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PRESS RELEASE, PLACERVILLE SPEEDWAY
INAUGURAL MARK FORNI MEMORIAL RACE MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2007
MEDIA CONTACT: Bill Sullivan
Community embraces second annual Mark Forni Memorial race at Placerville this Saturday
Area businesses contribute to the highest paying point race for second consecutive year
by Bill Sullivan
PLACERVILLE, CA – The business community of El Dorado County have once again joined together with John Padjen Motorsports to present the richest night of racing at Placerville Speedway this Saturday night with the second annual Mark Forni Memorial event. More than $21,000 will be up for grabs at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds this Saturday during this special event that will pay tribute to the late Mark D. Forni, a community icon and a longtime supporter to the sport of local auto racing
From the day he was born, the El Dorado County Fairgrounds were very much a part of Mark Forni's life. His family originally donated the land on which the fairgrounds sit. Once the race track was built in 1965, Mark was an avid fan even as a toddler. Later in life he became involved in racing in the form of competition, sponsorship and eventually became a member of the El Dorado County Fair Board and part of a "racetrack committee" that was formed to insure the future of auto racing in El Dorado County.
In November of 2004, Mark was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, also known as cancer of the bone marrow. After undergoing aggressive treatments in the months that followed, Mark made the ultimate decision in July of 2005 to discontinue treatments when his condition worsened and he learned his days were very limited. Later that same month Mark lost his courageous battle with cancer and left a legacy of community giving. With the announcement of the Mark Forni Memorial race, the community has made a bold statement of how much Mark Forni meant to El Dorado County.
With contributions from more than a dozen of area businesses, Saturday's event will pay more than any championship point race to ever take place at Placerville Speedway and will be the highest paying race of its type throughout California, Nevada and areas of the Pacific Northwest. The event is a class tribute to an individual that spent much of his life supporting Placerville Speedway and the community that surrounds it.
"This is truly an honor to hold this race for Mark Forni,"said Placerville Speedway promoter Alan Padjen. "Mark was a man who did what ever he could to help this sport, promote it and protect it's future in the community. When Mark passed away two years ago I knew this race had to happen."
During the off-season following Forni's passing, Padjen determined an appropriate annual date near the anniversary of Mark's passing. It was then that the efforts to present the first ever "Mark Forni Memorial" began. With active involvement by the Forni family including Mark's wife Karen and close family friend, Chuck Sept interest among the business community of El Dorado County began to grow as the race season grew near. It was the dedicated efforts of Sept that acquired over $10,000 in bonus money to be added to the regular championship payout.
With the added contributions, the sprint car feature event for Saturday's race will pay our more than $18,000 alone. $5,000 will go to the winner of the 30-lap feature, second place will earn $2,000, third place $1,500 and the payout continues in the four-digit format all the way down to seventh place. Just starting the feature event will earn a driver $300 for this one night of racing.
In addition to the feature event funds, the B feature will boast an increased purse as well with more than $2,000 being awarded accordingly to the 20 drivers in the event. The C feature will payout more than $600 down the line. The extra cash doesn't stop in the feature events, the fast qualifier of the evening will earn an extra $100 courtesy of weekly sponsors Zam Fencing and Direct Traffic Control. DSR Graphics and Signs of Cameron Park will also award a $50 bonus to fifth and 13th in qualifying.
With the added payout, Saturday's event is expected to draw over 30 of the best 360 sprint car drivers from California. The 360 sprint cars will be joined by the Pure Stock and Pro Stock divisions. Additional bonuses will be announced later in the week for the two weekly divisions that will be racing on this special night as well. The Midget Lites of the Bay Cities Racing Association will also be in contention.
The format for Saturday's race will include qualifying for the sprint cars followed by heat races for all divisions, preliminary feature events and full feature events which will conclude with the sprint car feature worth $5,000 to the winner.
The gates of Placerville Speedway will open at 5 p.m. on Saturday and all seating is general admission. Adults will be $11, juniors and seniors $9, children are $4 and under six will be admitted for free. A limited edition Mark Forni Memorial Race T-shirt will be on sale at the event after 5 p.m.
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