Lexington, NC (October 21, 2007): It is not often that fans
of short track racing can find a single event with as diverse
and talented a line-up as that being presented by C&C Racing
Promotions on Friday and Saturday, November 2 & 3, 2007. An
incredible group of racing talent will be competing in this
year’s John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout at the
ultra-fast tri-oval of Concord Motorsport Park in Concord, NC.
The roster for the John Blewett III Memorial North-South
Shootout featuring the East-West Supermodified Shootout is
shaping up to be one of the most noted in short-track racing
history.
On hand for the prestigious event
will be the stars of the major Modifieds tours on the East
Coast. They are being joined by the tenacious racers from
Supermodified racing associations nationwide and from weekly
race tracks in the northeast. The rosters for the Shootout’s
‘big three’ will include a collection of championship drivers
and a host of rising stars.
One driver that fits the bill for
both is 17-year old Joey Logano of Huntersville, NC. Fresh off
his win in the Toyota All-Star Showdown, Logano tops the list of
newly crowned champions set to go for the glory at the fifth
annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout. Possibly
the hottest young driver in racing today, Logano, a development
driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, is the 2007 Bush East Series
champion. The CT native will shed the fenders to vie for the
coveted win in the Modified 100 aboard the Gary Cretty Modified
that he drove earlier this year at the World Series of Asphalt
Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway.
Fellow NASCAR champion, the Whelen
Modified Tour’s Donny Lia of Jericho, NY has verbally expressed
his intentions to compete on November 2&3 at Concord Motorsport
Park. Lia is expected to drive his family-owned #18 when he
searches for his second Shootout victory. Lia was the 2004
champion of the event.
The Modified roster also includes
one of the Whelen Modified Tour’s most decorated drivers, Tony
Hirschman of Northampton, PA. This will be the first appearance
of the five-time Tour champion in the North-South Shootout. For
the last several years, Hirschman was at the Shootout lending a
hand and moral support to his son Matt, who was crowned the 2006
North-South Shootout champion. This year, the elder Hirschman
hopes to visit victory lane again in 2007, this time in his fire
suit.
Other former Modified Tour champions
filing entries include Jerry Marquis of Broad Brook, CT, and
Jamie Tomaino of Howell, NJ. The 2003 Series king, Todd Szegedy,
will be behind the wheel of the Hillbilly Racing #97 as a
teammate to Woody Pitkat.
Currently, the Northern Modified
competitors have combined to win all four of the previous
North-South Shootout Modified 100 events; shutting out their
Southern rivals. In 2007, the good old boys are poised to end
the Northern reign. The Southern Modified contingent brings some
championship-caliber contenders of their own for the 5th Annual
John Blewett III Memorial. One likely candidate to dethrone the
northerners is Burt Myers of Walnut Cove, NC, who holds two
distinctions for the 2007 season including the ASA Southern
Modified Race Tour title and the Bowman Gray Stadium
championship.
NASCAR’s longest running weekly race
track, Bowman Gray Stadium has produced some incredible racing
talents. The facility is arguably the most grueling race track
in the country. Its tight racing conditions make for exciting
races and short fuses. The weekly competitors at this bull ring
can hold their own. And several of the Stadium champions,
including six-time Modified champion Tim Brown of Cana, VA, will
look to use the tricks of the trade to finally score a Southern
victory. Brown may have a decided advantage as he enjoys the
services of championship crew chief Phil Moran, who helped
propel Szegedy to his title in 2003. Other serious threats to
win include Brian Loftin, Brian King, Jason Myers and former
S.M.A.R.T. champion Jay Foley.
The Race of Champions Modified Tour
will also be well represented. The 2007 champion, Pete Brittain
of Oakhurst, NJ, will be joined by two former RoC title holders,
M. Hirschman (overall), and Eric Beers (central region-2006),
both of Northampton, PA. The 2004 series champion and newly
crowned 2007 SST Champion, Tony Hanbury of Owego, NY, will be
competing in the SK-Type portion of this year’s Shootout.
In an interview following the Race
of Champions at Oswego, Brittain, who has been at the Shootout
since the beginning, sounded like a classic television
advertisement. Brittain was asked what he was going to do with
the all the lap money he had won. He simply replied, “I’m going
to the North-South Shootout”. Apparently, a trip to the Shootout
is like a trip to Disney World.
The Who’s Who of rosters will also
include the likes of reigning ISMA Supermodified Champion, Chris
Perley of Rowley, MA along with former club champions Joe Gosek
of Oswego, NY, and Dave McKnight of Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
The Midwest Supermodified Association’s multi-time point
champion Tim Jedrzejek will join the all-star cast of the first
annual East-West Supermodified Shootout.
A familiar name can be found on the
roster of both the East-West Supermodified Shootout and the
SK-Type Modified 50. The “Jersey Jet” Joey Payne of Fairlawn,
NJ, will be a real threat to win both events. The open-wheel
veteran, who has posted victories in the Supermodifieds, will be
making his debut in an SK Modified ® from the TS Haulers Racing
stables as a teammate to Jimmy Blewett. This is a powerful
combination that could result in a bunch of hardware heading
back to New Jersey.
The weekly racing series drivers
will be on hand in force for the SK-Type Modified and Crate SK
Modified divisions. The track champions at all three Connecticut
race tracks as well as the SST champion are entered into the
annual SK-Modified thriller. Stafford Motor Speedway’s Ted
Christopher of Plainville, CT, is expected to drive the Doug
DiPisa owned #81 while Thompson International Speedway champ
Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT, and the Waterford Speedbowl ace
Rob Janovic, Jr. of Waterford, CT, will be aboard their usual
potent mounts in search of victory. Janovic is among the most
successful Shootout competitors posting top-ten finishes in both
SK-Type Modified events held thus far.
In the Crate-SK Modified division,
Wall Township Speedway’s Danny Bohn of Freehold, NJ, will try to
turn his track championship into his second-straight Shootout
title. Stafford Speedway champion Chris Matthews of Stafford
Springs, CT, is making the tow to North Carolina in search of
his own Shootout victory.
Whether it is the first or fifth trip to the John Blewett III
Memorial North-South Shootout, these competitors are hungry for
a win. With the level of competition and the depth of the
talent, that hunger will provide two solid days of thrilling
racing action.
The format for the fifth annual
event will include time trials, heat races, and consolation
event(s) for the Modifieds, Supermodifieds, and SK-Type
Modifieds. Heat races will be held for the Crate SK-Type
Modifieds, Four-Cylinders, and Vintage Modifieds. The Modifieds
will compete in a 100 green flag lap main event with the
Supermodifieds and SK-Type Modifieds competing in 50-lappers.
On Friday, November 2, 2007, the pit gates open at 8 AM with
practice running from 11 AM to 4 PM. Grandstands will be open
beginning at 2 PM. The racing action gets underway at 5 PM with
time trials for the SK-Type Modifieds, Supermodifieds and
Modifieds. Qualifying heats for all divisions will be held
immediately following. On Saturday, November 3, 2007, pit gates
open at 8 AM with a happy hour practice scheduled from 9 AM – 11
AM. The grandstands will open at 10 AM in preparation for the
traditional pit party from 11:30 PM – 1:00 PM and the “Little
Shootout” pedal car races. The racing action gets underway at
1:15 PM with the Modified consolation event followed by feature
events for all divisions. The tentative order is as follows:
4-Cylinder, SK Light-Type, Vintage Modifieds, SK-Type Modifieds,
Supermodifieds and Modifieds. (Schedule is subject to change).
The drivers entered in the 5th
Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout presented
by Town & Country Ford featuring the Wirtgen America East-West
Supermodified Shootout have combined to amass a huge number of
championships. The talent will be on display on Friday and
Saturday, November 2&3, 2007 at Concord Motorsport Park in
Concord, NC. The John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout™
will undeniably be the fastest, most exciting short track racing
event of the year.
The North-South Shootout and the East-West Supermodified
Shootout are registered trademarks of C&C Racing Promotions.
Source: Dale Wolbrink/racinpr@aol.com
Posted:
October 22, 2007
