Local racing schedule
Kil-Kare Speedway
Today: NASCAR Whelen All-American Series late models, modifieds, sport stocks, compacts; trailer races of destruction. Gates open at 6 p.m., racing at 8.
Shady Bowl Speedway
Saturday: Late models, modifieds, sport stocks, compacts, Detroit Iron. Gates open at 3 p.m., hot laps at 4, qualifying at 5, racing at 7.
Waynesfield Raceway Park
Saturday: 360 sprints, mini sprints, compacts, trucks. Gates open at 5 p.m., racing at 7.
Kil-Kare Dragway
Saturday: NHRA-sanctioned Summit ET bracket racing. Gates open at noon.
Winchester Speedway
Sunday: CRA Super Series late models, CRA street stocks, CRA compacts. Gates open at 10 a.m., qualifying at 12:15 p.m., racing at 2.
The phrase, “Start your engines!” is well known to Waynesfield Raceway Park promoter Dean Miracle.
Now the longtime racing supporter is learning a new one: “Start the presses!”
Miracle and Carl Short, to the delight of Ohio racing fans, are taking over the Mid-American Auto Racing News.
The racing publication that covered Ohio and surrounding states the past 40 years struggled after editor and owner Nancy Cole died in December. Unable to find a buyer, MAARN mailed its last issue in March.
Enter Miracle and Short.
“We got to talking about seeing all these racing publications going out of business,” Miracle said of his conversations with Short, a National Dirt Late Model hall-of-famer and founder/promoter of the Dirt Track World Championship. “We contacted the oldest daughter and made a deal to take over the paper. We hope to have it up and running by the middle part of May.”
Miracle, his wife Jane and daughter Ashley Maxwell will put the publication together in an office at Miracle’s car dealership in Findlay.
Miracle — who said existing subscriptions will be honored — said he’s planning a few tweaks to MAARN, mostly concerning ad rates/discounts and including more drag racing. A MAARN website is also in the works.
“There are a lot of drag strips around Ohio. If I can get some of those tracks to run an ad or two with us, it opens up a whole new circulation venue for us,” Miracle said. “I’ve been in racing for what seems like forever. It’s a sport I really, really love, and I want to put everything I can into it. Carl is the same way. We just didn’t want to lose this paper.”
To subscribe or advertise, contact Miracle at (419) 306-1499.
Rain, rain, go away
Kil-Kare Speedway has raced once in four weeks.
Shadybowl Speedway has canceled the past two events.
Eldora Speedway has missed three of its shows.
Welcome to Ohio.
Kil-Kare looks good for tonight, but the forecast calls for more rain Saturday and Sunday.
“We travel around a little bit, so you want to get in as many races as you can, just to get into a rhythm,” said Kil-Kare modifieds points leader Greg Stapleton of Troy. “But it’s Ohio and it’s spring time.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2400, ext. 6991, or gbilling@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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