Feb. 6 2008
Regional Pro Truck Tour gears up for Motorsports Expo 2008
By Chris Marquart
There's plenty to see and do while touring Motorsports Expo 2008 at the Toyota Exhibit
Center at the New York State Fair Grounds, and there's a variety of new and different things
some casual race fans may have never seen.
Among them: dragsters, mudder trucks and dirt track trucks.
Yes, dirt track trucks; those that race with the Regional Pro Truck Tour (RPTT).
"We're thrilled to be at Motorsports Expo," said Michael Warren, the RPTT series director. "If
you're a legitimate touring series, you're in Syracuse in March. That's just how it is."
The Regional Pro Truck tour will be at the Expo, handing out information and schedules from
March 7 to 9, 2008.
The RPTT begins it's sophomore season in 2008, and marks the first time the series has
stood alone at the Toyota Exhibit Center . The series began as a weekly division at Black
Rock Speedway ( Dundee , NY ), but has slowly stretched it's legs: the series has reached out
to Woodhull (NY) Speedway , Genesee Speedway ( Batavia , NY ), Canandaigua (NY)
Speedway and more.
"The support to our series and to us as racers has been remarkable, and we've had several
track promoters call us about shows," Warren said. "That's a compliment. We haven't been
on the road too long, but word got around fast."
The wild trucks -- which much like look like tried and true Silverados and F-150s -- came
when the Craftsman Truck Series was launched in the 1990s. The trucks are loosely based
on a Chevelle or Monte Carlo chassis; similar to a Pro Stock with three-link rear suspensions
and nine-inch rear-ends.
A handful of trucks will be on hand at Motorsports Expo 2008, including Michael Warren's No.
5 2002 Dodge-powered Dodge Ram, Bill White's like-new No. 53 2000 Chevrolet-powered
Silverado and possibly Mark Guinup's No. 52 Ford and Ralph Champions No. 27 Chevrolet-
powered Silverado.
Barring any changes, the series’ 2008 eight-race schedule will open at Genesee Speedway
May 10, head off to Woodhull May 26 for an $800-to-win show, and then visit Redline
Speedway ( Troy , PA ) June 13. The series treks off to Skyline Speedway ( Cortland , NY )
June 21 before returning to Genesee July 5. The series’ lone stop at Clinton County (PA)
Fairground is July 25, with trips back to Redline (Aug. 22) and Woodhull (Sept. 20) rounding
out the schedule.
"This gives the guys that travel with us a nice schedule," Warren said, pointing out it is best to
walk before running. "We've got room to add races, and we race on back-to-back weekends
only once all year.
"It's an affordable division to race and a reasonable schedule that lets teams be with their
families and desn't kill them with travel costs."
A detailed schedule will be available at Motorsports Expo.
The Batavia trips will set the bar for the tour; they stand as some of the longest trips of the
year. And Genesee is looking forward to the events. Last year, the trucks were posting lap
times that were as fast as the Genesee pro stocks.
"And those cars are different than our trucks by a bunch. They have a 106-inch wheel base
and trucks are 112-inches, not to mention they're much lower, and a lower center of gravity
and more roll-cage set-back," Warren said.
Some events have been inked, but the details, purses and lap money have yet to be
hammered out. Hopefully, meetings with promoters and potential marketing partners at
Motorsports Expo will help cement those details while increasing the visibility of the series on
the racing frontier. In turn, the exposure should help open the doors for more drivers to join
and more tracks to host events.
"We're excited to be up there," Warren said. "We're rubbing elbows with Empire Super
Sprints and the ASCS Patriots and DIRTcar Racing. We're anxious to get our name out, and
to educate the fans about what we do. I'm pretty sure our trucks will turn some heads.
"People get wow'ed by full-blown late models and winged sprinters. We might not be as fast
or as eccentric, but we put on a heck of a show that a lot of people didn't even know existed."
Set up for Motorsports Expo begins at noon, Thursday, March 6. The show opens to the
public at 5 p.m. Friday, March 7 and continues through 9 p.m.
The doors open again at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 8 and continue through 10 p.m. The show
will open for the final day at 11 a.m. Sunday morning, continuing through the close of the show
at 4 p.m. Break down will follow.
For details about the Regional Pro Truck Tour, visit www.protrucktour.com/
To get more information on the show, visit www.gaternews.com, call Joe Patrick (315) 457-
0175 at the Gater News office, or send a request to P.O. Box 3914 , Syracuse 13220 or e-
mail info@gaternews.com.
And if you're still looking for someplace to stay, the Ramada Inn still has a few rooms left.
Special room reservations can be made by calling the Ramada Inn at 315-457-8670 and
asking for the group sales office.
Admission prices for the Motorsports Expo 2008 remain $10 for adults, $5 for children ages
6 to 12, and children under 6 are admitted without charged when accompanied with a paying
adult. A three day adult ticket is $25. The $25 family pack is being offered again this year,
giving show access to two adults and two children. Parking at the fairgrounds is free.
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