Summit City 100 marks the return of Champion Racing Association to the Greater Fort Wayne area
Salem, Indiana (Tuesday, June 9, 2015): After the announcement of the Bud St. Amant Memorial being moved from August 23rd to June 27th at Columbus Motor Speedway in Columbus, Ohio, this created an open weekend on the 2015 schedule for the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS. It didn’t take long though for CRA Officials to quickly fill the open space in the schedule and to do so, CRA went back in time to a facility that hosted the series 14 different times between 1999-2011.
For the first time since the 2011 racing season, the fast 1/2 (0.500) mile semi-banked paved oval of Baer Field Speedway located in Fort Wayne, Indiana will host the ARCA/CRA Super Series in the running of the Summit City 100 on Saturday, August 22nd. New Co-Owners/Promoters, Dave & Jody Muzzillo, who also serve in the same roles with the ICAR Top Speed Modified Tour, have resurrected the historical speed plant after the facility was shut down in the middle of the 2014 racing season.
“We knew we needed a show that would really stand out above the rest in terms of prestige and national attention.” Stated Muzzillo after the contract was signed to bring back the ARCA/CRA Super Series. “We already have the ICAR Top Speed Modified Tour coming in twice, with one show already in the books. Plus our special Wednesday night Outlaw Super Late Model race on July 15th and we have the Auto Value Super Sprints coming in too. One of the things I wanted to do when we got the track was bring CRA back to the Fort Wayne area. When this opportunity came up to fill in the date in August, all of us on the management team knew this was too good an opportunity to pass up.” He added.
“We are excited to be back at Baer Field Speedway. Some of our best races through the years have been on the half mile track there.” Added CRA Managing Partner, R.J. Scott. “I remember many great side-by-side duels with Junior Hanley, Larry Zent, Scott Hantz, Eddie Hoffman and many others. We appreciate Dave and Jody Muzzillo welcoming us back to the track. This will be great for the racers, fans and everyone involved.” Scott remarked.
The Summit City 100 will be the first appearance at Baer Field by the ARCA/CRA Super Series since May 22nd, 2011 when Brian Campbell scored the win in the Asphalt Wars 100. Three-Time ARCA/CRA Super Series Champion, Scott Hantz finished second that day over 2005 Champion Jeff Lane while 2011 Champion and Rookie of the Year, Derrick Griffin and home track favorite, Terry Fisher Jr., currently a regular weekly competitor in the tracks Late Model Sportsman division, completed the top five.
Hantz holds down the track record at the Summit City track with a 17.229 he set back on May 20th, 2007. His lap measured out to 104.475mph. There have been 14 ARCA/CRA Super Series events at Baer Field dating back to the first race on June 26th, 1999 won by Two-Time Series Champion, Brian Ross. Hantz has five of his 31 career wins at Baer Field while Eddie Hoffman has been to victory lane twice. In addition to Campbell and Ross, a pair of short track legends, Fort Wayne’s own Larry Zent and Canadian, Junior Hanley both have a win apiece and so does 2004 Champion, Chuck Barnes Jr., Lane and J.R. Roahrig.
“This race I’m really excited about. Kind of brings back the old days of the International Gold Cup events that used to be ran here and CRA was a huge part of that too,” Muzzillo continued. “Fort Wayne is very centrally located and this race will bring in a little bit of everything in terms of teams from all over. The ARCA/CRA regulars, plus Fort Wayne and Northern Indiana teams and the ARCA Midwest Tour is off that weekend. Fort Wayne is not too far away for some of those teams, especially the Chicagoland based drivers to come over and have some fun.” He ended.
Baer Field Speedway is located at 4331 Winters Road in Fort Wayne, Indiana. For more information about the rest of the 2015 racing season at the historic Summit City speed plant, the track website is available and located at: www.baerfieldspeedwayin.com The tracks Facebook page can also be found at: www.facebook.com/BaerFieldSpeedway and the Twitter page is available to view at: www.twitter.com/BaerFieldSpdwy
For more information about the 2015 racing season for all four touring series’ within Champion Racing Association Powered by JEGS, go to the new and improved series website located at: www.cra-racing.com You can also follow along with all of CRA’s touring series’ on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ChampionRacingAssociation and on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/CRAracing
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
