|
KIRKWOOD, NY...The release of the 2007 Five Mile Point Speedway schedule has taken more time than in past years but often the best things come to those that wait, this years schedule is a case in point. The 57th season of racing is filled full of big special events along with many family oriented promotions. The pre-season schedule is slated to get underway on Saturday, March 24th with the Spring Southern Tier Showdown for Pure Stocks. An open practice and Racers Swap Meet will also take place on that day. The 14th running of the Southern Tier Open 50 for Modifieds will get the green flag on Sunday, April 15th. The official 57th season opener is slated for Saturday, April 28th with a 50 lap STAR Series event for Modifieds.
Five Mile Point Speedway Owner Andrew Harpell stated, "It took longer than years past to release our schedule but it was with good reason, we wanted to provide our race teams and fans the best possible schedule that we could." He added, "I really believe we have met our goal as we have assembled a schedule that has a tremendous amount of variety along with several big time events."
The first race is slated for Saturday, March 24th with the running of the spring Southern Tier Showdown for Pure Stocks. This race is a spin off of the November fall Southern Tier Showdown race. Last Dave Mannise invaded from Fulton Speedway to win the popular event. The race is a chance for the Pure Stock teams to be the showcase of their own program and with $750 to win it is one of the richest payouts for the division in the northeast. The new Lightning Cats and "A League of Their Own" will be in action along with the Figure 8 class. Racing will get underway at 3 p.m.
A special Racers Swap Meet will be held earlier in the day on March 24th. That will begin at 10:00 a.m. and last the entire day. An open paid practice session will be held prior to the racing between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The practice will be open to all racing divisions that will compete at the speedway in 2007.
The traditional Southern Tier Open 50 for Modifieds is slated for Sunday, April 15th. This race will allow teams to run sail panels and open tires as in years past. Joining the Modifieds will be the be the season opener for the Race of Champions Dirt Sportsman South teams and the IMCA Modifieds. Race time is set for 2:00 p..m. Last year Rich Ricci, Jr. became the first repeat winner of the Open ironically the win was over his brother Mike in both of those races. This race is always a must see.
A look at the 2007 racing season will see a number of touring groups invading the quarter mile speedway. The Race of Champions Dirt Modified Tour will be on hand for 75 lap south region events on Wednesday, July 11th and Wednesday, August 8th. The R.o.C Dirt Modified overall title will be decided on Saturday, October 13th with the running of the 37th Southern Tier 100. The Race of Champions Dirt Sportsman tour will make regular season stops on Sunday, April 15th, Wednesday, July 11th and Wednesday, August 22nd. The R.o.C Sportsman tour finale will conclude with the first 100 lap event on Friday, October 12th at FMP.
The Trackside Products Pro Stock Tour will make a stop on May 19th, July 7th, August 4th and September 1st. The tour championship will take place at FMP on Saturday, October 13th. The IMCA Modified Empire State Series Tour will have two events at the Five Mile Point Speedway this season. On Wednesday, August 8th NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Ken Schrader will compete in an IMCA Modified in this series. The statewide championship will be decided on Saturday, October 13th at Five Mile Point Speedway.
For the first time, Five Mile Point Speedway will also host an INEX Legends Car National Dirt Qualifying event on Saturday, October 13th. The INEX Keystone Legends will also be in competition on Saturday, May 26th, and Saturday, August 11th. The popular BRC Lazer Late Model Series will return to Five Mile Point Speedway on Saturday, May 12th, Saturday, June 9th, Saturday, July 21st and Saturday, August 18th.
Two major announcements have been released in recent weeks and both of them involve Five Mile Point Speedway. In January the management from Penn Can and Five Mile Point Speedways announced a joint cooperation to start a Modified Mini Series between the two facilities. The new mini series will operate under the previously formed STAR (Southern Tier Auto Racing) Series. Each speedway will host four events with the championship being determined at Five Mile Point Speedway on Saturday, September 8th. Other STAR Series Modified events at FMP will be on Saturday, April 28th, Wednesday, June 13th and Saturday, June 30th (Heath Memorial).
Last week word leaked out about a major Northeast Modified event at Five Mile Point Speedway on Wednesday, August 22nd. The first ever Northeast Modified All-Star event has been slated at Five Mile Point Speedway and will feature the best drivers in dirt Modified racing. Ten participating speedways will elect two drivers to represent each facility. Throughout the summer race fans will have the opportunity to name six other drivers by All-Star balloting. This race will be the one event that northeast race fans will be talking about all summer long. At the recent dirt Modified events during Florida Speedweeks there was already a buzz about this race event.
The 57th season of racing at Five Mile Point Speedway will certainly feature a lot of special events. The requests from touring groups to have events at the famed quarter mile was unprecedented and many requests were not able to be met this year. The excitement should be at an all time high as the season approaches.
For additional information please phone the speedway offices at (607) 775-5555 or log on to www.fivemilepointspeedway.net for more. |
|
