The Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park will once again feature a $20,000 to win entry option after last years successful debut of “Racing Roulette”.
The 18th running of the Thanksgiving Classic will take place Friday, November 23rd – Sunday, November 25th with the feature event being a 200-lap Late Model Stock Car race on Sunday. The 200-lap race will have a base payout of $6,000 to win but racers will be able to gamble on a bigger payout through a larger entry fee.
The idea was introduced in last November’s Thanksgiving Classic with the concept being praised by drivers and teams. Southern National Motorsports Park owner Michael Diaz used the praise and some criticism of how it worked to make this years version of Racing Roulette even better.
“We took everyone’s thoughts and looked at how to implement them into this year,” said Diaz. “The drivers really gave us great feedback last year. The biggest thing they wanted was an increase in second through fifth position in the purse for the additional entry fee. That was an easy thing to fix and we think the drivers and teams will be happy with the additional money we’ve added to the purse.”
The additional money has been added specifically to second through fifth position for the drivers who take the gamble in Racing Roulette. Second position will increase from $2,500 to $4,500, third position will increase from $2,000 to $3,500, fourth position will increase from $1,500 to $2,750 and fifth position will increase from $1,200 to $2,250. An increase of $19,800 to the top five positions (including the $14,000 increase for first position) for the drivers who take the gamble.
“We really think after talking to the drivers that this will increase participation in Racing Roulette and give the drivers something to shoot for if they can’t win the race,” said track General Manager Charlie Hansen. “We’re adding nearly $20,000 to the purse no matter how many drivers try Racing Roulette. We’re hoping everyone tries to go for it but we want this to be something for the drivers to shoot for and something fun for the fans to play along with in the stands.”
Additional details on the Thanksgiving Classic including entry forms for all divisions and more details will be posted at www.SNMPark.com. The track office is open during the week now, please call 919.284.1114 to schedule a time to come by and reserve trackside spaces, camping spots and drop off entry forms once posted.
