LEXINGTON, KY (4/12/07) - The O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts is set to open its 2007 tour this weekend at the King Family's Florence Speedway. Two complete shows on Friday, April 13th and Saturday, April 14th will kickoff off the season for the nation's most competitive regional racing series.
"We're real excited to head over to Florence," said defending Series Champion Mike Jewell of Scottsburg, IN. "I always enjoy racing at Florence. They always have a good race track and I've actually had some pretty decent success there over the years. Plus, we've got a new car we're going to take over there and we're pretty anxious to see how it works."
The highly-anticipated season opener for the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts is this Friday, April 13th. The "Spring 50 Tune-Up" will be a complete racing program with Time Trials, Heats, B-Mains, and the 30-lap A-Main paying $3000 to win. Ticket prices for this event are only $15 for General Admission and just $28 for the Pits. Pit gates are slated to open at 4pm with the main gates opening at 5pm. Qualifying will hit the track promptly at 7pm with Racing beginning at 8pm.
Saturday, April 14th, the Series is back at Florence for the 31st Annual Spring 50. Another complete program is on tap with Time Trials, Heats, B-Mains, and a 50-lap A-Main paying $5000 to win. General Admission seating for Saturday night is only $17 while a pit pass is just $30. The pit gates will once again open at 4pm with the general admission gates opening at 5pm. The on-track action starts a half-hour earlier on Saturday with Qualifying at 6:30pm and Racing at 7:30pm.
"We're expecting a lot of quality cars here for both nights," said Florence Speedway promoter Josh King. "These two races always draw a high car count and a really competitive field, and I think that's why so many fans mark this race on their calendar. Plus, for some traveling drivers, this may be their only chance to race at Florence before the Ralph Latham Memorial on June 2nd."
The 2007 season for the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series is shaping up to be the most competitive to date. Several drivers have made verbal commitments to follow the entire tour including the likes of Mike Jewell, David Webb, Chris Combs, Johnny Wheeler, Tim Tungate, Victor Lee, Aaron Hatton, Jeff Watson, Jason Keltner, Bobby Wolter Jr., Eric Wells, DJ Wells, and Dan Deaton among others. The strong contingent of drivers further adds to competitiveness of the series.
"Night in and night out, you have to work your butt off just to make the show," said Jewell. "You've got the series regulars who are always good, you've got the local drivers defending their home turf, and you've got the travelers who can pop in and win on any given night. So it can be tough just making the show, but that's also what makes this series so exciting for the fans."
Florence Speedway is a 1/2-mile, high-banked clay oval located on US 42 just south of Union, KY and is owned and operated by Jerry, Mona, and Josh King. The office phone number for Florence Speedway is (859) 493-0034 and the track phone number on race day is (859) 485-7591. For more information, please visit www.florencespeedway.com.
The O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts sanctions regional dirt track Late Model racing in and around the state of Kentucky. For more information on the nation's most competitive regional racing series, please visit our website at www.battleofthebluegrass.com or call our office at (859) 433-5707.
The purse for Friday night's Spring 50 Tune-Up is as follows:
1. $3000
2. $1500
3. $1000
4. $800
5. $750
6. $700
7. $650
8. $600
9. $550
10. $500
11. $450
12. $400
13. $350
14. $350
15. $325
16. $325
17. $300
18. $300
19. $300
20. $300
21. $300
22. $300
The purse for Saturday night's 31st Annual Spring 50 is as follows:
1. $5000
2. $3000
3. $2000
4. $1500
5. $1000
6. $800
7. $750
8. $700
9. $650
10. $600
11. $550
12. $500
13. $450
14. $450
15. $425
16. $425
17. $400
18. $400
19. $350
20. $350
21. $300
22. $300
O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series Upcoming Schedule
April 13 - Florence Speedway/$3000
April 14 - Florence Speedway/$5000
April 20 - Twin Cities Raceway Park/$3000
April 21 - Brownstown Speedway/$4000
April 27 - Ponderosa Speedway/$3000
April 28 - Bluegrass Speedway/$3000
May 12 - Tazewell Speedway/$4000
"We're real excited to head over to Florence," said defending Series Champion Mike Jewell of Scottsburg, IN. "I always enjoy racing at Florence. They always have a good race track and I've actually had some pretty decent success there over the years. Plus, we've got a new car we're going to take over there and we're pretty anxious to see how it works."
The highly-anticipated season opener for the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts is this Friday, April 13th. The "Spring 50 Tune-Up" will be a complete racing program with Time Trials, Heats, B-Mains, and the 30-lap A-Main paying $3000 to win. Ticket prices for this event are only $15 for General Admission and just $28 for the Pits. Pit gates are slated to open at 4pm with the main gates opening at 5pm. Qualifying will hit the track promptly at 7pm with Racing beginning at 8pm.
Saturday, April 14th, the Series is back at Florence for the 31st Annual Spring 50. Another complete program is on tap with Time Trials, Heats, B-Mains, and a 50-lap A-Main paying $5000 to win. General Admission seating for Saturday night is only $17 while a pit pass is just $30. The pit gates will once again open at 4pm with the general admission gates opening at 5pm. The on-track action starts a half-hour earlier on Saturday with Qualifying at 6:30pm and Racing at 7:30pm.
"We're expecting a lot of quality cars here for both nights," said Florence Speedway promoter Josh King. "These two races always draw a high car count and a really competitive field, and I think that's why so many fans mark this race on their calendar. Plus, for some traveling drivers, this may be their only chance to race at Florence before the Ralph Latham Memorial on June 2nd."
The 2007 season for the O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series is shaping up to be the most competitive to date. Several drivers have made verbal commitments to follow the entire tour including the likes of Mike Jewell, David Webb, Chris Combs, Johnny Wheeler, Tim Tungate, Victor Lee, Aaron Hatton, Jeff Watson, Jason Keltner, Bobby Wolter Jr., Eric Wells, DJ Wells, and Dan Deaton among others. The strong contingent of drivers further adds to competitiveness of the series.
"Night in and night out, you have to work your butt off just to make the show," said Jewell. "You've got the series regulars who are always good, you've got the local drivers defending their home turf, and you've got the travelers who can pop in and win on any given night. So it can be tough just making the show, but that's also what makes this series so exciting for the fans."
Florence Speedway is a 1/2-mile, high-banked clay oval located on US 42 just south of Union, KY and is owned and operated by Jerry, Mona, and Josh King. The office phone number for Florence Speedway is (859) 493-0034 and the track phone number on race day is (859) 485-7591. For more information, please visit www.florencespeedway.com.
The O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series presented by Arizona Sport Shirts sanctions regional dirt track Late Model racing in and around the state of Kentucky. For more information on the nation's most competitive regional racing series, please visit our website at www.battleofthebluegrass.com or call our office at (859) 433-5707.
The purse for Friday night's Spring 50 Tune-Up is as follows:
1. $3000
2. $1500
3. $1000
4. $800
5. $750
6. $700
7. $650
8. $600
9. $550
10. $500
11. $450
12. $400
13. $350
14. $350
15. $325
16. $325
17. $300
18. $300
19. $300
20. $300
21. $300
22. $300
The purse for Saturday night's 31st Annual Spring 50 is as follows:
1. $5000
2. $3000
3. $2000
4. $1500
5. $1000
6. $800
7. $750
8. $700
9. $650
10. $600
11. $550
12. $500
13. $450
14. $450
15. $425
16. $425
17. $400
18. $400
19. $350
20. $350
21. $300
22. $300
O'Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series Upcoming Schedule
April 13 - Florence Speedway/$3000
April 14 - Florence Speedway/$5000
April 20 - Twin Cities Raceway Park/$3000
April 21 - Brownstown Speedway/$4000
April 27 - Ponderosa Speedway/$3000
April 28 - Bluegrass Speedway/$3000
May 12 - Tazewell Speedway/$4000
