FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2015
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Bradford Speedway reopening Sunday featuring RUSH LM weekly

by Mike Leone
BRADFORD, PA (July 28) - The Old Bradford Speedway has new life. After being closed for over a year, Norm and Travis Asel have taken over ownership of the quarter-mile dirt oval located just outside of Bradford, PA near Rew. The grand reopening is scheduled for Sunday, August 2 at 6 p.m. with the Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC RUSH Late Models highlighting the weekly program. Bradford had a practice scheduled for this past Sunday, July 26.

With the recent closure of nearby Stateline Speedway, and McKean County Raceway only hosting a couple of events later this season, racers in the northern part of Pennsylvania and southern tier of New York are hungry for racing. The Old Bradford Speedway will fill that void. Racing will take place every Sunday through the remainder of August and into September with an exact schedule to be released in the near future.

Some of the many improvements already done by the Asels at the speedway include new grandstands and concession building, new track prep equipment like the facility has never had before, along with the entire grounds being totally refurbished and painted.

"We are really looking forward to opening and embracing the support of the racing community," said Asel. "People have certainly been anxious for the return of racing to Bradford, but with as much work that needed done and the poor weather throughout the winter and much of spring and summer we wanted everything right before we posted a date for opening night. RUSH is a great organization and we feel is great for not only the racers, but for the speedways as well."

"We had a great meeting recently with Norm and his girlfriend, Cheri, and we're thrilled they chose RUSH to sanction their weekly Crate Late Models at Bradford," stated Series Director Vicki Emig. "They have a business background and racing is in their blood. I know the racers in that area were certainly hoping Bradford would give them another place to earn RUSH points."

While membership is never mandatory to compete in a RUSH-sanctioned event, RUSH Weekly Series members will now be able to race at Bradford to accumulate their Sweeney Weekly Series points in addition to those eligible racers in the Pace Performance "Summer Chase", "Bilstein Bandits" and "Futures Cup" programs. Over $53,000 in cash will be up for grabs in those programs alone!

Bradford has a long history of stock car racing dating back to 1954. In 1958, noted legend Junior Johnson won a NASCAR Grand National Series event at the speedway. The natural clay at Bradford runs as much as 18-feet deep! Below that natural clay is some of the highest-grade oil deposits on the face of the earth. It's called "Penn Grade" oil and its superior lubricating qualities made the Bradford Oil Fields the richest in the country back in the 1870s and 1880s. At the Bradford Speedway, the clay is there because of the track's elevation. At 2,160 feet above sea level, it's the highest-elevation track east of the Rocky Mountains!

Garrett Mott was the inaugural Crate Late Model Champion in 2012 at Bradford with Ward Schell winning the 2013 championship under the RUSH banner. Only a handful of races were run in early 2014 before the speedway was closed.

Along with RUSH Late Models, Bradford will also campaign the Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, and Mini Stocks on a weekly basis. Grandstand admission is $12 with 15 and under free. Pit passes are $25. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. with racing at 6.

The Old Bradford Speedway is located at 330 Summit Road, Bradford, PA 16701. For more information, call general manager Jeff Gardner at 814-598-9599