Practice Is Anything but Perfect

Drivers were not pleased with the condition of the one-mile street course in Exposition Park during a practice session Friday for the fourth annual Ford Los Angeles Street Race, scheduled for Sunday.

Sean Woodside of Saugus parked his NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour car after only nine laps, settling for 36th fastest time out of 40 cars because he thought the track was too slick.

“There was no reason to abuse the car,” said car owner Bob Farmer of Palmdale. “We made some adjustments, and we have some new parts coming in.”

Farmer explained that in previous years, the supporting classes would practice before the Southwest Tour cars, laying down a layer of rubber which helped the stock cars grip the cement track.

According to Nick Joanides of Woodland Hills, a Southwest Tour driver, the streets were patched with asphalt since the race last year, and some of the asphalt was dislodged by the cars.

“It’s a one-line deal through here,” Joanides said. “You have to cut it close to the wall, or otherwise it’s like being on marbles and the car won’t turn. There was loose gravel on the outside of the groove in turn two, and it was like driving on sand.”

Dan Luckow of Tarzana, who is racing a Shelby Ford Mustang GT-350 in the Cobra Cup class, was angry about the conditions.

“It was absolutely the worst track I’ve been on,” was Luckow’s first repeatable comment after he stepped out of his dented car. “If I didn’t have a bunch of friends coming, I would consider just packing up and going home. But it’s still a fun track.”

Charles Solomon Jr. of Beverly Hills, Luckow’s teammate in the Cobra Cup who is planning to drive an Ultra Wheels Spec Truck and a Southwest Tour car in the street race, described the track as “tricky, but fun.”

“On one part, it’s greasy, and you have to be soft on the throttle,” Solomon said. “Then you get on the back straightaway and it starts gripping.”

Solomon said poor track conditions are part of racing.

“No matter what track you go to, you have to adjust to driving conditions,” Solomon said. “If you don’t adjust your driving style to the track, somebody else will, and they will win.”

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Frank Maronski Jr. of Quartz Hill evidently found a setup that worked for his Southwest Tour car.

He posted the fourth fastest lap in practice on his 19th of 22 laps, clocking 55.43 seconds.

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Mike Bright of Boring, Ore., flipped his Southwest Tour car during practice, causing a 15-minute stoppage.

Bright was uninjured and expects to have the car repaired in time for the European-style qualifying session from 1-3 p.m. today.