Open Wheel Stars Visit Fairgrounds Square Mall Monday; Racing Legends Reunion Continues Tonight With 600Scene.com Small Car Roundtable
READING, PA - Stars of the region's open wheel ranks visited the Fairgrounds Square Mall Monday for Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc. Open Wheel Night.
URC champion J.J. Grasso of Middletown, Del., and ARDC champion Frank Polimeda of Fort Lee, N.J., led the list of drivers interviewed during the second day of the 25th annual Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show presented by Reading Eagle and WEEU 830 AM.
Others appearing included two-time 2009 URC winner Davey Sammons, URC talent Randy West, versatile and talented Steve Buckwalter, ARDC stars P.J. Gargiulo, Trevor Kobylarz, Bruce Buckwalter Jr., Carey Becker and Dave Shirk along with 305 Sprint Car rookie Billy Ney.
Racer, promoter and car builder Rich "Toby" Tobias Jr. of Speedway Entertainment took the stage to discuss his affordable Slingshot and SpeedSTR Midget divisions.
Ms. Thunder on the Hill Racing Series 2010 Cassi Pinder was formally introduced and interviewed.
Brian Hirthler of Four Star Lettering & Graphic Design (Green Lane, Pa. - www.4starlettering.com) installed and lettered sail panels for the No. 117 driven by his brother, Kevin Hirthler, drawing a crowd in center court.
J.J. Grasso, Davey Sammons, P.J. Gargiulo and Steve Buckwalter stepped behind the bar at the Applebee's adjacent to the mall on 5th Street Highway after show hours.
With 113 race cars on display, the show continues through Saturday (Feb. 27) with nightly activities planned. The show features a wide cross-section of racing vehicles, including vintage/restored cars, big- and small-block Modifieds, Late Models, Sprint Cars, ARDC Midgets, SpeedSTR Midgets, Sportsman, Roadrunners, Micro-Sprints, XCel 600 Modifieds, Slingshots, Go-Karts, Quarter Midgets and more.
Among the 2010 show exhibitors are Grandview (Pa.) Speedway, Big Diamond (Pa.) Raceway, Kutztown Fairgrounds (Pa.) Speedway, Thunder on the Hill Racing Series, URC, Reading Eagle, Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc., Speedway Entertainment (Slingshots and SpeedSTRs), Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Historical Society, RAACE Foundation, Doug Borger's XCel 600 Modifieds, Gary Silverman Productions, Dale Snyder Video, Clyde Martin Memorial (Pa.) Speedway, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Keystone State Quarter Midget Club, the NEETS Enduro Series and the Montgomery County Quarter Midget Racing Club
The show resumes tonight (Tuesday, Feb. 23) the 600Scene.com Small Car Roundtable featuring Kevin Steele, Barry Angstadt, Mike Dicely, Doug Borger and Richie Hartman at the stage. Pete Knappenberger serves as the MC. The Roundtable begins at 7:30 p.m., with driver interviews kicking off at 7 p.m.
The annual Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Reunion (Friday evening, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m.) and the LLANDCO Inc. Penn National Speedway Reunion (Saturday afternoon, Feb. 27 at 5 p.m.) are among the show highlights.
Show awards - including the first Don Marks Memorial Contribution to Motorsports Award - will be distributed during the popular BASH Racing Party to be held Friday night, Feb. 26 at the Temple Fire Company, just blocks from the mall, beginning at 9 p.m. Beer City of Quakertown and Lee Myles Transmissions are presenting sponsors of the BASH.
The BASH Party will feature music for dancing, a cash bar, racing movies (including 2009 footage from the Pennsylvania Dual-Track circuit) and plenty of bench racing. Tickets to the BASH are $10 and will be sold during the show and at the door.
Driver bartending at the Applebee's on 5th Street Highway, adjacent to the small, is planned for Wednesday, Feb. 24 and Thursday, Feb. 25 beginning at 9 p.m. each night.
Author Gary Ludwig appears nightly beginning at 4 p.m. and during mall hours on Feb. 21 and 27 to autograph copies of his best-selling book Tommy Hinnershitz, The Life and Times of an Auto Racing Legend, which will be on sale at the show.
Randy's Raceway of Kutztown, Pa., has set up his HO slot car track all week during the show. A celebrity race featuring Modified racers is planned for Wednesday's 'Modified Madness' program.
Vendors are on hand selling national and local racing memorabilia, collectibles, racing DVDs and much more.
For general show information, contact Brett Deyo at 845.728.2781, via e-mail at Deyo99H@aol.com or on the web: http://www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com/.
For further information on the Reading Eagle or WEEU, log on to www.readingeagle.com or www.weeu.com.
25th Racing Reunion & Car Show Schedule of Events
Tuesday, February 23 - Small Car Night - Micro-Sprint, Legends Car, Slingshot & XCel 600 Modified Drivers Invited
7:30 p.m. - 600Scene.com presents "Small Car Roundtable" featuring Kevin Steele, Barry Angstadt, Mike Dicely, Doug Borger, Richie Hartman (Stage)
Wednesday, February 24 - Reading Plastic Fabricators presents Modified Madness Night
3-5 p.m. - WEEU 830 AM Live Radio Broadcast (Stage)
7 p.m. - Meet drivers from the area's big- and small-block Modified divisions - Drivers scheduled to appear: New Jersey legend Billy Pauch, Grandview Speedway & Big Diamond Raceway talents Doug Manmiller, John Willman, Kevin Hirthler, Terry Meitzler, Jeff Strunk & more, Bridgeport Speedway star Ryan Watt - Don't miss the debut of the the BFP Specialty Young Guns: Mike Gular, Billy Pauch Jr., Jon Kellner Jr., Sean Merkel, Brad Missimer, Kyle Follweiler, A.J. DeSantis, Addison Meitzler, Jordan Umbenhauer, Kevin Albert Jr., Danny Nicholas, Carroll Hine III, Mike Lisowski, Jared Umbenhauer & Michael Weinert - Meet Ms. Thunder on the Hill Cassi Pinder
9 p.m. - Drivers Jeff Strunk, Mike Gular, Doug Manmiller & Kevin Hirthler Guest Bartend at Applebee's 5th Street Highway (adjacent to mall)
Thursday, February 25 - Joe Adams Lettering LLC presents Late Model & Sportsman Night
7 p.m. - Drivers from the Grandview Speedway Late Model division and regional Sportsman division - Kevin Kovac of the World Racing Group reports on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series - Drivers scheduled to appear: Sportsman stars Jason James, Michael Weinert, and Daryl Dissinger, Late Model talents Brian Shuey, Chuck Schutz, Bryon Sipe, Nate Christman, Kyle Merkel, Kurt Spotts (additional drivers TBA) - Meet Ms. Thunder on the Hill Cassi Pinder
9 p.m. - Drivers Brian Shuey, Chuck Schutz & Nate Christman Guest Bartend at Applebee's 5th Street Highway (adjacent to mall)
Friday, February 26 - Salute to the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway - 31 years later!
6:30 p.m. - Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Reunion (Stage)
9 p.m. - Beer City of Quakertown BASH Racing Party - Temple Fire Company on Kutztown Road (tickets available for $10 during show & at the door) - Sound provided by Lee Myles Transmissions - Presentation of the first Don Marks Memorial Contribution to Motorsports Award - PLUS Show Awards, Music for Dancing, Racing Movies, Cash Bar, Snacks and more.
Saturday, February 27 - Salute to Penn National Speedway presented by LLANDCO Inc.
5 p.m. - FIRST EVER Penn National Speedway Reunion presented by LLANDCO Inc. of Leesport, Pa., a landfill construction company (Stage) - Former drivers, owners, officials, sponsors, fans, etc., gather to remember the Grantville, Pa., oval that closed its doors in 1996.
- Mall Hours: Sunday 11 a.m-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-9 p.m. -
*Schedule subject to change
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