Being Full of Bologna Is a Good Thing at “Mason Dixon Meltdown”

DSG and the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) have announced that a bologna burger eating contest will be one of the fun feature events during the inaugural “Mason-Dixon Meltdown” at South Boston Speedway (VA) November 24th and 25th. The PASS South Super Late Models, Tour-Type Modifieds, Legends Cars and the Pro Challenge Series will be battling throughout the weekend on the racetrack. Now fans of all ages at South Boston will also be able to join in the competitive atmosphere on Saturday the 25th by taking on the challenge of scarfing down as many of the tasty bologna burgers as possible in a 10-minute chew-off for a $250 payday to the overall winner.

“The first time I ever visited South Boston Speedway I had a bologna burger. And then I had another and another,” said Mason-Dixon Meltdown co-promoter Bob Dillner, who is also a NASCAR television commentator for SPEED Channel. “This will be fun for the fans who want to be involved in a race of their own. Bologna Burgers and South Boston go together like America and apple pie.”

There is no better track to hold an event of this magnitude – both from the aspects of the best short track racing and a world-class eating contest – than at historic South Boston Speedway. South Boston is known as “America’s Hometown Track,” and it was where some of the brightest stars in NASCAR cut their teeth. Names like Jeff and Ward Burton, Hermie Elliott Sadler, Peyton Sellers and Stacy Compton all got their breaks at the 4/10-mile track. While the track is known for its great racing action and famous talent to cross through its gate, South Boston is perhaps best identified as the birthplace of the bologna burger.

“Elliott Sadler ate 16 bologna burgers in one night,” said South Boston Speedway General Manager Cathy Rice. “From that time on, we’ve just been known as the home of the famous bologna burger. People will call and ask us how we fix the bologna burger and things like that. From him and through our concession sales here, we’ve become rather well-known. We’ve even won a couple of concession awards from NASCAR, and it all comes back to the bologna burger.”

Sadler, one of the most personable characters in NASCAR, not only is known as one of the most legendary drivers to come out of South Boston, but he is also the champion bologna burger eater in track history. His total number of bologna burgers eaten in one afternoon is a giant fish story, ranging anywhere from 15 to 50. People from all over the country will head to South Boston to see if they can cut the mustard and set a new level of gastronomic prowess on November 25th.

“Even if they don’t break it, they’ll be eating some of the best food they will be eating in their lives,” explained Sadler. “The guys that are cooking there now at South Boston Speedway are the same guys who were cooking when my uncle raced there. They have the same recipe they’ve been using for years. You gotta throw a little onion and mustard on there and man will that be good. The Bologna Burger Eating contest may be just as good as some of the races that weekend.”

“I don’t think anyone will break Elliott’s record,” added Rice. “We’ve had contests here throughout the years, but no one has even come close to beating that record and I don’t think they will. That’s a pretty big task that they have to take on. Don’t forget, that’s not just bologna and bread; they’ve got all the stuff that goes on them. He did it over the course of an entire day. I’d be surprised to see anyone do it in 10 minutes.”

The best drivers from the country will hit South Boston hoping to add their name to the list of winners there, but the fans will have a chance to take home a fat paycheck from the festivities as well. So if by the Saturday after Thanksgiving, you’re sick of the turkey leftovers, you think you have the hunger to win and there’s a fire in your belly for competition, this is the chance of a lifetime to be rewarded for an impressive eating display at the track that is famous for its racing and its bologna. Entry forms for the $250-to-win Bologna Burger Eating Contest are available by clicking here.

The Bologna Burger Eating Contest is just one of the exciting events scheduled for the Thanksgiving weekend festivities at the “Mason-Dixon Meltdown.” The Tour-Type Modifieds and PASS South Super Late Models will be competing in twin 250-lap events on Saturday, November

25th. Both premier divisions will be racing for a $12,500 paycheck for the winner, plus lap money and other bonuses to be announced soon. Also competing during the “Mason-Dixon Meltdown” weekend are the INEX Legends Cars’ Semi-Pro and Pro/Masters divisions and the Pro Challenge Series.

For more information on the “Mason Dixon Meltdown,” please contact Matt Kentfield at (704) 455-2051 and check out www.masondixonmeltdown.com.