Praise for evening racing
Rockingham’s evening Pickup Truck races last weekend were hailed a success by drivers and officials, and organisers may arrange other similar events.
The 20-minute Pickups contest was the finale of a one-day British Automobile Racing Club meeting at Rockingham that featured over 12 hours of track action.
The meeting paused for a tea break at 5.30pm, and after that the Junior Saloon Car Championship, Classic Touring Car Racing Club and Pickups all had evening races. The meeting concluded at 9.30pm. Another BARC event featuring Pickups on August 4 will also include evening races, and if that is also successful then the club will consider further similar events.
While the format was well-received, there was disappointment over the low crowd numbers.
“It was great but I can’t understand why people don’t come,” said veteran Pickup racer and former Thundersaloons champion Pete Stevens. “We get a crowd at Buxton for short ovals in December, and here we have all the facilities and good racing too – but hardly anybody here.”
Long-time Pickup racer Mark Willis added: “It was a brilliant night, getting back to the good old days. A great atmosphere and this evening format really works. If people can just support us, the whole Pickup thing could be great again.”
It was the first time the Pickups had run on the Rockingham oval this year, and Pickup supremo Sonny Howard already has plans for the future.
“We are having a standalone Oval Championship again with five races helping to form the grid for the Grand Final on September 23,” he said. “We would like to run races at night with the whole track floodlit to create a real atmosphere.”