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NORTHERN PLUMBING SUPPLY
71 BAR & GRILL HOUSE
Mitch Johnson Seeks Defense of
Seitz Memorial
Prepared By Chris Stepan ~ FYE Motorsports
Promotions (July 28th
2008 – St. Cloud, MN)
The second
annual $9,200 to win John Seitz Memorial Late Model
Invitational is set to take place once again at John’s home
track, the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota
on Thursday and Friday, September 4th & 5th
2008.
The inaugural
event drew a stellar field of 57 Late Models and Hickson, North Dakota
Late Model veteran Mitch Johnson took home the honors of
being the first Seitz Memorial Champion. Mitch will be back
to defend his title, along with an expected field of over 50
of the best Late Model pilots in the Midwest to be on hand
for competition. Johnson will be locked into the event as
the inaugural champion and will be guaranteed a provisional.
If Johnson qualifies on his own for the 50-lap feature, the
highest finishing driver from last year’s event will be
locked into the a-main as the provisional starter.
This event
became an instant classic after Bemidji, Minnesota Late Model pilot John Seitz suddenly and
tragically passed away in February of 2007 while on a
snowmobile trip in
Idaho, and the
event basically took the place of the already successful
Harvest Bowl Nationals and be held at the River Cities
Speedway. The second annual event will continue to pay the
winner a whopping $9,200 to commemorate Seitz’s #92 car
number.
The Seitz family, Seitz Crew Chief
Josh Hills, River Cities Speedway Promoter Darren Evavold,
Seitz best friend and sponsor Don Shaw and FYE Motorsports
Owner Chris Stepan worked hard last year to get this event
put together and it turned out to be an amazing success for
all involved. This year, the event will stick closely to the
same format at the 1st annual event, but will see
a few small changes to make the event even bigger and
better.
In 2007, when asked about his role in
getting this event put together, Hills said “We need to make
this event a big deal because that's what John would want us
to do to make the sport of racing grow in the Upper
Midwest. Large races like this bring race fans and race
teams together to have fun and that's why we race is to have
fun and make friends.” The event certainly was an instant
‘big deal’ and will be again in 2008 as more and more fans
and drivers are expected to converge on River Cities for the
second annual event.
In 2007, the event was sanctioned by
the DTRA, but in ’08 this event will be a headlining WISSOTA
Late Model event. The Late Models will run all of their heat
races and pole dash on Thursday night, while the WISSOTA
Midwest Modifieds and DTRA/MDRA Street Stocks will also
compete in a complete show on Thursday night. Friday night
will then feature another complete show for the WISSOTA
Midwest Modifieds, DTRA/MDRA Street Stocks, and a complete
program of NOSA Sprint Cars will also thrill the fans on
Friday night plus the b-features and 50-lap, $9,200 to win
WISSOTA Late Model main event.
There has also
been a point fund put together to be paid out to the drivers
that have the four highest combined point totals over the
2-day show in both the Midwest Modified and Street Stock
division as well.
When Shaw was asked what he thought
about this event he commented “To put it in John’s
words….’Do it for the fans, do it for the sport and do it
because you love it!’ John’s motto was always ‘Go Hard Or Go
Home’, so this race should be an incredible event to
remember and honor someone who was like a brother to me.”
The 2008 event’s pole dash has been changed a bit from the
’07 event and will be dubbed as the “Go Hard Or Go Home Pole
Dash” and will feature the to 16 drivers in overall passing
points after the heat races. The drivers will redraw in
groups for their starting position in the dash and how the
dash finishes is how the Friday night feature will start.
This year, the dash will pay the top five finishers as well.
Stepan commented “John was a great
driver on the track, a driver that I sponsored and was proud
to help in any way I could and most importantly a great
friend of mine, so it is an honor to be a part of this
event.” Chris also stated “I hope this event turns into one
of the biggest events in all of the country because John
deserves his legacy to be remembered and he would love to
have this event be huge. Last year’s event was awesome and
this year’s should be just as great.”
When Evavold was asked about the
significance of this event, he said “River Cities was John’s
home track. He ran with us for most of his racing career on
Friday nights and he will be sorely missed. He was a class
act on and off the track and we are proud to be able to host
this event in his memory.”
Valley Oral and
Facial Surgery will be on board as the title sponsor for
this event with associate sponsorship from Shaw Trucking
Inc., Northern Plumbing Supply, S & S Transport, Wes’
Plumbing, North Dakota Eye Clinic and 71 Bar & Steak House.
After
the tremendous success of the first annual event, everyone
is looking forward to the second running of the John Seitz
Memorial. For more information on this event, feel free to
check out
www.johnseitz92.com or email Josh at
bob@johnseitz92.com.
OLDER NEWS BELOW
John Seitz Memorial Late Model
Invitational Event Update
Prepared by: FYE
Motorsports Promotions (August 1st, 2007)
With just about a month before the running of the
first annual John Seitz Memorial Late Model Invitational at
the River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks,
North Dakota on Thursday and Friday, September 6th
& 7th of this year, the details of the event have
come together quite nicely for this mega year-ending event
in the Upper Midwest.
This Dirt Track Racing Association (DTRA) sanctioned
Late Model event is expected to attract the biggest names in
Late Model auto racing from across the Midwest to the tight
¼ mile clay oval in the greater Grand Forks, ND area and
will be sure to attract the best in the business once the
area drivers see the purse structure for this event.
The order of events for the weekend will look like
this:
Thursday, September 6th
Street Stock Hot Laps
Midwest
Modified Hot Laps
Late Model Hot Laps
Street Stock Heat Races
Midwest
Modified Heat Races
Late Model Heat Races
Street Stock B-feature
Midwest Modified B-feature
Intermission (redraw for Late Model Dash)
Street Stock Feature
Midwest
Modified Feature
Late Model Dash
Friday, September 7th
Street Stock Hot Laps
Midwest
Modified Hot Laps
Sprint Car Hot Laps
Late Model Hot Laps (Non-Qualified Cars Only)
Street Stock Heat Races
Midwest
Modified Heat Races
Sprint Car Heat Races
Street Stock B-feature
Midwest Modified B-feature
Sprint Car B-feature
Late Model B-features
Late Model Hot Laps (Feature Qualified Cars Only)
Intermission
Street Stock Feature
Midwest
Modified Feature
Sprint Car Feature
Late Model Feature
Not only will the winner of the Late Model feature
earn the honor of winning the 1st annual John
Seitz Memorial in memory of a great racer and great friend
to all, but he will also earn a $9,200 paycheck, the largest
paying DTRA sanctioned event ever! Late Model drivers are
reminded that the winner of Thursday night’s pole dash will
earn the pole for the 50-lap feature on Friday, but he will
also take home a paycheck for winning the dash of $920.
DTRA Midwest Modifieds and DTRA Street Stocks will be
running a complete show each night with heats, b-features
and features both nights, with the combined points champion
after the 2 night event earning a bonus along with their
nightly pay. Midwest Modifieds are running for $400 each
night with a $400 bonus to the top point winner after the
weekend, while the Street Stocks are running for $250 to win
each night with a $100 bonus for the top point winner of the
weekend.
Entry fees are as follows: Late Models (car and
driver) $100 before August 15th, and $125 from
August 16th thru the day of the event. Midwest
Modifieds (car and driver) will pay a $30 pit pass each day,
while the Street Stocks (car and driver) will pay a pit pass
of $25 each day. Draw cut off and hot laps will be at 6:30pm
each night with racing to follow.
Late Model drivers are reminded that pre-entry forms
are available at
www.johnseitz92.com or at
www.rivercitiesspeedway.com. Please be sure to fill them
out and send them in prior to August 15th to
receive the early registration discount. Also, Raceceivers
will be used in the Late Model division, so if you have one,
please be sure to bring it with, if you don’t have one, you
can rent or buy one for the weekend. Late Model drivers are
also reminded that 25 cars will start the 50-lap, $9,200 to
win Late Model feature. 24 cars will qualify out of heat
races and b-features and then the 25th starting
spot will be reserved for the 2006 Harvest Bowl Champion,
Steve Laursen. If Laursen qualifies through his heat race or
b-feature, then the 25th starting spot will be
given via promoter’s choice.
The John Seitz Memorial Late Model Feature Purse is
as follows…..
1-$9,200
2-$5,000
3-$3,000
4-$2,000
5-$1,500
6-$1,400
7-$1,300
8-$1,200
9-$1,100
10-$1,000
11-$700
12-$650
13-$600
14-$550
15th thru 25th $500
For more information regarding this event, please
contact Josh at
josh@johnseitz92.com, or check out
www.rivercitiesspeedway.com or
www.fyemotorsports.com. This is an event that you will
surely not want to miss, so be sure to be in Grand Forks on Thursday
and Friday, September 6th & 7th.
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