Seymour, May 22- After a one week delay, the 2016 season will kick off tonight at Seymour Raceway Park.
WAPL 105.7 will be doing a live broadcast from the track from 4 until 5:45.
Joe Verdegan is trying to align schedules once again for the “Life in the Past Lane” book signing that was supposed to take place last week. Watch for that event soon.
Street Stocks, IMCA Sport Mods and Coors light IMCA Stock Cars are the three weekly divisions, and this week, the INEX Legends will be making the first of 2 regular season appearances.
Since the 2015 season, there have been several changes in the weekly operations in Seymour. N.E.W. DIRT voted to cease operations of the track after 32 years in November. Lifelong club member, Dave Panske, made a proposal to take over the operation of the track and took over in December.
Since then, the track has been resurfaced, the weekly racing lineup has been changed. The IMCA Modifieds are now the headline division for the Budweiser Summer Holiday Classic Series which alone carries a $90,00 purse, and will share the billing with the WDLMA Late Models on May 29 and the IRA Sprints on July 3. The Labor Day event on September 4 will feature the final point night for the three regular season divisions and the Modified series final.
The track will also host several other divisions during the season, Plymouth Super Modifieds, Milwaukee Vintage Racing Association, Grand Nationals. The Badger Midgets and Micro Midgets will be here on June 26.
The Corn Belt Clash Late Model series will be making its first ever trip to Seymour for a special event on August 28, which will end a three race series in northeastern Wisconsin.
The Kids Club will also be in full force in 2016. Special events so far include the GSR Bike Giveaway on Fathers Day and the Kelsey Coatings/ 1st Choice Auto Sales Coin Toss on August 7.
The Kim Parsons Memorial Trophy Tour will be making 4 stops at Raceway Park. Each of the Holiday Classic events and the Corn Belt Clash event will have the BIG trophies in Victory lane. The program helps promote Organ and Tissue Donation, and the drivers really look forward to claiming one for their very own.
Fans will have a first chance to look at and try a new project in the grandstand. Plans have been started to add a half step in the seating area. One aisle has 12 steps in place for fans to try and give input to the track management. If the expected response is favorable, plans will be finalized to make this an ongoing project to complete the entire grandstand.
Pit gates open at 3 pm with late sign in at 5:15
Drivers meeting will take place at 5:30 with the first race taking the green at 6PM.
Pit admission is $25.00 for anyone 14 and up. Minors are allowed with all proper forms filed out and on file.
Drivers are encouraged to arrive early with new entry procedures and information to be filed out. All races on opening night will be draw/ redraw, which takes a bit longer.
The grandstand will open at 4.
Weekly admission will be Adults 18-54 $13.00
Students 13-17 and Seniors 55+ $9.00
Kids 12 and under FREE, with a paid adult.
There is also a new Family Pass that will admit 2 adults, either 2 students or seniors and include 4 hot dogs and soda or water for $49.00, a $10.00 savings on regular prices.
Drivers are also encouraged by the increase in pay and incentives in place for them to compete for even possibly more dollars during the season.
The weather looks to be excellent for the grand opening and a strong start to a new era of racing in Seymour.
Hope to see you tonight at Seymour Raceway Park.