It was a wet and rainy weekend in Western Pennsylvania but one track still managed to race this past weekend. FULL ARTICLE

It felt as if summer had finally arrived this past weekend as area fans and drivers were greeted by warm sunny weather. FULL ARTICLE

Unlike most Fridays this summer, sunny skies greeted fans Friday at Thunder Mountain Speedway where the ULMS Late Model Series invaded for their second time in 2018. FULL ARTICLE

So far this season when race fans think of the weekend they think of rain, and this past weekend was no different. FULL ARTICLE

Weather has been an issue every weekend so far this racing season and this past weekend was no different. FULL ARTICLE

It was another dismal rain-filled weekend in Western Pennsylvania; one has to wonder if the rain will ever stop? FULL ARTICLE

It was another weekend of fighting Mother Nature for area tracks and drivers with rain hanging around Western Pennsylvania all weekend. FULL ARTICLE

Despite the unseasonably cold weather the Western Pennsylvania racing season finally got underway this past weekend. FULL ARTICLE

' This past weekend saw another dominating performance from Mother Nature on the Western Pennsylvania racing circuit. (Photo: Matt Lux just missed his first feature win of 2018 over the weekend. Photo courtesy of Rick Rarer) Wet and cold weather forced both Lernerville Speedway and Sharon Speedway to postpone their season openers over the weekend. Lernerville Speedway will try again this Friday with a regular Fab 4 racing program on tap. Sprint cars, big block modifieds, late models and the stock cars will all be in action at 7:30 p.m. sharp. Meanwhile, Sharon will try to get their 89th anniversary season started on Saturday with the first Mernards Super Series event of the season which will feature the big block modifieds racing for $2,000 to win. Also on the card, Saturday will be the stock cars, RUSH modifieds, Econo mods, and junior sprints for the kids. The action is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. at the Hartford, Ohio oval. Don’t fret late model fans as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series show that was canceled Friday has been rescheduled at Sharon Speedway. The $12,000 to win event has been rescheduled for Monday, July 2. The stop will make Sharon the third night of four straight nights of racing in Ohio for the series as they visit Portsmouth Saturday, Mansfield Sunday and Muskingum on Tuesday. With the area cancellations, several drivers hit the road trekking east or west to race. For the second week in a row, Franklin’s Matt Lux towed his late model elsewhere. This week he headed west to Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio and just missed his first win of 2018. In what many are calling one of the best late model races the track has seen in years Lux battled side by side with former track champ Ryan Markham nearly all 25 laps of the feature event. Lux was able to hold off Markham until the final lap when the Ohio speedster finally took the lead for good leaving Lux to settle for second after a race-long battle. Joining the late models at Wayne County Speedway Saturday was Tony Stewart’s All-Star Circuit of Champions. Tim Shaffer of Aliquippa came from his eighth starting spot to score the popular win. Jac Haudenschild was the All-Star winner a night earlier at Attica Raceway Park in Ohio. [caption id="attachment_281653" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Aliquippa's Tim Shaffer visited victory lane with the All-Stars Saturday. Photo courtesy of Rick Rarer.[/caption] Thunder Mountain Speedway was able to complete their test & tune practice on Saturday with a nice field of cars on hand. The track will get the racing season going this Friday when the ULMS Late Model Series season opener worth $3,000 dollars to the winner. The street stocks and FWDs will also be on the card with racing starting at 7 p.m. Hummingbird Speedway will open their gates for the first time this season Saturday with an open practice. Gates open at noon with practice taking the green at 2 p.m. Grandstand admission is free for fans and pit passes are $30.00. The ULMS Late Model Series will return to action on Sunday when they head to Tri-City Raceway for The “Mudslinger”. The Franklin track will make its third attempt to kick off the 2018 season. Joining the super late models Sunday will be the RUSH late models, emods, and open stock cars, with racing slated for 6 p.m. This weekend will find sprint car fans and drivers flocking from across the country for one of the biggest races of the season. The first ever Sprint Car World Championship at Mansfield Speedway in Mansfield, Ohio will get underway this Thursday with an open practice. Racing will get underway Friday with qualifying and two $5,000 to win features. Another full night of racing is on tap Saturday evening culminating with the $100,000 to win Championship feature! As of right now, there are 80 sprint car teams from 16 states pre-registered for the huge event. Area drivers that are registered and planning on competing include Michael Bauer, Brandon and Brent Matus, Danny Holtgraver, Carl Bowser, Brandon Spithaler and Adam Kekich. Along with them many of the best drivers in the country are registered, including drivers like Sammy Swindell, Tim Shaffer, Chad Kemenah, Joey Saldana, Jac Haudenschild, Rico Abreu, Lance Dewease, Dave Blaney, Brian Brown and many more making it a must-see event for sprint car fans. Rick's Racing Roundup is brought to you by: Red Bandana Winery Allegheny Grille Bauer Truck Repair Dagny Design Group Redbank Chevrolet Zacherl Motors 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.

The local racing season was set to get underway this weekend at Tri-City but Mother Nature had other plans. FULL ARTICLE