Merritt's Wood Tic to pay $10,000
Merritt Speedway’s biggest event will return to a five-figure payday for the Super Late Model division thanks to the “incredible generosity” of an anonymous donor, track owner Mike Blackmer announced today.
The 38th annual Ed VanDuinen Wood Tic will pay $10,000-to-win on July 24-25 at the Lake City, Mich., track after extra money was donated by an unnamed fan to increase payouts for the top five finishers in the Super Late Model and modified divisions.
“A fan came up to me and shared how much Merritt Speedway means to them” during Saturday’s race program in pledging the payoffs, Blackmer said on the track’s Facebook page. “I was completely caught off guard and, honestly, it brought me to tears.”
Merritt had planned on a $4,000-to-win Super Late Model payout similar to 2025’s event, Blackmer said. Before that, the winner’s purse had grown to more than $30,000 to the winner, but 2024 track financial difficulties forced Blackmer to drastically scale back payouts last season.
“With all I have been through,” Blackmer told DirtonDirt, “this is great for both the drivers and myself.”
The anonymous donor asked Blackmer to maintain previously announced ticket costs at $20 nightly for general admission and free for children 11-and-under.
The track plans practice on July 23, prelims on July 25 and the main events on July 25. Besides Super Late Models, $5,000-to-win modifieds (up from $1,500-to-win) are on the card along with factory stocks, pro stocks and four-cylinders. See the track’s Facebook page for details.
