SPEEDBOWL MAKES SEASON DEBUT TODAY WITH BLASTOFF 2017

The New London-Waterford Speedbowl will open its 2017 season today with Blastoff 2017, a card highlighted by eight feature races, including a 100-lap race featuring the Valenti Modified Racing Series.

The pit gates are scheduled to open at 8:30 a.m. and the grandstands at 10, with a pair of practice sessions for the Valenti Series also scheduled to run from 10 to 1:30 p.m.

Heat races will begin at approximately 2 p.m., and race officials hope to start the first feature race at 5 p.m. In addition to the VMRS feature, there will be a 35-lap SK Modified race and 25lap races in the Late Model, Limited Sportsman, Mini Stocks, SK Lites, Legends and NLWS Trucks.

Tickets are $27 for adults, $25 for military members with ID and $13 for children ages 13-16 (children 12-under will be admitted for free).

The Speedbowl was originally scheduled to open on May 6, but the track's future has been in limbo since the March arrest of track owner Bruce Bemer, who was charged with soliciting a trafficked person. The arrest led to NASCAR rescinding its national sponsorship and the resignation of several key staff personnel.

Veteran driver and team owner George Whitney of Westbrook stepped in last month and offered to lease the track from Bemer. Whitney's proposal was accepted and Whitney will serve as the track's general manager in 2017

"The million dollar question is, everyone wants to know where the money's going," Whitney said recently, adding that none of the profits of running the Speedbowl will end up in Bemer's pocket.

Whitney learned earlier this week that NASCAR opted not to renew its sponsorship this season, but he still plans to run a full weekly schedule through October.

— Day Staff Reports