Post-season exhibition race planned for September 29
UNITY, Maine (August 31, 2023) – Sprint Cars are headed Down East. Promoters Joey and Holly Doyon have invited the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) tour to compete at Unity Raceway in Unity, Maine, on Friday, September 29. The race marks the first competitive appearance in the Pine Tree State for winged Sprint Cars in nearly 50 years.
The Unity event is a post-season, non-points, exhibition race for SCoNE with qualifying heats and an A-Main feature. The SCoNE championship schedule wraps up two weeks prior at Vermont’s Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, September 16.
Unity Raceway is a 1/3-mile oval, located less than 20 minutes off Interstate 95. After sitting dormant for five seasons, it reopened as a dirt track in 2021 under the direction of Joey and Holly Doyon and holds weekly events on Friday nights. The facility is a throwback to years gone by and still utilizes a covered wooden grandstand, and the track is celebrating its 75th season in 2023.
Unity Raceway opened in 1948 with a dirt surface before being paved in 1964. It was operated for many years by Maine racing legend Ralph Nason, and in its thriving years it was a staple on the American-Canadian Tour (ACT), Pro All Stars Series (PASS), NASCAR Busch North Series, and NEMA Midget schedules.
Unity Raceway’s only previous Sprint Car event was a United Racing Club (URC) race held on July 4, 1968, won by New Jersey’s Fred “Jiggs” Peters. Sprint Cars have been absent from Maine since the 1970s, when the now-closed Beech Ridge Motor Speedway mixed them with Supermodifieds on a weekly basis.
The Sprint Cars of New England tour was formed in 2004, and to date has held 234 races at seven facilities in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York. The 2023 season – SCoNE’s 20th – has a total of 10 championship point-counting events scheduled at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vt., Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Vt., and The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire.
“There is a ton of enthusiasm among our race teams for the show at Unity,” SCoNE president Justin St. Louis said. “SCoNE and Unity are each on a similar upward trajectory, and I feel like we’ve both gained a lot of stability and positive momentum this year. Joey Doyon and his team have worked hard to revive Unity, and their outlook fits SCoNE very well; it’s blue-collar and the racing is just plain fun. On top of all that, I think a bunch of us are excited to go back in time and sit in the covered grandstand and maybe think about some good memories of the old Canaan Fair (N.H.) Speedway. We’re all looking forward to this trip.”
The town of Unity is centrally located between the cities of Bangor and Augusta with each about 40 minutes away, and it sits 90 minutes north of Portland and Old Orchard Beach. Travelers from New Hampshire and Vermont can take U.S. Routes 2 and 302, New Hampshire Route 112, or Interstate 95.
Sponsorship opportunities are currently available for the inaugural Sprint Cars of New England event at Unity Raceway on Friday, September 29. Additional information about the event will be released soon.
To learn more about the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England, find the “SCoNE – Sprint Cars of New England” page on Facebook or visit www.nesprintcars.com.
- Justin St. Louis on Aug 31, 2023
- Article Date: 8/31/2023