ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (March 8, 2023) – March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month (CRC), which means TeamSLR and its partner, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), have stepped up their year-round campaign promoting CRC screenings and other preventative measures. (more…)
Cancer
Racing Prodigy Elvis Rankin To Represent The National Pediatric Cancer Foundation For 2022 Race Season
May 25, 2022 — If you are looking for the “next big name” in Motorsports then look no further than Elvis Rankin. Elvis is a 14-year-old from Indianapolis who has been making a name for himself in SIM racing and just earned himself an enormous opportunity to race in the Formula series. Don’t be mistaken, Elvis has plenty of track time, too. As a matter of fact, his entire 2016 USAC .25 Midget National Title awards and race car are on display at the Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska. (more…)
Workpro® Tools 11-In-1 Multi-Tool Supports National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. ®
Huntersville, NC (January 2022) — WORKPRO® Tools, the Do-it-Yourself hand and power tool brand, proudly announces an addition to its Pink Tools for Hope line. The new 11-in-1 Multi-tool is designed to be not only a convenient and efficient multi-tool for a wide range of uses but also to be an effective soldier in the war against breast cancer. Continuing its partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. ®, (NBCF), (more…)
PUMA and W Series design special edition race gear to raise awareness for breast cancer
Herzogenaurach, Germany – 21 October 2021 — Global sports company PUMA has designed special edition race gear for the W Series hoping to elevate the conversation around breast cancer awareness during this weekend’s race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX (USA).
John Beatty Jr. Tops Opening Night Modified Feature At Riverhead Raceway Saturday
The gates swung open Saturday evening for the 71st season of stock car racing at Riverhead Raceway and when the checker flag waved on the 50-lap Buzz Chew Chevrolet NASCAR Modified feature John Beatty Jr. of Merrick sat in the winner circle after surviving a late race restart with 11 laps remaining in the race to post his 9th career victory. A solid and talented field of 20 Buzz Chew Chevrolet NASCAR Modifieds signed in for the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series opener. (more…)
Bryson Byrnes Earns Fifth-Annual Steve Byrnes Memorial Broadcasting Award
Wednesday, April 28, 2021 — Charlotte Christian School senior Bryson Byrnes was presented the Fifth-Annual Steve Byrnes Memorial Broadcasting Award today. The award, in honor of late FOX Sports broadcaster Steve Byrnes, is given annually to a Charlotte Christian graduating senior interested in pursuing a career in broadcasting. (more…)
TRIPLEHEADER NASCAR RACING ACTION AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY ON SATURDAY (Tonight)
Tripleheader racing action will be the crowd pleasing entertainment on Saturday night, 7 p.m., with T.P.Trailers Modifieds, T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman and Outlaw Racing Series Vintage Racers. A large field of entries is expected in all divisions of competition.
Latest Point Standings From Grandview Speedway, Tripleheader On Saturday
With two races completed in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Racing Series at Grandview Speedway Brett Kressley is on top in the T.P. Trailers Modifieds and Kenny Gilmore leads the standings for the T.P.Truck Equipment Sportsman. A third class of competition, not part of the NASCAR sanctioned events, has Glenn Strunk leading in the new 602 Sportsman division which will be seen in a handfull of races this season. Next race for the 602 Sportsman will be May 8th. (more…)
Marvin Minkler Happy to Live The Dream in Stafford’s Street Stocks
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Like many racers at all levels of racing, Stafford Speedway Street Stock competitor Marvin Minkler always had a dream to one day become a racecar driver. Where Minkler differs from many racers of today was the path he took.
As a child, Minkler attended races at Danbury Arena and had plans on racing there but the track’s closure put his dream on a back burner. The racing dream was further put on hold as Minkler’s life took some turns serving in the Army as part of the 3rd Infantry, “The Old Guard” stationed in Washington D.C. and beating cancer in 2013. What led him back to racing was a surprise gift from the youth hockey team he coached, a night behind the wheel of one of Gary Spinnato, Jr. and Paul Varricchio, Jr.’s Rent A Racecar machines in Stafford’s Street Stock division in 2017.
“I used to go to Danbury with my grandfather every Saturday and my cousin Bob Furano raced there,” said Minkler. “The thought process was when I was old enough I was going to get in the car and go driving, so that was always my childhood dream. Once Danbury closed down, that dream kind of died but my love for racing never stopped. I went to races all the time and when I was in the military, I was always dragging guys to Manassas Speedway in Virginia. In 2013 I was going to go racing but I was diagnosed with cancer. Every day when I would go for radiation and chemotherapy it was in the back of my mind that I was going to try to race once I got better. One year the hockey team that I coached got me a ride with Rent A Racecar as an end of season gift. I ran that one race and I wanted to race again.”
Minkler finished his first race 14th out of 16 cars, but despite that the racing bug had set in and Minkler was determined to continue on. He followed up his first outing in 2017 with three more starts in Rent A Racecar machines in 2018, including his very first top-10 finish. Then the 2019 season found Minkler bringing his dream to fruition.
“After racing with Rent A Racecar a couple of times, I was talking with Paul and Gary about getting a car and Greg DeMone was selling his car,” said Minkler. “I purchased his car and we put the car together in about 8 weeks and after that I was off to the races in 2019. I knew how to change the oil or change the tires on the car, but I knew nothing about building a racecar. Paul, Gary, and Butch from Rent A Racecar were all great helping me out putting the car together and I’ve learned a lot from them.”
Now that Minkler has achieved his dream of getting behind the wheel of a racecar, he has no plans to stop racing any time soon.
“I think Red Farmer is about 90 now and he’s still racing so I’m going to keep on racing until I can’t anymore,” said Minkler. “I enjoy going to the shop and learning things about the car and that has been just as equally rewarding for me as the driving part. I teach skating and I can help kids become better skaters but I can’t teach them balance. I understand where to hit the brakes and where to get back on the gas but I’m still learning the balance between that. I’m envious of the young kids who come in having already started racing go karts at 5 years old because that’s the equivalent of me teaching a 5 year old how to skate.”
After a 2020 season that was plagued by mechanical issues for Minkler and his #71 car, he is aiming to be a consistent presence in the top-10 during the 2021 season.
“Hopefully we’ve fixed all the problems we had last year,” said MInkler. “Last year was all mechanical issues for us. In 2019 we didn’t have one DNF so I came into 2020 with some confidence. The very first practice I broke something on the car and we ended up chasing that gremlin for the next 8 weeks. I think we went through 3 driveshafts and a transmission so I didn’t get the laps I was looking for and that was frustrating. Hopefully we’ve got everything fixed and I’d like to be a top-10 car on a consistent basis this season, which I think we can get done. Once we can achieve some top-10 finishes, we’ll start to look at getting into the top-5. I don’t want to jump too far ahead and be unrealistic and have delusions of grandeur.”
In addition to getting his car fixed up for the 2021 season, Minkler will also welcome a new sponsor, Riko’s Pizza of Stamford, CT. The new sponsor-driver combination will allow any fans who can’t get to the track in person to watch Minkler and Stafford’s other 4 weekly divisions race every Friday at any Riko’s Pizza location.
“Riko’s Pizza came on board with us this season and they’re a small town pizzeria that has grown and branched out with some franchises in Florida,” said Minkler. “They’ve been great to work with so far and they’re working with FloRacing to be able show the Stafford live stream at all their locations every Friday night. They’re pretty aggressive with their marketing so we might have some tee-shirts and hats to give away during the season. We also have Platoon22.org on the car, which is a charity that works with veterans. I encourage everyone to support their veterans and being a veteran myself, that’s something that is near and dear to my heart.”
Despite his late start into racing at age 49 and still going strong this season at age 53, Minkler says that if you have a dream to go racing, it’s all about taking that first step to go ahead and make that dream become a reality.
“You can’t get any better in life by sitting on the couch,” said Minkler. “It can be the biggest thing or the smallest thing but the greatest journeys in life always start with the first step. I would say the first step would be to see Gary and Paul at Rent A Racecar and see what you think about going racing. If you have an itch to do something then you have to scratch that itch.”
Minkler will kick off his 2021 season on Saturday, April 24 as part of NAPA Opening Day. General Admission tickets for the April 24 NAPA Auto Parts Opening Day are now available online at StaffordSpeedway.com/
For more information, visit www.staffordspeedway.com
Source: Scott Running/Stafford PR
TeamSLR Partners with Colorectal Cancer Alliance
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (March 30, 2021) – March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and even though the calendar will soon flip to April, racecar driver and Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli team owner Scott Lagasse Jr., aims to keep the campaign top-of-mind 365 days a year by partnering TeamSLR with the Washington, D.C.-based Colorectal Cancer Alliance. (more…)