Summit Point to host endurance race

USERA and Summit Point Motorsports Park will host a special 6 Hour night time endurance race at Summit Point on July 9-10, 2010. The event, called the Midnight Moonshine Run, will begin at 6pm Saturday and end at Midnight. Classes will include most club racing Improved Touring and Showroom Stock cars, Spec Racer Ford and USERA’s American Touring Car Championship cars.

The race weekend will consist of evening and night practice on Friday evening, with the grid formation for the race starting at 5:30pm Saturday afternoon for a 6pm race start. This makes for a mostly night time endurance event, with plenty of excitement as the event draws on the history of moonshine runners from the area as inspiration for some interesting twists to a traditional endurance racing event.

USERA and Summit Point have selected the American Red Cross to serve as the charity of choice as several unique fundraising programs are added to the race event. While the full scope of the fundraising programs are still being “uncorked", one of the first and best received ideas has been a “Bribe an Official" program. The idea is that when a driver gains more than a two lap advantage on their second place rival, an official can be “bribed" with a $20 donation to have the leader “stopped" by a “revenuer" for an inspection. In reality, the stop will be a simple 10 second stop and go procedure, but it will generate excitement in the pit lane as team conspire to “turn in" the moonshine runners who are outrunning the rest of the pack.

Another example is that any gasman who spills an excessive amount of fuel during a stop will be “jailed". The team will be unable to refuel their car again until they pay the gasman’s “bail bond fee", which will be another small donation to the Red Cross.

“Without affecting the racing, we hope to put together an event that is as much fun for the crews and spectators as it is for the drivers, while raising money in a very fun way for the American Red Cross," said Ken Grammer, Director of Competition at USERA. “Since floating the idea a few weeks ago, you wouldn’t believe the ideas we’ve received. People really love the idea of combining their love of racing with an opportunity to help others. We couldn’t be more excited."

With entry fees set at only $450, USERA and Summit Point officials expect a large event. Teams wishing to secure their place of the grid, and their car number(s), can find early registration information at www.usenduro.com.