DUNDEE, N.Y. – On Dec. 29, 2020, the Northeast racing community lost a valued member when long-time racer and promoter Mike Jackson lost his fight with cancer.
Jackson, who previously promoted Outlaw Speedway when it was known as Black Rock Speedway, then raced after his time running the Dundee, N.Y., facility. The track is now run by Tyler Siri and his team and Siri wanted to honor his friend and the track’s former promoter.
The Mike Jackson Memorial race will be held on May 14 at Outlaw Speedway. The race in the sportsman class will be 49 laps and pay $2,219 to the winner. Jackson’s daughter Hannah is helping promote the event.
“Tyler Siri decided he wanted to do a memorial race for my dad,” Hannah Jackson said. “It is fitting because he promoted that track. They decided they were gonna do it in the sportsman division because that’s where he raced mostly over the last couple years.”
Hannah Jackson took it upon herself to make her dad’s memorial race one to remember. However, she can’t do it alone.
“I then took it upon myself to tell my Uncle Stacy Jackson and Kirk Reynolds,” she explained. “Kirk has done nothing but help me and he’s been wonderful. He’s helped me make it big and now it’s one of the biggest crate sportsman races of the year.”
When Jackson lost his fight with cancer, it the family received an outpouring of support. When the race was announced, Hannah Jackson knew it would happen again.
“It’s crazy,” she said. “I didn’t really think anything of it. I posted the promotion of the race and I posted it Monday (March 15) and it hasn’t even been a full week yet. It’s just been overwhelming. I’ve gotten so many phone calls, so many people who wanna help. I guess I just didn’t realize the impact my father had in the racing industry in the northeast. Now seeing this is amazing.”
Siri and Jackson are hoping for a strong car count, but perhaps more importantly they want the event to properly honor the track’s late promoter.
“I honestly think making it a success would be it being a great day,” Hannah Jackson said. “Everybody being there and knowing we pulled it off. If we have a great car count that would be amazing. I want to have a ton of cars. I watched other series have a ton of cars for $1,000. We have an event that was suppose to be $1,919 to win but now is $2,219.
“It isn’t just an event of, ‘Hey, if you win you get this,’” Hannah Jackson said. “We have prizes throughout the field. Third place is getting a free pair of headers. All of our heat winners are getting extra money and a plaque. It’s pretty spread out.”
For Hannah Jackson, this is a way to continue what her father started and for her to continue to be the type of person her father was and honor him.
“I think he would he extremely proud,” she said. “He would be telling me to do it, do it with all my heart and to go big or go home. If he was gonna do something he was gonna do it very largely and known. He wasn’t a quiet man about anything.”
As for the current Outlaw Speedway promoter Siri, to honor his good friend means everything to him.
“It’s such an amazing way to honor Mike,” Siri said. “I’m humble that we get to host this memorial race at Outlaw, a place where Mike made his mark.”