Toledo Speedway

(TOLEDO, Ohio - March 12, 2013) - Toledo Speedway and Flat Rock Speedway will celebrate significant milestones this season when the local tracks open for racing next month.

Flat Rock Speedway will mark its 60th season of racing while Toledo Speedway's season will include the silver anniversary of one of the biggest late model races in the country, the Glass City 200.

Those were two of the announcements made Tuesday during an afternoon press conference kicking off the 2013 season at the two ARCA tracks at the Hollywood Casino in Rossford, Ohio. It was the first time in the 15 years of the press conference that it was held outside of Toledo Speedway. The new venue was packed with media, sponsors and race fans.

"We are hitting a couple of milestones this year," said ARCA President Ron Drager. "Last year we had our 60th season in the ARCA Racing Series. ... Our long term presence in the sport is something we are really proud of."

The first race on the 2013 schedule - April 20 - is the 7-Up 150, a combination race featuring cars from both the ARCA/CRA Super Series and ARCA Midwest Tour cars. It's the first time the two touring series will be on the track at the same time.

"This is going to be a big race," Drager said.

The ARCA/CRA Super Series is a touring series with races mainly in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The ARCA Midwest Tour races mostly in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Scott Schultz, general manager of Flat Rock and Toledo Speedways, called the 7-Up 150 a "border war" of sorts between the two series. Tickets are now on sale for that event on arcaracing.com.

"All of these teams and all of these cars will converge on Toledo Speedway," he said.

Angola, Ind. driver Scott Hantz is a three-time ARCA/CRA champion who has the most wins of anyone in the series - 30. He was one of the guests of honor at the press conference. He said he will race in the opener at Toledo and probably return to the area and race at Flat Rock Speedway on Aug. 17. He also is working on scheduling in the ARCA Gold Cup races into his 2013 race card.

"Scott is as good as any super late model driver in the country right now," Drager told the audience.

Flat Rock held its first race on Aug. 14, 1953 when it was the first rubberized asphalt track in the country. It ran a few races that year, then had a full schedule by the next season. This will be its 60th season, Schultz said, and will once again feature a weekly lineup of late models, figure 8's and street stocks - the same divisions that have ruled the track since 1977.

Flat Rock's Gold Cup races include 2nd annual Joy Fair Memorial 100 on June 22 and the Moran Chevrolet Stan Yee Memorial 150 on July 27.

The Stan Yee race last year, Schultz said, was "probably the most talked about and most incredible race we've had in some time."

Toledo Speedway will host Gold Cup races on May 3, July 12 and Aug. 16. It will also bring in the Fastest Short Track Show in the World, featuring MSA Super Modifieds and the Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Super Sprints on June 14. There is a unique lineup of special races at Toledo as well, from a couple of school bus figure 8 races to a BMX National Championship weekend.

The Great Lakes Helicopter Glass City 200 is Sept. 28.

Mark Gundrum, vice president of business development and corporate partnerships for ARCA, also announced that Menards will return as the sponsor to the Toledo ARCA Racing Series event.

The Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care will highlight an "All-ARCA" weekend at Toledo Speedway May 18-19. ARCA Racing Series Practice and Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell will take place on May 18, along with a 50-lap ARCA Truck Series event. The Menards 200 will start at 2 p.m. on May 19, and is scheduled for live broadcast on SPEED, part of Fox Sports Media Group.