$5 FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT SATURDAY AT SHARON FOR FULL “STEEL VALLEY THUNDER” PROGRAM
By Mike Leone
Hartford, OH August 13, 2014 Sharon Speedway was finally blessed with great weather last Saturday ending a streak of no Saturday night racing that dated back to July 5. The result was a great crowd for the “Johnny Zdelar Memorial” and a season high 130 cars! Looking ahead to this Saturday night (August 16) is “Fan Appreciation Night II” with $5 grandstand admission for those 14 and over! The “Steel Valley Thunder” program will include the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds, Barris Supply RUSH Late Models, Summit Racing Equipment Modifieds, Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, HTMA/Precise Racing Products Econo Mods, and Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks. Race time is 7 p.m.
As part of “Fan Appreciation Night”, all Sharon Speedway apparel will be 10% off between 5-7 p.m. Saturday is also Twin-State Auto Racing Club Night with free general admission for card-carrying members. Saturday’s kitchen special is stuffed cabbage and mashed potatoes.
The DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds lead the way back to Sharon on Saturday night following a tremendous “Johnny Zdelar Memorial” where Jim Weller, Jr. pocketed over $3,000 for the night. Weller’s third win of the season kept him in sight of the Kings in the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Championship chase. Atop the standings is five-time winner Rex King, Jr. as he continues to near his first title. The youngest King has five victories at Sharon in addition to another four at Lernerville. Rex, Sr. is second in points, 17 back, and is fresh off BRP Tour wins at Expo and Mercer. Jim Rasey and Ricky Richner are fourth and fifth in points.
The RUSH Late Model feature was one of the closest finishes in the track’s history as Alan Dellinger repeated his opening night victory holding off 2012 champion Will Thomas III by just 0.005 of a second. Thomas has a pretty comfortable 49-point lead on Lunger in the race for the Barris Supply championship. Russ Byler, who has had a good rookie season in the Terry Hoover #00H is third, over Jamie Wrightsman and Dellinger.
Steve Dixon has been on fire of late at Sharon winning three of the last four Modified features. That streak has propelled him into the Summit Racing Equipment point lead by 36 in his search for his first championship. The battle from positions two through six is tight as just 15 points separates those five racers in Joel Watson, Russ Dunn, Carl McKinney, Mike Kinney, and Jeff Johnson.
The Stock Cars are coming off a season-high 17 cars last Saturday night. Mike Clark, Paul Davis, and Bryan Wagner have clearly been the class of the field this season as those three racers account for eight of the nine feature wins. Davis’ third win matched him with Clark’s win total, but trails the defending champion by two in the Gibson Insurance Agency title run. Wagner is 26 behind the point leader. Brian Carothers, who is still looking for his first win, is fourth, but trails Wagner by only four. Brent Coleman is fifth.
Jason Longwell has heated up winning two in a row in the Econo Mods after struggling to find victory lane during his career. Longwell has now worked his way up to second in the HTMA/Precise Racing Products points trailing defending champion Jeremy Double by 29 points. Third through fifth were Ty Rhoades, Brandon Blackshear, and Casey Bowers.
The last three Mini Stock features have provided three new winners in rookies Adam Little and Joe Campbell along with Pete Blazczak. In the Deforest Used Parts standings, it’s 2011 champion and the division’s all-time winner, Bill Fuchs, holding down the top spot by 21 over Jamie Maxwell. Early point leader Travis Creech has dropped to third over Tim McAninch and Jim Haefke, Jr.
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply will again award six complimentary pit passes for the following week; a pair going to the hard luck driver in DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds, a pair to a lucky driver in the division that competes first, and a pair to a lucky fan. Summit Racing Equipment will award $25 gift cards to the hard charger in the Modified, Stock Car, and Econo Mod divisions. Sweeney Chevrolet/Pace Performance will award $50, $25, and $25 certificates to the top three GM 602 crates in the Econo Mods that have been purchased through them or have secondary seals. HTMA/Precise Racing Products will award a free tire to the driver chosen that suffered that hardest luck.
Pits open at 4 p.m. with grandstands at 5, drivers meeting at 6:30 and heat races slated for 7. Admission for those 14 and over is $5. Pit passes are $30. As always, children under 13, parking, and camping is always FREE!
Sharon Speedway is owned by the Blaney, Weller, and Kirila Families and is a 3/8-mile dirt track located on Custer-Orangeville Road in Hartford, Ohio near the intersection of Routes 7 & 305. For more information, check out the website at www.sharonspeedway.com or call 330-772-5481. Become a fan of Sharon Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharonspeedway and follow us on Twitter at @SharonSpdwy.