On its 10th anniversary, the Northern Ohio Sprint Car Show at Tiffin Mall is getting a new twist - an American Cancer Society Relay for Life Family Fun Night is joining the show this weekend.
The Family Fun Night is 6-10 p.m. Friday, and the car show continues during regular mall hours through Sunday.
"Actually, the partnership with Relay for Life happened quite by accident," Steve Hartzell, car show coordinator, said. "The mall scheduled two events on the same night."
After a conference between Hartzell and Relay for Life coordinator Deb Hilborn, they decided to have both events together.
"I think it'll enhance both of them" Hartzell said. "One will help promote the other. It's a well-known fact that people who race are very generous with their money, too."
"I think it's a really great thing we can do together," Hilborn said.
"I told her, 'Be ready because you're going to sell a lot more food,'" Hartzell said.
Hilborn said Family Fun Night is to feature area Relay for Life teams offering fundraisers such as food sales, raffles, a 25-cent auction, children's activities, a bake sale, as well as information on how to volunteer, buy luminaries or participate in the Bark for Life.
She said music will be provided by Spotlight Music Entertainment and Aaron Smith.
The organization is to sell daffodils as part of its annual Daffodil Days. A potted mini-daffodil is $12, a bunch is $10 and a vase full is $15. A "Bear and Bunch" is $25.
"We'll also be promoting Project Care, in which people can purchase one the exclusive Boyd's Bears (for $25) from previous years and we would deliver them to children at various hospitals," she said.
Hartzell said more than 30 race cars are expected to take part in the show.
"The majority of them are sprint cars," he said. "There's going to be a good-sized group of vintage race cars, too."
People can walk through and see the cars, and there will be some vendors selling racing-related items.
"This is known to be one of the better of the mall-based spring car shows in this part of the country," he said.
The Hoserville Ohio benefit auction is to take place Sunday.
"Their purpose is help injured drivers from Ohio or injured in Ohio," he said. "Sometimes when they're hurt on the racetrack they can't work anymore either so this helps."
Items on the auction include body parts from some of the "better-known" cars, NASCAR memorabilia and lots of racing-related merchandise.
Hartzell said he used to attend a similar show at the mall more than 10 years ago. After an absence of a year, he discovered the coordinator was no longer running the show.
After some encouragement from a relative, he decided to take on the task.
"And I've been doing it ever since," he said. "This is my part in promoting the outstanding vehicles at Attica Raceway and Fremont Speedway.
"They are two of the most highly-respected sprint car racing facilities in the country," he said.
Both tracks help sponsor the show, so admission is free.
"A lot of the drivers will be on hand off and on, standing by their cars," Hartzell said. "Sometimes they even let kids get in and out of their race cars."
He said every racing team does something different, whether they promote the sponsors that help pay their way, or provide their own give-away items to fans. Some sell T-shirts.
"We pretty much fill the mall from one end to the other," he said. "For most, if not all, of those 10 (years) this has been the most-attended event for the Tiffin Mall."
The show attracts people from the entire area.
"Half or better of the people are people who live in Tiffin," he said.
Because some of the mall stores have closed that were available to provide refreshments, Hartzell said the Relay for Life teams will be providing a service.
"It's going to raise money for an excellent cause while we're at it too," he said.
