Entering the 49th
Well here we are again, setting out on
another season, a journey that will lead to our Golden
Anniversary in 2001. This season, we will see many
highlights, some of which I'll detail. Our first
presentation night will be on May 27, 2000, when the St.
Catharines Standard will host the Mel Swart Spring
Championships. The winner of the Modified Feature that
evening will be presented the John Spencer Memorial Award,
which originated in 1953, the oldest award at Merrittville
Speedway.
The big event for those of us, who are
alumni of Merrittville Speedway, is of course, our 49th
Anniversary Alumni Reunion on July 22, 2000 with the Vintage
racers of the Canadian Motor Racing Historical Society in
attendance and the presentation of the Jerry Winger Memorial
to the Modified Feature Winner. Other dates to remember will
be the Victoria Day Nationals – presented on May 22nd by
toolneeds.com featuring a 50 lap 358 Syracuse and Fulton
Qualifier, Skoal Inc. and Avondale Food Stores will present
the Empire Super Sprints on June 10th with Modern Landfill
bringing them back on August 26th.
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Jerry Winger #10 In The Late 50's Our
friends at Inside Track Motorsport News will present the ESS
a third time – September 16th. Of course our biggest night
of the year will be our annual 358 Modified Syracuse
Qualifier. For the first time in many years a 100 lap
Modified event celebrates the new century of Dirt Racing
sponsored by Performance Racing News and Pete Cosco Haulage
in memory of Trevor Wilkens. Our newest division, the
Nostalgic Dwarf Cars will bring an International Event to
Merrittville Speedway.
On July 3rd – Central Collision will
sponsor the International Dwarf Car Championship where
competitors will compete on Merrittville's clay coming from
all over the U.S. and Canada. Also on the card with similar
appeal will be a tour stop for the DIRT Pro Stock Series in
addition to a Mimi Stock event and the 358 Modifieds for a
great Monday Race Card presented as well by Rubber Recovery
Specialists.
Another fun event involving the Dwarf
Cars will be the Celebrity Media Challenge on TRW Employee
Recognition Night. Possibly, Bruce Bonham, Gordie Wilson and
myself can have some fun again. All of our nights of racing
this year would not be possible without two key ingredients,
the fans and the sponsors. To all of you, whether you
support a night of racing at Canada's oldest dirt track or
as a sponsor of a race car, we thank you. And to you the
fans, the competitors and track owners owe you a debt of
gratitude for helping to make Merrittville Speedway the
success it is.
Pete Bicknell #42 To all the fans – the
Merrittville Speedway Social Committee would like to invite
you to attend and support the Budweiser Big Rig Pit Party
after the races on July 1 and again on august 19th for the
annual Corn Roast. No matter how serious the racing is on
the track, these point fund-raisers give everyone an
opportunity to socialize and relax after the races. So as
you can see, there is a lot to look forward to entering our
49th year, however on a sad note one of the founders of the
Merrittville Speedway, George Cullen, passed away this
winter, a true gentleman and friend to john Marino, as well
as the founders of Speedway Park (Hamilton) Ken Kavanagh and
Bill Russell. So with a couple of events in the record books
we continue to celebrate the start of the 49th season at
Merrittville and the 99th year of Automobile Racing in
Canada – we remember George Cullen as we gaze over this
racing facility and say in his honour … Gentlemen and
Ladies, Start your engines! Sincerely, Rick Kavanagh.