WEEDSPORT, N.Y. -- Culminating with the headline ‘All-Star 100’ on July 19, the start of DIRTcar All-Star Weekend ’09 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds is less than three weeks away. The historic Weedsport, New York speedway comes to life for three straight days of heart-pounding, high-powered, pedal-mashing entertainment, with the 100-lap Big-Block Modified winner on Sunday taking home $20,000 from the record $100,000 purse.

For ticket and camping information, please contact the DIRTcar Racing Northeast office (315/834-6606) in Weedsport, New York, or visit www.cayugacountyfairspeedway.com and www.allstar100weekend.com — home of the July 17-19 inaugural DIRTcar All-Star Weekend.

Commemorating the 34th straight season of operation for the DIRTcar Racing organization and founding member facility Cayuga County Fair Speedway, all 34 days leading up to the historic event are filled with important news, notes and nostalgia, each continuing to showcase the biggest motorsports extravaganza of the summer --- including the richest race ever scheduled in the history of the popular Route 31 oval.

The date of July 19, 2009 will long be remembered by local track historians as that of the first running of the DIRTcar All-Star 100 at Cayuga County Fair Speedway. If you’re in tune with the founding fathers of Weedsport, July 24, 1955 may conjure up another special time at The Port --- when the Weedsport Speedway gates were officially unlocked for the first time ever and Ron Narducci captured the historic Sportsman opener. When Stanley Dudzinski first began carving out a third-mile oval in his berry patch using railroad ties to mark the frontstretch wall, he never dreamed that five decades later the same field would become synonymous with the leading short-track sanctioning body of dirt racing in the country and offer nationally televised Modified events. Himself a competitor at nearby Brewerton Speedway since 1951, Dudzinski made the decision in '54 to build a track for local drivers to race on Sundays. It was actually Stan's wife, Irene, that encouraged him to take on the project since he had always used the farmland as a practice ground for his stock cars between races. The track quickly gained popularity among the area drivers and townspeople through the late 1950s and early 1960s, luring eventual track champions like Jack Naum, Rod Turcott and John McArdell along with Ray "Crash" Gilbert, "Screamin" Sammy Reakes and "Wee" Willie Allan. The list of weekend warriors also included Chuck Stillwell, Jack Polmanteer, Bill Updike, Gordie Wood, Dick Field and Sam Carista. Today, its area favorites like Alan Johnson, Jimmy Phelps, Steve Paine, Matt Sheppard, Billy Dunn and Justin Haers making the weekly rounds; only time will tell if history is on their side as the 55th season moves on.

The Big-Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire www.hoosiertire.com and VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com. Promotional partners include Rite Aid Corporation www.riteaid.com, Dig Safely New York www.digsafelynewyork.com and the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and the contingency sponsors are Bars Leaks www.barsproducts.com, Bert Transmission www.berttransmission.com, Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, Brodix Cylinder Heads www.brodix.com, Ferris Industries www.ferrisindustries.com, Integra Shocks www.integrashocksandsprings.com, Intercomp www.intercomp-racing.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Rislone Oil Stabilizer www.barsproducts.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.