Rains Push ABC Raceway Opener to June

by Nick Gima

            Ashland, WI, May 28 – Sadly, too much rain plus not enough sun equals no racing.

Another week full of soaking rainfall in the Chequamegon Bay area forced the hand of the Ashland-Bayfield County Racing Association’s Board of Directors to cancel its third attempt to start the 2022 stock car racing season at the ABC Raceway this past Saturday night.

            Scheduled was the Raceway’s first-ever “Farm Stock Special, to have been presented by White River Ag Products of Mason with support from Deer Creek Farms, Windy Acres Farm, GDM Farms, Kully’s Truck Accessories, Lulich Implement and Tractor Central. The event was to offer increased payouts for WISSOTA Modifieds, Midwest Mods and Super Stocks.

            The cancellation of the “Farm Stock Special” creates a shuffle of the ABC Raceway’s early docket going forward, starting with the rescheduled season opener, to be presented by Northern State Bank, on Saturday, June 4. The Kids’ Meet the Drivers Night will be moved to a date later in June, to be announced soon.

            Saturday’s opener will include the track’s regular weekly six-division offering of WISSOTA-sanctioned Mods, Super Stocks, Mid-Mods, Pure Stocks and Hornets and the track’s own ABC Six-Cylinders.

For 2022, driver entry fees for the Pure Stock and Hornet divisions during regular weekly shows will be waived, in an effort to encourage more racers in those divisions to compete at ABC. Also, the Raceway has developed a pre-determined points fund for all six weekly divisions, with payouts to be based on each qualifying driver’s percentage of event participation.

Pit gates are scheduled to open for Saturday’s race night at 4:30 pm, and the grandstand gates will open at 5. Hot laps will start at 6:15 pm, with the first green flag of the season set to fly at 7.

The ABC Raceway is located approximately 3.5 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13, then one mile west on Butterworth Road. More information regarding the Raceway and its 2022 season schedule are available on the track’s website, www.abcraceway.com, and via its FaceBook page.