How do you get three tracks — Hollis Speedway, Penton Raceway and the Talladega Short Track — to work together? Find them a cause for them to get behind. The three Alabama tracks teamed up to help a travel baseball team head to the USSSA World Series tournament in Clearwater, Florida.
Hollis Speedway promoter D.J. Duke’s 9-year-old son, Andrew, plays on that team, the Lineville Legends.
“It is the same dirt, but a different sport, sure, but there is a bigger similarity between baseball and racing,” D.J. said. “Passion and competitiveness in each sport are equal. It’s all about athletes, young and old, giving it their all in the sport they love.”
To help raise funds for the effort, a $10 ticket could earn a lucky winner a family four pack of tickets to not one. Not two. But three major events.
The Sweet Home Alabama Classic at Penton Raceway.
The Ice Bowl at the Talladega Short Track.
The Winter Bash at Hollis Speedway.
“As the new owner of Hollis Speedway, I decided to extend the olive branch to Adam Stewart at Talladega Short Track and Jamie Godbee of Penton Raceway,” D.J. said. “Our tracks are so close together, it would be easier for all of us to work together.”
The olive branch was well received. Adam and Jamie graciously offered the tickets to help D.J.’s cause.
D.J. will hold the drawing live on Facebook, Sunday, June 7.
To purchase your tickets, you can do so one of several ways.
- Message the track’s Facebook page.
- Message D.J.’s personal Facebook account.
- Text D.J. at 256-368-8976
- Venmo dj-duke10
- PayPal djduke26
- Cashapp djduke10
“There are 10 other players and their parents who will travel to the World Series,” Duke said. “We’re hoping to help foot the bill for their weeklong stay — hotel expenses and food are costly.”
Hollis Speedway will be off during the World Series at Clearwater.
“It is an 8-hour drive to Clearwater,” Duke said. “The other tracks [Penton and Talladega] will be running that weekend.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
