8/24/2022
Sharon Speedway
RENEGADES OF DIRT UMP MODS RETURN FOR $1500 TO-WIN SATURDAY AT SHARON; RUSH SPRINTS, RUSH MODS & ECONO MODS ALSO PART OF "STEEL VALLEY THUNDER"
By Mike Leone
August 24, 2022
(Hartford, OH)...With dry weather predicted, Sharon Speedway will look to complete its 13th straight event as part of the 93rd anniversary season this Saturday night (August 27). The final "Steel Valley Thunder" program of the year will feature the Renegades of Dirt Hovis Auto & Truck Supply UMP Modifieds, Terry Bowser Excavating RUSH Sprint Cars, HTMA/Precise Racing Products RUSH Sportsman Modifieds, and the Whelen Econo Mods. Action will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with hot laps/qualifying for the RoD UMP Modifieds followed by last Saturday night's rained out Econo Mod feature. It's A&MP Electric and Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Night.
The Renegades of Dirt Series will be making their second and final visit of the season competing in a $1,500 to-win North Region event. RoD races under the UMP banner. Saturday will be the fourth Hovis Auto & Truck Supply UMP Modified show of the season after the April 23 show was rained out. Dustin DeMattia, a three-time Econo Mod winner and 2019 champion, won the biggest race of his career taking the $1,500 RoD victory on June 18 for his first UMP triumph and currently leads the North Region points. After crashing while leading the June 18 show, Joel Watson came back to win the last two $1,000 UMP features on July 9 and August 13. Four of the invaders for Saturday include North Carolina's Austin Holcombe, Indiana's John DeMoss, central Pennsylvania's Alyssa Rowe, and New York's Mason Lobb.
The UMP Modifieds, formerly known as E-Mods, have completed 326 shows in their history at Sharon. Alan Dellinger is the all-time division win leader with 87 victories. Watson has upped his win total to 30, which is good for second on the all-time win list.
The Terry Bowser Excavating RUSH Sprint Cars will also make their return to the Hartford, Ohio oval in the non wingers' seventh race of the year. Ryan Fraley of nearby Brookfield won his first career Sprint Car race over a Sharon record 24 cars on June 4. Chad Ruhlman picked up the $700 victory during Ohio Speedweek over a career best finish by Brian Hartzell. On June 28, Gale Ruth, Jr. finally won his first ever Sharon RUSH Sprint feature to become the third different winner in as many races. Ruth then backed it up winning the following week for $700. Ruhlman was victorious again on July 9 for his all-time division-leading ninth career win. Fraley joined Ruhlman and Ruth as two-time victors with his win at the most recent event on August 13, which once again came over a strong 24-car field.
The RUSH Sprints have competed 19 times this year around the circuit. Ruth not only leads the win list at seven victories, but also sits atop the $5,000 to-win Equipment Rental Options Weekly Series standings in search of his first championship. Three-time champion Ruhlman, a five-time winner in 2022, is second in points, just two behind. Blaze Myers is the only other multiple winner in the class with two victories and is third. Veterans John Mollick and Andy Priest are fourth and fifth in points with a victory a piece. Jarod Larson, another veteran, also has a win on the Series.
The HTMA/Precise Racing Products RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will also be battling in their seventh show of 2022. There have been six different winners in seven races! Tony Tatgenhorst, Justin Shea, Ben Easler, Garrett Krummert, JC Boyer, and Ayden Cipriano have been victorious. The wins for Tatgenhorst, Easler, Boyer, and Cipriano were the first Sharon wins of their careers, while Shea's ended nearly a five-year winless drought. Easler, who is the only repeat winner of the season, continues to sit atop both the $3,500 to-win Hovis Weekly Series and $1,000 to-win Wedge Motorsports "Route 7 Rumble" Series points.
The Whelen Econo Mods round out the show on Saturday night running double features. The Econo Mods joined the All Star Sprints at the April 30 opener, and it was Jeremy Double victorious. Five weeks later, Will Thomas III won for the sixth time in eight starts over the past two years in the division. On June 25, Garrett Calvert passed Gary Olson to score his first career Sharon win. Jacob Eucker ended nearly a three-year winless drought by capturing the July 16 main event. Double then became the first driver to double up as he led from start-to-finish on July 30 holding off Thomas for his 18th career win. Thomas joined Double as the season's only repeat winners by scoring the victory at the last completed event on August 6.
No new Econo Mods will be permitted to compete in the August 20 make-up feature. Econo Mods that compete in the make-up feature must compete in the regular Econo Mod program and not with the UMP Modifieds.
Summit Racing Equipment will present the hard charger award on Saturday night to the RUSH Sprint Cars as well as the Econo Mods for their make-up feature. The driver that passes the most cars in those feature events will each receive a $100 Summit gift card. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be the driver that finishes 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 2022 season, please bring the registration form with you completed http://sharonspeedway.myracepass.com/downloads/get.aspx?i=713060
Fans can not only experience viewing from the frontstretch and backstretch grandstands, but also from the infield fan zone. The fan zone, which includes a concession and restrooms, debuted in 2020. 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.
The pits will be open throughout the afternoon with passes going on sale at 4 p.m., while general admission opens at 5. Hot lap/qualifying for the RoD UMP Mods will take place at 6:30 p.m. followed by the Econo Mod feature before starting heat race action.
Grandstand/fan zone admission for those 14 and over is $15, while senior admission is $10. Patio seating upgrades are just $10 and fan suite seating upgrades are just $20 over the cost of general admission. These can be upgraded on race night at the track office. As always, children under 14 and parking are always FREE. Pit passes are $30. As a reminder, coolers nor outside food or beverages are not permitted.
Coming up next Friday and Saturday, September 2-3 will be the return of the "Sharon Nationals". Friday night will include the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars for $6,000 to-win along with the RUSH Sportsman Modified Flynn's Tire Touring Series for $800 to-win, and the Gibson Insurance Agency Pro Stocks. Saturday night will be the "Lou Blaney Memorial" with $12,000 up for grabs for the All Stars! The BRP Tour for Big-Block Modifieds will also be on the card. Reserve seats, general admission tickets, VIP fan suite seats, patio seats, and camping permits are all available for purchase through the following link: https://sharonspeedway.simpletix.com/
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. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharonspeedway and follow us on Twitter @sharonspdwy.
Article Credit: Mike Leone
