Weedsport Speedway's annual Memorial Day race is shaping up to be another extravagant event for not only the Super DIRTcar Series drivers but for the fans as well.

With only one points race in the books so far this season, drivers and fans alike are itching to see some Big Block Modifieds in action.

Last year’s race had the fans on the edge of their seat as Stewart Friesen and Max McLaughlin duked it out to the very end. Both Friesen and McLaughlin have fulltime rides this season, however, not on dirt. Friesen runs the NASCAR truck series fulltime while McLaughlin just recently landed a fulltime ride on the K&N Pro Series this season. Both hot shoes are expected to make their grand return to the fast 3/8 dirt oval for the Heroes Remembered 100 event and possibly give us a repeat show from last season.

With drivers and fans eager for the Super DIRTcar Series return to Weedsport Speedway, promoter Jimmy Phelps and Weedsport staff are looking forward to kicking off their season.

“The Memorial Day race has been a Weedsport staple for as long as I can remember,” Phelps said. “We’re excited and looking forward to a good turnout. The series is booming right now so we’re glad to have them.”

With Weedsport Speedway being a central location for many teams, a solid car count is expected for the holiday event.

“There’s quite a few of really good, local, non-touring big block teams that run really well here and support us,” added Phelps. “When you combine that and what seems to be a really large and strong contingent of traveling teams, we’re going to have a very full and solid field. Whether its 30 or 50 cars, it’s going to be the best 30 or best 50. That’s what we’re proud to bring the fans.”

Phelps, who is a man with many hats, will play the role of both promoter and race car driver come Monday. Knowing he has a great group of employees to jump in once the helmet goes on, he’s looking forward to getting back behind the wheel and play in his sandpit.

Last year Phelps had the best seat in the house as he watched fellow teammate, McLaughlin, duke it out with Friesen as Phelps rounded out the podium in the No.98h machine.

“I got to watch a really good race,” he said. “Max gave Stew a run for his money. It had the crowd on their feet. To be able to run there up font as a driver, we were happy. To be able to walk away knowing we had a good night and the fans had a good race is a win-win in my books.”

With the racing on card guaranteeing to put on a show, the Weedsport staff have been busy at work upgrading their state-of-the-art facility over the off-season to make sure everyone receives the best experience possible, both on and off the track.

“We’re in the process of a few substantial upgrades,” noted Phelps. “The fans will notice new renovated bathrooms in turn one. We’re also in process of doing excavation and additional catch fencing in turn one as well where we will be wrapping the bleachers around the turn for additional seating this summer. We’ve done a lot of remodeling. The biggest thing the competitors will notice is that we’ve reconfigured the inner and outer walls. We widened the straightaway three feet or better. We moved the barrier in going into one and coming out off of four. We re-shaped the entry of turn three a bit and did some work to the outer walls to create more of an outside groove. We just worked on trying to change the flow a little bit giving it a little more racing room. Hopefully the racing will benefit from it so we’re really excited to see that.”

Weedsport Speedway is always pushing forward not only thinking about the drivers experience but also the fans experience. Another addition to their big events will be live entertainment where a band will play early in the evening at the midway. With new items in the concessions and the beer garden as well as their gift shop plus live entertainment and racing all in one night, the event will be sure to please everyone of all ages.