Great News for local racing fans, Champion Speedway in Owego will open its doors for its 49th Anniversary year on Saturday, May 13, at 7p.m. with the East Coast Patrick Ahlund Spring Classic Championship.
The racing promises to be the best it has been in recent years and the sport looks to be making a strong comeback with a nice Division 1 field already signed up for the Opener.
Among the riders committed to race the Opener are regulars Spencer Portararo of Maine, who is the current East Coast Points Champion; 5-time track champion, Lenny McBride of Windsor; 3-time Champ, Casey Donholt of Port Crane; Dave, Jonny and Dalton Oakden of Rochester; Jerry Harman of Maine; Caleb Stewart of Apalachin; Levi Harris of Windsor; Brian Hollenbeck of Owego; and Russ Cornell of Nichols, and many more.
According to the track’s operator, Jason Bonsignore, a growing turnout of new JR riders have been seen at practice sessions recently and there seems to be a resurgence going on in the sport.
Action begins at Champion Speedway in Owego on May 13 at 7 p.m. The track will be celebrating their 49th anniversary this year. Photo provided by Champion Speedway.
The ATV turnout was strong last year, according to Bonsignore, and is expected to keep growing. Local pros Shane Smith, Stoney Ray, Chris and Lizzy Merwin, Dan Hawk, Dylan Hawk, Lonnie Whitmore, Toby Relyea and Lucas Duffy are just some of the names that will figure in on the action.
The Quad program grew to such large numbers that a new track for ATV’s and Karts has been constructed in the back parking lot area. An all-new nighttime motocross track and TT is under construction at Champion as well.
Champion also features exciting Trike racing, headed by local stars Daniel Henninge, TJ Smith, and Aaron and Justin Vogel.
The track’s promotion team will also be operating races at Action Park East, Champion’s sister track, in Greene, N.Y., with that facility’s events kicking off on Saturday May, 27.
Action Park East and Champion will play host to the US Open National Championships on Labor Day weekend.
More information can be found at www.eastcoastspeedway.com, or www.speedwaybikes.com.
My favorite hangout back in the day. Rowdy Rick Stone, Rodney Payne, Warren Diem to name but a few. And Marty the announcer. And the crew from Towanda! I worked 3rd shift at IBM and our week started on Sunday night…most of my vacation days were taken for Speedway!