By Gary Thomas
Marysville, CA…The busiest stretch of the season for the Sprint Car Challenge Tour gets underway this Saturday with the 24th running of the “Mel & Marlyn Hall Memorial” at Marysville Raceway.
This Saturday’s event marks the third race of the season for the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour. The first two rounds in Stockton and Merced last month were claimed by Aromas driver Justin Sanders and Dale Miller Racing.
Sanders, the 2018 winner of the Mel & Marlyn Hall Memorial, currently sits atop the standings over Fremont’s Shane Golobic, Penngrove’s Chase Johnson, Oakley’s Dylan Bloomfield and Clovis’ Dominic Gorden. Last season saw Auburn’s Andy Forsberg match Colby Wiesz for the most all-time wins at the event, having claimed his sixth career Hall Memorial checkered flag.
The show in Marysville this Saturday launches four consecutive weeks of racing for the SCCT 360s, with an event at Placerville Speedway coming up on Friday May 31st, followed by Petaluma Speedway on June 8th and all culminating at Antioch Speedway June 15th.
Racing was certainly a passion of the Hall family. They epitomized the great strengths of being at the forefront of the sport when it came to on-track racing and off-track promotions. Mel Hall believed in a united Sprint Car traveling organization and in the early 1990’s was one of the founding fathers of the Civil War Series, which is fundamentally what the Sprint Car Challenge Tour continues in the Golden State.
With their unmeasurable work ethic, the Halls were heavily involved in the now defunct Ernie Purcell Speedway in Grass Valley, before taking over operation of Twin Cities Speedway (now Marysville Raceway) in late 1994. Hall is credited with bringing professional Sprint Car racing to the Yuba-Sutter facility, which persists to this very day under the current management of Gage Promotions.
The Hall’s left their ego at the door and did the things needed for a successful series and management of Marysville Raceway. They never did this for fame and glory or pats on the back. They were simple people who had a vision and did the best they could to make it a reality. Mel passed away on May 22, 1999 and we lost Marlyn in August of 2020.
The event held in their memory remains a cornerstone on the track schedule.
Tickets and Details:
Adult tickets at Marysville Raceway this Saturday May 25th cost $22; while juniors 12-15, seniors 62+ and military are $18 will be $10; kids 6-11 cost $8 and those five and under will be free. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or via https://www.eventsprout.com/event/marysville-raceway-2024
The pit gate will open at 3pm, with the front gate opening at 5pm and pit meeting at 4:45pm. Cars hit the track at 5:30, with hot laps, Sierra Foothills Wine Services qualifying and racing to follow.
The event will follow the standard SCCT muffler rule, which is either the Large Flowmaster or Large Spintech Muffler as described in the rulebook.
For those who can’t make it to the track CaliDirt.TV provides live coverage of every Sprint Car Challenge Tour event. The service also covers every championship point race at Placerville Speedway. Fans can purchase through a cost savings monthly membership or on a per race basis via https://calidirt.tv/
The Marysville Raceway is in Marysville, California. From the Junction of HWY 70 and HWY 20 (12th Street), go a quarter-mile east on HWY 20. Turn south onto Ramirez Road for 1.5 miles. The physical address is 1468 Simpson Ln, Marysville, CA 95901.
The Sprint Car Challenge Tour would like to thank Elk Grove Ford, Hoosier Racing Tires, CaliDirt.TV, Shop Kyle Larson, Pit Stop USA, Tiner-Hirst Enterprise, BR Motorsports, King Racing Products, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, D&D Roofing, Sierra Foothills Wine Services, Garth Moore Insurance and Financial Services, Pacific Highway Rentals and High Sierra Industries for their support this season.
More information on the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour can be found at our official website www.sprintcarchallengetour.com – Be sure to also like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sprintcarchallengetour and follow on X/Twitter https://twitter.com/360SCCT for the latest breaking news regarding SCCT. You can also find us on Instagram by searching scct360.
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Upcoming Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour events
Saturday May 25: Marysville Raceway (24th Mel and Marlyn Hall Memorial)
Friday May 31: Placerville Speedway (Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial Opening Night)
Saturday June 8: Petaluma Speedway
Saturday June 15: Antioch Speedway