BEDFORD, Pa. (WJAC) -- Start your engines and hold on tight...because Bedford Speedway's 32nd Annual Labor Day Championship gets underway Friday night. This competition is one of the biggest events every year for the historic dirt track.
Bedford Speedway Announcer and Retired Driver Eric Zembower says this race is a long-time family tradition, "Tonight will be our 55-lap super late model. It's the big show. Even though we have a bigger show coming up at the end of September, the Keystone Cup, this is the traditional show."
That is exactly what Bedford Speedway is rooted in: Tradition. 83 years of it, as a matter of fact. So many of these racers grew up on the very track they are now driving on.
Zembower, himself, has driven on this dirt track for 34 years. Even after retiring, he cannot seem to stay away. When asked what brings him back, he says it is because his love for racing has never left.
It is a sentiment shared by many of these drivers, who put themselves through grueling physical activity all for the love of the race. Zembower says, "These drivers are losing between 5 and 10 pounds a night racing. With the hydration that they're doing now, 50 years ago nobody drank water and got hydrated. Today, we're so much smarter. The drivers are drinking the fluids, they're preparing themselves a day before the race and they're still sweating that out and losing all that weight while racing."
Nathan LaSalle was introduced to racing by his father and says the adrenaline rush while driving is like no other, "The speed that you can achieve around the track like this, and racing six inches off of somebody going into a turn at 120 miles an hour. It's just probably one of the biggest rushes that you can feel."
New generations of drivers have the opportunity to race against the drivers they grew up cheering for. Kyle Weyant says he has been coming to the races since he was two weeks old, "A lot of these guys I've watched race with my cousins years ago when I was a little kid in the grandstands, so it's cool to race with them. It's even more fun when you beat them."
40 cars compete to be named champion in this prestigious 55-lap race, which welcomes over 2,000 viewers in the stands. Zembower says, "Anybody that can take that trophy and put it on their mantle -- Going 20 years from now, they're still gonna be looking at that trophy and going, 'Wow, I won at Bedford.'"
Gates open at 5:00 p.m., drivers begin warming up on the track at 7:00 p.m., followed by the race at 7:30 p.m. Spectator admission is $22, but children 12-years-old or under get in for free. Pit admission is $35. More information can be found at BedfordSpeedway.com or on its Facebook page.
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