By Aaron Fry
The 2023 title fight for the championship crown in the MPD Racing Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series is at the halfway point. Oxnard, California’s Ricky Lewis holds a 46-point lead over Troy, Ohio’s Korbyn Hayslett. The pair have been nearly inseparable at all 10 events thus far, including the only crash for each, crashing together in a heat race at Lawrenceburg Speedway just 2 weeks ago.
This weekend, the tour heads back to Pennsylvania for a pair of events on Friday, June 30th at Lernerville Speedway and Saturday, July 1st at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. On Monday, July 3rd, the teams will roll into Waynesfield Raceway Park for the prestigious “Jack Hewitt Classic” paying $4,000 to win. The return to Waynesfield bodes well for the 3rd and 4th place drivers in the current standings as Isaac Chapple, now up to 3rd in points, was the 2021 winner of the Hewitt Classic. Fourth place driver Cody Gardner is also a past “Hewitt Classic” winner, scoring his first ever BOSS win in the 2019 race.
Local natives Paul Dues and Dustin Ingle are currently tied for the fifth spot with another past “Hewitt Classic” winner in the 7th spot, Lee Underwood, who won it in 2018. Rounding out the rest of the top 15 current touring stars are Jesse Vermillion, Brian Ruhlman, Steve Little, Blake Vermillion, Parker Frederickson, Carmen Perigo, Tayte Williamson and Matt Cooley.
For competing teams, all cars must be on 4 corner Hoosier Racing Tires. The right rear must be a spec right rear from the 2022 or 2023 season. That includes the H15, D15A or Medium compounds. Left rears are open to any commercially available tires from 2022 or 2023. There will be no membership fees or entry fees. We will be using the AMB “My Laps” transponders at Lernerville and Pittsburgh and rental will be $10 per night. On Monday at Waynesfield, we will be using the yellow Westhold transponders and rental will also be $10 per night. RaceCeiver radios are mandatory anytime cars are under power on the race surface.
The payout for both nights in Pennsylvania will be the standard BOSS pay as follows: 2000, 1000, 750, 650, 550, 500, 450, 425, 400, 375, 350, 340, 330, 320, 310, 300, 300, 300, 300, 300. Heat races will pay: 40, 30, 20, 10 thanks to Mad Tree Brewing of Cincinnati, Outsider’s Merchandise & Apparel, Elizabeth Gardner Photography and Indy Race Parts. Five bonus awards will be provided by Hoosier Racing Tire, Cowen Truck Line, E A Home Supply, All Pro Cylinder Heads and All Star Performance.
Monday’s event at Waynesfield will see an elevated purse for the top 3 finishers plus $3,000 in lap money paid among the top 3 runners for all 30 laps of the main event. The purse for Monday is as follows: 4000, 1500, 1000, 650, 550, 500, 450, 425, 400, 375, 350, 340, 330, 320, 310, 300, 300, 300, 300, 300. The same heat race and bonus money will be supplied by the MPD Racing BOSS tour and our marketing partners.
On Friday at Lernerville, pit gates will open at 4 with general admission gates at 5. Driver meeting will be at 5:45 and racing action is slated for 7:30. General admission is $18 with kids 10 and under admitted free. Pit passes are $30.
Saturday at Pittsburgh pit gates are open all day. General admission gates will open at 5 pm. Driver meeting is again at 5:45 with racing set for 7 pm. Adult general admission is $21 with seniors $20, students (13-16) $15, children (6-12) $5 and kids 5 and under are free. Pit passes are $40.
Finally, on Monday at Waynesfield, pit gates will open at 3 pm with spectator gates opening at 5. Driver meeting will be at 5:30 with hot laps at 6 and racing at 7:30. Adult general admission (age 16 and up) is $22, junior general admission (13-15) is $12 and children 12 and under are free. Pit passes will be $35. Also, “Meet Jack Hewitt” night is Sunday night at 5:30 at the Wapakoneta, Ohio VFW with a $5 cover charge.
For teams or fans needing hotel reservations for Friday night, we have a deal with the Comfort Inn on Gamma Drive in Pittsburgh. Rooms are $119 for the night if you ask for the “BOSS Racers” rate. Please call 412-963-0600 to make a reservation. In case of inclement weather, the cancellation policy is 24 hours ahead of check-in time which is 3 pm on Thursday.
We hope to see you out at the tracks this weekend. If you can’t make it to the track, you can catch all the action live on TheCushion.com.