Afton Fairgrounds Spring Breakout Starts with April 1st Practice
Story By:STEVE CLAPPERTON / I-88 SPEEDWAY MEDIA Photos By:DAVE DALESANDRO / RACERSGUIDE.COM
Afton NY.-March 22, 2016- Promoters Jamie and Denise Page will open the 2016 season at I-88 Speedway in Afton N.Y. with the first of two weekly test and tune practice sessions on Friday, April 1.
The season will take the green for real on Friday, April 15 with all of the divisions returning for this season. Also on the card for 2016 will be the addition of the 602 Crate Sportsmen division.
The Crate Sportsmen division has been the fastest growing class in the Northeast over the past few years. The class has been racing with the Chambers and O’Hara Sportsmen division but due to increased demand Jamie and Denise decided to give the Crate class an opportunity to run their own program for 2016.
Powered by a GM 305 cubic inch engine, the class is intended to keep the cost of racing a modified style car more affordable than a Modified or the existing open Sportsmen division. An informational meeting held in January indicated a great deal of excitement on the part of the drivers for the new division. While American Racer is the track tire at I-88 Speedway any 602 Crate Sportsmen driver who utilizes Hoosier tires may run up to two visits on their Hoosier tires.
In 2016 the GRIT Sportsmen series made two stops at I-88 Speedway and brought with it a full field of competitors and some very competitive racing. The series will return in 2016 with four races on the schedule. The first appearance will come on Tuesday, June 21 in a special show featuring the inaugural show for the new Short Track Super Series Open Sportsmen division and the Fight Night Street Stocks.
The GRIT Sportsmen will return for the highlight of the mid-week schedule as the Crazy 8’s Short Track Super Series race for Modifieds returns to the fairgrounds speedway on Wednesday, July 27. The drivers will also haul into town on Friday, September 23 during the Algonkin Motel Fall 250. The final appearance for the GRIT series will take place on the Saturday, October 8 portion of the 9th Short Track Super Nationals weekend.
The Crate Sportsmen will also have Mid-Season Championship night on Friday July 1 and their season championship on Friday, September 9. An additional incentive for the division is the addition of the class to the American Racer Cup for 2016.
The headlining Greg Page Construction Modified division will be back with an added incentive on the line in 2016. The Greg Page Construction/Slade Automotive Fast Cash Summer Series will make it’s debut at the speedway. Four races make up the series which will pay $1500 to win and $1000 for second and will pay bonuses of $300 and $200 to the top two drivers in the series. Also, the money to take the green has been raised to $150 for each feature.
Also for 2016 the Greg Page Construction Modifieds have been added to the American Racer Cup Program. This lucrative incentive gives drivers an opportunity to compete for additional cash prizes based on their top 12 finishes for the year. In the past the Chambers and O’Hara Sportsmen division has been a part of the program, with track champion Alan Barker picking up the American Racer Cup championship for the division in 2015, but this will be the first season for the Modifieds to enter.
The Modifieds have a number of additional special dates on the schedule for 2016. The return of two of the favorites with the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled by VP Crazy 8’s event coming to the speedway on Wednesday, July 27. The race is the highest paying date on the schedule at I-88 Speedway, paying $8,888 to the winner. Also on the card that night will be the GRIT Sportsmen and the Xcel Modifieds.
The Modifieds will have championship nights on July 15 and September 9 and will be in competition on Algonkin Motel Fall 250 weekend with a 50 lap feature on Saturday, September 24.
The Modifieds will close out the season with the 9th Short Track Super Series Super Nationals event on Saturday, October 8.
The Chambers and O’Hara Open Sportsmen division will have a new series to follow in 2016. When the change in ownership of the Dirt Race of Champions series left a void for the class, Brett Deyo stepped in and expanded the Short Track Super Series to include the Open Sportsmen. The first appearance for the series will come in conjunction with the GRIT Sportsmen show on Tuesday, June 21. Also, the purse has been bumped up to $100 to take the green for the season.
Other special events for the Open Sportsmen will take place on Friday, September 23 with their 50 lap feature as a part of the Algonkin Motel Fall 250. In addition they will take the green flag for their Short Track Supernationals event on Friday, October 7. The Open Sportsmen will have their championship races on July 1 and September 9.
The ever popular Street Stocks will return in 2016 with a new series coming to town on three nights. The Fight Night Street Stock series, a promotion of the Dick and Nick Stark promotional team behind the GRIT Sportsmen series, was created to fill the void left by the demise of the Dirt Race of Champions Street Stock Series. The full fendered action will hit the track on Tuesday, June 21, Tuesday, August 23 and Friday, September 23. The class will have their championship nights on July 15 and September 9.
The IMCA Modifieds will be seeing two Empire Series Tour races for the 2016 season. The first coming on Friday, June 10 with the second one on Friday, July 29. Championship nights for the IMCA Modifieds will be on June 24 and September 2.
The Xcel Modifieds will be in competition for 2016 their championship nights coming on June 24 and September 2. On Friday, August 26 I-88 Speedway will host a tour race for the Xcel Modifieds. They will also be on the card for Friday, September 24 as part of the Algonkin Motel Fall 250 Weekend wich will be a tour race. And they will close out their season at the speedway on the Saturday, October 8 portion of the Short Track Supernationals.
The Empire Sport Trucks will be competing in many of the same specials as the other divisions. Championship nights for the trucks will be on June 24 and September 9. They will also be racing on Friday night September 23 and Saturday, October 8.
Two divisions of Sprint Cars will be competing at I-88 Speedway in 2016. Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints will return for the Earl Halaquist Memorial on Tuesday, August 23 along with the Capital Region Sprint Agency. The CRSA will also be in town on June 3, July 1 and September 24.
Other special events include the Empire Lightning Sprints on July 22, September 9 and October 8 and the SRP Sprints on April 22, June 3, June 17 and August 5. Also, Friday Night June 17th former Nascar Camping World Series winner and 2012 Rookie of the Year Joey Coulter, who now is competing on the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series, plans to be at I-88 Speedway.
For further information contact Jamie Page: 607-760-0671 or Denise Page: 607-760-0665 or visit the website at www.i-88speedway.com.
