Strickland looks to hold off field in Late Model Series at Toledo Speedway

8/11/2011

With the way the excitement and tension has been building in the ARCA Allegiant Glass City Gold Cup Late Model Series, the stage is set for an action-packed affair at Toledo Speedway Friday night with the running of the Grogan’s Towne 100.

The series presents its fourth leg and moves to the Benore Road half-mile track, coming off Saturday’s Moran Chevrolet/Stan Yee Memorial 150 at Flat Rock (Mich.) Speedway in which the final 62 laps were run under green-flag racing. Eric Lee won the event, beating out Mike Root, Dan Ford, Jr., and Dennis Strickland.

The field for Friday night’s race has been getting crowded and more intriguing as the event nears. Strickland, the current points leader, is certainly in, while defending Allegiant Gold Cup champ Mike Root will be there to pursue his first-ever Toledo win.

Three-time Glass City 200 champion Steve Sauve has also entered. The Saginaw-based racer has been running a limited schedule of Late Model races for the past few years, but will be piloting his familiar orange No. 97.

The Grogan’s Towne 100 field is also expected to include Harold Fair Jr., Scott Hantz, Brent Jack, and Dakota Carlson, plus local drivers Derek Wiley, Nick Grodi, Todd Perkins, Joe Hawes, Ron Allen, Steve Cronenwett, Jr., Tom O’Leary IV, and Jack Varney, Jr.

For Friday’s event at Toledo Speedway, the pit gates will open at 2:30 p.m., with practice starting at 4:30, time trials are at 6:15, and racing at 7:30.

The second leg of the series was also contested at Toledo Speedway, on July 8, and completed in an extremely competitive climate without a caution period. JR Roahrig won the event, passing Strickland with just six laps remaining.

The Allegiant Gold Cup championship race, the fifth and final leg of the series and another 100 lap event, is scheduled for the Toledo Speedway track on Sunday.