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Volusia Volusia Speedway Park's annual Winternational racing schedule will be one of the busiest attractions in Central Florida as caravans or auto racing enthusiasts move south on their annual racing pilgrimage. The complex, located just 15 minutes west of Daytona International Speedway, offers spectators the best of both worlds in short-track action with its 1/2 mile dirt oval and 3/8 mile asphalt surface providing simultaneous racing throughout the Volusia Speedweeks 1999 activity.
10 consecutive nights of racing are on tap for race fans beginning with the opening event on the exciting dirt surface, (Thursday evening, Feb. 4) and the adjacent asphalt track's schedule opening on the following night (Friday, Feb. 5). Both schedules continuing through each track's grand finale, on Saturday night, February 13th. Many of the competitors in action for the week and a half long auto racing spectacle will be on hand for interviews, exhibits, tours of the facility during a special Media Day for both tracks .
The Media Day activities will be held from 3:00 p.m. through 10:00 p.m. on Friday, February 5th. Media Day celebrity match races will earn qualification spots in a special Media Challenge Benefit Race against national media members, slated for Thursday, Feb. 11th. The celebrity events will benefit families of last summers devastating wildfires throughout the state of Florida.
The All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint car series kicks off its 20th anniversary season by opening the 28th year of Volusia Speedway Park's annual racing extravaganza. Beginning with the All-Star Sprint events, (Feb. 4th through Sunday, Feb. 7th), the track will also feature headliners including visits from the much heralded DIRT Modified tour, (Tuesday, Feb. 9 - Friday, Feb. 12) and a pair of Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Racing Series national events (Friday & Saturday, Feb. 12-13). DIRT is in its 24th season, and is a featured topic in the February, 1999 edition of Stock Car Racing magazine. The popular Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Racing Series late model tour is celebrating its 10th year as the nation's leading dirt late model sanction.
Other marquis events at the Volusia Speedweeks 1999 dirt track, which was restored back to its original high- banked home during last season, will include the Northern All-Star Super Late Models (Monday-Tuesday, Feb. 8-9); eight nights of United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) Modified action, (February 4-6, 8-11, & 13); a special Florida Mini-Sprint race, (Sunday, Feb. 7); plus featured racing with the Budweiser Late Model Sportsman cars, (Saturday, Feb. 13), a pair of Volusia Speedweeks 1999 late model features (Wednesday, Thursday, Feb. 10-11) and the special Media Challenge Race, (Thursday, Feb. 11).
The asphalt agenda for Volusia Speedweeks 1999 plays host to Super Late Model features (Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 6-7 & Thursday-Saturday Feb. 11-13), with the Sunday, Feb. 7th and Saturday, Feb. 13th dates sanctioned by the Florida Pro Series Late Model's. Southern Late Model Sportsman competitors will also be in action with the late models. Open-Wheel Modifieds will compete each night and will be joined by the Baby Grand division, (Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 11- 13) and Winged Outlaw Asphalt Sprints on the final two nights, (Friday-Saturday, Feb. 12-13).
For additional event or ticket information, contact the Volusia Speedway Park office at 904-985-4402 or visit Volusia Speedway Park's web site on the internet at www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com. Schedule: Pit Gates Open Daily at 3:00 p.m.
The 10th anniversary for the leading dirt late model sanctioning organization sees the tour return to Volusia Speedweeks with two separate national events headlining the final two nights (Friday, Feb. 12th-Saturday, Feb. 13th) of action on the 1/2 mile dirt oval.
The series 1998 national champion was Scott Bloomquist, winning the coveted title for an unprecedented third time (1994, '95 & '98) while notching 7 wins on the high profile tour in 1998. The Mooresburg, TN speedster, who heads the Hav-A-Tampa (HAT) all-time win list with 62 career victories on the cigar sponsored circuit, will be joined at Volusia Speedweeks 1999 by nearly 100 other drivers looking for the lucrative payout and valuable championship points on the series.
Among the competitors will be Skip Arp of Georgetown, TN, who finished second to Bloomquist in last season's chase for the crown. Arp was second in HAT wins last year with 5. Other top-ten points finishers of last season will be ready for the green flag as legendary veteran Freddy Smith joins Wendell Wallace, Dale McDowell, Ray Cook, last season's HAT Rookie of the Year Dan Schlieper, Earl Pearson Jr., Marshall Green and Billy Moyer. Moyer and Pearson were the big winners of Volusia Speedweeks dirt late model action when the HAT series last visited Volusia Speedway Park in 1997. Moyer claimed the HAT title in 1997, while Freddy Smith wore the series crown in 1996. Griffin, GA driver Clint Smith was the HAT champion in 1993 when the series began awarding points titles.
Last season's big winners of dirt late model events at Volusia Speedweeks included a win by Tony Izzo Jr. in the opener. In night two Chattanooga, TN's Ronnie Johnson opened 1998 with a win as he out dueled former IRL champ and Winston Cup driver Tony Stewart to the checker flag. Ohio's Bart Hartman and Arkansas driver David Gibson also picked up dirt late model wins during the 1998 version of Speedweeks at the Volusia Speedway Park's 1/2 mile dirt oval. |
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