For the 16th straight season, the ‘unofficial kickoff’ for short-track racing in southeastern New York will be hosted by Ed and JoAnn Stevens.
The Middletown Motorsports Show - which made its debut in 1991 - is now an established date on the area’s auto-racing calendar. The 2007 version is set for Fri. -Sun. March 16-18 at the Orange County Fairgrounds Arena, located on the very same Middletown, N.Y., parcel of land as the historic Orange County Fair Speedway.
As always, this year’s Middletown Motorsports weekend is shaping up to be an enjoyable weekend for all.
“It’s looking good, ” event coordinator Ed Stevens said from his home office late last week while perusing entry forms. “We’ve already got a great mix of cars coming. “
Plenty of racecars will be on display during the three-day affair, including DIRT big-block Modifieds, 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks, Pure Stocks, dirt Late Models, Mini-Sprints, Vintage Cars, Go-Karts and much more.
The Friday-night weekend highlight is the 11th annual Ms. Middletown Motorsports pageant, which takes place on stage at 8 p. m. Again, this year’s pageant will be limited to 15 entrants. Those interested in becoming a Ms. Middletown Motorsports contestant should contact JoAnn Stevens by phone at: (845) 386-3484.
Other activities planned for the weekend include autograph sessions, the annual Injured Drivers’ Auction (on stage Saturday at 2 p. m.), two-man tire-change contests, spark-plug changing contests, trivia contest, hot dog eating contest, celebrity R/C car races and the traditional Sunday-morning Easter Egg Hunt for kids. Collectibles will be on sale all weekend.
The show culminates on Sunday afternoon with the awards ceremony, where the Best of Show and divisional winners are announced and a number of special awards are presented. The top-three finishers in Best of Show will receive cash awards.
Accord (N. Y.) Speedway, Orange County Fair Speedway, Lembo Lake (N. Y.) Raceway and the Northeastern Vintage Dirt Modified Racing Club will be represented with information and schedules, while Doug Borger has an expansive display planned for his touring XCel 600 Modifieds.
Of key note this season are changes at two of the area’s tracks. Accord Speedway will feature an open, big-block/small-block headline Modified division, while Orange County boasts a new management team for the ‘07 campaign. The show provides an excellent forum for discussion between the tracks, fans and racers.
Show hours are 5-11 p. m. on Friday, 10 a. m.-10 p. m. on Saturday and 10 a. m.-5 p. m. on Saturday. Thursday is reserved for exhibitor set-up from noon through 10 p. m.
