Super Late Model Speedfest Returns to Lakeland in 2006
KARNAC Staff Report
In January 2006, the "best of the best" Super Late Models will return to USA International in Lakeland for Speedfest 2006. In 2005, the event was called the Battle between the North and the South but in 2006, the event is open to any Super Late Model who would like to come and try his/her luck. The event will be held from Janaury 26 thru 28.
In January of 2005 60 teams took part in the first “SpeedFest” that brought all the different teams and sanctioning bodies together. The first 100-lap event was one by Florida’s Mike Fritts, while Wisconsin’s Charlie Menard won the Mark III Conversions 200-lap finale. The second night of action was rained out.
“The 2005 SpeedFest was a great event for our facility and fans as well as the Late Model teams,” noted USA International Speedway promoter Bill Martino. “It was a true battle of North vs. South, like we had envisioned, and I believe everyone went away thinking it was truly a great event. We knew right then that we would come back and do it again… and even better.”
The event will be under the direction of CRA’s Glenn Luckett and R. J. Scott and FASCAR’s Don Nerone. The series’ will also be co-promoting the event with the speedway. While the on-track activities will be directed by these sanctioning bodies, officials want to be very clear that this is an “open” event.
“We welcome teams from all over the country and different organizations to be part of this weekend in 2006,” commented CRA managing partner R. J. Scott. “While the January 2005 race was open to any driver, the 2006 version will have an even more “open” format. We are still working on all the details, but feel like everyone will be pleased when we announce them.”
The weekend will culminate with a $10,000-to-win, 200-lap event on Saturday night featuring ALL the stars and cars attempting to make the star-studded starting field.
FASCAR President Don Nerone was pleased with the parity that the 2005 rules package brought to the cars from the North and the South. “Everyone was curious about how things would turn out with the rules in the last event, but we felt we would be pretty close, and the results proved that we were. I can only foresee minor adjustments in the rules to improve the parity even more.”
Martino went on to add, “even though we are still a half a year away, we wanted to give everyone as much advance notice as possible. There is a lot of planning that goes into it for the teams and fans, as well as us as promoters.” Information on rules, entry forms and schedules, will be released through these and other channels when they become available in the near future.
For more information on the race track or series involved and the rest of their schedules, interested parties can visit: www.craracing.net, www.fascar.org, or www.usaspeedway.com.
