YORK, Pa. — It feels like we were just talking about the Icebreaker. Now the next topic, Pennsylvania Speedweek. It's crazy that it's already upon us. Ten straight days of racing, once again. But this time a record amount of money is on the line.
"The whole idea of Pennsylvania Speedweek is to have the best [race] against the best," says PA Speedweek member Allen Kreitzer.
There's a lot buzzing around the highly anticipated 32nd annual PA Speedweek.
Yes the cost of fuel is up and inflation is hitting teams hard. But that is not stopping teams from racing.
The car counts this season add a little extra excitement going in to one of the biggest weeks of racing in the keystone state.
"Really, the whole reason Pa Speedweek was started was to support our local racers," says Kreitzer. "The locals week in and week out racers and we tried to get together, form a little coalition, and offer above-average pays to help them keep going throughout the year."
The minimum payoff is seven grand and the start money bumps up to $700. There's a non-qualifiers payout, and $500 dollars every night for any fast timer to win their heat from the fourth starting spot. Each driver has a potential bonus of $5,000 to finish in the top ten in all ten races and that is not all according to Kreitzer.
"Our point fund reached a record of $23,700. We're now paying this year the top five in points, get point money, including $6,000 to win but then the next ten drivers, who compete in every event, in their points standing ranking get $1,000."
As the money rains down during Pa Speedweek the drivers aren't the only ones traveling track to track. The posse fans have the speedways packed every single night even in the middle of the week.
"It's incredible the fan support that we have," says Kreitzer. "We have the greatest fans anywhere and you can verify that talking with people around the country. Pennsylvania fans are well noted for their passion and devotion to the competitors in the 410 racing. So, we certainly could not do any of this without the support of the fans."
Last year, the final standings came down to the wire between Brent Marks and Danny Dietrich for the title.
PA Speedweek kicks of June 24th at Williams Grove.