By Aaron Fry
The eighth season of the FAST On Dirt 410 sprint car tour is set to begin this Saturday, March 15th at the newly improved Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. The Pot of Gold event saw 112 race cars, including 30 FAST winged sprint cars in the pit area one year ago. National Sprint Car Hall of Famer, Tim Shaffer, won the inaugural event. This year’s program will feature FAST running a 20-lap main event on the “Monster Half Mile” with late models and Crown Vics also on the card.
On Saturday, pit gates will open at 12 noon with general admission opening at 2 pm. The mandatory driver meeting will take place at 2:15 with engine heat at 2:45. Hot laps will begin at 3pm, then straight into the program.
The sprint car main event purse remains the same and will pay as follows: 4000, 2000, 1500, 1200, 1000, 800, 700, 600, 550, 500, 480, 460, 440, 420, 410, 400, 400, 400, 400, 400. As always, FAST will pro-rate main event fields with 31-40 cars entered starting 22 and 41+ fields starting 24 cars.
With the help of heat race sponsors Patriot Capital Financial, JLT Enterprises, Helms & Sons Construction, All Pro Cylinder Heads and Victory Fuel, heat races will pay: 40, 30, 20, 10. Bonus awards for Hard Charger and Hard Luck will pay a $50 bonus each. All B Main non transfers will now get $150 while B non-starters will get $100. New title sponsor, Honest Abe Roofing, has increased tow money for committed full-time top 10 drivers, where they are now guaranteed $100 at pill draw AND a minimum $500 to start the main event and $200 to start the B. All other B Main non transfers will now get $150 and B non-starters taking home $100.
As always, there are no membership or entry fees to race with FAST. However, a new partnership with POWRi has enabled us to offer supplemental insurance for any competing drivers. Forms will be available at the track and the cost to purchase the OPTIONAL insurance is $100. Drivers planning to compete in the full tour in 2025 will be reimbursed 100% for insurance costs at the first completed show in July, thanks to our fine sponsors.
The 2025 format will remain the same. 30 cars and under will draw into 3 heat races. 31+ entries will split into two flights. Flight A will comprise heats 1 and 2 with Flight B making heats 3 and 4. Cars will hot lap in their groups, then immediately time trial 2 cars at a time for 2 laps. Heat races will revert the fastest car in the heat to the 4-spot with the balance of the field straight up. Transfers from the heats will vary based on the size of the field and number of heats. The two overall fastest qualifiers who do not make the A from their heats will start from the front row of the B Main. The one thing most commonly asked for was a second chance on false starts. Beginning at Pittsburgh and for 2025, we will give drivers a second opportunity on bad starts. All other race format and procedures will be covered in the mandatory driver meeting.
As we have been doing, tires, wings and wicker bills will be teched. In addition, we will be weighing cars in 2025 and will be using the national standard 1425 weight rule. All cars will weigh after qualifying and the top 3 in the main event. Wings must be flat top, max 2″ wicker. Tires must be 4 corner Hoosier Racing Tires. Right rears must be D15A, H15 or Medium. Left rears must be D12A or H12. Seat belts will be teched and must be 2 years old or newer! Raceceiver radios are mandatory at all times the cars are under power. We will be using the AMB (red or gray) transponders and will have some for rent at registration.
We look forward to seeing everyone at Pittsburgh and to see the hard work the PPMS staff has put into the facility over this brutal winter. We encourage all race fans to attend race tracks in person when you are able, but if you cannot, the entire 2025 season of FAST On Dirt and its twin series, the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series will all be streamed live on Start2Finish TV. To subscribe, please visit www.s2ftv.com