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May 7, 2008
Submitted by Marcie L. Barlow, BRP Tour Media Relations
The BRP /Hoosier Race Tires/Sunoco Race Fuels Modified Tour 08 will kick off their 11th season of DIRT Modified racing action with the running of the Fifth Annual Dick Rankin Memorial 30 at the Tri-City Speedway on Sunday, May 25th. The event is run at the Franklin , PA oval each year to honor Rankin, a former DIRT Modified competitor in Western PA and Eastern OH who tragically lost his life in a construction accident.
Unfortunately Russell King, who is a two-time winner and defending victor of the race as well as the Mod Tour’s 2007 Champion, will not return to make it three in a row, as he now competes in the Late Model Division.
King’s departure from the division and weekly competition at the speedway would probably make Kevin Bolland, the three time and defending Tri-City Speedway DIRT Modified Points Champion, the leading contender to capture the 2008 version of the Dick Rankin Memorial. Bolland rebounded from a bad crash at the Super DIRTcar Series event at the Virginia Motor Speedway to pick up his first feature victory of 2008 on Sunday, May 4th, at the Franklin , PA oval.
Bolland will face stiff competition from Russell’s father, Rex King Sr., who has finished in the runner-up position in the final point standings at the Venango County speedway for four consecutive years (2003-2007). King will be looking to keep the family name in the winner’s circle for the third straight year when the BRP /Hoosier Race Tires/Sunoco Race Fuels take to the track on Memorial Day weekend.
“Hometown Hero” Jeremiah Shingledecker, of Polk , PA is just one of the drivers looking to garner his first ever Modified Tour feature win in 2008. Shingledecker picked up the season opening victory at Tri-City on April 27th and is one of the strongest runners on the Western PA/Eastern OH circuit.
In addition to Bolland, King and Shingledecker race fans can expect 2006 and 2007 Lernerville Speedway Modified Champion Brian Swartzlander to do battle for the win. Swartzlander, a three time Tri-City Speedway Champion, recently captured a feature victory at the Lernerville Speedway and will definitely be a contender for the 2008 version of the Dick Rankin Memorial. Mod Tour drivers Joe Crawford and Jim Rasey have also looked strong in their early season runs at the Tri-City Speedway this year and will certainly be looking to add the prestigious event to their racing resumes.
Will a new name be entered into the Modified Tour record book or will the veteran drivers of the Western PA/Eastern OH Modified circuit prevail? To find out join us at the Tri-City Speedway on Sunday, May 25th, as the BRP /Hoosier Race Tires/Sunoco Race Fuels Modified Tour 08 kicks off their 11th season with the running of the Fifth Annual Dick Rankin Memorial!!
In addition the BRP Modified Tour 08 would like to thank the following series sponsors: Bicknell Racing Products, Hoosier Race Tire, Sunoco Race Fuel, Bilstein Shocks, Ray’s Racing Collectibles, Approved Toilet Rental, Lowry Auto Body, Lake Erie Speed Specialties, Hall’s Safety Equipment, Engles Trucking, Big Daddy’s Speed Center, Precise Racing Products, Finishline Fabrication, Wilkinson Awards, McCool’s Signs and Graphics, Hands on Concepts, Waldo’s Towing, Hooter Chassis and Hobby, Jim’s Supermarket, Pennewell Sandblasting and Painting, Wedge Motorsports, Oyler Action Photos and King Brothers.
The Modified Tour Inc. racing series is a non-profit organization established to give the V-8 Modifieds in the Western Pennsylvania area a chance to compete with one another for a higher purse structure and for a point fund for the races that are run. Started in 1998 by Tim Engles, Lon and Pam Baker and Randy Myers the Modified Tour has had great success at bringing the local cars together at the area racetracks. |
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