SYRACUSE, NY – The 2018 American Racer Cup presented by Sunoco roared out of the gate over the weekend.

‘Early bird’ registrations at the Northeast Race Products Show in Syracuse, N.Y., were brisk for the upcoming race season with 2017 just recently in the rear-view mirror.  Some 14 facilities spread from upstate New York to southern Delaware comprise the ’18 Cup and drivers are anxious to take part in the program which offers $51,450 cash for Modified and Sportsman competitors plus thousands more in tire giveaways.

Veteran Modified racer Billy Van Pelt of Westfield, Pa., became the first official 2018 American Racer Cup presented by Sunoco entrant. Van Pelt, driving for Kevin Chilson, will concentrate his efforts at longtime home track Woodhull (N.Y.) Raceway on Saturday nights and the American Racer Cup’s newest member track, Freedom Motorsports Park in Delevan, N.Y., on Friday nights.

Also filing early registrations at the show were:

*Dillon Groover of Beaver Dams, N.Y., in the Woodhull and Freedom Modified divisions;

*Phil Vigneri III of Elba, N.Y., concentrating his efforts on the Freedom Modifieds;

*Kevin Chilson of Lawrenceville, Pa., who will compete at Woodhull and Freedom;

*Jeffery Daugherty of Elmira, N.Y., in the Modified division at Dundee, N.Y.’s Outlaw Speedway;

*Colton Wilson of Dryden, N.Y., in the Modified ranks at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Center Lisle, N.Y.;

*Patrick Hoopes of Ulysses, Pa., racing at Woodhull in the Modified ranks; and

*Cody Clark of Dolgeville, N.Y., a Sportsman regular at Afton (N.Y.) Motorsports Park.

All of the drivers above become eligible for the first tire giveaway of 2018 which will take place at Motorsports held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pa., Jan. 19-21.

The American Racer Cup website has been overhauled detailing 2018 information and can be found on the web at www.theamericanracercup.com. Registration forms have been posted.

All ’17 year-end tire certificates have been mailed. Point fund cash will be distributed to racers via check from mid-December to early January. BD Motorsports Media LLC will manage distribution of point fund cash.

To learn more about the American Racer Cup, visit the official website at www.theamericanracercup.com, e-mail bdmotorsportsmedia@gmail.com, follow on Twitter @racer_cup or on like Facebook: American Racer Cup.