Ricky Miller Memorial Named North-South Shootout Qualifier
Lexington, NC — C&C Racing Promotions, in conjunction with the True Value Modified Racing Series and the Twin State Speedway in Claremont, NH, announced last week that the first annual Ricky Miller Memorial 100 will be a qualifier for the 6th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout TM. Both Modified races honor outstanding racers whose lives were cut far too short.
The winning car owner of the Ricky Miller Memorial 100 for the True Value Modified Racing Series scheduled for Sunday, September 28, 2008, as part of the two-day Twin State Speedway Fall Challenge, will earn a guaranteed starting spot in the 6th Annual North-South Shootout TM. The annual event will take place on November 7&8, 2008 at Concord Motorsport Park in Concord, NC.
“For the last several years we have enjoyed a good relationship with the management and the competitors of the True Value Modified Racing Series,” said Promoter Charles Kepley. “We are proud to continue this relationship in 2008 and equally excited about working with the great team at the Twin State Speedway.”
The North-South Shootout TM, an annual Modified event that features the cars and the stars of both the Northern and Southern Modified racing community in an all green flag racing shootout to the finish, was named in honor of New Jersey racer John Blewett III after his untimely death in a racing accident in August of 2007. Blewett won the inaugural Shootout in 2003 and again in 2005.
“It’s a great honor for Twin State Speedway along with True Value Modified Racing Series to be hosting the 1st annual Ricky Miller memorial 100,” said Mike Parks, Twin State Speedway Race Director. “And with C&C Racing Promotions naming the event as a North-South Shootout TM Qualifier, it will help to make this very special event one of the brightest stops on the True Value schedule.”
The annual North-South Shootout TM has become a staple among both Northern and Southern race fans because of the excitement that the event generates by bringing together the racers from the various Tour-Type Modified Series on the East Coast on the ultra-fast, tri-oval at Concord Motorsport Park.
“Ricky was always a racer who would just load his car and go to a race,” continued Parks, who was also a crew member for Miller. “The North-South Shootout TM would have been an event Ricky would not have missed.”
The annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout TM is now also a sentimental favorite for competitors.
Miller, who was a Modified standout at Twin State Speedway, when the track ran under the Claremont Speedway banner, died at the age of 34 in 2004. The Ricky Miller Memorial, named for one of the most likeable racers to have competed, will likely gain the same level of merit from the racers and the racing community.
The always colorful and personable competitor may be best known for his 1999 Riverside Park Speedway championship, the final Modified champion of the now defunct Speedway. He will forever stand in history as the winner of the final Whelen Modified Tour race ever held at the famed Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, MA.
“In racing there is no higher honor than to be called a racer”, said True Value Modified Racing Series Marketing director John Hoyt. “Ricky Miller was a racer.”
Ricky is remembered not only as an accomplished racer but also as an integral part of the legendary Modified Team for owner Mario Foire, where he served as crew chief.
Miller began his racing career at the Claremont, NH, oval in the Street Stocks before moving to the Pro Stocks and ultimately the Modifieds. Miller raced his final race at Thrasher Road before retiring from the sport.
The Miller family has a long history at the speedway. Ricky’s dad, Donnie Miller, was a multi-time track champion at the speedway. True Value Modified Racing Series founder Jack Bateman called Donnie one of Claremont’s modified heroes, known as” The Golden Jet”.
“The opportunity to honor and remember one of the speedway’s greatest names makes the event that much more special,” continued Parks.
Qualifying races have been a part of the North-South Shootout TM since it’s inception in 2003. The Miller Memorial 100 will be one of several races that will be slated as qualifiers for the Modified portion of the upcoming Shootout. A complete schedule of qualifying races for the Northern and Southern Modifieds along with the SK-Type Modifieds, and the Supermodifieds will be forthcoming.
To learn more about the Ricky Miller Memorial and the Fall Challenge contact, the Twin State Speedway at (603) 543-3160 or the True Value Modified Racing Series at 800-924-2594.
To learn more about the 6th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout TM log on to northsouthshootout.com or call (508) 847-0565.
Sources: Dale Wolbrink/North-South Shootout PR