Saturday.

Friday traffic jams make it difficult for fans, drivers and crews to get to the track.

Ventura Raceway gave up on Friday racing in 1995 for the same reason.

Doug Stokes, director of communications at Irwindale, said he saw four drivers helping each other unload race cars from trailers Friday because crew members had not arrived.

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Cory Kruseman of Ventura, who races on the sprint car circuit, might finally get some overdue national recognition after his performance in the six-race Indiana Sprint Week series.

Kruseman trails Tony Elliott, 270-233, in the Sprint Week points standings heading into the series finale tonight at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

He was 14th in the opening event July 21 at Terre Haute, Ind., failed to advance to the main event Thursday at Lawrenceburg, Ind., but has been on a tear since.

Kruseman went wire to wire Friday at Bloomington, Ind., in a 30-lap race, finished third behind Dave Darland and SCRA rival J.J. Yeley on Saturday at Putnamville, Ind., and won again Sunday at Kokomo, Ind.

ESPN2 will televise the race tonight at 6.