Weather has been an issue every weekend so far this racing season and this past weekend was no different.
(Photo: Mike Maresca makes the winning pass of Jim Rasey to score his second consecutive win at Tri-City Sunday. Photo by Rick Rarer)
Area tracks raced to beat the rain once again. Like last week Lernerville Speedway and Thunder Mountain Speedway were able to get their Friday programs completed before heavy rains hit the area wiping out all racing action on Saturday. A good field of cars signed in at Lernerville Speedway despite less than favorable weather conditions.
An off and on again light drizzle wasn’t enough to stop the action at the Sarver oval where the fans saw some great racing.
Brian Swartzlander got the night started by winning the big block modified feature after a great battle with early leader Garrett Krummert. For Swartzlander, it was his 94th career win at the track. Jack Sodeman Jr. scored an emotional win in the sprint car feature getting his first win of the season on his late mother’s birthday.
Michael Norris dominated the late model feature while stock car ace Corey McPherson returned to victory lane to cap off the nights action.
Lernerville will be back in action this Friday with another Fab 4 racing program. It will also be Police, Fire and EMS night. All first responders with proper ID will receive free general admission seating.
The ULMS Late Model Series made their return to Thunder Mountain Speedway this past Friday for their previously rained out $3,000 to win show, the third and final leg of the Keystone State Shootout.
Despite a break in the action for rain with 10 laps to go the race would go on. The fans were brought to their feet when Jared Miley would pass race leader Mike Maresca with two laps to go for the win. Alex Ferree would finish third while Max Blair and Greg Oakes would round out the top five.
Great news for racers at Thunder Mountain is the track has increased the purses for all four regular divisions starting this Friday. The Brookville oval will be back in action this Friday with a regular four division show plus off road speedway series ATVs and UTVs. It will also be Armed Forces Night with all Veterans with proof of service receiving free admission to the Speedway. Racing is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m.
Despite rain showers, just before race time and showers all around the speedway Lernerville was able to complete their first Wednesday night program which featured the first-ever RUSH wingless sprint car race. The first one was a good one as Arnie Kent of New Castle beat Pleasantville’s Gale Ruth Jr. in a photo finish to become the first driver so etch his name in the record books as the first ever RUSH sprint car winner. The Wednesday night RUSH sprint car racing series will resume on June 20.
Arnie Kent in victory lane after winning the inaugural RUSH sprint car feature. Photo by Zack Anthony.
Rain moved out of the area just in time for Tri-City Raceway to complete their rescheduled Mother’s Day Modified Mania program on Sunday. After just missing the win Friday night at Thunder Mountain in his late model, Mike Maresca would strap into his big block modified and redeem himself with a hard-fought victory. The New York driver’s win was his second consecutive Tri-City victory after winning the late model feature two weeks earlier.
Garrett Krummert was also able to redeem himself Sunday at Tri-City. After leading most of the modified feature at Lernerville Speedway Friday but fading to fourth, he rebounded to win the RUSH modified feature Sunday in convincing fashion. Other winners included Matt Eucker and Mike Potosky in emod competition, and David Myers in the vintage modifieds.
The RUSH wingless sprint car series got their second event in the books Sunday night with a visit to Bradford Speedway. Former late model winner Chad Ruhlman impressed everyone leading all 20 laps to score the feature win his first time in a sprint car. For the second time in a week, Gale Ruth Jr. would have to settle for second while Lernerville winner Arnie Kent would round out the podium.
After falling victim to rain this past Saturday Pennsylvania’s Pittsburgh Motor Speedway will try again this Saturday as the 410 sprint cars are scheduled to headline the action. It is the first of several visits for the winged warriors at the monster half mile.
For the fourth time in five weeks, Sharon Speedway also fell victim to rain. The Hartford oval will try again this Saturday where The Mod Tour will highlight the card as they battle for the $2,000 top prize.
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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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