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The fourth annual Blue Collar Classic Challenge for 305 sprint cars will be presented tonight at Port Royal Speedway. At least 50 sprint cars are pre-registered for the program, which gets underway at 5 p.m.
Drivers from four states are expected, along with 410 sprint car drivers Tyler Bear, a former PASS 305 champion, and Lewistown’s Vince Snyder. Bear is a former PASS 305 sprint car champion. Bear and Snyder will be required to start their heat races in the rear of the field due to competing in advanced sprint car racing.
Time trials kick the program off. Limited late models, xtreme stocks and four-cylinder stock cars also are on the card.
Port Royal will return to action next Saturday with 410 and URC sprint cars competing. The season concludes in two weeks when the World of Outlaws sprint cars and Mid Atlantic Modifieds visit the Juniata County oval.
Last night’s racing at Williams Grove Speedway was canceled due to rain. The season there is over.
The Finale at the Fairgrounds in Syracuse, N.Y., is this weekend. I’m sad to see that happen because there’s so much history involved. There are only six one-mile race tracks in the country of which three are dirt. Now there will be two.
The facility was built in 1826 as a horse race track. Auto racing started in 1903 and ends Sunday. During the 112-year history there have been a number of fatalities at the oval. In 1911 driver Lee Oldfield crashed into the infield crowd killing 11 spectators. 1922 Indy 500 winner Jimmy Murphy was killed there in 1924. During the 1930s only two American raceways hosted championship car racing. Those tracks were Indianapolis and Syracuse. Mario Andretti, Al Unser and Indy 500 winner Roger Ward all raced there.
Early NASCAR stars Tim Flock, Lee Petty, Junior Johnson, Buck Baker, Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly and Fireball Roberts have raced there. The modern era of modified racing started in 1972 when Florida driver Buzzie Reutimann defeated NASCAR modified star Jerry Cook. The World of Outlaws, big and small block modifieds along with support classes have attempted to tame the Moody Mile.
The USAC Silver Crown Cars compete this afternoon. Friday’s action was lost to rain. Activities started this morning with inspection at 6:30. It all ends forever when the northeast’s version of the Daytona 500 is spun off for the big block modifieds. The Syracuse 200 pays the winner $100,000. More than 300 cars in several divisions are competing in this final show. At the end it will all be a memory.
What makes Syracuse special? It’s a tough track with speed that can surprise a driver. The front stretch is not entirely straight. The back stretch is narrow and the second-turn fence is in about 10 feet closer than it should be. Drivers encounter it at speeds of 150 mph. The average record one-lap speed stands at 144.950 mph and was set by Billy Pauch in 1994.
I hate what’s happening at Syracuse. Politicians decided quickly to redevelop the fairgrounds and demolish the speedway and grandstand. It will be replaced by a themed park facility which will include an ice arena and equestrian facility. Racing will move to Glenn Donnelly’s yet to be constructed 1/2-mile track about 30 minutes from the fairgrounds. It will be new and nice. It will never have the same thrill or sense of accomplishment of conquering the mile at Syracuse.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup cars race at Charlotte tonight. One driver already unhappy is Tony Stewart who qualified poorly. Stewart starts 36th. He immediately took to Twitter and stated “things have to change.” I envision a new crew chief for Stewart’s final season.
Elliott Sadler will join JR Motorsports next season and compete for the Xfinity Championship with current sponsor OneMain Financial. Sadler’s show cars have been delivered all over the country the last several years by Granville’s Mark Williams. Williams has moved with Sadler to each race team.
Kasey Kahne is ready to ship six sprint cars to Australia for competition in December and January. Kahne will pilot the cars himself.
Rico Abreu will skip Australia and compete at the second annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Show Down at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. Several Central Pennsylvania teams will head west for five race dates in January. The weekend feature races each pay the winner $12,000. Starting pay is $1,000. The mid-week show winner receives $5,000.
We have one driver from the state enjoying success on the world stage. Kevin Gleason of Johnstown won the International Touring Series race Sept. 20 held in Singapore. The series is the support class for Formula 1 racing and competes at the same road courses.
The Friends of Swindell raised $61,874.73 for injured driver Kevin Swindell Oct. 6 by hosting a golf tournament in Concord, N.C. Swindell is recuperating from a spinal cord injury received during the Knoxville Sprint Car Nationals and currently has no mobility from the waist down.
Finally, the Racers Flea Market will be held at the State Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg Nov. 7. Contact Alan Kreitzer at (717) 766-7215 for more information.
Have a great racing weekend!
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Craig Rutherford writes about motorsports for The Sentinel.