Business Link Owner Is “All In” As May 12 Opener Draws Near At Action Track USA
Kutztown, PA (May 6) – Justin Shenk, owner and operator of Business Link Print on Main Street in Kutztown, Pa., is absolutely enamored with dirt track racing. He’s grown his business and used it to become intricately involved as a marketing partner at Championship Energy Action Track USA on the Kutztown Fairgrounds. In less than a week, Shenk will take the ultimate plunge when he buckles into an All Star Slingshot and gasses it during the May 12 Goldie & Elton Meitzler Memorial presented by Business Link Print at the Berks County oval.
Joining the Slingshots for the Mother’s Day season opener will be the USAC All Pro SpeedSTRs and the Hyper Racing EVO Injection 600 Sprints with warm-ups slated for 6:15 p.m. Qualifying activity will immediately follow the hot lap sessions.
“The official printer of Action Track USA”, Business Link Print has been producing the speedway’s weekly program books for years, with last season’s efforts particularly noteworthy as Shenk and his staff printed the programs in an attractive magazine-style format, complete with trading cards on the inside of the back cover.
Now, in addition to the programs and his sponsorship of the opening event (not to mention his company’s name is also on the SpeedSTRs of Tim Buckwalter and Rick Eckert), Shenk the printer will become Shenk the race car driver.
“I’ve always wanted to race myself,” he explained recently. “I started going to Penn National a long time ago with my pop, who was a Richie Tobias Fan at the time, and fell in love with auto racing, although my first memory of racing is that of a mud ball (off the right rear of Richie’s modified) pummeling me in the face. I met Craig Whitmoyer at Grandview in 2013 and we became instant friends. Business and life kind of took over, though, and I didn’t have much time for racing (for a while) until I bought Business Link Print and started going to Action Track USA. Whitmoyer was instrumental in getting me started as a racer; he suggested the Slingshots and helped me get the cars and stuff I will need to go racing.”
Shenk and Whitmoyer purchased two Slingers over the winter, both proven winners and championship caliber equipment out of the Bieber stable in Oley, Pa.
“This is what I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time. I can’t wait to get started,” noted Shenk. “I’m going to be aggressive out there, but I know I’ve got a lot to learn. I’m going to run the No. 76, and Whitmoyer will drive the other car on a few occasions. We’re gonna have a lot of fun!”
“The Print Peddler”, as he’s known in the business world (“because I could sell sand to someone who is stranded on a beach”), will have sponsorship from Business Link Print, iHeart Media, Saucony Creek Brewing, Halye’s Automotive, Funk Signs, Action Track USA, and Lucky 13 Tattoo.
Shenk, who’s 34 and lives in Maxatawney Township, has sponsored Tim Buckwalter’s USAC All Pro SpeedSTR (No 52) for a couple of years. It was recently announced that Business Link Print will also be featured on the DA Hanson-owned SpeedSTR to be driven by World of Outlaws Late Model standout Rick Eckert. With those two chauffeurs, Shenk has a formidable duo carrying his sponsorship because Eckert won the very first Meitzler Memorial in 2013 and Buckwalter has captured the past four season-opening Meitzler Memorial races in the SpeedSTR division. Billy Pauch Sr. (2014) is the only other driver to win a Meitzler Memorial in the SpeedSTR class. Eckert, T. Buckwalter, and Pauch will be in the field on Sunday, May 12, when this year’s Meitzler Memorial is contested.
Billy Pauch Jr. has tasted victory in two Meitzler Memorials for the Hyper Racing 600 Sprints, including last year’s event. Billy Jr. is the only wheel-twister to win the Memorial more than once, as Brian Carber (2013), Kyle Lick (’14), Tim Buckwalter (’16), and Jim Radney (’17) also grabbed the checkered flag in the annual tribute to Goldie & Elton Meitzler.
The season opener at Championship Energy Action Track USA has not seen a repeat winner in the All Star Slingshot division; at least not yet. Larry Raifsnider won the very first Meitzler Memorial for the Slingers in 2013, followed by Mark Sensenig (’14), Brett Bieber (’15), Henry Anderson (’16), Marc Daniels (’17), and last year’s Slingshot point champ, Jared Silfee (’18).
Opening Day, May 12, will begin with an afternoon practice session that is open to all divisions scheduled to compete at Action Track USA during the ’19 season. Gates will open at 12 noon and cars will take to the track from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The cost to practice is $25.00 per car. Everyone entering the pits needs to purchase a pit pass at regular price however…the pit pass is good for both practice and the Goldie & Elton Meitzler Memorial that evening.
After a break that will follow the test n’ tune session, pre-race warm-ups will get underway at 6:15 p.m., followed by the National Anthem and qualifying heats for all three divisions. There will also be a section of grandstand dedicated to the memory and in honor of dirt Modified legend Alan “Rags” Carter, a transplanted Floridian who made his summer home in Berks County as he raced and won at a variety of the region’s race tracks for many years.
It should be noted that the afternoon practice is limited to a specific number of cars and will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. Race teams need to contact Action Track USA if they plan to attend the practice session. Practice reservations can be made by sending $25 to Action Track USA (along with name, car number, and division) at 52A Woodside Ave., Temple, PA 19560.
Following the May 12 Meitzler Memorial Opener, the 7th Annual Dick Tobias Classic for SpeedSTRs will highlight the second Sunday of competition on May 19, with the 75-lap headliner paying a hefty $5,000 to the winner. Just like they will on Opening Night, the Hyper Racing EVO Injection 600 Sprints and All Star Slingshots will join the USAC All Pro SpeedSTRs on the 19th.
The 600 Sprints take center stage on Memorial Day Monday, May 27, with the running of the annual King of No Wing Shootout. The 40-lapper pays $1,000 to win (with Gambler’s Fee) and features four different winners in the four years of its existence. The SpeedSTRs and All Star Slingshots will also be in action in this holiday “showdown at sundown.”
The excitement continues to build as the new season is less than one week away…it is almost time to once again “Spray some Clay at Action Track USA”, where the superstars come to race!
For additional information, log on to www.actiontrackusa.com, or follow us on social media at Facebook.com/Action Track USA or on Twitter and Instagram (@ActionTrackUSA).
Business Link Print is a full service print and design firm that specializes in digital and offset printing. Firmly entrenched in the printing industry for more than 30 years, Business Link Print has the experience, knowledge, patience, and dedication needed to make sure every customer’s print job comes out looking its absolute best. Their philosophy is “every job will be on time, on budget, every time!” For additional info or to contact Shenk and his staff, visit www.BusinessLinkPrint.com.
