For Immediate Release/December 17, 2014
Historic Day: Orange County Fair Speedway ‘Hard Clay Open’ Rules Set For Sunday, March 23 Spectacular; Sail Panels To Be Run On Modifieds For The First Time In Orange County History; Passing Points Set To Determine Modified Heat-Race Qualifiers & Redraw Participants; Crate Sportsman To Follow GRIT Series Rules Package
MIDDLETOWN, NY – The rules are set for the highly anticipated Season Opener at Orange County Fair Speedway. And history will be made at the fairgrounds track!
On Sunday afternoon, March 23, the first-ever ‘Hard Clay Open’ is set for the Middletown, N.Y., facility promoted by Brett Deyo of BD Motorsports Media LLC. An agreement was forged with speedway promoters Michael Gurda IV and Howard Commander for the early season Modified showcase, which will serve as the first on-track activity at Orange County in ’14.
The ‘Hard Clay Open’ will be headlined by a 50-lap Modified event paying a minimum of $5,000 to win. The strength of the purse is its balance through the field: second-place pays $4,000, with $1,000 reserved for the 10th-place finisher and $500 just to take the green flag. A base payout of $30,000 has been outlined for the first ‘Hard Clay Open’ Modified event.
The event will be open to big- and small-block engine combinations with graduated weight classes.
For the ‘Hard Clay Open’ spec head small-blocks (max. 363 cubic inches) running on gasoline must weigh 2,275 lbs. Teams utilizing the CT 525 Spec Engine have a 2,300 lb. minimum weight. Ported aluminum-head small-blocks, steel-head small-blocks or spec head small-blocks on methanol (all with a 363 cubic inch maximum) weigh 2,350 lbs. Big-block engines and dry sump small-blocks weigh a minimum of 2,500 lbs. All weights are taken post-race, with driver in the car, utilizing the speedway scales. The track scale reading is final.
American Racer or DIRTcar Hoosier tires are legal for this event as follows: Right-Rear – American Racer 50 or harder or DIRTcar Hoosier D400 or harder; Left-Rear – American Racer 48 or harder or DIRTcar Hoosier D400 or harder; Right-Front – American Racer 48 or harder or DIRTcar Hoosier D400 or harder; Left-Front – American Racer 44 or harder or DIRTcar Hoosier D400 or harder.
For the first time in Orange County history, sail panels are permitted for the ‘Hard Clay Open’ 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.
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 26-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.
The ‘Hard Clay Open’ will be contested on a date that is conflict-free on the dirt Modified landscape. The Sunday afternoon lid-lifter should attract a cross-section of cars from the north, south, east and west. On Saturday of the weekend (March 22), New Egypt (N.J.) Speedway hosts an event, setting up a potential two-day swing south for traveling teams from Central New York and further north.
Fans can be assured pit-area parking will be laid out carefully to keep larger haulers toward the center, with only smaller trucks and trailers in the corners to ensure maximum visibility. The show will be fast-paced to allow fans and racers ample travel time on a Sunday night.
Crate 602 Sportsman will serve as the event’s undercard in a 25-lap event paying $1,000 to the winner. The Crate 602 Sportsman race is slated to kick off the SUNY Canton GRIT Series for ’14. The 602 Sportsman will draw for starting positions with a redraw of top qualifiers for the main event. Heats and consolations will be eight laps. GRIT Series rules will be in effect on this event. Visit www.gritracingseries.com for further information.
Complete event rules have been posted on the BD Motorsports Media website at www.bdmotorsportsmedia.com.
For the 2014 ‘Hard Clay Open’ event, pit gates open at 10 a.m. Grandstand gates open at 11 a.m. A drivers’ meeting will take place at 1 p.m., with hot laps at 1:30 p.m. an d racing at 2 p.m. Fans can expect a pre-race autograph session/meet and greet in both the grandstand and drive-in areas.
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 ‘Hard Clay Open’ will mark the second earliest Orange County opener since the speedway began hosting stock cars regularly in 1948, eclipsed only by March 18, 1984 when Larry Brolsma drove to victory.
Marketing opportunities – including primary and supporting sponsorship, lap sponsorship and bonus/contingency award sponsorship – are available now by contacting 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 of 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.
In the event of inclement weather, the rain date is tentatively slated for Friday, March 28, 2014.
The regular season at Orange County is slated to get underway with an open practice on March 29 and the official Season Opener on April 5.
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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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