Sportsman Division Will Be In The Spotlight This Season at ‘The Great Race Place’
Story By;TOBY LAGRANGE / ALBANY SARATOGA SPEEDWAY MEDIA Photos By:DAVE DALESANDRO / RACERSGUIDE.COM
Malta, NY – March 27, 2016- The Sportsman division at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway has been one of the most impressive divisions in not only the Capital District but in the racing circles of the Northeastern United States and Canada. Since the return to the clay surface under the direction of Lyle DeVore a few seasons ago, the division has brought with it record car counts, numerous first time winners and a level of competition that is second to none.
The trend will continue in the 2016 as the Great Race Place presents its 51st season of action. The schedule is packed full of special events for the Sportsman division as the drivers continue to rewrite the record books.
The Featherfoot Series for the Sportsman division will make its return for the 2016 season. This year’s series is once again presented by Ron Mensing and will carry an enlarged purse and season ending point fund. The first of the five events that make up the series will hit the track on April 29th. The remaining events will be June 3rd (NYSSCA Night), July 8th (with the King of Dirt Pro Stock Series), August 5th (with the DMA USAC Midgets) and August 26th (Back to School Raffle Night).
On June 10th the racing community will come together to honor a driver that turned a lot of laps at the fast, four tenths of a mile oval. The annual Mark Hughes Memorial event for the Sportsman division will once again take to the track as we honor a fan favorite who left us too soon.
In its second full season the King of Dirt Sportsman Series will return to the Great Race Place for two visits. The first will be on Friday night June 24th as Elmo’s Auto Body brings the 30 lap, $1,000 to win ($100 to start) Friday Night Lights event to the track. The series returns to Albany-Saratoga on Friday night September 9th for the annual Northeast Crate Nationals. This year the nationals are being presented by Dodson Construction, Dean’s Electrical Service, Elmo’s Speed Supply and High Octane Heating and Cooling. The series will also visit the Lebanon Valley Speedway twice this season (July 9th and September 1st).
As they have the past two seasons, the Sportsman division will also be a part of Brett Hearn’s Big Show 8 program on June 28th. The division will serve as the under card to the night’s Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified event. The final night of points for the Sportsman division will take place on Labor Day Weekend, September 2nd.
Taking a look back to the 2015 season, Derrick McGrew picked up the Sportsman division track championship. He beat out Rocky Warner by four points to claim the title. Jeremy Pitts, a two-time track champion finished third with Hunter Bates and Tim Hartman, Jr. rounding out the top five.
Once again the Limited Sportsman division will return to weekly action at the Great Race Place. As in years past once a driver picks up three feature wins in the division they will graduate to the regular Sportsman division.
The action at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway is presented by A-Verdi Storage Containers, Andy’s Speed Shop, Budweiser, Cleveland Brothers, County Waste, E. Stewart Jones, Ferris, Garone’s Concrete, Herrington Farms, Lazzaro’s Auto Body, Lussier Excavating, Morris Ford, Pallette Stone Corp, Quad Graphics, Recovery Sports Grill, Rifenburg Construction, Rounds Paving, Satch Sales, Sherwin-Williams, Smoker’s Choice, Snap-On Tools, Sysco, Tinkers, Upstate Buick GMC Dealers, VP Race Fuels and Wendy’s Restaurants.
The Albany-Saratoga Speedway will open its doors on Sunday April 17th for a practice session. The season is set to kick off on Friday night April 22nd with all divisions in actions including the Greg’s Towing and Repair Four Cylinders. The DIRTcar Modified division will compete for a $3,000 top prize. For more information about Albany-Saratoga Speedway and the 2016 season, including the detailed schedule please log on to www.albany-saratogaspeedway.com.
