From Mike Leone
After suffering the third rainout in the past four weeks, Mercer Raceway Park hopes to resume action this Saturday night, May 15 with a full five-division “Saturday Night Live” program of Luxaire Heating & Cooling 410 Sprint Cars for $1,500 to-win, Approved Toilet Rentals Modifieds, 4 Your Car Connection FASTRAK Late Models, Big Daddy’s Speed Center Stock Cars, and the M&D Paving Mini Stocks. Race time is 7 p.m.
Saturday’s promotion is Kids Eat Free! All kids 12 and under will receive a ticket when they enter the gates that can be redeemed for a free hot dog, bag of Herr’s potato chips, and a drink!
“We’re always looking at new promotions and trying to be innovative,” stated marketing director Vicki Emig. “The kids are such a big part of what we’re doing at The Park and over the winter decided to create a Kids Eat Free Night! We’ve let kids in free, we’ve done $10 Family Nights, but we’ve never let ‘em eat free! That was until Saturday night!”
Hometown racer and two-time Sprint Car winner, Mike Lutz, has a four-point lead over week two winner Ed Lynch, Jr. and just a five-point leader over Bob Felmlee, who has yet to finish worse than fourth in his heat race or feature this season. The Sprint Cars will not only be competing for a region-high $1,500 to-win plus a Goodyear Tire again Saturday, but four additional Goodyear Tires will also be given away.
Jimmy Holden of Tiona, Pa. has just a two-point lead in the Modified race over Lonny Riggs and is up only three on defending three-time champion Frank Guidace. Holden has never won a championship at Mercer and has yet to win a feature in 2010.
With Max Blair in West Virginia Saturday, there’s a good chance there will be a new winner in the FASTRAK Late Model division. Dwayne Pond took advantage last time by scoring his first career Late Model win when the two-time winner was competing in the Mountaineer State. Kyle Zimmerman, who has never competed regularly at Mercer or won a feature at the track, is the division’s current point leader. Brian Booher made his season debut last time and looked strong finishing second. The three-time Stock Car Champion would be considered a favorite on Saturday.
The building Stock Car division rose to 11 cars last time and will be the first division to hit the track Saturday. Boardman, Ohio’s Steve D’Apolito would love to make it three-in-a-row and add to his point lead in search of his first track championship. Mercer Raceway Park continues to tweak the rules to make all combinations of Stock Cars competitive on the 8” $80 spec American Racer tire.
Teenager Jordan Ehrenberg continues to lead the Mini Stock points. The New Castle, Pa. driver though has yet to win a feature as there have been five different winners in an as many races! Will there be a sixth on Saturday?
“It looks like the weather is finally going to cooperate,” expressed new owner Bill Altman. “We haven’t seen the sun shine bright since April 3! It’ll be a nice change for the fans and racers to not have to worry about Mother Nature. I couldn’t ask for any better racing than we’ve had thus far! I want to invite all the kids out Saturday to enjoy a night at The Park and eat free…you can’t beat that! And don’t forget to come early for driver autographs.”
Shaffer’s Auto Service & Towing will present week two of the “In the Spotlight” hero card program. This week’s four racers include Andy Paden (Sprints), Kyle Fink (Modifieds), Chris Haines (Stock Cars), and Jordan Ehrenberg (Mini Stocks). The first 300 will receive autograph cards with these four racers featured to obtain autographs from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the midway. The drivers will also have their cars on display for pictures.
The Yellow Book USA Night that was originally scheduled for Saturday has been postponed to a later date.
Pit gates open at 3:30 p.m. with grandstands at 4:30. Hot laps begin at 6:15 and the first green flag waves at 7. Adult admission is $12. Mom AND dad can bring up to four kids 15 and under for just a buck with the $25 family pass. Students 6-15 are just $5 and kids five and under are always free. Pits passes are $25. Fans can take advantage of the “SPEEDPASS” by upgrading their admission ticket to the pit area at intermission for just $5 or $10 for the entire family.
Mercer Raceway Park is a 3/8-mile dirt track located minutes from both Interstate 79 and 80 just off Route 19 on Fairground Road in Mercer, Pa. Dirt track racing and quality family entertainment are presented weekly late March through early October. The office in New Bedford, Pa. is open year-round late mornings and after 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information call the office at 724-964-9300 or the track on race day at 724-662-1310. Check out our website at www.mercerracewaypark.com for the latest. Go to www.twitter.com/mercerraceway or Mercer Raceway Park at www.facebook.com/mercerracewaypark to stay up to date.