Posted by Keith Holder on March 21, 2008, 12:59 am
Board Administrator

Story by: Keith Holder Contributor to RACE22.com Greenville, SC ~ Greenville Pickens Speedway (GPS) was scheduled to begin the 2008 racing season on Saturday March 15th. However, Mother Nature had other plans. Due to heavy rains and thunderstorms the track was forced to postpone its season opener until Saturday March 22nd. Opening night will be filled with racing action, highlighted by the late model twin 50’s. Track PR director Keith Cochran said he would not be surprised if thirty late models were in attendance for the twin 50’s Saturday night. Cochran stated that car counts have been up in the late model division as well as in all of the support divisions in the last couple of years at GPS. Fan interest has also been at a “fever pitch” at GPS and Cochran expects the fan interest to continue to increase. GPS has also added brand new V.I.P. suites outside of turn one this season. In the late model stock division there will be at least five track champions returning to the historic Greenville Pickens Speedway. Four time GPS champion Marty Ward will be in action at GPS along with two time champions Gene Morgan and Randy Porter. The other two track champions racing at GPS this year are Kenneth Headen and defending champion David Roberts. Second year drivers returning to GPS this year include last years Rookie of the Year James Goff along with fellow sophomore John Hightower. There are also several drivers moving up from support divisions at GPS to the late model class. These drivers include Amanda Lynch from the charger division and Jeremy Burns from the renegade division. Another driver new to the late model division at GPS is Michelle Theriault. However, she does have experience at GPS finishing 8th last year in the Camping World East Series race. According to her website she only has a one race deal with Addis Motorsports, but they have been in talks to extend their relationship further. In addition to the late model twin 50’s on March 22nd, another late model twin 50’s race will be held on July 12th. These events are the premier races for the late models at GPS this season. The renegade and charger divisions will be in the spotlight for their popular all-star races on Thursday night August 28th. This date coincides with the start of the South Carolina Upper State Fair. There will also be other expanded shows throughout the year for the support divisions. In addition to the weekly NASCAR Whelen All American Series, several touring series will also visit GPS this year. The most prominent of those touring series will be on April 19th with the NASCAR Camping World East Series. This is the third consecutive year the series has made GPS their first race of the season. The race will also be televised nationally. On April 5th the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modifieds will be in action at the legendary half mile. The PASS South Series will make two stops at GPS this year. The first stop is on Thursday night July 3rd for the Firecracker 150. The second race for the series will be on October 18th. The UARA Stars Series will also make a stop at GPS this year on October 4th. Greenville Pickens Speedway has an exciting season planned with many great racing events on the schedule. With car counts and fan attendance at an all time high, the racing at GPS should be the best entertainment value in the Upstate of South Carolina. As gas prices continue to climb into the summer months, Keith Cochran feels families will choose to come out to the racetrack as opposed to taking a vacation. “People will be staying at home instead of vacationing to Gatlinburg or Myrtle Beach.” The price of general admission to most weekly shows is $10 for adults and free for kids 12 and under. This will allow families to save money by coming out to the races at GPS instead of taking a vacation. With higher car counts and more fans in attendance there are definitely good things going on at GPS. The 2008 racing season looks to be a great one at Greenville Pickens Speedway and it all starts on Saturday March 22nd.