Swap Meet Concludes Successful Mod Tour Season
November 3, 2008
Submitted By: Marcie L. Barlow, Modified Tour Media Relations
The BRP/Hoosier Race Tires Modified Tour 08 closed out their 2008 racing season with the second annual High Performance Swap Meet and Racer’s Flea Market on Saturday, November 1st. The event featured more than 50 vendors selling a variety of new and used race cars, racing parts, collectibles and racing apparel and was held on the grounds of the Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH. The event was co-sponsored by Big Daddy’s Speed Center which is located in Grove City, PA. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Modified Tour Points Fund which will be distributed to the drivers at the awards banquet in January.
“We wanted to provide local racers with the opportunity to buy and sell their high performance parts without traveling to events that are several hours away,” stated Mod Tour president Ray Baselj. “The Sharon Speedway grounds are convenient for many of the race teams in the Western, PA and Eastern, OH area and we sincerely thank the management of Sharon Speedway for their assistance. Our goal is to make this the premier racer’s flea market in the Tri-State area and as a result of the success of this year’s event we are already planning a bigger and better event in 2009!!”
A special “Thank You” goes out to the following organizations that graciously donated items for the Chinese Auction that raised over $1,000.00 for the 2008 Modified Tour Point Fund: Lernerville Speedway, Ray’s Racing Collectibles, The Curtis Race Team, Winner’s Circle Motorsports Marketing and Tim Engles.
The Modified Tour 08 Awards Banquet will be held in January, 2009 at Big Daddy’s Speed Center in Grove City, PA. Additional details will be announced in the next few weeks. In addition Mod Tour board members are also busy working on the 2009 schedule. As dates are finalized and the contracts are signed additional details will be released.
The BRP Modified Tour 08 would like to thank the following series sponsors: Bicknell Racing Products, Hoosier Race Tire, Sunoco Race Fuel, Bilstein Shocks, Ray’s Racing Collectibles, Approved Toilet Rental, Lowry Auto Body, Lake Erie Speed Specialties, Hall’s Safety Equipment, Engles Trucking, Big Daddy’s Speed Center, Priest Enterprises, King Brothers Feed and Supply, Oyler Action Photos, Finishline Fabrication, Wilkinson Awards, McCool’s Signs and Graphics, Hands on Concepts, Waldo’s Towing, Jim’s Supermarket, Pennewell Sandblasting and Painting, Hands on Concepts and Wedge Motorsports.
The Modified Tour Inc. racing series is a non-profit organization established to give the V-8 Modifieds in the Western Pennsylvania area a chance to compete with one another for a higher purse structure and for a point fund for the races that are run. Started in 1998 by Tim Engles, Lon and Pam Baker and Randy Myers the Modified Tour has had great success at bringing the local cars together at the area racetracks.
The inaugural edition of the Apple Festival Nationals provided area race fans with plenty of “wheel to wheel” racing action and when the final checkered flags of the 2008 season flew Modified veteran Lonny Riggs had captured the biggest win of his career as he brought home the $3,000 first place prize and the coveted Russ King Memorial trophy at the Sharon Speedway on Sunday evening.
The event’s final caution waved on lap 23 for the spinning car of Randy Brown. The ensuing restart placed veteran Lonny Riggs on Shingledecker’s rear bumper. Shingledecker was able to maintain his lead when the green flag flew and appeared to be headed to his second consecutive BRP/Hoosier Race Tires Modified Tour ’08 victory. Riggs however has other ideas and perseverance paid off as the duo entered lapped traffic on lap 35. Shingledecker was unable to maneuver around the slower cars and Riggs capitalized on this error and motored into the lead. The Volant, PA veteran would then lead the final four circuits of the event to capture his first ever Russ King Memorial victory. It was also Riggs’ first BRP/Hoosier Race Tires Modified Tour victory of the 2008 season and his first on the 3/8 mile Sharon Speedway configuration.