It was a wet and rainy weekend in Western Pennsylvania but one track still managed to race this past weekend.
(Photo: Michael Norris pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season when he defeated the World of Outlaws Thursday. Photo by Rick Rarer)
Lernerville Speedway managed to run four nights in a row despite rain being a factor every night.
Things got started Wednesday at the Sarver oval where a wet track and wet grounds greeted fans and drivers for the second leg of the Wednesday Night Mayhem Series. On a wet and heavy, super-fast surface Gale Ruth Jr. of Pleasantville scored his second win of 2018 at Lernerville this season over fellow two-time winner Arnie Kent on New Castle.
Gale Ruth Jr. enjoys his 2nd win of the season (RUSH Lernerville
Thursday night saw the rain slow down and the 12th annual Firecracker Weekend gets underway. The action saw World of Outlaws point leader Chris Madden take the lead on lap 12, and he didn’t look back going on to score the preliminary win worth $6,000. Brandon Sheppard, Mike Marlar, Scott Bloomquist, and Devin Moran would round out the top five as the checkered flag flew just before rains hit the Speedway once again.
Although it was a preliminary night, Friday night is the race many are still talking about. Michael Norris has dominated the weekly competition at Lernerville this season with five wins already to his credit. On Friday he notched the biggest win of his career as he scored one for the hometown as the Sarver driver dominated the 30-lap feature. For Norris, it was his first career World of Outlaws win, and it came on a bad, fast surface that saw a track record earlier in the evening.
An emotional Norris stated “This one for my dad and grandparents. I grew up coming here,” as he enjoyed victory lane.
Despite the rain, the Saturday the show would go on, as the main event took center stage with the Firecracker 100 feature. After scoring the win on Thursday World of Outlaw point leader Chris Madden would come back Saturday to cap off a great weekend by dominating the 100-lap feature and taking home the $30,000 winner’s check. Mike Marlar, Tyler Erb, Devin Moran, and Dale McDowell rounded out the top five Saturday. Mike Maresca would close out the weekend by taking home $3,000 for winning the Uncle Sam 20 non-qualifiers race.
Lernerville Speedway will return to action this Friday with a sprint car tripleheader when the BOSS wingless sprint car series make their annual visit to the track. Joining them will be the winged 305 race saver sprints along with the RUSH wingless sprints led by Arnie Kent and Gale Ruth Jr. who have won the first three events at the Sarver oval this season. This is a must see race for sprint car fans as the BOSS series always puts on a great show. Racing is slated to get underway at 7:30 p.m. sharp.
It was another wet one at Sharon Speedway Saturday where rain washed out racing for the fifth time in the last seven weeks. There are a busy few days on tap at the Hartford oval this week if Mother Nature will cooperate. This Saturday the 410 sprint cars will return for another Menards Super Series event which will find the winner taking home $3,000 for their efforts. Joining the sprint cars will be the RUSH modifieds, the stock cars, and the Econo Mods. Saturday will also be Armed Forces Night at the Speedway.
Then on Monday, July 2, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will their only appearance of the year for the rescheduled Steel Valley 50. Some of the best late model drivers in the country will gather for this $12,000 to win event. The RUSH modifieds will also be in action once again Monday. Gates open at 5:00 p.m. with the first green flag slated for 7:00 p.m. on Monday.
After falling victim to rain, this past Saturday Hummingbird Speedway will try again this Saturday with another five division show scheduled for action. Thunder Mountain Speedway will also return to action this Friday with a special $1,000 to win the race for the four cylinders along with a regular show for the other divisions.
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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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