Racers notes and some things of interest regarding the upcoming Bedford racing season which kicks off on Sunday April 2nd, with the annual car show and practice session.
Late Model 600th Race Celebration: This year the speedway will be hosting its 600th Late Model feature event, dating back to 1965 when what we now call Late Models began running at Bedford. During that time there have been 138 different drivers claim a Bedford win. To mark the 600th Late Model race in Bedford history, we will be inviting each of the 138 Bedford Late Model winners to the track on Friday June 16th for a tribute.
Bedford Fair Racing: For the first time in 19 years there will be two nights of racing at the Annual Bedford Fair, with Sunday and Friday racing events planned. There will be four divisions racing each night, with a full racing program of heats and features for each division. Sunday July 23rd will be the “Joe Ciski Tribute” honoring the URC Sprint driver who was killed in the 1967 Fair race. Friday nights racing program will honor the memory of Frank Dunkle, the racer and longtime respected Bedford area businessman who passed away last year.
Giving back to the Racers Sponsor Bonus: Each year it is always a pleasure to see some of our Bedford racers go and compete against the nation’s top dirt racers in national dirt events. There is a long tradition of Bedford drivers racing against the best at tracks such as Eldora, Knoxville, and Charlotte each season. In order to support our drivers who wish to travel to these events we will be offering a Speedway sponsorship. A sponsorship of $500 each will be offered to a Late Model driver for the Charlotte World Finals, a Modified driver for the Eldora Fall Nationals, and a Sprint driver for the Knoxville Nationals. Late Model & Modified sponsorship will be offered to the top finisher in Bedford points who wishes to compete at those races.
Pit Parking: This season the parking in the pit area will be reorganized, to allow for better sightlines of the track for the fans. The current layout of parking has grown outdated as the racers rigs have continued to get bigger and taller, blocking parts of the track for the fans. For this year the center pit lane has been eliminated, and racers will utilize the front pit lane, and the rear pit lane. All tall rigs (LM, LMS, Mods) will be parking in the front, and the shorter trailers (SL, PS, 4C) will be parking on the rear lane. Most drivers will not notice a change from their current spot, some will be parking in a similar spot, some will be moving to a totally new spot. The new pit lane and parking plan will improve traffic flow, safety and visibility for the fans.
$5.00 Nights: This year the speedway will be hosting two $5.00 admission races. The first will be Friday May 5th to celebrate the Cinco de Mayo holiday. As is tradition as the speedway, the Friday night after the fair will again be fireworks night at the speedway for only $5.00 admission. For the tenth year in a row Bedford fans will not see in increase in prices. Regular Friday night admission for the pits and grandstands will continue to remain the same as it has since 2007. To go along with no increase in prices, each division will receive a purse increase this season.
Special Events: In cooperation with our friends at Hagerstown, the opening night Late Model winners at each track will become an automatic qualifier for the Anniversary Race at the other track. Thus the opening night winner at Bedford will be automatically qualified for the Hagerstown 70th Anniversary Special.
The four night Independence Day Summer Classic will begin at Bedford on Friday night June 30th with a 35 lap/ $3500 to win program. The series will travel to Winchester, Georgetown, and concluding at Potomac on Monday July 3rd. There will be a four race point fund as part of the series.
This year we will be teaming up with Winchester as part of our 81st Anniversary Billy Winn Classic. With both tracks celebrating a first race in 1936, each will be hosting identical $8100 to win, $600 to start 50 lap events. Bedford will kick off the weekend on Friday July 14th, and the following night Winchester will be in action.
The Mason-Dixon Shootout Series will be visiting Bedford twice this season for $1000 to win, time trial shows on July 2nd, and August 20th. The August visit of the series will be part of a weekend mini-series for extra money along with Clinton County, and Hagerstown. The Sportsman will also be running topless, at their Memorial Day Special.
The longest race of the season will be the much anticipated Pure Stock 100 lapper. Along with a 50 lap race on Memorial Day, and the Charlie Walter 42 on July 2nd, the August 20th 100 lap feature gives the Pure Stock drivers lots of time to race. A lucrative purse will be offered for each of these events with quite a few sponsors coming on board for them. The 100 lapper will have a fuel stop at halfway, and each race will be run using the pace car format, meaning that yellow laps with the pace car on track will count.
The Modifieds and Semi Lates will each get several special events to go along with their regular Friday night shows. Several extra distance races are on the new schedule for both the Semi Lates and Modifieds. In August the Semi Lates will race in their biggest race of the season, the Muss Weyant Memorial. Now in its 5th year, it is annually the longest and richest Semi Late race of the year.
To go along with their regular features the Four Cylinders will have the opportunity to race double features on a few nights this season. On 4C twin features nights they will run two features, giving racers a chance to run double laps for double money. There also will be a 50 lap Four Cylinder special on October 21st, with more details to follow.
Additional developments for the 2017 season will be posted on this website throughout the spring.
