It's finally Christmas time!!! Ok, I'm just kidding, but close enough. It's time for the State Championship Race at East Alabama Motor Speedway! Who doesn't look forward to this time of the year?! The biggest and best of race cars and drivers come from all over the country to try their hand at claiming a fat paycheck and a monster 6 foot tall trophy. Fans from everywhere will converge onto the town of Phenix City, Alabama with motorhomes, grills, and fourwheelers. Some of us will get hotels in town or nearby in Columbus but we all come with a sense of anticipation at what the weekend will bring for us. This will not be like just any Saturday night racing. This is a deeper, harder, blood, sweat and tears sort of thing. These drivers have been getting their cars ready for months in advance and fans have made plans for days off and hotel reservations well ahead of time. Well, most anyways. I am a slacker in the motel room reservation department as I write this.
Thursday will be the official start of what I like to call State Race heaven. Gates will be open at 12pm and I know a few drivers and fans that will be there as it opens just so they can get that spot they've hoped to get because all of us who have been before know, spots fill up quick from the enormous amount of drivers and fans that come. At 7pm they will kick off with the first official practice of the weekend and then it's on from there! Drivers will be looking to get that one thing right that they weren't going to be able to fix until they hit the track. Tire pressure, shocks, springs, stagger, all will be changed and changed again. Friday will be day 2 of State heaven with gates opening at noon and the second practice at 7pm and heat races in the KMSA mini stocks and cruisers. This is what will give drivers ample time to try to get things right on their cars.
Saturday, you better get there early to start your day, with gates opening at 8 in the morning and practice starting at 10am it'll be whole day's worth of racing and I mean to tell you it's worth every single penny you spend on tickets. Time trials for Late Model Sportsman and Crates, heat races in Bomber and Hobby, and at 6:30pm Southern All Stars begin practice, time trials, B Mains, and a 40 lap feature. Heat races in Superstreet and last chance races and features in mini stock and cruisers. For those of you who have never went, what can you see during this weekend? Well,...
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It's AMAZING! Sunday will sadly bring the last day of the weekend. Gates open at 9am and last chance races begin at 10am with features following at noon Eastern Time. Sunday is like Christmas Day to me. You anticipate this day for what seems like an eternity and then you open your presents in all swarms of excitement and then you slowly come down when you realize it's all over with. Unlike Christmas, when you're left with a hand knitted sweater from Grandma with a reindeer on the front that has you scratching your head, at least Alabama will leave you with the greatest of memories of the best racing you'll see and something you can tell your kids about, unlike that sweater. Speaking of family, the Thomas family has been working unbelievably hard at getting this track ready and prepared for this weekend. We can call them the Santa family because they give us the best gift of the year, a beautiful track and one of the best races EVER! So, what can you expect this weekend? The best racing you'll ever see, the most fan friendly atmosphere around, and if you're a driver maybe you can expect to be here......
See you in Alabama!!!
