Weedsport, NY — March 15, 2010 – By Dave Roberts, DIRTcar Northeast PR and Promotions
*Alex Bruce Photo
13 can be a lucky number. Especially for Aprill Grey as the Daytona Beach, Fla. beauty won the 13th Annual Ms. DIRTcar competition staged Saturday night, March 13 in the Verizon Center of Progress building on the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.
Emceed by motorsports personality Doug Elkins, the event was a part of Syracuse Motorsports Expo ’10 put on by the staff at Gater Racing Photo News based in nearby Liverpool, N.Y.
Aprill had been in the pageant before but this was her first time coming out as a winner.
“I was a little nervous coming into this because I had lost before,” Aprill remarked following the pageant. “I just want to represent racing and go to as many shows as possible.”
Although Aprill admits that nothing is “set in stone,” she claims to have lined up a DIRTcar Sportsman ride for the upcoming season. The circumstances surrounding the possible three-race deal have yet to be determined.
Taking runner-up honors in the contest was Alysha Ruggles, a second-generation driver from Canandaigua, N.Y., while third went to Claire Spangler.
Alysha is the daughter of 600cc Modified Midget driver Darryl Ruggles, who has driven DIRTcar Modifieds in the past. It was announced on Sunday afternoon that Alysha, who also competes in the 600cc Modified Midget class, will represent Cayuga County Fair Speedway and Rolling Wheels Raceway in victory lane throughout the 2010 season.
Grey received $500 from pageant organizers, with the event sponsored by Leaf Racewear. Other candidates included Samantha Hendler from Lyons, N.Y., Dayla Sheas from Johnson City, N.Y. and Nina Nicole.
DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds, home of DIRTcar All-Star Weekend in July. DIRTcar Northeast’s crown jewel event —Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse runs annually in October featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions. Ticket and schedule information is available by contacting the Weedsport office (315/834-6606) during the day or logging into www.allstar100weekend.com and www.superdirtweekonline.com anytime.
The Big-Block Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire www.hoosiertire.com and VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com. Promotional partners include Rite Aid Corporation www.riteaid.com, Dig Safely New York www.digsafelynewyork.com and the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks www.barsproducts.com, Bert Transmission www.berttransmission.com, Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, Brodix Cylinder Heads www.brodix.com, Ferris Industries www.ferrisindustries.com, Integra Shocks www.integrashocksandsprings.com, Intercomp www.intercomp-racing.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Rislone Oil Stabilizer www.barsproducts.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.
