36th Annual Earl Hill Memorial Set for Saturday at Tyler County Speedway
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Zach Yost Photo
(Middlebourne, WV) America’s Baddest Bullring will be the place to be this Saturday Night, July 8th as the Tyler County Speedway will present one of its most prestigious events of the Summer. The rescheduled 36th Annual Earl Hill Memorial presented by Middletown Homes will now roll off on Saturday, a week later than originally slated thanks to Mother Nature. A rich and storied event at the Tyler County Speedway in honor of one of the true icons of the mid-ohio valley, that will pay $5,080 to win for the 50 lap A-Main. A stacked field of regional hot-shoes is expected to tangle with the Bullrings best in a bid to add their name to the history books and become winner of the 36th Annual Earl Hill Memorial.
ABOUT EARL HILL: Earl Hill is arguably the most successful dirt Late Model racer in the history of the Tyler County Speedway and possibly in the state of West Virginia. Hill was nearly unbeatable at times in the track’s history and likely holds all the track records of his era. Earl amassed well over 300 feature wins in his driving career, primarily driving the Jr. Thomas owned #8 or the Doll Brothers entries. Known as ‘Smiley’ to friends, Hill was recognizable for his polka dot welders cap and handlebar mustache outside of the car, and his surgical-like skills behind the wheel in the car. The winner of the final race ever held at the defunct Morgantown Speedway and the first ever Tyler County Speedway track champion, Hill racked up championships, wins and top 3 finishes by the score in the tri-state area and especially Tyler County. Despite his domination at times, Hill remained a crowd favorite, a testament to the popularity of the man. Children, were favorites to Earl, with many leaving the track on race night with the trophy that Hill had won that evening. The very definition of ‘gentleman racer’, Earl Hill is fondly remembered annually with the Earl Hill Memorial race at Tyler County Speedway.
PAST WINNERS OF THE EARL HILL MEMORIAL: 1988 Frank Wilson, 1989 Bobby Davison, 1990 Bob Adams Jr., 1991 Butch McGill, 1992 Mike Hawkins, 1993 Bob Adams Jr. (2), 1994 Butch McGill (2), 1995 Bob Adams Jr. (3), 1996 Tim Hitt, 1997 DJ Cline, 1998 Butch McGill (3), 1999 Gary Dalton, 2000 Butch McGill (4), 2001 Bobby Hill, 2002 Rain, 2003 Bobby Hill (2), 2004 Mike Benedum, 2005 Robbie Scott, 2006 Mike Benedum (2), 2007 Mike Benedum (3), 2008 Tim Dohm, 2009 Zack Dohm, 2010 Jared Hawkins, 2011 Jared Miley, 2012 Jared Miley (2), 2013 Paul Wilmoth Jr., 2014 Jonathan Davenport, 2015 Tim Dohm (2), 2016 Mason Zeigler, 2017 Derek Doll, 2018 Jared Miley (3), 2019 Brandon Overton, 2020 Colten Burdette, 2021 Jacob Hawkins, 2022 Jacob Hawkins (2), 2023 ?????
Also on the card will be the running of the 3rd Annual (PJ) Buckwheat Wright for the Hino Motors Manufacturing USA Mini Wedges along with a complete program of J&R Excavating RUSH Late Models, Jenkins Auto Parts UMP Modifieds, Middlebourne Galaxy Food Center Sportmods, J&L Collision Center Hotmods and Dual Threat Sports Cards SCDRA 4 Cylinders.
Gates will open at 4pm with MWRA Mini Wedges scheduled for action at 6pm with hotlaps/qualifying getting underway at 6:45pm. General admission is $20, with children 10 and under free, with pit admission priced at $35.
Tyler County Speedway is located 3 ½ miles south of Middlebourne, WV on State Route 18 at the Tyler County Fairgrounds approximately an hour from Wheeling, Clarksburg & Parkersburg. Featuring a spacious scenic campground along the Middle Island Creek with hookups, picnic shelters, playgrounds, shower and bathroom facilities among the many facility amenities to enhance the racing experience at West Virginia’s premier venue for motorsports.
For complete Tyler County Speedway event information, news stories, ticket info and schedule information for the season, visit www.tylercountyspeedwayonline.com or call the track at 304-771-5661 or 304-771-6874 or on Raceday at 304-758-2660.
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