HOLLY, Mich. – A historic Must See Racing Sprint Car Series season will reach its grand finale during this weekend’s rescheduled David D. Mateer Tribute Race at Pennsylvania’s Jennerstown Speedway.
The event was originally set to be run on June 23, but rain intervened and moved the date to September, where it became the bookend to the 12-race calendar after the cancellation of a planned race at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
During the series’ debut appearance at the high-speed, half-mile oval, Jimmy McCune will be honored as champion for the fourth-straight season, extending his own series record. In addition, the series will look to crown its eighth different feature winner in 12 races, tying the threshold set back in 2012.
Such a historic season deserves a historic finale, and that’s exactly what the Jennerstown event is likely to provide, especially with extra purse money up for grabs. The feature will pay out $4,000 to win, with each driver that starts the 30-lap main event receiving a minimum of $700 in start money.
The event will also be taped for tape-delayed broadcast on Suzuki presents SPEED SPORT on MAVTV.
When one combines the boosted purse and national television exposure with the points positions that are still to be decided, plus the desire of earning the final victory of the season, the result is a stage that’s full to bursting with action.
“It’s a big deal,” noted McCune of ending the season on television at Jennerstown. “This race is a crown jewel and we’ve never even raced there yet, so I think we all want to come out swinging and win there. We race to win and that’s the goal that I have going into it.”
Must See Racing teams will also be gunning for the all-time track record at Jennerstown, currently held by Dave Shullick at 15.121 seconds (124.277 mph) in ISMA Supermodified competition.
An extra $500 bonus awaits the driver who sets fast time in qualifying on Saturday evening.
For Gene Fogle, who owns the White Hare Racing No. 7 piloted this season by veteran Tom Jewell, the Jennerstown race is also a chance to return to home turf.
Fogle has ties to the Pennsylvania Posse and the shocks on his race car are still prepared by Keystone State kingpin Lance Dewease’s LD Motorsports operation.
“You look under the front of that car, and Lance’s impact is there. He’s played a part in our journey this season,” Fogle noted during Must See Racing’s summer stretch. “I think it’s a shot in the arm for us to close the year on … and we’re certainly hopeful that we can get that victory that we’ve been so close to a few times during the last few months.
“That $4,000 check is a heck of a carrot to chase and we’d certainly like to be the ones to take it home.”
Though the championship is already sewn up by McCune, the battle for a spot in the top five is still up for grabs.
Anthony McCune (second) and Charlie Schultz (third) have locked in their points finishes, but Jewell and Adam Biltz hold down the fourth and fifth positions, respectively, and could wage war before the end of the weekend for those spots.
Jerry Caryer sits sixth, just 18 points adrift of Biltz, while further down the order, Virginia veteran Anthony Linkenhoker and former NASCAR Modified champion Bobby Santos look to move into the top 10 in points during the final meet of the year.
Linkenhoker and Santos sit 11th and 12th, respectively, in points entering the David D. Mateer Tribute.
The Jennerstown event will also decide the Engine Pro Fast Car Dash championship, which awards a $500 bonus to the driver who accrues the most points in the four Fast Car Dash heat races through the year. The previous three events were split between two tracks, Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and Madison (Wis.) Int’l Speedway. Santos leads the Fast Car Dash points entering the Jennerstown finale.
An open practice from 6-10 p.m. on Friday night will precede on-track action on Saturday, which will be co-headlined by championship features for both the Must See Racing sprint cars and the touring Super Cup Stock Car Series.
