FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 24, 2010

Matt Lux Leads the Local Brigade into the Firecracker
Firecracker 100 Pre-Entry List

SARVER, PA (May 24, 2010) The 4th Annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com is now just a month away! The DIRTcar Late Model action during Fab Four Racing has been fantastic this season with loaded fields and five different winners in five different races.

Local and regional drivers alike have made their mark on the 2010 season so far as current Budweiser Points Leader Dave Hess Jr., All Star regular Boom Briggs and local, but oft traveling, rising stars Matt Lux and Gregg Satterlee have all been to Sheetz Victory Lane this season.

All four of these feature winners are expected to defend their home turf next month as the Elite Late Model drivers descend on Don Martin’s Lernerville Speedway for one of the Crown Jewels of Dirt Track Late Model racing. Frank, Hess, Lux and Satterlee are all pre-registered for the event and Briggs’ paper work is just a formality. Each driver has qualified for two of the first three 100-lap Firecracker A-Mains.

The fifth and most recent feature winner is World of Outlaws regular Chub Frank. Frank won the O’Reilly All Star Late Model Series Showdown in Sarvertown feature earlier this season, and the DIRTcar Late Model feature this past Friday Night May 21.
Matt Lux was the top local finisher last season and the only local to complete all 100 laps. His 13th place finish netted a $2700 payday. Lux also qualified for the A-Main in 2008, finishing in 21st. Both years, Lux raced his way into the big show through the B-Mains. In 2007, during the Inaugural Firecracker 100, Lux finished third in the Uncle Sam 30.

This year’s three-day format is vastly different, so qualifying into the A-Main will still be challenging, but there are more opportunities to lock in a starting spot. But Lux knows that if he wants to keep his streak (of improving a little bit each season) alive, he’ll have to be aggressive on Thursday and Friday Night to make Saturday Night’s qualifying chances more favorable.

When asked about the new three-day format, Matt said, “Well it starts with getting in with this new type of format, you have to make the show first!” He continued, “We are pretty familiar with the three-day format because we have run the same program at Knoxville. Qualifying is a hard game; you just to put it all out there. It would be nice to do well the first night and be able to watch the second night!”

Matt did express that he plans to be in competition for the Mid-Season Championships the weekend before the Firecracker 100 in hopes of securing the track provisional that comes with winning the Mid-Season Championship!

The front runner for the other track provisional is current Budweiser Points leader Dave Hess Jr. Hess has the highest finish of any local/regional driver with an impressive 11th place finish in the Inaugural Event. Then after a fifth place finish in the 2008 Uncle Sam 30, Hess was back in the big dance last year, but completed just 41 laps and finished in 25th place.

In 2010, Hess has made Lernerville Speedway his Friday Night home after a big win on Opening Night and a strong showing during the O’Reilly All Star Late Model Series Showdown in Sarvertown. With just three Fab Four Racing programs remaining until the Firecracker, Hess has a firm 29 point leader over Jared Miley and a 44 point lead over third place Alex Ferree.

All Stars regular Boom Briggs occasionally makes Lernerville Speedway his Friday Night home when his schedule allows and the laps he has turned during Fab Four Racing have paid dividends during the bigger, sanctioned races. But despite his success in All Star Late Model Series races, the former Chub Frank crew chief has yet to make a big splash on Saturday Night of Firecracker weekend.

After a 21st place finish in the Inaugural Firecracker 100, Briggs finished third in the Uncle Sam 30 in 2008, then made it back into the Firecracker 100 last year to score a 23rd place finish. If Briggs can bring some of the success he’s had in All Stars action to the Firecracker, he could easily improve to a top 20, or even top ten finish in this year’s Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com.
Over the past few seasons, Gregg Satterlee has risen from one of the bright young stars in Western Pennsylvania to one of the fastest rising stars in the country! Satterlee combines both exuberant youth and the inherent experience that comes with his family racing pedigree. He seems to be competitive no matter what track he’s at or what the level of competition. This is especially true at Lernerville Speedway, where Satterlee does not seem to be the least bit daunted by the loaded field of drivers that each Firecracker weekend presents.

Satterlee finished a humble 15th in the Inaugural Uncle Sam 30, before sky rocketing to national attention during the 2008 season. He finished third in his heat race that year to qualify directly into the A-Main, where he was the top local finisher in 16th place. Last season, Satterlee won the Mid-Season Championship in a thrilling photo finish with John Flinner to secure a track provisional, but finished a disappointing 27th place.

Three-Time Defending Track Champion Alex Ferree has started all three Firecracker 100 Features with a top finish of 20th. The “A-Train” has had a frustrating start to the 2010 season, but with three races until the Firecracker, there is plenty of time to get dialed in and ready to thrill the hometown crowd with a strong run in the Firecracker 100!

Other local drivers whom have already thrown their hats into the Firecracker ring include Six-Time Track Champion and Century Club member Lynn Geisler, Jared Miley, Dave Murdick, Ken Schaltenbrand, John Garvin Jr., Michael Norris, Tony Burke, Herman Bertolini and Jason Fosnaught. Of that group, just Geisler and Miley have Firecracker 100 experience. Geisler finished 22nd in 2008, while Miley had an impressive run to 17th last year.

Also pre-registered for the 4th Annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com are former winners Scott Bloomquist (2007), Brian Birkhofer (2008), and Jimmy Mars (2009), as well as World of Outlaws Late Model Series drivers Josh Richards, Steve Francis, Darrell Lanigan, Tim Fuller, Rick Eckert, Shane Clanton, Chub Frank, Clint Smith, Brady Smith, Russell King, Austin Hubbard and Tim McCreadie.

A current list is posted and will continue to be updated on the Firecracker page of www.Lernerville.com. While you’re on the Firecracker page, you can buy your Three-Day Advance Reserved Ticket package for just $59. This package includes free pit pass upgrades for Thursday & Friday night and priority access to the driver autograph session on Saturday afternoon. You can also download an application for the Ms. Firecracker Pageant if you are interested in becoming the next Lernerville Speedway Trophy Girl!