RGeeProductions
06-01-2014, 09:40 AM
It’s no secret that the track management would have an uphill battle at making Evergreen Raceway Park a successful establishment for the 2014 racing season. Since officially taking the grounds over on March 1, track Manager Harry Buchman and his team of investors, employees and several racers have worked diligently to help bring the famed 1/3-mile speedway back to life. Five weeks into the official season and after one weekend of Saturday night racing, the team has decided to switch things up for what seems to be the next step toward success; Friday night racing.
For the interim, the speedway has decided to host the next two weekends of action on Friday evenings instead of the originally scheduled Saturday events. The change wasn’t only based on a decline in car counts since switching to Saturday night, but also on fan counts as well and Buchman feels like the fans need a “bigger bang for their buck”. If the Friday night deal deems successful the rest of the originally scheduled Saturday night shows will be changed to Friday, which has both positive and negative impact across the Northeast PA racing community taking sides.
You see, many asphalt racers compete at Evergreen, yet several compete at the nearby Mahoning Valley Speedway as well. Over the years the promoters of both facilities haven’t always agreed about many aspects of the sport but respected one another, and this season is no different. Yet they race head to head for the majority of the season and are within a 30-minute drive from one another. It’s a change that was tried under the Mountain Speedway banner in 2005 and eventually proved to be successful, yet the speedway made the switch back to Saturday for the majority of 2006.
Without directly quoting some of the drivers that posted comments on the Evergreen Raceway Park Facebook page, the majority of the drivers and fans seem to be in support of the decision and of course there are those who are upset with the abrupt schedule modification. Their frustration is understandable because it’s a change that could possibly affect their future plans and possibly take them out of contention for competing nearly every week. However, it’s a necessary change that could possibly boost the local economy and overall future of the track, which has been on the grounds since the early 50s.
Regardless of both the positive and negative comments, the speedway staff will remain dedicated to the track at which they call home and will continue to welcome all of the racers that want to have fun and compete at Evergreen. In turn, the friendly Saturday night competition that has gone on for years with Mahoning will come to a halt…for at least two weekends of action.
On the card for this coming Friday, June 6th are the Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, Four Cylinders and Sport Modifieds, PLUS Music By "Back Home" to cap off the evening in part of the Friday Night Concert Series. The pit gates will be open at 5 PM. The grandstands will be open at 6 PM and warm ups are slated at the 6 PM as well. The racing will begin at approximately 7:15-7:30 PM.
Pit Admission at the track is $25 (With Pit License) and $35 without. It is NOT required to purchase a season pit license to compete. As always, grandstand Admission is $10 for adults and children 12 & under are admitted for free.
Evergreen Raceway Park is just minutes from Hazleton, Pa, located on St. John’s Road, between Routes 93 and 309. For more information, including upcoming shows, rules, payouts and news, please visit www.evergreenracewaypark.com.
Gene Ostrowski
For the interim, the speedway has decided to host the next two weekends of action on Friday evenings instead of the originally scheduled Saturday events. The change wasn’t only based on a decline in car counts since switching to Saturday night, but also on fan counts as well and Buchman feels like the fans need a “bigger bang for their buck”. If the Friday night deal deems successful the rest of the originally scheduled Saturday night shows will be changed to Friday, which has both positive and negative impact across the Northeast PA racing community taking sides.
You see, many asphalt racers compete at Evergreen, yet several compete at the nearby Mahoning Valley Speedway as well. Over the years the promoters of both facilities haven’t always agreed about many aspects of the sport but respected one another, and this season is no different. Yet they race head to head for the majority of the season and are within a 30-minute drive from one another. It’s a change that was tried under the Mountain Speedway banner in 2005 and eventually proved to be successful, yet the speedway made the switch back to Saturday for the majority of 2006.
Without directly quoting some of the drivers that posted comments on the Evergreen Raceway Park Facebook page, the majority of the drivers and fans seem to be in support of the decision and of course there are those who are upset with the abrupt schedule modification. Their frustration is understandable because it’s a change that could possibly affect their future plans and possibly take them out of contention for competing nearly every week. However, it’s a necessary change that could possibly boost the local economy and overall future of the track, which has been on the grounds since the early 50s.
Regardless of both the positive and negative comments, the speedway staff will remain dedicated to the track at which they call home and will continue to welcome all of the racers that want to have fun and compete at Evergreen. In turn, the friendly Saturday night competition that has gone on for years with Mahoning will come to a halt…for at least two weekends of action.
On the card for this coming Friday, June 6th are the Modifieds, Late Models, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, Four Cylinders and Sport Modifieds, PLUS Music By "Back Home" to cap off the evening in part of the Friday Night Concert Series. The pit gates will be open at 5 PM. The grandstands will be open at 6 PM and warm ups are slated at the 6 PM as well. The racing will begin at approximately 7:15-7:30 PM.
Pit Admission at the track is $25 (With Pit License) and $35 without. It is NOT required to purchase a season pit license to compete. As always, grandstand Admission is $10 for adults and children 12 & under are admitted for free.
Evergreen Raceway Park is just minutes from Hazleton, Pa, located on St. John’s Road, between Routes 93 and 309. For more information, including upcoming shows, rules, payouts and news, please visit www.evergreenracewaypark.com.
Gene Ostrowski