by Mike Leone
Hartford, OH July 31, 2019 After another successful Menards “Super Series” event last Saturday night featuring the “410” Sprint Cars, Sharon Speedway will do it all over again this Saturday night (August 3) on Thompson Fab Night as part of the 90th anniversary season. The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply “410” Sprint Cars will be featured in their second of four straight appearances and they will be joined by the RUSH Sportsman Modified Touring Series, Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, and Summit Racing Equipment Econo Mods. There will also be a Stock Car mechanics race at the end of the night. Race time is 7 p.m.
The “410” Sprint Cars have put on five tremendous shows this year with Cole Duncan withstanding the challenges of Tony Stewart for the $3,000 FAST-sanctioned victory that came over an excellent field of 43 cars back on May 11, then A.J. Flick out-dueled George Hobaugh for the $3,000 non-sanctioned win on May 18 with 33 cars on hand. After 10 straight different winners, Dave Blaney ended the streak picking up the June 29 $3,000 win for his 30th career “410” victory at Sharon. Brother Dale Blaney then won his first “Lou Blaney Memorial” on July 6 in the $6,000 to-win All Star Circuit of Champions-sanctioned event. Then this past Saturday saw a Blaney in victory lane for the third straight race as Dave won a thriller over Dan Shetler and Chad Kemenah. There were 32 cars on hand.
Last year, the “410” Sprint Car events had at least 29 cars present every night with eight different winners in eight events, while there’s been four different winners in five 2019 events with at least 30 cars on hand each night!
Saturday will utilize the hot lap/group qualifying format that has been used at all “Super Series” Sprint Car events the last two years. Two to three cars will qualify at a time only amongst their heat race group. The fastest four in each heat will be inverted with the top three redrawing plus the fastest transferring non-top three finisher if there are three heats or the top two plus the two fastest transferring non-top two finishers if there are four heats. The B main will be lined up heads up on heat race finishes. Heat and B main finish(es) will complete the 24-car starting lineup. Mufflers are not required and there are no registration or entry fees.
The RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will compete in their first of three Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Touring Series events over the remainder of the season. C&R Tire is Saturday’s presenting sponsor. The Tour will return on August 17 for their “Manufacturers Night” with approximately $25,000 in valuable products being given away to eligible competing racers. The final Tour show of 2019 will be part of the annual “Apple Festival Nationals” on September 20-21.
Rob Kristyak, who currently leads the Sharon points, won the most recent Tour event on July 11 at nearby Expo Speedway over 2018 champion, Garrett Krummert. Kristyak has had a stellar season winning five feature events throughout the region including two at Sharon. Kristyak has a five-point lead in the HTMA/Precise Racing Products track standings over Kole Holden, who won his first feature in nearly two years last Saturday night. Tony Tatgenhorst, Chas Wolbert, and Jacob Jordan complete the top five in points.
At the end of the night, the “Wheelman” Non-Winners race presented by Ohio Intra Express and C&R Tire will take place. To date there have been four different winners in five races. Amelia Clay was the most recent winner of the $75 to-win race last Saturday night as she currently leads the points over Jacob Wolfe. The Stock Cars completed their first show last Saturday night for the first time in four weeks with Chris Schneider becoming the season’s first repeat winner. Schneider rolled off eighth and took the lead from Jackson Humanic on lap 13; with the full field plus of cars Schneider earned $700. Back on May 11, Schneider picked up the $2,000 2018 “Apple Festival Nationals” make-up win. Other winners this season include Bobby Whitling on May 18 when he ended a seven-year Sharon winless drought, Chris McGuire on June 8, and Curt J. Bish on June 29 when he ended a four-year winless drought. McGuire, the defending Gibson Insurance Agency champion, leads Bish by just five points. Shaun Hooks, Paul Davis, and Andy Thompson are third through fifth in points all in search of their first win of the season. At the end of the program on Saturday, the annual Stock Car mechanics race will take place put on by the Penn-Ohio Series.
The Econo Mods have also struggled to get shows in during the 2019 season with only four to date, but with four different winners! The first was the 2018 “Apple Festival Nationals” make-up on May 11 when Kyle Miller won his biggest career race worth $750. One week later, Ty Rhoades won the regular season opener. Since then, two Elite Series races have taken place with Eric Wilson winning on June 29 and Dustin DeMattia capturing his first career Sharon win last Saturday night. Rhoades has a pretty comfortable 26-point lead on DeMattia. Andy Buckley sits third with cousins Nate and Jarrett Young in fourth and fifth.
Pits will be open throughout the afternoon on Saturday with pit passes going on sale at 4 p.m., while the main grandstands open at 5. Drivers meeting will be at 6:00 p.m. followed by Sprint engine starts at 6:15 and group qualifying at 6:30. Heat races are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Grandstand admission for those 14 and over is $13, while senior citizens are $10. Patio seating upgrades are just $5 and fan suite seating upgrades are just $20 over the cost of general admission. These can be reserved on race night in the track office. As always, children under 14 and parking are always FREE! Pit passes are $30. As a reminder, coolers nor outside food or beverages are not permitted.
Coming up on August 10 will be the “Bill Kirila Memorial” featuring the “410” Sprints for $3,000 to-win on Kams Electric Service Night. The Menards “Super Series” event will also include the Stock Cars, RUSH Sportsman Modifieds, and Econo Mods. Race time is 7 p.m.
Sharon Speedway is owned by the Blaney, Weller, and Kirila Families and is a 3/8-mile dirt track located on Custer-Orangeville Road in Hartford, Ohio near the intersection of Routes 7 & 305. For more information, check out the website at www.sharonspeedway.com or call 330-772-5481. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharonspeedway and follow us on Twitter @sharonspdwy.