It is not often that fans of short track racing can find a single event with as diverse and talented a line-up as that being presented by C&C Racing Promotions on Friday and Saturday, November 2 & 3, 2007. An incredible group of racing talent will be competing in this year’s John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout at the ultra-fast tri-oval of Concord Motorsport Park in Concord, NC. The roster for the John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout featuring the East-West Supermodified Shootout is shaping up to be one of the most noted in short-track racing history.
    On hand for the prestigious event will be the stars of the major Modifieds tours on the East Coast. They are being joined by the tenacious racers from Supermodified racing associations nationwide and from weekly race tracks in the northeast. The rosters for the Shootout’s ‘big three’ will include a collection of championship drivers and a host of rising stars.
    One driver that fits the bill for both is 17-year old Joey Logano of Huntersville, NC. Fresh off his win in the Toyota All-Star Showdown, Logano tops the list of newly crowned champions set to go for the glory at the fifth annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout. Possibly the hottest young driver in racing today, Logano, a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, is the 2007 Bush East Series champion. The CT native will shed the fenders to vie for the coveted win in the Modified 100 aboard the Gary Cretty Modified that he drove earlier this year at the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway.
    Fellow NASCAR champion, the Whelen Modified Tour’s Donny Lia of Jericho, NY has verbally expressed his intentions to compete on November 2&3 at Concord Motorsport Park. Lia is expected to drive his family-owned #18 when he searches for his second Shootout victory. Lia was the 2004 champion of the event.
    The Modified roster also includes one of the Whelen Modified Tour’s most decorated drivers, Tony Hirschman of Northampton, PA. This will be the first appearance of the five-time Tour champion in the North-South Shootout. For the last several years, Hirschman was at the Shootout lending a hand and moral support to his son Matt, who was crowned the 2006 North-South Shootout champion. This year, the elder Hirschman hopes to visit victory lane again in 2007, this time in his fire suit.
    Other former Modified Tour champions filing entries include Jerry Marquis of Broad Brook, CT, and Jamie Tomaino of Howell, NJ. The 2003 Series king, Todd Szegedy, will be behind the wheel of the Hillbilly Racing #97 as a teammate to Woody Pitkat.
    Currently, the Northern Modified competitors have combined to win all four of the previous North-South Shootout Modified 100 events; shutting out their Southern rivals. In 2007, the good old boys are poised to end the Northern reign. The Southern Modified contingent brings some championship-caliber contenders of their own for the 5th Annual John Blewett III Memorial. One likely candidate to dethrone the northerners is Burt Myers of Walnut Cove, NC, who holds two distinctions for the 2007 season including the ASA Southern Modified Race Tour title and the Bowman Gray Stadium championship.
    NASCAR’s longest running weekly race track, Bowman Gray Stadium has produced some incredible racing talents. The facility is arguably the most grueling race track in the country. Its tight racing conditions make for exciting races and short fuses. The weekly competitors at this bull ring can hold their own. And several of the Stadium champions, including six-time Modified champion Tim Brown of Cana, VA, will look to use the tricks of the trade to finally score a Southern victory. Brown may have a decided advantage as he enjoys the services of championship crew chief Phil Moran, who helped propel Szegedy to his title in 2003. Other serious threats to win include Brian Loftin, Brian King, Jason Myers and former S.M.A.R.T. champion Jay Foley.
    The Race of Champions Modified Tour will also be well represented. The 2007 champion, Pete Brittain of Oakhurst, NJ, will be joined by two former RoC title holders, M. Hirschman (overall), and Eric Beers (central region-2006), both of Northampton, PA. The 2004 series champion and newly crowned 2007 SST Champion, Tony Hanbury of Owego, NY, will be competing in the SK-Type portion of this year’s Shootout.
    In an interview following the Race of Champions at Oswego, Brittain, who has been at the Shootout since the beginning, sounded like a classic television advertisement. Brittain was asked what he was going to do with the all the lap money he had won. He simply replied, “I’m going to the North-South Shootout”. Apparently, a trip to the Shootout is like a trip to Disney World.
    The Who’s Who of rosters will also include the likes of reigning ISMA Supermodified Champion, Chris Perley of Rowley, MA along with former club champions Joe Gosek of Oswego, NY, and Dave McKnight of Brampton, Ontario, Canada. The Midwest Supermodified Association’s multi-time point champion Tim Jedrzejek will join the all-star cast of the first annual East-West Supermodified Shootout.
    A familiar name can be found on the roster of both the East-West Supermodified Shootout and the SK-Type Modified 50. The “Jersey Jet” Joey Payne of Fairlawn, NJ, will be a real threat to win both events. The open-wheel veteran, who has posted victories in the Supermodifieds, will be making his debut in an SK Modified ® from the TS Haulers Racing stables as a teammate to Jimmy Blewett. This is a powerful combination that could result in a bunch of hardware heading back to New Jersey.
    The weekly racing series drivers will be on hand in force for the SK-Type Modified and Crate SK Modified divisions. The track champions at all three Connecticut race tracks as well as the SST champion are entered into the annual SK-Modified thriller. Stafford Motor Speedway’s     Ted Christopher of Plainville, CT, is expected to drive the Doug DiPisa owned #81 while Thompson International Speedway champ Keith Rocco of Wallingford, CT, and the Waterford Speedbowl ace Rob Janovic, Jr. of Waterford, CT, will be aboard their usual potent mounts in search of victory. Janovic is among the most successful Shootout competitors posting top-ten finishes in both SK-Type Modified events held thus far.
    In the Crate-SK Modified division, Wall Township Speedway’s Danny Bohn of Freehold, NJ, will try to turn his track championship into his second-straight Shootout title. Stafford Speedway champion Chris Matthews of Stafford Springs, CT, is making the tow to North Carolina in search of his own Shootout victory.
    Whether it is the first or fifth trip to the John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout, these competitors are hungry for a win. With The level of competition and the depth of the talent, that hunger will provide two solid days of thrilling racing action.
    The format for the fifth annual event will include time trials, heat races, and consolation event(s) for the Modifieds, Supermodifieds, and SK-Type Modifieds. Heat races will be held for the Crate SK-Type Modifieds, Four-Cylinders, and Vintage Modifieds. The Modifieds will compete in a 100 green flag lap main event with the Supermodifieds and SK-Type Modifieds competing in 50-lappers.
    On Friday, November 2, 2007, the pit gates open at 8 AM with practice running from 11 AM to 4 PM. Grandstands will be open beginning at 2 PM. The racing action gets underway at 5 PM with time trials for the SK-Type Modifieds, Supermodifieds and Modifieds. Qualifying heats for all divisions will be held immediately following. On Saturday, November 3, 2007, pit gates open at 8 AM with a happy hour practice scheduled from 9 AM – 11 AM. The grandstands will open at 10 AM in preparation for the traditional pit party from 11:30 PM – 1:00 PM and the “Little Shootout” pedal car races. The racing action gets underway at 1:15 PM with the Modified consolation event followed by feature events for all divisions. The tentative order is as follows: 4-Cylinder, SK Light-Type, Vintage Modifieds, SK-Type Modifieds, Supermodifieds and Modifieds. (Schedule is subject to change).
    The drivers entered in the 5th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout presented by Town & Country Ford featuring the Wirtgen America East-West Supermodified Shootout have combined to amass a huge number of championships. The talent will be on display on Friday and Saturday, November 2&3, 2007 at Concord Motorsport Park in Concord, NC. The John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout™ will undeniably be the fastest, most exciting short track racing event of the year.