After a wet start to this past weekend with several cancellations around the area because of rain, Saturday saw a couple of tracks able to dry out and get some racing action in the books.
(Photo: Chas Wolbert made it three wins in a row Saturday at Sharon Speedway. Photo by Rick Rarer)
Lernerville Speedway, Thunder Mountain Speedway, Hummingbird Speedway, and Pittsburgh Motor Speedway all lost their shows to weather over the weekend. Rain got through the area just in time for Sharon Speedway as the track presented their third consecutive 410 sprint car program and the first-ever FAST Series sanctioned event.
A very strong field of nearly 40 sprints filled the pits at Sharon along with full fields in the other three modified classes. They were joined by a big crowd for the night’s action, and the fans were not disappointed.
Hometown hero Dale Blaney was looking for his second consecutive win after scoring his first of the season a week earlier at the Hartford oval. Blaney almost made it two in a row as he found himself battling for the lead with Ohio’s hottest sprint car driver Cap Henry.
Henry would not be denied though as he held off the challenges of Blaney to take his fourth consecutive FAST sanctioned win worth $3,000. Henry was fresh off the biggest win of his career where he took home $20,000 just a week earlier at Mansfield Speedway in Ohio during the Great Lakes Dirt Nationals. The sprint cars will return to Sharon Speedway one last time in 2018 on Sept. 8 for the Apple Festival Nationals.
Other winners Saturday at Sharon include Chas Wolbert, who scored his third consecutive RUSH modified victory and did it in impressive fashion coming from his 12th starting spot.
Joel Watson would visit victory lane in the return of the e-mods while Jacob Euler would visit victory lane in the Econo mod feature.
This Saturday at Sharon will be the final Super Series event featuring the big block modifieds. The RUSH modifieds, stock cars, and Econo mods will also be on the card along with power wheels races for the kids.
Perfect weather greeted fans Sunday evening at Tri-City Raceway where the Venango County oval closed out their 2018 season. Forty-five RUSH crate late models filled the pits for their annual Manufactures Night as over $30,000 in product giveaways were distributed throughout the field. In the feature, it was Mike Pegher Jr. who dominated the 30-lap feature to win his second consecutive Manufactures night win at Tri-City. Logan Zarin would win the non-qualifiers race for the crate late models.
Jack Sodeman Jr. closed out the season at Tri-City with an exciting win. Photo by Rick Rarer.
In the third and final race of the Summer Sprint Series for the 410 sprint cars, it was local hot shoe Jack Sodeman Jr. and Ohio invader and former All-Star regulars Max Stambaugh who put on a show for the fans. Sodeman would track down race-long leader Stambaugh and take the lead on lap 20. The two would trade the lead back and forth before Sodeman finally took control and would lead the final laps for his first Tri-City win of the season. With his third-place finish, Sye Lynch would be crowned the champion of the Summer Sprint Series.
Lernerville Speedway will crown their track champions this Friday with the final Fab 4 racing program of 2018. Fans will also be treated to fireworks this Friday. On Saturday, the popular monster trucks will invade Lernerville Speedway. Gates open at 1 p.m. on Saturday with a pit party getting underway at 1:30 p.m. and lasting until 3:30 p.m. The show gets underway at 4 p.m. and will carry a Sunday rain date if needed.
Both Thunder Mountain Speedway and Hummingbird Speedway will hope the third time is a charm this weekend after suffering rainouts for the past two consecutive weeks. At Thunder Mountain, they will try once again to present Fan Appreciation and Autism Awareness Night. Fans will be treated to dollar hot dogs, driver autographs, and a ton of giveaways throughout the evening.
At Hummingbird Speedway, the track will make its third attempt to present their semi late special which will find the winner taking home $8,000 for their efforts.
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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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