Here's the official press release put together by Hilltop Speedway officials.

A newly elected rules and procedures committee assembled at the Snyder Hot Shot building near Wooster on Saturday November 17 for a first ever meeting to discuss the 2008 Hilltop Speedway racing season and the tracks future. Topics included classes to be run, an extremely aggressive schedule that will include several major events paying record purses, clarification of present rules as written, and perhaps the hottest topic of the night, the impact of bringing a division back to conformity after several years of out of control modifcations and runaway costs.

Time was taken to look at the state of dirt track racing in this area and how we can improve conditions at Hilltop Speedway as well as implement some very bold changes that we feel will help racers, fans, and several other race tracks with increased opportunities for shared competition. It was agreed upon that Hilltop has enjoyed unparalleled success entering its third year in existence under the guidance of owner Jeff Norris and the twelve member panel felt comfortable with forward thinking and the risk of trying new direction and innovation never experienced before in dirt track racing. It was also disclosed the track is financially stable for seasons to come and the infrequent rumors otherwise are both detrimental and unfounded.

Our second rules and procedures committee meeting will be held on Sunday December 9 at Maibach Ford in Orrville Ohio and all concerned racers, car owners, and mechanics are urged to attend, the meeting will begin promptly at 3:00 p.m. At this meeting we will unveil our 2008 schedule of events and explain all rule changes for all classes. While not every class will be affected by change, there are several new safety and procedure rules that apply to every division that you will want to be aware of. In all fairness we will inform you the Pure Stocks will see the majority of change, rules are currently being reviewed and rewritten into final form and will not be available until December 9.

STEEL BLOCK LATE MODELS - We would like to hear from you. There is an opportunity available to include this division at Hilltop Speedway in 2008 and if interested the time is now to show your support. This includes cars from Muskingum, Midway, Lakeville, Raceway 7, Attica, and beyond. We offer Steel Blocks as a headline division without affecting our already established Super Late Models. These details and more will be announced only on December 9 at Maibach Ford in Orrville Ohio, a wonderful facility conveniently located at the northern border of Orrville Ohio on Route 57.

To close, I would like to remind everyone time is running out to reserve upper deck grandstand seating and preferred pit parking as the upcoming season preparations have already begun. For more information and help obtaining your spot please contact heather@hilltopspeedway.net or jeff@hilltopspeedway.net . Tickets are also on sale now for the 2007 Awards Banquet, they are $25 apiece and only 250 total have been made available. This years location is at the American Legion, 131 South Water Street, Loudonville Ohio. Doors open at 6:00 and dinner will be served at 7:00 followed by the awards presentation and DJ "Killer" providing music for dancing and a great time. Mail your check or money order to Hilltop Speedway, P.O. Box 213, Savannah Ohio 44874. Additional information can be found at www.hilltopspeedway.net.

Thank you

Now, here's what I can say about the whole thing at this point.

First of all, the entire group assembled to work on these plans seemed to have only one goal in mind, and that was to improve on the racing program for all area racers and fans. If things work as planned, this should also improve programs at other area tracks. Some changes may be considered "bold", but then again, it was considered "bold" (or crazy) to take an old junk yard and turn it into a race track. If these ideas works as well as that idea did, everybody should be pretty damn happy.