YORK HAVEN, Pa. — During the offseason, the management team at BAPS Motor Speedway has been working on making their product better for fans and race teams.
There were the normal winter improvements at the speedway. The next step was tweaking the schedule by adding more diversity and bigger events, including a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series date in July.
But owner Scott Gobrecht and general manager Kolten Gouse continued to push forward. The effort has paid off, as the team recently announced a historic point fund for the 410 sprint car division Wednesday that features a hefty $20,000 pool thanks to RV 4-Wheel Drive and Performance Automotive coming on board as the title sponsor.
Additional support has come from Denk Electric, Capitol Renegade and SprintCarUnlimited.TV.
“This is something we’ve wanted to do since Scott purchased the speedway in 2015,” Gouse said. “Thanks to partners like RV 4-Wheel Drive and Performance Automotive, Denk Electric, Capitol Renegade and our Pay-Per-View provider SprintCarUnlimited.TV, we were able to make this possible. One of the things we wanted to do this season is add more sprint car events. In doing so, we thought it would also be good to reward the teams that are going to support us during the 2023 season, and thanks to our sponsors, we were able to put a pretty good deal together for our 10-race series.”
The York Haven, Pa., facility has 11 sprint car events this season.
The July World of Outlaws event will not count toward the RV 4-Wheel Drive and Performance Automotive Sprint Series presented by Denk Electric, Capitol Renegade and SprintCarUnlimited.TV.
“We are pretty stoked for this opportunity and new partnership with BAPS and their team,” said Shawn Smeigh, general manager of RV-4 Wheel Drive and Performance Automotive. “For several years dating back to Silver Spring Speedway, RV 4-Wheel Drive and Performance Automotive has been sponsoring sprint cars and local venues to keep our sport growing.
“I guess you can say we are pretty big fans. We love this sport and always try to contribute in different ways.”
This year’s point champion will receive $5,000. Fifth place will receive $1,750, with 10th taking home $1,000. It should also be noted that the entire point fund is guaranteed regardless of how many races are completed.
“When we put this point fund together, we wanted to make sure we rewarded drivers throughout the top 10 finishers in the standings,” Gouse said. “For sprint car racing to be healthy, big teams and smaller teams need to make money, and we think this breakdown is fair across the board. We have a lot of things planned at BAPS Motor Speedway during the upcoming season.”
The 10-race 410 sprint car schedule kicks off March 26 with a program that also features the 358 sprints. It also features the Kevin Gobrecht Classic paying $10,000 to the winner on Sept. 23 and the season-ending Final Showdown on Nov. 11.
More details on the schedule will be announced throughout the season.
Smeigh continued, “This new partnership with BAPS and their generous point fund for the sprint cars is no different. We look forward to seeing how this year plays out and hope to see many of the loyal racing fans at the track. We appreciate all the fans of racing that support us and make it possible for us to do things like this.”