MARK COTTONE BACK IN JENNERSTOWN RACE
JENNERSTOWN, PA (June 7) … What a difference a week
makes. At the beginning of the 2006 Jennerstown Speedway
racing season Mark Cottone was sitting on the sidelines
watching his competition battle for the checkered flag.
Going into this Saturday evenings (June 10) Craftsman
sponsored NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Courtesy Suzuki
super late model event, Cottone is one of the favorites
for victory lane honors.
“My
head is spinning, because things happened so fast,” said
Cottone, a former track champion at the Laurel Highlands
half-mile paved oval, and the fifth place finisher in
last seasons point chase. “Going into the season our
team just didn’t have the money to race weekly. We were
just going to run a couple of the big shows.”
Things
took a dramatic change for the McKeesport driver over
the Memorial Day weekend when he landed a major
marketing partner in the form of the Pittsburgh
Transportation Group, a major player in the steel city
taxi and limousine industry.
“The
speedway had been working with Pittsburgh Transportation
about doing an advertising program,” Cottone said. “When
the company said they might also want to sponsor a team,
the track recommended me. After one meeting, we put a
deal together.”
For
Cottone it is a dream come true. After years of
struggling to compete against better funded teams, he
will now be racing on an equal playing field again. “I
can’t put it in words,” he said. “We’ll be able to have
the best equipment again… we’ve already ordered one of
the new ‘crate’ engines.”
Cottone,
along with everyone else, will be looking to regroup
following last weeks rain abbreviated program, which saw
only the hobby stock feature make it into the record
book.
Joining the four division racing card will be ‘Faster
Pastor II’, which will feature members of the area
clergy displaying their racing talents driving go-karts
on a special track laid out on the front straight during
the intermission segment.
Admission for adults is $8.00, while students with a
valid high school ID will be admitted for $4.00. Kids,
age 12 and under, are free. Gates open at 5:00 pm, with
the first race at 6:00.
