It felt as if summer had finally arrived this past weekend as area fans and drivers were greeted by warm sunny weather.
(Photo: Brent Johnson of Brookville took home a whopping $10,000 dollars Saturday at Sharon Speedway. Photo by Zach Anthony)
Friday found both Lernerville Speedway and Thunder Mountain Speedway taking advantage of the great weather.
At Lernerville it was familiar faces in victory lane. AJ Flick recorded his third win of the season in the sprint car feature besting a field of 28 cars. For Flick, the win also guarantees him a starting spot in the upcoming Don Martin Memorial when the World of Outlaws come to town.
Jared Miley returned to the action track Friday and put a stop to Michael Norris’s dominance by coming from his 12th starting spot to pass Norris in the final laps of the race for his second Lernerville win of the season. Miley earned himself a guaranteed starting spot in this weekend’s Firecracker with the victory.
Rex King Jr. made it two wins in a row by holding off Brian Swartzlander in the big block modified feature. Defending track champion Corey McPherson closed out the evening by dominating the stock car feature for his second win of 2018.
This weekend the biggest late model race of the season in Western Pennsylvania will take center stage when the Firecracker 100 weekend kicks off Thursday evening. Once again the World of Outlaws late model series will headline the $30,000-to-win event. Thursday and Friday will be full qualifying programs with the feature winner taking home $6,000 each night. Saturday will be the main event along with the Uncle Sam 30 which pays $3,000 to the winner.
Father’s Day races at Thunder Mountain saw Doug Eck visit victory lane with his late model as he edged Franklin’s Matt Lux for the win. Other winners Friday included Josh Fields in the pure stocks, Gabe Shaffer in the semi-lates, and Zack Wissinger in the 4-cylinder main. There will be no racing at Thunder Mountain Speedway this Friday as the track will be closed so drivers and fans can attend the Firecracker at Lernerville Speedway.
History was made Saturday night at Sharon Speedway where Brent Johnson etched his name in the record books as the inaugural winner of the first-ever Steel Valley Pro Stock Nationals. Over 80 stock cars filled the pits for the $10,000-to-win event featuring the Penn-Ohio Pro Stock Series. A star-studded field with cars from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee made the trip for this big show. Schneider inherited the lead on lap 52 of 75 and edged Chris Schneider by just 0.118 of a second in what was nearly a photo finish!
Saturday night at Hummingbird Speedway the track completed their fifth racing program of 2018 and saw four first time winners.
Newcomer Chad Wright was the winner of the late-model feature and it was his first ever at the track. Other winners Saturday included Doug Surra in the semi-lates, Dave Shagla in the street stocks, Tim Steis in the pure stocks, and Josh Frantz in the 4-cylinder main. Another five division race program is on tap this Saturday at the Bird with racing getting underway at 7 p.m.
The biggest crowd of the season filled the stands at Tri-City Raceway on Sunday, and they got to see a great sprint car feature.
Third-generation driver Sye Lynch found the new clay to his liking. Sye battled George Hobaugh the second half of the race, as the two traded the lead several times until Sye took the lead in the final laps to score the popular win. It was Lynch’s second career win and first at the Venango County oval. Hobaugh finished second just missing his first career win while Clarion’s Mike Bauer, who led early, settled for third.
Sye Lynch is congratulated by track promoter Chad Wagner after his first-ever Tri-City win . Photo by Rick Rarer.
The RUSH late models and wingless sprint cars joined the 410 sprint cars Sunday at Tri-City.
For the late models, it was the Bill Emig Memorial and it was a new face in victory lane. Brady Wonderling of Scio, N.Y., wired the field for his first career win. He picked the right time for win No. 1, which was worth $2,000. In the RUSH sprint car feature, Arnie Kent ended Chad Ruhlman’s winning streak at three. It was Kent’s second win of the season after winning the inaugural event at Lernerville Speedway.
Rick’s Racing Roundup is brought to you by:
Redbank Chevrolet
Zacherl Motors
Red Bandana Winery
Allegheny Grille
Bauer Truck Repair
Dagny Design Group
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.
Copyright © 2024 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited.
