Now they are ready to hit the ground running at The Ridge in the first full-season at the helm of the quarter-mile dirt track.
“Honestly, the schedule went together easier than we thought it was going to,” Parillo said. “We had to wait on some dates for the King of Dirt Series and the Albany-Saratoga/GRMP Challenge events to get cleared, but we are happy with the schedule.”
The Ridge will run Sunday nights with a 23-race regular-season points competition with a six-race Fall Tour.
With the modifieds being dropped from the weekly race program during the 2017 season, the 602 Crate Modifieds became the featured division and will remain that way this year. They will be joined by the Limited Sportsman (Rookies), Pro Stocks, 4-cylinder cruisers and Junior and Senior Slingshots. After drawing competitive fields at the end of last season, the Street Stock division has been added to the weekly race card.
“We added the street stocks this year and they will be featured in the Albany-Saratoga/GRMP Challenge,” Parillo said. “We are real happy to get the King of Dirt 602 Sportsman Tour race early in the season. We are expecting a good turnout for that event because a lot of the drivers follow the early-season tour events then seem to fade a bit later in the season.”
Glen Ridge also will host a mid-week event on July 18 featuring the small-block modified King of Dirt Modified Tour Race sponsored by Classic Muscle Car, along with a 30-lap Street Stock challenge
“We are real happy with our 358 modified race,” Parillo said. “The one we ran at the end of last year draw a good field and fans. They seemed to like the place and are interested in coming back this year.”
The Ridge kicked off its season Friday, Saturday and today with a car show at the Wilton Mall in Saratoga Springs. featuring the rides of several top runners from the area tracks.
Looking forward to the April 8 practice session before the April 15 season opener, Parillo said the track may be a little different from what it was at the end of last season.
“We have put down fresh clay and there are not a lot of rocks in it,” he said. “The drivers may have to make some changes in their set ups especially the first couple weeks. We have retained the majority of the staff from last year also.”
Rob “Hazer” Hayes will be the on-mic race director and Denny Tilison has agreed to come on board to help out. Amy Fuller will be the scorer in the tower while Rodney Sweet will handle the tech area.
Parillo said there will be no increases in the prices at the speedway this season.
Grandstand admission remains at $8 for adult and $6 for senior citizens, while admission for children 11 and under is $2. Pit admission remains at $25.
Racing on the first three weeks, including the 35-lap King of Dirt 602 Sportsman Tour Race, will be at 4 p.m. with the the remainder of the regular season starting at 6 p.m.
The Ridge also has launched a new website at glenridgemp.com and will continue to post updates on their Facebook page.
