October 11

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Are you ready for some peace, love, and edge of your seat racing? Bethel Motor Speedway is Racing Hippie Style this weekend. It’s time to blow the dust off your Hippie wardrobe and see some rockin racing.

BETHEL MOTOR SPEEDWAY READY FOR A BUSY WEEKEND WITH A NEW SPONSOR

August 11, BETHEL, NY - The buzz is getting louder in the auto racing community, as both drivers and fans are now counting down the days until one of the biggest weekends of the year at the 1/4-mile paved oval of Bethel Motor Speedway in White Lake, NY. This weekend, the speedway will present two days of auto racing excitement.

On Saturday, August 15th, Bethel Motor Speedway will host LegendStock 2009 presented by RACEceiver and Jeff Bank. The prestigious 40-lap, $1,500-to-win race for the INEX-sanctioned Legends cars, will feature some of the top driving talent from throughout the Northeast. Drivers from as far away as Minnesota, North Carolina, and Georgia have also expressed their intent to compete in the event, which drew 35 entries last year. Winners in each class will receive a three-foot tall guitar-shaped trophy in addition to their winnings, and the overall winner will also receive a provisional starting spot in the 2nd Annual Legends Fall Classic to be held at Sundance Vacations Speedway (PA) in October. Both the Hard Charger in the LegendStock event and the winner of the Bandolero event will receive a two-foot tall guitar-shaped trophy as well.

Last year's Semi-Pro and Masters division winners, Mike Alcaro and Tim Brockhouse, confirmed their intent to compete several months ago. Alcaro has been running regularly at Bethel during the 2009 season, and has scored seven wins at the speedway, including a victory in the 50-lap INEX Asphalt Nationals qualifier held earlier this month. While Alcaro topped the Semi-Pro field at the LegendStock event last season, he has moved into the Pro division for 2009 and will have to contend with drivers in that class in LegendStock 2009. Brockhouse, who set fast time at LegendStock 2008 and won the Masters division, is a Minnesota driver who has run more than 20 races on both asphalt and dirt in the Midwest so far in 2009, and scored a win in his class at the INEX Dirt Nationals qualifier held at Elko Speedway (MN) in July. For the past several months, the lingering question has been the plans of last year's overall and Pro division winner, Michael Gervais Jr., who has moved out of Legends racing this year. Recently, however, Gervais confirmed that he had secured a ride for LegendStock 2009, and the Connecticut driver will be on hand to defend his win this weekend.

Joining the Legends and Bandoleros on the schedule on Saturday will be the ECS Auto Stores Pro Stock and 4 Cylinder classes. Gates will open at 3 p.m., with hot laps taking to the track at 4:30 p.m.

Sunday's racing schedule will be headlined by SportsmanStock 2009 presented by Jeff Bank. The race will be a 50-lap affair,
which will pay $1,000 to the winner. The dirt Sportsman cars have been added to the regular weekly schedule at Bethel, and have become very popular. Dan Conklin, who recorded his sixth win of 2009 last weekend, is expected to be a tough competitor; as is Greg Morgan, who may very well have recorded the most laps of any driver in the class at Bethel this season and seems to be on the verge of his first win. Numerous other Bethel regulars will take to the track as well, and the race is expected to draw in dirt talent from across the region looking for a shot at the $1,000 payday and bragging rights.

Also on Sunday's schedule will be an additional race for the Legends, as well as the Street Stock division. Gates will open at 3 p.m. on Sunday as well, with hot laps slated to begin at 4:30 p.m.

In the event of rain on Saturday, all of the scheduled races will be run on Sunday, with the gates opening at 1 p.m. Grandstand admsiion at Bethel is just $5. More details and a full schedule for the speedway are available at www.bethelmotorspeedway.com.
Contact: Tracy Chirico
tracy.chirico@bethelmotorspeedway.com

Conklin Returns to Victory Lane at Bethel Motor Speedway

August 9, BETHEL, NY - It has been just over two months since Dan Conklin recorded his last win in the Sportsman division at Bethel Motor Speedway, but this past Saturday night Conklin used his pole starting position to its full potential, landing himself in Victory Lane for the sixth time this season. Conklin led all 25 laps en route to the win.
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BETHEL MOTOR SPEEDWAY TO HONOR CHAMPIONS

October 11, BETHEL – With the 2009 season at Bethel Motor Speedway completed, track management has announced plans to honor those drivers who supported the speedway and contributed to a successful season. On Saturday, November 7th, drivers in all of the track’s divisions will be honored at Brookside Manor in Middletown beginning at 7:30 p.m. More information and tickets can be obtained by calling the speedway office at (845) 778-3839.

Dan Conklin will be honored as the champion in the Sportsman division. Conklin, a veteran on dirt who converted his car weekly to be competitive on the asphalt at Bethel, finished consistently at the front of the field. He collected a total of seven wins and 14 top five finishes, including a runner-up finish at SportsmanStock 2009. Conklin faced some tough competition in the division that saw a number of multiple feature event winners, including Greg Morgan and Eddie Redner.

Norm Barnes will take home the championship hardware in the BMS modified class. Barnes grabbed the title on the basis of consistency, as he recorded two wins and eight runner-up finishes over the course of the season. Among the drivers Barnes had to contest with all season long in his quest for the championship was John Cote, who visited Victory Lane nine times.

The ECS Auto Stores Pro Stock championship will be awarded to Joe Barnes, a veteran competitor at the speedway who won four races and amassed 14 top five finishes in 2009. Barnes finished the season atop the standings in the class, which also saw drivers such as Jesse Hilger, Mark Sylvester, Bobby Policastro, and Clarence Palmer record multiple wins.

Gary VanOrden dominated the Street Stock class and will collect his championship on the strength of 14 wins. VanOrden did not finish outside of the top three in any race during the season, though drivers such as Vinny Stanton Sr., Tommy Johnson, and Kevin Skelly also visited Victory Lane.

Larry O’Donnell will be honored for his championship in the 4 Cylinder Senior division. O’Donnell grabbed five wins during 2009, and finished in the top five a total of 13 times. His competition for the crown included multi-time feature winners Eddie Lindstadt and Paul Curry.

In the 4 Cylinder Junior class, Jonathan McGibbon will be recognized for his championship. McGibbon made four visits to Victory Lane, and finished in the top five 15 times. McGibbon faced tough competition for the title as well, as Vinny Stanton Jr., Billy Curry, and Jerry Kingeter also collected multiple wins.

Mike Alcaro will be crowned as the 2009 champion in the Legends division. Alcaro scored nine wins in the class during the season, including a win in the 50-lap INEX Asphalt Nationals qualifier hosted by the speedway. Young driver Joe DeGracia was the only other driver in the class to record more than one win.

Bandolero drivers will also be recognized at the banquet. The class, which is made up solely of drivers under the age of 16, saw such drivers as Joseph Graf Jr., AJ Hamilton, and Andrew Bickford visit Victory Lane during the season. The division has also attracted several new drivers looking to break into auto racing, including Mikey Policastro, Jared Palmer, and Cody Demarmels.