« Northeast Touring Series Awards Banquet & Dinner; Normandy Banquet Center, Hermitage, PA | Home | National Awards Banquet & Dinner, Nashville, TN »
By Mike Leone
November 16, 2008
Pulaski, PA…The FASTRAK Late Model Racing Series is proud to announce the addition of Arcade International Raceway in Delevan, New York and Roaring Knob Raceway in Markleysburg, Pennsylvania to the Northeast Region for the upcoming 2009 season.
Arcade International Raceway is a 1/3-mile dirt oval and is the former Freedom Speedway and has been taken over by Carl Drum, father to current FASTRAK racer Kyle Drum. Freedom was under the FASTRAK banner during the inaugural 2007 season and contested eight events with John Lacki victorious three times, Greg Oakes twice, and Bump Hedman and Tim Schram with one win. The track did not operate in 2008. Arcade will again run Friday nights headlined by the FASTRAK Late Models. For the latest news on Arcade, check out their website at www.arcadeinternationalraceway.com.
“I really like the FASTRAK rules,” acknowledged Drum. “There are not many gray areas, which is neat. For racing to survive, you need affordable and durable engines. Right now guys are getting two to three seasons on one engine. FASTRAK offers a good balance between tires, engine, and chassis. I like the current FASTRAK point system, which seems to be working good and favors drivers from everywhere. The class continues to grow as we’ve already gotten word of new drivers that will be entering the division for the upcoming season.”
Roaring Knob Raceway on the other hand will make their maiden voyage into the FASTRAK Series. The Saturday night 3/8-mile facility will give racers from Dog Hollow Speedway a second night to race within a reasonable traveling distance and racers in that region extra incentive to enter the FASTRAK Late Models. Roaring Knob has already indicated they will host their first ever Northeast Touring Series event. For the latest news on Roaring Knob, check out their website at www.roaringknob.com.
“From the very first time I met Stan Lester down south at a meeting and heard about FASTRAK, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of some day,” explained Roaring Knob owner Ron Brutt. “It took us a couple years to get Roaring Knob to the point where we felt the time was right. I am completely sold on the crate motor for weekly short track racing, and FASTRAK brings a common sense set of rules to go along with it. The FASTRAK program also gives our racers the opportunity to compete for regional and national point money that otherwise could not be afforded them.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome Arcade and Roaring Knob into the FASTRAK family,” expressed Northeast co-Directors Vicki Emig & Mike Leone. “Arcade will help stabilize the northern region and Roaring Knob’s presence should help translate into growth in southwestern Pennsylvania. Carl Drum has been a big supporter of FASTRAK as his son Kyle won at Dog Hollow and one of our Touring events at McKean. He’s working on transforming Arcade into a first-class facility. We’ve been trying to get Dog Hollow a partner on Saturday night the last two years and everything came together nicely with Roaring Knob for 2009. We’re looking forward to working with Ron Brutt and his marketing and PR person Judy Gower at their professionally operated facility.”
The 2008 season was the second year for the FASTRAK Late Models in the Northeast with Dog Hollow Speedway, Raceway 7, Mercer Raceway Park, McKean County Raceway, and Tri-City Speedway weekly-sanctioned speedways. The Northeast’s own Max Blair was the 2008 City Chevrolet $10,000 National Weekly Series Champion. The Northeast Touring Series contested 11 events with 10 different winners as Blair was also the $5,000 champion. Blair went on to win the $2,000 Night 1 of the Grand Nationals at Mercer en route to a tie for seventh place in the Grand National standings.
2008 FASTRAK Northeast Touring Series associate sponsors are Race 1, Fame RV Center, Yoder’s Performance Specialty & PRC, Bullitt Chassis, and Fred Beans Parts.
To join our mailing list, simply send an e-mail to fastrakpr-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Mike Leone and Vicki Emig can be reached at 724-964-9300. E-mail to info@fastraknortheast.com and snail mail to 4368 Route 422, Pulaski, PA 16143. For more information, check out www.fastraknortheast.com.