Lincoln, Hagerstown ready to try again

Published: March 12, 2010

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After repeated attempts to open the 2010 racing season, Lincoln and Hagerstown Speedways are hoping to open their respective gates Saturday afternoon, with both facilities implementing a Sunday afternoon raindate if needed.

Abbottstown's Lincoln Speedway will host the "Icebreaker 30" for the 410 sprint cars, along with the 358 sprinters. Gates open at noon, and racing begins at 2 p.m. It should be interesting to see how the 410 teams react to the new mandated Goodyear tires after many seasons running on Hoosier racing tires. Lincoln's winningest driver, Fred Rahmer, is currently running with the World of Outlaws Series in Texas, gaining valuable track time to adjust to the new tire before heading back east for the Williams Grove opener next Friday night.

Frankie Plessinger's Hagerstown Speedway looks to open Saturday as well. Pit gates open at 10 a.m., hot laps begin at 1 p.m. and racing gets the green flag at 1:30, as the Octoberfest Qualifier for the big block modifieds and late models complete the two-division show for the Hub City half-mile.

Should the Sunday raindates be implemented at either track, the opening times will be the same.

Port Royal Speedway is also hoping to kick off the 2010 campaign with a 410 sprint car show Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Juniata County Fairgrounds Speedway.

Selinsgrove Speedway is ready for the highly-anticipated Insinger Performance Products Icebreaker III Weekend for the Race of Champions Dirt Modifieds. Promoter Charlie Paige and the track crew have been busy doing many last minute improvements as the racing surface has been ready since last Monday.

"We lost two light poles over the winter due to the high winds, and replaced them in turn two with new poles and better lights, and also put in a new wheelchair section near the flagstand in the reserved section of the grandstands, along with many other improvements," said Paige.

"A long time farmer's tale is when the skunks are out of hibernation, the winter season is over, and coming to the track today (Thursday) I called our race director and told him get the modifieds here as I can smell the skunks. So let's get racing."

The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series returns to action this weekend for the third event of the 23-race national schedule, with the running of the 41st annual Tire Kingdom Winternationals at Gainesville (Florida) Raceway.

Larry Dixon (top fuel), Robert Tasca III (funny car), Jason Line (pro stock) and Hector Arana (p/s bike) are the defending event champions.

In other drag racing news, the winningest female racer in NHRA history, Angelle Sampey, has decided to announce her retirement after a 13-year career in drag racing. After accumulating 41 victories, the three-time NHRA p/s bike champion has decided to devote her time to a new business venture and family life.

(Kaminski covers auto racing for The News-Item)

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