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Family fun at the New Egypt Speedway

By Toms River, NJ on Jul 14 2011
Filed under: Headline News , Jersey Shore , Toms River Photos , Toms River Sports

Not far from Toms River, you might hear what is commonly referred to as the “Thunder in the Pines”.   No, it’s not ordinance testing at one of the nearby military installations or low flying cargo jets, but good clean dirt track racing fun.   Now, you don’t need to be from Jackson or even that much into racing to enjoy a night out at the New Egypt Speedway, located of course, in neighboring New Egypt.   Races are generally kept to just a few laps and when there is an endurance race, you can sometimes visit the pits and check out the cars up close and personal.   It makes for a great weekend outing for the whole family, especially one with young boys like ours.

Originally built in the 1950’s as Fort Dix Speedway, it was a D shaped dirt track.  In the 1990’s the speedway was enlarged and reconfigured into its current 7/16th mile D shaped clay speedway that has been in continuous operation now since 1998.

Throughout the year, you can catch special events such as mud hops and demolition derbies each season.   For the young kids, the track hosts the New Egypt Speedway’s Kid’s Club with Ralphie the Racer. It’s a group for ages four to 10 and they gather twice during each Saturday night race in the picnic area.  Kids get to ride through the pit area in the Fan Van and meet the drivers and see their cars up close.

The Kids Club members then are treated to arts, crafts and games with activities supervised by Ms. Kim and Ms. Dawn.   A yearly Kids Club membership costs just $10!

The action on the track can sometimes be intense with tightly packed and close races with of course, the occasional turnover or crash.  On average, 130 cars compete each weekend, plus the track hosts occasional Sunday and mid-week competitions with some of the top national tours in the country.

The racing is diverse at New Egypt, including Big Block Modifieds, sportsman racing, sprint cars, classic cars and of course, if you missed it the first time, mud hops and demolition derbies which are always fun.

If you plan on bringing your family to the speedway, get ready, get set and have a great night of racing in your own backyard.  The track is just minutes from Toms River. Some tips for the family at the track?   Bring bug spray. After all, you will be in the middle of the Pine Barrens on a hot summer night.   Consider bringing ear protection for kids as it can get loud at times.  Younger kids love wearing their favorite race car clothing, so dress them up in their Lightning McQueen or Mater shirts.  The best thing about the speedway is you can pack your lunch or dinner and take it in with you.  If not, they also have a fully stocked snack stand. We’ve now been to the track several times this summer and had a blast each time.   You can of course come and go as you please, stay for just a couple races or make a night out of it, but one thing is certain, you can’t beat the action for the price and the locations!  Photos by Jim Brown. www.jimbrownracingphotos.com.

Whitteker Gets Top Ten Finish at Autodrome Drummond; Flat Tire ...

Whitteker Gets Top Ten Finish at Autodrome Drummond; Flat Tire Ends Strong Run at Cornwall

July 12, 2011 (Craig Revelle – Finish Line Web Design) — After completing one of the busiest weeks of racing during the season, Luke Whitteker returned to a more relaxed schedule this week with just two events on tap, beginning with a 50 lap feature at Autodrome Granby with the Clement Henri – CH Racing team, and then back to Cornwall on Sunday in his own Whitteker Motorsports car.

Whitteker began the night at Autodrome Granby with pre race warm up session, and he posted the third fastest time in his group. In his qualifying heat race, Whitteker turned the fastest lap of all cars in the race, and managed a fourth place finish. He backed that up with a solid eighth place finish in the 50 lap main event. Whitteker is now 12th place in points at Autodrome Granby, just 15 points out of the top ten.

Luke returned to his familiar Whitteker Motorsports car on Sunday at Cornwall Speedway. He started fourth in his qualifying heat race. After an uneventful 10 laps, Whitteker maintained that position. The team made some changes to the car between the heat and the call for the 30 lap main event, and they were confident that the feature would be better. Luke started from outside of row three in the sixth position, and by the first yellow on lap three, he was up to fourth. Whitteker dropped back to sixth over the next few laps and began to fall through the field. A lap later he came to a halt in turn four as a right rear flat tire forced him to the pits. Whitteker returned to the race on the lead lap, and restarted at the back of the pack for the lap nine restart. By lap 16 Whitteker was back up to 12th place, and continued to advance through the pack, making it back to the top ten on lap 20. In the closing laps, Whitteker dropped two spots to 12th at the checkered flag. Whitteker is currently seventh in points at Cornwall just 16 points out of the top five.

Whitteker has another busy weekend lined up this coming weekend, beginning with Autodrome Granby on Friday night with CH Racing team and then Cornwall Sunday night with his own Whitteker Motorsports team. On Monday and Tuesday night Luke will be back in the CH Racing Troyer car for Big Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series events at Autodrome Drummond and Autodrome Granby respectively.

Whitteker Motorsports have recently had t-shirts and can cozies made, and they can be purchased at the team trailer at the track. The t-shirts are $25 and the cozies are just $3. The proceeds of the merchandise sales are being donated to the CHEO Foundation in Ottawa for sick kids, and to date, Whitteker has donated $750 to the organization.

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