By: Steve Pados, Accord Speedway Media

The unpredictable weather pattern over most of New York and Southern Pennsylvania has forced Promoters Gary and Donna Palmer to reluctantly thrown in the sponges for the scheduled racing tonight at the Accord Speedway with the running of the Joe Winne Memorial. The prestigious Joe Winne Memorial event, held to honor of one of the most popular drivers who ever turned a wheel at the Ulster County racing facility, will be re-scheduled for July 30th when the headline sponsor for the evening will be the annual “Western” themed Pine Grove Dude Ranch night at the speedway.

With two consecutive Wednesdays and Fridays now falling victim to the forces of Mother Nature, the speedway and it’s participants will look to get un-tracked next week with two great shows in place, the first being the Midweek Madness program set for Wednesday evening July 28th and followed by the Friday night action on July 30th with six divisions tossing the clay at the high banked speedplant.

Winne’s sisters Virginia and Ruth and well known car owner and driver Jimmy Winchell Jr. have added some impressive incentives for the Winne Memorial that will find the winner of the event smiling from ear to ear in the Lucas Oil Products Winners Circle with $2,500.00 in cash for the win. “The Stateman” and current track champion Jerry Higbie has won the event the past two seasons and looms to be a favorite when the action gets underway. All of the top ten finishers in the Modified event will find additional bonus figures posted by the trio and some good friends of Winne who are willing to share in honoring his great legacy at the speedway. Winne passed away from a massive heart attack while competing at the Eastern States 200 event at Orange County Fair Speedway on October 20, 2000.

Five hundred dollars has been added to the first place prize of $2,000.00. Increments of $300.00, $200.00 and $100.00 have been added to second place through fifth placers. The list of supporters include Jimmy Winchell Sr at C&J Self Storage in Kingston, NY; Chris Ruger at Ruger’s Gun Shop, Mike Ricci, Tommy Ryan, H Jarvis Construction, TJ’s Excavating, Jarvis Fuel Service, Ricci Barber Shop, HigFab, TeoPro Fabrications and BD Promotions. In addition, all of the top ten place finishers will receive an additional $55.00 each for their performances from the Winne Family in honor of the signature number Joe Winne utilized on his race cars. There will also be a Dash For Cash in place from the Winne Family for the Modified heat winners with $200.00 going to the winner, $125.00 for second, $100.00 for third and $75.00 and $50.00 for fourth and fifth places.

Midweek Madness suffered another rainout on Wednesday to make it two in a row but the action with through the first three shows has been outstanding and more exciting for the fans with the addition of the TT track at the speedway for the Quads, who utilize the four turns of the speedway, the hometretch and an infield portion to zig and zag back to the main turns. The Midweek action returns on July 28th and will run weekly until September 1st every Wednesday evening. Gates open at 5 PM with Hot Laps scheduled for 6:30. Racing is to start at 7 PM. Admission for the Wednesday shows is just $5.00 and the great concession stand is open throughout the racing card.

Friday night racing at Accord runs from April through September with five great divisions going to war on the Accord high banks. Next week Pine Grove Dude Ranch will serve as the headline sponsor for the evening’s events. The five regular divisions at the speedway will be in action plus the return of the Lightning Sprints to Accord as a regular division for the first time since 2008. Goodrich Construction will be offering a $200.00 bonus for the first Lightning Sprint across the finish line on Friday evening to make it a $500.00 day for the winner. Admission for the great racing action remains the same from a season ago as Adults (12+) will be $12.00; Children (11 and under) will be $3.00. The Family Value Pack that was met with much success last season is once again offered and is: 2 Adults, 2 Children and $20.00 in food vouchers for $40.00, a savings of $10.00 to the consumer. Pit Gates open at the speedway at 4:30 and Spectator Gates open at 5. Hot laps kick off at 6:30 and the racing is slated to start at 7 PM.

Upcoming events at the speedway will include the re-scheduled ARDC event on August 13th. The speedway and ARDC management are confident the new date will work out for all parties involved. The ACOT Old Timers have been invited to return to allow the racing fans to take a look at racing the way it was done in the past. Selected Grand Marshal Johnny Heydenreich will be unable to make the return back to the speedway for the re-scheduled date due to a prior scheduled appearance. Additional information will be available shortly regarding the re-scheduled event.

For further updates and information regarding all of the news and additions to the Accord Speedway, log-on to their well documented website at: http://www.accordspeedway.com or call the speedway hotline at: 845 626 3478. For video work or questions regarding the purchase of videos from the exciting on-track action at the Accord Speedway, contact Jason at: http://www.tristatestudios.com For the purchase of action or victory lane track photos, contact Kevin at: http://kbsracingphotos.com

At the Accord Speedway……………………………………..

We Measure Excitement A Quarter Mile At A Time