ARDC, Side by Side and 3 Wide!

Monthly Archives: December 2014

The Passing of Alan Townsend

Posted on by Posted in General News

A bit of sad news is that the racing world has lost a great friend and competitor of the sport. I don’t know if you ever heard of Alan Townsend, but he was a member of both SMRC/ARDC and URC back in the day. He passed away Saturday of a massive heart attack while cutting the grass at home. He and his wife had just been on a motorcycle ride on his Harley that morning delivery coats to the needy. They had also stopped at the local Harley dealer and had a nice chat about how they were living life to the fullest because “you never know when GOD will be calling you”. What an ironic conversation … just hours later, he got the call. I’m What an ironic conversation … just hours later, he got the call. I’m sharing the link to the obit below. Our condolences go out to Alan’s wife, children and entire family … anyone who knew Alan knew he was a WONDERFUL man!!!

Alan P. Townsend’s Obituary on Daily Local News

 

ARDC ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE FOR 2015 SEASON

Posted on by Posted in General News Leave a comment
Big Season Planned for American Racing Drivers Club
     The American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) has a full season of events planned for the 2015 season, featuring the return of the wingless midgets to both North Carolina and Western Pennsylvania speedways as well as an increased presence on the area quarter mile tracks.
     The 2015 season kicks off with the Friday night opener at the Linda’s Speedway on April 3rd.  It has been several years since the wingless midgets competed at Linda’s but 2015 will mark the return with three dates at the Jonestown, PA track.  ARDC will return to Linda’s for a Friday night show on July 3rd that will honor five time ARDC Champion, Ray Bull with the Living Legends Event, the No Bull 25.  As the season winds down, ARDC will return to Linda’s for a Friday night event on October 2nd. 
     After a successful return to the Path Valley Speedway in September of last year, ARDC will compete on the Spring Run, PA quarter mile on three separate occasions this year beginning on Saturday, April 18th.  ARDC will return to Path Valley on July 25th and again on September 19th. 
     The Bridgeport Speedway quarter mile will host ARDC on five separate occasions as the wingless midgets are featured in Bridgeport’s Friday night program starting on May 8th.  ARDC returns to Bridgeport on June 5th, July 24th, August 28th and again on September 25th. 
     The month of May starts out at the Big Diamond Speedway on May 1st where the midgets will return for a second show in 2015 on Friday, July 17th.  In addition to the May 8th show at Bridgeport, ARDC will compete in a Sunday night Thunder on the Hill show at the Grandview Speedway on May 24th.  The first travel weekend of the season follows one weekend later as the ARDC teams will head south for Dixieland and County Line Speedways in North Carolina on May 29th and 30th. 
     USAC comes to the East for the Eastern Storm tour in early June.  ARDC will appear with the wingless USAC sprints at both Grandview on Tuesday, June 2nd and again at the Port Royal Speedway on Saturday June 6th.
     Mid-June marks the return of ARDC to Western Pennsylvania as the midgets head to the Bedford Speedway on Friday, June 19th and then it’s on to the Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway on Saturday night, June 20th.  The month of June concludes with ARDC’s first of two appearances at the Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, June 26th. 
     After opening the July 4th weekend at Linda’s on Friday the 3rd,  ARDC is looking to spend the holiday with a race at Laneco on July 4th but this date has not yet been confirmed.  It’s back to Mercer Speedway on Saturday, July 11th and then Big Diamond on Friday the 17th.  July concludes with a Friday night show at Bridgeport on the 24th and then Path Valley on Saturday the 25th.
     After a hectic June and July, ARDC will race at return to the Lincoln Speedway on Saturday, August 15th and then at Bridgeport on Friday, August 28th.
     September shapes up with a possible Labor Day race at Port Royal (to be announced).   ARDC returns to Williams Grove on Friday, September 18th and then it’s on to Path Valley the next day.  September concludes with a Friday night show at Bridgeport’s quarter mile on Friday, September 25th.
     The 2015 season concludes with shows at Linda’s on Friday, October 2nd and Thunder on the Hill at the Grandview Speedway on Saturday, October 17th when the 2015 ARDC Championship will be determined.
     2015 promises to be an exciting season of racing for the American Racing Drivers Club as the wingless midgets are featured on a wide variety of speedways.  Just the kind of versatility that has made midget racing so popular! 
2015 ARDC SCHEDULE
April
      3 – Linda’s Speedway (ARDC Season Opener)
     18 – Path Valley Speedway
May
      1 – Big Diamond Raceway
      8 – Bridgeport  1/4 mile
    24 – Thunder on the Hill at the Grandview Speedway
    29 – Dixieland Speedway
    30 – County Line Speedway
June
      2 – Eastern Storm – Thunder on the Hill – Grandview
      5 – Bridgeport 1/4 mile
      6 – Eastern Storm – Port Royal
    19 – Bedford Speedway
    20 – Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway
    26 – Williams Grove Speedway
July
       3 – Linda’s Speedway
   **4 – LANCO (tentative)
      11 – Mercer Raceway
      17 – Big Diamond Raceay
      24 – Bridgeport 1/4 Mile
      25 – Path Valley
August
     15 – Lincoln Speedway
     28 – Bridgeport 1/4 Mile
September
    **7 – Port Royal (tentative)
       18 – Williams Grove Speedway
       19 – Path Valley Speedway
       25 – Bridgeport 1/4 Mile
October
      2 – Linda’s Speedway
    17 – Thunder on the Hill – Grandview Speedway

ARDC ANNOUNCES 2015 SEASON OPENER AT LINDA’S SPEEDWAY

Posted on by Posted in General News Leave a comment
 
Wingless Midget Return to Linda’s in 2015
     One of the goals of the American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) for the 2015 season was for the wingless midgets to see more action on the quarter mile tracks and that goal is in sight as ARDC announces their opener at Linda’s Speedway on Friday, April 3, 2015.  The midgets will be part of a triple header as they join the wingless 600 Micros and 270 Micros in Friday night action. 
     ARDC’s successful return to the Path Valley Speedway in 2014 sparked more interest in the quarter mile tracks.  In addition to three dates each at Path Valley and Linda’s in 2015, there will also be five dates on Bridgeport’s quarter mile track for ARDC with other dates awaiting confirmation of the 2015 schedule. 
     Linda’s Speedway’s Michael Batz is looking forward to opening night when the midgets will run time trials to determine starting line-ups for their qualifying heats.  “It will be the first race of the season and the first race for the midgets at Linda’s.  Time trials will give us an opportunity to introduce each of the drivers to our fans and I expect that there will be some surprises out there,” Batz relates.  The quarter mile track will make the competition more equal among the midgets that typically run on many different size tracks – up to and including large half miles.  Batz expects that some new stars may emerge in the series of races on the quarter mile tracks. 
     Many of the ARDC competitors have come from quarter midgets and then micro sprints before making the move into the midgets.  For many, it will be a return to their roots.  It will also give the current micro sprint competitors a close up view of the midget competition. 
      Look for the complete 2015 ARDC schedule to be released in the near future.
      Mark your calendars for the opener on Friday, April 3rd at the Linda’s Speedway in Jonestown, PA

DREVICKI IS CHAMPION IN 75TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

Posted on by Posted in General News Leave a comment
 
ARDC Crowns New Champion and Announces Special Award Winners
     The American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) gathered at Lobitz Catering in Hazle Township, PA on Saturday to celebrate its 75th Anniversary Season with the crowning of its new champion.
     Steven Drevicki of Reading, PA and car owner, Greg Fitzpatrick were honored as the 2014 ARDC Champions on Saturday night as their DeGre Engineering Race Team celebrated its first championship. 
     Drevicki’s record during the 2014 season was nearly flawless as the young driver and his team completed every lap of every event on their way to three wins and twelve top five finishes in the fifteen race schedule.  Drevicki won the season opener at the New Egypt Speedway and then went on to pick up his first ever wins at both the Port Royal Speedway and Grandview Speedway later in the season.  Drevicki also grabbed eight qualifying race wins during the season. 
     Car owner, Fitzpatrick praised his driver for being “easy on equipment” and also had high praise for crew chief, Dave Drevicki who supervises the weekly maintenance and preparation on the DeGre Engineering cars driven by both the 2014 ARDC Champion and Fitzpatrick himself.  Dave Drevicki was names as ARDC’s 2014 Ken Hickey Mechanic of the Year recipient. 
     Other special awards were presented to KaseyJo Burnish who received the President’s Award for her service to the club throughout the 2014 season.  Scott and Brett Arndt received the Best Appearing Car Award for their #46 in what was this father and son’s 25th season of racing together.  Austin Burke overcame injury and disappointment in 2013 to receive the 2014 ARDC Rookie of the Year honors.  Stan Lobitz presented the Lobitz Sportsmanship Award to Bruce Buckwalter, Jr. for his unwavering support and promotion of ARDC as well as his sense of fair play and camaraderie among his fellow competitors.
     Dino Oberto was the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s event while Ms. Motorsports, Cassi Pinder did the honors of presenting the various awards to the recipients.  The top fifteen in driver and owner points were recognized along with the recipients of all of the special awards.