The snow and ice may be falling up north, but things are getting ready to heat up in the Tampa Bay area.

Winter Nationals are returning to Gibsonton, FL, next week, and we are back listing off the top 10 reasons the dirt racing community loves East Bay Raceway Park.

Earlier this week, we covered reasons Nos. 10-6, but today we are going straight to the top five and counting down what makes the Clay by the Bay so special.

Watch the 2018 East Bay Winter Nationals LIVE on FloRacing

5. Strawberries! The track’s signature dish. Nothing screams East Bay more than a bowl of strawberries on top of a shortcake with some whipped cream! People watching the race on FloRacing.com might even get the urge to run to the grocery store so they can make some at home. The strawberries are so well known that the winner of the famous “Strawberry Dash” is often awarded a box of the famous fruit to go along with their victory.

4. The Tides: The track itself is only a stone’s throw from the bay. If you take a cruise ship leaving from the bay, you can actually see the trackside area while leaving the port. This proximity from the Gulf leads to an extremely high water table in the area. During a day or night of racing, the rising and falling of tides can actually add moisture to the track. The surface could be dry slick after heats, then actually become tackier before the B- and A-Mains without watering by the track crew. This results in teams chasing the track surface all night, and a car that was great in the heat may not be as good late in the night.

3. The Heat Races: There are hundreds of tracks running around the country on a weekly basis. A great deal of those tracks run heat races as part of their formats. Due to being so early in the event it is often hard to pass during these 8-12 lap sprints. East Bay Raceway Park seldom has this problem. The heats are exciting, dicey, and unpredictable. Drivers starting in the 3-4 rows are often able to navigate their way to the front, and drivers in the front row often see B-Mains or wreckers. It’s all a part of the excitement of Eastbay, and you can see it live on FloRacing.com starting next week!

2. Kicking Off Racing Season: While some tracks get to the punch a little quicker than East Bay, no other event signals the kickoff to racing season like the first night at East Bay! A lot of people in the racing industry see it as the true indication that the season has begun. It gets us excited for a new year and starts it off with a bang.

1. Back-To-Back Racing: If there is one thing you can say about East Bay, it’s that even if you have a bad night you don’t have to wait long to get back at it! It is a nonstop racing marathon. It is good for the fans, challenging for the drivers, and results in racing nirvana. We often talk about the travel costs of racing and how it doesn’t make sense to drive a great distance to race one or two nights. Winter Nationals bucks this notion by giving teams the maximum potential for racing. Once you park your hauler, you can race nonstop (with Mother Nature’s blessing) until you leave! It is a key aspect that makes racing East Bay’s Winter Nationals so great.

By Jonathon Masters