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ARCA to Operate Toledo Speedway

ARCA TO OPERATE AND SANCTION TOLEDO SPEEDWAY-- FRIDAY NIGHT RACING IN 1999 Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) President Ron Drager and Detroit area businessman Roy Mott have formed a corporation which has purchased the Toledo Speedway from ...

ARCA TO OPERATE AND SANCTION TOLEDO SPEEDWAY-- FRIDAY NIGHT RACING IN 1999

Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) President Ron Drager and Detroit area businessman Roy Mott have formed a corporation which has purchased the Toledo Speedway from Thomas A. (Sonny) Adams.

The formal anouncement was made at a press conference held at the speedway January 6. The 1/2 mile , high-banked asphalt oval will see Friday night racing in 1999, as well as several Sunday afternoon events. The weekly fare of ARCA Late Models, Figure 8s and Street Stocks, as well as a Factory Stock class, will be featured at the Northern Ohio track, located near Interstate 75 at the Michigan-Ohio border.

Opening Night is set for Friday, May 7, the first of 18 Friday night events planned for the upcoming season. The Sunday schedule will go into effect for the month of September, beginning with the Sunday, September 5 Iceman Late Model 200 Championship event. The Series will compete at Toledo 4 times in 1999.

"We're pleased and proud to bring Toledo Speedway back into the ARCA fold," said Drager. "We've done a great deal of planning already, and there's a lot more to do to prepare for the 1999 season. We will concentrate on building a strong weekly racing program with our three ARCA sanctioned divisions which has made us successful at Flat Rock. We will also have a good variety of special events throughout the '99 season. Toledo Speedway is one of the finest short tracks in this region and the City of Toledo has been the home of ARCA since its inception in 1953, so it's the perfect place to help carry us into the future."

Stock car races in Toledo were promoted by ARCA founder John Marcum at the Raceway Park horse track prior to the Speedway being built in 1961 by Herb Koester. The following year Marcum took over the reigns to manage and promote the track from 1962 to 1977. Koester then sold the track to Adams, who promoted events at Toledo for the past 21 years. Marcum is recognized as a pioneer in organizing the sport of stock car racing and is a member of the Int'l Motorsports Hall of Fame. He worked as a race official with the late Bill France Sr. in the early days of NASCAR, then moved to the Toledo area and began his efforts to build stock car racing in the north.

ARCA has now sanctioned races in 25 states and has several touring series -- the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series stock cars; the ARCA Lincoln Welders Midget Series; the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series; and the ARCA Auto Value Figure 8 Series, all of which will compete at Toledo in 1999. ARCA also has sanctioned weekly stock car racing at Flat Rock's ¼-mile oval since 1964. The addition of Toledo Speedway will now give Michigan-Ohio-Canada race teams the opportunity to compete at both tracks, just 30 miles apart, on a weekly basis, with common divisions, licensing and rules.

Marcum Promotions, the sister company of ARCA and the marketing and promotion arm of Flat Rock Speedway, will administer the day-to-day operations at Toledo. Flat Rock's General Manager, Scott Schultz, will serve in the same capacity at both venues.

"We appreciate the opportunity to purchase this tradition-rich facility," said Drager. "Sonny and I have been talking about this off and on for a couple of years. He (Adams) could have sold it for development and watched a bulldozer knock it down, but he wanted it to stay a race track. Roy and I will work to see that Toledo Speedway attracts the support of racers, fans, the media and sponsors. Scott has done wonders with the Speedway at Flat Rock, and he has a really dedicated staff of ARCA officials who make the track so successful. When you consider the scope of operations of Flat Rock Speedway and ARCA, doing business at Toledo Speedway just makes a lot of sense."

Adams, the founder of the Iceman traveling Late Model Series, will continue to operate that group from his Toledo base. The series will compete at both Flat Rock and Toledo in 1999, as well as several other tracks in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

Plans call for a long-term capital improvement program, with the most immediate including repaving the figure-8 intersection and bringing city water supply to the property. "While fans may not notice a lot of changes this year, we plan to go about this at a steady pace, much like we have done at Flat Rock since 1986," said Drager.

Season ticket information will become available in the next few weeks. The schedule will offer weekly Friday night racing and also include all of ARCA's traveling groups. Plans are to return several popular events that were a mainstay at Toledo in years past, including the revival of the Glass City 200, a late model invitational race at the end of the season.

Schedules and sponsorship information may be obtained at this time by calling the Flat Rock Speedway office at 734-782-2480. The Toledo Speedway track office will open shortly and a new phone number will be announced at that time.

1999 TOLEDO SPEEDWAY SCHEDULE

(AS OF 1-6-99; SOME CHANGES MAY OCCUR)

APRIL 30 FRIDAY NIGHT PRACTICE: 4- 8 p.m.

MAY 2 SUNDAY PRACTICE: Noon to 5 p.m.

MAY 7 OPENING NIGHT: LM, F8, SS, FS.

MAY 14 SCOUT NIGHT/FAN CLUB NIGHT: LM, F8, SS, FS.

MAY 21 AUTOGRAPH NIGHT: LM, F8, SS, FS. Autograph session 7:30-8:00

on-track!

MAY 28* ICEMAN 100: Iceman LM-100 laps, plus SS, FS.

JUNE 4* ARCA LINCOLN WELDERS TRUCK SERIES: plus F8, SS, FS.

JUNE 11* ICEMAN 100: Iceman LM-100 laps, plus FS.

JUNE 18 KIDS NIGHT: LM, F8, SS, FS. Kids 12 and under FREE with paid

adult.

JUNE 25* ARCA BONDO/MAR-HYDE SERIES 150: plus SS, FS.

JULY 2* TRIPLE 50'S: LM, ARCA F8 Series, SS-50 laps each, plus FS.

JULY 9 LM, F8, SS, FS.

JULY 16* ARCA MIDGETS & PENNZOIL WINGED SPRINTS: plus SS, FS.

JULY 23 LM, F8, SS, FS.

JULY 30* TRIPLE 50'S: LM, ARCA F8 Series, SS-50 laps each, plus FS

AUG.6* ICEMAN 100: Iceman LM-100 laps, plus F8, FS.

AUG. 13 ARCA MIDGETS: plus F8, SS, FS.

AUG. 20* LM, ARCA F8 Series, SS, FS.

AUG. 27 AUTOGRAPH NIGHT: LM, F8, SS, FS. Autograph session 7:30-8:00

on-track!

SEPT. 3* SEASON CHAMPIONSHIPS: LM, F8, SS, FS.

SEPT. 5* SUNDAY: ICEMAN 200 CHAMPIONSHIP -- 7:00 P.M.

SEPT. 12* SUNDAY: GLASS CITY 200: Late Model Invitational. 1:30 p.m.

SEPT. 19* SUNDAY: SCHOOL BUS FIGURE 8 RACE: plus FS. 1:30 p.m.

SEPT. 26* SUNDAY: GLASS CITY 200 RAINDATE.

*SPECIAL EVENT.

(SUPPORT DIVISIONS TO BE ANNOUNCED FOR SEPT. 5, 12).

LM: LATE MODEL. F8: FIGURE 8: SS: STREET STOCK. FS: FACTORY

STOCK.

FRIDAY NIGHTS: PIT GATE: 4 P.M. FRONT GATE: 5 P.M. PRACTICE: 5:30

P.M. TIME TRIALS: 7 P.M. RACING: 8 P.M.

**RACING IS SANCTIONED BY THE AUTOMOBILE RACING CLUB OF

AMERICA (ARCA) AND PROMOTED BY MARCUM PROMOTIONS.

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