EAST SMETHPORT — The 2014 NDRL McKean County Raceway will open its season Friday and Saturday.
The season kicks off Friday night with an open practice session for all competitors and on Saturday the 2014 point chase begins with the Spring Classic.
Practice begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday and will last until 10:30 p.m.
Any race car is free to participate during the practice session whether they are weekly competitor or not.
On Saturday, the weekly six division class featuring the super late models, RUSH Crate Late Models, Close Racing Supply Modifieds (Emods) Highway Auto Street Stocks, Pure Stocks and Mini Stock divisions will compete in the season opening Spring Classic.
MCR has a very extensive 30 event schedule for the 2014 season.
The National Dirt Racing League is entering its first season of a new five-year agreement with the fair board.
A new racing surface will be placed later this spring once the winter frost is out of the ground.
Several big events will be held at the oval in East Smethport in 2014.
Two appearances by the Patriot sprint cars, a tractor pull sanctioned by Full Pull Productions along with the popular RUSH Crate Late Model Touring Series will make stops. In addition, the NDRL NE Regional Series for the super late models and modifieds (Emods) are scheduled.
Two stops by the NDRL Kings of Dirt National Dirt Late Model Series featuring Hall of Fame drivers Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., and defending national champion Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark., are slated.
The weekly MCR Super Late Models will see top regional racers such as Chris Hackett, Dick Barton, Jason Dupont, Brent Rhebergen, Dutch Davies, David Scott, Darrell Bossard, Greg Oakes along with others competing weekly.
The weekly RUSH Crate Late Models will see a new champion this year. Last year’s champion, Max Blair, has gone super late model racing as the new driver for Kennedy Motorsports and is a candidate for the NDRL’s King of Dirt Rookie of Year program.
The Close Racing Supply Modifieds will see Smethport’s Steve Dixon back to defend his title.
The Highway Auto Stock Cars saw some major changes including the name change from street stocks to stock cars to bring the weekly class more in line of the stock car divisions in other western Pennsylvania tracks.
Defending champion Adam Ashcroft has moved on into the new RUSH crate modified division leaving the door wide open for many new racers.
The Pure Stocks and Mini Stocks will also be in action each week.
MCR will be establishing a new feature line up system in 2014.
Racers will still draw their starting positions as normal and they will now redraw for the feature event based on the following criteria: two heats (top 3 redraw), three heats (top 3 redraw), four heats (top 2 redraw), five heats (top 2 redraw) and six heats (winner only redraws).
The winner from the week before will start no better than the last redraw position the following weekend or the next weekly event they enter.
