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FAN APPRECIATION & AUTOGRAPH NIGHT SATURDAY; 6 DIVISIONS OF RACING FOR $8 FOR ADULTS & $22 FOR FAMILIES

By Mike Leone

August 3, 2011

(Hartford, OH)…After a stellar night of racing last week, Sharon Speedway returns to action this Saturday night, August 6 with the Bill Kirila Memorial Fan Appreciation Night. It’ll be another installment of “Steel Valley Thunder� at 7 p.m. featuring the Governor Insurance Agency Big-Block Modifieds, Barris Supply FASTRAK Late Models, Ainsley 500 Heating & Cooling E-Mods, Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, Summit Racing Equipment Econo Mods, and the Presidential Lawn Care Mini Stocks. The rain date is Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

Saturday will feature two promotions! As part of Fan Appreciation Night, adult admission has been slashed to $8 and families will gain admission for $22- that’s a $5 and $10 savings each!

Fans will be able to take part in the Autograph Night presented by Quaker Steak & Lube. All cars and drivers from all six divisions will be on the speedway during intermission for approximately 30 minutes. Fans will be able to come out onto the speedway for pictures and autographs of their favorite and cars and stars!

The on-track action was hot and heavy last week with great racing, strong fields of cars, and two first time winners. Effective this Saturday, fans will get an added bonus for their admission as the growing Econo Mod division has been added to the “Steel Valley Thunder� card. This division sponsored by Summit Racing Equipment has been part of the bi-weekly “Friday Night Thunder� program the last two seasons, but has now been moved to Saturday nights due to the end of Friday night racing.

Rex King, Jr. has picked up his game in 2011 scoring the first two wins of his four-year racing career. The Bristolville, Ohio racer held off his father Rex Sr. to win last Saturday night’s Big-Block Modified feature; however, it’s the elder King, who leads the points and division win list with three victories. The defending champion has a 33-point lead on Kevin Bolland with just four point nights remaining; meanwhile, King Jr. has climbed up to fourth in points, but trails his father by 61.

Every week we talk about the quality and competiveness of the FASTRAK Late Models, and as hard as it’s to believe new winners just keep surfacing! Last week, Bill Cunningham captured his first career FASTRAK race to become the 10th different winner in just 13 races this season! Cunningham was able to hold off 17th starting Mike Pegher, Jr. Joe Martin and Joe Volpe have been the only two racers to win more than once this season! One-time winner, Josh Double, regained the point lead last week by just two over Volpe! Look for a few different faces in the FASTRAK field Saturday in a tune-up for next week’s Northeast Touring Series event.

The E-Mod car count, competition, and different winners nearly rivals FASTRAK. Only on one occasion have there been less than 23 cars present. In fact, last Saturday night 29 cars were in the pit area despite two big events at regional speedways. Clayton Kennedy became the newest winner when he won his career first race! The point race has been tight for much of the season. Mike Kinney leads Carl McKinney by just five points and 13 on Alan Dellinger, who was tied for the point lead heading into last Saturday.

After losing ground for two straight weeks, Steve D’Apolito was able to add to his Stock Car point lead after capturing his third win of the season last Saturday night. The Boardman, Ohio 32-time winner, who has yet to finish worse than sixth in any heat or feature this year, leads Mike Clark by 17 points.

Veteran Junior Mechling brings his 53-point lead in the Econo Mods over from Friday night as he leads another veteran in Jim Turley. The Econo Mod car count has really picked up from the middle of the season on with 15-16 cars on most nights. A total of 21 different cars in this two-barrel economy class have been in action to date!

After 13 straight features of finishing in the top three positions including eight wins, Bill Fuchs has lost some of his massive point lead as mechanical woes have forced him to seventh and 13th at the finish the last two weeks in the Mini Stocks. The Greenville racer still has a commanding 87-point lead on Lucas Sprouse, who just missed out on his first feature win last Saturday. If Fuchs can finish 12th or better in the feature the next five racers, he’ll clinch his first title no matter what Sprouse does.

The new boy’s and girl’s bike giveaway program presented by King Bros. Feed Supply & Redi Mix will continue. Kids 4-14 can sign up until intermission. If either Rex King, Sr. or Jr. wins the feature, a new bike will be presented to a lucky boy and girl the following Saturday.

Pits open at 4 p.m. with the grandstands at 5 and racing at 7. For all others, kids 9-13 are $5, children 8 and under are free, and pit passes are $25. There are no driver registration fees for the remainder of the season. There is a rain date of Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

Coming up next Saturday, August 13 is the season’s only appearance by the Super Late Models as the All Star Circuit of Champions come to town for a $4,000 to-win event presented by Car*Mate Trailers. The Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series will complete their program from July 23 including a pair of B mains, a 30-lap feature, and the non-qualifiers event.

The Barris Supply FASTRAK Late Models will then participate in a complete new Weekly Series program and will be joined by the Summit Racing Equipment Econo Mods and Presidential Lawn Care Mini Stocks. Advance tickets are on sale by calling the office at 330-772-5481.

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. Become a fan of Sharon Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharonspeedway and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sharonspdwy.

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