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Sharon to celebrate Father's Day with $7 admission for dads as "Steel Valley Thunder" racing is feature Saturday night

By Mike Leone

June 13, 2013

(Hartford, OH)…Week after week, Sharon Speedway seemingly takes on Mother Nature and continues to win out completing the racing events.  After a dreary Saturday last weekend and somehow completing Wednesday’s Pay It Forward “Summer Bash� against the forecast odds, Sharon will look to complete the 11th straight racing event of the season this Saturday night (June 15)!

Good weather for once is predicted for Saturday’s “Steel Valley Thunder� featuring the 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.

Saturday is a Father’s Day Celebration as all dads will receive general admission for just $7, which is a savings of $6!  It’s also Pittsburgh Circle Track Club Night as all card carrying members will receive free grandstand admission and $13 off pit 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. and Sharon Speedway.  This promotion will continue throughout the 2013 season.

Jim Weller, Jr. is having his best season in quite some time in the Governor Insurance Agency DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds.  Outside of a 15th place finish on May 11, the veteran Hubbard, Ohio racer hasn’t finished worse than the third position in seven other starts!  Besides his two wins, Weller broke the track record on four consecutive laps in his heat race last Saturday!

Weller has raced out to an 18-point lead over Rex King, Jr. and 27 over the elder King.  Both Kings also have a pair of victories.  One-time winner, Dave Murdick, is fourth in points over Ricky Richner as the consistent New Yorker continues to search for his first ever Sharon win.

Action has really heated up in the Barris Supply RUSH Late Models.  After a slow start, defending champion Will Thomas III has come alive with a pair of victories, but it’s still Dennis Lunger, Jr., who won two of the season’s first three races, leading the points.  Quite a rivalry is brewing between the teenager Eric Wilson, who won on June 1, and Lunger and Thomas.  Matt Latta, who has had a disappointing third season, is fourth in points.  RUSH racers continue to add important Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Weekly Series points to their tally and also qualify for the Pace Performance “Summer Chase�, which starts in July.

Mike Kinney and Dave Hess, Jr. recently became the newest Modified winners of 2013.  Kinney held off Steve Dixon to win Saturday night’s feature, while Hess drove to the $2,000 UEMS-sanctioned victory on Wednesday night.  Hess became the eighth different winner in 10 races in the ultra-competitive Summit Racing Equipment-sponsored division.  There have been 60 different Modifieds that have competed this season!

Kinney sits atop the standings by 13 over Alan Dellinger and Joe Gabrielson in his quest for his first championship.  After a strong start, Dellinger has cooled off in recent weeks, while Gabrielson has been very consistent and recorded his first win on June 1 since the passing of his father Bill.

Without a doubt, Mike Clark is having quite a season.  Like Weller, Clark has only one finish outside the top three this year!  The Bristolville, Ohio driver is full speed ahead in search of his first championship.  After going winless for some 15 years, Clark has won two feature events each of the past three seasons.  Clark sits 18 points ahead of last year’s champion Tim Burns.  Paul Davis, Bryan Wagner, and Jamie Scharba are third through fifth in the standings.

Jeremy Double, Ryan Fraley, and Jacob Eucker are clearly the class of the Econo Mod field.  The trio has account for nine of the 10 feature event victories this season with only Steve Burns, Jr. being able to crack into victory lane.  Double’s fourth win on Wednesday night was a big one as it pulled him to within 12 of Fraley’s point lead.  It also gave him the most wins in the division this season and second most at the Speedway!  While 12-year-old Eucker holds down the third spot, Burns is of course fourth, while impressive rookie Ty Rhoades rounds out the top five.

Jim Haefke, Jr. regained his winning form of 2012 capturing his season’s first win in the Mini Stocks last Saturday.  Haefke though still has a lot of work to do as he sits fourth in the Deforest Used Parts standings 70 points behind the Speedway’s top winner, Scott Gilliland. Gilliland’s five victories have helped him post a 36-point lead over 2011 champion Bill Fuchs, while rookie Travis Creech keeps himself in the thick of things just five more points back.

Pits open at 4 p.m. Saturday with grandstands at 5 and heat races slated for 7.  Grandstand admission for those 14 and over is $13, while children under 14 are always free.  Pit passes are $25.  Parking and camping is always free.

Don’t forget that coming up on Tuesday, June 25 will be the first of four Sprint Car shows in 2013 at Sharon!  The first event will be an All Star Circuit of Champions-sanctioned event as part of Ohio Speedweek with the winner pocketing $5,000.  The Econo Mods ($350 to-win) and Mini Stocks ($200 to-win) will be part of the program in points-paying events.  Gates open at 4 p.m. for both of these programs.

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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