[MichiganCircleTrack.com]

South Bend, IN (Thursday, May 14, 2009): Ron Verash and Carl Smith are proud to announce the 2009 Dick Beebe Memorial Race set for Sunday, May 25th at historic South Bend Motor Speedway.

The historic track, home to NEXTEL Drivers Ryan Newman, David Stremme and Tony Raines will once again hear the roar of the motors and the smell of fuel and burning rubber as racers from across the mid-west and especially the michiana region come to South Bend Motor Speedway to once again racing at the wonderful facility and in support of racing legend Dick Beebe.

Dick Beebe passed way Feb 17th, 2009, he was in innovator within the short track racing community, the founder of the MARC Times Racing News and first president of the Michigan Speedway Promoter's association, Dick was a life long advocate of safety in racing and a pioneer in the modernization of short track racing facilities, equipment and safety.

The South Bend track was in risk of being closed for good. A local land ordinance states that the facility must have an event once a year to remain as a business. On Sept.18th, the first cleanup day was held, with 100 volunteers from Fans, Kids, to past drivers pulling weeds, painting buildings, and sprucing up the Historical facilty. In just 30 days, October 18th, the day of the event, over 80 businesses donated door prizes, and sponsored racing events. A purse of $9870 was paid out to the 170 cars that raced. 4800 fans packed the grounds, and many commented that the program was one of the best shows they have ever seen. Add in the fact, that the track officials for the day were from 7 different racetracks, and that the race coordinator, Ron Verash, was his first time in that roll, made this event, a very special one indeed. Building on that participation and the desires of Michiana fans and drivers, we decided to again throw a special show.

Headlining the $16,000 show, the largest in SB's history, will be the Late Models. They have the option to remove their roofs. These cars will be running in the low 11 second bracket. Early entries include Bobby Blount, Bobby Stremme, Jeff Ganus, Scott Ross, Mike Shewchuk, and Corey Pressler.

The Stock Car Class will include area Sportsman, Street, Pro,and Pure Stock Classes. For this class, the top 10 will be locked in the Feature, with the rest running transfer heats in which the top 2 finishers will move to the A Main. This will give every car a chance to make the A main. Their top prize is $400 to win.

The Mini Stocks will be running for one of the top payoffs ever posted with $250 to win, $100 for 8th, and $40 to start. Several bonuses for this division include a "Radial tire bonus for the New Paris cars, plus a non Mustang bodied bonus. Several exotic bodied cars are being built including a couple Modified appearing entries. Roofs are optional in this class as well, so expect to see some very interesting body styles.

The Front Wheel Drives are still new to this area, but with $125 to win, this race has caught the attention of cars from Berlin Speedway, Shady Hill and the Illiana Speedway near Chicago. Plymouth Speedway runs these cars weekly, so we can expect a large contingent from that track as well.

Along with the 125 plus race car entries, a Classic Car and Bike Show is expecting to draw over 150 entries. From Muscle, to Show, to Custom, to Hot Rods, these beauties will be on display for fans to see up close. Never has a car show shared an event with racecars, but last year's event drew phrases from many, many fans.

To honor our past racers, an Old Timer's day is planned to get together past Drivers, Owners, Mechanics, and Sponsors. Over 150 made last year's event, with a like number again this year. These were the stars that made history, running Coupes, Modifieds, and later on Super Modifieds, Flying, and Super Stocks.

A large Racing and Memoribilia display will be set up with over 20,000 photos. From the early days of racing, to shots from last week, this will be one of the largest set ups of photos for public viewing.

The Michiana Vintage Race Cars will have their beautifully restored cars on display. From Kurtis Midgets built in the fifties, early Super Modifieds, Stock Cars, and Sprint Cars, these cars have been restored to resemble how they raced in their day. These cars will also run 2 sets of exhibition laps on the track.

Pit Gates will open at 9:30 A.M. Practice will start at 10 A.M., qualify at 1, with races to start at 2:30 p.m. Grandstands open at noon. Coolers up to 18" are ok, no glass.

We have food available at the track, including BBQ Sandwiches, Burgers, and Hot Dogs.

General Admission for the event is ; Adults- $7.00, if you have a ticket stub from any other track, take $2 off to make it $5. Seniors - $3.00, and kids 14 and under are free. Pit Passes are $15.00. No entry fee.

For more information, please call: Ron Verash (574) 234-2798 or Carl Smith {574} 876-2688. www.marctimesracingnews.com