By Steve Inch
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Selinsgrove Speedway will honor the life and racing
career of the late Jim Nace, the track’s only five-time sprint car
champion, with a special edition of the National Open for 410 sprint cars
at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18.
The National Open’s distance of 44 laps and $44,000 purse, tributes to
Nace’s race car number at the start of his career, will be divided into two
22-lap segments and two complete payoffs, with $6,000 to win each segment
as an homage to the No. 6 sprint car Nace campaigned most recently as both
a driver and a car owner.
Should one driver win both of the 22-lap segments, a $14,000 bonus will be
awarded, pushing the winner’s total to $26,000 and the event’s purse to
nearly $60,000, which would be the speedway’s third highest-paying sprint
car race in its 65-year history, behind the 1989 and 1990 National Opens.
The $26,000 figure was selected to honor the Camel Express No. 26 sprint
car Nace drove to a majority of his career championships and victories in
central Pennsylvania.
The National Open’s format will include time trials, heat races, a B-main,
and a dash. The winner of the first segment will start sixth in the second
segment, giving a driver a realistic opportunity at winning both segments
and claiming the lucrative bonus. Unlike the speedway’s two previous 410
sprint car races this season, the National Open will be an open tire race.
The fast qualifier will earn a $300 bonus for the Fast Tees Fast Time Award
in Memory of Jim Nace sponsored by Chrystal Nace and Jamie Nace. Andy and
Deb Davidson, owners of R.E. Davidson & Son, Inc. in Selinsgrove and
long-time supporters of Nace’s racing career, have posted a $500 bonus to
the driver who finishes sixth in each of the segments.
Nace, who died last November following a seven-year battle with cancer,
clinched Selinsgrove Speedway sprint car titles in 1987, 1988, 1989, 1994,
and 1995. With 46 career 410 sprint car victories, Nace is currently ranked
fourth on the speedway’s all-time career sprint car win list. The
Thompsontown racer was also instrumental in helping to establish the 358
sprint car division as the track’s weekly headline open wheel division
beginning in 2001. During this time, he recorded three career 358 sprint
car wins.
Daryn Pittman of Owasso, Okla., won the only two 410 sprint car races to be
held at the track this season. Pittman, who was victorious in the May 30
Keystone Cup race and the July 4 PA Speedweek finale, is expected to be a
top contender to pull off the National Open sweep. Fred Rahmer of
Salfordville is the only five-time winner of the National Open at
Selinsgrove Speedway.
Joining the 410 sprint cars on the Sept. 18 racing program will be the late
models and SpeedSTRs. Track gates will open at 5 p.m., with qualifying
slated to begin at 7 p.m.
Purse for EACH of the 22-lap National Open segments: 1) $6,000 2) $2,000 3)
$1,500 4) $1,400 5) $1,200 6) $1,100 7) $1,000 8) $900 9) $800 10) $700 11)
$600 12) $550 13) $450 14) $425 15) $400 16) $375 17) $350 18-24) $325
For the latest news, results, and race status, visit
selinsgrovespeedway.com or call (570) 374-2999.