By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA – March 16, 2021…It has been a long wait, but the time has finally come to present grass roots dirt track racing in front of fans at the Placerville Speedway, as the El Dorado County Fairgrounds bullring kicks-off its 56th season of competition this weekend.
Albeit a limited number, this Saturday marks the first time that fans have graced the Placerville Speedway grandstands since the inaugural running of the “Hangtown 100” in 2019. Tickets went on sale Monday and will be available on the www.placervillespeedway.com homepage until the maximum number is reached. Pit passes are also available to watch from the hill and can be purchased via the Pit Pay Mobile Pit Pass App.
Divisions set to entertain the crowd on Saturday include the Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Pure Stocks and Mini Trucks. During the most recent full-time season, track championships were pocketed by Andy Forsberg, Ray Trimble, Nick Baldwin and Ryan Murphy respectively.
Forsberg, the seven-time Placerville Speedway track champion, is eager to get back racing on the familiar red clay with fans in the stands. “We look forward to seeing some fans up there on Saturday and can’t wait to get back racing in Ol Hangtown,” he commented. “A couple years ago we had a highly successful year here and then last season in limited action we weren’t able to quite get a win. I think we have a solid package in 2021 though so I’m excited to see what we can do. It should be a great year for all the divisions.”
For those who can’t make it to the track, FloRacing will have flag-to-flag coverage of the season opener. The Placerville Speedway is happy to welcome the broadcast partner back for selected events this year.
This Saturday will also be a nice lead-in to next weekends Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards opener. A limited number of fans will also be allowed in the grandstands that night as well, with tickets going on sale next Monday. Competing alongside SCCT on March 27th will be the BCRA Lightning Sprints.
The pit gate will open at 2pm this Saturday, with the front grandstand gate opening at 3pm. A happy hour is offered from 4pm-6pm in the grandstands featuring discounted Coors Light and Coors Original at the beer stand. Drivers meeting will be held at 4:30pm, with cars on track for wheel packing at 5. Hot laps and racing will follow.
If you haven’t done so yet, be sure and download the Pit Pay Mobile Pit Pass App to purchase pit passes online and help speed up the sign in process this season. The COVID-19 form is also built into Pit Pay, which saves everyone the need to print it out weekly.
To use Pit Pay, participants will download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play and create a profile. They can then purchase passes for Placerville Speedway events and sign all waivers electronically. At the track, they will simply proceed to the Pit Pay Priority Line, show their mobile pit pass, and get an armband. For those that don’t have a smart phone, you will still be able to sign in and pay the traditional way.
The Placerville Speedway is located on the beautiful El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California. Take Hwy US-50 to Forni Road/Placerville Drive exit. Then go north on Placerville Drive to the Fairgrounds. The physical address is 100 Placerville Dr., Placerville, CA 95667. For more information on the Placerville Speedway log onto http://www.placervillespeedway.com
Join over 13,800 followers of Placerville Speedway on Facebook, where you can keep abreast of updates for the 2021 season. You can also find Placerville Speedway on Twitter by following us https://twitter.com/pvillespeedway - In addition, Placerville Speedway is also on Instagram. Please follow us @PvilleSpeedway.
The quarter-mile clay oval is operated by Russell Motorsports Incorporated, which can be reached at the track business office at 530-344-7592. Contact Kami Arnold or Scott Russell directly for sponsorship opportunities at the office.
Upcoming events at Placerville Speedway:
Saturday March 20: Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Pure Stocks and Mini Trucks Saturday March 27: Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards plus BCRA Lightning Sprints | Spring Fever Frenzy
Image courtesy of Tim Holland
Comments