Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays-Dec. 2022
I hope this finds you all doing well. It's been a while since I felt like writing. Not sure if writers block or depression. This is a real topic that no one likes to discuss. With the holidays, depression likes to rear it's ugly little head. So if you feel like you need help, please contact your local health department or family physician and get the resources to make life a little easier. I have, I did and I do. So, with that being said, I am wishing all of you a very happy holiday season however you celebrate.
Look for new article in 2023.
See you at the races!!
Erik Jones Foundation-August 2022
Erik Jones born May 30, 1996, and now at a mere 25, has established the Erik Jones Foundation to benefit reading, animals and early detection for cancer patients.
He began racing at seven years old in quarter midget and moved quickly up to stock cars, ASA, Late Model at age 13 in 2010. He was the youngest ever winter of the Oktoberfest race at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway.
In 2011, he moves to the Champion Racing Association – CRA All Star Tour and won the series championship in his rookie year. Also, that year he won the Governor’s Cup 200 Late Model race at New Smyrna Speedway. He led every lap and was the first driver, who was not banned in Florida to achieve that feat in over 30 years.
Between 2012-2014, he drove in the ARCA series and the Camping World Truck Series for KBM and he was allowed to race at age 16 as long as it was ovals shorter than 200 meter and road courses. He was the youngest driver to win in history of NASCAR’s top competition and that time, winning the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Racing and was only 17 years, 5 months and 8 days.
He continued to drive in the Camping World Truck Series and in the Xfinity Series throughout 2014-2019. In the Xfinity series he drove for Joe Gibbs Racing and won several races including back to back at Texas and Bristol in 2017.
In 2017, he began racing full time in the NASCAR Cup Series. He won his first career cup series win at the Coke Zero Sugar 300 at Daytona International Speedway. In 2019, he won his second Cup series at Darlington.
September 2020 he won the Busch Clash and would end his career at Joe Gibbs that began back in the early days of his racing career. On October 21, 2020, it was confirmed that Erik would drive for Richard Petty Motorsports, RPM, number 43 replacing Bubba Wallace for the 2021 season.
In August 2021, it was revealed that Erik would stay with RPM and would have Focus Factor as the main sponsor. RPM was purchased by GMS Racing which then became Petty GMS Motorsports with Ty Dillon joining as a teammate.
While his success in racing has to be tremendous, Erik has had to deal with unpleasant personal issues in his racing career. The hardest was the death of his father, Dave. Dave Jones was diagnosed with melanoma and passed in 2016. While his father was dying, his mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and is full remission. This is one of the major factors in deciding to include early cancer detection has one of his three main benefactors.
His other loves are animals and his is an avid reader. While he has not attended college, he is self-taught and believes in giving back to the fans and community.
He decided to announce his new foundation in Michigan at Back to the Bricks in 2021 in Flint, MI.
The foundation has had a couple of events. One was a benefit for the Genesee County District Library and another was for the Fenton Adopt a Pet.
While he has chosen Michigan and Genesee County as benefactors, he held an event at the Birch Run Event Center in May 2022 and proceeds went to the early cancer detection. Coming up in April 2023, there will be a Clay Shoot event. Watch for more details at www.ErikJonesRacing.com by clicking on giving back.
See you at the races.
Birch Run Speedway & Event Center
Picture it – It was Birch Run 1948 and Doering and Scrivo families came together to build Dixie Motor Speedway. It was a 1/3 dirt oval racetrack and racing was just getting started.
Over the next decade, the track would have a Figure 8 course built through the infield and pit area and moved that to the area outside of the 1/3 mile oval. The other major change was it went from dirt to asphalt.
In 1996, the track was sold to the Kern family. The speedway saw amazing changes including a luxury VIP box that was built on top of the main grandstands, new bathrooms were installed along with stadium lights. In the pits, a new tech barn was built and the biggest addition was going from a 1/3 oval to a ¼ oval track.
In 2008, the Kern family sold to Checkered Flag Promotions. In 2017, the local car dealer, Andy Suski bought the track and renamed it the Birch Run Speedway and Event Center. Even though the track name changed, the big ovals in the middle are still called Dixie. The entrance from the road to the main building has also been asphalted.
Since Suski has bought the track, the scoring system has been updated with Westhold transponders and they now use My Race Pass software.
The concrete pits can accommodate 110 cars with new asphalt everywhere in the pit area.
The parking can hold 4500 cars and the average attendance is over 2500 patrons on any given race night.
The division names have changed throughout the years and currently host sprint cars, JEGS/CRA, Outlaw Super Late Models, Modified, Street Stock, Sports Compact and Truck series.
Track sponsorships comes via partnerships including United Financial Credit Union, B&S Heating & Cooling, Premier Security, Wheeler Trucking, Fast Flame Auto Exchange and many more. Track events at the Birch Run location attract thousands of people to the area annually.
The Event Center can be rented for special occasions such as weddings, open houses and even for fundraising events such as the Erik Jones Foundation did in May.
The final event Monster Auto & Scrap Eve Destruction championships will be held on, Friday, September 30, 2022. For further details go to www.birchrunracing.com.
See you at the races.
Auto City Outdoor Event Center - May 2022
You don’t want to bet against John Doering when he has a vision; especially if he sets his mind to seeing it come to fruition.
A perfect example of that happened in 1955, when he thought Vienna Township, which sits next to rural Clio, MI would make a perfect place for a racetrack. The Auto City Speedway was born with its first race taking place on a dirt track. The next 50-plus years would see many changes at the facility.
One of the first major changes was the paving of the track in 1986. This track currently has three race areas including the half-mile, quarter mile, and figure 8. Which area of the track is utilized depends upon the race event on the schedule. It could be all three in one night!
The division names have also changed through the years. Presently the track has Figure 8; Herald Pure Stocks; Enduro; All-American Truck Series; Lipstick Ladies, and Maximum Destruction.
In 1999, Joe DeWitte bought the Vienna Township business. In 2008, the name changed to the Auto City Outdoor Event Center. The event center has hosted a variety of events including the Cannabis Cup, and even serving as storage for hundreds of General Motors trucks due to the chip shortage.
The track has 100 concrete pads for race cars and can accommodate 200 rigs/setups in the pit area. The parking lot has room for more than 3,000 vehicles. The stand/seating will accommodate more than 4,000 spectators.
Track sponsorship comes via several partnerships including, O’Sullivan Distribution; Dr. Pepper/Snapple; Elga CU; CK105.5; GFS; MSD Ignition; MSPA, Muffler Man; The Herald; Tiger Auto Salvage; Xtra1330, and many more. Track events at the Vienna Township location attract thousands of people to the area annually.
The track is updating the registration and scoring system. They will be using My Race Pass. The drivers have received the information for the new software system. The track has also had to update the internet system and back up as the old-school way of pen and paper has joined relics of the Stone Age. It will be a learning curve for all involved going from pen and paper to computers.
Average attendance on any given Saturday night is between 1,200 and 2,000 spectators. Maximum Destruction events will bring in more than 3,000 fans. All events begin at 7 pm.
On major event – in addition to the racing - is the Lantern Festival. The event is June 11. Doors open at 5 p.m. with launches starting at 8 p.m. This event features the launching of Lanterns honoring the memories of loved ones or folks celebrating a fresh new chapter such as a marriage, birth or other noteworthy events. For details, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/452881186378677.
The final event of the season is Sept. 24 and is another Maximum Destruction – Witches Night Out. All spectators are encouraged to dress as their favorite witch.
DeWitte takes nothing for granted, especially the continued success of the track through the next five years. “Local tracks will need to be more creative when running the shows to not only increase, but also keep the spectators coming back,” he said.
See you at the races!!