It’s a saying at Tioga that with each year work to do things 'bigger and better,' and the fifth annual Drivers’ Championship is no exception. If you think last year’s prize of $25,000 was a nice incentive, listen to this year’s package

. The winner at the end of the event will get $25,000, a commemorative ring from Bow River Jewelry, a trophy from LV Harkness, a new set of summer driving colours courtesy of Jim Reigle Colors, and a new evolution race bike courtesy of Tom Harmer.

However, with the newly added format there is another $10,000 which can be the winner's. This year’s Drivers’ Championship will have two parts to it; all nine drivers in the competition will compete at the Meadowlands in the opening leg of the event on Saturday, August 20. They will compete in three or four races. Then all nine drivers will carry the points they earned at the Meadowlands and shuffle off to Tioga Downs on Sunday, August 28 to compete over the final events. The leader after the events held at the Meadowlands on Saturday, August 20 will earn $10,000 and will obviously be in the best position to collect another $25,000 heading to Tioga.

The nine drivers competing in this year’s event, as in years past, will be the top seven money-winning drivers in North America, the leading money winning driver at Tioga Downs, and one sponsor's exemption. The prizes for second through ninth are nothing to laugh at, as second place will receive $5,000, third place $4,000 and drivers finishing fourth through ninth will each receive $2,000 for their participation.

Also featured on Sunday, August 28 (Tioga Drivers’ Championship Day) Tioga will re-introduce the Tim Tetrick bobblehead in coordination with Winbak Farms. Tetrick will be at the track at 12:00 noon on the trackside apron along with the eight other drivers to sign autographs and talk with the fans.

Previous winners of the Tioga Downs’ Drivers’ Championship with their names etched in the history books are Brian Sears and Yannick Gingras (2007 co-champions), Yannick Gingras (2008), Jason Bartlett (2009), and 2010’s champion, Ron Pierce. If the cut off date for the 2011 Drivers’ Championship were today (which it isn’t – the 2011 cut off date is the standings as of Sunday, August 7), the top seven money-winning drivers in North America would be Tim Tetrick, George Brennan, Jody Jamieson, Ron Pierce, Brian Sears, Jason Bartlett, and Yannick Gingras. The leading money winning driver at Tioga Downs right now is a newcomer to the racetrack this year in driver–trainer Ed Hensley, and the sponsor’s exemption for 2011? You will just have to wait until Tioga releases it later this summer.

“This is the event that all of us at Tioga look forward to, you put nine guys of this calibre out on a racetrack going for this kind of money you get one heck of an event," said Jason Settlemoir, the track's VP of Racing and Simulcast. "With the new leg at the Meadowlands this year we think it will just entice more fans to watch the event and just build excitement for the final the next weekend at Tioga. Our sponsors in this industry and our local area have helped us more and more with this event each year and we truly appreciate their hand in this year’s Drivers’ Championship."

As if the Drivers’ Championship weren’t enough, for the first time ever the $420,000 (estimated) Zweig Memorial Trot will join the same card as the Drivers’ Championship. Last year’s Zweig Memorial featured Hambletonian runner-up Lucky Chucky winning a division along with a World Record mile by Temple Of Doom in 1:52.4. The list of eligibles for the 2011 Zweig includes Manofmanymissions, Swan In A Million, Live Jazz, Big Rigs, and Charlie De Vie. Headlining the list of eligibles in the filly division includes superstar filly Jezzy, one of Pennsylvania’s top filly trotters Cedar Dove, Celebrity Katie, and Miss Sue V.

Tioga Downs would like to thank its sponsors for the 2011 Drivers’ Championship: Accumark, Allerage Farms, All Events Engraving, Big Dee’s Tack and Vet Supplies, Binghamton Senators, Bow River Jewelry, Community Press, Coon and Son’s, Climans Green Liang Architects, Delaware County Fair, Dig Safely, Elmira Jackals, Evolution Racing LLC, Ferris Tractor, figisbig.com, Harness Racing Hall of Fame, Horsemen & Fair World Magazine, Hub International, Jim Riegle Colors, Larson Design Group, Lexington Select Yearling Sale, LV Harkness, Mainesource, Maitland Trifecta, Nathan’s Hot Dogs, Northwood Bloodstock, Oakdale Mall, Ontrack, Roberts Communication Network, STHHA, Tioga State Bank, Winbak Farms, and Youth Beats.

(Tioga)