Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show Opens With 114 Race Cars On Display

News from the 26th annual Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show presented by Reading Eagle and WEEU 830 AM - Powered by VP Racing Fuels



Media Contact: Brett Deyo - 845.728.2781 or Deyo99H@aol.com



For Immediate Release/February 21, 2011



26th Annual Reading Eagle-WEEU 830 AM-VP Racing Fuels Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show Opens With 114 Race Cars On Display And Large Crowd On Hand Sunday; Pioneer Pole Buildings Open Wheel Night Tonight



READING, PA - Racing on television didn't deter throngs of race enthusiasts from turning out to support the 26th annual Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show presented by Reading Eagle and WEEU 830 AM at the Fairgrounds Square Mall. The show opened with a large crowd on Sunday.



The 2011 edition of the Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show, 'powered by VP Racing Fuels' filled the Reading, Pa., 5th Street Highway shopping center with 114 beautifully-prepared race cars including dirt Modifieds, Sportsman, XCel 600 Modifieds, Sprint Cars, dirt and pavement Late Models, ARDC Midgets, Slingshots, Micro-Sprints, vintage Modifieds, Stage One Modifieds and more.



The Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Racing Historical Society turned back the clock with an expansive display featuring vintage/restored race cars and a tribute to the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway 'Home of Champions' which closed its doors in June 1979.



Collectibles, racing videos and printed materials, speedway/sanction displays, local speed suppliers, racing organizations and the popular Randy's Raceway slot car track kept the attention of show attendees on opening day.



The show, with free admission, continues through Saturday (Feb. 26) during mall hours.



Show awards will presented on Friday night (Feb. 25) as part of the annual BASH Racing Party at the Temple Fire Company on Kutztown Road. The overall 'Best of Show' plus divisional awards and the Don Marks Memorial Contribution to Motorsports Award, given to an individual who has contributed greatly to local auto racing will be presented during the Bash, kicking off at 9 p.m. Manmiller Electric is the awards sponsor for 2011.



There will be music for dancing courtesy of DJ Jammin' Jimmy Payne, racing videos from Gary Silverman Productions, snacks and a cash bar. Tickets are $10.



The overall 'Best of Show' will be decided by show attendees. A ballot has been placed in the show's souvenir program book. Completed ballots should be returned to a ballot box in center court. Voting began Sunday at 11 a.m. and ends Thursday (Feb. 24) at 9 p.m. to allow time for tallying the votes. Only official ballots from the program book will be counted.



Mahoning Valley Speedway, the circular paved quarter-mile located in Lehighton, Pa., has a strong presence at this year's Racing Legends Reunion. Promoters Doug and Gena Hoffman have assembled a display promoting the speedway's upcoming season.



Other speedways/sanctions represented include Grandview (Pa.) Speedway, Big Diamond (Pa.) Speedway, Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, Shellhammer's (Pa.) Speedway, Kutztown (Pa.) Speedway, Race of Champions, BD Motorsports Media's Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc. Short Track Four Crown, XCel Chassis, ARDC, URC, Thunder on the Hill Racing Series, Shellhammer's (Pa.) Speedway, Rich Tobias' Speedway Entertainment, Montgomery County Quarter Midget Club and more.



Activities are planned during the weeklong event for attendees, including Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc. Open Wheel Night tonight (Feb. 21), Reading Plastic Fabricators Small Car Night Tuesday (Feb. 22) including the 600Scene.com Small Car Roundtable, BFP Specialty Modified Madness Night Wednesday (Feb. 23) and Four Star Lettering Late Model & Sportsman Night Thursday (Feb. 24).



The Applebee's location adjacent to the mall welcomes the racing community with celebrity bartenders during the show to include ARDC Midget racers Brett Arndt, P.J. Gargiulo and Ryan Watt (Feb. 21), Modified racers Ryan Godown, Doug Manmiller, Kevin Albert Jr. and Ryan Grim (Feb. 23) and Late Model talents Sean Merkel, Kyle Merkel and Chuck Schutz (Feb. 24).



Friday night (Feb. 25) during the show is reserved for the annual Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Reunion. This year, the evening is dedicated to the memory of legendary announcer Warren Ruffner, whose voice and charisma is synonymous with racing at Reading.



On Saturday (Feb. 26), the 'Next Generation Stars' are saluted at 3 p.m. with go-kart, Quarter Midget and Junior Slingshot talents among those interviewed on stage. Later, at 7 p.m. the second annual Penn National Speedway Reunion takes place to remember the Grantville, Pa., facility that hosted its final event in 1996.



Bob Hilbert Sportswear has produced show apparel, available at the program stand near the center court area.



For further information on the Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show, contact show organizer Brett Deyo by phone at 845.728.2781 or via e-mail at Deyo99H@aol.com. A show schedule is updated on the web at http://www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com/ as it is finalized.



The affiliate events of the Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show are taking shape. Registration is underway for the Big Diamond Speedway Race Car Show at the Fairlane Village Mall (Pottsville, Pa.) March 7-12 at www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com and the fourth edition of the IRCO Dirt Track Heroes Show at the Phillipsburg Mall (Phillipsburg, N.J.) March 6-12 at www.thunderonthehillracingseries.com.



The 26th annual Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show is presented by Reading Eagle, WEEU 830 AM, VP Racing Fuels, Reading Plastic Fabricators, 600Scene.com, DJ Jammin' Jimmy Payne, Manmiller Electric, Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc., BFP Specialty, GSP Video, Berks County Historical Society, Four Star Lettering & Graphics, Racers Roundtable Radio and BD Motorsports Media.



26th Annual Racing Legends Reunion & Car Show Schedule of Events



Monday, February 21 - Pioneer Pole Buildings Inc. Open Wheel Night

7 p.m. - Meet Drivers from ARDC, URC, SpeedSTR Series and more - Curt Michael, Mark Bitner, Brett Arndt, Ryan Watt, Ryan Smith, P.J. Gargiulo, Trevor Kobylarz and more

9 p.m. - Drivers Guest Bartend at Applebee's 5th Street Highway (adjacent to mall) - Brett Arndt, Ryan Watt, P.J. Gargiulo



Tuesday, February 22 - Reading Plastic Fabricators Small Car Night

6:45 p.m. - Micro-Sprint, Legends Car, Slingshot & XCel 600 Modified Drivers

7:30 p.m. - 600Scene.com Small Car Roundtable Discussion - Barry Angstadt of Small Cars-Big Buzz in Area Auto Racing News, Kevin Steele of 600Scene.com, 600 Pro Series promoter Wayne Lesher, Tim Henry of the Keystone Legends and XCel 600 Modified leader Doug Borger



Wednesday, February 23 - BFP Specialty Modified Madness Night - Introducing the 2011 BFP Specialty Young Guns of the PA 358-Modified Circuit

3-5 p.m. - Live WEEU 830 AM radio broadcast sponsored by Berks County Historical Society

7 p.m. - Meet drivers from the area's big- and small-block Modified divisions - Craig Von Dohren, Jeff & Glenn Strunk, Mike Gular, Ryan Godown, Doug Manmiller, Kevin Hirthler, Ryan Grim, John Willman, Terry Meitzler, Brad Grim and more

Introducing the 2011 BFP Specialty PA Young Guns: Michael Weinert, Jared Umbenhauer, Jordan Umbenhauer, Mike Lisowski, Billy Pauch Jr., Nick DeSantis, Sammy Piazza, A.J. DeSantis, Kyle Follweiler, Kevin Albert Jr., Danny Nicholas, Addison Meitzler, Brad Missimer, Jordan Umbenhauer, Carroll Hine III, Jimmy Horton IV - Young Guns will be available for autographs at the BFP Specialty display following interviews!

9 p.m. - Drivers Guest Bartend at Applebee's 5th Street Highway (adjacent to mall) - Ryan Godown, Doug Manmiller, Kevin Albert Jr., Ryan Grim



Thursday, February 24 - Four Star Lettering & Graphics Late Model & Sportsman Night

7 p.m. - Meet drivers from the Grandview Speedway Late Model division and regional Sportsman division - Sean & Kyle Merkel, Chuck Schutz, Kory Fleming, Late Model rookie contender Steve Butler, Craig Whitmoyer, Dave Dissinger and more

9 p.m. - Drivers Guest Bartend at Applebee's 5th Street Highway (adjacent to mall) - Sean & Kyle Merkel, Chuck Schutz



Friday, February 25 - Salute to the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway - 32 years later! A tribute to late announcer Warren Ruffner

6:30 p.m. - Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Reunion (Stage)

9 p.m. - BASH Racing Party @ Temple Fire Company on Kutztown Road - Show awards presented, Don Marks Memorial Contribution to Motorsports Award, music for dancing by DJ Jammin' Jimmy Payne, racing movies, cash bar, snacks and more! BASH award sponsor for 2011 - Manmiller Electric, Tickets $10



Saturday, February 26 - Salute to Penn National Speedway presented by DJ Jammin' Jimmy Payne

3 p.m. - The Next Generation Stars - Meet the driving talent of the future with Quarter Midget, Go-Kart, Junior Slingshot and other youth recognized

7 p.m. - DJ Jammin' Jimmy Payne-sponsored Penn National Speedway Reunion (Stage) - Former drivers, owners, officials, sponsors, fans, etc., gather to remember the Grantville, Pa., oval that closed its doors in 1996.



Sound provided all week by Racers Roundtable Radio Show on WXLV 90.3 Lehigh Valley Sundays 6-8 p.m.



- Mall Hours: Sunday 11 a.m-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-9 p.m. -