By Brian Liskai: (Carmargo, IL) Ohio Sprint Speedweek has become a tradition unlike any others. Fans plan their vacations around the event and race teams spend months preparing for it. The 28th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek featuring the O’Reilly Auto Parts All Star Circuit of Champion Sprint Cars will feature nine straight nights of racing across the Buckeye State , paying out over $241,000 in prize money along the way.
Twenty-seven years ago, former Eldora Speedway owner Earl Baltes sat down with then All Star president Bert Emick to discuss the idea of a week-long series of races to highlight the great tracks and race teams who call Ohio home. Thus came about Ohio Sprint Speedweek. Now, other states and sanctioning bodies have copied the idea, but Ohio ’s version remains one of the most anticipated events of the summer with average car counts in the 40s.
The first eight nights of Ohio Sprint Speedweek will pay the All Star sprint feature winner $5,000 with the final night at Fremont Speedway offering up a big $10,000 to win payday.
It all kicks off Friday, June 18 at Attica Raceway Park on Legend’s Sports Pub and Grille Night as the O’Reilly Auto Parts All Stars battle the tough weekly regulars at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” speed plant for the $5,000 top prize. The UMP late models will also be in action. Gates open at 4 p.m. with racing underway at 7:45 p.m. General admission tickets are $22 for adults; $20 for senior citizens; $10 for teens ages 11-15; with kids 10 and under admitted free. Pit passes will be $30. For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com Saturday finds the All Stars returning to the high banks of KC Raceway near Chillicothe, Ohio, on Roosters/Miller Lite Night. It’s been several years since Ohio Sprint Speedweek has competed at the 3/8th mile oval. Joining the All Star sprints will be the NRA 360 Sprints, Advance Modifieds and hobby stocks. General admission tickets are $20 with kids ages 6-12 entering for $20. Pit passes will be $30. Gates will open at 3:30 p.m. with racing underway at 7:30 p.m. For more information go to www.kc-raceway.com.
Sunday, June 20 brings the All Stars back to the half-mile of Millstream Speedway near Findlay , Ohio . The track roared back to life in 2008 after having sat idle for nearly nine years. The Speedweek show will be the first of 2010 for the track. Last year’s Ohio Sprint Speedweek show at Millstream drew the highest car count as over 60 sprints jammed the pits. Joining the All Star sprints will be the UMP modifieds. Gates will open at 3 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m… Tickets are $20 for adults; $15 for senior citizens; $10 for kids ages 11-16 with kids 10 and under free. Pit passes will be $30. For more information go to www.millstreamspeedway.com.
On Monday, the rabid fans of Wayne County Speedway will pack the stands for night #4 of Ohio Sprint Speedway. A part of Speedweek since its inception, the three-eighths mile oval located near Orrville, also draws a pretty good contingent of Pennsylvania drivers. The modifieds will also be in action. Gates will open at 3 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m. For more information go to www.waynecountyspeedway.com
Tuesday finds the All Star sprints at Hilltop Speedway near Millersburg , Ohio . The one-third mile high banks offer plenty of racing room “on the hill.” The modifieds will also be in action. Gates open at 4 p.m. with racing underway around 7 p.m… For more information go to www.hilltopspeedway.org.
From one bullring to another, as the night #6 of Ohio Sprint Speedweek heads to Waynesfield Motorsports Park near Waynesfield , Ohio on Wednesday, June 23. The high-banked third-mile has produced some of the closest finishes in Speedweek history. Joining the All Star sprints will be the compacts and four-cylinder Tough Trucks. Pit gates open at 4 p.m. with grandstand gates opening at 5 p.m. Racing will get underway at 7 p.m. Tickets are $22 for adults; $6 for kids ages 11-15 with kids 10 and under free. Pit passes are $30. For directions and more information go to www.waynesfieldmotorsportspark.com
On Thursday, June 24, the All Stars had to Sharon Speedway. It’s been several years since the All Star competed at three-eighths mile high banked clay oval located near Hartford , Ohio . Several Pennsylvania teams will no-doubt head to Sharon to battle the All Stars. The limited sprints will also be in competition. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults; $5 for kids ages 9-13. Pit passes are $25. For more information log onto www.sharonspeedway.com
Night #8 finds the all stars at the high banks of Limaland Motorsports Park on Elwer Fence Night. Again, the nature of the track – a quarter mile, wide, high-banked dirt oval – guarantees tight, close racing action. The UMP modifieds will also be in action. The pit gates will open at 3 p.m. with grandstands gates opening at 4 p.m.
Speedweek wraps up at the historic Fremont Speedway with a big $10,000 to win event on Budweiser Night. The nonwing 305 sprints will also be in action. It will be the 92nd appearance of the All Stars in the 59-year history of “The Track That Action Built.” The tough weekly competitor will give the All Star travelers all they can handle. In fact, the last All Star appearance, young local racer Bryan Sebetto held off defending All Star champ Tim Shaffer to score the win. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults; $20 for senior citizens; $15 for kids 11-15 with kids 10 and under free. Pit passes will be $30. For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com
Another interesting twist to the Ohio Sprint Speedweek is the Kistler Racing Products Fremont Attica Sprint Title (FAST) Championship Series is offering a $1,000 cash bonus to any FAST series driver who can take the Speedweek title. A $500 bonus is being offered to the highest finishing FAST driver in the week’s final point standings. FAST is an 22-race series -11 shows at Fremont Speedway and 11 at Attica Raceway Park – that awards a separate point fund from that of the two weekly tracks.
Fremont Speedway Promoter Rich Farmer and Attica Raceway Park Promoter John Bores are putting up the cash for the bonus as a reward for the support these teams have shown their tracks this season. This will, of course, help insure bigger car counts at the other tracks participating in Ohio Sprint Speedweek.
“I think the FAST series has been great for our local drivers and we want to see these teams support Ohio Speedweek and compete with the drivers from other areas around Ohio as well as give the All Stars a run for the money each night,” said Farmer. “Ohio Speedweek has always been one of the biggest weeks of sprint car racing in the State of Ohio and we would like to see these guys take it seriously and go compete each night and show the fans across the state what we get to see each weekend at Attica and Fremont.”
Drivers eligible for the cash bonus include Byron Reed, who beat the All Stars earlier this year at Attica; Brock Mayes, Mark Keegan, Phil Gressman, Craig mintz, Kevin Lee, Chris Andrews, Jody Keegan, Bryan Sebetto, Brandon Martin, David Harrison, Todd Heller, Mike Linder, Brian Smith, Shawn Valenti and Duane Zablocki.
The roster of drivers expected to compete during Ohio Sprint Speedweek will include defending and current All Star point leader Tim Shaffer; two-time All Star champion Greg Wilson; 2009 speedweek champion Stevie Smith; four-time Ohio Sprint Speedweek champion Dale Blaney; Pennsylvania Posse members Lance Dewease, Fred Rahmer and possibly Brian Leppo, Brian Monteith, Greg Hodnett and others; and young guns like Cap Henry, Jared Ridge, David Gravel, Jessica Zemken and more. When they come up against some of the strongest weekly 410 sprint drivers in the nation, just making the A-main will be a challenge.
Last year nearly 100 different drivers competed during Ohio Sprint Speedweek.
“Besides the purse money, we’re paying nearly $28,000 in appearance money this week which should contribute to very strong car counts. Ohio Sprint Speedweek is an event unlike any other. Ohio is among the elite 410 sprint states in the country, producing some of the best drivers and teams you’ll find any where,” said Guy Webb, President of the O’Reilly Auto Parts All Stars. “Speedweek will test the drivers and crews and will have a lot to say about who win the All Star title and the $50,000 at the end of the year.”
“We are excited about having K-C Raceway, Millstream and Sharon Speedway back on the Ohio Speedweek schedule, joining traditional stops like Attica, Wayne County , Limaland and Fremont . And, Speedweek is building a great tradition at Hilltop and Waynesfield. The bullrings that comprise Speedweek are guaranteed to produce close, exciting racing,” added Webb.
For more information go to www.allstarsprint.com