2010 F.A.N.S. Fund Launches

3rd Annual Fan Driven Event Promises To Be Best Ever

by Rich Olson
The F.A.N.S. (FAns supportiNg racerS) Fund announced today that the annual fan driven event is back once again with some exciting changes for both fans and drivers. The FANS Fund, now entering its third year, is a fan based donation organization that offsets drivers expenses by presenting them $1,000 cash for participating in the USA Nationals held annually at Cedar Lake Speedway. Fans select drivers they wish to see attend the USA Nationals and participate in the donation process to offset their race expenses.

“When I started this two years ago for Bill Frye, I never imagined it would become an event like it is today,” stated founder and organizer Rich Olson. “Our goals are still the same as they were two years ago, a fan driven event where they can help offset racers costs and also impact the drivers who come to the USA Nationals that maybe otherwise would not. The event strives to bring new talent to Cedar Lake Speedway in the hopes of once they have a taste of racing here, they will want to keep coming back year after year. For me, it has been an incredible ride with meeting other fans who are passionate about Dirt Late Model racing, working with the drivers to bring them to Cedar Lake, and making the USA Nationals event the most competitive event it can be. I have a blast coordinating the event,” said Olson.

The FANS Fund remains relitively unchanged from 2009 with minor changes in the voting process, some new prizes, and new sponsorship announcements.

FANS – The FANS Fund remains first and foremost a fan driven event via donations and their voting of drivers they wish to see at the 23rd Annual USA Nationals. Support from the fans is crucial to the success and continuation of the event. Olson expressed, “While the drivers are the focal point, the fans are the backbone of this event and their enthusiasm makes this event so enjoyable.”

SPONSORS – The FANS Fund is proud to announce that US Steel Corporation will be our title sponsor this year and they will make a large contribution to the overall fund. This makes the second year in which a company has stepped forward to make a significant contribution to the FANS Fund. Look for a separate press releases announcing the multiple sponsorships the FANS Fund has received for 2010.

WEBSITE – A brand new FANS Fund website is due to launch the week of June 7th (exact date TBD). This new site will feature the traditional elements of the past site including news, donation and voting updates, payments and history behind the FANS Fund. The new site will also include a media gallery for pictures, videos, as well as links to the various social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube. Olson maintained, “My plan is to add a lot of content such as photos and possibly some driver interviews prior to the Nationals. During the Nationals, I will be posting updates from the event throughout the day as well as pictures and video from the pits and track via Facebook and Twitter. Following the event we can do photos and video on the website to wrap up the event. The website and social media sites will keep Dirt Late Model fans connected to the USA Nationals.” Look for a follow-up announcement as to the official launch of the website later this week.

SPREAD THE WORD – The FANS Fund wants the help of the fans in bringing this message out to more drivers and their fans. Please share the FANS Fund website, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts with everyone you can. Talk to drivers and fans at the track and post the FANS Fund information to your local message boards. Support your regional drivers and help them to race at Cedar Lake’s USA Nationals.

DONATIONS – Goal remains $10,000 for 2010. Donations begin at $5.00 up to any amount you wish. Donations accepted online via Pay Pal or offline via credit card or check. Credit card authorization forms (will be posted on the website) and checks can be sent to:

· FANS Fund, Attn: Rich Olson, 19160 English Avenue, Suite 100, Farmington, MN 55024
· Important – if sending your check prior to the website being launched, please include your five (5) driver votes on a separate piece of paper.

T-SHIRTS – Once again the FANS Fund will be doing t-shirts. Look for a separate annoucement regarding that sponsorship. Fans donating $25.00 or more will receive one (1) XL or XXL FANS Fund t-shirt.

POSTERS – New this year, EVERY fan donating will receive a 2010 FANS Fund poster featuring the selected drivers. For right now, you must be in attendance at the Nationals FANS Fund luncheon to receive your poster. We may open up a option to ship these posters to the people who donated but you would have to pay a shipping fee. This is TBD. Look for a separate announcement regarding the graphics donations for the posters.

VOTING – Driver voting remains relatively unchanged from 2009. The qualification that a driver have not been to the USA Nationals within the past two years still stands. Fans will still receive five (5) votes with their donation which can be used to vote for one or multiple drivers. Fans can donate and vote as frequently as they would like but must make a minimum donation of $5.00.

VOTING & DONATION DISTRIBUTION – Drivers will once again be awarded $1,000.00 cash upon their arrival at Cedar Lake Speedway for the USA Nationals. One (1) driver will receive an invitation for each $1,000.00 raised. Our goal will once again be to raise $10,000.00 and if we receive the full $10,000.00 or more, we will have a slightly different distribution of the funds:

· Eight (8) or more drivers (pending final total) will receive $1,000.00 each
· The final award will go in the form of 26th starting position on the field for the USA Nationals. This driver will be selected by the highest finisher in Thursday nights preliminary feature that does not qualify through Friday nights heats nor Saturday’s B-Mains and Last Chance Qualifier. The idea is to make Thursday’s event and participation more meaningful to all drivers as their finishing order may help determine if they make the starting field for the USA Nationals. The FANS Fund believes this is a terrific way to impact the starting field for the USA Nationals and make every position count on Thursday night’s main event.

VOTING PRIZES – New this year, each week (Saturday) we will draw a name of a person who has already donated and award a prize to that person. EVERYONE WHO DONATES will be elligible! Here is a listing of prizes by week:

· June 12th – One year subscription to DirtonDirt.com – compliments of DirtonDirt.com – a $59 value
· June 19th – One year subscription to Late Model Illustrated – compliments of Late Model Illustrated – a $30 value
· June 26th – One year subscription to DirtonDirt.com – compliments of DirtonDirt.com – a $59 value
· July 3rd - One year subscription to Late Model Illustrated – compliments of Late Model Illustrated – a $30 value
· July 10th – Four (4) tickets to the 2011 USA Nationals – compliments of Cedar Lake Speedway – a $200 value

VOTING PRIZES UMP SUMMERNATIONALS – Each Saturday during the FANS Fund donation and voting drive we will be out at Cedar Lake Speedway where you can find us under one of our FANS Fund banners to make donations and cast your votes. However, during the UMP SUMMERNATIONALS weekend on June 18th and 19th we will be giving away two special prizes to ONLY THOSE WHO DONATE THAT WEEKEND AT THE TRACK. We will have a drawing each night for those that donate… those that donate Friday will NOT carry over into Saturday. The following prizes will be awarded:

· Friday, June 18th – Billy Moyer 2009 Door Panel and one (1) XL t-shirt – a $125.00 value
· Saturday, June 19th – Scott Bloomquist woven blanket (this thing is increadbile) and a high gloss print (24” x 30”) that matches the blanket – a $165 value

DRIVER AWARDS – The FANS Fund may have some product sponsors who are willing to award the top vote recipients with their products. Details regarding this are still being worked on at this time and if things materialize, watch for future announcements. These products will really make the voting interesting with the leading vote getters receiving great products in addition to their FANS Fund cash.

FANS FUND ALL-STAR INVITATION – New this year, this new category rewards one of the past FANS Fund drivers to be invited back to Cedar Lake for the USA Nationals. The FANS Fund will release more details regarding this category in a separate announcement but a driver has already been selected for this year. The selected driver will not be part of this years voting nor donation total. “While this is a fan selection process, more details surrounding the selected driver and the decision behind it will be made shortly to help fans understand why a driver has already been selected. Fans will not be disappointed by the selection and I am excited to be bringing this FANS Fund All-Star back to the high-banks of Cedar Lake. I know he will give a great performance for the fans,” remarked Olson. The FANS Fund will be adding this category to the voting process in 2011 as the pool of talented racers expands each year and this category recognizes this fact.

LUNCHEON – The tradional FANS Fund luncheon will be held on Saturday, August 7th beginning at 2:00 PM to roughly 3:30 to 4:00 PM at Cedar Lake Speedway’s front straight concession area and VIP tower. Posters and those who qualify for t-shirts will receive them at the luncheon. The luncheon is FREE to all who donate. All drivers and driver teams are invited as well. This will be great as DirtonDirt.com’s pre-race show will be kicking off shortly after the conclusion of the FANS Fund luncheon as they will be interviewing drivers and bringing fans up to speed on the behind the scenes of the weekends events.

PRIZES: During the FANS Fund luncheon we will be awarding prizes. Everyone in attendance will receive a single ticket for you to drop into the bucket of your choice. You must be present to win your prize. Here are just some of the prizes we have for this year:

· Door panels, t-shirts and possibly die-casts and misc items from each FANS Fund driver selected
· Driver signed full first year edition Late Model Illustrated magazines
· Four (4) tickets to 2011 USA Nationals
· Several DirtonDirt.com one year complimentary subsciptions to the website
· Seats for four (4) in Cedar Lake Speedway’s VIP tower for the Saturday night portion of the USA Nationals
· Several Late Model Illustrated one year complimentary subscription to the magazine
· Cedar Lake Speedway complimentary Dirt Late Model two-seater ride
· Many, many, many more prizes to numerous to list so watch for a future announcement detailing all prizes available.

More details surrounding this year’s FANS Fund will be forthcoming. Watch for future announcements throughout the coming weeks leading up to the running the the 23rd Annual USA Nationals presented by US Steel. Fan can stay connected via the following:

Website: www.FANSFund.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/FANS-Fund/284907537903?#### – don’t forget to “Become A Friend” on the FANS Fund Facebook page to keep up with the latest updates.

Twitter: @FANSFund – don’t forget to select “follow” on the FANS Fund Twitter page to keep up with the latest updates.

Flickr: Account is being established

WordPress: http://fansfund.wordpress.com – account has just been established

About the FANS Fund

The FANS Fund is a fan donation event supporting Dirt Late Models that began in 2008. In just two years, the organzation has collected nearly $13,000 and distributed those funds to drivers racing at the USA Nationals in Cedar Lake Speedway. For more information, go to www.FANSFund.com

About Cedar Lake Speedway

Entering its 53rd year of operations, Cedar Lake Speedway’s 3/8’s mile clay oval dirt track located in New Richmond, WI races each Saturday beginning in early April and ending in late September. Cedar Lake hosts several special events throughout the year including The Masters June 17th to 19th, the 23rd Annual USA Nationals – August 5th to 7th, and the Legendary 100 – September 16th to 18th. For tickets and information go to www.CedarLakeSpeedway.com or call 866-4CLS FUN.