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Welcome to the
official web-site of the
600 Modified Series and Xcel
Chassis, LLC. The 600 Modifieds are scaled down versions of
Northeast Modifieds powered by 600cc engines. The Series is a
spec division that promotes tight, wheel-to-wheel racing throughout
PA, NY and NJ.
| 07.11.08
Penn Can Speedway |
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1. |
Butch
Getz |
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2. |
Rob
Vivona |
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3. |
Chris
Stockham |
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4. |
Cody
Coons |
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5. |
George
Loux |
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07.11.08 |
Butch Getz wins on home
stomping grounds (Penn Can Speedway)
Driving for the Big Creek Concrete sponsored #4jr of Ritchie Everitt
would bring new challenges for Butch Getz. He returned to Penn Can
Speedway not in his big block modified but in a 600 modified. He
wondered if the car would take to the set up or blow it out the
door. The Hoosier Tire 600 modified series pulled into Penn
Can on July 11th after a 3 year hiatus.
Twenty-four
drivers signed in and would qualify with only a few having raced
there previously. Advice was asked and given thru out the pits. The
long straightaways and tight turns were a challenge for some but
were quickly overcome atter hot laps. The consensus among the
drivers showed in the enthusiasm to get the night started.
Cody Coons, in his rookie year, would sit on the pole for the first
time of the season after qualifying for the feature thru his heat
race. Heat races were won by Mike Keppler, Rob Vivona and Butch
Getz. Coons looked to keep his Penn Forest sponsored #82 out front
as long as he could until lap #5 saw the #46 of Rob Vivona take the
point. Rob is a former 600 micro driver and joined the series this
year. It hasn't taken him long to get used to not having the wing
and looks stronger has the year goes on. Mike Keppler #35k, who is
the current points leader, would find himself in the back after
getting spun on lap #4. He would work his way back up thru the field
and cross the checkered in 11th place. Meanwhile Chris Stockham had
taken the lead by lap#6 with Getz closing on him every lap. A
caution on lap # 13 changed the race completely. Stockham had used
up his tires fending off the hard charging Getz and the #46 of
Vivona. Getz dove to the bottom on the restart and powered the car
coming out of the turn to find himself in the top in and spot.
Kevin Gruber, a third year driver, managed to keep his self owned
#33 in the top 6 throughout the race. George Loux, returning to his
regular #48 for the first time in a few weeks was ecstatic on how
the car handled. Loux had mechanical problems and few weeks ago and
used the #84 back up car. He wanted to thank his dad, Ken, for
putting a lot of garage hours in to get the
#48 back on track. Gruber and Loux would mix it up with Coons for
the last seven laps. Coons would take fourth for his highest finish
of the year. Loux would cross the line followed by Gruber for fitth
and sixth place. By this time the top three had pulled away from the
field and were having a battle of there own. Butch Getz had to pull
out all the tricks to keep Vivona and Stockham at bay. People were
standing on their feet by this time as Getz was the favorite of the
night. Rob Vivona would have to settle for second as Getz would seal
the deal coming out of turn four on the last lap. Chris Stockham
would come in a respectable third. Two weeks ago he was leading the
race at Thunder Mountain and would see his night end early after
hitting a yuke tire. It was a huge disappointment since it was the
biggest payout of the year. Rob Vivona had a great time at tech and
hoped to be back soon.
In his victory
lane interview, Butch Getz congratulated his car owner with his
second win of the season. He also stated Penn Can put a great racing
surface together for the series and was looking forward to a return
trip. It was also good to see friends again and to be back in
victory lane.
The Hoosier
Tire 600 modifieds will see action on two weeks starting off at Five
Mile Point Speedway to start the mid season swing.
Feature finish
BUTCH GETZ, Rob Vivona, Chris Stockham, Cody Coons, George Loux,
Kevin
Gruber, Ryan Higgs, Tyler Bartik, Joe Fanelli, Ryan Suchon, Mike
Keppler. Bra.d Szulewski, Mike Pychinka, Charlie Dibble, Dillon
Stein, Aaron Bowes, Jon Lakatos, Brian Kelly, Kyle Rochinski, Mark
Schaffer, Nick Mady, Jeromy Guistwite, Eric Whitbe, Bob Skoniecki
07.05.08 |
Keppler doubles up at
Five Mile Point Speedway
Hoosier Tires 600 Modifieds rolled into Five Mile Point Speedway on
July 5th. Twenty six cars and drivers were ready to suit up for the
second consecutive night. This would be the first time for many of
the drivers to take the green.
The first heat race field would be the toughest of the night. Nine
cars out of the 26 would start this heat race with eight of them
being in the top ten current point standings. Kevin Gruber #33 and
Ryan Higgs#16 would start the fireworks. Mike Keppler #35k took the
lead on lap 3 and never looked back. The second heat race would be
lead by 2 rookies. Brad Szulewski #14z and the # 82 of Cody Coons.
Coons must have liked the free air as he lead all eight laps.
The third heat race would see a rookie and a veteran in the front
row. Aaron Bowes # 64 rookie of the year contender and Erik (ROY)
Whitby #12e would be on the outside. By turn four, Mike Pychinka #55
would lead the
field for all eight laps.
The flip of the
coin would invert the top three of each heat. George Loux, second
season driver of the # 48, and first year runner Ryan Suchon #37
would lead the field for the start of the 20 lap feature. Just like
fireworks the 600 Modifieds started off with a bang. After the field
settled into their groove, Mike Keppler #35k took the lead on lap
nine. Loux and the # 16 of Ryan Higgs would do battle for the next
ten lap since Mike Keppler had an unofficial 1.5 second lead. Brad
Szulewski and Kevin Gruber put on a great show with Brad taking the
fourth position. This would be his best finish of the 2008 season so
far. Chris Ostrowski, regular modified driver at Five Mile, would
steer the rental car to a sixth place finish. He contacted Doug
Borger that morning to see if a ride was available. He stated after
the race “I’m sure glad that I made the phone call, because that’s
the most fun I’ve had in a race car.” Colin Dorshimer did double
duty driving the # 4jrx. Rich Everitt ,owner, wanted to bring both
cars out for the holiday weekend. Ryan Simmons climbed in the race
car for the first time driving the # 84 of Ken Loux and crossed the
checkered in 15th place.
Doug Borger, series owner, wanted to thank Five Mile Point Speedway
for hosting the night’s racing events and the great fireworks
display. The Hoosier Tires 600 Modified Series heads to PennCan
Speedway July 11th, for more racing action.
Heat race #1 - Keppler, Higgs, N.Mady, Gruber, Stein
Heat race #2 - Coons, Junior, Suchon, Szulewski, Dorshimer
Heat race #3 - Pychinka, Borger, Loux, Pritchard, Whitby
Feature
KEPPLER, Loux, Higgs, Szulewski, Gruber, Ostrowski, Bartik, Whitby,
Stein, Bowes, Pychinka, Borger, Dorshimer, Junior, Simmons, Lakatos,
N. Mady, Suchon, Guistwhite, B. Mady, Pritchard, Baldwin Jr., Kelly,
Coons, Higgs, Baldwin Sr.
07.04.08 |
Keppler is as hot as the
fireworks at Thunder Mountain
Fireworks were on the card for the nights events and so were the
Hoosier Tire 600 Modifieds. Returning to Thunder mountain racetrack
for the only appearance this year, twenty-seven cars were signed in.
Drivers were comparing notes since they were running a 50 lap
feature and hoping to pocket the biggest payout of the year.
Starting of the
night was the 12E of Eric Whitbe and the 35K of Mike Keppler. Whitbe
would lead the first heat race and bring the field to the line. Ryan
Suchon of the 37 would start pole for the second heat race but by
lap 2 Kevin Gruber #33 would take the lead and never give it up.
Chris Stockham would take the lead on lap 2 in the third heat race
followed by the 2K of Kevin Pritchard. All three heat races went
green to checkered.
After a brief
intermission the 600 modifieds were staged and ready to roll. Eric
(Roy) Whitbe and Kevin Gruber would sit on the front row for the 50
lap feature. Only three cautions during the race set up a long run
segments. Chris Stockham took the lead on lap 3 unfortunently lost
the battle with the inside tire in turn one and was done for the
night. By this time Brian (Big Daddy) Mady driver of the 2 had moved
up to second place with Mike Keppler inheriting the lead. They would
come into lap traffic by lap 21. And again would come upon a lap car
on lap 27. Lap 35 would bring out the last caution and at that point
the 4JR of Butchie Getz had moved up to the fifth position. Lap 43
would prove the turning point of the race as the #2 of Brian Mady
lost power and dropped down to the fifth position. Dave Baldwin
driver of the #4 had moved his way up to the third position and
would battle Getz for second for the next seven laps. This would
give Mike Keppler the opening he needed to cross the checkerds in
first place.
In victory lane he stated “ I want to thank North Rockland Towing
for sponsoring the night events and to Dick Stark for being the
night host”. It was an added bonus for Keppler since North Rockland
Towing is also his sponsor for the 2008 season. Doug Borger, series
owner, wanted to thank the drivers for putting on a great show for
the large crowd on hand at Thunder Moutain. The Hoosier tire 600
Modified Series will head down I81 to Five Mile Point Speedway the
next day for the first time this year.
Heat race 1 - Whitbe, Keppler, N. Mady, Szulewski, Colin
Heat race 2 - Gruber, Gardner, Pychinka, Baldwin Jr, Bowes
Heat race 3 - Stockham, Pritchard, B. Mady, Loux, Higgs
Feature
KEPPLER, Getz, Baldwin Jr, Higgs, B. Mady, Whitbe, Coons, Bowes,
Pritchard, Gruber, Szulewski, Suchon, B. Higgs, Lakatos, Smith,
DeRiyder, Johnson, G. Loux, N. Mady, Stockham, Pychinka, Bartik,
Skoniecki, Colon, Gardner, K. Loux, Baldwin Sr.
06.30.08 |
Thunder Mountain to pay
$500.00 for 50 laps
on July 4th
Thunder Mountain Speedway, a track that has hosted some great 600
Modified racing in the past, will post a $500.00 payout to the
winner after 50 laps of racing. The show will be on July 4th
and will feature fireworks. Come out and see some great wheel
to wheel racing! For more info, visit Thunder Mountain
Speedway's website at
http://www.thunderracetrack.com.
06.28.08 |
Getz takes first win of
2008 season
The 600 modifeds returned to Lanco Speedway after a two year hiatus.
Many of the drivers looked forward to running the "Bristol" style
track. Thirty-one cars signed in for the nights action. Butch
Getz had come close but never sealed the deal till Saturday night.
Driving for the 4jr of Rich Everitt, he powered the car to the
checkers.
Starting the night's events would be the #61 of Mark Scaffer and the
#64 of Aaron Bowes. Gary Suchy Jr. would take the #19 thru the field
and cross the checkers in third behind Schaffer and the #4 of Dave
Baldwin Jr. The second heat race put the #37 of Ryan Suchon and Mike
Pychinka on the front row. Pychinka lead the field to the line and
would set fast time of 12.34 for the heats and consi. Getz would
give a preview of the night to come and put his power plant up front
to take the third heat race win. The 2s of Dillon Stein would lead
the field of 14 cars to take the consi win. Only nine would qualify
and set the stage for a great feature event.
Lanco speedway did a great job of track prep and made a smooth
surface for the Hoosier tire 600 modifieds. Mark Schaffer and Mike
Pychinka sat on the front row and brought the 24 car field into turn
four and the green flag flew.
By
lap #8 mother nature had a different idea and sent the field back to
the trailers. After a one hour rain delay and some great track work,
despite mechanical problems, it was time to go racing again. Getz
had taken the top spot by lap#5 and found his groove running the
bottom line. Dave Baldwin jr. would set his sights on second place
runner, Schaffer. The #61 of Schaffer would then turn into defensive
mode and hold off the #4 of Baldwin. This battle would let the #4jr
sponsored by Big Creek Concrete, of Butch Getz motor his way across
the line and takes his first win of the season. Chris Stockham,
driver of the #44, started in 18th position and finished 5th earning
him the hard charger of the night. After post race inspection, the
#4 of Baldwin was disqualified for tire pressure infraction moving
the #33 of Kevin Gruber into the third place.
Doug Borger wanted to thank Chris Snyder for putting the show
together. He also wanted to commend the track maintenance crew for
giving them a great surface for the feature and saving the track
after the rain fell. Doug stated " I look forward to working with
Chris and Lanco in the future and my guys are already asking me when
do we go back.
The Hoosier Tire 600 modifieds head up to northern New York for a
double header weekend. Thunder Mountain will play host for the
biggest paying show of the year. North Rockland Towing will sponsor
a 50 lapper $500.00 to win show. Doug Borger, series owner, has
appointed this event a points race. Five Mile Speedway will see the
second night of racing on July 5th.
Heat Race #1 - Schaffer, Baldwin Jr., Suchy, Jr., Keppler, Vivona
Heat Race #2 - Pychinka, Gruber, Suchon, Bartik, B.Mady
Heat Race #3 - Getz, Arndt, Guistwite, Scherff, Higgs
Consi Stein, Kunkle, Stockham, Szulewski, Fanelli
Feature
GETZ, Schaffer, Gruber, Pychinka, Stockham, Guistwite, Vivona,
Higgs, Keppler, Suchon,Bartik, Haydt, Stein, B.Mady, Coons,
Detweiler, Loux, Scherf, Fanelli, Kunkle, Suchy Jr., Arndt,Szulewski,
Baldwin Jr., Whitbe, Kelly, Bowes, Horning, Lakatos, N.Mady, Baldwin
Sr.
06.20.08 |
Keppler scores at Big D
- Miller goes for a wild ride
The Hoosier Tire 600 Modifeds signed in another full field for
racing action at Big Diamond Speedway. Thirty-three cars and drivers
were ready to take to the track and try and beat mother nature to
the punch. Line ups were set, drivers meeting taken care, suits and
helmets put on and everybody would be race ready.
Ryan Higgs #16
and Tyler Bartik #85am would start the night with the front row for
the first heat race. By the fourth turn Higgs was still in front
with Nick Mady#77x, previous feature winner, in second followed by
the #55 of Mike Pychinka. This would remain the same for all 6
circuits. The second heat race would see a change for the lead on
lap four has Chris Stockham would pull off the track with an engine
problem. This would put the 2s of Dillon Stein on the mark with the
WASAK sponsored #22 machine of Joe Fanelli right on his bumper.
Stein held off the charge and would cross the line first. Heat race
#3 saw a great battle for the top spot between Bobby Scherff and the
veteran Mike Keppler . This is Scherffs first year racing and is
showing great potential. Keppler showed the rookie how it was done
with a last lap pass coming out of turn four to take the win. 18
cars would start the consi with only nine qualifying positions up
for grabs. Bartik would lead the field thru all eight laps followed
by Stockham. Scott Washburn, driving the #38 of Curt Amey, would
cross the line in third.
Twenty four
cars were pre staged for the feature. Big Diamond did a great job on
rolling the track in and beating out the rain. This would set the
stage for a thrilling night. Butch Getz #4jr and Cody Coons, Rookie
of the Year contender , would lead the mighty modifieds to the green
flag for a twenty lap feature. After 2 minor cautions in the
beginning of the race, passing would be thru out the field. Lap
thirteen would prove unlucky for the 3c of Chuck ”The Thrilla”
Miller. As he was half way down the backstretch, a tangle with
another car would send him flipping a total of 7 times sending him
over the wall and 50 ft. into the woods. He was higher than the
caution lights and when he landed , he realized his roof was gone
but the only thing he felt was a charlie horse in his thigh. Looking
at his tore up machine he added “ No one builds a safer race car
than Doug Borger. I’m not sure what the season holds, but I want to
thank Big Diamond’s safety crew and officials for doing a great
job”.
Once the red flag was turned off, it would be back to racing. Getz
would try to hold off the charging Mike Keppler and Nick Mady. By
lap # 16 Keppler would take the top spot. On lap #18 the red flag
would fly for the #22 of Joe Fanelli with a slight fire which was
quickly extinguished by the safety crew and racing was back on. By
this time two Rookie of the Year contenders had worked their way
thru the field and put themselves in the top ten. Ryan Kunkle #77
started 24th and would cross the line in 9th. Brad Szulewski, driver
of the 14z started 22nd and would take home his first top ten of the
year. The rookie points are shaping up to be a nail biter has the
season progresses.
Mike Keppler
would return to victory lane for the second time of the season. In
his interview he explained how the competition just gets better
every week. He looks to repeat as champion for the 2008 season. The
Hoosier tire 600 modifieds will be back to Lanco Speedway after a
two year hiatus on June 28th.
Heat Race #1 - Higgs, N.Mady, Pychinka, Whitbe, Loux
Heat Race #2 - Stein, Fanelli, Coons, Miller, Vivona
Heat Race #3 - Keppler, Scherf, Getz, Dibble, B.Mady
Consi - Bartik, Stockham, Washburn, Baldwin jr., Suchon
Feature
KEPPLER, Getz, N.Mady, Vivona, Pychinka, Baldwin jr., Schaffer,
Whitbe, Kunkle, Szulewski, Loux, Washburn, Scherf, Coons, Higgs,
Bartik, Suchon. Stockham, B.Mady, Dibble, Stein, Fanelli, C.Miller,
Landis, Detweiler, Gruber, Guistwite, Baldwin sr., Skoniecki,
R.Miller, Bowes, Kelley, Horning
GUISTWITE TAKES
FIRST CAREER WIN
GULAR WINS GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY MODIFIED SHOOTOUT
06.18.08 |
Guistwite gets career
first at Kutztown - Gular takes Shootout
BULLRING - That’s what comes to mind when the Hoosier Tire 600
modifieds visit Kutztown Fair Speedway. Twenty-five cars signed in
for the mid-week show with the largest crowd of the season on hand.
Butch Getz would start the night winning the first heat race
followed by the #64 of Aaron Bowes. Joe Fanelli, subbing in the #84
of Ken Loux, would cross the checkers in second behind the 77x of
Nick Mady for the second heat race. Fanelli set fast time for the
heats with a 12.75. Newcomer to the series, Kevin Pritchard, set the
pace for the third heat race with the self-owned #33 of Kevin Gruber
on his bumper at the line.
On the pole for
the first time this year would be the #37 of Ryan Suchon and the
#04, sponsored by X-CEL-R-AID, of Jeromy Guistwite. Track position
and smart driving would play an important part for the feature. The
first caution would jumble the field and put the #33 of Gruber back
in the field. He would have his work cut out for him to make up real
estate but he would not be denied. Jon Landis, driving the #13,
would also use the close quarters to his advantage and put his
machine in the third position. On lap # 17, Gruber peeked his nose
under Guistwite but wouldn’t be able to open the door. Mark Schafer
#61 waited patiently for the door to open for him also but Guistwite
had his sights set on the checkers. The last lap proved to be the
most exciting of the night has the #61 of Mark Schafer would get
sideways coming out of turn four which would open the door for Jon
Landis to cross the checkers in third place.
Ed Guistwite,
father of Jeromy, was all smiles as fellow drivers congratulated him
and Jeromy for the first career victory. Jeromy stated “ I hope I
can be in victory lane again soon cause this feels great. This makes
all the work me and my crew do during the week feel like nothing”.
Former NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour Rookie of the Year Tyler Haydt wheeled the
second Rich Everitt owned #4jr. It was his first ever race on a dirt
surface and crossed the line in seventh place.
Up next would
be the first Grandview Speedway Shootout with the top competitors
fielding cars from the 600 modifieds. Drivers Duane Howard #84, Mike
Gular#77x, Mark Fehr#72, Kurt Spotts#13, Brad Brightbill#38, Jeff
Strunk#64, Doug Manmiller#3c, Troy Wink#04 and Ryan Grimm#33 would
pull pills to set the starting grid for the 15 lap feature. Howard
and Gular would pace the field to the green flag. Gular would out
gun Howard on the start and lead every lap despite heavy pressure
from Brad Brightbill thru 10 laps. “ I had a lot of fun on my first
visit here and want to thank Doug Borger and Kutztown Fair Speedway
for putting this together. The cars are definatley cool and the
steering is a lot quicker then my modified. I also want to thank all
the drivers for letting us use their cars for tonight’s race.
Doug Borger. Series owner, wanted to extend a thank you to Kutztown
Speedway, the Grandview drivers and to the 600 modified owners, Ken
Loux, Joanne Mady, Charlie Dibble, Amanda Spotts, Curt Amey, Andy
Bowes, Chuck Miller, Ed Guistwite and Kevin Gruber for lending out
their cars for the night. The 600 Modifieds will be on hand at
Big Diamond Speedway, located in Minersville, Pa on June 20th .
Heat Race #1 - Getz, Bowes, Schafer, Detweiler, Amey
Heat Race #2 - N. Mady, Fanelli, Guistwite, R.Miller, Coons
Heat Race #3 - Pritchard, Gruber, Suchon, Landis, Kunkle
Feature
GUISTWITE, Gruber, Landis, Schafer, Coons, Mady, Haydt, Fanelli,
Detweiler, Amey, Whitbe, Getz, Bowes, Pritchard, Horning, Kelly,
Dibble, Suchon, Vivona, Bartik, R. Miller, Junior, Kunkle,C. Miller,
Loux
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610-681-2689
- or email us at -
600Mods@xcelchassis.com
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Five Mile
Point Spdwy
July 26,
2008
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3/9 |
Competition Meeting |
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4/13 |
New Egypt
Speedway |
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4/25 |
Big Diamond
Raceway |
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4/26 |
Grandview
Speedway |
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5/4 |
New Egypt Speedway |
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5/10 |
Grandview
Speedway |
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5/16 |
Penn Can Speedway |
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5/17 |
Five Mile Point Spdwy |
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5/24 |
Mahoning Valley |
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6/1 |
New Egypt Speedway |
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6/6 |
Big Diamond Raceway |
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6/18 |
Kutztown Fairgrounds |
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6/20 |
Big Diamond Raceway |
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6/28 |
LANCO |
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7/4 |
Thunder Mountain Spwy |
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7/5 |
Five Mile Point Spdwy |
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7/11 |
Penn Can Speedway |
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7/26 |
Five Mile Point Spdwy |
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8/1 |
Penn Can Speedway |
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8/12 |
Grandview Speedway |
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8/14 |
Kutztown Fairgrounds |
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8/16 |
Grandview Speedway |
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8/23 |
Grandview Speedway |
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9/6 |
Orange County Fairgnds |
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9/13 |
Penn Can Speedway |
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10/11 |
TBA |
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10/18 |
Grandview Speedway |
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10/25 |
Glen Ridge Speedway |
Highlights:
Dates in orange
denotes a Points Race
May 4th and
July 4th dates are Middletown Qualifiers
May 24th is an
Asphalt show.
August 19th and
October 18th are Thunder On The Hill events.
Want a newsletter?
Please send (snail
mail, email or call) your name and mailing address to:
Joanne Mady
231 Raymondskill Rd
Milford, PA 18337
570-872-2229
jmady@ptd.net
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