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Kevin Kovac
CONCORD, N.C. (June 5) - It's longer. It's more international. And most notable of all, the 2008 edition of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series 'Great Northern Tour' is going to end with an even bigger bang than last year's inaugural.
The seven-race swing across Pennsylvania, upstate New York and two Canadian provinces that begins on June 17 will culminate in grand fashion at western Pennsy's Lernerville Speedway, where the second annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com takes center stage on June 27-28.
Already the richest dirt Late Model event ever run in the Keystone State when it paid out a whopping $30,000 top prize to 2007 winner Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., World Racing Group officials are upping the ante for this year's Firecracker 100 by posting a $40,000 first-place check from a total purse of over $150,000. Lap money - a new addition in 2008 - could push the winner's take several thousand dollars higher.
"Summer is going to start with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series dominating the headlines in the Northeast," said WoO LMS director Tim Christman. "Our goal is to make the 'Great Northern Tour' an extended showcase for the series in a region that has so many great fans, and the schedule we've put together this year definitely accomplishes that.
"We're returning to two tracks that had super turnouts for first-ever World of Outlaws shows last year. We're visiting four tracks for the first time. We're running three races in Canada this year instead of just one.
"And we'll top off the whole trip with the Firecracker 100 at Lernerville, which has already become one of the most anticipated races of the season for the dirt Late Model division."
The WoO LMS will commence its invasion of the Northeast on Tues., June 17, at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway. Subsequent events leading to the Firecracker are scheduled for Thurs., June 19, at Ohsweken (Ont.) Speedway; Sat., June 21, at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Que.; Sun., June 22, at Cornwall (Ont.) Motor Speedway; Tues., June 24, at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway; and Wed., June 25, at Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pa.
One of the longest-running tracks in the racing-rich central Pennsylvania area, Port Royal Speedway is set to host the WoO LMS for the second consecutive year on June 17. The 40-lap, $7,000-to-win event will be the biggest dirt Late Model show of the season at the fast, half-mile fairgrounds oval, which hosts the division on a weekly basis but headlines the 410 Sprint Cars.
The 'Great Northern Tour' then makes a break for the border, beginning an expanded tripleheader in Canada with the $10,000-to-win 'Six Nations 50' on Thurs., June 19, at Oshweken Speedway. A three-eighths-mile oval located on the Six Nations Indian Reserve about 65 miles southwest of Toronto and 75 miles west of Niagara Falls, Ohsweken will be the site of the first-ever WoO LMS event held in the province of Ontario.
Autodrome Drummond, which last year made history as the first Canadian track to receive a visit from the WoO LMS, is back on the schedule to reprise the $10,000-to-win 'Quebec 50' on Sat., June 21. The longtime DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned track that sits 45 minutes outside Montreal drew a standing-room-only crowd for the 2007 tour event won by Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky. - and there's once again an incredible buzz for this year's installment among the French Canadian fans, all of whom will experience Drummond's trademark pre-race pageantry along with some hard-core World of Outlaws action.
The Canadian portion of the 'Great Northern Tour' concludes on Sun., June 22, at Cornwall Motor Speedway, a spic-and-span quarter-mile oval that sits 140 miles to the southwest of Drummondville. Cornwall promoter Ron Morin has an enormous, never-before-attempted program planned - a 50-lap WoO LMS A-Main paying $10,000 to win headlines the First Americans IGA 'Triple Crown of Racing,' which also includes the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints tour and a complete show for Cornwall's regular DIRTcar 358-Modifieds.
The only appearance of the WoO LMS in central New York - the heart of DIRTcar big-block Modified racing - comes on Tues., June 24, at Canandaigua Speedway. A sweeping half-mile oval that carries the moniker 'The Land of Legends,' Canandaigua will offer a $7,000 first-place prize for the mid-week Ferris Mowers 40 presented by Turner Automotive.
Another mid-week event follows on Wed., June 25, at Big Diamond Raceway, a three-eighths-mile oval in eastern Pennsylvania that headlines 358-Modifieds on a weekly basis. The evening's 'Coal Country 40' will pay $7,000 to win and bring the WoO LMS to the track for the first time.
The tour's traipsing across the Northeast then ends on June 27-28 in true blockbuster fashion at Lernerville Speedway. A high-banked, four-tenths-mile oval well known for its side-by-side racing, Lernerville will attract a star-studded field of drivers from across the country for the Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com.
A full weekend of racing and entertainment is in store for attendees of the Firecracker 100, which last year quickly became established as more than just a race.
Time trials and heat races are set for Fri., June 27, with B-Mains, the $3,000-to-win 'Uncle Sam 30' (for the top 24 drivers who fail to make the A-Main) and the Firecracker 100 comprising the Sat., June 28, card. On-track action begins at 7:15 p.m. on Friday and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The weekend's fan-friendly activities include a post-race fireworks display and concert by national recording artist Vanessa Campagna and local country/rock band Nomad on Friday night; the second annual Driver/Fan Horseshoe Tournament and Weenie Roast on Saturday afternoon that also features music by Sarah Wilson; an autograph session underneath the grandstands with all the drivers prior to the start of Saturday's program; and an adrenalin-boosting introduction of the Firecracker 100 A-Main starters.
All the Firecracker action will also be taped for broadcast by SPEED as part of a two-hour special on Sun., July 13, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
Advance two-day tickets and reserved camping spots for the Firecracker 100 are selling fast. General admission for the two days of action is $39 for adults, $36 for seniors, $34 for students 11-17 and FREE for children under 10; reserved seats are just $42 for adults, $40 for seniors and $37 for kids 17 and under; and two-day pit passes are $45 for DIRTcar Members and $50 for non-members.
As an added bonus, purchasing reserved seats in advance provides fans free entry to the pit area on Friday night and priority access to Saturday's driver autograph session.
For more details and to see the complete driver entry list, log on to www.lernerville.com and click on the Firecracker 100 logo.
To purchase advance tickets and reserved camping spots, call the track office at 724-353-1511.
For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
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