For Immediate Release/April 4, 2014
You’ll Never Forget The First Time: Inaugural ‘Hard Clay Open’ Presented By United Pump & Tank, East Coast Speed & West Point Golf Takes Place Sunday, April 6; Huge $30,000-Plus Modified Event Opens Orange County, New York State Modified Season; History Will Be Made At The ‘Hard Clay’
MIDDLETOWN, NY – They say you never forget the first time.
That will be the case this Sunday, April 6, when the New York State dirt Modified season opens with the historic inaugural running of the ‘Hard Clay Open�80� presented by United Pump & Tank, East Coast Speed/ECS Auto & West Point Golf at Orange County Fair Speedway. The ‘Hard Clay Open’ is headlined by the first-ever 50-lap National Dirt Racing League (NDRL) Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP big-block/small-block Modified event.
The $30,000-plus spectacular is a co-promotion involving Orange County operators Michael Gurda IV and Howard Commander in conjunction with special events promoter Brett Deyo of BD Motorsports Media LLC.
The ‘Hard Clay Open’ at the fairgrounds five-eighths-mile kicks off the NDRL Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP, a six-race big-block/small-block Modified series offering a recently increased $10,014 to the champion from a point fund of more than $25,000. The series visits Orange County, Thunder Mountain (N.Y.), I-88 (N.Y.), Accord (N.Y.) and Penn Can (Pa.) speedways. A long list of contingency and special awards has been assembled for the first Short Track Super Series season.
For Sunday’s Orange County event, pit gates open at 8 a.m. Drive-in and grandstand gates open at 10 a.m. The pre-race drivers’ meeting will be called at 12:40 p.m. Hot laps are set at 1:05 p.m., with the first official green flag at 2 p.m.
Admission for the ‘Hard Clay Open’ is $20 for Adults, $18 for Seniors and $2 for Kids 12 and under. Pit admission is $35, with no license required.
The program includes qualifying races and main events for both the NDRL Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP Modifieds and Dig Safely New York GRIT Series Crate 602 Sportsman. Modifieds race 50 laps for $5,000 to win, $1,000 for 10th and $500 to start plus bonuses and $2,439 in lap money that will cycle through the top-seven running positions. Crate 602 Sportsman will run 25 laps for a $1,000-plus winner’s share and $100 to take the green flag.
Drivers representing seven states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvan ia, Vermont, Delaware, Massachusetts and Connecticut) and one Canadian province (Ontario) are already on the NDRL Modified entry list, with many additional competitors expected to register on race day.
The ‘Hard Clay Open’ is historic for many reasons: it marks the first race at Orange County contested with high sail panels (rather than traditional windows) on Modifieds; it is the debut for Midwestern/Sprint Car-style ‘passing points’ qualifying in dirt Modified racing; it marks the first foray by the National Dirt Racing League (NDRL), a sanctioning group of high-paying Super Late Model racing, into the Northeastern Modified market; it is the first NDRL Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP event; and it is the first BD Motorsports Media LLC promotion at Orange County.
Prior to the races, there will be activities for race fans in the midway area. At 11:30 a.m., an autograph session will take place behind the main grandstand to include Brett Hearn of Sussex, N.J., vying for his 300th career Orange County win this weekend; Stewart Friesen of Sprakers, N.Y., last year’s leading Northeast Modified winner; Andy Bachetti of Sheffield, Mass., a former Orange County, Lebanon Valley (N.Y.) and Accord (N.Y.) champion; 20-year-old rookie phenom Anthony Perrego of Montgomery, N.Y., who won more than $7,700 last November at the Accord ‘Gobbler’ race; Danny Creeden of Middletown, N.Y., last year’s Orange County 358-Modified champion; defending I-88 (N.Y.) Speedway Modified title winner Mike Mahaney of King Ferry, N.Y.; and Tim Hindley of Monticello, N.Y., the 2013 Orange County DIRTcar big-block Modified champion.
New Jersey ’s RC2U will set up their remote-control track in the grandstand area. Kids of all ages can tackle R/C car racing on their oval-track setup.
Ms. Motorsports 2014 Cassi Pinder, who earned her crown in January at the Oaks, Pa., Motorsports show presented by Len Sammons Motorsports Productions, will be on hand for the afternoon’s festivities. She will be joined by Ms. Middletown Motorsports 2014 Robyn Sink and Little Ms. Middletown Motorsports 2014 Gabriella Gallo.
Opening ceremonies will include live renditions of both the American and Canadian national anthems by 14-year-old Shyla Macaluso of Otisville, N.Y., and Ashley Cootware of Clarksville, N.Y.
Event apparel, decals and program books will be on sale in the grandstand, drive-in and pit areas.
On Saturday (April 5), race teams will hit the track for an open practice session from 12-5 p.m. Grandstand admission is FREE for practice. Pit admission is $25.
In Orange County’s long and storied history, there have been eight different race events completed on or before April 6: March 18, 1984 won by Larry Brolsma; March 25, 1984 won by Charlie Rudolph; April 2, 1983 won by C.D. Coville; April 2, 1983 won by Gary Iulg (heldover from March 27, 1983); April 3, 1966 won by Bill Wimble; April 4, 1959 won by Carl Van Horn; April 4, 1964 won by Bill Wimble and April 6, 1984 won by Bob McCreadie.
Big- and small-block combinations are legal for this unique event with staggered minimum weights. American Racer and Hoosier tires are both legal, as well. Accepted tire compounds have been outlined in the race rules/information.
For the first time ever at Orange County, sail panels are permitted for the ‘Hard Clay Open’ Modified event. Sail panels must be no taller than 65 inches when measured from the ground and must mirror each other in size and shape side-for-side. A four-inch roof spoiler is permitted, as well. All other Orange County/DIRTcar body rules will be in effect. Complete race rules, weights and tire compounds can be found online at www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com or www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net.
For qualifying, drivers will draw for their starting positions upon entry to the speedway. Heat-race finishes utilizing staggered passing points will be calculated to set the redraw participants and qualified cars from 10-lap heat races. Consolations, 10 laps each, will set the remainder of the 28-car starting field via their order of finish. The heat-race finish/passing point combination will set the starting lineups for the consolations.
The passing points system, new to Modified racing but widely used in other forms of racing including Sprint Cars and the famed ‘Chili Bowl’ in Tulsa, Okla., aims to satisfy the desires of both racers and fans by easing the consequences of a poor draw for competitors and providing heat-race excitement for fans.
For further ‘Hard Clay Open’ information, contact Brett Deyo of BD Motorsports Media at Deyo99H@aol.com or by phone at 845.728.2781. BD Motorsports Media is on the web at www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com. “Like” BD Motorsports Media on Facebook or “follow” @BrettDeyo on Twitter.
Located at 239 Wisner Avenue Middletown, NY 10940 on the Orange County Fairgrounds, Orange County Fair Speedway is the oldest continuously operating dirt track in the United States. The first auto race was held at the speedway in 1919. The five-eighths-mile oval offers fully-covered and half-covered grandstands in addition to open bleacher seating on the frontstretch and turn one areas, with drive-in viewing on the backstretch. To learn more, contact the Orange County Fair Speedway office at 845.342.2573 or visit www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net.
The ‘Hard Clay Open’ is presented by United Pump & Tank, East Coast Speed/ECS Auto, West Point Golf, Rock Fantasy Concert, Smoke Shop & Pinball Room, Simplicity Design, 673 Racing, Mike Sparta Trucking, Elmo’s Auto Body, Zubi’s Racing, McGannon Excavating, Teo-Pro Car, Rochinski Contracting Services, Bob Hilbert Sportswear& many other fine marketing and lap sponsors.
The National Dirt Racing League (NDRL) Short Track Super Series is presented by VP Racing Fuels, Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc., East Coast Speed/ECS Auto, Rochinski Contracting Services, Allstar Performance, American Ra cer/Lias Tire, Art’s Radiator, ATL Fuel Cells, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, BFP Specialty, Bicknell Racing Products, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, COMP Performance Group, Dirt Track Digest, DRACO Springs, Driven Racing Oil, ERK Steering, Finish Line Web Design, FOX Sh ox, H.B. Steele& Son, Henry’s Stainless Steel Exhaust, Hig Fab Chassis, Jack’s Used Race Car Parts & More, Kirkey Racing Products, PM3 Digital Imaging, Quarter Master, Race Pro Weekly, Schaeffer Racing Oil, Shiley Fabrication, Sleepy Hollow Golf, Teo-Pro Car, Troyer Race Cars & Vahlco Wheels.
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Brett Deyo
BD Motorsports Media LLC
BD Motorsports Media LLC
Phone: 845.728.2781
E-Mail: Deyo99H@aol.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BDMotorsportsMedia
Twitter: @BrettDeyo
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