A Sure Sign of Summer
ABC Raceway to Open Saturday Night
by Nick Gima
 Ashland, WI -- There are a small handful of clues in mid-May to signal that summer is just around the corner:
 The drone of lawnmowers throughout the neighborhood.
 Lots of orange cones on the highways.

 And racers and fans heading for the ABC Raceway.
 Again this summer, the three-eighths-mile red-clay oval located south of Ashland will host the area’s best stock-car racing action, beginning this Saturday with its 45th season opener, presented by Northern State Bank.

 The speedplant will host nearly 100 cars a night in six divisions of racing - WISSOTA-sanctioned modifieds, super stocks, Midwest modifeds and street stocks, as well as ABC’s own six-cylinders and pure stocks - for nearly all of its 16 regular-season programs. The 2009 schedule provides a perfect balance of weekly excitement and spotlight events, while keeping the family budget in mind.

 After two more Saturday night shows in May, the month of June kicks off with the popular Kids’ Meet the Drivers Night on the 6th. June also includes a visit from the Northern Vintage Stockcar Racers group on June 20; the “big” mods will have that night off.

 June concludes with an event that is designed to welcome new fans as well as thank the loyal ones - “Jam the Stands” Night, offering half-price admission on all adult grandstand tickets.

 “A lot of our fellow promoters gasped when they saw we were going to offer a half-priced night last summer, considering the tough economic climate,” Raceway president Kurt Beeksma explained about the event. “But it drew the largest adult crowd of the regular season for us and brought in a lot of new fans, and now a lot of other tracks have told us they’re going to try it.”

 In July, many of the track’s special events take place, including racing and fireworks on Independence Day, kids’ bike races, and the fourth annual Street Stock Challenge on July 18. The latter of those events saw a solid turnout and a record payoff for the division in 2008.

 The track closes out July with a combination of tradition and change-of-pace. On Friday the 24th the first-ever visit of the WISSOTA Dart Late Model Challenge Series becomes the first of the two annual visits by the high-powered racers, joined by the supers and sixes. But there will be no racing on Saturday, July 25 - the first time in over 20 years the ABC Raceway will not schedule a regular-season event on a summertime Saturday night.

 August will be the busiest month all summer, with five scheduled events. Included during the stretch run are the first of two ABC visits by the Como Oil Modified Series on the 1st, the sixth annual “Pure Excitement 25” pure stock special on the 15th, and the Fan Appreciation Night season finale on the 29th, during which the 2009 points champions will be crowned.

 After about a month off, the action returns October 2-3 for the 34th Red Clay Classic, which this year will see the addition of the Midwest mods to the traditional season-ending special, along with the second stop of the season for the late models, a huge field of super stocks, and the championship weekend for the Como Mod Series.

 Speaking of champs, all six from the 2008 season are expected to compete at ABC this summer to defend their titles. Jeff Spacek of Phillips earned his fifth Ashland championship when he topped a stout field of modifieds last summer, while Superior’s Scott Lawrence won an historic fifth consecutive super stock crown, and his eighth overall, at ABC.

 Ashland’s own Steve Stuart has already collected a feature win this month in Rice Lake as he tunes up for his defense of ABC’s first-ever Mid-mod season title and his second title overall, and Marengo’s Larry Haderly rose to the top of the street stock ranks for the fourth time in his career.

 Pat Beeksma of Ironwood, MI, won last summer’s six-cylinder trophy by a single point for his second championship. Only Chad Carlson of Superior was a first-time champ, taking top honors in the pure stock class.

 The ABC Raceway wishes to thank the following businesses for their season-long support: the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce, the Ashland-Bayfield County Sportsman’s Club, Baxter’s Speed Shop & Custom Machining, Chicago Iron & Supplies, Como Oil & Propane, County Market of Ashland, FastLane Motorsports & Powdercoating, Heartland Communications, Little Caesar’s Pizza, NAPA Auto Parts, Northern Clearing, Northern State Bank, Northstar Beverage, Outlaw Signs & Graphics, Rick Rivord Trucking, WIMI-FM, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College - Ashland Campus, and Xtreme Sign & Graphix and X-Wrapz.

 Prior to each night’s race program, “Race Night” will air live with up-to-date track news and weather information on WBSZ, 93.3 FM, from 4:30-6 pm.
 The ABC Raceway is located 3-1/2 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 and one mile west on Butterworth Road. For raceday information call (715) 682-4990.