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Great article done by our own Justin Snyder getting the drivers, owners and fans opinion.

PA Sprint Car News | Justin Snyder

York Haven, PA | June 7, 2016

Central Pennsylvania racing is full of tradition. Some of the greatest drivers to ever strap into a 410 Sprint Car have run at the various speedways spread throughout the Keystone state.

Whether it’s taking on the World of Outlaws or Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions or a regular point’s show at any of the local tracks, you can bet that the grandstands will be packed by loyal fans cheering on the drivers.

One of the biggest traditions and events that fans look forward to yearly is Pennsylvania Speedweek.
This year is the 25th Anniversary of the event and it features 9 races spread across 10 days at 7 different tracks from June, 24- July 3, 2016.
Williams Grove Speedway and Port Royal Speedway both will have 2 speedweek shows with single dates slotted for Lincoln Speedway, Path Valley, Grandview, Hagerstown and Selinsgrove.

With increased sponsorship and support, this year’s spectacle will offer the largest point fund in series history of $25,000, with $10,000 of that going to the series champion. A total of $250,000.00 will be given out in prize money throughout the 10 days.

However, with all the excitement building for the anniversary year event, one track is absent from the schedule and dominating headlines with a recent announcement.
Susquehanna Speedway, one of the pioneer tracks from the inaugural 1991 PA Speedweek series won by Steve Smith, was not included on the 2016 schedule.

As a result of sponsor commitments with BAPS and being left out, they decided to schedule a two-division 410 and 305 Sprint Car event June 23, that fans have dubbed the unofficial PA Speedweek opener due to it taking place the one day before the official kickoff.

Once considered a staple on the schedule, Susquehanna has not been a part of PA Speedweek since it last hosted an event in 2005.
However with new ownership by Scott Gobrecht and a complete new promotion team making huge improvements to the facility, many expected them to be a shoe-in for this year’s event.
“It’s awesome to see a track that’s putting money back into the speedway and you can see that it’s paying off by not only the car counts, but the amount of fans that are in the stands,” said Ryan Taylor, 410 sprint car driver of the No.20 Accelerated Surface Finishing, Evans Heat Treating. “I think it be awesome if they had a Speedweek date.”

Duane Marriot, a fan who has been visiting the track since the 80’s, agreed with Taylor and believes that the fans and drivers are missing out with the exclusion.
“Some things never change and Susquehanna is the raciest track in Pennsylvania in my opinion,” exclaimed Marriot. “The history of the place alone should reserve a Speedweek spot in itself.”

If it’s history that we are talking about, you can look no farther than local racing legend and recent Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Don Kreitz Jr. for support.
Kreitz, who retired from competition last year after dealing with concussion-like symptoms, has been one of the most successful drivers in the history of Susquehanna Speedway.

He appreciates the hard work the track team has put in and would like to see them once again be rewarded as part of Speedweek in an official status.
“With the improvements they made there, I think they deserve a spot in Speedweek,” said Kreitz, who scored PA Speedweek victories at Susquehanna Speedway in 1992, 1998 and 2001. “Plus it’s not a far tow for us.”

Travelling distance is important as he is now a car owner for fellow Central PA racing legend, Lance Dewease.

Dewease, who picked up Speedweek wins at the track in 1994 and 1997 and is among the most successful drivers in PA Speedweek history with 19 career wins and 3 Speedweek championships, agrees with his car owner. “They have been a part of Central PA sprint car racing for 30 plus years and with what the new owners have done with the place, it just makes sense. They should be able to have a Speedweek show.”

When fans heard of the announcement, many wondered why with Williams Grove and Port Royal getting two dates, that one of those extra nights could not have gone to accommodate Susquehanna.

“The fact that there are tracks with two races during that week means there is definitely a day for them,” said Karen Lavigna, a local fan. “Tracks only need one day. Hopefully this will happen and we’ll be there (in support).”

Brent Marks, driver of the M&M Painting & Construction, BAPS Auto Paint & Supply, No.19M, would also like to see Susquehanna included in Speedweek festivities and less tracks with multiple dates.

As a young driver gaining experience, he has opened up his schedule to include many different tracks throughout the country in the past few years. As a result, he believes it would only add to the challenge of competing in the series and make it more enjoyable for the fans and drivers.

“First off, I’m not a fan of the tracks getting multiple races,” said Marks, who will be searching for his first PA Speedweek victory in 2016. “I’d like to race a different track every night. I think it would be more fun and more challenging.”

“Even if it was on the Monday that we have off, the car count and the fan support is there for this race track. It’s a win-win for everyone,” Marks added.

With owner, driver and fan support, you can bet that Susquehanna Speedway will be in discussions for future Speedweek events at the track. Until then, you can support the track by attending the Thursday Night Thunder event June 23.

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Property of PA Sprint Car News ‘Your #1 Social Media Sprint Car 
News Source in PA’ | ?Facebook.com/PASprintCarNews? | Twitter 
@PASprintCarNews | Email : [email protected]?
 
 

This article is very well written and is right on point. Speedweek has had 2 shows at Williams Grove, and Port Royal and Lincoln each haveing a second race every other year. I feel that those tracks need to have just 1 race each. They added Path Valley a couple of years ago. I feel the first thing to be done is get rid of the race that isnt even in Pennsylvania, second add Bedford and possably add Lernerville.

I feel sure that this being the first year Gobe has taken over at Susky the track had to prove to those in charge of speedweek that it is capable of handling a date. No track should have 2 nights of racing any year. Also the points payout is too top heavy & should be distributed more throughout the top 15. Remember that a good quality show needs good quality racers.

Speedweek does take such a heavy toll that car counts will be significantly lower for the entire month of July & some for the entire season will be finished...What will the Grove look like later this year with a 19 car field last week??

We race too many times for not enough $$$$$$....

I agree that Susky should be on the speedweek schedule instead of other tracks having 2 dates. However, Williams Grove always had a race the Friday before speedweek. Making this race a speedweek race means a bigger payout which was a win/win situation. Hagerstown is closer to central PA than Bedford, way closer than Lernerville. Plus Hagerstown is a MUCH better track for racing than Bedford, and always draws a good field.

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The story would be an accurate one if you would have talked to the promoter and the head of speedweek to find out the reasoning. To me all this is states is what poeple wish for.

I'll add my wish. I wish all races paid $1000 to start and $10000 to win. Ask the same people and they would probably agree. Does that make it a good story too?

Hagerstown is closer to the hotbed of 410 racing than Grandveiw, and has historically been a part of central PA racing for decades. I say keep them both though. Add in Susky next year if they want in, and if Trailway upgrades their catch fences and such, and they would want in, add them too. The more the merrier.

I think Susky should be on the schedule as does virtually every fan and race team in Central PA and I'm pretty sure next year they will be. I'm not sure why everyone has their asses out of joint over it. They haven't been on the schedule for over a decade and Speedweek has done just fine. Losing Silver Spring from the schedule to me was a much bigger hit but still, Speedweek has gone on year after year. Some tracks gave come and gone but it's still the best damn week to live in Central Pa. Would Speedweek be better with Susky, no doubt. Even when it was a dump, Susky still put on some of the best racing you'll see anywhere. If they aren't on the schedule next year, then I'd start making a big deal about it but this is the first season of a new and seemingly better era and I'm sure the folks involved with Speedweek wanted to see how things went before they put them on the schedule. Another thing, I don't understand so many people wanting to throw Hagerstown off the schedule. The 3 shows between 2010 and 2012 were terrible. Never have I seen such ineptitude when it comes to track prep but they have since got their shit together. The last few years the surface has been outstanding and the fields and crowds have been very good also. Who gives a shit if it's in Maryland. It's still less than 2 hours for most teams.

I wrote the above story and I will tell you that there was a reason this was written the way it was written. I spoke with the track promoter and I do know part of the reasoning as to why this ordeal went down the way it went. However, a piece was just written on the announcement  for the Patriot News. It is known through their efforts and the story posted by Mr. Elliot that susquehanna speedway wanted a speedweek date and tried very hard to do it. Instead of writing a story where the promoters went out and bashed each other or Susquehanna continued to beat a dead horse in saying they wanted a date, we decided it would be best if we went to the drivers and the fans and found if they even wanted a speedweek date. If the fans and the drivers are behind the idea without having special interest, then their is obviouly support for the speedway in their efforts and by going to various sources and hearing their thoughts, it can only strengthen their bid to be included going forward

I'm all for SSP having a date in the speedweek schedule - NEXT YEAR!   I do think it was a poor decision for SSP management to add this year's Thursday event immediately before speedweek.  Tough on the teams, tough on speedweek attendence by the teams, tough on fan attendence, and thus tough on the other tracks.  It's almost as if SSP management is saying to everyone, you screwed us by not giving us a date now we are going to try and screw you.  I sincerely hope that was not the thought process but it certainly could be interpreted as such. 

So I'll ask the question - who actually makes the calls to the tracks and sets up the speedweek schedule?       

Yeah the Springs was always one of the most popular dates on the SW schedule. Good car counts, huge crowd and good tight racing. Always a well run show there also and over in time to get some sleep for us working people.  It was the cheapest admission also @$15. Ah the good old days. Tracks are charging $25 nowadays even though the purses haven't been raised much if any.

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It is  simply good for Pa Speedweek that Susquehanna has a speedweek date for 2017, it will enhance the schedule for fans , crowd will be good , and make it more convenient for the teams . Keeping the distance down between tracks is a good thing for all concerned fans and teams alike . The management at Susquehanna is doing a great job in making many fine improvements to there facility , to only make the racing and comfort level above many other area speedways . GIVE SUSQUEHANNA  A  DATE FOR 2017.