Tickets Available for Shark Racing’s Fan/Sponsor Appreciation Night Jan. 25

HANOVER, Pa., Jan. 15 — It’s not every day that an athlete from York County reaches the international level of sports.

This year there are two.

Logan Schuchart, 21, and Jacob Allen, 19, of Hanover-based Shark Racing are poised to become regular drivers in the World of Outlaws (WoO) STP Sprint Car Series. With 92 nights of racing at 52 different tracks in 24 states and three Canadian provinces in a season that stretches from February to November, it’s the premier sprint car sanctioning body in North America.

Area race fans can help support their effort and give them a “Pennsylvania Posse send-off” by attending the fifth annual Shark Racing Fan/Sponsor Appreciation Night on Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Cross Keys Inn Banquet Hall, 6110 York Road, New Oxford, Pa. The admission price is $25 and all proceeds go to Shark Racing.

Tickets for the function can be purchased on-line through PayPal; e-mail Michael Newman at [email protected] for more information. Tickets can also be purchased at the Cross Keys Inn Banquet Hall; Newman’s Food Mart and Shell Station, 403 Broadway St. in Hanover, or at the Speedway 94 go-kart facility at 1724 Hanover St., Hanover.

The doors will open at 5 p.m. that night for an autograph session featuring both drivers and their National Sprint Car Hall of Fame relative, Bobby Allen, “The Original Outlaw” and the owner of Shark Racing.

A dinner will follow promptly at 6 p.m. It will consist of a garden salad with a choice of three dressings followed by an entrée of roast beef in a burgundy sauce accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and corn. Guest will have a choice of chocolate or white cake for dessert.

Beer and soft drinks are included and a cash bar will be available for mixed drinks. Guests must be over 21 to consume alcoholic beverages.

Guests who wish to stay overnight at the Cross Keys Inn can receive a discounted rate by mentioning Shark Racing. That rate includes a complimentary breakfast for two.

Live entertainment by the band “Bandwagon” will be featured, as will a live auction of racing memorabilia and other items.

Some of the auction items include:

* A wing panel used by Bobby Allen in 1982. Featured on pages 76-77 of last month’s Sprint Car & Midget magazine, it was donated by one of the team’s sponsors, CnB Mushroom Farms.

* A wing panel used by Schuchart in 2013 at various events, including Knoxville. He won three races with it on top of his race car.

* A gas tank from Schuchart’s sprint car.

* A chair autographed by some of the original WoO drivers such as Bobby Allen, Steve Kinser, Brad Doty, Sammy Swindell and Jac Haudenschild.

* Two 11-by-15-inch photos of Schuchart and Jacob Allen taken at Knoxville, Iowa in 2013 that were donated by photographer Loren Carman of WRT SpeedWerx. Each photo is printed directly on metal for an eye-catching finish.

* Schuchart’s first sprint uniform. He wore it for his biggest victory so far, when he held off Shane Stewart to win a 360 sprint car race at Selinsgrove Speedway in 2011. He also wore it for his first 410 sprint car race.

* Eric Allen has donated three copies of the board game “Dirt: The Game” autographed by Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne.

* Fifty copies of a special, limited-edition commemorative DVD made by Bobby Allen’s daughters, Dana and Robin Allen, will be available for $50 each. Made with the assistance of a Hollywood production house, the 10-minute DVD was created in honor of Bobby Allen’s 70th birthday last month. It features a collection of personal and public racing photos and video footage touching on his career highlights, including his Knoxville Nationals victory. It then transitions from his career as a driver to his current work as mentor and coach for Schuchart and Jacob Allen.

* A large, sterling silver cuff called “Modernista” carrying a retail value of $300 donated by Lisa Alwine of Silpada Designs.

People who can’t attend but who would like to bid on any of the auction items may bid by telephone that night via (717) 819-0460. It is suggested that the caller line up the call beforehand, however.

The brand-new 2014 line of Shark Racing T-shirts and sweatshirts will be unveiled at the party and will be available for purchase. It features three designs: one of Schuchart, one of Jacob Allen and one of Shark Racing.

Jewelry from Silpada Designs will also be available for purchase; 30 percent of all of those sales that evening will also go to Shark Racing.

Fans or companies that can’t attend the Fan/Sponsor Appreciation Night can make a donation directly to the team through PayPal via Dana Allen’s e-mail address of [email protected].

In addition to CnB Mushroom Farms, the team is sponsored by Your Auto Source, Fogle & Sons, Newman’s Towing & Recovery, Brenneman Painting, Marty Thompson, Mark Pell and Don Ott Engines. Other individuals and companies wishing to assist the team monetarily or become marketing sponsors for the 2014 season may reach Bobby Allen through Dana Allen’s e-mail address for more information.