News Director 
Story By: JOHN SNYDER / ORANGE COUNTY FAIR SPEEDWAY – MIDDLETOWN, NY – Get ready for a jam-packed racing program Saturday night, July 9 at Orange County Fair Speedway as the Empire Super Sprints (ESS), a traveling 360 Sprint Car sanctioning body makes it inaugural appearance at the five-eighths-mile clay speedway in Middletown, New York.
The sprinters will compete in a full program of qualifying races leading to a $2,000 to win feature race. While this is the group’s first outing at Orange County, several of the ESS drivers have raced at the track in Modifieds, or with other sprint car organizations.
But that’s not all! The United Rentals DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds, fresh from their July 2 Summer Championship race that set the 12 drivers who will battle for the point championship, will start their elimination rounds with a 30-lap feature race paying $3,000 to win. Qualifying races will determine the feature race starting lineup.
Completing the on-track activities, the ultra-competitive Arkel Motors Sportsman as well as the Precision Hydraulic & Oil Rookie Sportsman will also be in action. The Sportsman will go to the post in qualifying and feature races; the Rookie Sportsman will compete in a single feature.
For the young fans, the OCFS Kids Club has been collecting bikes and helmets through donations from fans, racing teams, and businesses, with several to be given away through games or drawings during the evening. All kids under 12, and with their parents, should check in at the Kids Club activity center when they arrive at the speedway.
And the icing on the cake! It’s also Construction Industry Night as Orange County honors the men and women involved in all aspects of the building trades—from roads to houses and all the infrastructure in between. Special ticket packages have been arranged for contractors and construction company owners to bring their employees to the races. There’s a 5:00-6:00 pm exclusive Construction Industry Happy Hour. In addition, construction vendors will be on site, and a parade of equipment will take place during the evening.
Racing on July 9 and all subsequent scheduled races except for the season ending Eastern States Weekend will begin at 7:00 pm.
For fans, Grandstand and Drive-In gates open at 5:00 pm. For reserved seating or Drive-In parking, call the Speedway Office at 845-342-2573.
For competitors, Pits open at 3:30 pm. Pit admission $35, OCFS member $30.
