The kindly loons over at Irwindale Speedway have invited me to participate in something truly, deeply bonkers: skid-plate racing. What is skid-plate racing? Think FWD shitboxes with no back tires spinning around and throwing sparks like crazy.
Our pals over at Clunkbucket have a nice little explainer up on their site if you want the details. Essentially, it's 1980 or newer FWD cars, 4 cylinder (or 6, if you disable two cylinders), and the rear wheels have no tires and are welded to a pair of Irwindale-designed skid plates. Speeds are only around 35-40 MPH, but I think that'll be plenty when I'm spinning. That video up there should give a pretty good idea of how it all turns out.
I'll be representing Team Jalopnik in a skid plate car on the race coming up September 21, and I should get a quick bit of practice in one on the 19th. I'm not really expecting to win, or even not embarrass myself, but I'm pretty confident I'll have a hell of a time. If you're anywhere near Irwindale Speedway, come out and cheer me on, or heckle me until I cry. It'll be a blast either way!
Skid Plate Racing Is Fantastic, And I'm Going To Try It