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Lincoln Speedway's Ice Breaker an annual tradition for many | Sports Spotlight

A pair of weekend races are scheduled to start the racing season in Central Pennsylvania.

While it might seem quiet right now, race fans can hear it coming.

For the 30th year, Lincoln Speedway will welcome the racing season back to central Pennsylvania.

"Even if it's snowing, if you hold the race, they'll come," said Lincoln Speedway General Manager Jerry Parrish. "It's the first time for people to get out and do something after being locked down all winter. They want to get out and smell the fumes and see the cars and hear the noise."

With races on the schedule for Saturday and Sunday, the drivers know that fans can bring some noise of their own.

"When they show up, it definitely makes me stay in my merchandise trailer a little bit longer, just catching up with a lot of the good fans that stopped by," recalled Danny Dietrich.  "It's just great to see everybody back with the dirt track again."

With it being the 30th anniversary, it's not lost on the track that kids at the first one, now bring their kids to the race.

"The future of this sport is with the young people, you know what I mean?  So we really need to keep them excited about this and they came here with their parents," added Parrish.

Dietrich shifts that family connection at the track to another gear, as he and his father are one of the few father-son racers to both win openers at Lincoln Speedway.

"We grew up here.  My dad, my brother, and I, the whole family just coming here for so many years of my life.  It definitely holds a special place," added Dietrich.  "There are a lot of great tracks that mean a lot to us, but definitely Lincoln Speedway is one of the favorites of across the top of the board for me."

New drivers, new rides, and new opportunities are ready to put the pedal to the metal.  There's even a new virtual flag system at the track this year.  We'll have more on that next week, but if you don't want to wait that long, you can head to Lincoln this weekend.

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