NEW EGYPT — After losing Saturday’s racing program to rain for the fifth consecutive week, and having a Sunday rain date deep-sixed by over-saturated track conditions, New Egypt Speedway management decided it was time to take a different tack.
At least two of the seven events lost to wet weather this season will be made up on Wednesdays, with "Spring Drizzle, Summer Sizzle" additions to the schedule.
On Wednesday, July 2, New Egypt will present Drizzle/Sizzle I, featuring an added two-division show of big-block Modifieds and Super Stocks, starting at 7 p.m. Gates will open at 5 p.m. Drizzle/Sizzle II will take place at the same starting time on Wednesday, July 16, with big-block Mods and Sportsman on the card. The track’s Saturday-night rules and format will be in effect for the midweek additions, including tire rules, handicapping, points, etc.
"If we can’t beat mother nature on the weekends, we’ll try to make up some of the shows on Wednesday nights," said track owner Rick Grosso Sr. "Actually, when the track was asphalt, it enjoyed a lot of success for many years with a Wednesday race date. We’re hoping these Wednesday make-up dates will give everyone a chance to see the great racing that was lost in the spring — no matter what happens on Saturday night."
New Egypt will try again next Saturday night, with Rogers Appliances Big Bang holiday special. Cream Ridge Golf Club’s Senior Masters Challenge, a set of invitational match races for dads of drivers that was rained out on both June 14 and 21, will slide into the July 5 schedule, alongside Mid-State Communications’ Grand Slam Little League Night. The Vespia Tire & Auto Care King of the Crew Chiefs pitstop competition, also rained out on June 21, will be rescheduled later in the season.
Big Bang Bonanza set for Saturday
There’ll be fireworks exploding in the sky and on the track on Saturday at New Egypt Speedway, as Rogers Appliances of Flemington presents a full card of racing, a fantastic display of fireworks, and New Egypt’s first Big Bang Bonanza, a Modified elimination match that’ll pay a very cool $1,000 cash to the last man standing.
Drama will be high in the Big Bang Bonanza as the top 10 drivers in the Modified division go one-on-one for one lap only, until only one car is left standing. In addition to the top 10 in Modified points, one more "wild card" driver will be added to the mix the night of the show: the racer who clicks off the single fastest lap in the three preliminary heats, who is not in the top 10, will get a shot at the winner-takes-all bonus pot.
The series of eliminations will begin with the wild-card driver racing the 10th-place driver, with the winner of that match advancing to the next round to race the ninth-place man. The last driver in the winner’s circle when the smoke clears will collect $1,000 and a beautiful 4-foot Big Bang Bonanza trophy, all courtesy of Rogers Appliances.
And Roger and Pat Ferguson will be spreading Rogers Appliances’ Big Bang holiday special will feature a sizzling card of big-block Modified, Sportsman and Super Stock action on New Egypt’s half-mile tri-oval, with spectacular fireworks lighting up the night at race’s end. Gates open at 4 p.m. on Saturday with first green at 5:45 p.m. Adult admission is $20, children 7-12 are $7, and kids 6 and under are free.