Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A busy Memorial Day weekend was on tap for Paige Polyak both on and off the race track. Saturday, the team loaded up for the first of a 2 day show at Fremont Speedway. On a very wet and heavy track, a high pill draw landed Paige a 6th place starting spot in the 3rd heat. A misjudging of the gear on the heavy track, Paige fell back to an 8th place finish in the heat. After some adjustments and a gear change, she would start the B Main in the 9th and final starting spot. Making a charge from the time the green dropped to the checkered flew, Paige raced up to 3rd, earning an A Main transfer position. With starting 18th in the A Main, another charge was in store for the 27 entry, passing 5 cars in the first few laps, Paige was on the move again. Keeping an eye on the temp gauge due to some over heating concerns, Paige was sitting just outside the top 10 on the lap 13 caution. Entering the top 10 a few laps later, Polyak was running the cushion hard in 1 and 2. A last lap pass coming off turn 4, earned a 6th place finish and the hard charger award for the 2nd race in a row.
Sunday morning the focus switched for a few hours away from racing as Paige and twin sister Kelsey prepared for their high school graduation ceremony. Leaving high school for the last time, the race was on to Fremont Speedway to be reunited with her sprint car. Another bad pill draw resulted in a 6th place heat race starting position. Needing a 4th place finish to get into the A Main invert, Paige raced into the 4th position before the checkered flag fell. Being able to use her average points now that she has raced two shows at Fremont, Paige would start 4th in the A Main. A lap 2 mishap resulted in a spin and restarting at the tail end of the 22 car field. Once the green was displayed the charge was on from the tail once again. By the halfway mark, Paige was sitting in the 14th position. With the field stretching out each lap and only one caution to bunch the field up, charging through the pack was a bit harder on this night. As the checkered flag flew, Paige crossed the finish line in 11th, once again making a great charge from the back of the pack. Not the finish she was hoping for on graduation day but, the car rolled into the trailer and is set to return to the track on June 8th. A thanks goes out to the racing family members that helped in the new radiator purchase for Sunday and to The Hawk for his help this weekend. The HE Rudy Trucking, Steyer Seed, Bryan Auto Plaza, JLH Construction, Handy Grafix, Napa Auto Parts of Bryan, Circle H Tire, Lakeshore Electric Motor, Ned F Gregg Reality, Meggitt Powder Coating, Kistler Race Products, Oliver Motorsports entry will return to action the weekend of June 8th and 9th. For more information on partnership opportunities please contact 1duane@bright.net or call 419-553-6746.

Midgets Coming to Mercer Raceway Park

Mercer, PA (May 30, 2012): Action returns to the oval Saturday at Mercer Raceway Park, and leading the way will be the Midgets of the American Racing Drivers Club. The racing card will also include five of Mercer's classes, for a full night of competition. Small in stature, but big on power, the Midgets are one of America's oldest types of racing cars and the ARDC has a long history of presenting exciting contests for them up and down the eastern seaboard. Drivers who have won ARDC races include international driving star Mario Andretti and Indy 500 veteran Pancho Carter. The current crop of ARDC stars is headed by points leader Trevor Kobylarz, the son of former ARDC champion Brian Kobylarz. Trevor captured his first win of the season at the club's last outing, in Winchester, VA, and he will be gunning for a double. He'll have stiff competition from the likes of Nick Wean, a former winner at the Park, Brandon Bright, Brett Arndt, Parker Evans, Mark Gilmore, Steve Craig, andmany more. The field will even include members of the famous Buckwalter clan, among them Tim and Bruce. Returning to his roots will be Wampum's Joe Butera. Joe raced in the Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Car division for several seasons before switching to the smaller cars. He would like nothing more than to score his first Midget win before familiar faces. In addition to the ARDC Midgets, the Approved Toilet Rentals 358 Modifieds, Precise Racing Products Stock Cars, and Ti22 Performance Outlaw Sprint Warriors will be in action. The Modified Lites, presented by Big Daddy's Speed Center and Rock Concrete, and the Mini Stocks will round out the program. All of that racing fun will be yours for the low price of $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and $7 for students. Children age 8 and under will be free. The Family Pass will admit two adults and up to four children of any age for just $32. Pit Passes will be $30. The gates will swing open at 4 p.m., and racing will begin at 7 p.m. Come out early, so you can get your favorite seats! About Mercer Raceway Park: Mercer Raceway Park is a 3/8-mile dirt track located minutes from both Interstate 79 and 80 just off Route 19 on Fairground Road in Mercer, Pa. Dirt track racing and quality family entertainment are presented weekly from late March through late September. For more information, check out www.mercerracewaypark.com, www.twitter.com/mercerraceway, or www.facebook.com/mercerracewaypark.

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

BOSS Gears Up for Opener May 12th at Fremont

With the 2012 season opener just days away, the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series is gearing up for a historical tour of the Buckeye state that will kick off on Saturday, May 12th at Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio. In the storied history of Ohio auto racing, which began in 1897, there has never been a touring non wing sprint car series devoted to the state. The BOSS tour is excited to set the stage at one of the oldest and premiere facilities on the schedule, the 61 year old Fremont Speedway. The traditional style BOSS sprint cars made their debut in 2011 with 2 events. Ione, California native Justin Grant scored the win at K-C Raceway aboard the Hery Motorsports #40. In October, 30 cars from 8 states competed at Wayne County Speedway where Russiaville, Indiana driver Dustin Smith scored a popular win piloting the #37 Lee's Hydraulics entry. The question now is when will the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series have it's first winner from the Buckeye State? Drivers from 5 states have expressed interest in the Fremont opener which is being co-sanctioned with the Lane Automotive Michigan Traditional Sprint Series. Fans will delight in "Root's Poultry Night" which will also include the FAST winged sprint car series and the Fremont Dirt Trucks. A full field of BOSS and MTS points runners will be on hand, gunning for the $2,000 winners share and to battle the best of the local non wing racers. Several 305 sprint teams have also expressed an interest in taking the wing off and the BOSS series is proud to announce that Kear's Speed Shop in Tiffin, Ohio has come on board to sponsor a $100 bonus to the highest finishing steel block motor in the main event. In addition to the $100 cash steel block bonus, drivers will also be competing for a $50 cash Hard Charger of the race award sponsored by Letemgrow.org. This award will go to the driver advancing the most positions in the A-Main event. A "Hard Luck" Award $50 gift certificate is also being awarded by BOSS officials courtesy of Saldana Race Products and SBI Fuel Systems. 2Grafic Distributions will provide framed photos of the A-Main and B-Main winners. Once again, Hoosier Racing Tire and American Racer have come on board to sponsor driver bonuses to the highest A-Main finisher on all four of their brand of tire. The Hoosier tire bonus will be a certificate for a free right rear tire and the American Racer bonus will be a $100 certificate toward the purchase of any American Racer Tire. The BOSS series has an open tire rule, but drivers are limited to using the same right rear in their heat race and the A-Main event. In other BOSS news, several new sponsors have come on board to help with the 2012 season and the points fund. BOSS would like to welcome All Pro Cylinder Heads, Kears Speed Shop, 2Grafic Distributions, Pro Shocks, SBI Fuel Systems, Saldana Race Products, Cleanway Carpet Cleaning, E.A. Home Supply, Hoosier Race Tire, American Racer, Ham Signs, Letemgrow.org, French Grimes Race Systems, ProStar Web Design and Indy Race Parts to the tour. In addition, the BOSS series would like to welcome Rick Lane and Rick Rarer as the official photographers of the series. For the Fremont Speedway event, gates will open at 4 pm with racing action underway at 7 pm. Drivers are reminded that Schoenfeld Mufflers are required at Fremont along with Raceceivers. Fremont also uses transponders to help accurately score and time the racing events. There are no membership fees or sign-up fees to race with BOSS. This event will go by pill draw for heat race line-ups. Drivers who plan to attend this, or any BOSS events should contact the series to be included in promotional materials. Driver Signups and Pill Draw will be done at the BOSS tent which will open at 4 pm on raceday. Fremont Speedway will be paying in checks for this event. The complete payout is as follows: 1) $2000 2) $800 3) $600 4) $500 5) $450 6) $400 7) $375 8) $350 9) $325 10) $300 11) $280 12) $260 13) $250 14) $240 15) $225 16) $225 17) $225 18) $225 19) $225 20) $225. All cars who make an honest attempt at competing will be guaranteed $100 tow money, including all B-Main non transfers. For more information on the BOSS series, please log onto the series website at www.buckeyesprints.com or call (740) 703-3768. The BOSS series is looking for sponsors interested in helping with the bonus programs at each event. Sponsorship packages start as low as $50 to be a part of the much appreciated bonus awards. More information on Fremont Speedway can be found on their website at www.fremontohspeedway.com