ABC Raceway Kicks Off ‘10 Campaign on Saturday
by Nick Gima
 Ashland, WI -- The 2010 edition of the ABC Raceway’s stock car racing season will begin on Saturday, May 15, with the Northern State Bank Season Opener.
 A full schedule of action in the WISSOTA-sanctioned modified, super stock and Midwest modified divisions, as well as the Raceway’s own six-cylinder and pure stock classes, is set each of the next 16 Saturday nights this summer.
 Fans and drivers visiting the three-eighths-mile red-clay oval this season will notice improvements to the racing surface, including a significant reworking of the track’s banked turns and upgrades in the track’s safety lighting.
 Another important change will be the use of Raceceiver radio systems in the WISSOTA-sanctioned divisions, which will allow race officials to communicate with the drivers during cautions and restarts. This in turn will offer a faster-paced program for the fans’ entertainment.
 Championship points battles in all five divisions will start right from night one and should be very intriguing to watch. Duane Dale of Aurora, MN, won his first career track title last August in the modifieds at Ashland, but a tight work schedule to start the summer may put him off the pace to repeat early on, meaning that division’s top trophy may be up for grabs.
 Superior’s Scott Lawrence will be back to attempt something that no driver has ever done at Ashland, and very few have done at any track - win a seventh consecutive track championship. Lawrence won his “one for the other thumb” in the super stocks last year, and in doing earned a track-record ninth overall.
 Steve Stuart of Ashland has moved up into the big mods for the 2010 campaign, thus offering up the Midwest mod title to the field. In two seasons of Mid-mod racing here, Stuart is the track’s only points champ.
 Dale Coddington of Hayward collected his first-ever track championship here in the six-cylinder class, and he is expected to return to defend that title in a division that will see a lot of new faces as well as some stiff competition.
 The pure stock championship was one of the most hotly-contested here in ‘09, and the tie between Superior’s Tim Carlson and Tim Carbon of Highbridge was proof positive of that. Last year the top six drivers were separated by only 12 points.
 The grandstand gates will open at 5 pm, and fans can sign up for reserved seats at the main ticket window every race night starting Saturday. Pit gates will open earlier than normal at 4 pm Saturday, allowing drivers to take care of such administrative issues as paying for pit spots and licenses, signing up for Raceceivers and transponders, etc.
 Hot laps will get underway promptly at 6:15, and the first green flag of the season is set to waive at 7 pm.
 Prior to Saturday’s race program, “Race Night” will air live with up-to-date track news and weather information on WBSZ, 93.3 FM, from 4:30-6 pm. The ABC Raceway is located 3-1/2 miles south of Ashland on State Highway 13 and one mile west on Butterworth Road. For raceday information call (715) 682-4990,