By Eric Westendorf
Sarver, PA (August 29, 2012) Led by a triumvirate of former Track Champions, the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions Sprints are scheduled to roll into Sarvertown this Friday Night to headline the final Fast Friday of the 2012 season before we switch gears to September Saturday Nights. The All Star Sprints will headline the event with support from the 305 Sprints that call Mercer Raceway Park and Dog Hollow Speedway home and our bread & butter division; the Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar Sportsman.
1993 Track Champion Tim Shaffer, 1991 Track Champion Dale Blaney and 2010 Track Champion Danny Holtgraver will carry the flag for the travelling All Stars. Shaffer leads the overall All Star Point Standings, while Blaney leads the Ohio Region Points. Shaffer also recently reached the 50 win milestone with the All Stars and is sixth all time in All Star Wins. Shaffer is the two-time defending event winner and has won three of the last four All Star Races at the Action Track. Blaney is second in series wins with 86 behind the great Kenny Jacobs and won the spring All Star race at Lernerville in 2010.
Last week’s Ti22 Sprint feature winner Danny Holtgraver won his first All Star Race at Attica in June during Ohio Speedweeks and is fifth in Ohio Region Points/eighth in overall All Star Points. Fellow Lernerville young gun Brandon Matus also notched his first career All Star win this summer at Sharon Speedway.
Seeing Holtgraver and Matus win their first All Star features has local driver and All Star traveler Pete Miller III hungrier than ever and scoring his first All Star win at his home track would be a huge accomplishment for the ever improving hotshoe. Miller is currently seventh in the overall All Star Point standings.
As usual, the All Stars have seen a variety of feature winners during the 2012 tour. Shaffer and Blaney lead the series in wins, but stars like Daryn Pittman (winner of the most recent All Star race at nearby Mercer Raceway Park), Stevie Smith, David Gravel, Paul McMahan, Greg Wilson, Travis Philo and Cap Henry will all be gunning for a $5,000 payday!
Recently crowned 2012 Budweiser Track Champion Kevin Schaeffer plans to make his Lernerville swan song Friday Night in the family-owned #9. Schaeffer has been a fixture in the Ti22 Sprint division for over a decade and walks away, (for now anyway), with an impressive four Track Titles to his credit; a testament to the team’s consistency and care for their equipment.
2011 Track Champion Carl Bowser, recent first time feature winner Eric “Turkey” Williams, Jack Sodeman Jr., Brian Ellenberger, Brandon Spithaler, Scott Priester and Brent Matus are all expected to be in competition with $5,000 on the line to the feature winner. Future Hall of Famers Rod George and Ed Lynch Jr. could also be in action defending their home turf; both with multiple All Star wins on their resumes.
The 305 Sprints look identical to their 410 big brothers, but are powered by a smaller engine. Guy Griffin won the 305 Sprint feature last year, but rising star Justin Whitesell logged some laps with the Ti22 Sprints last Friday Night; scoring a 12th place finish and will be looking to make his Sheetz Victory Lane debut.
Corey McPherson will make his first appearance as Track Champion leading the Pic-A-Part Sportsman in a cash & carry race that will act as a final tune-up for the $2,000-to-win Sportsman/Stock Spectacular during Autumn-Motive Fest 2012 next Saturday, September 8. Championship runner-up Jim Fosnaught will be looking for his second career win, while recent feature winners AJ Flick and Chris Schneider will look to make return visits to Sheetz Victory Lane. Former Track Champions Joe Kelley, Bob Egley and Bob Lipinski will all be gunning for their first feature win on 2012.
Tickets are $22 for adults, $20 for seniors and $15 for students 11-17 years old. And as always, kids 10 & under are admitted FREE into general admission. Gates open at 5:00 with UNOH All Star Time Trials scheduled for 7:15.
As mentioned above, after this Friday, we’ll switch to Saturday Nights in September starting with the aforementioned Autumn-Motive Fest 2012 on Saturday, September 8 featuring the $2,000-to-win Sportsman/Stock Spectacular and Round Two of the $1,000-to-win Enduro 100! Saturday, September 15 is the “Back to School” Bus & Kid’s Bike races, along with the Senior Series Stocks, Figures 8s and the first and only Demo Derby of 2012!
The World of Outlaws will cap off the weekly portion of the 2012 season with the $10,000-to-win Commonwealth Clash on Saturday, September 22. If you missed the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twin 30s, don’t miss the Commonwealth Clash! Tickets are on sale 24/7 at www.Lernerville.com and all advanced ticket sales include a free fan pit pass upgrade!
The season will come to a big finish with the three-day DIRTcar Round Up Steel City Stampede on Thursday-Friday-Saturday, October 25-26-27. Ten divisions will compete during the final race weekend of 2012, featuring $3,000-to-win finales for the Ti22 Sprints, Precise Late Models and Diehl/BRP Mods. The Sportsman/Stocks, UEMS/UMP Modifieds, FASTRAK Northeast Late Models, 305 Sprints, Mod Lites and 4-Cylinders will all be in action plus Round 3 of the $1,000-to-win Enduro 100 to cap off the event and 2012 season on Saturday Night. More detailed information about the DIRTcar Round Up Steel City Stampede will be posted and released next week.