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A Delaware Tradition: ‘Diamond State 50’ Fires Off Tuesday, August 11 at Delaware International Speedway

DELMAR, DE – A Delaware dirt-track tradition
continues Tuesday, August 11 at Delaware International Speedway.

The Cathell
family’s half-mile clay oval hosts the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super
Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco Modifieds and Crate 602 Sportsman next Tuesday
during the ‘Diamond State 50’ annual running sponsored by Hurlock Auto &
Speed Supply of Hurlock, Md.

STSS
Modifieds of the Velocita-USA South Region presented by Design for Vision and
Sunglass Central will race 50 laps for $5,000 to win, $1,000 to win and $400 to
start plus special awards and bonuses. STSS Crate 602 Sportsman (25 laps,
$1,500 to win), Delaware Super Trucks and Delmarva Chargers complete the
program.

The ‘Diamond
State 50’ moniker brings with it a storied history at Delaware International
Speedway.

The first
‘Diamond State 50’ was contested in 1999 as a Modified vs. Late Model
Challenge. Legendary Gary Stuhler
etched his name as the inaugural winner. The same format continued for ’00 and
’01 with Kenny Brightbill and Jimmy Horton taking the victories.

Modifieds and
Super Late Models split for the ’02 edition and again it was Horton with the Modified triumph and David Hill the Super Late Model winner.

After weather
took the ’03 edition, Ricky Elliott
topped the ’04 Modified portion and Kenny
Pettyjohn was the Super Late Model victor. 
New York State invader Danny Johnson
bested the Modified field in ’05 and David
Hill again was the Super Late Model victor.

After an
absence of 10 years, Delaware International promoter Charlie Cathell and Short
Track Super Series organizer Brett Deyo agreed to bring the event back in 2015
under the STSS sanction.

David Van Horn Jr. broke through in the return of the
‘Diamond State 50’ in ’15 and first-ever Short Track Super Series race at the
speedway. Stewart Friesen invaded
and won the ’16 event. A year later, Friesen was again in contention for the
win, but Ryan Watt swept past on the
outside to steal the checkered.

Matt Sheppard emerged from a side-by-side battle
with Watt to earn the ’18 triumph and repeated that conquest a year ago, this
time after racing wheel-to-wheel with Keystone State veteran Craig Von Dohren.

Whose name
will be added to this prestigious list on Aug. 11?

Complete ‘Diamond
State 50’ race information can be found at the following link: https://shorttracksuperseries.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/DiamondState50GeneralInfoSheet.pdf

There is an added incentive for a Modified driver to sweep both STSS events in the state of Delaware in August: the ‘Diamond State 50’ on Aug. 11 and the ‘Blast at the Beach’ at Del.’s Georgetown Speedway Aug. 25.

Should one
driver sweep the ‘Diamond State 50’ and ‘Blast at the Beach’ feature events
with back-to-back victories, that competitor will receive a cash bonus of $2,000 thanks to Stockley Tavern of
Georgetown.

If a single
driver is not able to win both events, the driver with the best average finish
between the two races will take home $1,000.
The tiebreaker will be the finishing order of the ‘Blast at the Beach’ event at
Georgetown.

Keep posted
to the Short Track Super Series website – www.shorttracksuperseries.com – for complete information as the
series takes over the First State in August.

Delaware
International Speedway is located at 37854 Sussex Highway in Delmar, Delaware
19940. The speedway office phone is 302.846.3911 and the website is www.delawareracing.com.

Georgetown
Speedway, originally constructed by Melvin L. Joseph in 1949, is located at the
intersection of Route 113 and Speedway Road in Georgetown, Del., just miles
from the Delaware beaches and less than a 40-minute drive from Ocean City, Md.

A website is
live for the speedway at www.thegeorgetownspeedway.com. Like Georgetown Speedway on
Facebook, follow @thegtownspdwy on Twitter, e-mail georgetownspeedway@gmail.com or contact the speedway hotline at
302.563.GTWN (4896).

To learn more
about the Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco, visit www.shorttracksuperseries.com, e-mail bdmotorsportsmedia@gmail.com, check out ‘Short Track Super Series’
on Facebook or @ShortTrackSS on Twitter or Instagram.

The Short Track Super Series is presented by American
Racer/Lias Tire, Sunoco Race Fuel, Insinger Performance, Bob Hilbert
Sportswear, Halmar International, Velocita-USA, Design for Vision/Sunglass
Central, Rob Sherlock Roofing, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Behrent’s Performance
Warehouse, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, Dirt Track Digest,
EIBACH Springs, Escape RV, Fast Axle, Fox Racing Shocks, Henry’s Exhaust, Hig
Fab, HyperCo, Kirkey Racing Fabrication, Land Hoe Maintenance, K&N, MJK
Home Maintenance, Precision Hydraulic & Oil, QA1, Racing Optics, Superior
Remodeling, Teo-Pro Car, VAHLCO, Velocita, WELD Racing & Wilwood.

Past ‘Diamond State
50’ Winners

2019: Matt Sheppard (STSS Modified) 2018: Matt Sheppard (STSS Modified) 2017: Ryan Watt (STSS Modified) 2016: Stewart Friesen (STSS Modified) 2015: David Van Horn Jr. (STSS Modified) 2005: Danny Johnson (Modified) & David Hill (Late Model) 2004: Ricky Elliott (Modified) & Kenny Pettyjohn (Late Model) 2003: Weather 2002: Jimmy Horton (Modified) & David Hill (Late Model) 2001: Jimmy Horton (Modified vs. Late Model) 2000: Kenny Brightbill (Modified vs. Late Model) 1999: Gary Stuhler (Modified vs. Late Model)

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