by Keith Gisser, director of publicity, Northfield Park

Northfield, OH — 21-year-old John D. Wengerd will replace the ailing Brett Miller when Northfield’s team of drivers head to Cal-Expo for the second half of the Cal Expo-Northfield Pro-Am Driving Challenge on Thursday and Friday, July 12 and 13.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

John Wengerd will be part of the team that Northfield Park sends to Cal-Expo.

The competition covers two days at each track and it looks like Cal-Expo will feature three races in each day of the competition. Wengerd joins holdover professional Aaron Merriman, the track’s leading pilot, and amateurs Greg Keidel and Bob Troyer. The Northfield team built a solid 101-67 lead in the four races they hosted.

Wengerd is currently sixth in the Northfield driver standings with 60 wins. He has 187 career wins and, like Merriman, is making his first trip to California to drive.

“I’ve never even been to California. I am very excited,” commented Wengerd, who resides in Dundee, Ohio. “I’ve driven a little on the big tracks — Indiana Downs and Hoosier Park — and I’ve won some races, but this will be a lot of fun.”

The Buckeyes will face an experienced Cal-Expo team led by transplanted Buckeye Rocky Stidham and Rick Kuebler, who has over 4,000 career wins. David Siegel and TV producer Alan Kirschenbaum are the amateurs competing for the California team, which should hold an advantage over the mile-long Sacramento oval.

A 13-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system is used in each eight-horse race of the competition.