Lehigh Valley Grand Prix, the regions premiere indoor karting venue has been granted the unique opportunity to host the Media Launch event for Pocono Raceway’s IndyCar 400 race on July 7th.  IndyCar has selected Marco Andretti as the driver promoting the event.  The driver selection makes complete sense due to the fact that Marco resides in Nazareth, Pa.

The Media Launch event will take place on May 8th at 1:30 pm.  Marco will be racing and interviewing with the media until approximately 3:30pm.  At 3:30pm he will be available for pictures and autographs with fans.

The IndyCar 400 is the first IndyCar race held at Pocono Raceway since 1989.  The raceway has undertaken major changes in the past two years after the passing of the famous Doc Mattioli.  Doc’s grandson’s Brandon and Nick Igdalsky have taken the reins and have been aggressive with renovating the track and adding races to the 2 famous NASCAR events.  The tri oval was resurfaced in 2012 leading the way for hosting this major IndyCar event.

Looking back upon 2011 it is amazing to think it was only 12 months!  We gave witness to Tony Stewart win a Cup Championship and bring life back to NASCAR while on the other end of the spectrum we witnessed Dan Wheldon’s life taken.  LVGP inked a deal with Indy Car driver, Marco Andretti and found tremendous growth.  It was a year of excitement; changing the track layout and adding a new lighting system as well as a year that provide a positive outlook to what is ahead.

The management team, lead by Mike Achey has been putting new training programs in place to ensure that customers receive great service and a great experience while attending the facility.

The competition team, headed by Ryan Suchon, was hard at work this year introducing a new Summer Iron Man series that received rave reviews as all three races sold out.  There was also the introduction of the new and improved Jr. League series with new Assistant Race Director, Kyle Lick, taking the reigns.  We had our best received Jr. League in company history!

There was also the changing of the guard as LVGP named a new President to the facility.  Kristine McCreary, former President Mike McCreary’s wife, will be taking on a new title as the racing facility grows.  Kristine has shown great leadership in Sales and Finance and will continue to take the company to a new level.

Looking ahead to 2012 there are really exciting new products being added to the facility.  Construction has begun for the new bar Octane that will be opening in early 2012.  The bar has always been a dream of the team at LVGP as the facility looks to improve and add products to our customers.  Octane will provide a great venue for customer’s to enjoy beverages and a bite to eat after racing to talk up their on track experience.

Octane has opened the doors to new partnerships such as Pocono Raceway.  The team is excited to be working with Pocono to hold viewing parties for some of the NASCAR races this upcoming season.  The first party will be held for the Daytona 500 race on February 26th.

2012 will also be the year of the mobile device.  The facility is going to be unrolling the new mobile website that will include the ability to check hours, look up race results as well as purchase gift cards.  In a world that lives on it’s cell phone we are excited to give our customers a more convenient way to interact with LVGP.

As we close out 2011, the team at LVGP would like to give a big thank you to our 20,000 racers this past year!  2011 has been a great success and we attribute that to our customers that we value dearly.  Thank you so much and we look forward to providing you with an adrenaline rush in 2012!

~The team at LVGP

It is official!  Marco Andretti just signed on with Lehigh Valley Grand Prix!!  Marco Andretti, the IRL driver and grandson of Mario Andretti will be working with LVGP to promote the track.  Marco who visits LVGP often living in the area saw a fit and so did Mike McCreary, owner of LVGP.  ”It is exciting to have someone local with a family history so rich in racing to become involved with the track,” said McCreary.

One of the most exciting factors of the deal is the fact that Andretti will hold a fundraiser at the track within the next 12 months.  An idea that could bring together the rich history of racing in the Lehigh Valley and use it to raise money for a cause.  That will be an event you don’t want to miss!

Stay tuned for the press releases around the signing and more details to come!