News Director 
Story By: STEVE PADOS / DIRT TRACK HEROES – PHILLIPSBURG, NJ – The record breaking Quaker Steak & Lube Tenth Annual Dirt Track Heroes Show completed the sixth day of the week long journey into the past, present and future of auto racing for the racing community and will head into the finale on Saturday, March 11th with a tribute slated for all of the great open wheel racing and the drivers that competed at the famed Flemington “Square” Speedway through it’s long history through the efforts of the Dirt Track Heroes Staff and the Flemington Speedway Racing Historical Society.
The Friday event highlighted a tremendous day that lasted through 6:30 as a large crowd was on hand to honor the legendary Modified talent Sammy Beavers. The tenth annual edition of the show will continue through March 11th. The Friday show was provided sponsorship by Premio Foods, R&F International Muffler and Brake, Martocci Automotive, Carl’s Auto Repair, Chrin Automotive and Dean Autosports. Premio Foods and Enterprise Car Sales will sponsor the Saturday event and will have their food wagon on premises offering samples of their fine products as well as handouts for the attendees to the Mall. 162 cars, a record for the event, line the long walkways of the event.
With the eclectic Quaker Steak & Lube Restaurants the lead sponsor of the event, the excitement and the pulse for the week long show quickens with each day as the diverse schedule of the week long show offers a bit of everything to all racing fans. The 55 stores making up Quaker Steak & Lube annually sell more than 80 million wings per year and “The Lube” is recognized as “The best wings in the USA.” The Phillipsburg location has also been dubbed “The Official Restaurant of the Dirt Track Heroes” show. To contact the restaurant, call: 908-454-2900 or check out their website at: www.thelube.com Before or after the show head to Quaker Steak & Lube and get recharged and refueled in a great sports setting. Request a table underneath the Bob Pickell number 300 Modified for an additional racing experience.
An amazing group of sponsors have supported the show with sponsorship through Quaker Steak & Lube, IRCO, Enterprise Car Sales, Premio Foods, Smith Fabrications/Stage One Modifieds, Martocci’s Automotive, Hamlin Speedway/S&S Speedways, Searock Fabrications and Speed Supplies, Alex’s Tire/Breidinger’s Speed Shop, R&F International Muffler and Brake, Murante Auto Repair, Persa Auto Repair, Dean Autosports, Ralph’s Radiator, Chrin Automotive, Huston Automotive and Carl’s Auto Repair. Nightly interviews and 161 race cars provide the race fan a full appetite of racing fun before the 2016 racing season begins. The Phillipsburg Mall, located on Route 22 East in Phillipsburg, NJ, has proven to be a popular setting for this special event and offers a multitude of race cars, racing memorabilia, collectibles and photos on display throughout the course of the show. The show continues to be FREE of charge to the mall traffic and the 2017 edition of the show is the trend setter and show stopper of the many shows that are scheduled during the year.
Emcees Ed and Steve Pados opened the show and introduced IRCO Vice President Greg Collins to the crowd. Collins once thanked the local racing community for their support and talked of the various offerings from the IRCO group and once again thanked everyone for their continuous support of the annual event.
Ed and Steve Pados along with Bobby Stull were honored to present and interview a great panel of driving legends from the local area and beyond during the show. The show played to a full house and in roundtable fashion to allow the fans to connect with the drivers they cheered for when they dominated the local speedway scene and they came out to salute the legendary Sammy Beavers. Gary Gollub, Carl Van Horn, Roger Laureno, Earl Derr, Alan Carter, Tommy Vroom, Wyatt Jacobus, Nate Strunk, Randy Bok, Danny Huston, Ken Brenn Sr, John Bate, Donnie Eskey, Aaron Brommer, Galen Kollar and Wilbur Force were onboard for one of the best shows ever in the history of the ten year old show. The question and answer period brought many great responses from the drivers and is a lasting memory to their exploits on the speedway.
The second show was cancelled due to inclement weather plaguing some of the drivers hoping to attend. Gerald Chamberlain was scheduled to appear but his wife Joanne took ill and they cancelled out of the event as did Hal Browning.
The great fan base of racing can come out to this grand Mall event and be transported back to a time when they could hop into their family jitney and travel less than a half hour to witness the excitement of a night at the races. All historical racing groups including Reading, Flemington, Harmony through Greg Collins, Tri State, Friends of Nazareth, Mike Ritter Photos, Archie Myers/Harmony and Bob Snyder Photos and Snyder Video will have their memorabilia on display and their many scrapbooks open for the fans to take another long look at the glory years of racing and possibly find a picture or two they want to purchase as a keepsake from past glory or racing exploits. More information is available by calling: 443-513-4456.
The Quaker Steak & Lube Dirt Track Heroes Car Show has a must have event T-shirt done exclusively for the show, highlighting many of our racing heroes who have passed away in the past year. The great keepsake event souvenir program book has many great articles regarding our racing heroes. The Phillipsburg Mall is open Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM and from Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 9 PM. The event offers race teams a great opportunity to promote their sponsors and announce their racing plans for the 2017 racing season.
