The busiest stretch of the season for the Sprint Car Challenge Tour gets underway Saturday with the 23rd running of the Mel & Marlyn Hall Memorial at Marysville Raceway.
This Saturday’s event marks the fourth race of the season for the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour. The first three events have seen three different winners with Aromas’ Justin Sanders, Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi and Clovis’ Corey Day claiming wins, respectively.
Sanders, the 2018 winner of the Mel & Marlyn Hall Memorial, currently sits atop the standings over Day, Clarksburg’s Justyn Cox, Hollister’s Ryan Bernal and Fremont’s Shane Golobic.
The show in Marysville launches three consecutive weeks of racing for the SCCT 360s, with an event at Placerville Speedway coming up on June 2, followed by Petaluma Speedway on June 10.
“It’s an honor for the Sprint Car Challenge Tour to be a part of the Hall Memorial for the third straight season,” SCCT President Scott Russell said. “Mel and Marlyn put their heart and soul into racing and especially at Marysville Raceway. It should be a great event to kick-off a busy stretch with SCCT and we hope the fans will fill the stands.”
Racing was certainly a passion of the Hall family. They epitomized the great strengths of being at the forefront of the sport when it came to on-track racing and off-track promotions. Mel Hall believed in a united Sprint Car traveling organization and in the early 1990’s was one of the founding fathers of the Civil War Series, which is fundamentally what the Sprint Car Challenge Tour continues to be in the Golden State.
With their unmeasurable work ethic, the Halls were heavily involved in the now defunct Ernie Purcell Speedway in Grass Valley, before taking over operation of Twin Cities Speedway (now Marysville Raceway) in late 1994. Hall is credited with bringing professional Sprint Car racing to the Yuba-Sutter facility, which persists to this very day under the current management of Gage Promotions. The Hall’s left their ego at the door and did the things needed for a successful series and management of Marysville Raceway. They never did this for fame and glory. They were simple people who had a vision and did the best they could to make it a reality.
Mel passed away on May 22, 1999, and Marlyn in August of 2020. The event, held in their memory, remains a cornerstone on the track schedule.
Adult tickets at Marysville Raceway on Saturday cost $24 while seniors 62+, military with ID and juniors 12-15 cost $20. Kids 6-11 years-old are $10, with five and under being admitted free. Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.eventsprout.com/event/marysville-raceway-2023 or at the gate on race day.
The pit gate will open at 3 p.m., with the front grandstand gate opening at 5 p.m. The pit meeting will take place at 4:45 p.m., with cars on track around 5:30 p.m. For those who can’t make it to the track CaliDirt.TV provides live coverage of every Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour. The live streaming service also includes the entire championship point race season from Placerville Speedway in 2023. Fans can purchase through a monthly membership or on a per race basis via https://calidirt.tv/.
