By Mike Leone
(Hartford, OH)…After a weekend off, Sharon Speedway returns to action this weekend with two shows part of the annual “Apple Festival Nationals”. Friday night (September 6) is presented by A&MP Electric and Virgile Iron & Steel and will feature a complete show for both the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply UMP Modifieds and the Gibson Insurance Agency Pro Stocks in “Ray’s Race”. Saturday night (September 7) is presented by Stackhouse Construction and the Penn-Ohio Pro Stock Series and will feature a complete show for the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply “410” Sprint Cars and the Pro Stocks. The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Big-Block Modifieds, Racesaver “305” Sprint Cars, Billy’s Garage RUSH Sprint Cars, HTMA/Precise Racing Products RUSH Sportsman Modifieds, and the Whelen Econo Mods will contest their heat races on Friday night with the remainder of their programs on Saturday night. Racing begins at 7 p.m. each night.
The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply “410” Sprint Cars presented by Bala Management will race for $4,000 to-win/$400 to-start. Saturday’s appearance will serve as a tune-up for the September 21 “Lou Blaney Memorial” and the final visit by the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars on September 28 as both events will pay $12,000 to-win/$1,200 to-start!
Sharon has completed four “410” Sprint Car events thus far in 2024 with big car counts at each one. David Gravel won the May 18 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car event. Central PA invader Ryan Smith won the Western PA Speedweek event on June 1. Danny Dietrich, another member of the PA Posse, won the FAST-sanctioned Ohio Sprint Speedweek event on June 1. And most recently, Dale Blaney was victorious for the 21st time of his career at Sharon on July 27.
The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Big-Block Modifieds presented by Autism Awareness, King Bros. Ready Mix Concrete, King’s Sanitary Services, Russ King Racing, and Thermo Supply will try again to complete their fourth event of the 95th anniversary season as the ground pounders will battle for $2,500 to-win/$250 to-start. It’ll be the last tune-up before the September 21 “Lou Blaney Memorial” featuring the BRP Tour. Thus far this season, Erick Rudolph has a pair of victories, while Ayden Cipriano captured his first career big-block feature win.
The Gibson Insurance Agency Pro Stocks will be the only division running a complete show each night. Friday will feature the rescheduled “Ray’s Race” paying $2,000 to-win, while Saturday will be a Penn-Ohio Series event with $1,000 on the line! Thus far this season there have been four different winners in five races. The only repeat winner has been Curt J. Bish, while Christian Schneider, Jordan Perkins, and Bobby Whitling have also been victorious.
The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply UMP Modifieds presented by A&MP Electric will be making their fifth appearance of 2024 as they will run their entire show on Friday night for $1,000 to-win. Thus far this season there have been four different winners in as many races with Bud Watson, Nate Young, Dennis Lunger, Jr., and most recently Dave Hess, Jr. victorious.
The Racesaver “305” Sprint Cars presented by Sportsman’s Supply will be part of the “Apple Festival Nationals” for the first time ever and will race for $1,000 to-win. Back on June 1 in their first ever appearance, Jeremy Kornbau was victorious over the 22-car field.
The Billy’s Garage RUSH Sprint Cars will be making their seventh and final appearance of the season this weekend and will also race for $1,000 to-win. John Mollick, who leads RUSH’s $5,000 to-win Sunbelt Rentals Weekly Series Championship points, leads the way with three wins followed by Blaze Myers with two and Arnie Kent with one.
The HTMA/Precise Racing Products RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will race for $800 to-win in addition to it being their annual “Manufacturers Night” presented by MSD Performance as eligible racers will share in nearly $17,000 of valuable product giveaways! Kole Holden and current $3,500 RUSH Weekly Series points leader, Chas Wolbert, are the only two repeat winners, while Rob Kristyak and Ayden Cipriano have also picked up a victory. JC Boyer, who has yet to win this year at Sharon, leads the $1,000 Wedge Motorsports “Route 7 Rumble” Series points heading into the finale.
The Whelen Econo Mods presented by Alcon Mechanical will race for $800 to-win as well in an Economod Mania Tour event. Jeremy Double topped a season high 34-car field at the last event for his all-time division leading 23rd career win. Joe Gabrielson and Dennis Lunger, Jr. both have a pair of victories.
Summit Racing Equipment will present the hard charger award to the UMP Modifieds on Friday night and the Econo Mods on Saturday night. The driver that passes the most cars in the feature will receive a $100 Summit gift card. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be the driver that finished highest in the feature.
The Performance Bodies “Nosed Out” program will award a $100 Performance Bodies gift card redeemable only at Wedge Motorsports to a driver in the UMP Mods or Pro Stocks on Friday night and the Pro Stocks or Econo Mods on Saturday night. The recipient will be the driver that most closely beat out another competitor for any finishing position on the lead lap amongst the divisions. Tiebreaker will be the driver with the best finishing position.
Complete payoffs for all divisions are available at the following link: https://www.sharonspeedway.com/downloads/get.aspx?i=981643. There is no registration or entry fee. If you have yet to register for the 2024 season, please bring the registration form with you completed https://www.sharonspeedway.com/downloads/get.aspx?i=899241. One-way driver radios are mandatory; channel 454.000. AMB/MyLaps transponders are required; rentals available for $25.
Fans can not only experience viewing from the frontstretch and backstretch grandstands, but also from the infield fan zone, which includes concessions and restrooms. Sharon is the only track in the area to have viewing from the unique infield perspective. There will be times throughout the night when fans can cross on the frontstretch back and forth.
Each night, pit passes will go on sale at 4 p.m., while general admission opens at 5. Heat races begin at 7 p.m. Qualifying for the “410” Sprints will be at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Grandstand/fan zone admission for those 14 is $20 on Friday and $25 on Saturday. As always, children under 14 and parking are always FREE. Pit passes are $35 each night. As a reminder, coolers nor outside food or beverages are not permitted. Camping is $25 for the weekend and must be reserved through the following link: https://www.simpletix.com/e/rv-trailer-tent-camping-spots-tickets-153713
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 X (formerly known as Twitter) @sharonspdwy.