by Terry Roberts

CONCORD, N.C. -- The buzz about the sixth-annual running of SpeedFest, January 23rd through 25th at Georgia’s Lanier National Speedway, has been building since the announcement of the event earlier this month. Officials from the CRA Super Series (CRA) and the Georgia Asphalt Series (GAS) have teamed up to present the biggest Super Late Model and Pro Late Model event of the early portion of 2009. SpeedFest 2009 will feature a 200-lap CRA Super Late Model event as well as a 100-lap GAS-sanctioned Pro Late Model feature, plus other exciting racing action throughout the weekend.

While the announcement of the event has taken the short track world by storm, SpeedFest officials are not stopping there. CRA and GAS officials announced today a $10,000 bonus if a driver is able to win both the Super Late Model and the Pro Late Model events at Lanier on Sunday, January 25th. If a driver is not able to win both, the driver with the highest average finish from the two races will receive a $2,500 bonus.

“It’s possible for one guy to win over $23,000 at this event,” said R.J. Scott, Managing Partner of the CRA Super Series. “It’s $3,000 to win the GAS race. It’s $10,000 to win the CRA race if you lead at halfway and win the race. Then, winning both, you get another $10,000, so it could be very big payday for one person.”

Drivers of both Super and Pro Late Models have been hitting the phone lines at CRA, GAS and Lanier National Speedway offices showing their excitement for the event. Now, with the added bonus for succeeding in both SpeedFest features, even more buzz is sure to surround the event.

“We’ve had a lot of people come up to us at the PRI trade show last weekend (in Orlando, FL) and tell us that they’re coming to the event,” said Terry Roberts, General Manager of Lanier National Speedway and promoter of the Georgia Asphalt Series. “There have been a lot of our local guys and fans tell us that they’re excited about having a big event like this coming to their home track. SpeedFest has been a great event for many years and with it coming to Lanier, hopefully we’ll make it even bigger and better than ever this year.”

SpeedFest officials have also announced two provisional starting spots into the CRA-sanctioned Super Late Model event for the non-qualifying drivers that finished the highest in the 41st Annual Snowball Derby, which was held on December 7th at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.

SpeedFest 2009 weekend will kick off with an open practice day on Friday, January 23rd at Lanier National Speedway for all Pro and Super Late Model competitors. More practice and qualifying events for both divisions will take place on Saturday, January 24th, with the 200-lap Super Late Model and the 100-lap Pro Late Model events going green on Sunday, January 25th.

Entry forms for the Super Late Model portion of SpeedFest weekend are currently available on both craracing.net and lanierspeedway.com, as well as Speed51.com, the official website of SpeedFest 2009. Entry forms for the Pro Late Model portion of the weekend will be released soon.

More bonuses and other big news regarding SpeedFest 2009 will be announced in the coming days.

For more information on SpeedFest 2008, be sure to check out speed51.com, craracing.net and lanierspeedway.com. If you have any questions regarding the event, please call the respective series or track representative.



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