500 Sprint Car Tour Prepares for First Visit to Lorain
3 min read
For the second time in 2023, the 500 Sprint Car Tour presented by Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores heads to the great state of Ohio. This trip, however, will be the first time the series visits Lorain Raceway Park. Lorain will be the third and final new venue for the series in the 2023 season and will be a wild card event as a tightly contested championship battle continues to take form.
Lorain Raceway Park in Amherst, Ohio will play host to the 500 Sprint Car Tour despite being known as a super modified and winged sprint car track. The ⅜ mile egg shaped oval is a semi banked track with banking topping out at 12 degrees in the corners. The Midwest Non-Wing Sprint Series made an appearance in 2017 with Bobby Santos III winning the race. Before that Bob Frey took the win in the most recent non-wing sprint car start in 1981. The unknowns that come with a new track makes this race a pivotal moment for the season-long points championship battle.
The top three drivers in points are separated by only 66 points as Kody Swanson leads both Tyler Roahrig and Kyle O’Gara who sit in second and third respectively. Each driver has been to victory lane in 2023. Swanson and Roahrig both have two victories while O’Gara sits at one win with his trip to Anderson Speedway’s victory lane. All three drivers have performed well in 2023 when visiting “new” tracks on the schedule. When the series went to Toledo Speedway for the first time, Swanson went to victory lane and Roahrig came home second. O’Gara ran at the front of the field until an engine issue forced him to retire from the event. In the most recent event at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, all three drivers finished in the top-six. Roahrig and O’Gara will be searching early for an advantage at Lorain as they look to close the championship gap with only three races left in 2023.
Lorain Raceway Park fans will see a handful of part time competitors return to the starting grid. Tom Paterson, Chris Jagger, and Quintin Saayman will all be fielding entries into the 50 lap event after running a limited 2023 schedule. Veteran racer Donnie Adams Jr. will also be making his return to racing at Lorain after a hiatus has kept him out of competition. This will be his first start with the series and his first non-wing pavement sprint car race since 2019.
For the majority of racers, Lorain will pose a unique challenge as this will be their first trip ever to the track. For others, like Bobby Santos III, the only challenge will be driving at Lorain without a wing. Santos III as well as Tyler Roahrig have experience racing on Lorain’s egg shaped oval with Must See Racing’s winged sprint cars. Most recently, Santos III went to victory lane with Must See Racing in an event that was held at the track in early June. Looking to crawl his way back into the championship battle, and claim his first win of 2023, Santos III will be relying on his experience around the track to set himself apart from the other competitors.
The Sprint Car Blitz at Lorain is set for Saturday, September 9th at Lorain Raceway Park. In conjunction with NFL Kickoff Weekend, Lorain Raceway Park will offer $5 off a general admission ticket to anyone wearing their favorite NFL jersey, and for the first time ever, kids aged 15 and under will gain free admission to the event. General admission tickets for the event are set at $20 with seniors aged 65 and older gaining admission for $15. Pit gates open at 12:00pm, hot laps begin when the main gate opens at 2:00pm, and racing action is set to begin at 6:00pm.
The 500 Sprint Car Tour will once again be joined by the USSA Kenyon Midget Series, continuing their partnership as a feeder system for the non-wing sprint car series. They will also be joined by Outlaw Super Sprints, Pure Stocks, and Modifieds. Racing begins at 6:00pm and all the night’s action can be seen live via MAVTV on Floracing. For more information, follow the 500 Sprint Car Tour and Lorain Raceway Park online via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and each party’s individual websites.
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