By Aaron Fry
For the first time this season, the stars and cars of the Ti22 Performance FAST On Dirt tour will race back-to-back nights in tour events. Michael’s Mercer Raceway will be the site of Saturday’s event in Mercer, Pennsylvania. On Sunday, the stage for the show will be the Tri-City Raceway Park in nearby Franklin, Pennsylvania.
Tim Shaffer nabbed the season opening event over a stout 30 car field at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Just days ago, 2022 tour champion Nate Dussel won over a 24-car field at Muskingum County Speedway. Headed into this weekend’s races, it is Plymouth, Indiana’s Zane DeVault who leads the overall standings. It is very tight at the top with only 10 points separating DeVault from runner-up Dale Blaney and an even smaller 4-point margin back to defending tour champion Brandon Spithaler in third. Cole Duncan and Danny Sams III sit in the fourth and fifth spots as Lee Jacobs, Jeremy Weaver, Ricky Peterson, Logan McCandless and Mitch Harble completing the top 10.
This Saturday at Mercer, pit gates will open at 4 pm with general admission gates opening at 5 pm. Driver’s meeting will be at 5:30 with engine heat immediately following. Hot laps will be at 6 with racing at 7 pm. Adult general admission will be $20 with seniors and veterans admitted for $18. Kids 10 and under are free. Pit passes will be $35 with senior pits just $30.
At Tri-City Speedway on Sunday, pit gates will open at 2 pm with general admission gates opening at 4. Driver’s meeting will be at 4:30 with hot laps at 5 and racing at 6 pm. The sprint cars will run first all night in an effort to get teams on the road before 9 pm. Adult general admission will be just $15 with seniors and kids 11-16 just $13. Pit passes will be $35 and children under age 2 will be $15 in the pits.
For competing teams, all cars must be on 4 corner Hoosier Racing Tires. The right rear must be a D15A, H15 or Medium. The left rears must be a D12A or H12. We do not mark tires. Wings must be flat top with maximum 2″ wicker bill. Mufflers are NOT required at either event this weekend. All drivers must utilize a Raceceiver radio anytime their car is under power. We will be using the red AMB “My Laps” transponders and FAST will have them to rent for $10 per night. Both tracks will have methanol available and the FAST tour will have tires. Please order ahead to reserve specific chalk marks.
The payout for both nights are the same. The 30 lap main events will pay: 4000, 2000, 1500, 1200, 1000, 800, 700, 600, 550, 500, 480, 460, 440, 420, 410, 400, 400, 400, 400, 400. With help from NAPA of Fremont, ALLmobility of Dayton, All Pro Aluminum Heads, Victory Fuel and Helms & Sons Construction, heat races also pay: 40, 30, 20, 10. There will also be bonus awards for Hard Luck and Hard Charger. For this weekend, Knox Bakery from nearby Knox, Pennsylvania will be donating $100 to the overall quickest qualifier at each race. As always, there is no membership or entry fees to race with the FAST tour.
We extend a warm invitation and hope the fans will come out to support both race tracks. There is no substitute for the sights, smells and sounds of a spring sprint car event! However, if you just can’t make it to the tracks, you can watch the action live on TheCushion.com.