KEN SCHRADER JOINS JENNERSTOWN ‘RACE OF CHAMPIONS’ FIELD

JENNERSTOWN, PA (July 21) …  Ken Schrader will return to Jennerstown Speedway, as the NASCAR Nextel Cup veteran has agreed to participate in the August 12 ‘Race of Champions’ (ROC) event at the Somerset County  complex.

Schrader will join Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Kenny Wallace and a yet-to-be-named  NASCAR driver for the event. The four Nextel Cup pilots – excluding Earnhardt Jr, who will serve as the flagman for the contest – will participate in two eight-lap exhibition races driving Courtesy Suzuki super late model cars raced weekly in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series at Jennerstown. All five drivers will participate in a pre-race autograph session.

“Ken (Schrader) competed in the 2005 ROC, along with Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Sterling Marlin,” said General Manager Larry Mattingly. “He loved the track, and jumped at the opportunity to return. Ken is very popular with our fans and competitors … we’ve actually been trying to find an open date to bring him in to race in one of our weekly shows.”

The Fenton, MO native grew up on the Midwestern dirt tracks, specializing in open wheel cars. After winning two United States Auto Club (USAC) championships in 1982-83, Schrader moved into the NASCAR ranks in 1984, and was named the Nextel Cup top rookie one year later.

Schrader began driving for Hendrick Motorsports in 1988 and for the next nine years finished in the top 10 in the final point standings six times. His first career Cup victory came in July 1988 at Talladega. During his tenure with Hendrick, Schrader posted all four of his Cup victories, along with 54 top-fives and 110 top-10 finishes. In 1994 Schrader finished a career-best fourth in points.

For 2006 Schrader has taken over the seat of the famed Wood Brothers  #21 Ford, which has been driven in the past by such luminaries as A.J. Foyt, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd. In his first start for the Wood Brothers Schrader recorded a ninth place finish this past February’s Daytona 500. 

In addition to the ROC, Jennerstown will also be hosting the Mid-Atlantic Asphalt Racing Alliance (MAARA) 100-lap super late model championship, which will attract drivers from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, West Virginia, and Canada.

Advance $30.00 discount tickets for the event are available through Aug. 10 on-line at www.jennerstown.com, or by calling 1-888 695-0888. The event will be held ‘rain or shine’. In the event the MAARA and weekly series races are cancelled, spectators will be issued a rain-check for a future Jennerstown event.

Parking lots will open at 8:00 am, while spectators will be admitted to the grandstands at 11:00. The first race will begin at 5:00 pm

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