Wi Dirt Racin

Ashland, WI — The division the runs for the least amount of money during the regular season at the ABC Raceway will be running for the biggest purse of the night on Saturday.

The 13th annual “Pure Excitement 25” special event, to be presented by the Ashland-Bayfield County Sportsmen’s Club, will put the spotlight on WISSOTA Pure Stocks, the track’s entry-level division, with the possibility of over $1,000 to be paid out to the feature winner.

The event has become enormously popular during its existence, with several drivers who do not regularly race in Ashland trying their hand at the award-winning three-eighths-mile red-clay oval, and at times taking the big paychecks away from the locals. Twin Ports visitors like Tom Morinville, Dan Larsen and Ron Christman have claimed the winner’s share in this event – for Larsen, it was his first-ever career feature win at any track.

Drivers like Dustin Follett, Al Rapp and Michael Blevins have traveled even further to race in the “PE25,” with their efforts paying off. And last year Shawn Amundson drove all the way from Barron to become the 11th straight different winner of the race.

Only current WISSOTA Super Stock hotshoe Cory Casari is a repeat winner of the event, having won the first two in 2004 & ’05.

The unique slant on the event is the purse. The Raceway starts by posting a $3,425 payout – nearly triple that of a typical race night – topped by a $500 first-place check. Race fans, businesses and other racers are then invited to add to the purse, contributing as much as they want to whatever finishing position they desire. By feature time the purse and winner’s share could grow by half again as much or more, thanks to the generosity of the local racing community.

The event’s largest total purse paid out was $5,890, for the 2013 edition. The largest winner’s check written – a whopping $1,413 – was handed to Blevins after his 2014 win.

In addition to the on-track action – which will also include a full slate of races for the WISSOTA Modifieds, Super Stocks and Midwest Modifieds, plus the ABC Six-Cylinders, as well as the Pure Stockers – the Sportsmen’s Club will be selling tickets as part of their annual fundraising raffle, and the drawings for the prize winners will take place during intermission at Saturday’s races. The fundraiser provides additional funding to help the Club with its various hunting and fishing safety education programs, along with other activities that the Club organizes for area outdoors enthusiasts.

And with just two regular-season race nights remaining, the on-track action should be more exciting than usual, as drivers jostle for as many points as possible with the final championship standings still to be decided in all five divisions.

The Raceway’s live pre-race radio program, “Z-93 Race Night,” will air Saturday on WBSZ, 93.3 FM, and online atwww.wbszfm.com, from 4:30-6 pm with up-to-date track news and weather information. Adult tickets are just $11 each, and kids ages 12 and under are admitted free with a paid adult admission.

The ABC Raceway is located 3-1/2 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 and one mile west on Butterworth Road. For raceday information call , or log on anytime to the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com.

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