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CINDY ROWE AUTO GLASS PA SPRINT SPEEDWEEK QUICKLY APPROACHING
LINCOLN TO OPEN SERIES ON SATURDAY, JUNE 28 WITH 30 LAP KEVIN GOBRECHT
MEMORIAL
York Haven, PA.....The 18th Annual Cindy Rowe Auto Glass Pennsylvania
Sprint Car Speedweek is set to start this coming weekend. The series of
high profile races will include eight races in nine days time, at seven
different Speedways.
Speedweek kicks off at Lincoln Speedway, near Hanover, on Saturday June
28th with the 30 lap Kevin Gobrecht Memorial Race. The feature offers
$7000 to the winner. Thundercars will also be a part of the program.
Sunday June 29 Speedweek moves to the Bedford Speedway for another 30
lap feature that offers $5000 to win. Bedford will also play host to the
Hobbie/Cruisers and Four Cylinders. The Bedford show carries a rain date
of Monday June 30.
The next show is set for Grandview Speedway, in Bechtelsville, on
Tuesday July 1. This event is part of the popular Thunder on the Hill
Racing Series. The 410 Sprints will battle in a 35 lap w$5000 to win
battle on the "hill". Also on the program will be the popular 358
Modifieds, competing in three heat race events and a 25 lap feature.
This event is an invitational for the Modifieds. Gates open at 5:30 PM
with race time set for 7:30 PM.
Wednesday July 2, is set aside for the Hagerstown (MD) Speedway. Another
30 lap feature with $5000 to the winner. The Eastern Museum of Motor
Racing will also have an Exhibition Show at Hagerstown.
Port Royal is the site of the Thursday July 3 show. Again it's 30 laps
with $5000 to the winner.
Friday July 4 the action moves to the Williams Grove Speedway for the
Mitch Smith Memorial Race. The race at the Grove is 30 laps with $10,000
to the winner. A Fireworks display will wrap up that program.
It's back to Port Royal on Saturday July 5 for a 30 lap feature that
pays $7000 to the winner. The Pros tocks will be part of the Port's
program.
Speedweek wraps up on Sunday July 6 at the Selinsgrove Speedway. The Jan
Opperman Memorial Race will offer $5000 to win the 30 lap feature.
All Speedweek events offer free camping at the Speedways.
The format for the Speedweek shows calls for time trials followed by
heat races, a B-Main and the feature event.
Many sanctioned time trial events have been criticized for their lack of
passing at the front of the field. If the recent Keystone Cup series is
any indication, that won't be a problem during Speedweek.
During the five race Keystone Cup series only one event didn't feature a
pass for the lead, and several had multiple passes at the front of the
field.
The Keystone Cup opener at Grandview saw Jeff Shepard lead the whole
distance, but he was challenged for the lead during most of the event.
When the Keystone Cup moved to Williams Grove, three different drivers
led the feature race. Donnie Kreitz Jr., Cody Darrah, and eventual
winner Brian Leppo all led.
Lincoln Speedway's event saw even more passing at the front, as Fred
Rahmer, Brian Montieth, Mark Smith and eventual winner Stevie Smith all
led the contest.
At Selinsgrove, during Keystone Cup, just two drivers held the lead, as
Sean Michael led the early stages, before Leppo took the upper hand and
then the win.
The final race of the Keystone Cup series also had just two different
leaders, but they swapped the lead multiple times. Mark Smith led early
before yielding to eventual winner Rahmer. However, Smith was able to
wrest the lead back away from Rahmer, before Rahmer eventually made
another pass for the lead.
Taking a look at Speedweek history shows that the Speedweek shows
usually feature a pass for the lead at some point during the race. Since
the turn of the decade there have been 59 Speedweek features. In 46 of
those events there has been at least one pass for the lead. In many of
those events there were multiple passes for the lead.
It varies by year. In 2000 all six races featured a pass for the lead,
while in 2001, five of the eight shows had a pass for the top spot. 2002
saw races evenly divided with four featuring passes for the lead and
four without a pass at the front. The 2003 season saw passes for the
lead in all seven races held, and 2004, likewise, saw passes at the
front in all eight shows.
In 2005 all but one of the eight races saw a pass for the top spot,
while 2006's seven races also had a pass for the lead in all but one
race.
Last year for whatever reason saw the least number of passes for the
lead this century, with just three of the seven races featuring a change
in the top spot. If the stats of the recent Keystone Cup are any
indication, passing for the lead is back in vogue this season.
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