18th Annual Mel Hall Memorial Set for Saturday

Marysville, CA (May 22, 2017) –This Saturday night Marysville Raceway is honored to once again pay tribute to a great racer, an innovated track promoter and amazing family man named Mel Hall. The 18th Annual Mel Hall Memorial will feature the stars and cars of the Civil War Sprint Car Series, All Star Modified Tour and Midget Lites.

Racing was his passion and Hall epitomized the great strengths of being at the forefront of the sport when it came to his on-track racing and off track promotions. Hall believed in a united sprint car touring series and in the early 90’s was one of the founding fathers of the famed Civil War Series. With his unmeasurable work ethic, Hall was heavily involved with the now closed Ernie Purcell Speedway in Grass Valley and what was called at the time Twin Cities Speedway (now Marysville Raceway) in Marysville. Even though he was born and raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Hall moved to Grass Valley, CA in 1960 and is known as one of the greatest motorsports enthusiasts from Northern California.

He was a man who left his ego at the door and did the things needed for a successful series and management of Marysville Raceway. He was a man who never did this for the fame and glory or pats on the back. He was a simple man who had a vision and did the best he could to make it a reality. Mel passed away on May 22, 1999. This Saturday night we will honor Hall who was a champion both on and off the track.

As always, the Hall family is raising money to help the overall purse of the event. With the help of the Hall family, the 30-lap main event will pay $3,000 to win on this special night and feature extra bonus money paid accordingly to how much money has been raised. The Hall’s were one of the first families who realized this race should be one of the highlights of the year and asked for sponsor help to pay the racer’s more money.
The pit gate will open at 3 PM while the front grandstand gate opens at 5 PM. The pit meeting is being moved from 5:30 PM to 5 PM in hopes of getting the competitors on the track earlier for wheel packing and hot laps.

Adult general admission is $17.00 into the grandstands. Seniors, juniors and Military with ID are just $14.00 each. Kids, six to eleven years old, are $6.00. Children five and under are FREE. A family pass is available and consists of 2 adult tickets, 2 junior tickets or 3 kid’s tickets for a combined price of $50.00.

Auburn’s Andy Forsberg is the two-time and defending champion of the Mel Hall Memorial. Forsberg also just picked up his 29th career Civil War win at Silver Dollar Speedway on March 31st. Forsberg must contend with six-time Hall Memorial winner Colby Wiesz of Colfax. Wiesz was the inaugural winner of this race back in 2000. Yuba City’s Korey Lovell and Grass Valley’s Billy Wallace are also former winners looking to get back into victory lane. Other notable drivers looking to win the big money include Sebastopol’s Geoff Ensign, Fresno’ Koen Shaw, Lincoln’s Tanner Carrick, Chico’s Brad Bumgarner and Sutter’s Tyler Seavey.

An added bonus this Saturday night will be the addition of the IMCA All Star Modified Tour. This talented group of drivers is led by local resident Ryan McDaniel and Oakley’s Kellen Chadwick. After two completed event, each driver is tied at the top with 110 total points. McDaniel did grab the season opener win at Merced and should have the advantage at his hometown track this Saturday night. Front runner Cody Burk is just six points behind the top two. Another top local champion is Plumas Lake’s Duane Cleveland and holds down the fourth spot in points. Martinez driver Troy Foulger rounds out the top five.

The traveling midget lites will be the third division on this night.

For more information please visit www.marysvilleraceway.com

PIC Credit – Krazy Kasey Photo – Hall Family at 2016 event