News Director 
Story By; STEVE PADOS / ACCORD SPEEDWAY – ACCORD, NY – The Catskills Mountains of New York State will provide the backdrop for a spectacular Friday evening on Spetember 7th as the Accord Speedway presents it’s third annual First Responders Night at the “Gem in the Catskills” facility.
The plans have been in place for the past year as the First Responders is headed up by the great efforts of Jim Slinsky and the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office K9 Team. An over the top presentation featuring music, bag pipes, 21 gun salute, narration, echoing bugles and a tremendous number of fire trucks and emergency equipment will capture the attention of a standing room only crowd expected in for the event. The show will be brought to a climactic conclusion with a fireworks/skyworks extravaganza from Santore’s Famous Fireworks. The headline sponsor for the evening of events are the great folks at Upstate Auto located in Germantown, New York.The website for Upstate Auto is (www.upstateautoinc.com)
The speedway events will begin with heat racing for the six divisions scheduled for the evening. Depending on time, a couple of the feature events may also take place as darkness looms in on the speedway. At that point in time an extended intermission period will pay tribute to all of the First Responders who work so diligently to keep our home security safe. The spirit of the salute to the First Responders event is just a small way to thank and honor them for the job and services they do as they deal with unimaginable circumstances each day they report for duty. They see first hand, death, destruction and place their lives on the line for the people they are serving to protect. For many of us, honoring our flag and our country remain sacred to our way of life and liberty.
Additional sponsors for the Friday night event have been added for the Fireworks extravaganza portion for the evening. Along with Upstate Auto, the sponsors include: RJ Smith, Ulster Firearms, Adavanced Concrete Foundations, Superior Remodeling, Saunderskill Farms, Fast Signs of Kingston, Shakelton NAPA, Arrowood Farm, Peak Engineering and Santore’s Fireworks. The Accord Speedway thanks everyone who have joined together to make this event so special for those who serve our communities.
Headed up by Jim Slinsky and the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office K9 Team, many pieces of safety and response equipment will be brought onto the speedway in darkness and will create a tribute to our First Responders and our freedom. The organizers will hoist a 70 foot US Flag through the use of ladder trucks and at the designated moment all lights from the equipment will come on and put up an amazing display that will cover the speedway and the entire infield area. Santore’s Famous Fireworks, as they did in June, will once again light up the skies above the speedway with their over the top fireworks extravaganza. DVD Copies of the entire salute to the First Responders will be made available through Accord Speedway Videographer Tom Czaban and can be ordered by phone at: 518-250-0001.
Expected to take part in the ceremony are: Accord, Ellenville, Tillson, Sawkill, Hurley, Kerhonkson, Rosendale, Stone Ridge, Craigsmoor, Napanoch and Saxton Fire Departments, Ulster County Fire Coordinator, Kerhonkson-Accord First Aid, Ellenville Rescue Squad, Esopus EMS, Ulster County Sheriff’s Office,
Racing is on tap every Friday evening at Accord Speedway from April through September. Please make note of the new starting times: Pit Gates open at 5:00; Spectator Gates open at 5:30; Hot Laps begin at 7:00 and the racing begins at 7:30 PM. Admission for Adults $14.00; Seniors (65+) $12.00; Children $3.00 (11+ under) Indoor Seating $20.00; Family four pack special: 2 Adults + 2 Children and $20.00 in Accord Bucks for $44.00 (a savings of $10.00)
Special event shows do have an increase in admission.
The following Friday, September 14th, brings the fine folks from the Orange County Fair Speedway and Taylor Rental to the Accord Speedway with all divisions in action. The event will serve as the “Night of Champions” as all of the division champions will be named and interviewed in the WRWD Radio Victory Lane after the events are completed. The night will also serve as the Big Block Qualifier for the the annual Eastern States Weekend to be held at Orange County in October.
