From Tyler Altmeyer
Indianapolis, IN — (July 1, 2015) — After spending a week on the road in the state of Ohio, the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions will move ahead and continue their 2015 campaign with three full nights of open wheel competition during the upcoming Independence Day weekend. The UNOH All Stars will compete in three events at two different venues this weekend; covering areas between western Pennsylvania and western Ohio. The regional traveling series will visit the Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, Pennsylvania to help ignite the three-race weekend, followed by a trip west to the Millstream Speedway near Findlay, Ohio. The UNOH All Stars will spend two days at the Mercer short track on Friday and Saturday, July 3rd & 4th, with a one day visit planned to the Millstream Motorsports Complex, the home of Millstream Speedway, on Sunday, July 5th. All three nights will feature full UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions programs. The Friday night main event at Mercer Raceway Park will be worth $3,000, followed by back to back $5,000 paydays on Saturday and Sunday at Mercer and Millstream.
“We are truly excited to be a part of the holiday weekend at Mercer Raceway Park and Millstream Speedway” said UNOH All Star series owner Tony Stewart, “There is sprint car tradition and history at both facilities and anytime you can be a part of that is special. Western Pennsylvania has a lot of great competitors and we’ll continue that rivalry this weekend. We are privileged enough to be on the Millstream Speedway schedule this year after their reopening. We had a weather conflict during our last scheduled appearance so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. This has the potential to be a great holiday weekend for our racers and fans.”
Mercer Raceway Park last hosted the UNOH All Stars back on Saturday evening, May 2nd. It was Chad Kemenah earning the $5,000 top prize. The pilot of the Hunter Racing, Seneca Energy Corp, Brilex ‘10H’ held off Red Lion, Pennsylvania’s Cody Darrah and Dalton, Ohio’s Lee Jacobs for his first series win of 2015. Western Pennsylvania regulars Jack Sodeman, Jr. and Ed Lynch, Jr. completed the top-five. The talent-filled UNOH All Star roster will once again battle the best that western Pennsylvania has to offer; attempting to keep the Mercer regulars out of victory lane. The UNOH All Stars have not yet visited the Millstream Speedway in 2015. Their last scheduled appearance at the half-mile dirt oval on Sunday, May 31st was moved to Sunday, September 27th due to inclement weather conditions.
Dale Blaney will lead the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions charge into the holiday weekend. The Hartford, Ohio native stands on top of the series standings with a 163 point cushion over Cody Darrah entering Friday’s program at Mercer Raceway Park. Blaney has six UNOH All Star main event victories thus far in 2015, while also accumulating an impressive 16 top-five and 22 top-ten finishes. Darrah, a one-time winner during UNOH All Star competition in 2015, rides along second in the championship standings, ahead of three-time series winner in 2015 and Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket champion, Greg Wilson. Chad Kemenah and Sheldon Haudenschild round out the top-five in the current UNOH All Star championship standings.
Greg Wilson is the most recent UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions main event winner in 2015; conquering Ohio Sprint Speedweek competition at the Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio on Thursday, June 25th. The pilot of the familiar Hercules Tires, DNC Hydraulics, ‘W20’ held off Tim Shaffer and Dale Blaney for his third win of the year. The Thursday night program would eventually become the 2015 Ohio Sprint Speedweek finale due to weather interrupting the final two stops on the nine-race schedule. Wilson, a Benton Ridge, Ohio native, earned two series victories during his Speedweek campaign; ultimately earning the 2015 Ohio Sprint Speedweek championship. Dale Blaney finished second in the final Speedweek standings, followed by Sheldon Haudenschild, Chad Kemenah and Tim Shaffer.
“We are excited to get back to Mercer this weekend” explained Speedweek champion, Greg Wilson, “It’s a place where I’ve struggled quite a bit in the past, but we are looking forward to changing that this Friday and Saturday. We have a little bit of extra momentum on our side now and a little bit of luck. We have some new ideas that we want to try so we’ll work that into our game plan this weekend. Mercer has a nice facility and I’m sure the stands will be packed. We hope to put ourselves in a good position on both nights and keep this positive streak going.”
To learn more about the two-day marquee event at Mercer Raceway Park, such as ticket prices, schedule of activities and track information, please visit Mercer Raceway Park live on the web at www.mercerracewaypark.com. Gate times are set for 4PM, with racing slated to begin at 6PM.
The Sunday night program at Millstream Speedway is set to begin with their ‘Infield Fan Fare’ at 1PM. Entertainment including a cornhole tournament and live music from The Brent Lowry Band is planned for much of the afternoon. The UNOH All Stars are scheduled to hit the racing surface for hot laps at 6PM.
“The weather looks great for the weekend so we may finally get to see some racing at Millstream” said Greg Wilson, “Millstream Speedway is just a few minutes from home. It is the closest facility to our shop. We have actually won a few races there so that makes it even more motivating to get back there. I think people will be really surprised when they get there and see how much work was actually put into the facility. It’s such a fun race track, too. It’s big, but it races like a short track; multiple grooves and usually a great show.”
For more information, such as ticket prices and track information, please visit Millstream Speedway online at www.millstreamspeedway.net.