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09/26/2014 |
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SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR CONCLUSION OF
26TH ANNUAL US OPEN ON OCTOBER 3 & 4
IMCA-Style
Modifieds & "Open Rules" TQ Midget Race Added To Event |
 Short
Track Management (STM) has announced the schedule for the
rain-delayed conclusion to the 26th annual US Open at Lancaster
Speedway on October 3 & 4.
STM has added two divisions to the event, IMCA-style asphalt
Modifieds and an open rules TQ-Midget race. A Friday night practice
session has also been scheduled on October 3, open to any team
competing on Saturday. Pit gates will open at 4 PM on Friday with
practice beginning at 6 PM. Following practice there will be a fan &
driver party in the main concourse featuring live music.
The IMCA-style Modifieds (also known as E-Modifieds) will make their
first ever appearance at Lancaster. The open-wheeled cars compete on
both dirt and asphalt short tracks across the country under the
sanction of IMCA and other organizations. They have recently gained
in popularity at several paved tracks in Pennsylvania that are
within a few hours of Lancaster, NY.
STM will honor the home track rules for three Pennsylvania tracks:
Lake Erie Speedway, Motordrome Speedway and Jennerstown Speedway.
Teams will have the choice to run either Hoosier 980 or Commanche
compound tires. The IMCA-style cars will run their heats and feature
on Saturday, October 4. The feature will be 40 laps if more than 15
cars are entered and 25 laps if 15 or fewer cars show up.
The open rules TQ Midget event will be a separate race run in
concert with the previously scheduled NYPA TQ Midget Association (NYPAMA)
event. The rulebook for the event is a hybrid of Can-Am, NYPAMA and
ATQRMA Midget Series rules to allow a balance between the three
groups of cars. The second TQ division was added due to the desire
of several teams that wanted to support the US Open but could not
compete under NYPAMA rules. The open TQs will run their heats on
Friday during the practice session and their feature on Saturday.
The NYPAMA TQs will run their heats and feature on Saturday.
The three other divisions that were originally scheduled to compete
on the second day of the US Open will also be in attendance. The
Race of Champions Modified Tour will headline the event in the Tommy
Druar/Tony Jankowiak Memorial 125. With the two-week postponement
the Tommy/Tony 125 becomes the final points race of the year for the
RoC Tour. The Modifieds will race at Shangri-La II Speedway in
Owego, NY on September 28 before heading back to Lancaster. The "Hotshoe"
Chuck Hossfeld and "Big Money" Matt Hirschman are in a tight points
battle for the series championship.
The Late Models will make their return to Lancaster after a two-year
absence. They will run heat races and a feature on Saturday as the
heats that were completed on September 20 have been wiped from the
record. This was done to encourage more teams to show up for the
raindate. The tire rules have been opened up as well to accommodate
more competitors.
The Big 10 Super Stock Series will also be in action on Saturday.
The Super Stock division has run in every US Open and is the only
other division besides the Modified to do so. The Big 10 Series has
also opened their rulebook to allow Super Stocks from any area track
or series to compete. The Big 10 cars will run a 35-lap feature.
As an added bonus for fans STM had added several new attractions for
families to the raindate. There will be a Fan Festival with driver
autographs and activities for children, including a bounce house.
Kids will also have their chance to get on the track with a special
big wheel race before the opening ceremonies on Saturday afternoon.
Any child wishing to run the big wheel race is encouraged to bring
their own big wheel from home but Lancaster does have a limited
amount of bikes to loan out. Fans in attendance will get a chance to
get up close and personal with the stars of the Race of Champions
Modified Tour when they hold their drivers meeting in the main
concourse at 2:30 PM.
The schedule for Saturday begins at 11 AM when the pit gates open.
Grandstand gates will open at 12:30 PM with practice beginning at
the same time. The Fan Festival opens at 1 PM. Opening ceremonies
with take place at 3 PM with Doug Allen returning to sing the
national anthems. Racing will begin immediately after opening
ceremonies are completed. Should there be inclement weather on
Saturday the event will be postponed to Sunday, October 5.
The 26th annual US Open at Lancaster Speedway is being promoted by
Short Track Management (STM) LLC of Winston-Salem, NC. For more
information call (336) 793-8465 or log on to
www.lancasterusopen.com. Like the US Open on Facebook at
facebook.com/theusopen and follow us on Twitter @LancasterUSOpen.
Fans can receive text alert updates by texting FANUSOPEN to 84483.
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26th annual US Open schedule of events for raindate program:
Friday October 3
3:00pm Hauler Pre-Stage, Secure Facility
4:00pm Gates Open (Pit and Grandstand)
6:00pm “Open” T.Q Midget Practice
6:20pm First round of practice on the ˝-mile oval (Practice by
Division)
6:45pm “Open” T.Q. Midget Qualifying Races (8-laps)
7:15pm Second Round practice on the ˝-mile oval
8:30pm Third round practice on the ˝-mile
9:30pm Approximate Conclusion of Practice - US Open Fan
Festival Main Concourse
11:00pm Pit Area Closed / Secure Facility
Saturday October 4
11:00am Pit Gates Open
12:30pm Front Gates Open – Practice by Division (2 Rounds per
Division – Inner Oval First)
1:00pm Fan Festival, Kids (Bounce House Activities Begin)
2:30pm Driver’s Meetings (RoC Driver Meeting Main Councourse,
TQ Midgets, Late Model, Big 10 Tech Barn)
2:45pm Big Wheel Races
3:00pm Opening Ceremonies (Invocation & Anthems – Doug Allen)
3:10pm “Open” T.Q. Midget Last Chance Showdown Qualifying Race
(8-laps)
3:15pm T.Q. Midget Qualifying Races (8-laps each) – Inner Oval
3:40pm “SportMod” (Lake Erie Type) Modified Qualifying Racing
(8-laps each)
4:10pm Big ‘10’ Qualifying Races (8-laps each)
4:40pm Late Model Qualifying Races (10-laps each)
5:10pm Race of Champions Modified Tour Qualifying Races –
(10-laps each)
5:45pm “Open” T.Q. Midget Feature Race (25-laps)
6:10pm TQ Midget Feature (25-laps) (Immediately Followed by
joint Victory Lanes)
6:30pm “SportMod” (Lake Erie Type) Modified Feature Race
(25-laps each)
7:00pm Big ‘10’ Feature Race (35-laps – based on car count)
(Immediately Followed by Victory Lane)
7:40pm Late Model Feature (50-laps) (Immediately Followed by
Victory Lane)
8:20pm Race of Champions Modified Tour Stages Feature on
Frontstretch (Lemans Style)
8:35pm Race of Champions Modified Tour Driver Introductions
8:45pm Command to Start Engines (Druar & Jankowiak Families)
8:50pm Race of Champions Modified Tour Tommy Druar / Tony
Jankowiak 125 Memorial (125-laps)
10:00pm Race of Champions Modified Tour Victory Lane
11:00pm Pit Area Closed / Secure Facility |
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Source: Dave Buchanan / Lancaster US Open
Posted: September
26, 2014 |
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