Matt Prieur returns to weekly short track racing as the voice of both Dixie Motor Speedway and Owosso Speedway in 2009.
By Fast Track Promotions
Ovid, Michigan (Monday, December 15, 2008): There’s a resurgence within the weekly short track racing in Central and Eastern Michigan. Race tracks within the area are beginning to work together for the common good of short track racing in the Great Lakes State with Dixie Motor Speedway and Owosso Speedway leading the charge!
This resurgence makes the 2009 racing season one of the most highly anticipated in recent memory. It actually began in the middle of the 2008 racing season when Rick and Jennie Miracle as well as Jeff and Pam Parish together purchased Owosso in July 2008. Then in November 2008, the Parish’s announced their plans as new Promoters of Dixie.
While the Miracle’s won’t be a part of the plans for Dixie and concentrate solely on Owosso, both tracks will have one thing in common for the upcoming season; A veteran voice to fill the airwaves at both historic facilities.
Former ASA Late Model Series Director of Media / Public Relations and P.A. Announcer, Matt Prieur is coming back home twice! Prieur is returning to both the track where he started his career (Dixie) and his adoptive home track (Owosso) for the 2009 racing season!
“I’m so excited, I can’t wait to get the season started!” Prieur stated. “The Parish’s and the Miracle’s are great ambassadors of weekly short track racing and great people in general and I’m very honored that they’ve asked me to be a part of their racing family at my two home tracks!” The 34-year-old added.
On Friday nights at Dixie Motor Speedway’s 4/10s mile progressively banked paved oval as well as the tracks inner 1/3 mile semi-banked paved oval and Figure 8 layout, Prieur will be the lead Announcer and Director of Media / Public Relations at the well-known Birch Run, Michigan speed plant.
On Saturdays at Owosso’s fast 3/8s mile high-banked paved oval, he’ll share the microphone with Co-Owner / Promoter, Rick Miracle, who was the lead Announcer in 2006 and again in 2008. In addition, Prieur will also serve as Co-Director of Media/Public Relations at the historic Ovid, Michigan facility with Chris Fobbe.
"We are extremely proud to be announcing the return of "Hollywood" to both of these historic facilities!” Stated Co-Owner / Promoter at Owosso and Co-Promoter at Dixie, Jeff Parish. “Matt has an experience and talent level that is an asset to the very best of racing programs. It’s on the direction of our vision for Owosso and Dixie.”
“In addition, I'm equally excited about Matt being instrumental in the growth and management of our Media Communications at each facility,” Parish continued. “We have some cutting edge stuff coming out that Matt will be developing from its infancy.”
“We are very pleased to have Matt on our Owosso team this season. We have just raised the bar on giving our fans and spectators a professional event every Saturday,” Added Co-Owner / Promoter at Owosso, Rick Miracle.
“The community of Owosso will soon see that there is First Class entertainment right here at home with our local talent. Matt has a lot of experience and the fans are in for a special treat with every show!” Miracle added.
“Combining Matt’s talent with the racing action here at the Big “O” is setting Owosso Speedway up to be the premier racing facility in Michigan!” Miracle also stated that “Matt is very much on board with our philosophies and mission statement.”
“Both Dixie and Owosso have some big plans for the upcoming season and I’m very excited to get started and begin working with the Parish’s and Miracle’s and do my part to help make sure the 2009 racing season is a success at both tracks.” Prieur added. “I can’t wait until opening weekend at both tracks, I’m counting the days!”
“Opportunities are great for business and our staff when working together on these projects and Matt's talents will help shape the growth of these projects.” Parish remarked. “Matt shares our vision of what racing can be in the Midwest. We expect great things for these tracks and together we are going after them." He ended.
Over a career that has spanned the last 19 seasons, Prieur has announced at over 80 speedways throughout the United States and Canada, and has called over 1,000 racing events throughout his career. The 2009 racing season will be Prieur’s 20th season as an official!
Some of his career highlights include calling races at such famed facilities as: Bristol Motor Speedway, Cayuga International Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Mansfield Motorsports Park, Milwaukee Mile, O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, Oswego Speedway, Toledo Speedway, Winchester Speedway, and many more.
Most recently, Prieur was the Director of Media / Public Relations and P.A. Announcer for the ASA Late Model Series beginning full-time in 2005 until July of 2008 when he resigned. He also filled in for two shows in 2003 when the series was known as the USPRO Cup Series and one more show as well as the series’ awards banquet in 2004.
“I thoroughly enjoyed traveling the country with the ASA Late Model Series and to be able to call races at some of the most prestigious race tracks in the country is something I’ll never forget.” He added.
“I will always be grateful to (ASALMS Co-Founders / Presidents) Ron and Sandy Varney for giving me that opportunity. I wish them the best of luck in the upcoming season and I look forward to seeing them again in 2009.” Prieur offered.
The Lexington, Michigan based series will make one stop apiece at both Dixie and Owosso as the ASALMS Northern Division will invade Dixie on Friday, August 21, 2009 and two weeks later, will return to Michigan and back to Owosso over the Labor Day Holiday Weekend on Saturday, September 5, 2009.
This will be Prieur’s third stint at Dixie and his second time around at Owosso as the Ovid, Michigan resident began his career in 1989 at Dixie and joined the Auto City Speedway staff in 1990. He stayed at both facilities in a wide variety of capacities, including P.A. Announcer, until the 1993 season.
Beginning with the 1994 campaign, He was then hired by the ICEMAN Super Car Series and the series’ home base of Toledo Speedway at just 19 years old where he was the Director of Media / Public Relations and P.A. Announcer until the conclusion of the 1997 racing season.
Also back in 1996, the Flint, Michigan native filled in for three events with the historical ASA National Tour under the Rex and Brian Robbins tenure as Promoters, while still just 21 years of age and to this day, is still the youngest person ever to announce a national touring series race in the entire country.
Also in 1997 and in addition to his ICEMAN and Toledo obligations, he went to work for the Tri-City Motor Speedway for one season serving in the same capacities. This would be his first of two stints at the now closed facility known as the Trick-Track of the World.
After resigning from ICEMAN, Toledo, and Tri-City at the end of 1997, he returned to Auto City and Dixie in 1998 as the Director of Media / Public Relations at both facilities and adding the title of P.A. Announcer at Dixie in 2000 and 2001.
At the end of the 2000 season, Prieur resigned from Auto City and was immediately hired by Owosso Speedway beginning with the 2001 campaign while keeping his position at Dixie as well.
During his first stop at Owosso, Prieur was the Director of Media / Public Relations and Co-P.A. Announcer with Ed Inloes, who now announces at near-by Auto City as well as Spartan Speedway. Prieur and Inloes were together for the 2001-2002 season forming one of the most popular and successful tandems in recent history.
After Inloes resigned before the 2003 season, Prieur handled the announcing chores himself at Owosso in 2003 and 2004. Prieur stayed at Dixie in 2001 before resigning to concentrate just Owosso beginning with the 2002 season.
In 2003 and in addition to his duties at Owosso, Tri-City reopened and Prieur was hired there for a second time, and stayed at both Owosso and Tri-City until the end of the 2004 season.
Prieur resigned from both Owosso and Tri-City at the end of the 2004 season in order to accept the Director of Media / Public Relations and P.A. Announcer jobs with the ASA Late Model Series beginning with the 2005 season. Prieur did fill in at Owosso during off weekends from the ASALMS that year as well.
For the 2009 racing season, both Dixie and Owosso will have several test and tune days scheduled throughout the month of April before the official start of the racing season. The official 2009 Schedules for both facilities will be released very soon.
Dixie will run on Friday nights beginning on May 1, 2009 featuring Pro Late Models and Modifieds, who will co-headline the weekly cards all season long while the Sportsmen division will join them on the 4/10s mile progressively banked paved oval.
In addition, Street Stocks (Formally Factory Stocks), Pure Stocks (Formally Bombers), and the return, on a part-time basis, of the Sport Stocks (Four-Cylinders) will also be in action on the adjoining 1/3 mile oval during the season while the Figure 8s are also in the weekly line-up.
As for Saturday nights, Owosso will begin the 2009 season on May 2, 2009 featuring Pro Late Models (Formally Limited Late Models) and Modifieds as co-headlining divisions who will alternate as the premiere divisions throughout the upcoming season on the fast 3/8s mile high-banked paved oval.
Both divisions will be joined by the Pro Stocks (Formally Street Stocks), Pure Stocks, and Sport Stocks (Formally Mini Stocks) throughout the upcoming season.
As for the rulebooks for both facilities, the 2009 Owosso Rulebook is out and available while the Dixie Rulebook will be released at the beginning of the new calendar year.
While the Pro Late Models and Modifieds rules and regulations will be the same for both tracks, the Dixie Sportsmen, Dixie Street Stocks, and Owosso Pro Stocks will have some differences as will the Dixie Bombers and Owosso Pure Stocks. More details coming soon.
Over the next couple of seasons, the rulebooks for both facilities will fall in line with each other in an effort to cut costs and not burden the competitors at both facilities with several changes at once, but instead subtle changes to the rulebook each season until both rulebooks are unified.
Look for several exciting announcements throughout the off season from Dixie and Owosso! To learn more about both facilities with regards to the upcoming 2009 racing seasons in both Birch Run, Michigan and Ovid, Michigan, please call: 1 (989) 709-6113 or log onto either of the tracks’ websites at:www.dixiemotorspeedway.com or www.owossospeedway.com
Monday, December 15, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Owosso Speedway Supports Community Fundraising
Owosso Mi, - The owners of Owosso Speedway, Jeff and Pam Parish and Rick and Jennie Miracle unveiled a “Community Share” program that will support non-profit organizations, civic groups and community service organizations of the surrounding Owosso area through advanced ticket sales in the 2009 season.
Fast Track Promotion Inc will be offering these tickets to the community organizations to target specific race dates for advanced sales in support of the fundraising event. Each ticket sold at face value will earn the organization a $2.00 return for the sales effort. The 2009 schedule will reflect which events will be hosted by each organization. Dates are being scheduled for Scouting, Service Clubs, Church Groups, Local High School Band Programs and area Athletic Clubs and organizations. This fundraising program will allow each organization to enjoy a great night of short track auto racing with friends and family and at the same time provide a good source of revenue to support their projects.
Fast Track Promotion Inc believes in “Building Family and Community in the Promotion of Short Track Auto Racing.”
Please check with Jeff Parish @ (989) 709-6113 or Rick Miracle @ (810) 965-6698 to see how your club or organization can participate. You can also visit Owosso Speedway on the web at: www.owossospeedway.com Owosso Speedway is located on M-21 just 7 miles west of
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