From Selinsgrove Speedway
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Selinsgrove Speedway will present the 31st Annual NRG
Controls North Jack Gunn Memorial for sprint cars at 7 p.m. Saturday, May
14. For the sixth consecutive year, the Gunn Memorial will feature a 30-lap
challenge race between the traveling United Racing Company sprint cars and
the track’s weekly A&A Auto Stores 358 sprint cars. The race will pay
$3,500 to win and $225 to start out of a $15,000-plus purse.
The tribute race is run each year to honor the memory of the late
Hall-of-Fame race track promoter Jack Gunn, who operated Selinsgrove,
Williams Grove, Penn National, and Hagerstown Speedways during his career
and brought mid-state dirt track racing to national prominence in the
1970’s. Gunn was inducted posthumously into the National Sprint Car Hall of
Fame (Knoxville, Iowa) in 1990.
Time trials, heats, and a B-Main will be the format for setting the 24-car
starting field for the Gunn Memorial. The late models and pro stocks will
also be on the program Saturday night. Track gates will open at 5 p.m.
Over the years, several of the biggest names in sprint car racing have won
the prestigious Jack Gunn Memorial at Selinsgrove Speedway. Lynn Paxton of
Dillsburg; Steve Kinser of Bloomington, Ind.; Doug Wolfgang of Sioux Falls,
S.D.; and most recently, as 358 sprint drivers, TJ Stutts of Liverpool;
Chad Layton of Harrisburg; Blane Heimbach of Selinsgrove; and Dave Calaman
of Carlisle are a few of the past winners of the Gunn Memorial.
Since the race became a challenge event in 2006, a Selinsgrove regular has
been victorious each year except for the past two years, when Trevor Lewis
of Upper Black Eddy scored the win for the URC with a carbon-copy pass by
Pat Cannon of Etters racing off turn four in both the 2009 and 2010 events.
Heimbach won the race in 2008 and 2006, while Calaman scored the challenge
victory in 2007.
In the A&A Auto Stores 358 sprint cars, four races have produced three
different winners this season, including Heimbach, Jason Shultz of
Carlisle, and Cannon. Only Heimbach has been able to repeat a feature win
at the track in early-season action and leads the point standings entering
this weekend.
On the Rislone URC circuit, three different winners have visited Victory
Lane in as many races. Daryn Pittman of Indianapolis, Ind., won the club’s
64th season opener at Bridgeport (N.J.) Speedway. Also taking URC wins this
season were 1978 Selinsgrove Speedway track champion Kramer Williamson of
Palmyra and JJ Grasso of Pedricktown, N.J.
Title sponsor NRG Controls North, Inc. is a full-service commercial
controls company and systems integrator specializing in automated building
controls and security systems for both the public and private sectors,
including hospitals, universities, public schools, prisons, office
buildings, and manufacturing facilities, to name a few.
2011 Gunn Memorial Purse: 1) $3,500 2) $1,700 3) $1,200 4) $1,100 5) $1,000
6) $700 7) $575 8) $525 9) $515 10) $500 11) $360 12) $340 13) $320 14)
$300 15) $270 16) $250 17) $240 18-20) $235 21-24) $225
Gunn Memorial Admission: Adults $15; Students (12-17) $12; Kids 11 & Under
Free;
Pit Pass $25
Selinsgrove Speedway will host an open practice session from 6:30 – 9 p.m.
this Wednesday, May 11. The cost per race car is $100.00. Pit and general
admission for the practice night is free.
Selinsgrove Raceway Park will present a program of go karts and micro
sprint cars at 7 p.m. Friday, May 13. Three races have produced three
different winners in the Selinsgrove Ford micro sprint cars, including
Brandon Edgar of Lehighton, Jessica Miller Sunbury, and Tyler Snook of
Beavertown. Track gates will open at 5:30 p.m.
For the latest news, results, and race status, visit
selinsgrovespeedway.com or call (570) 374-2999.