All Star Sprints Coming To Sharon On Tuesday June 21

By Mike Leone

Hartford, OH June 10, 2016 The “410” Sprint Cars will be making their first of three appearances of the 2016 season at Sharon Speedway coming up Tuesday, June 21 when Tony Stewart’s Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions come to town for the 34th annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket. The Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks will also be on hand. Qualifying for Sprints will get underway at approximately 6:30 p.m. followed by racing. Reserved and advanced tickets are on sale at SharonSpeedway.com.

The All Stars will return two and a half weeks later on Saturday, July 9 for the “Lou Blaney Memorial” featuring a $10,000 to-win main event once again along with The Mod Tour for big blocks. The “410” Sprint Cars final appearance will be on Saturday, August 13 in a non-sanctioned event.

The 2016 Ohio Sprint Speedweek will feature eight nights of racing at eight different speedways over nights beginning at Attica Raceway Park on Friday night, June 17 with the Sharon event being stop #5 of the popular summer tradition. Sharon’s race will pay $5,000 to-win. The All Stars have been flourishing under the second year of ownership by Tony Stewart. Cometic Gasket is again presenting Ohio Speedweek, and will offer a $3,000 point fund.

After a five-year absence, Ohio Speedweek returned to Sharon in 2010 as Tim Shaffer topped a 42-car field for the victory. In 2011 it was hometown favorite Dale Blaney winning the Sharon leg of Speedweek over a 45-car field. In 2012, in a stunning turn of events, local racer Brandon Matus came out victorious for his first career win with both the All Stars and at Sharon. Another strong field of 43 cars was on hand. The 2013 event was rained out before a car ever hit the speedway with some 40 cars in the pit area, and the 2014 event fell victim to Mother Nature before the gates ever opened. Last year, Blaney won his second Speedweek race in three events at Sharon over another strong 42-car field.

“Sharon has always played an important part in Ohio Speedweek history,” explained seventh year GM Dave Willoughby. “Sharon was there at the beginning, and we’re happy once again to be part of this long-running tradition. We hope the weather cooperates this year and that the fans and racers come out and support this great event so we can continue to host this event for years to come.”

Ohio Speedweek always draws in top talent from the Midwest, along with the strong core of All Star regulars, several Australians, the best from western Pa. and usually a couple from central Pa., and always some surprises. Currently Rico Abreu has the Sharon event on his scheduled and Kyle Larson is also expected to compete in several of the Ohio Speedweek events.

For the second straight year, the All Stars have a strong roster of full-time racers led by six-time champion and current point leader Dale Blaney. Blaney, who won the first two Sprint Car races of his career at Sharon, now has 14 at the Hartford, Ohio oval and recently won his all-time leading 130th career All Star feature event!

Four-time Series Champion, Chad Kemenah, has had a strong season and is currently second in points as he looks to upend Blaney’s title run. Sheldon Haudenschild, who won last year’s $10,000 Lou Blaney Memorial, has a pair of All Star wins this season and is third in points. Completing the top 13 full-time All Star member point racers are Cap Henry, T.J. Michael, Danny Holtgraver, Lee Jacobs, Caleb Helms, Kraig Kinser, Andrew Palker, Caleb Armstrong, Kory Crabtree, and Brad Howard. Tim Shaffer and Joe Kubiniec are 14th and 15th in points and have run the majority of the schedule.

“This is the week we’ve all been waiting for,” explained Tony Stewart. “This is perhaps the most exciting tradition in all of sprint car racing. It’s a grueling week comprised of intense travel and fierce competition that our racers live for each and every June. We are all very excited to get started.”

The Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks will be the only support division at the event on Tuesday. They’ll race for $300 to-win, $50 to-start in a show-up points-only event. The Mini Stocks have featured four different winners in four events to date this season.

Reserved and advanced tickets are on sale for $28. General admission tickets for $25 will go on sale at 4 p.m. on Tuesday the 21st. Children 13 and under are FREE. Advance ticket holders will be able to gain access at 3 p.m. for preferred seating. Pit passes are $35. Parking and camping are free. Sharon has a no carry-in cooler policy.

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.