Joe Ruttman to race at Flat Rock; Joy Fair, Danny Byrd to Attend
Joe Ruttman to race at Flat Rock; Joy Fair, Danny Byrd to Attend
TOLEDO, OH (6-17-09): Summer has arrived! And with it comes the start of 2 busy weekends for the ARCA outlaw-bodied Late Models. Legs 2 and 3 of the 5-race Hantz Group/Allegiant Air Gold Cup Series are on the slate, starting with a 75 lap contest at Toledo Speedway Friday night, June 19. The Series moves to its sister track, Flat Rock Speedway, for the prestigious Moran Chevrolet/Stan Yee Memorial 150 Saturday evening, June 27.
Speedway Tire and Auto's Father's Day Special will see a field of 20-25 Late Models battle on the big, fast ½ mile paved oval for 75 laps. Scott Hantz of Pleasant Lake, IN was the victor in the first Late Model show at Toledo in 2009, taking the win in the 100 lap contest back on May 22. Hantz is also entered for Friday night, along Edgerton, OH driver Jack Landis, the 2006 winner of Toledo's famed Glass City 200. Defending Gold Cup champ Harold Fair Jr. is also entered. Fair finished second to Hantz in the May event. Jeff Bailey, Keith Nelson, Justin Schroeder, Bill Litogot, Harold Fair Sr., Tom O'Leary IV, Bob Mikolajczyk, Steve Cronenwett Jr., Steve Peters, Jake Francis, Paul Pelletier, Joe Hawes, Ron Allen and Dennis Strickland have also filed their entries for this Friday night's contest.The ARCA Speedway Tire and Auto Factory Stocks and the ARCA 4 Cylinders will also be in action. The pit area opens at 2:30, practice begins at 4:30, time trials are set for 6:15 and racing begins at 7:30 p.m.
Flat Rock's biggest race of the season is set for Saturday, June 27 with the running of the 2nd annual Moran Chevrolet/Stan Yee Memorial 150. Yee, a car owner for over 40 years, passed away in May of 2008. Justin Schroeder is the defending race winner and is already entered for the race, which consists of 150 green flag laps. The race has become a fan favorite, with action fast and furious around the tight ¼ mile paved oval.
Short track legend and former NASCAR driver Joe Ruttman will return to Flat Rock to pilot Stan Yee Jr.'s team car for the event. Ruttman, age 64, was a terror on the Midwest short tracks in the 1970's and 1980's. Ruttman drove one of Stan Yee Sr.'s #33 cars on both the dirt and asphalt in the early 1970's, winning on both surfaces.
Two of Ruttman's biggest rivals in the 1970's, Joy Fair and Danny Byrd, will be in attendance. Byrd, was one of Yee's former drivers. Ruttman was at the wheel of Fair's car after Fair was injured in 1973, and won the Glass City 200 and several other big Late Model events in the Midwest. All of Stan Sr.'s former drivers have been invited to attend the Moran Chevrolet/Stan Yee Memorial 150.
With the assistance of the family of Stan Yee and their friends, bonus money has once again been added to the purse. The race will pay $2533 to win and $533 to start, with the 33 in honor of Stan's #33 cars. Diamond Racing Products has posted $333 as the Fast Qualifier Award and $333 goes to the leader of lap 33.
Stan Yee Jr., the 2003 Flat Rock Late Model champion and currently a weekly competitor at Flat Rock, has also instituted "The Challenge". Should the fast qualifier elect to start last in the race and win, he would receive a $1000 bonus! IF he elects not to take "The Challenge", the offer goes to the second-fastest man and will proceed down to the 5th fastest qualifier.
Should a driver sweep the night, he would walk home with $4199, a record amount for a Flat Rock race. With the track's Figure 8 and Street Stock divisions also in action, the cash purse posted exceeds $25,000 for the night!
An open practice session is slated for Wednesday, June 24 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The pit area will open at 4 p.m. Any type of race car is welcome.
Entry blanks for the Gold Cup may be downloaded from http://www.toledospeedway.com/ or http://www.flatrockspeedway.com/. The June 27 time schedule has the pit area opening at 1:30, practice begins at 3, time trials are set for 5 and racing begins at 7 p.m.