Contact: Eric Westendorf
Lernerville Speedway Public Relations
ewestendorf@dirtcar.com | (724) 664-1075
Alex Ferree and Russ King lead local contingent into Firecracker 100 weekend
Sarver, PA (June 24, 2015) The eyes of the national Dirt Late Model community are soon to be squarely focused on Lernerville Speedway for the 9th Annual Firecracker 100 presented by
www.GottaRace.com this Thursday-Friday-Saturday, June 25-26-27. Local drivers Alex Ferree and Russ King are ready to defend the Action Track! Ferree is a five-time Track Champion and fifth all time in Lernerville Late Model wins. Russ King took a different path to this point; following the World of Outlaws Late Model Series tour and winning their 2009 Rookie of the Year Award. Ferree (2) and King (3) account for five wins in the seven races contested so far this season and each look forward to hosting the best Late Model drivers in the country for one of the Crown Jewels of the sport.
Alex Ferree is locked into Saturday Night’s $30,000-to-win, 100-lap Firecracker A-Main, but will not rest on his laurels, “You can’t start in the back of the field against these guys in the Firecracker and hope to do anything. I’m not saying I’m planning on winning or anything, but I’d like to be competitive and be in the top ten for the big show.”
Despite wanting to put on a show for the local fans and take a shot at the $30,000 grand prize, local drivers also have to be cognizant of the big picture and not mortgage the rest of the season for a 100-lap mid-summer race. Ferree explained the decision that comes into play between going for it and preserving the equipment for the stretch run of the season, “It all depends on where you’re running. Last year I actually started up front and was running in the top ten for the first 20 laps, but the engine got hot so I had to pull off. If I’m in the back and get lapped early, I’ll probably pull off, but if we’re up front or in the middle of the pack I’ll stay out there and see what happens, it all depends on where you’re at.”
King has a different perspective on the same topic. Having won the $3,000-to-win Uncle Sam 30 twice, King considers the virtues of running 70 fewer laps for a solid payday in the non-qualifier’s race versus running 100 laps against formidable odds. “I’d almost rather just run the Uncle Sam and win that three grand and be over with it, but there’s no guarantees you win that either.” He actually thinks a local driver has a better shot to win one of the $6,000-to-win preliminary features on Thursday or Friday night, “People tell me, ‘Well you got a chance!’, and maybe you do in the preliminaries, but 100 laps and not running the 10s (referring to the Hoosier LM 10 tires which are an option for weekly competition, but not for the Firecracker), a lot of these guys have no idea what they have on the 20s and it’s going to be tougher!”
When asked whether his experience on tour is an advantage for him, King explained “It’s actually a disadvantage because I know those guys pretty well and it turns into a BS session and their always dealing with new stuff. This is what happens at Lernerville; they figure stuff out on the road and we find out about it two weeks later, so you always try to stay ahead of the curve, but sometimes that’s not good. You know you gotta run at a hard level, but anymore, when you come here you gotta run at a high level any time. You saw when Darrell (Lanigan) and Chub (Frank) were here a few weeks ago – a race that King won by passing Lanigan for the lead – it wasn’t just me. Michael (Norris), Alex (Ferree) and (Mike) Pegher were right there too. Anyone can run with those guys, they just make less mistakes!”
Off the track, both drivers enjoy the laid back, three-day race weekend. Ferree looks forward to being able to hang out for the weekend, “The whole weekend’s just neat. You get to see a lot of people you don’t see a lot because they’re out travelling and get to meet a bunch of fans during the autograph session. It’s just a great weekend!”
King likes to have a little bit more fun; “Drinking beer and having fun, that’s the honest truth. We come here on a Friday, live two hours away, get here at 6:30 and it’s chaos. So for the Firecracker, It’s nice just to have my stuff here, park for three days and then win, lose, crash, fight or draw it’s just low key.”
Driver of the iconic #1 Cochran Late Model Mike Pegher Jr., like Ferree, is locked into the Firecracker 100 A-Main by virtue of his standing in Lernerville’s Budweiser Point Standings. The rest of the local contingent from the ultra-competitive Precise Racing Products DIRTcar Late Models will have to race their way into the 100-lapper; including Russ King. The unique Firecracker format gives drivers multiple opportunities to make their way into the show. The best finish of Thursday or Friday night’s Preliminary A-Mains (and B-Mains where applicable) will set the heat race lineups for Saturday’s Firecracker Finale. Plus, if Ferree or Pegher races their way into a better starting position, the track provisional falls to the next highest driver in the Budweiser Point standings, which currently consists or Jared Miley, Russ King, Michael Norris and Ken Schaltenbrand.
In addition to the three complete shows of on-track racing action, there will be a wide variety of off-track entertainment and interactive fan activities, starting with the Froggy Hometown Country Tour Thursday night after the races. National recording artists LOCASH will bring their red hot song “I Love This Life” to the Firecracker stage along with opening acts Abby from Hillbilly Way and Cody Gibson.
Friday’s activities begin at 1:00PM with the Firecracker 100 Kick-It Cup charity kickball game featuring dozens of drivers and a benefit auction. After Friday’s racing action, fireworks will light up the sky, and then the Justin Fabus Band will light up the Firecracker stage along with opening acts Bridgett McCrum and Vanessa Campagna.
Saturday afternoon is chock full of fan-interactive activities starting with the fan/driver horseshoe and cornhole tournaments at 12:00, then the always popular driver autograph session at 4:00.
The $69 Advance Reserved ticket package is available online at Lernerville.com through Wednesday at 11:59PM. The $69 three-day package includes FREE fan pit pass upgrades for Thursday and Friday Night preliminaries and priority access to the driver autograph session. There are also a vast array of single, two and three-day “day of show” ticket options available at the gates upon arrival.
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