Superspeeday Restrictor Plate Racing... UK Style

In the USA they have NASCAR.

In the UK we now only have Pickup Truck Racing. 

Thanks to a friend I went to Rockingham Motor Speedway at the weekend to watch the first two oval races of the 2010 LINE-X Pickup Racing Championship.

Due to the financial situation in the UK grid numbers are not quite what everybody involved wishes they were, but regardless of this the trucks still put on one-hell-of-a-show!

The top 10 trucks were nose to tail drafting at speeds around the 130mph mark, on Rockinghams 1.5 mile oval, for the entire 35 lap race. The racing is and has always been a high speed game of chess; this is restrictor plate racing in the UK.

I have always said there are three parts to a truck race at Rockingham. The first 15 laps are a bit of fun, the middle 10 laps are a game of chess, and the last 10 are down to business. Even with fewer trucks this is still the case. The drivers draft single file, 2 or 3 wide for a bit, sussing each other out, having some fun, seeing what the opposition has got. In the middle the good guys get themselves into line and work their way into a spot they feel they can race from at the end. The last 10 laps are a waiting game, waiting for someone to pull the pin and make a move.

Put it this way, at the end of the first race the top 6 were separated by just over half a second, were 2 by 2 across the line, with Phil White holding off the fast approaching, bump draft aided, and sideways, Steve Dance by just 0.021 of a second. Race two was more of the same with White winning by 0.041 of a second. Another dull Truck race then!!

If anybody behind the scenes ever wonders if the long hours required to make the series happen are worth it, those two finishes proved that there is life in it yet!!

The trucks make for seriously great entertainment, unlike the other races that day. Now there is nothing wrong with club motorsport, organised and run for the people in the cars, maximum track time, maximum racing; good old fashioned club racing. The pity for the Trucks is that they are this and so much more. Pickup Truck Racing has always been about putting on the best show possible for the fans, but without the support of a show biased package to race with fans are not going to sit for up to 3 hours between races in the wind and the cold.

The Trucks need to race with series that have decent numbers of cars on the grid and produce good racing. Put a package together with the Legends, MX5's and other club series that are good for the drivers to be a part of and also put on a show for the fans to enjoy.    

I feel sorry for Pickup Truck Racing as they appear to be on their own at trying to promote (non TOCA) fan biased motorsport entertainment... but what entertainment!