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Jim Harbison (18) battles Cody McPherson during 2022 Chris Moore Memorial (Tom Stevens Photo)
Jim Harbison (18) battles Cody McPherson during 2022 Chris Moore Memorial (Tom Stevens Photo)

'Big R': 2nd Chris Moore Memorial set for May 19

Submitted

Thu, Mar 30th 2023 09:20 pm

Submitted by Ransomville Speedway 

Ransomville Speedway will host the second annual Chris Moore Memorial for the Hy-Tech Concrete DIRTcar Sportsman on May 19, with sponsorship from Parkhill Tree Service and Niagara Hardwood.

Chris Moore was a lifelong resident of Ransomville, and was an all-around racing fan. On Friday nights, you could find Chris cheering for his friends and family with a box full of cheeseburgers and something to say to make you smile. Chris grew up at the Big R with his family watching his great uncle and longtime Ransomville racer, Russ Zimmerman, and cousin “Rebel” Rick Gorhan, go to battle on Friday nights. Great-grandfather Albert Zimmerman maintained machines and the grounds for the speedway from 1989-96. Papa Ron Zimmerman Sr. started working on his brother, Russ’ No. 14 Bomber beginning in 1965 and later drove packing trucks for the speedway. Uncle “Smo” Al Zimmerman and uncle RJ Zimmerman pit crewed for multi-time Ransomville Modified winner “The Franklin Flyer” Billy Decker, while Decker was driving for Adam Ross in the famed Bug Chaser No. 91. 

With family ties to racing so deep, It was a matter of time before he would find a fit for himself in his hometown at the “Big R.” Beginning in the 2018 season, Chris would join R. Harris Motorsports, helping his brothers, Tyler and Orval Harris, with the Sportsman car weekly at Ransomville, Genesee and at Land of Legends Raceway.

Unfortunately, Chris passed unexpectedly in July 2021. 

Chris loved racing at any level and, alongside his family, Ransomville Speedway would like to honor him in a way that would mean the most to him, having a memorial race in his honor for the Hy-Tech Concrete Sportsman.

The inaugural event saw 2022 track champion Derek Wagner pick up the win in the star-studded event. The 2023 edition will also feature the stars and cars of the DIRTcar Sportsman division, as the Chris Moore Memorial will be a western region event for the Sportsman Super DIRTcar Series. The racing program on May 19 will also feature the 358 Modifieds, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, and Novice Sportsman, with racing getting underway at 7:15 p.m. 

Ransomville Speedway is located on Braley Road in the hamlet of Ransomville. “The Big R” is a 3/8th-mile DIRTcar-sanctioned facility that is “Home of the Summer Nationals.” Ransomville also features a 1/16th-mile go-kart track for action on the “Little R” on Thursday nights. For more information, visit www.ransomvillespeedway.com.

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