Weedsport, NY — January 31, 2009 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
Where it all began is right back where it picks up in 2009 as the popular ‘Around The Tracks’ radio program hosted by Joe Marotta will be aired live on WFBL ‘Oldies’ 1390 AM beginning in February and carrying on weekly throughout the entire year.
The iconic voice of DIRTcar Racing public address announcer Marotta will be heard every Saturday morning, with the one-hour call-in show hitting the airways at 9 a.m.
“It certainly seems appropriate that our show has moved into the same building where Jack (Burgess) introduced Around The Tracks in the early 1960s,” remarked Marotta, who will kick off his 12th straight season on February 7, taking calls from listeners and interviewing guests from the Baldwinsville, New York-based studio. “I’ve already lined up Cory Reed (DIRTcar Northeast Series Director) for round one, something just as fitting as he was the first on the headset when I started in the 90s.”
With WSEN Radio once owned by Burgess, Marotta will now spearhead the program on sister station WFBL, both owned today by the Buckley Broadcasting Corporation out of Greenwich, Connecticut. Buckley Radio currently owns and operates 20 radio stations from coast to coast in New York, Connecticut and California.
Marotta helped revive the ‘Around The Tracks’ format that was initially utilized by Syracuse’s Sports Radio 620 WHEN in 1998. He then made the move to both WTLA Radio 1200 AM and WSGO Radio 1440 AM at the start of the 2003 race season before completing the most recent switch in January.
Ready to kick off his 43rd season of manning the microphone trackside, Marotta remains the chief announcer at Central New York hangouts Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in Elbridge and Cayuga County Fair Speedway in Weedsport, as well as Oswego Speedway near Lake Ontario. The Solvay, New York native will continue to anchor a year-round show that focuses on the local racing arena featuring track event coverage, team updates, commentary and interviews from those in the business.
In-studio guests include the biggest names on the local race scene, from track owners to drivers encompassing open-wheel and full-fender competition on both dirt and asphalt tracks.
Guests already joining the “round mound of motor sound” include Northeast Modified Hall of Fame brothers Buzzie and Wayne Reutimann, current DIRTcar stars Billy Decker, Brett Hearn, Jimmy Phelps and Dale Planck, former Cup drivers Bobby Allison and Todd Bodine, Oswego mainstays Steve Gioia and Greg Furlong, World of Outlaws Sprint Series champion Donny Schatz, and Big-Block graduate turned national Late Model contender Tim McCreadie.
Using the exclusive ‘Around the Tracks’ fax line (315/635-3490) or direct e-mail address aroundthetracks@wfbl.com, all local track public relations officers are encouraged to send along weekly notes that include their upcoming schedule of events and race result reports. The call-in number on Saturday mornings only is 315/421-9325.
Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts, a leading automotive aftermarket retailer of parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets As of April 19, 2008, the Company operated 3,291 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Additional information about the Company, employment opportunities, customer services, and on-line shopping for parts and accessories can be found on the Company’s web site at www.advanceautoparts.com.
The Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series for Big-Block Modifieds is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional partners include AMB i.t., Rite Aid Corporation and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Crane Cams, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Motorsports Safety Systems, Penske Shocks and Wrisco Industries.
