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Sunday, March 05, 2000 By Chris Dolack, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Staff Writer
The Outlaws are coming. And this year they have backup. In August, World of Outlaws President Ted Johnson announced the creation of the Support Series. It will run more than 50 races at 26 tracks mainly in the Midwest and eastern part of the country, including Pennsylvania.
Still looking for a title sponsor, the Support Series will debut with a $5,000 to win, $500 to start event April 14 at Don Martin's Lernerville Speedway in Sarver. It will return Aug. 23.
"The Support Series is kind of the equivalent of Busch Grand National in NASCAR," said Richard Day, World of Outlaws director of public relations. "It's for younger and less-funded teams to get a good start with us and to fill in at our televised races, like when we go to North Carolina and places like that where there aren't many sprint cars and we need help to get the full field."
Like the Busch series, the Support Series will run some dates at the same track with the Outlaws, but will also venture on its own. Its first race with the Outlaws will be a televised event May 12-13 in Terre Haute, Ind. The Support Series isn't scheduled to run at Lernerville with the Outlaws, who will be at the Sarver oval May 16, July 25 and Sept. 26 this season.
The idea behind the series is to give drivers coming up a chance to run with the main series without being discouraged about finishing back in the pack, said Rick Ferkel, the series' director.
"It gives them a chance to judge their program against the main series before stepping up," he said.
By adding the Support Series to the Outlaws' events broadcast by TNN, they ensure there will be at least 35 cars in places like Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., where late model racing is the main form of competition.
Lernerville was chosen to debut the series for a few reasons. Johnson shared a close relationship with Martin, who Ferkel called the premier promoter in the country and someone who understood racing. The 9,000-seat speedway was also one of the tracks that supported the Outlaws early on, with Steve Kinser winning the first race there in 1979.
"We were concerned about running a Wednesday, midweek show that early," said Albert Roenigk, Lernerville track director. "It'll probably have its drawbacks being early in the year, but it sounded like a good idea."
Roenigk said he met some prospective drivers, but they weren't certain if they would run with the Support Series, the All-Stars or remain at their local tracks.
"It's kind of up in the air who is running with the series," Roenigk said. "I would look for a good car count for that first race."
Ferkel attended Lernerville's banquet last night and was expected to meet with track officials to work on plans for the debut.
Motordrome bonus program
Motordrome Speedway announced the Triple Crown Bonus for its late model division will return this season.
A driver who wins the NAPA Auto Parts 100 on June 2, the Tom Clark Chevrolet 150 on July 7 and Snap-on Tools 200 on Aug. 4 will win a $10,000 bonus.
A driver who wins two of the three races would earn a $5,000 bonus.
NASCAR Northeast Region champion Richard Mitchell of Bruceton Mills, W.Va., won the Tom Clark Chevrolet 150 and the Snap-on Tools 200 to earn the $5,000 bonus last season. Mark Cottone of McKeesport won the NAPA Auto Parts 100.
Chris Dolack's e-mail address is cdolack@post-gazette.com.
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