From Champion Speedway:
The well-known Champion Speedway in Owego is set to open its doors on May 29th with a special Sunday early evening race on the holiday weekend. The event will be billed as the Patrick Ahlund Spring Classic Championship in honor of the former Canadian racer who was killed in a car accident in 2003. Champion Speedway also hopes to have its all-new concrete oval slick track for for concession go-karts open as well at the facility. The track will be open Wed evenings from 6-9pm and then Friday’s from 5pm to 11pm and Saturday and Sundays from Noon on and will cater to both adults and children. Champion Speedway will also host BMX racing all summer long and has a motocross practice track that is open.
Over 40 Speedway riders have already signed up to compete on May 29th, not including competitors for ATV and dirt bike classes which will run prior to the scheduled 6 pm start time. Headlining the 40 rider professional speedway field may be former World Number 9 and Grand Prix Star, Josh Larsen of Costa Mesa, CA. Larsen is a former World Team Cup Champion, US Open Champion and CA State Champion amongst many other titles and at time of this release is expected to be in NY for many of the races this year. Also expected to be in the 40 rider professional speedway field are Multi-time Speedway Champions Adam Mittl of Endicott, Gene Bonsignore of Rochester and Jeremy Parsons of Johnson City, plus Two-time Action Park Champion, Casey Donholt of Port Crane, current East Coast and NY State Champion, Tuff McBride of Windsor, who will carry the number one plate, NY State Ice Champion, Dave Clark of Berkshire, Jerry “Bueford” Harman of Newark Valley, Brian Hollenbeck of Owego, Andy Crawford of Apalachin, Alex “Hazzard” Heath of Owego, Russ “Doctor Dirt” Cornell and Keith Hawkins of Nichols, Teenage sensation, Corey Brookes of Apalachin, John “Boogieman” Lewis, of Syracuse and more! Local top flat-tracker and speedway rider, Craig Estelle of Windsor has also signed up for the Larry McBride Memorial in June. Four-time track Champion, Lenny McBride, may also make selected events. Former Rookie of the year, Craig Lane, of Dundee is gearing up for a comeback and former British League star, David Meldrum of Lakeland, Florida, is due to ride in NY in July when recovered from a knee operation. The support speedway division is on the upswing with local fan favorites like “Daredevil” Don Wheeland, Ron “The Reaper” Walker, Bunk Harris and Brian Bailey all confirmed plus a host of new riders for this summer. “Jammin” Jeff Garlinghouse and Mark “Battlescar” Bradley of Rochester should be frequent visitors. The ATV program is also growing at a fast pace and will likely be headed by local pros Ed Reilly, Dan “Barlow” Hawk, Steve Kappler, Steve Tarsia, Tom Donahue, Stoney Ray, Sean “Big Daddy” Neal, Rick Ganoung, Dave Kent and Tim Jackson. Rumor has it former NYS Champion, Chris Knolles of Sayre, PA may be making a comeback.
The somewhat legendary, 1/8 mile dirt motorcycle speedway venue opened in 1975 and for nearly ten years attracted crowds of up to 3,000 for its Sunday evening speedway shows. The track became so popular at one time that they had to turn people away! The track reached its high point in 1982 when World Speedway Champion and Hollywood actor, Bruce Penhall, came to town for the US Open Championships and a record crowd of over 5,000 witnessed the races!
The venue went through some ownership problems in the late 80’s and early 90’s and actually closed down for 4 years until 1997 when Rochester area Professional Hockey Player, Jason Bonsignore, brought the track back from extinction quite successfully.
Speedway Motorcycles have absolutely no brakes, go from 0 to 60mph in less than 3 seconds and slide totally sideways on the dirt oval. Crowds of 20,000 plus attend races overseas where speedway reigns supreme. The sport remains one of the most affordable forms of family fun in the area with adult tickets at Champion costing only $10.00. Kids 6-12 are only $3.00 and there are many events on Champion’s schedule offering discounted promotions. Parking is free!
Bonsignore rebuilt the entire track and built the sport up again for nearly 10 years. Very good sized crowds began to attend the events again, National Championship races were hosted and top level racers were brought in at different times, including 1996 and 97 World Champions, Billy Hamill and Greg Hancock of California.
Local racers and fans have lots to be excited about for 2011. The track has commitments from the largest group of competitors it has had since 2004 and will be hosting the local NIKSTOCK music festival in June and August. NIKSTOCK will be celebrating its 26th year and regular speedway races will be featured in conjunction with the festival on the Saturday evenings of the music weekends, the first being planned for June 10-11. The track will continue to host its’ own self-sanctioned US NATIONAL OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS over labor day weekend which will feature International stars.
The 2011 season kicks off Sunday, May, 29th at 6pm but the track will remain a mostly Saturday Night track, it has been Saturdays most years since 97, for this summer after week one. The speedway and ATV schedule will run mostly bi-weekly. East Coast Speedway Promotions is also working on a new facility in the Watkins Glen area at The Seneca Grand Prix Family Fun Park on RT 414. The fun park should open around June 15th and the speedway track will hopefully be done in July. More information can be found by going to www.speedwaybikes.com or www.eastcoastspeedway.com or by calling 585 723-9746.
