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OPENING DAY SET FOR FEBRUARY 24 AT WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY
MECHANICSBURG, PA -- Opening Day for the 2008 racing season at
Williams Grove Speedway is set for Sunday afternoon, February 24, with
sprint car racing as the featured attraction.
The first heat is scheduled to start at 2:00.
There will be no time trials and no support division.
The luck of the draw will determine the starting lineups for the
qualifying heats.
The main event will be 24 laps in distance.
The opener has become one of the most prestigious races of the year
at Williams Grove and the list of previous winners reads like a who's
who of Eastern sprint car racing.
Hall of Famer Keith Kauffman has won four Opening Day events at
Williams Grove to lead all other drivers in that category.
Kauffman won three consecutive openers in 1984, '85 and `86, then
scored his fourth in 1993. The Man from Mifflintown is still active and
still capable of adding a fifth Opening Day victory to his impressive
resume.
Both defending Cindy Rowe Auto Glass champion Fred Rahmer and
former champion Don Kreitz, Jr., could tie Kauffman's Opening Day
victory total with a win on February 24.
Kreitz won openers in 1992, '94 and 2001. Rahmer's triumphs came
in 1997, '98 and 2005.
Each time Rahmer won the opener he went on to win the track
championship.
Mike Erdley scored his first career victory at Williams Grove in
last year's opener, then went on to win an All Star race later in the
season.
There haven't been many surprises over the years on Opening Day at
Williams Grove. This has traditionally been a day for the heavy hitters
to shine. No less than nine drivers currently enshrined in the National
Sprint Car hall of Fame and one soon to be inducted have won Williams
Grove openers. The list includes Kenny Weld, Ray Tilley, Jan Opperman,
Smokey Snellbaker, Steve Smith, Bobby Allen, Lynn Paxton, Kauffman,
Kenny Jacobs and recently elected Kramer Williamson.
One of the Opening Day upsets occurred in 2000 when current NASCAR
star Kasey Kahne won the race.
Williams Grove Speedway will host sprint car racing on Sunday
afternoons through March 16 before switching to Friday nights on March 21.
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