By ohnson 
The Motorsports Show in Oaks, Pa. this year was abuzz with a common sentiment expressed by all the drivers – excitement. Nearly every driver I had the opportunity to speak with chose that specific word to depict their forthcoming season.
As is the norm, this year’s Motorsports show was brimming with race cars in their immaculate preseason condition. It’s that time of the year when we, the fans, get to feast our eyes on the fresh paint schemes of the cars. We also anticipate possibly encountering one of the numerous drivers strolling through the various aisles of displays and perhaps having the chance to chat with them or have our pictures taken together. For me and many other race enthusiasts alike, the annual Motorsports Show organized by Lenny Sammons Jr and his team is regarded as the initiation of another thrilling season of action.
I spent the entire Saturday exploring the numerous displays and attempted to engage in conversation with as many people as I could throughout the day. I had a highly pleasant chat with Brett Deyo regarding the STSS South region and I am genuinely looking forward to this year’s events in the South region.
When Brett Deyo initially launched his STSS in 2014, the series mainly comprised races on tracks in New York, mostly in the Southern Tier region. After a successful debut in 2014, it became evident to Deyo that with all the talented drivers and teams competing on the tracks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, they needed a separate series of their own to showcase their skills and provide something for the fans to passionately follow.
So in 2015, Deyo conceived the idea of conducting two distinct series. The North series, which competed on tracks in the New York area, and a South series for the drivers and fans in the tri-state region. It became obvious after the first year of the new South series that Deyo had struck gold. The car counts were high and the crowd sizes were impressive. In 2016, Deyo expanded the series from five races to seven, with the bookend races now being held at Georgetown Speedway in Delaware, which proved to be a perfect fit for the series. After the 2015 season, Deyo decided to lease the speedway himself. The crowds for both races at Georgetown were massive, leaving the fans craving for more.
The 2017 STSS South series is expanding once again, with a second event scheduled at the Bridgeport Speedway. Although the second race is slated to be the first ever on the track’s new 3/8’s mile speedway being constructed within the spacious 5/8’s mile track. The second Bridgeport race will also be labeled as the “Dirty Jersey” race, which in previous years was held at the New Egypt Speedway, which is not on the schedule for 2017.
The other additional race for this year will be part of the Mid-Atlantic Championship weekend at Georgetown Speedway, bringing the total number of races at that track in the series to three.
“I think our southern deal is truly flourishing. We just concluded our second year and are now entering the third, and we have numerous exciting developments. With us taking over at Georgetown and making it a specials-only track, it aligns perfectly with the series since it’s a neutral track for everyone. Shifting the ‘Dirty Jersey’ race to the smaller track at Bridgeport is going to be really cool as it will also be a neutral track. Our race at Susquehanna Speedway is going to offer a $10,000 prize this year, which is truly significant. I believe last year’s race at Susquehanna was one of the best of the season. Additionally, we are introducing the 358 Late Models as a supporting class this year. They have a strong following in that area and we are striving to keep everything progressing. So we are attempting to introduce some changes but we don’t want to tamper with what works. In the North region, we are visiting Albany-Saratoga Speedway this year for the first time, which is fantastic. If you consider premier speedways, Albany-Saratoga has to be at the top of the list.”
Deyo also discussed the expansion of the series from seven to eight races in the upcoming season.
“The reason behind this is that it simply didn’t make sense for the southern series to conclude before the north series, especially since the south enjoys warmer weather. I wanted to schedule a September race because ending in August seemed like cutting the south series short. Then Bridgeport approached me with the idea of racing on the small track. It was actually Keith Hoffman who texted me and asked for my opinion, and I replied that I thought having one race on the small track and one on the big track would be amazing. Additionally, I was searching for a venue for our ‘Dirty Jersey’ race and this seemed like an ideal fit. We tested the Mid-Atlantic championship race last year at Georgetown and we were somewhat cautious with the payout just to gauge our position. That seemed to work out well and we were satisfied with the outcome, so we believed that’s where the championship for the south series should be determined. Moreover, I am endeavoring to create something to fill the void left by the old Octoberfest at Hagerstown. Bringing our championship event there for the Modifieds is excellent. It’s a weekend when no one else is racing. When you crown your champion in August, there are so many other tracks still in action that it somewhat gets overshadowed. But by doing it this way, it will be in the spotlight. So both of our series champions will receive significant publicity, with the North series champion being crowned during the Eastern States weekend and the South series champion during the Mid-Atlantic States weekend, and this will go a long way in keeping our sponsors content.”
Not included in the 2017 schedule is a race at the New Egypt Speedway, which has hosted the “Dirty Jersey” race for the past four years and this year will give way to the new 3/8’s speedway at Bridgeport. After encountering issues in the past couple of years that caused the night event to end very late, Deyo deemed it best to take a year off from the track but did not rule out a potential return in the future.
“The main issue was the way the event unfolded in the past couple of years, which made it challenging. We are a series for the working class and we have our superstar drivers, but most of our teams and the fans have to go to work the next day. Given the track problems in the past two years, I thought it was prudent to take a year off and hopefully they can rectify everything with their new management and get things back on track. Hopefully, we can return the following year if everything gets sorted out.”
With the current support the South series receives, the constant thought is how to expand it to make it even better. However, by doing so, there is a risk of overexpansion to the point where there are too many races and the series starts to witness a decline in car counts and crowd sizes.
“We’ve had several other tracks contact us and express their desire to be part of the series, but I’m not interested in taking only 20 cars to the track. I know that when we go to Susquehanna, we don’t have a large base of cars and if we can get around 30 cars, I’m satisfied. But with our payment structure, we can’t go to a track with only 18 to 20 cars. So I have to be extremely cautious when choosing the tracks and the dates. There is an abundance of races in PA and NJ currently, and we would be the ones left in a difficult situation because everyone is racing but not everyone is offering the same payouts as we do. When people get exhausted, we take the biggest hit because some of the other events have total purses that are 10 to 15 thousand dollars less than what we offer. So we have to be very discerning with our events. If you look at what 10th place pays, most of the other special events in the region are half of what we pay. So if people do get tired and stop coming, we are the ones that suffer the most compared to the other special events. Hence, we have to be very cautious in our actions.”
Deyo’s South Series tour events have provided something for the NJ/PA fans to anticipate each year. The Super DIRTcar Series is mainly held on tracks in the state of New York with occasional forays to tracks outside the region. However, the STSS series’ south region is based here and the traveling fan base for each event seems to have grown every year. This was also a common topic when I conversed with drivers during the offseason. One of the first things most drivers would tell me when I asked about their plans for the upcoming season was that they would definitely participate in the Deyo South series. This fact has not gone unnoticed by Deyo.
“It’s truly remarkable to hear that. You know, when we initiated this series, it was based in New York at tracks like Afton, Thunder Mountain, and others. Now, we are widely recognized for our southern program. For someone like me who started at Afton, Thunder Mountain, Orange County, and Accord, it’s really something special to hear from the drivers. We seem to have filled the gap for the fans who enjoyed watching the SDS when they came here to race. In a way, we are quite similar to the old MODCAR with its southern program. There are a lot of talented racers in this area and people have a genuine passion for racing. Hopefully, we can continue to offer a great product and attract different combinations of cars. I’ve noticed increased interest in our southern program this winter, with drivers like Frank Cozze telling me that they are going to make an effort for the title and others as well. That’s truly a positive development.”
Motorsports Tidbits:
Jeff Strunk hopes to enhance his performance from last year’s disappointing season in the Glen Hyneman #126. The team will follow the same schedule as last year, hoping for much better results. The team’s win in the Freedom 76 race did help mitigate the team’s bad year. The team has a new TEO chassis ready for the season along with a couple of others from last year. The Bicknell chassis the team purchased last year for Big Diamond has been converted to the team’s big block car to kick off the season…
The best-looking car at the show for me was the Dave Zubikowski #17 in the Hig-Fab display. The car will be driven by Brian Krummel at Grandview along with other special events…
Speaking with Mike Heffner, the owner of the Midget that Larry Wight drove in this year’s Chili Bowl, Mike is looking forward to having Wight come to central Pa this year and participate in a few more Midget events…
Jimmy Horton is diligently preparing his new Bicknell chassis for Florida Speedweeks. Horton still has last year’s TEO chassis in his garage and will install the team’s open small block into it for STSS events…
The “Low Down & Dirty” radio show conducted a live broadcast at the show on Saturday. One of their numerous interviews during the day was with Billy Pauch Sr. who informed the boys that he will be going to Florida Speedweeks in a few weeks and will selectively choose his schedule for this year. Pauch said he will participate in the Deyo South series, the Bridgeport Poker series, and other high-paying events in the area. Pauch emphasized that he just wants to have fun this year. The one thing he was certain about was that he will not return to the New Egypt Speedway at all in 2017…
Keith Flach informed me that he will be returning to the SDS this year after being unsure earlier this winter. Flach will once again compete at Albany-Saratoga and Lebanon Valley on a weekly basis along with the SDS. Flach also stated that the team is looking to acquire a spec 358 motor to participate in some of the Grandview specials when possible…
As always, I can be reached for questions and comments at dirtracefan25@hotmail.com or on Twitter @dirtracefan25