KING OF THE CAN WEEKEND OFFERS SOMETHING FOR EVERY RACE FAN
SUSQUEHANNA, PA…Penn Can Speedway will play host to the King of the Can Weekend on Friday and Saturday, October 16th and 17th. The two days will be packed full of racing, offering something for every type of dirt track racing fan.
The King of the Can Weekend kicks off on Friday night featuring the Race of Champions Modifieds, Grit Series Crate Sportsman and the Front Wheel Drive Four Cylinders. Race time is 7:00 p.m. The weekend concludes on Saturday night with a huge event. The CRSA Sprint Cars, Race of Champions Sportsman, Race of Champions Street Stocks, IMCA Style Modifieds, Slingshots, Factory Stocks and Four Cylinders will all be in competition beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Friday night will be highlighted by the Race of Champions Modified 60 lapper, paying $6,000 to win. Just last month the RoC Series came to Penn Can and the track regulars showed the invaders the fast way around. 2015 Penn Can Speedway Track Champion Kevin Hartnett took home the $5,000 payday over track regular Nick Rochinski, RoC point leader Stewart Friesen, track regular Dan Pompey, who was the winningest driver at the track this year, and young sensation Tyler Dippel. Mike Mahaney, Dan Creeden, Brian Weaver, Danny Johnson and Joey Grammes rounded out the top ten. Track regulars stood tall taking three of the top four positions and five of the top ten spots. Will the regulars continue their dominance or will the invaders come in and take home the gold? We will find out on Friday night.
Joining the RoC Modifieds on Friday will be the Grit Series Crate Sportsman in a $1,000 to win 30 lap feature. When the Grit Series was at Penn Can in September it was Kevin Ward taking the win over Casey Pavlick, Kyle Rohner, Chris Daugherty and Brian Mady. A strong field of 37 cars was on hand and they put on a great show. Pavlick is the current point leader over Josh Keesey, Stacey Jackson, Dale Welty and Rocky Warner.
The King of the Can Weekend will be a huge one for the Front Wheel Four Cylinders. They will race both Friday and Saturday in 20 lap features, paying $400 to win each. If a driver can win both nights they will pocket a $200 bonus, making their weekend worth $1,000. It is the biggest event for Four Cyilnders in the region this year.
The action then shifts to Saturday night. Kyle Smith will bring a slight four point lead in the CRSA Sprint Car standings to Penn Can. Smith is atop the standings in spite of not having won a feature this year. He does however have six top five finishes and an impressive 17 top ten finishes out of 20 starts. Josh Pieniazek will be looking to knock him off the top of the ladder. He has two wins and eight top fives and is just four markers behind Smith. Scott Goodrich has been the most dominant driver on the series this year notching eight wins and 13 top five finishes including a win at Penn Can in May.
Eddie Strada III dominated the CRSA feature at Penn Can in August in only his second start in a full size sprint car. Strada also won at Penn Can a few weeks prior in a 600 Micro Sprint. His grandfather and father are also feature winners at Penn Can in years past and the third generation driver has shown that he is a force to be reckoned with.
The RoC Sportsman come to Penn Can for a 30 lap, $1,000 to win race. It will be their second appearance in just over a month and point leader Kevin Jordan will lead the way. Jordan holds a 30 point advantage over Ken Hammond in the standings with Penn Can regular Ryan Olsommer close behind in third. He is only two points ahead of Cory Pike and four points ahead of Charlie Hendrickson. Nick Nye was victorious when the RoC Series was at Penn Can in September. He was followed to the stripe by Brad Szulewski, Jordan, Mike Austin and Olsommer.
Gene Sharpsteen will lead the RoC Street Stocks into Penn Can as the point leader for their $500 to win event. He holds a 14 point advantage over past champion Jonathon Carpenter. Another past champion, Bob Buono, is currently third just one point behind Carpenter with Rich Green and Ray Lindquist rounding out the top five. Shane Wolf, Jr. was victorious when the RoC Street Stocks came to Penn Can in September, just edging out Carpenter at the finish in a thriller. Sharpsteen, Buono and Green rounded out the top five. The points are totally up for grabs in the RoC Street Stock division.
The IMCA Style Modifieds will also be on the card on Saturday. Drivers from New York and Pennsylvania will converge on the Susquehanna oval for their $500 to win event. Five Mile Point and I-88 Track Champ Matt Cole will lead the way to Penn Can. He is currently second in the Empire Series points behind Eddie Sites. Brad Sites is third ahead of Jason Benjamin and Keith Lamphere. James Cornell will be a driver to watch as he is the most versatile driver in these cars. Cornell is a past winner in Modifieds, Sportsman and Street Stocks in addition to his multiple IMCA wins.
The Slingshots by Tobias will join the Factory Stocks and Front Wheel Drive Four Cylinders to round out the weekend on Saturday. The Factory Stocks will have their biggest event of the year as well as they will run a 20 lap feature, paying $400 to win. Friday night’s Four Cylinder winner will try to sweep the weekend and take home $1,000 for his efforts.
Make plans now to attend the King of the Can Weekend at Penn Can Speedway, Friday and Saturday, October 16th and 17th. For the complete information sheets with pricing and order of events look us up on Facebook at Penn Can Speedway or log onto penncan.com. Penn Can Speedway is located on Route 171 in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.