Sharon Ready To Kickoff 93rd Season With The “Buckeye Cup”
4 min read
By Mike Leone
(Hartford, OH)…After falling victim to saturated grounds last Saturday, Sharon Speedway is now ready to kickoff the 93rd anniversary season this Saturday night (April 30). Dry weather and mild temperatures are predicted for Saturday’s “Buckeye Cup” featuring the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars presented by Mobil 1 racing for $6,000 to-win along with the Whelen Econo Mods running a complete show for $500 to-win. The night is being presented by Bala Management of Hubbard, Ohio. Warmups will get underway at 6:15 p.m. following by qualifying for the All Stars and heat race action.
The All Stars will be making their first of four appearances of the 2022 season this Saturday night. The All Stars will return on Tuesday, June 14 for Ohio Speedweek, then for the two-night “Sharon Nationals” on September 2-3 with Saturday night’s program paying $12,000 to-win for the “Lou Blaney Memorial”!
Thus far this season, defending champion Tyler Courtney has won three All Star events. Anthony Macri won a pair of events last weekend defending the PA Posse’s home turf at Bloomsburg and Port Royal Speedways, while Brent Marks did the same at Williams Grove Speedway. All Star regular Cory Eliason also has a win in 2022.
The All Stars will bring one of their deepest and talent-laden rosters to Hartford, Ohio on Saturday night with 14 full-time competitors competing for the $80,000 championship! Courtney leads the way early on over Parker Price-Miller, who has returned to the All Stars full-time in 2022. Bill Balog is back for the second straight year and has gotten off to a strong start sitting in third in points.
The remainder of the All Star roster in order by points includes Zeb Wise, Cap Henry, Justin Peck, Hunter Schuerenberg, Eliason, Tim Shaffer, Kyle Reinhardt, Scott Bugucki, Chris Windom, Kevin Thomas, Jr., and Brad Howard.
Ed Lynch, Jr. still sits atop Sharon’s all-time “410” Sprint Car win list with 50 victories ahead of Dave Blaney with 24. Top local talent and former track champions, Bob Felmlee and Jack Sodeman, Jr., have 14 and 12 wins respectively. Ed’s son Sye has three Sharon victories. After starting 2021 off with nine different winners in the first nine races, Carl Bowser became the first repeat winner with the first two victories of his Sharon career. George Hobaugh has a pair of “410” wins at Sharon; last year he finished fifth in the Ohio Speedweek show and led the first 10 laps of the “Lou Blaney Memorial”.
The Whelen Econo Mods will round out the two-division program on Saturday night racing for $500 to-win. The Econo Mods will be starting their 13th year as a regular division at Sharon, and typically averages around a full field of cars. Brandon Blackshear, who no longer competes in the division, still sits atop the all-time win list with 21 victories. Three-time track champion Jeremy Double, who is still active in the division, has worked his way to second with 16 victories. Will Thomas III, a former Big-Block Modified, UMP Mod and RUSH Late Model racer, now competes weekly in the Econo Mods and has five career wins in the division.
Summit Racing Equipment will present the hard charger award on Saturday night to the Econo Mods. The driver that passes the most cars in the feature will receive a $100 Summit gift card. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be the driver that finished 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, which includes concessions and restrooms. 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.
Pits passes will go on sale Saturday at 3 p.m. with grandstand gates opening at 4. Econo Mod pill draw will close at 6 p.m. Warm-ups will begin at 6:15 p.m. followed by Sprint Car qualifying and then heat races. Grandstand admission for those 14 and over is $25. Patio seating upgrades are just $10 and fan suite seating upgrades are just $20 over the cost of general admission. Reserved seats, advance general admission, patio seats, fan VIP suite seats, and camping permits are available at the following link: https://sharonspeedway.simpletix.com. As always, children under 14 and parking are FREE. Pit passes are $35. As a reminder, coolers nor outside food or beverages are not permitted.
Coming up next Saturday (May 7) will be a “Super Series” event featuring the “410” Sprint Cars for $3,000 to-win along with the Gibson Insurance Agency Pro Stocks, HTMA/Precise Racing Products RUSH Sportsman Modifieds, and the Whelen Econo Mods. Race time is 7 p.m.
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.
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