As the 2010 racing season inches closer, racing schedules, track sponsors, driver rosters and all of the intangibles that make up the pulse and energy of each speedway come into play into play in a big hurry as after a snow-capped winter, it is close to the time to clear off the racetracks of the existing snow and prepare them for the upcoming racing season. With that in mind, the Accord Speedway management team of Gary and Donna Palmer has been putting the finishing touches on a 2010 racing schedule that will rock the Catskills Mountains in a big way.  In addition to the exciting and diverse schedule of racing events planned for the speedway in 2010, much additional work has been put into the signage and sponsorship as the speedway leaps into the future on solid ground with the continued emphasis on presenting to the racing community the best possible entertainment value available today. The formula for the Palmer Family has been very successful as they will celebrate their 10th year of operating their pristine quarter mile speedway in 2010. The speedway has undergone many renovations since the Palmer Family purchased the facility in late 2000 and continue with each succeeding season. Promoter Gary Palmer, a former champion racer himself, envisioned a plan for the speedway and in the ten years of ownership has made the wholesale changes to the speedway and the grounds he felt were necessary to present a first class facility and show to the racing fans.
In recent days the Palmer Family was happy to announce that Lucas Oil Products has one again re-signed with the Ulster County speedplant for signage in 2010. The California based Hi-Performance and Specialty Oil company and the Accord Speedway enjoyed a solid pairing in 2009 and will continue through the 2010 racing season. Promoter Gary Palmer stated, “I first had the opportunity to meet Forest Lucas at the Chili Bowl in 2009 through a mutual friend Charlie Patterson. We struck up a great conversation and were overjoyed when Lucas Oil came on board for signage in 2009. We are once again very pleased to announce their involvement with our race track and hope the trend continues long into the future”. Palmer further added, “With all of the equipment we have on site to maintain the speedway, we have utilized the Lucas Oil Products brand and without question find their products to be the best available today for our applications with the heavy equipment, the water trucks and right on down to our golf carts. Lucas Oil has done an amazing job of marketing their fine line of quality products and we are elated to be part of their team”.
Lucas Oil Products was founded in 1989 by Forest Lucas and his wife Charlotte. Lucas had been a truck driver for twenty years and a successful owner of a nationwide long haul trucking fleet and saw the need for the proper lubricants to be used for the many applications within the trucking industry. Through the understanding of his first hand knowledge of the industry and through research and techology, the company has flourished and moved into the Canadian market in 1996. The company produces quality products for Automotive, Trucking, Industrial-Agriculture, Hi-Performance and Motorcycle-Powersports. Lucas Oil has made a firm commitment to the motorsports world and continues in offering the highest quality products available today. Lucas Oil Products are available at most major retailers.
A tentative 2010 racing schedule has been put on the “new look” Accord Speedway website but may still have a tweak or two to iron out prior to the season opener. Speedway webmaster guru Jason Yaniga from the TriState Studios has done an excellent job in revamping the site to not only give the site a fresh new look but has added many new features to keep the loyal race fans abreast of all that is going on at the speedway with events and the latest racing news.
All of the speedway’s five divisions will return in 2010 and the Modified roster has been changing with each passing day. With an expected influx of Garden State drivers to the facility, the New York contingent expected to do battle has grown in number as well. The Sportsman division will have added numbers to the roster as will the Spec Sportsman divison where Jeff Richardson, the champion for the past two seasons, will join the Modified ranks in 2010 and leave the door to the throne open for such talents as Anthony Perrego, Tyler and Kenny Boniface and Danny Cross. This division gets a shot in the arm as three Pure Stock champions bolster the division in 2010. Current champion Tommy Johnson makes the move into the new division in the former Jeff Richardson title winning car from a season ago, and two time champion Joe Judge returns to action after being sidelined midway through the season in a non-racing related accident with the former John Lieto race car that was runnerup at OCFS in 2008. Mike Dubois, another former champion is expected to return to action in the Spec Sportsman division as well. With many of the surrounding speedways opting to go to Crate Sportsman, Promoter Gary Palmer has taken a positive step to give those affected by the changes an opportunity to shift their racing endeavors to the Ulster County speedplant. The interest has been high as many phone calls have the office being kept very busy during the off-season and without question will produce many new faces to the Accord Speedway roster.
Two practice dates have been set aside for the drivers to test their new or refurbished hot rods and those dates are April 2nd and 9th. Opening night will be April 16th and once again will feature the Scott Harvey Memorial in memory of the late speedway announcer. All feature events for the Modifieds will offer $2,000.00 to the winner.The Friday night racing will culminate with the running of the King of the Catskills weekend set for September 24th and 25th. The yet to be determined distance of the ROC Modified portion of the event will once again see $6,000.00 awaiting the winner of the feature event. A series of qualifiers will be in place in conjunction with other area speedways in an effort to have all of the speedways working together in a cohesive manner.
Midweek Madness will kick-off on June 9th and the speedway will once again have go-karts return to the weekly Wednesday racing activity under the rules of the WKA. To compliment the full show, the speedway will include the 270 winged Micros and 600 wingless Micros going to war on the Accord high banks and the addition of those two exciting divisions will produce some excellent side by side racing on the ultra-wide channeled speedway. An additional race series in conjunction with the 1/5 mile Hamlin Speedway in Pennsylvania, will find the 600’s being added to the Friday evening card for four shows and the home and home series will offer four Saturday nights at Hamlin in the newly named Keystone/Empire Series. The 270’s and 600’s will be included in the King of the Catskills weekend. Former racing hot-shoe Dickie Keiper, from Dickie Keiper Racing Supplies, will have his parts trailer available at Accord on Wednesday evenings thropughout the season and will return to Hamlin on Saturdays. Dickie Keiper has worked diligently with Gary Palmer and Randy Smith to help bring a great working relationship between the two facilities to fruition, and through the new series will have some great contingency offerings to be noted at a later date.
Special Shows will once again be part of the 2010 Accord scene. July 16th will feature the return of the now 70-year old ARDC Midgets for a full card of racing activity as their “Side by Side and Three-wide” racing action will feature reigning series champion Frank Polimeda. He will be taken to the limit as veterans such as PJ Garguilo, two time Accord winner Drew Heistand, Chris Zrinski and Tracy Readinger and seasoned youngsters such as Nick Wean, Ryan Smith, Trevor Kobylarz, Andrew Hannula and Brett Arndt will provide plenty of competition as will lady racer Stephanie Stevens. Newcomers such as Aussie teenager Brad Cox and 600 converts Alex Bright, Parker Evans and Justin Grosz will add depth and talent to the already strong ARDC roster. Veteran USAC open wheel star Johnny Heydenreich will serve as the Grand Marshal for the event and the event will also see “Hot Rod John” in competition during the evening in one of car owner Jerry Steward’s Midgets. During his stint with the ARDC, Heydenreich captured 36 feature event wins before he made the move from his native Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania home to the Hoosier State of Indiana. Heydenreich will also be in action at the Hamlin Speedway the following evening on July 17th.
Many more topics will be highlighted during the next few weeks as the dates for the 2010 racing season are confirmed. The April 16th opening is projected for the start of the 2010 racing season at Accord while the Midweek Madness racing is slated for Wednesday evening on the 9th of June. For further updates and information regarding all of the news and additions to the Accord Speedway, logon 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 the recent banquet, 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