MUSTANG (Oct. 17) — Practice and qualifying made for an action packed Friday at the Wild West Motorsports Park east of Sparks. With the last round of the Nitto Ultra4 National Championship being run Saturday time was of the essence for those drivers looking to either clinch a championship or improve their points position.
Practice was done using the long course, which includes a very long, steep climb up a new section of the track. Qualifying was on the short track that omitted the big new hill section.
And challenging, no matter which course is used, would be an understatement to describe each circuit
One new addition to the course is a rock section in front of the grandstands and just before the start/finish line.
The biggest obstacle facing Ultra 4 drivers will be the long rock face they must climb. Getting air but not rolling over will be a challenge.
No matter which course is used drivers will face a short downhill rock section that can cause them plenty of problems.
One driving team came to grief in the short, rocky downhill section. Officials then righted the car so it could clear the track.
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The Ski Jump and Lucas Oil Turn 2 are still part of the track and Lucas Oil Turn 3 is part of the short track.Those going up the big hill will then come barreling down a wash that offer drivers a chance to hopefully make a pass before they reach the infield.
Once at the bottom there is a short, rocky downhill section to negotiate then the long, challenging rock face uphill that brought a few drivers to grief as they couldn’t complete the climb. Then drivers roar down the hill and go over a new rock section located right in front of the grandstands.
Right after that is the finish line so a tight race could get very interesting in that last rock section.
Racing begins early on Saturday, around 8 a.m., with several preliminary races and the first main starts around noon. The afternoon is full of main events ending with the 25-car 4400 main beginning at 5 p.m.
So far the event is doing well and pre event ticket sales have eclipsed what the Lucas Oil event did. It might even be a sell out for this first ever event of this type.
If it’s action you want then the Wild West Motorsports Park is the place to be this Saturday. And it promises to be one wild day of crazy, intense racing.
