Labor Day Headlined By 35th Petrocci Memorial At Rolling Wheels Raceway
By DIRT MotorSports PR

ELBRIDGE, N.Y. (September 2) – Rolling Wheels Raceway will be the only Central New York track in operation on Labor Day as it hosts the 35th Annual Robert N. Petrocci Memorial. The traditional Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series showdown on Sept. 5 is accompanied by a 20-lap DIRT Sportsman main event plus a 15-lap feature finale for Street Stocks.

Big-block Modified time trials leading up to the $6,000-to-win, 100-lap Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series showdown are slated to begin at 6 p.m. Warm-ups are scheduled to open up the trackside activity at 5:30 p.m., with support division qualifying heats starting at 6:30 p.m. Pit gates will unlock at 3 p.m. and the main grandstands open at 4 o'clock.

The annual title race at the "Fast Track" is in memory of the late Rolling Wheels owner Bob Petrocci, who first mapped out the Elbridge oval in the late 1960s. Just one year following the August 17, 1969 opener, Petrocci lost his life in a freak accident while spectating at a nearby speedway. His Sons Robert,Jr. and Donald Petrocci inherited promotional duties before RWR emerged as a charter member track of DIRT MotorSports in 1976.

Bob McCreadie leads all open-wheel competitors with six Petrocci Memorial triumphs while Brett Hearn and veteran Jack Johnson have each captured five Petrocci wins in Elbridge. Inaugural RNP Memorial champion Will Cagle (4) is the only other multi-time race winner while 2004 champion Tim Fuller, Alan Johnson, Steve Paine, Danny Johnson, Kenny Tremont, Billy Decker, Joe Plazek, Jeff Heotzler, Frank Cozze, Kenny Brightbill, Chuck Akulis, Gary Iulg and the late great Dave Kneisel all triumphed on one occasion. (The 2003 event was cancelled due to rain)

Defending Petrocci Memorial champion Fuller holds the single lap record in an Advance Auto Parts SDS event after circling the fast 5/8-miler in a time of 20.146 seconds (111.685 mph) on July 5, 2004. Hearn set fast time of 20.566 seconds (109.404 mph) for the Labor Day special on Sept. 2, 2002.

Rolling Wheels has staged three big-block races in 2004, with Super DIRT Series points leader Fuller (2) and runner-up Hearn each earning trips to victory lane. Billy Decker tops the current RWR big-block points chart ahead of Pat Ward and Fuller while reigning overall Hoosier-Sunoco Mr. DIRT Champion Gary Tomkins is the defending Rolling Wheels season champion.

Division points leader Russ Hefti (176) has claimed two of the three Sportsman main events held to keep him ahead of track title contenders Dan Wiesner (156), Rob Pratt (144), Scott Schrader (128) and Kevin Bates (124). 2004 Super DIRT Week Sportsman winner Tim Hindley captured the '05 RWR season-opener on May 1, the same day that Blane Smith won the only other Street Stock race run at Rolling Wheels this season.

For more information regarding Rolling Wheels, contact DIRT NorthEast Headquarters during the week at 315/834-6606, call RWR (315/689-7809) on raceday or visit www.rollingwheelsraceway.com on the internet anytime. Rolling Wheels Raceway is located west of the village of Elbridge on Route 5, just five minutes east of the city of Auburn and only 10 minutes from Exit 40 of the New York State Thruway.

The DIRT MotorSports™ Advance Auto Parts Modified Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts, Dynomax Performance Exhaust, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional Partners include Stacker 2®, AMB i.t., RACEceiver, Zippo Lighters and F.X. Caprara Car Companies and the contingency sponsors are DART Machinery, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, MSD Ignitions and Wrisco Industries.