New WoodTic Tradition Begins in 2021
Lake City, MI (Wednesday, March 17, 2021) - As the 2021 season approaches faster by the day, more details are coming out regarding the Allstar Performance Late Model Challenge Series. Today, a full rundown on the purse structure for the 33rd Annual Ed Vanduinen WoodTic was briefly posted to the Merritt Speedway Facebook page. The post has since been removed, but the most important details all add up to perhaps the biggest event in modern Michigan motorsports history.
Marked on the calendar for Friday and Saturday, August 6th and 7th, WoodTic will serve as one of the closing races for the Challenge Series, with more on the line than ever before. The race will pay $33,033 to the winner, $10,033 for second, and pays at least $433 to start. The kicker is, this event is also part of the Dan Salay Memorial, which typically pays lap money, positions bonuses, and other prizes throughout the weekend.
“There’s a lot of money up for grabs,” said Speedway Promoter, Mike Blackmer. “[Leah Salay] usually brings in about $10,000 extra.”
Blackmer says this is by far the largest event in Merritt Speedway history, boasting the largest single race payout ever seen at the Lake City race track. The idea of putting this much money on the line is in an effort to truly give Merritt a signature race for years to come.
“[The large purse] is just something I’m gonna do for the WoodTic from here on out,” explained Blackmer. "It’ll go up every year by $1,000.” The increase will match the annual year associated with WoodTic. “It’s time to have a signature race and build from it,” finished Blackmer.
The WoodTic purse is one of two potential races paying over $30,000 to the winner in the Challenge Series. The Tri City Motor Speedway season finale and Challenge Series Finale at the Battle by the Bay could have a $30,000 tag if the winner is in the running for the Challenge Series Championship. More details on how that could play out will be released in the coming days.
The regular season for Merritt Speedway kicks off on Saturday, April 24th. Meanwhile, the Late Model Challenge Series gets underway on Friday and Saturday, April 30th and May 1st at Tri City (Friday) and Merritt (Saturday) Speedways. For more on the Speedways or the Series, log onto www.merrittspeedwaymi.com and www.tricityracetrack.com.
Former WoodTic Winners
2020 4 Travis Stemler
2019 CJ1 Rusty Schlenk
2018 6m Dona Marcoullier (6)
2017 6m Dona Marcoullier
2016 42 Chad Finley
2015 6m Dona Marcoullier
2013 27 Eric Spangler (3)
2012 27 Eric Spangler
2011 x1 Justin Robinson
2010 6m Dona Marcoullier
2009 6m Dona Marcoullier
2008 6m Dona Marcoullier
2007 34 Frank Sedar (8)
2006 87 Rich Neiser
2005 27 Eric Spangler
2004 6m Dennis Marcoullier
2003 1 Rail Rokos
2002 34 Frank Sedar
2001 17 Kevin Nelson
2000 34 Frank Sedar
1999 22 Karl Juusola
1998 42 Bruce Vance
1997 34 Frank Sedar
1996 34 Frank Sedar
1995 9 Curtis Roberts
1994 04 Mike Nichols
1993 02 Bob Flinn
1992 02 Bob Flinn
1991 34 Frank Sedar
1990 34 Frank Sedar
1989 34 Frank Sedar
For more stories from around the region, be sure to log ontowww.horsepowerhappenings.com. Listen to on-demand episodes of the Horsepower Happenings Podcast, with new episodes every Monday night at 9:00 pm.
Story - Zach Hiser, Horsepower Happenings
Photo - HPH File Photo
Comments