Toledo Speedway

(TOLEDO, Ohio – June 11, 2014) – They don’t call it the “Fastest Short Track Show in the World” for nothing…because as a combined winged sprint car/super modified double header, it most certainly is.

VIDEO: 4 generations of McCune's back for Toledo's 'Fastest Short Track Show in the World'

At 12.389 seconds – the track record at Toledo Speedway – the driver in the seat will average 145 mph-plus in one lap.

Local Toledo racing veteran Jimmy McCune ‘the third’, part of four generations of racing McCune’s from Toledo, doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about the high speeds.

“It’s an everyday thing to us; we run a lot of fast places like this now, so it’s second nature.” McCune said of the breathtaking speeds.

“I don’t even really think about it. We just get in it, strap in and put it to the floor.

“Qualifying is a flat-foot deal. At race speed, you breathe it a little more, but qualifying is pretty much wide open. That, and when you’re racing, you got another 18 guys around, so you’re subject to that. If you’re out in the lead you can run some seriously fast laps because you’re just kind of by yourself and you don’t have to worry about anybody.”

The All American Coach/Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness “Fastest Short Track Show in the World” at Toledo Speedway, starring the MSA Winged Super Modifieds and the winged Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Super Sprints (AVBBSS), are coming back for their annual, and much anticipated, double-header open wheel extravaganza Friday, June 13.

McCune is entered in his own No. 88 winged sprinter. McCune ran both the super modified and the winged sprint car races last year, winning in the super modified. Two years prior, he was the winner in the sprint car portion of this annual classic open-wheel event.

McCune is off to an impressive start in 2014, winning two feature events so far.

“We’ve won two out of five this year,” he continued. “Ran second both nights down in Florida at Pensacola and Mobile…ran third at Anderson…won at Angola and won at Auto City this past Saturday.”

McCune (III) also made 8 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards starts in 1996 and '97, earning three top-10 finishes including a career-best fourth at Michigan Int'l Speedway in '96.

The McCune Toledo family tradition started back in 1950 when Jim McCune ‘the first’ climbed into a racecar on the Toledo Raceway Park half-mile dirt in 1950. Through four generations, the McCune family tradition is still going strong.

And right in step, the fourth generation McCune – 16-year-old Anthony – is now on track, running sprint cars without the wings at Spartan Speedway every other weekend before he hopes to make his move into the winged sprinters.

As exciting as the racing will be in both divisions Friday night at Toledo, part of the aura of this event is the popularity of qualifying, still held in high prestige.

Sprint car driver Charlie Schultz still holds the one-lap track record at 12.389 seconds around the Toledo half-mile. The one-lap track record for supermodifieds at Toledo is 12.893 seconds, set by Chris Perley of Maine in 2009. Mike Lichty flirted with the modified mark in 2013, just missing a new mark with his lap of 12:940 last season.

The speedway will stage a pre-race ticket sale for the June 13 contest. Race fans can save $5 per ticket by purchasing their tickets prior to race day. The track will offer both reserved seating (with backrests) and general admission tickets for the advance sale. Major credit cards are accepted for phone orders and on race day. To obtain advance tickets, please call the track office at 419-727-1100 or the ticket order form may be downloaded from the track’s webpage.

The pit area will open at 2:00 p.m., with practice following at 3:30. The front gates will also open at 3:30. The much-anticipated qualifying is set for 5:30, with racing beginning 7:30. Log onto www.toledospeedway.com for further information and updates. Like us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/toledoflatrock or follow us on Twitter @toledospeedway.

@DonRadebaugh
dradebaugh@ARCAracing.com