What’s the suitable reward for winning the Fried Bologna 150 at Southern Raceway? Well, a fried bologna sandwich, of course. That’s not all — the victor of the enduro race will also receive $2,000.
The 150-lapper will take place at the Milton, Florida, dirt oval on February 4, 2023. In addition to the headliner, the track will have live music and present its 2022 awards after the race.
Southern Raceway promoter Tom Lowery said they’ll have hundreds of pounds of bologna on hand. That’s because not only will the winner be eligible for a free sandwich, but the track’s signature dish will come included with every pit entry and general admission ticket.
“The fried bologna sandwich is a staple of the south,” Lowery said. “We’ll have plenty of chubs [i.e., the long tubes of bologna meat that you see in a deli] so we can make big, thick ¼” slices for our fried bologna sandwiches.”
The track’s concessions stands will offer cheese as an optional topping for the sandwiches. However, many diehards prefer to eat the sandwiches with just mustard or mayonnaise.
“We once made the bologna sandwiches with bread, but they didn’t hold up for race conditions,” said Lowery. “So, we did our research and found that a hamburger bun would work better.”
Southern Raceway will debut the revised fried bologna sandwiches for the first-ever Fried Bologna 150.
“It’s a relaunch of the sandwich, and what better time to do so than the launch of a new race,” Lowery said. “The Fried Bologna 150 opens the Winter Nationals for us.”
The 2023 season marks the ninth season of Tom Lowery promoting Southern Raceway. The track’s weekly program begins in March, and features 604 late models, 602 late models, IMCA modifieds, pure stocks, street stocks, bombers, bandits, and stingers.
“We have three tracks within an hour of us and we all work together,” said Lowery. “Deep South Speedway [in Loxley, Alabama], Northwest Florida Speedway [in Baker], and Tri-County Speedway [in Flomaton] — we all get along.”
The driver who wins the Fried Bologna 150 will receive a special memento for their win.
“Of course, the trophy will be a great, big bologna sandwich,” Lowery said. “There will be plenty of bologna sandwiches for everyone in victory lane.”
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.
