T-Minus Two Days To Lanco’s Labor Day Shootout – Thursday’s Preview: The Invaders
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T-Minus Two Days To Lanco’s Labor Day Shootout – Thursday’s Preview: The Invaders
Newmanstown, PA – Among the multitude of brightly painted, methanol eating, fire breathing, ground pounding race cars that will grind the clay at Lanco’s Labor Day Shootout this weekend will be several invaders, all looking to ride into the moonlit night with pockets stuffed full of Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway prize money.
On Friday night at the Allentown Fair, Eric Church will be singing about “the Outsiders.” Well, Chief, there will be no shortage of outsiders at the progressively banked oval near Newmanstown on September 5 & 6.
Headed north from the Carolinas are at least three Micro-Sprint teams as drivers Dan Jones, Matt Carr, and Paul Slimick have stated their intentions to compete at the Shootout.
Jones, gassing his familiar No. 8 out of North Carolina, is no stranger to the PA clay. He’s teaming with Fleetwood’s Bret Cronrath in a 600cc winged and wingless assault on Saturday and Sunday. Carr, from Fayetteville, NC, has been making the long haul to the Clyde for the past few months, and his Legends Pub/ Reaper Cycles machine has been getting faster and faster with each outing.
Paul Slimick, from Sumter, SC, is bringing the Duncan Dogs No. 16R (he says Duncan Dogs are Dog’on Good Dogs) to the Clyde for the very first time, and he’s looking forward to mixing it up with the best of the northeastern 600cc wheel-twisters.
Two more local invaders will also be on the 600cc entry list this weekend. One of them, Alex Bright of Collegeville, PA, honed his skills in 600cc competition at the Clyde before moving on to the ARDC, USAC, and POWRi Midgets.
Bright returned to his roots for last year’s Shootout and won the winged 600cc portion of the 2014 LD Shootout. This time, “the Phenom” will be strapped into Greg Stevens’ potent No. 20 in an attempt to steal the glory in both winged and wingless 600cc action.
The defending wingless 600cc champion and double-digit feature winner at Hamlin Speedway in the Poconos, Eddie Strada of Lake Ariel, PA, has made public his plan to enter Sunday’s wingless 600cc activity at the Shootout. “The Edge”, as he is known, is currently second on the northeast 600cc win list for 2015, and he’s looking to park his Vogel Designs No. 42e in victory lane at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway.
Over the past several seasons, Phil Durham, the Newfield Flyer out of NJ, has some big 125cc and 250cc Stock Class victories under his belt at the Clyde. But Durham decided to step away from the driver’s seat for most of the past two years…until now. He’s set to steer his dad’s Perfection Powder Coating/ RDT Masonry/ RTS No. 28 in Saturday’s Sportsman Class – a division in which he almost pulled off the Shootout victory in one of his rare 2014 starts.
The only driver to ever win four point championships in different classes at Airport Speedway in Delaware, Durham is looking for some redemption at this weekend’s Shootout.
But make no mistake…there will be plenty of competition for the drivers mentioned above. Last year, for example, a whopping 247 Micro-Sprints were divided among the six classes that took part in the LD Shootout.
Two years ago, a total of 198 entries made up the six division program, while 196 took part in 2012. There were 222 total entries in 2011 (again, spread over six classes) and the 2010 Shootout had 183 entries in five divisions.
There were 179 total entries in 2009 – in five classes – and the ’08 edition of the Shootout drew 202 entries in six different classes. The five division show presented in 2007 had 190 total entries.
With seven different divisions on this year’s menu, including the first Labor Day appearance by the All Star Slingshots and a very lucrative Charlotte Hartman Memorial Race for the winged 270cc Micros that is sure to lure a large field, the grand total could very possibly swell to a new record for the Shootout. And all of the drivers will have to race their way into the seven main events; there won’t be any time trials to help drivers leap-frog over qualifying heats and into the A-Mains.
The annual two day extravaganza of Micro-Sprint racing, taking place on September 5 and 6, is shaping up to be the biggest Labor Day Shootout in the history of Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway.
Two extremely lucrative main events – out of the seven high paying A-Mains that will be contested during the holiday weekend – highlight what will surely be an incredibly action packed and entertaining two nights of racing at the Newmanstown oval.
On Saturday night, September 5, the 270cc Micro-Sprints will take part in the Charlotte Hartman Memorial Race, an event that honors the memory of the mother of 270cc racer (and a three-time point champion of Lanco’s 270 division), Richie Hartman. Charlotte Hartman passed away very unexpectedly last winter.
The 30-lap Charlotte Hartman Memorial Race will pay $1,500 to win as long as the number of entries is between 26 and 40. Should the entry list top 40, then the winner’s share jumps up to a hefty $2,000.
In addition to the hefty base purse, Kim Glass of Kim’s Kreations and Jared Davis Motorsports have teamed up to raise $639 in lap money sponsorship, $244 for Special Awards (Hard Charger, etc.), plus a 55-gallon drum of fuel from Roadrunner Race Fuels and a $40 Gift Card for the Brickhouse Pub.
While the entire weekend is being sponsored by Hyper Racing, West Fabrication, Kim’s Kreations, and Jared Davis Motorsports, the title sponsors for the Charlotte Hartman Memorial include Ankiewicz Enterprises, Inc., Hoosier Racing Tires, and Logeman Signs. There are also several other contingency sponsors on board for the big race for the 270cc Micro-Sprints.
Joining the 270’s on Saturday, September 5 will be the winged 600cc, Sportsman/Airport Stock, and 125cc Micros. With more than 40 cars entered in the winged 600cc class, that A-Main will pay $1,000 to the winner.
On Sunday, September 6, wingless Micro-Sprint racing will take over the progressively banked clay oval as the 600cc and 270cc ground pounders take off their top wings and twist their mounts through the corners. Once again, if the entry lists in either of these two divisions exceeds 40 cars, then the A-Main will pay $1,000 to win.
Sunday’s most lucrative race, however, will be the All Star Slingshots’ Slide at the Clyde 3, a National Tour event that will pay, as long as there are at least 30 entries, a whopping $1,600 to win and $110 to take the green. The title sponsor for the Slide at the Clyde 3 is OMS Used Parts Outlet.
The Slingshots will also be racing for $280 in lap money, $250 in Special Awards.
Both nights of the Labor Day Shootout will see gates open at 2 p.m. Pill draw (for starting spots in the qualifying heats) ends and the drivers’ meeting begins at 3:45. Warm-ups get underway at 4:00 and the first heat race goes green at 4:30.
If any class has more than a full field (25 or more cars), then double heats will be run with a passing points system to determine the top qualifiers.
The Labor Day Shootout will also utilize double-file restarts in all seven A-Mains until there are five laps or less remaining, when single file restarts will be used.
Car entry (for all classes) is $60, payable the day of the event. There is no early-entry or pre-registration for the Shootout.
Pit passes are $30 per day. Anyone showing a Saturday wristband upon arrival on Sunday will pay $20 for a pit pass.
Spectator tickets are priced as follows: adult general admission is $10 per day, with a $6.00 price set for Senior Citizens and Students. Youth between the ages of six and 12 will pay just $2 per day and children under the age of six are free.
A limited number of on-site camping spaces remain; the camping spots are $25 and may be reserved by contacting Chris Snyder at 717-917-6805.
Both winged and wingless competition along with a National Tour race for the All Star Slingshots…and big money up for grabs on both nights of the Labor Day Shootout…it only means one thing…you’ve just gotta come out and LIVE the excitement that is Lanco on September 5 and 6!
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