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"Steel Valley Thunder" on Speed Energy Drink Night Saturday; Moms admitted for $7

By Mike Leone

May 8, 2013

(Hartford, OH)…Sharon Speedway will look to string together another night of “Steel Valley Thunder� racing this Saturday night, May 11 on Speed Energy Night.  It’ll be a six-division program of Governor Insurance Agency DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds, Barris Supply RUSH Late Models, Summit Racing Equipment Modifieds, Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, HTMA/Precise Racing Products Econo Mods, and the Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks. Racing begins at 7 p.m.

With Saturday being Mother’s Day Eve, Sharon will honor all moms with just $7 general admission!  If you’re not a mom, bring a Speed Energy can to the gates Saturday and receive $3 off admission!  Once again Saturday night, one lucky boy and girl under the age of 14 will win a bicycle or scooter thanks to King Bros. This promotion will continue throughout the 2013 season.  The home-cooked kitchen special is country fried steak with mashed potatoes and vegetable.

It’s been good to see solid car counts in the DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds early in the season as there have been at least 18 cars each night.  The competition has been strong.  Jim Weller, Jr. put an end to the King dominance in the first two weeks and ended his own personal winless drought dating back nearly three years!  Also look for Jimmy Weller III to be in action on Saturday night as he’ll try to do for the Weller Family what the Kings did the first two weeks.  Weller, Jr. currently has a nine point lead on Rex King, while New Yorker Ricky Richner has climbed into the third spot in the Governor Insurance Agency Points.

Dennis Lunger, Jr. has laid the gauntlet down that he’s going to be the driver to beat in the Barris Supply RUSH Late Models.  After winning the final show of 2012, Lunger kept his momentum as he’s been hot out of the box winning two of the first three shows.  Not only is he leading the Sharon points by 11 over Eric Wilson, but he’s gaining valuable points towards the $5,000 to-win Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Weekly Series Champion points and on his way to being eligible for the $3,000 to-win Pace Performance “Summer Chase�.

The Summit Racing Equipment Modified division has seemingly been putting on the best racing night in and night out.  Already four different racers from three different states have claimed victories with Ohio’s Jeff Johnson and Joel Watson, New York’s Randy Hall, and Pennsylvania’s Alan Dellinger.  While Dellinger has opened up a 21-point advantage after reuniting with the Jim White Family, the competition is tight behind him.  Mike Kinney and Joe Gabrielson are tied for second with Shawn Shingledecker one point behind, and only eight more points back is Clayton Kennedy.  It won’t be long until these four racers are in victory lane themselves.

The Stock Car count has slowly climbed each week and that’s expected to continue with several additional racers expected out in the coming weeks.  The Gibson Insurance Agency-sponsored division features the tightest point race as Mike Clark leads this week by just one marker over last week’s winner Bryan Wagner.  Defending champion Tim Burns trails Clark by just six points with Paul Davis Jamie Scharba, Brian Carothers, and Jamie Duncan all within shouting distance.  In fact, only 19 points separate the top eight drivers!

Could this be the week 12-year-old Jacob Eucker makes history at Sharon Speedway to become the youngest winner in the 84-year history of Sharon Speedway?  He’s led laps all four weeks to date, but has come up just shy so far.  It looks like Jeremy Double has replaced the Blackshear Brothers, who have moved on from the division, as the driver to beat in the HTMA/Precise Racing Products Econo Mods with two wins in the first four shows to go along with the first two wins of his career last season. April 27 winner Steve Burns, Jr. has the point lead by four over April 20 winner Ryan Fraley, Double, and Eucker.

Ken Koby II ended Scott Gilliland’s two-race win steak and kept him from adding to his point lead in the Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks.  Nonetheless, Gilliland has built up a 25-point advantage on 2011 champion, Bill Fuchs. Defending champion Jim Haefke, Jr. is third over Ray Gregory, who just missed out on his first career win last Saturday.

Pits open at 4 p.m. Saturday with grandstands at 5 and heat races slated for 7.  Grandstand admission for those 14 and over without one of the special discounts is $13, while children under 14 are always free.  Pit passes are $25.  Parking and camping is 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 @SharonSpdwy.

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