LOUDON, NH (September 16, 2019)- Full Throttle Fall Weekend Race Week Storylines from New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Pre-Race
National Anthem: Joe Cantone
Joe Cantone is a songwriter/recording artist who has lead worship for various churches and performed at festivals and concerts with his band and as a soloist. His YouTube videos have gone nationwide, and he has become a National Anthem favorite and has sung for some of the biggest venues in New England such as Gillette Stadium for the New England Revolution, Tennis Hall of Fame, NASCAR and political state conventions to name just a few.
Acton Minutemen
The Acton Minutemen will be featured during pre-race ceremonies and in victory lane for the winner of the Musket 250 presented by Whelen on Saturday, September 21.
The Acton Minutemen have been affiliated with New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the past three years, honoring the Cup Chase drivers with musket volleys in 2016, helping to give Dale Earnhardt Jr. his gift of the beautiful handmade musket in 2017 and being in victory lane for the inaugural Musket 250 winner in 2018.
The Acton Minutemen were a group of brave citizen-soldiers from Acton, Mass. who, on April 19, 1775, marched into history at the North Bridge in Concord, Mass. against British forces guarding the bridge there. Their leader, Isaac Davis, was killed there, becoming the first commissioned officer to die for this country.
Today’s Acton Minutemen were reformed in 1963 to honor the courageous deeds of those original men from Acton. They now include men, women and children of all ages, and they participate in parades, ceremonies and full-on battle reenactments of the American Revolution.
Custom Musket, Minuteman Trophy & Tricorn Hat
The winner of the Musket 250 presented by Whelen will receive a custom musket, minuteman trophy and tricorn hat.
The handmade flintlock musket was built by Edwin Parry of Black Hart Long Arms out of Eastford, Conn. Using a blend of tiger maple and brass, Parry hand engraved the Revolutionary War-style musket with the race logo, a checkered flag, the profile of the state of New Hampshire and a spot for the winner’s name. The flintlock mechanism featured on the musket was the method of ignition from about 1630 to about 1830. The spark it creates would have ignited a pan full of powder, which would then have ignited the charge in the barrel and sent the bullet on its way.
The winner will also receive a traditional Revolutionary War-era tricorn hat and a minuteman trophy. Taking on its New England roots, the trophy is a replica of the Minuteman statue in Concord, Mass., weighing 30 pounds and measuring 32 inches tall.
New Features for 2019
Fourth Race Added
A fourth race has been added to the Full Throttle Fall Weekend lineup with a 20-lap J&J’s Yolk & Co. Oval Series race featuring Granite State Legends Cars competing for a $5,000 purse on Friday.
Access for All Ticket Holders
All ticket holders have access to a free autograph session (behind the Main Grandstand) with the drivers from all three NASCAR series on Saturday from 10:30-11:15 a.m. and also have access to a limited number of temporary grandstand seats (general admission) along the backstretch near turn two in the infield.
More Access with Pit Pass
Pit passes for Full Throttle Fall Weekend allow access into the garages, on pit road and the racetrack for fans of all ages. Pit pass holders get front-stage access for pre-race ceremonies on Saturday, including driver introductions, and can get up close to all of the race cars, which will be lined up and down the frontstretch.
Infield Camping Expanded
Due to the popularity during the inaugural Full Throttle Fall Weekend, infield camping has been expanded to include 100 more spots, bringing fans right into the middle of the on-track action. Other trackside campsites include spots along the backstretch in turn three, along turn four in Trackside Terrace as well as in the S9 lot.
On-Track Action & Race Sponsors
Musket 250 presented by Whelen
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will take center stage for the Musket 250 presented by Whelen, the longest mileage and richest purse race of the season, on Saturday, September 21 at 3:05 p.m. with qualifying on Friday, September 20 at 4:15 p.m. Chase Dowling won the inaugural Musket 250 in 2018.
Whelen Engineering Company, a leader in the emergency warning industry, has been a longtime partner of New Hampshire Motor Speedway dating back to when the facility opened in 1990 and served as the entitlement sponsor for the Whelen Modified All-Star Shootout in 2014 and 2017. All of the speedway’s safety equipment, such as cleanup trucks, jet driers and sweepers, are outfitted with a variety of Whelen lights. Additionally, the green, yellow and red warning lights used to keep the drivers safe on the race track as well as other portable lights used around the NHMS grounds are all from Whelen.
For more than 25 years, Whelen has supported NASCAR and its grassroots racing series. A privately-owned company that began in 1952, Whelen is in its 15th year as the title sponsor of the Whelen Modified Tour, the longest-running series in NASCAR. With New England-based factories in Charlestown, N.H. and Chester, Conn., Whelen is recognized as the only United States manufacturer of emergency warning equipment to still fabricate its products entirely in the U.S.
Apple Barrel 125
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, featuring the sport’s stars of tomorrow, takes on “The Magic Mile” for the Apple Barrel 125 on Saturday, September 21 at 1:20 p.m. with qualifying on the same day at 9:30 a.m. Brandon McReynolds won the inaugural Apple Barrel 125 in 2018.
Visit New Hampshire 100
The NASCAR Pinty’s Series gets Saturday’s on-track action started with its only appearance outside of Canada this year, the Visit New Hampshire 100, on Saturday, September 21 at 12:05 p.m. with qualifying on the same day at 9:00 a.m. Kevin Lacroix won the inaugural Visit New Hampshire 100 in 2018.
The Division of Travel and Tourism Development, as part of the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs, works with the state’s seven travel regions to increase visitation, travel and visitor expenditures in order to expand business activity and employment throughout the state. The division is responsible for domestic and international advertising and public relations, literature publications and distribution, www.VisitNH.gov administration, grant administration and research to monitor and measure the impact of travel and tourism to the state.
In previous years, Visit New Hampshire sponsored the New Hampshire Motor Speedway show car, which is a replica Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car, which traveled to various events throughout New England as well as the NASCAR Pinty’s Series very first race outside of Canada at 2018’s inaugural Full Throttle Fall Weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
J&J’s Yolk & Co. Oval Series Granite State Legends Cars 20-Lap Race
J&J’s Yolk & Co. Oval Series wraps up Friday’s on-track action with a 20-lap Granite State Legends Cars race on Friday, September 20 at 5:30 p.m. with qualifying on the same day at 11:15 a.m.
Off-Track
Speedway Children’s Charities New Hampshire Chapter
Keep an eye out for Speedway Children’s Charities New Hampshire Chapter’s Red Bucket Brigade as they make their way through the grandstands in search of spare change and loose bills during the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Musket 250 presented by Whelen on Saturday, September 21 at 3:05 p.m. to help children in need across New England.
Fan Zone
The Fan Zone will be just outside the infield tunnel next to the Concord Ticket Booth and will feature kids activities, a beer tent with lawn games, a variety of farm style and fall harvest food options, vendors, displays and live music. When the on-track action ends on Friday, the party continues at the Fan Zone stage with live music from Shot of Poison presented by Binnie Media from 7:30-10 p.m.
For ticket information for all events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, including the September 20-21, 2019 Full Throttle Fall Weekend, the June 13-21, 2020 Motorcycle Week at NHMS and the July 17-19, 2020 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 race weekend, visit the speedway website at NHMS.com or call Fan Relations at (603) 783-4931.
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