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`Big R` fireworks display photo by Tom Stevens/courtesy of Ransomville Speedway
"Big R" fireworks display photo by Tom Stevens/courtesy of Ransomville Speedway

'Big R': Fireworks & twin 20s highlight holiday weekend show at Ransomville

Submitted

Thu, Jun 30th 2022 07:00 am

Submitted by Ransomville Speedway

Fireworks, modified twin 20s, and the Chris Moore Sportsman Memorial highlight the holiday weekend festivities this coming Friday night at the Ransomville Speedway. Parkhill Tree & Land Management, Niagara Hardwood Center, Hy-Tech Concrete, Sunset Bar & Grille, and JW Swanson & Associates will be presenting the program.

The Chris Moore Memorial for the Investor’s Service DIRTcar Sportsman will be round four of the Sportsman Super DIRTcar Series Western Region. The top contenders on both sides of the border will converge on “The Big R” this coming Friday night. Brad Rouse won the first Western Region Canada race at Merrittville Speedway in May, while Phil Vigneri III won the first on U.S. soil at the Genesee Speedway in mid-June.

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 multitime 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. He 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 Investor’s Service Sportsman.

The July 1 program will also feature fireworks, plus twin-20s, for the Krown Undercoating Modifieds, plus a full card of racing. Pit gates open at 5 p.m. Grandstands open at 6 p.m., and racing will get underway at 7:15 p.m. Adult general admission is $22, seniors (60-plus) and youth (12-17) are $18, and kids 11 and under will be admitted free. Pit admission is $35 for members or $40 for the general public. More information can be found by visiting www.ransomvillespeedway.com.

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 the “Home of the Summer Nationals.” Ransomville also features a 1/16th-mile go-kart track for action on the “Little R” on Thursday nights.

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