By Mike Leone
(Hartford, OH)…The 43rd annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek is set to make a stop at Sharon Speedway this Saturday night (June 14). The All Star Circuit of Champions will feature the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply “410” Sprint Cars presented by Bala Management for $7,500 to-win along with the HTMA/Precise Racing Products RUSH Sportsman Modifieds for $800 to-win on Diehl Automotive Night. Warm-ups are slated for 6:30 p.m. followed by qualifying and racing.
Saturday’s Ohio Speedweek event will mark the first appearance by the resurrected All Stars at Sharon since the 2023 “Lou Blaney Memorial” on July 8, 2023. Ohio Speedweek will again feature nine straight nights of racing at nine different tracks with Sharon being stop number two on the grueling swing through the Buckeye State. A record $25,000 points fund paying the top 24 in points is on the line with $5,000 to the champion along with several bonuses that allow drivers to potentially double that amount.
The Willy’s World Kids Club presented by MillCraft Barns will include a driver autograph session from 5-5:30 p.m. followed up by driver and fan engagement activities from 5:30-6 p.m. Featured drivers include Brandon Spithaler, Cody Bova, and Leyton Wagner (Sprints) and the father-son duo of Rob and Jackson Kristyak (RUSH Mods). Willy’s World is a non-profit organization dedicated to educate, support, guide, and provide resources to families and children with hidden disabilities, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder.
After a five-year absence, Ohio Speedweek returned to Sharon in 2010 as hall of famer Tim Shaffer was victorious. In 2011, it was hometown favorite Dale Blaney winning the Sharon leg of Speedweek over a 45-car field. In 2012, in a stunning turn of events, local racer Brandon Matus came out victorious for his first career win with both the All Stars and at Sharon as 43 cars were on hand. The 2013 and 2014 events fell victim to Mother Nature. In 2015, Dale Blaney won his second Speedweek race in three events at Sharon. Bryan Clauson topped a 51-car field in 2016 winning his first career All Star race before tragically losing his life in a racing accident later in the summer.
In 2017, Kyle Larson scored a popular win over a big field of 48 cars. Larson’s bid for two straight Sharon Speedweek wins failed when Christopher Bell made a late race pass to win in 2018 with 48 cars on hand. The 2019 Speedweek show was rained. In 2020, the “Lou Blaney Memorial” and Justin Snyder’s “Salute to the Troops” events fell under Speedweek due to the COVID-19 pandemic as Cale Conley and Larson were victorious. Danny Dietrich won his first career Sharon race in 2021 topping a huge 53-car field. NASCAR Cup racer, Christopher Bell, won his second Sharon Speedweek race in 2022. The 2023 event was rained out. Last year saw Dietrich win his second Sharon Speedweek event in three years beating a 55-car field- the biggest since Speedweek became a regular stop once again in 2010.
Speedweek always brings a diverse field of competitors from all over the Northeast and Midwest, Australia, Canada, and beyond. This year’s All Star full-time roster boasts 13 drivers including Zane DeVault, Kalib Henry, Devon Borden, Creed Kemenah, Trey Jacobs, Greg Wilson, Bobby Elliott, Cale Thomas, Aiden Price along with local racers Brandon Spithaler, Cody Bova, and Leyton Wagner. Central Pa’s Danny Dietrich is looking to win another Sharon Speedweek race on Saturday. The average car count since Speedweek returned to Sharon in 2010 is 46 cars per event!
Sharon has completed three “410” Sprint Car events thus far in 2025. After being shutout of victory lane the last two seasons, A.J. Flick scored his first Sharon win since August 6, 2022 when he topped a 37-car field on opening night. On May 17, Dale Blaney drove his brother Dave’s #10 to victory over a 34-car field. After back-to-back rainouts on May 24 and May 31, Blaney scored another $4,000 victory last Saturday night- the 23rd of his career at Sharon.
The HTMA/Precise Racing Products RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will round out the two-division show racing for $800 to-win/$160 to-start. The RUSH Mods were also part of the May 17 and June 7 programs where defending Series Champion Chas Wolbert won both shows. Wolbert’s upped his all-time division leading tally to 24 at Sharon and 57 overall across the circuit in his career. Wolbert also won the only other race completed to date on the circuit in the rain-plagued season as he leads both the $3,500 to-win Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Weekly Series and the $1,000 to-win “Route 7 Rumble” Series points.
Summit Racing Equipment will present the hard charger award to the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds. 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.
There is no Sharon registration fee. One-way driver radios are mandatory; channel 454.000. AMB/MyLaps transponders are required; rentals available for $25. If you have yet to register for the 2025 season, please bring the registration form with you completed https://www.sharonspeedway.com/downloads/get.aspx?i=1006835
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.
Pit passes and general admission tickets will go on sale at 4 p.m. Warmups for the All Stars is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. followed by qualifying and racing. Reserved and general admission tickets for those 14 and over is $30. Patio seating upgrades are just $10 and fan suite seating upgrades are just $20 over the cost of general admission. These can be reserved online https://sharonspeedway.simpletix.com/. Children under 14 and parking are always FREE. Pit passes are $40. Tickets will be available at the gates on race day. A camping permit is $25 and must be reserved through the above ticket link. As a reminder, stadium seats, coolers nor outside food or beverages are not permitted.
A five-division “Steel Valley Thunder” program will take place next Saturday night (June 21) featuring the first appearance of the season by the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Big-Block Modifieds ($2,000 to-win) and the new Crown Vic division. Also on the card will be the RUSH Sprint Cars, Gibson Insurance Agency Pro Stocks, and the Alcon Mechanical Econo Mods. Race time is 7 p.m.
Sharon Speedway is owned by Dave Blaney, Ryan Blaney, and Will Thomas III 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 Twitter) @sharonspdwy.