Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show Completes Successful Weeklong Run At Fairgrounds Square Mall; Jared Umbenhauer Earns Best Of Show; Bob Miller Presented Don Marks Memorial Contribution To Motorsports Award
READING, PA – Snow may still blanket the ground, but the southeastern Pennsylvania region has completed its unofficial auto racing kickoff.
The 29th annual Berks-Schuylkill Oil Heat Association Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show launched the 2014 racing season with a successful weeklong run in the Fairgrounds Square Mall Feb. 23-March 1. More than 70 race cars, representing the past, present and future of the sport, filled the shopping center on the 5th Street Highway site of the former Reading Fairgrounds Speedway.
Joining the Berks-Schuylkill Oil Heat Association as marketing partners for the event were Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc. and VP Racing Fuels.
The show featured a diverse mix of race vehicles including dirt Modifieds, Sportsman, Late Models, Street Stocks, Sprint Cars (winged and wingless), ARDC Midgets, SpeedSTRs, Micro-Sprints, Xcel 600 Modifieds, Slingshots, Vintage/Restored Cars, Quarter Midgets, Enduro cars and more.
On Friday night, respected show announcer Jeff Ahlum joined with event coordinator Brett Deyo of BD Motorsports Media LLC and Ms. Motorsports 2014 Cassi Pinder to present the show awards.
Earning the Best of Show recognition, as voted by media members and visiting sponsors of the event, was Grandview (Pa.) Speedway two-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Sportsman champion and Big Diamond (Pa.) Speedway Sportsman champion Jared Umbenhauer and his Barry Bashore-owned No. 5. Umbenhauer, 21, of Richland, Pa., unveiled a new paint scheme designed by New York’s Pilat Graphic Design at the show.
Divisional award winners were Brad Arnold and Kyle Weiss (tie – Best Modified), A.J. Gerhart (Best Sportsman), Josh Weller (Best Open Wheel), Andrew Haus (Best Late Model), Russ Smith’s Reading Rocket owned by Mike Grim (Best Vintage/Restored), Dakota Kohler (Best Small Car), Tim Buckwalter (Best Micro-Sprint) and Dylan Pence (Best Quarter Midget).
The fifth annual Don Marks Memorial Contribution to Motorsports Award was presented to Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show founder Bob Miller, who is also the co-promoter of the Thunder on the Hill Racing Series with Bruce Rogers (celebrating its 25th anniversary this season at Grandview Speedway in ‘14) and a managing member of the United Racing Company (URC) 360 Sprint Car series with John and Cher Zimmerman.
Miller spoke on stage of the humble beginnings of the Thunder on the Hill Racing Series and his anxiety leading up to the inaugural event in August 1990. He also spoke of memories of the quarter-century of special events at Grandview and highlights of his career in racing as a promoter, event organizer and official.
Marks, a longtime Area Auto Racing News and Grandview track photographer who was well respected in the industry, passed away prior to the ’08 racing season. Previous Don Marks Memorial Award winners included Tom Umbenhauer (’13), Bob Greene (’12), Dennis “Chico” Bailey (’11) and Len Sammons (’10).
Some 35 years since the famed ‘Home of Champions’ Reading (Pa.) Fairgrounds hosted its final race, won by Dave Kelly in June 1979, drivers, race officials and fans gathered at the mall on Saturday afternoon for the annual reunion.
Among those turning out for the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway reunion were Red Coffin, Jim Keppley, Don Kreitz, Bobby Braxton, Junior Mikosz, Russ Smith, Dizzy Dean, Gary Gollub, Dick Quallio, Tommy Long and many more. Ahlum served as master of ceremonies for the stroll down memory lane.
During the week, more than 60 drivers took to the stage at the show to discuss their 2014 plans. Each night of the show featured a theme: Sportsman/Late Model/Street Stock/Roadrunner Monday; Open Wheel Tuesday; JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA (Pa.)/Small Car Wednesday; Modified Madness Thursday; and Thunder on the Hill Racing Series 25th anniversary celebration Friday.
The “stars of tomorrow” flooded center court on Saturday evening when Quarter Midget drivers took part in interviews in front of family and friends.
Among the largest crowds to attend the Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show in recent years gathered on Wednesday for an appearance by “Lebanon Levi” of national notoriety from the Discovery Channel television show Amish Mafia. “Lebanon Levi” spent the evening meeting fans, signing autographs and speaking with show visitors.
“Lebanon Levi” spoke to Barry Angstadt, Wednesday night host, on stage about the success of the show and his involvement with local racing as a sponsor of the Nick Sweigart 270cc Micro-Sprint at LANCO’s Clyde Martin (Pa.) Memorial Speedway.
On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after the show, the Applebee’s adjacent to the mall hosted celebrity/driver bartending and late-night festivities.
A number of local speedways and sanctions took the opportunity to distribute schedules and information regarding the upcoming ’14 season, including Grandview Speedway/Thunder on the Hill, Big Diamond (Pa.) Speedway, NDRL Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP, New Egypt (N.J.) Speedway, JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA, LANCO’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, Linda’s (Pa.) Speedway, Outlaw Enduro Series, URC, ARDC and the Montgomery County Quarter Midget Racing Club.
Vendors selling memorabilia, nostalgia items, DVDs, videos, photos and more were present during the week.
The Birdsboro R/C club constructed a remote-controlled car track inside the mall and hosted nightly racing. On Thursday, a celebrity driver race was won by Andy Ressler over Ryan Watt and Mike Laise.
The show also played host to nightly Alley Model Racing. Some 257 different model cars hit the track during the week on a track constructed in the mall.
For fans of racing’s past, the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Racing Historical Society organized an expansive display at the show focusing on the storied history of racing at the Reading Fairgrounds. The Eastern Museum of Motor Racing (EMMR) also filled a room with vintage racing memorabilia and cars.
Plans are underway for the 30th Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show at the Fairgrounds Square Mall in 2015. Brad Reinert, a race enthusiast with deep ties to the Reading Fairgrounds and a marketing guru at the JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA, will serve as show manager. The announcement came during Friday night’s award ceremony.
For more information on BD Motorsports Media LLC, contact Brett Deyo by phone at 845.728.2781, via e-mail at Deyo99H@aol.com or on the web: www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com. “Like” BD Motorsports Media on Facebook or follow @BrettDeyo on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.
The 2014 Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show is presented by Berks-Schuylkill Oil Heat Association, Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc., VP Racing Fuels, BD Motorsports Media, Action Track USA, Grandview Speedway, Thunder on the Hill Racing Series, Four Star Lettering, Fairgrounds Square Mall & many other fine marketing partners
Sources: BD Motorsports Media