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ANNUAL EVENT HONORS TRACK FOUNDER AND CELEBRATES TRACK’S 61st ANNIVERSARY
WINNER OF NASCAR MODIFIED 50 LAP RACE TO POCKET $10,000 FOR WIN IN PRESTIGIOUS EVENT
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – The Forrest Rogers Memorial, Grandview Speedway’s midsummer Modified classic paying $10,000 to the race winner, is the next action packed race program on the schedule this Saturday night at the one-third-of-a-mile high banked speedway.
Since 1971, Grandview Speedway management has been paying tribute to Forrest Rogers, the man who had the dream of building his own racetrack, then with the help of his son Bruce and the rest of the family, made the dream come true in building and operating the racetrack on the hill in Bechtelsville, Pa. known to all as Grandview Speedway.
This Saturday, August 12, will feature the much anticipated 53rd annual Forrest Rogers Memorial for the T.P. Trailer Modifieds who will be racing for 50-laps and $10,000 to win. This race program will also include the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman in another NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series double-header starting at 7:30 pm.
In addition to the great racing action on August 12, Spunktown Tavern of Boyertown, Pa. will be sponsoring a fireworks show to join in the Forrest Rogers Memorial and anniversary weekend celebration!
Spunktown Tavern and Restaurant is located at 699 Englesville Road in Boyertown, Pa. and is open Tuesday thru Sunday from 11 am until Midnight. They are a family friendly neighborhood restaurant and bar where you can go to watch a game or catch up on what is going on in the Boyertown community.
Richard East, LLC Mechanical Contractor of Mohrsville, Pa. will be putting up bonus money for this week’s Forrest Rogers Memorial events. The Hard Charger (driver advancing the most positions from scheduled start to the finish) in the T.P. Trailer Modified 50-lap feature will receive a $100 bonus, while the Hard Charger in the T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman division 25-lap feature will receive a $50 bonus!
Richard East, LLC Mechanical Contractor of Mohrsville, Pa. provides services for Heating, Air Conditioning, as well as the installation of Generac generators. The work includes cleaning, service, and new installations, on oil, natural gas, and propane units. You can contact them at 484-671-3904 or on Facebook.
Saturday night will also feature the fifth Trivia night of the season, where fans can win prizes after answering questions about Grandview Speedway racing.
Adult grandstand admission is $30, students 10-15 with ID are $15, while children ages 9 and under are admitted free of charge. Pit admission is $35 for NASCAR members and $45 for non-members.
Pit gates will open at 4 pm. with grandstand gates opening at 5:30 pm. warm-ups starting at 6:15 pm. and the first race of the evening getting the green flag at 7:30 pm.
The race event each year means so much to a lot of people, but first of all to the Rogers Family, who still own and operate Grandview Speedway, now celebrating the track’s 61st season of operation. They are very proud of the fact that the track has remained in the family, with the third and now fourth generations fully involved in the operation of the racetrack.
The Forrest Rogers Memorial race also serves as the anniversary celebration each year for the Speedway. It was the second weekend of August in 1963, when Grandview Speedway first opened the gates for the first ever race.
Forrest Rogers himself held his first ever extra distance race in August of 1964, a 40-lap event won by Marty Acker, to celebrate the track’s first birthday.
After the untimely death of Forrest, son Bruce took control of the speedway and after building a race program with a solid foundation, decided in 1971 to create the Memorial race to honor his Father on the same weekend his Father honored the Speedway’s anniversary, thus holding the first ever Forrest Rogers Memorial.
The first race for the Small Block Modifieds (then known as Sportsman) paid a hefty $500 to winner Eddie Mumford, who won again the very next year. As the track continued to have success as the years went by, the winner’s share continued to increase to today’s top prize of $10,000!
The list of drivers who have had the honor of winning this prestigious event is very long and varied. During the 1970’s in addition to Mumford winning twice, Dave Kelly, Charley Gilmore twice, Mike Erb, Mike Geiser twice, and Smokey Warren were winners.
Moving into the 1980’s, the winners were Fred Rahmer four times, being the first driver to win three in a row (82, 83, 84), Dr. Dan Cox, Jack Follweiller twice, Craig Von Dohren his first, Ray Swinehart his first and Billy Schinkel.
The decade of the 1990’s saw Jeff Strunk win his first, Billy Pauch twice, Tom Mayberry twice, Kerry Kratz, Chip Slocum, Ray Swinehart his second, Terry Meitzler and Rick Shaffer were also winners.
Moving into the 2000’s, Jeff Strunk won his second, Craig Von Dohren took three, Meme DeSantis twice, Jon Kellner Sr., Ray Swinehart his third, Jason Hamilton, Ryan Godown and Duane Howard took his first win.
The most recent decade saw a huge domination by the track’s all-time wins leader Craig Von Dohren in this long standing event. Von Dohren took five more Forrest Rogers Memorial wins, in 2011, matching Rahmer’s three in a row in 2015, 2016, 2017, and again in 2021 to run his total to nine, more than any other driver in the history of this race.
Kevin Hirthler took the 2012 race, Duane Howard ran his total to three with wins in 2013 and 2019, invader Danny Johnson won in 2014, a rare occasion in this race, Ray Swinehart won his fourth race in 2018, and Brett Kressley is the defending race winner from 2022 after taking his first ever Memorial win in 2020.
Many times over the years, the driver who can win the Forrest Rogers Memorial either goes on to win the track championship, or takes a win in the season ending Freedom 76.
With over five decades of history, you can see why each season the Forrest Rogers Memorial means so much to so many people in so many different ways. This year’s 53rd annual running should be no different, stay tuned, and don’t miss it.
Saturday’s program will be the final in a series of race events recorded and produced by ATVN-TV. The Astound TV Network (ATVN) will be recording the race events this Saturday, with the race event broadcast to be shown on a tape-delayed basis. The heat races will be a complete program shown on the following Tuesday night at 7:30 pm. The features will air the following Friday evening at 7 pm. with further replays to follow.
ATVN airs on channel 4/1004 HD (Lehigh Valley) and channel 8 /608 HD in Delaware County. Additional air dates and times of the races can be found at astound.com/ATVN.
Since the 1960’s, Grandview Speedway has been presenting exciting wheel to wheel NASCAR stock car racing every Saturday Night starting in April and running through October, plus special events. Grandview Speedway is located at 43 Passmore Road, Bechtelsville, Pa. 19505, just off Route 100, ten miles north of Pottstown, Pa.
Information is always available at www.grandviewspeedway.com or on Facebook, or by telephone at 610.754.7688.
UPCOMING EVENTS –
Saturday, August 12 – 53rd annual FORREST ROGERS MEMORIAL for T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds 50-laps $10,000 to win, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, FIREWORKS & TRIVIA NIGHT– 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 19 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, Outlaw Racing Series Vintage (Rain date for Forrest Rogers Memorial) – 7:30 pm.
Saturday, August 26 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman, URC Sprint Cars – 7:30 pm.
Friday, September 1 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro and Outlaw Racing Series Vintage, Slingshots – 7 pm
Saturday, September 2 – T.P. Trailer NASCAR Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment NASCAR Sportsman – 7:30 pm.
