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Countdown To 10th Advance Series Opener In Virginia Underway

zzzDrummond_Mod08

Weedsport, NYApril 21, 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 10 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.

Opening for the first time in 1951, Autodrome Drummond www.autodrome-drummond.com has hosted 19 Advance Series extra-distance events to actually stand tied for ninth on the all-time list with sister track Autodrome Granby. A valued DIRTcar NorthEast member beginning in 1988, Drummond held its initial tour race the following season and officials have scheduled a Series show every year since.

Drummond celebrated its ‘Golden Anniversary’ of automobile racing in 2001, 50 years after St-Hyacinthe, Quebec chauffeur Gilles Dutilly won the inaugural stock car feature race on July 15, 1951 and was crowned track champion at season’s end. 1977 marked the first time a U.S. driver garnered the Drummond season points title with Don VanGuilder from Lake George, N.Y. taking top honors. The late Jacques Lambert emerged as the new track promoter soonafter and Drummond hosted its first qualifying event for Super DIRT Week in 1978, won by Kenny Brightbill. Alain Poirier and Jacques Constant assumed control of the track in 2002 and today they continue to lease the 4/10-mile speedway to Modified racer and now promoter Yan Bussiere.

With five feature victories earned since 1990, two-time defending Drummond Series winner Brett Hearn tops the list of 13 drivers taking checkered flags at the Drummondville oval, while Steve Poirier became the first-ever Frenchman to beat the American travelers on home soil in 2002.

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.