By Ron Green
BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Sept. 14, 2010 – Friday Night Lights!
Made popular first by a book and then later a weekly NBC series of the same name, the term “Friday Night Lights” is used to summarize the aura and atmosphere created by the weekly high school football games that take place in towns and small cities across the United States.
It’s where players become bigger than life heroes. It’s where rivalries are born. It’s hard work. It’s determination. It’s where the star gets the girl. And, it’s where dreams are made or crushed. It’s everything.
In racing, it’s Bloomington Speedway.
Generations of fans and racers have been living their “Friday Night Lights” experience from April to September at Bloomington Speedway. Grimes’ Pools and Spas sprint car driver Danny Holtsclaw, from Bloomfield, Ind., is a perfect example.
Just like a high school football player, Holtsclaw said you think about Friday night all week, but the excitement really builds on race day.
“Friday is our game day,” said Holtsclaw from his Bloomfield Farm Bureau Insurance office. “When you wake up on Friday, you’re thinking about it (that night’s race). I usually have a few hours of work to get done in the office before the fun starts.”
The next round of “Friday Night Lights” for Bloomington Speedway is this Friday night, Sept. 17 when the Midwest Sprint Car series comes to town for the track’s annual Fall Clash. In addition to Bloomington’s Grimes Pools and Spas Sprint Car regulars, some of the country’s best sprint cars drivers are expected to race for the $5,000-to-win purse.
More than 65 sprint cars filled the Bloomington Speedway pit area for the 2009 Fall Clash.
The Tire and Wheel Center UMP Super Stocks will also be racing Friday with $600 going to the winner if there are 27 or fewer cars. The winner will receive $750 if there are 28 or more Super Stocks racing that night.
Sprint car teams will also be eligible to win valuable prizes, including a DMI Bulldog XR-2 rear end valued at nearly $2,000. To be eligible for the prizes, a team must race at Bloomington Friday night and at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind., Saturday night.
Spectator gates Friday night open at 5:30 p.m.; hot laps are at 6:30 with racing beginning at 7:30. General admission is $20 for adults, and kids under 12 are always FREE general admission at Bloomington Speedway with a general admission paying adult.
For more information, go to www.bloomingtonspeedway.com or call (812) 824-7400.