by Mike LeoneHartford, OHAugust 6, 2019
After yet another successful Menards “Super Series” event last
Saturday night featuring the “410” Sprint Cars, Sharon Speedway will
do it all over again this Saturday night (August 10) for the annual “Bill
Kirlia Memorial” on Kams Electric Service Night as part of the 90th
anniversary season. The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply “410” Sprint
Cars will be featured in their third of four straight appearances and they will
be joined by the Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, HTMA/Precise Racing Products
RUSH Sportsman Modifieds, and the Summit Racing Equipment Econo Mods. Race time
is 7 p.m.
Bill Kirila was one of the owners of Sharon with his brother Ron along with the
Blaney and Weller Families when the track changed ownership in 2002. Kirila of
nearby Brookfield, Ohio passed away after an extended illness on June 23, 2006
at the age of 68. He was a graduate of Brookfield Ohio School and went on to
become the Vice President of Kirila Contractors. Each year, the “Bill
Kirila Memorial” is held in remembrance.
The “410” Sprint Cars have put on six tremendous shows this year with
Cole Duncan withstanding the challenges of Tony Stewart for the $3,000
FAST-sanctioned victory that came over an excellent field of 43 cars back on
May 11. A.J. Flick then out-dueled George Hobaugh for the $3,000 non-sanctioned
win on May 18. After 10 straight different winners, Dave Blaney ended the
streak picking up the June 29 $3,000 win for his 30th career “410”
victory at Sharon. Brother Dale Blaney then won his first “Lou Blaney
Memorial” on July 6 in the $6,000 to-win All Star Circuit of
Champions-sanctioned event. The “Buckeye Bullett” put the Blaney name
in victory lane for the third straight race as he won a thriller over Dan
Shetler and Chad Kemenah on July 27. This past Saturday saw Kemenah break into
victory lane for the first time in 2019 out-dueling early leader Dan McCarron
then Carl Bowser late for the $3,000 payday.
Last year, the “410” Sprint Car events had at least 29 cars present
every night with eight different winners in eight events, while there’s been
five different winners in six 2019 events with at least 29 cars on hand each
night as well!
Saturday will utilize the hot lap/group qualifying format that has been used at
all “Super Series” Sprint Car events the last two years. Two to three
cars will qualify at a time only amongst their heat race group. The fastest
four in each heat will be inverted with the top three redrawing plus the
fastest transferring non-top three finisher if there are three heats or the top
two plus the two fastest transferring non-top two finishers if there are four
heats. The B main will be lined up heads up on heat race finishes. Heat and B
main finish(es) will complete the 24-car starting lineup. Mufflers are not
required and there are no registration or entry fees.
The Stock Cars continue to produce strong car counts with over full fields of
cars each night allowing them to race for the $700 to-win purse structure. Curt
J. Bish joined Chris Schneider as repeat winners in the Gibson Insurance
Agency-sponsored division. On June 29, Bish ended a four-year winless drought,
and on Saturday won for the second time in three races. Schneider meanwhile won
the $2,000 2018 “Apple Festival Nationals” make-up on May 11 then
captured the July 27 show. Other winners this season include Bobby Whitling on
May 18 when he ended a seven-year Sharon winless drought and Chris McGuire on
June 8. Bish has taken over the points lead by two ahead of McGuire, the
defending Gibson Insurance Agency champion. Shaun Hooks, Paul Davis, and Andy
Thompson are third through fifth in points.
After a successful first of three Touring Series events that brought out 28
cars last Saturday night, the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will return for a weekly
event on Saturday night. Garrett Krummert picked up the $600 special as he
returned to victory lane for the second time this season in his first
appearance since winning on June 8.
Rob Kristyak, also a two-time winner, entered the night as both the Tour and
Sharon points leader, but that got derailed due to a hard heat race crash that
ended his night. Kole Holden, who won his first feature in nearly years on July
27 since his 2017 championship season, is the new points lead. Holden leads
Chas Wolbert, also a two-time 2019 winner, by 20 in the HTMA/Precise Racing
Products standings with Kristyak just two more points back in third as Tony
Tatgenhorst and Jacob Jordan complete the top five in points.
At the end of the night, the “Wheelman” Non-Winners race presented by
Ohio Intra Express and C&R Tire will take place. To date there have been
five different winners in six races. Cameron Nastasi was the most recent winner
last Saturday night and has ascended to second in points as he trails Jacob
Wolfe by nine. One-time winner, Amelia Clay, is third.
The Econo Mods finally had their first repeat winner of 2019 last Saturday
night as Dustin DeMattia performed the honors. In fact, it was the second year
racer’s second straight win! DeMattia can start no better than 12th in the
feature on Saturday night as he looks for the hat trick. Other winners this
season include Kyle Miller, who won his biggest career race worth $750 on May
11, Ty Rhoades the following week for the regular season opener, and Eric
Wilson in an Elite Series event. With Rhoades MIA on Saturday, DeMattia has
taken over the Summit Racing Equipment points lead for the first time in his
career as he has a 19-point advantage on Rhoades. Andy Buckley is just two more
points back in third over last year’s champion, Jacob Eucker, and veteran racer
Gary Robinson.
Pits will be open throughout the afternoon on Saturday with pit passes going on
sale at 4 p.m., while the main grandstands open at 5. Drivers meeting will be
at 6:00 p.m. followed by Sprint engine starts at 6:15 and group qualifying at
6:30. Heat races are scheduled for 7 p.m.
Grandstand admission for those 14 and over is $13, while senior citizens are
$10. Patio seating upgrades are just $5 and fan suite seating upgrades are just
$20 over the cost of general admission. These can be reserved on race night in
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 on August 17 will be second and final appearance by the FAST Series
for the “410” Sprint Cars in a $3,000 to-win, $300 to-start event.
The Menards “Super Series” event will also include the rescheduled
“Bickerstaff Cup” Series race #3 for the Outlaw Mods paying $1,200
to-win, the RUSH Sportsman Modified Touring Series for their
“Manufacturers Night”, RUSH Sprint Cars, and 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. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharonspeedway
and follow us on Twitter @sharonspdwy.