$10,000-to-win APC 300 Labour Day Event Highlights Revised ScheduleDELAWARE, ON (February 8, 2006): Delaware Speedway has announced that it will not be participating in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series program in 2006. In addition, Delaware Speedway confirmed it will not be hosting a CASCAR Super Series event during the 2006 season. A revised event schedule has been unveiled for 2006. It includes a new format for the “Great Canadian Race Weekend” (September 1 – 3), which will be highlighted by the all-new “Triple-100-format” APC 300 Late Model event that will pay one driver $10,000.00 to win. Other announcements included increased year-end point-fund payouts in all weekly classes, a new entitlement sponsor on the Late Model division, other schedule revisions and more.
A meeting was held for Delaware Speedway race teams and staff Tuesday night at the Community Centre in Delaware, Ontario.
“Over the past two-plus years, Delaware Speedway has worked diligently with NASCAR to make the Dodge Weekly Series work for our race teams, staff, fans and business partners,” said Delaware Speedway General Manager Kevin Bulmer. “In that time, there have been challenges on both sides. We’ve worked hard to overcome those challenges, and I’m sure NASCAR has too. However, at this time, we feel it’s best for Delaware Speedway and for NASCAR if we step away from the Dodge Weekly Series program for 2006.”
Delaware Speedway was the first-ever NASCAR-sanctioned weekly race track in Canada, participating in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series in 2004 and 2005. Delaware Speedway won NASCAR’s “Best First Year Track” award for 2004, along with an award for the “Best Effort in Membership.”
“We have come to know some great people in NASCAR and at other race tracks around North America during our time as part of the Dodge Weekly Series,” said Bulmer. “We are grateful for their efforts and wish them nothing but success in 2006 and the years ahead.”
Scott Lindsay of St. Marys won the Delaware Speedway NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series championships in each year of the track’s participation.
“We may be moving away from the NASCAR sanctioning, but that in no way diminishes Scott’s achievements,” said Bulmer. “Scott Lindsay and his team have been worthy champions and great representatives of the track and the stock car racing community in Ontario and the rest of Canada. He will always have those trophies to remember his accomplishments. We’re exceptionally proud of him.”
In another announcement, Delaware Speedway confirmed it will not be hosting a CASCAR Super Series event in 2006.
“We are not saying we will not ever have another CASCAR race at Delaware Speedway, however for 2006 it is time for us to move ahead,” Bulmer said. “We couldn’t be more proud of the tradition Delaware Speedway holds with its CASCAR Super Series events. We felt we exhibited that feeling by earmarking our two traditional CASCAR weekends on our schedule last fall. In fact, we met with CASCAR last July to discuss working more proactively so that we can work together to put on bigger and better events for our race teams, sponsors and fans. But here we are again, approaching the middle of February, with no firm direction or clear plan, at least that we’ve been made aware of. All our other events were confirmed last October, about four months ago.”
Delaware Speedway has traditionally run its CASCAR Super Series races on the Victoria Day Long Weekend in May and on the Labour Day Weekend in September.
“We’re proud of our history, and we feel an incredible sense of responsibility to our friends who make up the CASCAR race teams,” Bulmer said. “Without that allegiance, we likely would have made this decision sooner. However at this time, we feel the values with which the Super Series is being administered are not consistent with those of Delaware Speedway. Nor do we feel we can support the way in which those race teams are currently being represented by the sanctioning body.
“We made a commitment to our weekly competitors in fall of 2004 that we would do better, and we have a responsibility to uphold those commitments,” Bulmer said. “We have a lot of work to do, especially heading into our 55th season, and time is not in limitless supply. We have just 53 business days until our season opens. There comes a point when you can’t wait any longer; events can only remain ‘tentative’ for so long. We’re happy to continue to work with CASCAR to help them achieve a clearer direction, but as for a race at Delaware Speedway, we’ll be talking about 2007.”
With dates on the schedule opened up, a fun mix of new events and incentives have been created for race teams to bring the excitement back for race fans at Delaware Speedway in 2006.
First, APC (Auto Parts Centres) has taken over entitlement rights on what will be known as the APC Late Models, the track’s premier division. The APC Late Models will again represent Delaware in the Weekend Warrior Series presented by Lucas Oil. APC/CANUSA, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2006, will help raise the profile of Late Model racing at Delaware Speedway, and will contribute several new promotional elements, including advanced discount ticket sales at many Southwestern Ontario APC store locations.
“APC’s partnership is a wonderful asset to the speedway and its competitors,” Bulmer said. “Their support has made it possible for us to offer some dynamic new programs for our weekly race teams.”
“We’re very excited about our involvement at Delaware Speedway,” said Luke Ramsay, Director of Motorsports with APC/CANUSA. “This is a terrific opportunity for APC and CANUSA. We’re taking what’s already a strong partnership and making it even better.”
The champion of the APC Late Model division at Delaware Speedway will receive a guaranteed $10,000.00 point-fund payout at the end of the year, in addition to any Weekend Warrior Series point funds, contingency programs or other awards.
The 2006 championship will be settled over the Great Canadian Race Weekend during the all-new APC 300, which will encourage participation from APC Late Model cars, along with Weekend Warrior Series entries and other Late Model cars from around Ontario and parts of the United States. The Sunday, September 3rd event will be run in three 100-lap segments. After the field is time trialed, half will run the first 100-lap event with the other half in the second 100-lap race. In each of the first two races, drivers will race for a starting spot in the 100-lap finale, which will pay $10,000.00 to win and a $40,000.00 purse overall. For the weekend, event purses total over $63,700.00.
“This is the most anticipated event we’ve seen in our time at Delaware Speedway,” said APC’s Ramsay. “We’re thrilled to host such an exciting format for the APC 300.”
Adding to the excitement of the Great Canadian Race Weekend will be the first-ever APC Late Model Match-Race Tournament on Friday, September 1st. The idea for the event, which will pit 16 of the top drivers in a head-to-head tournament competition, was drawn from the still-talked-about “Duel of the Decade” between Junior Hanley and Don Biederman. That event, run at Delaware over twenty years ago, featured just two cars on the track in a best-of-three format which Hanley won. This year’s event will be a little different, involving as many as sixteen drivers in a bracket-style elimination tournament featuring three-lap rounds. Drivers will qualify based on race wins in the 2006 season. After all feature-race winners are accounted for, the tournament field will be filled based on points. In addition to ultimate bragging rights, the winning driver will walk away with the trophy, along with $5,000.00.
“The Hanley versus Biederman event has always fascinated me, mostly because so many of the race fans at Delaware were here to see it, and asked me throughout last season, ‘Why couldn’t you do something like that again?’” Kevin Bulmer said. “We didn’t figure there was a reason not to. And honestly, the Great Canadian Race Weekend is the perfect home for that event. I can’t imagine how cool it would have been to have seen (2005 track champion) Pete Vanderwyst square off one-on-one against (NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Champion) Scott Lindsay last year. Maybe we’ll get to see that this summer. And who knows who else might show up? We can’t wait.”
The APC Late Model division will also be the focus of attention on the revised Victoria Day Weekend on Friday, May 19, running Triple 55’s to commemorate the track’s 55th anniversary. Similar to the APC 300, the Triple 55’s will time trial and split the field into two 55-lap qualifying events where drivers race for position to start the 55-lap “feature” event.
The APC Enduro division will run on Saturday, May 20 in the first annual 255-lap “Queen’s Cup” event, a premier APC Enduro race that will feature an all-new trophy to celebrate Canada’s Victoria Day Weekend. Any driver who wins the event in future years will have their name inscribed onto the Cup.
“These guys have been providing some of the best entertainment all year long for our race fans,” said Bulmer. “It’s time we gave them another bigger stage and fun event to showcase what they can do.”
Sunday, May 21 will be set aside as a rain date for the Friday and Saturday events.
In two other schedule revisions, the Kendall Motor Oil Street Stocks have been added to the lineup on Friday, June 9, when the Auto Value Super Sprints come to town, along with a POWERADE Modified invitational event. On Friday, August 25, the APC Late Models have been removed from the lineup and replaced with the POWERADE Modifieds. The change was made to allow the APC Late Model teams some extra time to prepare for the Great Canadian Race Weekend (or run at another Weekend Warrior Series track) and to provide another race for the POWERADE Modified class.
In addition, the Challenger Motor Freight Trucks will run a Delaware points event at another track for the first time, running at Barrie Speedway on Saturday, June 24.
“We’re very excited about the Trucks going to Barrie,” Bulmer said. “We were astonished when the racers were pretty much unanimous in wanting to go to another track. Working with Brad Moran and the crew at Barrie Speedway has been a natural fit. Those fans will love the Challenger Motor Freight Trucks, and you can bet we’ll all be up there to watch, cheer our teams and support Barrie.”
In other point fund news, Delaware Speedway announced it will pay $5,000.00 to the POWERADE Modified champion, $1,500.00 to the Kendall Motor Oil Street Stock champion and $1,000.00 to the Challenger Motor Freight Truck champion. All three figures are separate from any other contingency or point-fund contributing programs and all mark significant increases over the current point funds, which were raised going into the 2005 season.
Further details about individual race purses, promotions, contingency programs, and more will be announced upon confirmation.
- From Delaware Speedway
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