by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — Both Ronnie Wrenn, Jr. and Bruce Aldrich, Jr. are looking forward to their drive-off at Monticello Raceway on Thursday (Dec. 12).

Wrenn, the leading dash-winning driver in North America, is headed for a showdown against Bruce Aldrich, Jr., who is third in races won on the continent. Next Thursday both reinsmen will drive in every race on the card. And to be able to see two great talents go head-to-head, arguably the biggest winners will be the racing fans, both on and off-track.

On Wednesday (Dec. 4) Wrenn drove three winners at Northfield Park and Aldrich had four wins at Monticello Raceway. Both are leading drivers at their respective racetracks.

With the cooperation of the Monticello horsemen and the judges, each driver will choose his mount in the competition after the draw for post positions is completed on Monday (Dec. 9). Being the visitor, Wrenn will choose first in the first race and then Aldrich is granted second choice. The next race it’s Aldrich who picks first and Wrenn second, and then they alternate their driving choices in each race on the rest of the card.

“Both drivers feel that this system would be the fairest way to try to equalize the competition but without the cooperation of the horsemen and the commission and the judges it wouldn’t be possible and we certainly thank them,” noted Eric Warner, the track’s director of racing. “The drive-off should be very interesting.”

The European Point System will be used to determine the winner of the drive-off but it really doesn’t matter who wins and who finishes second, except for the participating drivers.

Wrenn, who turned 27 on August 21, has only been driving regularly for four years and now has 1,260 wins under his belt. That he is the current king of the hill in races won this year with 649 is certainly a monumental accomplishment for the youngster.

Aldrich, 45, on the other hand, is a veteran with 4,686 wins and multiple driving titles at Monticello Raceway and currently is at the top of his game with 581 wins in 2013. This is the best year Aldrich has had since he started driving on a regular basis in 2000. His previous best seasonal output was during 2010 when he guided home 451 winners.

“I think it’s a great idea having us drive against one another and that we’ll have our picks of drives in all the races on the card should make for a great competition,” Aldrich said.

Wrenn echoed Aldrich’s remarks and added, “It’s really great that you guys at Monticello have such excellent cooperation from everyone there.”