Racing Xtravaganza returns to York Expo Center this weekend
York will be filled with the sights of local auto racing as the Racing Xtravaganza returns to the York Expo Center this weekend. The indoor race car show runs from 3 to 9 p.m. this Friday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.
The Racing Xtravaganza has it all for local race fans. Many of the new cars for the 2023 racing season will be on display. Most of the local speedways will be on hand with schedules for the new season and representatives to answer any questions. Many other racing-related vendors will also be present. Be it race car parts or racing novelties, chances are you will be able to find it at the RX.
As has been the case since this show started in the early 1980s as Dirt Trackin’, the York County Racing Club will be on hand. And as they have every year since then, the YCRC will be hosting a bake sale as well as sharing information about the club and club items.
The RX also has many special activities planned. There will be numerous driver autograph sessions, along with various roundtable sessions set up on stage for race fans to get a chance to see and hear their favorite drivers and other racing celebrities.
A listing of these roundtables include a super late model session at 6 p.m. Friday. Hosted by BAPS announcer Dave Hare and former racer Alan Sagi, the guests at this roundtable will include Rick Eckert, Jeremy Miller, Devin Hart, and Kyle Lee.
There will be a sprint car owners roundtable Saturday at 11 a.m. Hare will host with Gary Kauffman, John Trone and Michael Heffner on the panel.
The extreme stock racers will join Hare on Saturday at 4:15. Included will be Sammy Rial, Donnie Broderick, Jordan Fulton and Patrick McClane.
On Saturday at 5:30, Hare will host sprint car drivers Chase Dietz, Dylan Cisney and Devon Borden.
Birthday boy: RX will also have a seminar room with activities through out the weekend. That one kicks off with a Friday afternoon special. Titled "Happy Birthday Lynn," it will start at 4:30 with birthday boy Lynn Paxton sharing stories from his life in auto racing.
Paxton was one of this area’s top contenders from the early 1960s until he retired after leading every lap of the 1983 Williams Grove National Open to score his second consecutive win in that marquee sprint car event. Paxton has been inducted into many racing Halls of Fame including the National sprint Car Hall of Fame, the YCRC Hall of Fame and the ARCH Hall of Fame. He will be one of the drivers honored at this year’s Frank Sagi Tribute Race at Hagerstown.
Since he stopped racing, Paxton has served in many different capacities in the racing world. He worked as the race director at Silver Spring for a while, as a color commentator for televised local sprint car races, and of course has been the driving force behind the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing.
Following his own birthday celebration, Paxton will stick around the seminar room to join me for a presentation of racing photos from the collection of late racing photographer Barry Skelly.
Seminars will continue all weekend in the special room with several aimed at specific racing questions.
The RX show will have it’s own Miss RX contest for the ladies. At last count, there were a dozen contestants. There will also be a cornhole challenge during the weekend.
ATLANTIC CITY NOTES
The racing action last weekend in Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall brought out a great crowd, nearly filling the historic structure that hosted the Miss America contest for many years. While the drivers who competed in the event represented many forms of outdoor racing, there were probably just as many or more race drivers on hand as spectators, and they may have covered event more aspects of the sport.
Even neater in my thoughts is the fact that many of the officials who work the event are drivers, either past or present, who take the time out during the winter months to make sure this event goes off without a hitch.
With that being said, perhaps the best known of the visitors during the weekend was on hand as a spectator, and friend. Third-generation IndyCar racer Marco Andretti was on hand Saturday to watch his friend Kyle Lick compete in both the TQ Midgets And the 600cc micro sprints. Lick, a top-rated small-car racer, also serves as a spotter for Andretti.
Last season, Andretti competed in the Indy 500 and in the SRX series, where he won the points title. His plans for 2023 are about the same.