MERIDIAN, Idaho — Must See Racing will partner with SPEED SPORT and Meridian Speedway to televise one of the quarter-mile asphalt oval’s biggest sprint car events next fall.
Meridian’s Pink Lady Classic, scheduled for Sept. 24-25, will air on MAVTV as part of a tape-delayed broadcast through the popular “SPEED SPORT Presents” series on the network.
The event will feature the Speed Tour sprint cars.
“The Diamond Cup has been the largest sprint car show that we’d put on, dating back to 1989, but the Pink Lady has morphed into an equal — if not bigger — event. Our car counts are equally strong for both events,” said Meridian Speedway managing partner Adam Nelson. “Considering that we’re putting together a big payday for this event next year, it’s a very big deal.
“It’s definitely an exposure opportunity for a lot of the teams in our region,” Nelson added. “We have some of the best winged sprint car racers on pavement anywhere in the country right in this area, and a lot of them don’t get out and travel a lot, so this provides a shot for them to get their names out to the world through the folks with Must See Racing, SPEED SPORT and MAVTV. We’re very excited.”
The Pink Lady Classic gets its name from the sprint car driven by Kenny Hamilton, a former owner of Meridian Speedway, whose iconic No. 98 carried a pastel-pink scheme for many years and was nicknamed “The Pink Lady” during his driving days.
The 2020 edition of the Pink Lady Classic was won by Cory Lockwood, who banked $10,000 for winning the event. Next year, that winner’s prize is planned to double to $20,000.
“We’ve got a unique deal at Meridian with the Speed Tour, as we have some partners that put up $1,000 apiece for the 2020 purse that was then matched by the speedway and then some. At the end of that show, we started putting those sponsors together again to make this happen and added 10 more sponsor slots,” Nelson noted. “These sponsors are ones who wanted to see a cool level of badassery put on by the racers that we have here, racing for a major payday that they don’t often get to race for.
“It’s enough to supplement your whole season’s expenses for some of our guys. This kind of an event is a huge deal for our area,” he continued. “Our typical shows are $1,000 to $1,200 to win, so this is substantially larger. To say that this is important is a vast understatement.”
The format for the 2021 Pink Lady Classic will be largely unchanged from 2020. This year’s race featured a three-segment breakdown, with two 38-lap stints preceding a 24-lap run to the checkered flag.
After the end of the second stage, only the top 10 will remain on track for the final 24 laps of the race.
“The format will stay intact. The only thing that we may look at adjusting are some of the preliminary events … with the two-day format and how those all work,” Nelson explained. “We feel like the Pink Lady Classic will produce a lot of exciting racing for both our fans at the track and those watching the MAVTV telecast. It’s a way to have 100 laps of sprint car racing with less wear and tear on the cars.”
Must See Racing President Jim Hanks is looking forward to providing the promotional push of the MSR and SPEED SPORT television package to Meridian’s most prestigious sprint car event.
“We are really excited to be a part of the 2021 Pink Lady Classic from Idaho’s Meridian Speedway,” said Hanks. “The event has a rich history and tradition of high-speed sprint car racing, featuring some of the best teams in the country competing for the prestigious title and this year’s $20,000 winner’s prize is sure to elevate the intensity, competition and participation to a whole new level.
“We are honored to partner with the track and SPEED SPORT to showcase the event on MAVTV as a part of Must See Racing’s recently-announced special-event racing entertainment, adding to our traditional scheduling which will be released in the next few weeks.”
SPEED SPORT has produced television coverage of Must See Racing events for many years and is looking forward to the Pink Lady Classic.
“Must See Racing is a valued SPEED SPORT partner and we believe winged sprint car racing on asphalt is one of the most exciting forms of racing in the country,” said SPEED SPORT President Ralph Sheheen. “We look forward to working with the folks at Meridian Speedway and bringing the Pink Lady Classic to a national television audience as part of SPEED SPORT Presents on MAVTV.”