Both Ronnie Wrenn Jr. and Bruce Aldrich Jr. are prepping and looking forward to their drive-off at Monticello Raceway on Thursday, December 12.
Wrenn, the leading dash-winning driver in North America, is headed for a showdown against Aldrich, who is third in races won on the continent. Next Thursday, both reinsmen will drive in every race on Monticello’s December 12 card.
With the cooperation of the Monticello horseman and the judges, each driver will choose his mount in the competition after the draw for post positions is completed on Monday, December 9. Being the visitor, Wrenn will choose first in the first race and then Aldrich is granted second choice. Aldrich will pick first for the second race and then Wrenn will pick second. They will 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 tracks 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.
Wrenn, who turned 27 on August 21, has only been driving regularly for four years. He currently has 1,260 wins under his belt. The 45-year-old Aldrich, on the other hand, is a veteran with 4,686 wins and multiple driving titles at Monticello Raceway and is currently at the top of his game. 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.”
(With files from Monticello)