It has been a rough couple of past seasons for the six-time All-Star Champion Dale Blaney of Hartford, Ohio.
(Photo: The vintage modifieds will join the 410 sprints and RUSH late models this Sunday at Tri-City. Photo by Rick Rarer)
Blaney has visited victory lane with The All-Star Circuit of Champions 134 times, more than any other driver in the history of the series. But Blaney has bounced around from ride to ride the past two seasons and then missed several months this season due to a work-related injury. But this past Saturday at Sharon Speedway Blaney proved he still has what it takes to win by scoring his first win of 2018. It came in just his third start of the season aboard the Jimmy Norris owned 4n sprinter.
In the 30-lap feature, Blaney would race to the front and then pass Lernerville Speedway champion AJ Flick on lap 20 to take the lead. Blaney would lead the rest of the way for the win denying Flick of his first career Sharon win. Last week’s winner, George Hobaugh of Karns City, would round out the podium in third over another impressive field of 29 cars. The win marked Blaney’s 29th consecutive season with at least one win to his credit. His first win also came at Sharon Speedway back in 1990.
Dale Blaney enjoying victory lane after his first win of 2018. Photo by Ken Potter.
Other winners Saturday included Chris Schneider in the stock cars, Chas Wolbert in the RUSH modifieds, and Eric Wilson in the econo mods.
This Saturday the 410 sprint cars return for the third Saturday in a row but the first ever FAST sanctioned event at the Hartford oval. The FAST series will bring some of the top drivers out of central Ohio that race at Attica and Fremont to do battle against the Western Pennsylvania regulars. Also, on the card Saturday will be the econo mods, E mods, and RUSH modifieds.
Storms passed through the area wiping out the action at Thunder Mountain Speedway this past Friday. The Scott Winslow Memorial race featuring the Penn-Ohio Stock Car Series has been rescheduled for Sept. 21 at Thunder Mountain. This Friday the track will present Fan Appreciation Night and Autism Awareness Night at the track. Fans will be treated to dollar hot dogs, driver autographs, and a ton of giveaways throughout the evening.
Lernerville Speedway also lost their racing program to rain this past Friday. Action will resume this Friday with the next-to-last point race and Fab 4 racing program of the 2018 season. This Friday will also be go-kart night at the action track. Once the point battles are determined action will continue at Lernerville with specials throughout the month of September.
Jacob Hawkins of Fairmont, W.Va., was the winner of the biggest crate late model race of the season in the area this past Saturday at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Hawkins bested a record field of 51 late models at the RUSH sanctioned Jook George Memorial and took home over $5,000 for his efforts. This Saturday the Penn Ohio Pro Stock Series will return to Pittsburgh for the Wee Willie White Memorial.
Hummingbird Speedway also fell victim to rain this past Saturday. They will return to action this Saturday with the rescheduled $800-to-win semi-late special along with their regular weekly classes.
Tri-City Raceway will bring their season to a close this Sunday with the “End of Summer Showdown” featuring the 410 sprint cars and RUSH late models. Rounding out the card in the final race of 2018 will be the vintage modifieds and e mods. For the late models, it will be Manufacture’s Night, which always brings a large turnout of cars. For the sprint cars it will be the third-and-final leg of the Summer Sprint Series which means previous winners Sye Lynch and Carl Bowser will be eligible for a $1,000 bonus if one of them can repeat Sunday.
The biggest sprint car race in the world took place this past week in Knoxville, Iowa, with the running of the 58th annual Knoxville Nationals. The four-day event featured nearly 100 of the best sprint cars in the country. Brad Sweet dominated the week aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing, Napa sponsored sprinter taking home his first nationals title Saturday night. Sweet held off 10-time Nationals winner Donny Schatz and NASCAR star Kyle Larson to earn the $150,000 winner’s check.
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About Rick
Rick Rarer, a Franklin resident, is the owner of Racestud.com and SprintCarNews.com. He has been covering racing for 18 years, taking racing photos for 13 years, and has covered races at over 100 tracks in 15 states. Most recently, Rick won the Bill Steinbach Media Award at the Lernerville Speedway Annual Awards Banquet.
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