A small section of the cars on display at the Northeast Classic Car Museum in Norwich.
By Tom Coughlin
The Outlaw Predator Series will celebrate its 2025 racing season with an Awards Banquet and fundraiser tomorrow night. The event is open to the public and will be held at the Town of Florida Town Hall at 167 Fort Hunter Road, Amsterdam. Doors open at 4:00 p.m. and dinner—a large taco bar with your choice of beef, chicken, pulled pork, fish, shrimp, and taco salad—is at 6:00 p.m. Adults age 16 and up are $25, kids under 16 are $10, and children under 5 are free. This includes food and soft drinks. Bring your own beer. Various raffles will also be available to help raise funds for the 2026 season.
The Ranch at Carlisle has posted its upcoming 2026 event schedule. Saturday, Jan. 24, will be the AMA NYS Ice Racing Championship & Northeast Snow Drag Championship. Fans will see fast racing on prepared ice and snow. A heated tent and concessions are available, with spectator-friendly viewing areas. Spectator admission is $25 per person, with kids 6 and under free. Their winter schedule continues on Feb. 14 with the Winterfest Snow Drag & Ice Race combo (raindate for NYS Championship) and concludes on Feb. 21 with the Winterfest Snow Drag & Ice Race finale (second rain date for NYS Championship).
Good news for racers and fans in the Northeast was received on New Year's Eve afternoon when Howard Commander, owner of Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y., sent out a press release confirming the operator of the speedway going forward. Marcy Mangino DeVore, the widow of the late promoter Lyle DeVore, along with Pete Scully, have been charged with the management of "The Great Race Place" for the 2026 racing season. They will be aided by a team of returning track employees, staff members, race teams, and sponsors dedicated to carrying forward the legacy built by longtime track manager and promoter Lyle DeVore, who passed away in December 2025 after a hard-fought, four-year battle with cancer. Marcy and Pete are currently developing the 2026 race event schedule and planning for the 61st season opener on Friday, April 17, 2026, a Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified event.
On New Year's Day, our other Friday night big car track, Utica-Rome Speedway, released its tentative schedule for 2026 at the Vernon oval known as the "Home of Heroes." Open practice is scheduled for all classes on Saturday, April 11, with a rain date of Sunday, April 12. The 2026 points season will start on Friday, April 24, and end on Friday, Aug. 28. Weekly racing divisions will consist of DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, DIRTcar Crate 602 Sportsman, DIRTcar Pro Stocks, and Limited Sportsman. The schedule will feature four Sunday shows headlined by the Big Block Modified division, accompanied by a variety of other divisions. The 360 Winged Sprint Cars of the Empire Super Sprints will visit twice, including the annual Cole Cup on Sunday, Sept. 6. The 305 Winged Sprint Cars of the CRSA will also visit twice. The Super DIRTcar Series for 358 Modifieds will visit on Wednesday, July 15, and the SDS for Big Block Modifieds will visit on Wednesday, Aug. 19. There will be two five-dollar Fan Appreciation nights on Friday, May 22, and Friday, July 10. The schedule is subject to change.
Annually, there are roughly 2,000 entries in the Tulsa Shootout, and this year’s 41st annual event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was on track to hit that mark. The Tulsa Shootout is the world's largest event for Micro Sprints and is held indoors at the SageNet Center. One area racer was out there attempting to advance through the "alphabet soup" of qualifying to make it into the A-Main features. Preston Trautschold of Roscoe, N.Y., who races locally in the Junior Slingshot division and was the 2025 track champion at both Utica-Rome Speedway and Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, was competing in the Junior Sprint division against some of the best racers from throughout the world. Heat races, Last Chance Qualifiers, and B-Mains bring the number of qualifying events up to 427 before the six A-Main features are run to see who goes home with a Golden Driller Trophy. The six divisions and the overall winners were: Junior Sprints, Jax Wittmer; Stock Non-Wing, Cullen Hutchison; Outlaw Winged, Daison Pursley; Restricted A Class, Braxon Vasconcellos; A Class Winged, Frank Flud; and Outlaw Non-Wing, Jonathan Beason. Trautschold made it into the LCQ on Saturday, where he started 12th and unfortunately finished 12th after having some issues; only the top eight were able to advance into the A-Main. Preston was pleased with what he accomplished and that he was able to carry the New York State flag for the Parade of States. Drivers taking part in the Shootout with a national following included NASCAR Cup Series driver Ty Gibbs, NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson and his children Owen and Audrey, former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch and his son Brexton, and former NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Newman and his daughter Brooklyn.
Racers and fans endured freezing cold temperatures and wind chill to attend the inaugural Chill Factor Enduro 50-lap event at the "Track of Champions." 42 drivers were entered into the Chill Factor Enduro on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, to welcome in the new year with Fonda Speedway's earliest-ever opening date. When the 50-lap enduro was finished, Josh Kane was declared the first feature winner for 2026 to begin the track's 75th anniversary season.
The local racing community has lost another racer as Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame member Ron Quackenbush, age 85, of Gloversville, passed away last week. He was the driver of the no. 333.
The Adirondack Motor Enthusiast Club had over 150 former members and racers in attendance at its Racers Reunion last Saturday. A good time was had by all.
You never know who you might encounter when checking out one of the area museums. While touring the Northeast Classic Car Museum in Norwich on Sunday, I happened to meet up with Crate 602 Sportsman champion Payton Talbot and his family. Payton mentioned that this was his first time visiting the very impressive display of motorized history. He also said that he was working on finalizing plans to race in Florida next month. If you have thought about going to the museum but were concerned about mobility, there are a limited number of assistance tools available, such as mobility scooters, wheelchairs, walkers, and children's umbrella strollers. There are also a number of benches spread throughout the facility where you can take a break.
Registration has begun for the much-anticipated Fonda Speedway Race Car Show at the Via/Port Mall in Rotterdam in March. Registration can be done by sending an email to Jamie Page at jpage15@stny.rr.com. Be sure to register and contact your graphics person to be ready for the popular event.
Here are more dates to mark on your calendar: Afton Motorsports Park will tentatively hold practice on Saturday, April 4, 11, and 18, and will open on Saturday, April 25, with Big Block/Small Block Modifieds, Crate 602 Sportsman, Limited Sportsman, Mini Mods, 4-Cylinders, and Factory Stocks.
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