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MODIFIED CHAMPIONSHIP RACE IS 50 LAPS FOR $7500 TO WIN, $1000 TO START IN VP RACING FUELS BRUCE ROGERS MEMORIAL MONEY MAKER HONORING LONGTIME TRACK PROMOTER
HISTORY SHOWS AN OPENING DAY WINNER COULD BE SEASON’S TRACK CHAMPION
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. – Following all the weeks of anticipation and preparation, Grandview Speedway is set to officially open the 2026 racing season this Saturday night.
This Saturday, April 4 will see the track gates swing open for the first official race meet of the 64th anniversary season as Big Block/Small Block Modified competitors compete for top honors in the season opening VP Racing Fuels Bruce Rogers Memorial Money Maker, the ninth consecutive year that the season opening event is run in honor of long-time track owner and promoter Bruce Rogers.
The feature race will be 50-laps in distance, paying a cool $7500 to win as well as a remarkable $1000 to qualify and take the green flag in the main event. A bonus to the winner will be a guaranteed starting spot in the September 19 Freedom 76!
The T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment 602 Sportsman will also join in on the Opening Night program in a full show which includes qualifying events and a 25-lap feature race.
Race time on Opening Night is 6 pm, pit gates open at 1 pm, grandstand gates open at 4 pm, the drivers meeting is at 4 pm, followed by the draw for position, then warm-ups at 5 pm.
Grandstand admission for adults is $30, students ages 10-15 with ID are $20, while ages 9 and under are admitted free of charge. Pit admission is $40 with a license and $45 without a license.
Just in case, Saturday, April 11 has been set aside as a rain date for the Opening Night event.
Bruce Rogers career at Grandview Speedway began when he worked alongside his father Forrest as the track was first built in 1963, then took over the track after his father’s sudden passing prior to the start of the 1966 season. Working with his family by his side, Bruce was able to take his father’s dream and make it a reality.
After a lot of hard work, the little track on the hill, which received great support from local star drivers and super loyal fans, became a great success. The grandstands became filled with cheering fans, and the pits filled with local drivers who became legends and heroes. As time passed, national touring series and nationally known drivers began passing through the gates of Grandview Speedway and are still doing so to this day!
Over the years Bruce Rogers worked with different partners like Jerry Stinson in the early years, and for special events Ed Darrell and Bob Miller, to give Grandview’s fans a variety of special events, by bringing in ARDC Midgets, URC, World of Outlaw, and All-Star Sprints, along with Super Dirt Series and ROC Series Big Block Modifieds.
Bruce Rogers once said that “The fans at Grandview can’t be beat. They are the ones that make it happen for all of us.” Bruce Rogers was known as a man of few words when it came to public speaking, but his endless and tireless work efforts at Grandview Speedway and for auto racing spoke volumes of the great man he was.
The Rogers family continues the tradition of operating Grandview Speedway and for the ninth consecutive year will present the opening race in his honor.
In the previous sixty-three seasons of racing at Grandview Speedway, fourteen times the Opening Night feature winner went on to capture that season’s track point championship.
The first time it happened was in 1965 during season number three, when Red Coffin was able to pull off the feat followed by Warren ‘Pappy’ Mutter in 1969.
Winning the opener and the track title occurred three times during the 70’s with Ed Mumford in 1971, Dave Kelly in 1972, and Mike Erb in 1973.
Pulling off the double occurred twice during the 90’s, with Craig Von Dohren turning the trick in 1990 and again in 1992.
Jeff Strunk went on to win both the opener and the championship in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2005, with Duane Howard doing so in 2012.
The last two times a driver was able to pull off winning the opener and a track title in the same season was Craig Von Dohren in 2016 and again in 2022.
The VP Racing Fuels Bruce Rogers Memorial will feature a special opening to the program as the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) unit from North Penn High School will be on hand for the opening ceremonies to present our Nation’s flags for the National Anthem.
The unit is under the direction of ROBERT P. STORM, SMSgt, AZANG, (Ret.) Aerospace Science Instructor at North Penn High School, they will be a great addition to the history and tradition of the Grandview Speedway 64th anniversary Season Opener!
The Opening Night program will be sanctioned by NASCAR and will be the first point race of the new campaign for both the T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds and T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman divisions toward both the track and NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts Championships.
For the Bruce Rogers Memorial event, all drivers are welcome to compete as in years past, and if any driver is not a track regular, the Speedway will cover the cost of the $25 temporary NASCAR driver license for this one night of competition.
Drivers are also reminded to visit the speedway website at www.grandviewspeedway.com to print and fill out a W-9 form and bring it with them to the track on Opening Night. The W-9 form must be provided to the pit office to be eligible for drivers to draw for heat race starting spots and to receive any payoff.
Race teams are also asked to visit the track website under the rules/forms tab, to print and fill out a driver information sheet for track announcer Jeff Ahlum, to help collect information a little quicker for the upcoming 2026 race season.
Information and car rules (including the right-side pan hard suspension rules) are listed for the VP Racing Fuels Bruce Rogers Memorial Money Maker on the speedway website at www.grandviewspeedway.com under the Bruce Rogers Memorial tab.
Be sure to get your advance tickets for the Levan Machine & Truck Equipment Thunder on the Hill Racing Series opener showcasing the Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing 410 Sprints on Tuesday night, May 19 at the Grandview Speedway. This event is brought to you by Levan Machine & Truck Equipment and RICH MAR Florist. Just in case, Wednesday night, May 20 will be the rain date.
On race night May 19, gates will open at 4:30 PM for Advance ticket holders, with general admission tickets going on sale at 5 PM at the main entrance. Following opening ceremonies, heat race qualifying will take the green flag at 7:35 PM.
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, April 4 – 64th Anniversary Season Opener – 9thAnnual VP Racing Fuels BRUCE ROGERS MEMORIAL MONEY MAKER – Big Block/Small Block Modifieds 50-Laps, T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman – 6 pm
Saturday, April 11 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds, T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman – 6 pm (Bruce Rogers Memorial Rain date)
Friday, April 17 – Outlaw Racing Series Enduro & Vintage, Keystone Sport Compact Series, Xcel 600 Modifieds – 7 pm.
Saturday, April 18 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds, T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman – 6 pm
Saturday, April 25 – T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Modifieds, T.P. Trailers & Truck Equipment Sportsman, TRIVIA NIGHT – 6 pm
Tuesday, May 19 – THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES – High Limit 410 Sprint Car Series – $20,000 to win 410 Sprints – 7:30 pm – (Rain date Wednesday 5/20)
