On behalf of the late George Appleton and the rest of the Appleton family we are very happy to announce the running of the 6th annual Appleton Memorial at Grundy County Speedway in Morris, IL on Sunday August 8th. Fred Appleton and the Promotions Group has joined forces with the well known local Ford dealership "Rod Baker Ford" of Plainfield, IL and its owner Rick Baker for a multi year agreement to sponsor the annual memorial.

This year's event will be more exciting then ever before as we are planning for the highest payout in the history of the speedway. At $5000 to win we will surely attract some of the Nations top teams and their drivers to compete in what is becoming the biggest annual race in the Midwest.

Appleton Rack and Pinion is one of the largest suppliers of steering components to the Auto Racing world and is known all over the country by it's superior quality and championship results in the racing community. "It is my goal to continually make this race bigger each and every year and allow all of Americas best short track racers the opportunity to compete for a large sum of money", says Fred Appleton. Having Rick Baker and "Rod Baker Ford" on board as our sponsor not only solidifies our payout structure but allows us to keep the gate prices affordable for an entire family.

Although planning is now in the works to prepare for the event a new format will be introduced to include our fans, states Appleton. 10 lucky fans will each be able to draw a competing drivers name and those 10 drivers will then compete in a "Dash for Cash" prior to the main event with the winner splitting the pot with the fan who drew their name.

It's all about the fans because they are the supporting factor in auto racing and we want to give something back to them for their loyalty. The fans will be up for a surprise as they will also get to see a 50 lap $800 to win Midam event that could draw the largest car counts of the 2004 season.

Special note: Friday night August 6th will be the Division Sponsor Bill Jacobs Chevrolet 50 lap $1500 to win Late Model feature event that will surely be the prelude to an awesome weekend of racing at Grundy County Speedway.

We are currently searching for an associate sponsor for the Midam portion of the August 8th event. If anyone is interested in being a lap or event sponsor for the Appleton Memorial they can contact Steve Einhaus at 630-212-6022 for more information.