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Can-Am Motorsports Park Commits To Full Season Of DIRTcar Racing In 2008
Weedsport, NY – October 18, 2007 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing NorthEast PR Director
With the season quickly winding down, officials at Can-Am Motorsports Park are already firming up plans for 2008 with a full show of DIRTcar Racing penciled in on their Saturday night card.
Can-Am will continue to host the DIRTcar Modified and DIRTcar Sportsman divisions next year, with additional weekly support generated from the DIRTcar Street Stock class. In ’08, DIRTcar 358-Modifieds will run separate from their Big-Block brethren while Crate Motors will be mandated for use by all Sportsman teams competing at the spacious half-mile LaFargeville , New York layout.
“Everybody is calling wanting to make their plans for next season, so if we can tell them now it will help out both racers and fans in the long run,” said Can-Am Race Director Chip Burdick. “I can say right now that we’ll be running 358s by themselves and also run Small-Blocks on Friday nights at Thunder Alley.”
“A lot of the Small-block guys are looking for a place to run and there’s more Sportsman drivers getting ready to move up next season. We’re going to allow the 358s to race with the Big-Blocks, so there’s the possibility of two paychecks and we’re going to offer an additional bonus to the highest finishing Small-Block,” added Burdick, who revealed a return of the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series to Can-Am next summer along with tour stops for 358-Modified, Sportsman and Street Stock divisions.
Since Can-Am joined the DIRTcar organization in 1983, a total of 39 facilities have enjoyed full membership. During the past 32 race seasons of DIRTcar Racing in the NorthEast there have been nearly 80 tracks sanctioning more than 15,000 feature events, with Can-Am recognized as one of 25 member tracks in 2007.
“We’re glad to have Can-Am in the DIRT-fold once again as the track has become a solid fixture in the north country for many years,” said Cory Reed, DIRTcar NorthEast Director of Competition & Track Sanctioning. “Its even better they’re looking to the future and taking advantage of all that DIRTcar Racing has to offer on the local level.”
Can-Am was built in 1974 with construction spearheaded by area businessman Leslie Brown. The team of Bob Thurston Sr., Doug Atkinson and Thomas Coughlin III re-opened the venue the following season before Thurston purchased sole interest in Can-Am during the winter of 1982-83 and joined the growing DIRTcar circuit. John Wight (Gypsum Express Team Owner) purchased the speedway in 2000 while August 2, 2003 marked the first night of racing under present owners Charlie and Billy Caprara.
The 2003 season was the start of a new era at Can-Am as Wight brought on the Big-Blocks as the primary class. Vic Coffey was recently crowned Can-Am’s Big-Block Modified points champion and carried his success over to the New York State Fairgrounds where he captured the Rite Aid 200 to close out Super DIRT Week.
The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional partners include AMB i.t., F.X. Caprara Car Companies, Rite Aid Corporation and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Miller Electric Manufacturing Company, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks and Wrisco Industries. |
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