---

Sharon to Honor Mothers Saturday for "Steel Valley Thunder"; All Females Admitted for Just $7

SHARON TO HONOR MOTHERS SATURDAY FOR “STEEL VALLEY THUNDER�; ALL FEMALES ADMITTED FOR JUST $7
By Mike Leone

May 9, 2012

(Hartford, OH)…After a successful “Steel Valley Thunder� opener on April 7, Sharon Speedway fought Mother Nature for three straight Saturdays losing the rest of April; however, the sunshine returned last Saturday as fans and racers flocked through the gates and enjoyed a great night of racing.

Sharon will try to make it two-in-a-row this Saturday (May 12) with another “Steel Valley Thunder� program featuring the Governor Insurance Agency DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds, Barris Supply FASTRAK Late Models, Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, Summit Racing Equipment Econo Mods, HTMA/Precise Racing Products Econo Mods and the Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks. It’s Trumbull Business College Night. Race time is 7 p.m.

With Saturday being “Mother’s Day Eve,� Sharon will admit all females into the grandstands for just $7! This is a $6 savings off the normal $13 admission! Fans can enjoy this week’s home-cooked special in the kitchen of cream chicken over mashed potatoes for $6.

“April was pretty frustrating,� stated third year GM Dave Willoughby. “We had such a great opener then didn’t even have a chance to get the next three events in. It was great to get back to racing last Saturday. The track was in excellent condition and gave the racers a great platform to put on great racing for the fans. The weather is looking good for Saturday so hopefully May is headed in the right direction. We invite all of the mothers out for just $7!�

Rex King was clearly the dominant DIRTcar Big-Block Modified racer in 2011 as he won five features on his way to his fourth championship. Last Saturday night, King got on track with his season’s first win, which ended up being a milestone one as it was the Bristolville, Ohio’s veteran’s 40th of his career.

Despite his victory, King sits just fourth in points trailing Kevin Bolland, who won opening night and worked his way through the field to a runner-up finish last Saturday. Jeremiah Shingledecker and Dave Murdick have been consistent in the two events as they are second and third in points respectively.

Will Thomas III was in Sharon Speedway victory lane many times in his life as a youngster as his father Bill owned and sponsored cars for Lou Blaney over the years. Last Saturday, Thomas got his chance to be that driver in victory lane as he ran an impressive race to capture his first career dirt win in the 20-lap FASTRAK Late Model feature.

The standout asphalt graduate, who calls nearby Sharpsville, Pa. home, also leads the standings heading into Saturday night by four over Joe Martin and just one more point back is opening night winner George Kowatic.

Like last season, the E-Mods continue to attract strong car counts and quality fields with an average car count of 28 as 38 different racers have already competed. Despite not winning a feature to date, five-time 2011 winner Joel Watson has raced out to a 12-point lead over Jack Young. Watson also has the early lead in the $2,000 to-win HTMA/Precise Racing Products Regional E-Mod standings! Mike Kinney, who finished runner-up in points last season, has climbed back to fourth in points after his third career Sharon win last Saturday.

While the Stock Car count has been down a little early on just as it was in 2011 before picking up cars throughout the season, the competitiveness is top notch. Bruce Redman hasn’t finished worse than third in any of his heat races or features to date, which his positioned himself atop the points by two over Tim Burns. Opening night winner Paul Davis was unable to participate last Saturday, while Brian Carothers ended his winless drought as he now finds himself third in points two up on four-time track champion Steve D’Apolito.

The third year Econo Mod division just continues to grow. Last year, a record 17 cars was reached on two occasions. This season there have been over 20 each night as 24 different cars have competed. The Blackshear brothers of Brad and Brandon have been the feature victors. Brandon has already opened up a 15-point advantage on Brian Hathaway.

After a DNF opening night at Sharon, defending champion Bill Fuchs came back to pick up last Saturday’s feature win and in doing so has tied opening night winner Jim Haefke, Jr. atop the early point standings lead.

Pits open at 4 p.m. with grandstands at 5 on Saturday. Race time is 7 p.m. Adult admission is $13 and pit passes are $25. Students 13 and under are always free.

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.

Back to News