Weedsport, NY — April 25, 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 six 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.
Established as the home of DIRTcar NorthEast for the past 32 seasons, Cayuga County Fair Speedway www.cayugacountyfairspeedway.com has hosted 41 Advance Series extra-distance events to stand sixth on the all-time list. One of three founding-member speedways in 1976 when DIRTcar was formed, 2008 marks Cayuga County’s 54th consecutive season of stock car racing with the first event staged in July of 1955.
For many years known as Weedsport Speedway, Cayuga County and the surrounding fairgrounds have grown in both size and stature since the early era of stock car racing. When Stanley Dudzinski first began carving out a third-mile oval in his berry patch using railroad ties to mark the frontstretch wall, he never dreamed that five decades later the same field would become synonymous with the leading short-track sanctioning body of dirt racing in the country and offer nationally televised Big-Block Modified events. Under the guidance of Drivers Independent Race Tracks creator Glenn Donnelly, the modernized facility has since gained national recognition as the headquarters of DIRTcar Racing NorthEast and site of the NorthEast Modified Hall of Fame & Classic Car Museum since 1992.
With eight tour victories posted since 1986, five-time DIRTcar NE Driver of the Year Danny Johnson heads the list of 14 drivers taking checkered flags at The Port. Including his older brother Alan Johnson, the “Doctor” joins eight other Advance Series winners at Cayuga County that have also garnered overall Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified distinction during their careers.
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.
