The Fourth of July is always special at Bullwinkle Raceway in Greenville.

Unfortunately, it may also be one of the last racing dates of the season.

“We’ll be racing through the month of July. I’ve got those races paid for,” said track owner Doug Whitney. “But if things don’t pick up, we might have to take the month of August off.

“We’ll wait and see, I guess,” added Whitney.

The economy has taken its toll, according to Whitney.

“Nobody has any money. The car counts have been good but we haven’t been getting any spectators,” said Whitney. “It’s just the way it is. And [the economy] isn’t going to get any better.

“They’ve got us on our knees right now but they haven’t pushed us over backwards yet,” he added.

Bullwinkle Raceway has had three race dates so far and the Memorial Day weekend has been the only one that drew well.

“We had 350 or so. But for the other two dates, I could have counted the crowds on my hands,” said Whitney.

Today’s festivities should improve Whitney’s disposition.

“We’ll have a good show,” he said. “We’ll have a good crowd.”

The annual July 4th event has plenty of fireworks in addition to the post-race fireworks.

The boat-and-trailer race has always been popular as it involves a car or truck pulling a trailer with a boat in it.

“That brings them in. They call from all over [to enter or inquire about it],” said Whitney.

There will be a burnout competition in which vehicles are hooked up to a 4- by 8-foot steel plate and spin their tires and do burnouts until one of their tires blows.

There is also a demolition derby with the last vehicle still running earning the victory, and there will be a ramp race.

In a ramp race, each driver must put at least two wheels of his vehicle on the ramp on every lap.

In addition, they will have their normal race card with the Little Enduros (four-cylinder cars) having a special race that will pay $250 to win with the next three finishers sharing a pot of $150.

There will also be a 20-lap Big Enduro race for six- and eight-cylinder cars and a 20-lap Truck race.

“Hopefully, we’ll put on a good show,” said Whitney.

Racing will begin at noon.

Full racing schedule this weekend

The other stock-car tracks in Maine will also have races this weekend.

Unity Raceway will have racing on Friday at 6:30 p.m. as the Thursday Thrilla and Friday night cards will be combined.

There will be a special 25-lap (non-points) Teen Thunder feature to highlight the card.

On Saturday night, the Pro All-Stars Series (North) Super Late Models and the PASS Modifieds will return to Scarborough’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway. That will be accompanied by Beech Ridge’s weekly Sport Series, Wildcats and Roadrunners. Racing begins at 6:30.

The 150-lap PASS Super Late Model race is its fifth of the season and there have been four different winners.

Turner’s Ben Rowe, the four-time points champion, has a seven-point lead atop the points standings over Farmington’s Cassius Clark with Morrill’s Travis Benjamin just 21 points behind Rowe.

Turner’s Mike Rowe won the last Beech Ridge race earlier this season by one one-hundredths of a second over son Ben. Benjamin was just half a car length behind.

Andy Shaw of Center Conway, N.H. won the previous Modifieds race at Beech Ridge.

Also on Saturday, Wiscasset Raceway will have its regular race card beginning at 5 p.m. and Caribou’s Spud Speedway will have MotoCross racing on Saturday at noon before the cars take over on Sunday at 1 p.m. with the Cary Medical Center Adventure Camp Fundraiser race card that will feature a 100-lap Bomber race that will pay $750, $500 and $250 to the top three finishers.

Oxford Plains Speedway and Hermon’s Speedway 95 will also offer Saturday night racing.

There will be a 100-lap Mini-Stock race and a NELCAR Legends event among the features at OPS and Speedway 95 will offer up a 35-lap Sport Four series race as well as its other Saturday night classes.

The OPS racing begins at 6:30 p.m. with Speedway 95 starting at 7 p.m.

lmahoney@bangordailynews.net

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