Wet Weather Causes Afton To Make Schedule Adjustments; Opener Now May 11th

Story By: JR KENNERUP / AFTON MOTORSPORTS PARK – AFTON, NY – It’s sounding like a broken record but the awful weather that the area has been experiencing has forced Afton Motorsports Park into making some schedule adjustments as they try to get their 2018 racing season started.

The Monday April 30th practice has been postponed until Friday May 4th and with this happening the 2018 Season Opener has been pushed back until Friday night May 11th.

The CRSA Sprint Cars were slated to race on May 11th and they have been removed from this show and their date will be rescheduled. The Butler Auto Sales Crate Sportsman were slated to have May 11th off and now they will be added to the 2018 Season Opener.

” The track is underneath is still just too wet ” said track promoter Ron Ford. ” On Saturday I dug a hole in turn two and got down about three inches and the track surface was like a sponge. I’m not putting any racecars on a track when it’s condition is like that, it’s just not safe for them to even practice. If we can get two good days in a row we will be able to dig the track up and dry it out and repack it, then we will be good. The rest of the facility is all set to go, it’s just the track that needs to dry out. ”

Ford continued on by saying, ” Right now our plan is to dig the track up and leave it open Tuesday ( May 1st ) and Wednesday and pack it in Wednesday night. Then have practice Friday May 4th and open a week later on May 11th. If we lose the Friday May 4th practice, we will practice Monday May 7th and race on the 11th. Even if we do practice on May 4th, we still might do a practice on May 7th if there is enough interest. ”

As a way of saying Thank You to the racers for being patient Afton Motorsports Park has announced incentives for the practice night ( s ) . The fastest Modified, Open Sportsman, and Crate Sportsman in hot laps will be awarded fifth place starting position in their respective division opening night feature. The times recorded by the AMB Transponder system will be the official time for each of these divisions.

All Street Stocks, IMCA Modifieds, and Four Cylinder Trucks who are in attendance for practice will have their car number put into a drawing. The winning car number in each division pulled will be awarded fifth place starting spot in their respective feature event on opening night.

For the practice nights, pit admission will be $20 with free grandstand admission with the donation of a canned good. Gates open at 4 pm with practice starting at 6 pm and going until 9 pm.

For the 2018 Season Opener on Friday May 11th pit gates open at 4 pm, grandstand gates open at 4:30 pm, drivers meeting is at 5:45 pm, hot laps at 6:10 pm, and first heat at 7 pm sharp. Pit admission is $30, grandstand admission is $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens age 62 and up, $5 for youth aged 9 to 14, and 8 and under are free with a paid adult admission.

In action on Season Opener Night will be the ZMK Construction Modifieds, Chambers & O’ Hara Open Sportsman, Butler Auto Sales Crate Sportsman, Rinker Insurance Agency Street Stocks, IMCA Modifieds, and Four Cylinder Trucks.