Hallowed Orange County Fair Speedway Opens Short Track Super Series Fueled By Hi-Tek Tuesday, April 7; United Pump & Tank Returns As Lead Sponsor; Grand Rental Station Posts $500 Hard Charger Award; Rules & General Information Announced
MIDDLETOWN, NY – For the second consecutive year, the Short Track Super Series Fueled By Hi-Tek will open on the hallowed ground of the Orange County Fairgrounds.
The venerable five-eighths-mile Orange County Fair Speedway will play host to the ‘Hard Clay Open’ on Tuesday, April 7 (rain dates: April 8 and 9) to kick off the race for the $15,000 Bob Hilbert Sportswear North Region championship. The ‘Hard Clay Open’ is the first of eight North Region points-paying events with $38,650 set to be distributed to the top-12 drivers in the standings.
The ‘Hard Clay Open’ will be headlined by a big-block/small-block Modified 50-lap event offering a mammoth $30,000 total purse: $5,000-plus to the winner, $1,000 for 10th and $500 to take the green flag. There will be lap money, contingency awards and bonuses, contributing to a lucrative night for series competitors.
Again this season, United Pump & Tank has signed on as the lead ‘Hard Clay Open’ marketing partner. United Pump & Tank, based in Newburgh, N.Y., is the leader in service station maintenance and technologies. The Lowitt family owned business specializes in all service needs, including repair service, maintenance, and installations, from new to upgrades. To learn more about United Pump & Tank, visit www.unitedpumpandtank.com.
Not only will United Pump & Tank serve as a ‘Hard Clay Open’ sponsor, the company will back two Modifieds on the Short Track Super Series: one driven by veteran Jackie Brown Jr. and another for Crate 602 Sportsman graduate Corey Lowitt.
The first bonus award sponsor has signed on for the ‘Hard Clay Open’ event. Grand Rental Station, a tool and party rental center located just one block outside the speedway’s first and second turns in Middletown, N.Y., will present the Short Track Super Series Fueled By Hi-Tek Modified Hard Charger Award. The Grand Rental Station Hard Charger recipient, the driver advancing the most positions from scheduled start to finish in the 50-lap main, will receive $500 cash. Grand Rental Station, 388 East Main Street Middletown, N.Y., can be contacted by phone at 845.341.1500 or on the web: www.grandrentalmiddletown.com.
Rules for the ’15 ‘Hard Clay Open’ will be unique. Teams opting for the 2,500 lb. weight classification (big-block and dry-sump small-block engines) will be required to utilize standard window body panels. All other weight classifications will have the opportunity to run high sail panels.
Complete rules and ‘Hard Clay Open’ general information can be found at the following link: http://bdmotorsportsmedia.com/hard-clay-open-rules-general-information/
The complete Modified purse structure has also been posted: http://bdmotorsportsmedia.com/hard-clay-open-modified-pay-structure/
The ‘Hard Clay Open’ will feature two divisions of open-wheel racing. The Short Track Super Series Fueled by Hi-Tek Modifieds will be joined by Crate 602 Sportsman, racing under Orange County track rules, in a $1,000-to-win, $100-to-start event.
Registration is open for both the Modifieds and Crate 602 Sportsman. Entry forms have been posted on the event website.
For the ‘Hard Clay Open’ pit gates will open at 1 p.m. Grandstand gates open at 4 p.m. with a drivers’ meeting scheduled for 5:45 p.m. at the pit tower. Hot laps will follow and racing is set to begin promptly at 7 p.m.
Grandstand admission is $22 (Adults), $20 (Seniors) and $2 (Kids 6 and under). Pit admission is $35, with no license required. Advance tickets will go on sale through the speedway office on March 1 by calling 845.342.2573.
Andy Bachetti of Sheffield, Mass., bested a 59-car Modified field to win last year’s inaugural ‘Hard Clay Open’ special over a charging Tim Hindley, who drove from 19th starting position to a runner-up finish in Joe Sarvis’ small-block. Short-track racer Danny Tyler, traveling star Danny Johnson and veteran Jeff Heotzler rounded out the top-five.
Bachetti, off the strength of an Orange County triumph, went on to earn the Short Track Super Series Fueled By Hi-Tek championship worth $10,014-plus.
The Short Track Super Series Fueled By Hi-Tek and BD Motorsports Media LLC is on the web at www.shorttracksuperseries.com or www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com. Brett Deyo can be reached by phone at 845.728.2781 or via e-mail: bdmotorsportsmedia@gmail.com. The series is also on Twitter and Facebook.
Located at 239 Wisner Avenue Middletown, N.Y., 10940 on the Orange County Fairgrounds, Orange County Fair Speedway is the oldest continuously operating dirt track in the United States. The first auto race was held at the speedway in 1919. The five-eighths-mile oval offers fully-covered and half-covered grandstands in addition to open bleacher seating on the frontstretch and turn one areas, with drive-in viewing on the backstretch. To learn more, contact the Orange County Fair Speedway office at 845.342.2573 or visit www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net.
The Short Track Super Series is presented by Hi-Tek Race Fuels, American Racer/Lias Tire, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc., Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, Hig Fab Chassis, Bicknell Racing Products, Teo-Pro Car, FOX Shocks, Fast Axle, Henry’s Stainless Steel Exhaust, Kirkey Race Products, Simplicity Designs and many other fine marketing partners.
Sources: BD Motorsports Media