The Best of North and South in the Announcer’s Booth at Meltdown

Fans from across the country are eagerly anticipating the inaugural Mason-Dixon Meltdown, November 24th and 25th, at South Boston Speedway in Virginia. So are the teams, who have already filed their entries for the twin 250-lap PASS South Super Late Model and Tour-Type Modified features, as well as the Legends Cars and Pro Challenge races. Drivers from 17 states and several from Canada have already filed entries into the Meltdown, an event that is bringing the best racing talent from all corners of the country to compete for big bucks and the pride of their region.

While drivers from the North and the South will be competing against one another, the North and South will come together in the announcer’s booth as well. This Thanksgiving weekend the Mason-Dixon Meltdown will add a regional flare to the entertainment for the fans in the South Boston grandstands. South Carolina’s Alan Dietz and native New Yorker Derek Perensiglio will team up to call all the action the entire Meltdown weekend, giving fans a chance to listen to someone from their home, wherever home may be.

“With these two, we got the Mason-Dixon of announcers, one from the North and one from the South. And when you listen to them, you’ll know who is from which region,” said event co-promoter Bob Dillner. “But while we may joke about their respective accents, they are also two of the best announcers in the business. The biggest thing is that they know their stuff, and they take care of the fans.”

Both Pernesiglio and Dietz will have the honor of calling the action at South Boston for the inaugural Mason-Dixon Meltdown, but neither are strangers to the short track world. Pernesiglio comes from a racing family that has been involved in the open-wheel Midget and

Modified world of the Northeast. He has announced at many racetracks throughout the country and for some of the biggest races around, including the North-South Shootout at Concord Motorsport Park (NC). Dietz has been the official announcer during the inaugural season of the PASS South Super Late Model season in addition to his announcing duties for several of the premier short-track series throughout the Southeast.

Pernesiglio and Dietz may come from different parts of the country, but both have a tremendous amount of announcing talent, as well as knowledge of short track racing throughout the country. Both men come to the Meltdown knowing that the best drivers from all corners of the country will be in attendance, all with advantages over the others in some capacity, which will set the stage for a one-of-a-kind event this Thanksgiving weekend.

“A race like this, where drivers are coming from all over, I think is going to be an open playing field,” said Pernsesiglio, who has a unique Brooklyn-esque brogue. “I think that the Southern guys are definitely going to have a little bit more chassis knowledge, at least set-up wise at South Boston, because many of them have probably raced there at least once at some point.

“However, up North you do have a lot of predominant short tracks. So you are going to have a lot of these Northern teams looking at South Boston and comparing it to a track that they run up North. They’ll try to use their setup from that track to see if it works at SoBo.”

Dietz, whose Southern accent is unique and unmistakable, will be continuing his duties as PASS South’s official announcer at the Mason-Dixon Meltdown. As a native South Carolinian, who now calls North Carolina home, Dietz has grown up around the short tracks of the Southeast. He has done his homework on the tracks of the North, and knows that both regions will combine for an amazing racing event at the Meltdown.

“Between the PASS Super Late Models and the Modifieds, as well as the Legends and Pro Challenge drivers, you will be seeing the best of the North and the South,” said Dietz. “You have big races like the Oxford 250 in the Northeast, Toyota All-Star Showdown out West, and the Snowball Derby for the Southern and Midwestern drivers, but you don’t ever get a chance to see the Northern and Southern guys go at it together. That’s what makes the Mason-Dixon Meltdown so special. You’ll see guys from the North and South and Midwest and even some from the West Coast.

“The best of the best will be at this race. I don’t think you can really put a gauge on who is better. I think it doesn’t matter if they are from the North or South. It’s real hard to predict who is going to win this one.”

The Tour-Type Modifieds and PASS South Super Late Models will be racing at the Mason-Dixon Meltdown for a $12,500 paycheck for the winner of each race, plus lap money and other bonuses to be announced soon. Just starting each of those 250-lap events pays $1,000 to the competitor. Also competing during the Mason-Dixon Meltdown weekend are the Legends Cars (Friday only) and the Pro Challenge Series (Saturday only).

For more information on the Mason Dixon Meltdown, contact Matt Kentfield at (704) 455–2051 (ext: 5) and be sure to visit www.masondixonmeltdown.com.