Weedsport, NY — April 22, 2008 – By Tom Skibinski, Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series PR Director
The 2008 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series is finally set to open with the 2nd Annual Paul Sawyer Memorial at Virginia Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 1 just nine days away.
Commemorating the 10th straight season of Series partnership with Advance Auto Parts based in Roanoke, Virginia, those top-10 hosts on the list of Advance Auto Parts Series all-time Big-Block Modified track sites will be highlighted for each of the 10 days leading up to the VMS event.
While Virginia became the 44th track to stage an Advance Series race last spring, this elite group of dirt ovals from around the Northeast headlines a legendary list that encompasses 10 states and two Canadian provinces. And all but one of these are scheduled to run at least one major event in the ’08 Advance Series that marks the 29th straight season of tour competition.
Autodrome Granby www.autodrome-granby.ca.com has hosted 19 Advance Series extra-distance events to rank ninth on the all-time list and stand tied with sister track Autodrome Drummond. Granby ran its first Series show in 1989, two years after gaining DIRTcar membership and in ’08 will host its first Big-Block tour event since the new millennium began.
Opening under the name Rebel Speedway when owner Marcel Guillemette presented the first car races in 1959, Granby has been promoted by Northeast Modified Hall of Fame driver Bob Gatien since his long-time business partners became landlords in the summer of 1985. Guillemette died in November of 1984 —one year after Gatien won his last feature at nearby Drummond— and when his wife suddenly passed away the following April son Marc sold the track with Granby closing the season with a handful of events. Fans have enjoyed full seasons of car racing since ’86 with Gatien responsible for making Granby one of the first speedways to have a tunnel under the track, use an authentic “Modified” as a pace car and a construct an ultra-modern all-in-one scoreboard on the back stretch.
With six feature victories earned at Granby since 1990, all-time Advance Series winner Brett Hearn heads the all-star cast of just six drivers returning to the states triumphant including multiple victors Danny Johnson (4), Steve Paine (4), Alan Johnson (2) and Doug Hoffman (2). The Granby half-miler is the only track in Quebec to stage 200-lap Advance Auto Parts Series events, with Alan Johnson, Hearn and Paine —winner of Granby’s last tour show— all doubling up.
Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series
Top-10 Big-Block Modified Track sites (1980-2007)
EVTS TRACK FIRST RACE LAST RACE
76 Rolling Wheels Raceway-Elbridge,NY 8/13/80 9/22/07
47 New York State Fairgrounds-Syracuse,NY 9/6/82 10/7/07
46 Lebanon Valley Speedway-West Lebanon,NY 7/8/80 9/15/07
43 Fonda Speedway-Fonda,NY 4/19/80 7/17/03
43 Orange Co. Fair Speedway-Middletown,NY 9/10/83 10/21/07
41 Cayuga Co. Fair Speedway-Weedsport,NY 7/16/80 9/2/07
38 Canandaigua Speedway-Canandaigua,NY 7/23/80 8/9/07
28 Ransomville Speedway-Ransomville,NY 6/27/80 7/6/07
19 Autodrome Granby-Granby,QUE 7/10/89 9/17/00
19 Autodrome Drummond-Drummondville,QUE 7/11/89 7/23/07
The 10th Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series season continues on May 4, 2008 with the 28th DIRT Challenge Cup at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park. Further track information is available at www.rollingwheelsraceway.com and the DIRTcar NorthEast Office (315/834-6606) is open during weekdays. Log into the Advance Series homepage at www.superdirtcarseries.com or www.dirtcar.com to find out more about the entire circuit.
Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts is the second-largest retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, based on store count and sales. As of October 6, 2007, the company operated 3,228 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The company serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets.
The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts and Hoosier Racing Tire. Rite Aid Corporation is a promotional partner and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks, Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Dig Safely New York, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks, Rislone Oil Stabilizer and Wrisco Industries.
