RPW Column: Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series Geared To Shine In 2020

RPW Column By: LAURIE FALLIS / RPW – FULTONVILLE, NY – With excitement in the air for Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series (MVVDMS) Racing, the new season is fast approaching.

The famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, did not see his shadow! This could only give us hope that spring is coming early and Mother Nature will let us hear that music to our ears…racecars.

Over the winter months, the MVVDMS has been working hard to make 2020 reach new heights. With an eye-opening 2019 season that Vintage racing is important to keep our memories alive, could it be possible that this type of racing is the next best thing in racing for drivers and fans alike?

Let’s find out what’s going on with the series for 2020. The season gets underway before caras even hit the track. There will be three drivers from the series that will be honored at the New York State Stock Car Association banquet February 22nd for their accomplishments last season…Alan McDonald, Stanley Wetmore and John Flach.

The Month of March catches another gear as the series will be busy being well represented in two racecar shows. The Northeast Race Car Show which will be held March 13-15 and the Fonda Speedway Car Show March 27-29.

Both shows will be at the Viaport Mall in Rotterdam, NY. This is a great opportunity for fans to get rid of the winter blues check out a sneak peak before the Vintage cars hit the track. There will be an array of cars shined up from the real deal classics of our grassroots.

The replicas will be unveiling new designs representing the great drivers that have paved our way in racing. Make sure you make your way down to “Vintage Alley” just past the fountain and take a walk down memory lane, strolling back in time.

Big news for the series in 2020 is new marketing partners that have come on board to join the already existing list of dedicated sponsors that have been supporting the series. The new partners include:

• Mangino’s Chevy, Buick,GMC
• Fulton County Electric
• Yurkewecz Auto Crucher
• Wilson Service
• Andys Speedshop
• The GHETTO Health Club

Sponsor coming back in 2020 are…

• Sprakers Taxi, used cars
• Todd Hoffman Racing
• Buanno’s Custom Auto Body
• Mathewson’s Farm
• Winners Circle
• Kuglers Red Barn
• NESCOT
• Final Reward Trophy & Imprintables
• Red Chair Guy
• John’s Auto Repair
• Custom Bob Signs & Designs
• New Day Motors
• L&E Smith Construction
• Boyd’s Motorworks

The 2020 season will have a fun and energetic schedule for the MVVDMS fans. Acknowledging the different eras in racing, the series will once again be recognizing four divisions at each event. Vintage Antiques that will run their own feature while the Vintage Modifieds, Sportsman and Latemodels will run a combined feature.

The series is looking forward to once again having Vintage drivers representing the days of yesteryear under the series rules. A seven-race series in which four Champions will be crowned will be ran in the Mohawk and Capital Region at Fonda and Albany-Saratoga Speedways.

The MVVDMS 2020 season points opener will start at their second race of the season at Albany-Saratoga with “Malta’s May Vintage Madness.” Then it’s on to the track along the Mohawk for the important NYSSCA Night. This is always a special date on the calendar that the series looks forward to as it’s the Hall Of Fame Race. We are proud to be a valid part of the Induction ceremony at the glorious Fonda Speedway Museum.

The excitement doesn’t stop there. The series stays at Fonda, celebrating Independence Day for the Fourth Of July Vintage Spectacular.

MVVDMS big hit of 2019 was honoring legendary racer Jack Cottrell. This year, the series will be honoring a gang! The Grand Gorge Gang will invade the “Track of Champions” for what is sure to be an amazing event on July 18th.

The journey then takes the series back to Albany-Saratoga for the John Grady Memorial “Nostalgia Night.” This is another big race everyone is looking forward to and excited to be participating in. It pays tribute to a special man and legend. Without Grady’s pictures, we’d be without a lot of the memories of our racing past.

Last stop for the series point chase, and determined who will be crowned Champions will be settled at Fonda. How fitting is that? Vintage Championship Night at the “Track of Champions.” However, all of the MVVDMS drivers are considered equal and Champions.

In 2020 there will also be five open races that MVVDMS will be collaborating with other clubs and series. The open shows are a little different with 4-barrel carburetors being allowed and what rules other clubs and series run.

However, it’s mostly about having unity and a good time, meeting great people that are passionate about what Vintage racing’s truly about.

Here are the 2020 Vintage racing season open shows. Ironically, the first is the series’ season opener, happening at the Airborne Speedway for the “Border Blast” Saturday, May 2nd.

Then, August 29th will be the “Vintage Explosion” at Lebanon Valley Speedway…the historic “Valley Of Speed.”

We also hit the fastest quarter mile on Dirt, the lil’ track on the hill, the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park. The Ridge is the birthplace of the MVVDMS. This special Labor Day weekend event will take place Sunday, September 6th.

Next, the series heads just south of the NY border in Pennsylvania for the Seward Rice Memorial at Penn Can Speedway. This is another historical track that will host an event on Saturday, September 26th.

The last stop of the season will be at the Afton Motorsports Park for the Short Track Super Series SuperNationals and the “Vintage Attraction” Saturday, October 10th. The series will be looking to top the great car count from one year ago (32 cars). Wouldn’t that be a great way to end the Vintage year?

Special Thanks goes to:

• Champlain Valley Vintage Dirt Modified
• Northeastren Vintage Dirt Modified Racing Club
• Classics On Dirt
• Eastern Ontario Stock Car Club.
• To all the guys that travel from Delaware and Pennsylvania and even as far as Missouri.

The coloberation is Spectacular and grateful and important in keeping Vintage racing going bigger and better.

Vintage racing is about something special for all the great fans to remember the past and help keep their great memories of years gone by. It brings their youth back. Hopefully the young enjoy the history as well so it will never be forgotten.

Look out 2020. Here comes the Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modified Series, bringing the past into the present “VINTAGE STYLE.”