4/30/2015
All Star Circuit of Champions
UNOH All Stars to take on tough Western PA stars
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. (Thursday, April 30, 2015) – The race tracks in Western Pennsylvania have spawned a lot of sprint car stars over the years and some young guns are ready to take that step when the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions visit this weekend.
It starts Friday, May 1 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, PA and continues Saturday, May 2 at Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, PA.
Several UNOH All Star drivers have had early career success at Lernerville. Current All Star points leader and five time series champion Dale Blaney is a former Lernerville champion as is four time All Star champ Tim Shaffer who is currently seventh in the series points. Danny Holtgraver, who sits fifth in the All Star points, is another former Lernerville champion.
Last year Lee Jacobs of Dalton, Ohio – the son of former All Star champion Kenny Jacobs, scored his first career All Star win at Lernerville.
Like every track the All Stars visit that boasts a tough weekly racing program, Lernerville regulars will present a big challenge. The track’s all-time career feature winner “The Apollo Rocket” Ed Lynch Jr. has opened the season with back-to-back victories. Lynch has 111 career wins at the fourth-tenths of a mile oval.
Other tough weekly competitors include A.J. Flick, former track champion Brandon Spithaler, Brandon Matus, Brent Matus, Eric Williams, Scott Priester, Carl Bowser, Sye Lynch, Jack Sodeman Jr., Adam Kekich, Jared Zimbardi, Dan Kuriger and Dan Shetler.
The three-eighths mile Mercer Raceway Park is another track that has a tough weekly contingent of drivers. Kekich opened the track’s season two weeks ago with a victory. Brandon Matus, Spithaler, Williams (former two time track champion), Sodeman Jr. (former track champion), Rod George, Priester, Flick and Kuriger will also challenge the invading UNOH All Stars.
Last year hall-of-fame driver “The Wild Child” Jac Haudenschild would hold off Lee Jacobs for the All Star win at Mercer.
The UNOH All Stars will return to Mercer for a double-header weekend Friday and Saturday, July 3 and 4.
The UNOH All Stars are coming off a trip to central Pennsylvania where Greg Hodnett kept the series regulars winless at the historic Williams Grove Speedway. For Hodnett it was his second All Star win of the year and the 20th of his career. Red Lion, Pennsylvania’s Cody Darrah would pocket $19,000 in the Bob Weikert Memorial the following night at Port Royal Speedway and would move into third in the series points. Darrah now has two career All Star wins.
A solid weekend for defending All Star champion Dale Blaney – a third and fourth place finish – would vault him into the series point lead. So far this season Blaney, who has 115 career All Star wins, has five top five runs with the series and seven top 10 finishes (including the five All Star non-point shows in Florida). In the four point races thus far, Blaney is averaging a fifth place finish.
The early portion of the UNOH All Star season has showcased the young up-and-coming talent. Ryan Smith of Kunkletown, Pa., scored his first career All Star win at Attica Raceway Park in April and currently is second in the series point standings. In the four series point races he has three top five finishes and has an average finishing position of seventh.
Parker Price Miller, 16, of Kokomo, Ind., recorded his first career All Star win at the Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio a few weeks ago and is currently eighth in series points.
Four time All Star champion Chad Kemenah is coming off a win at Path Valley Speedway this past Sunday in a non-sanctioned event. Kemenah has three top five runs with the All Stars in 2015 (including Florida events) and is sixth in the series point standings.
Wooster, Ohio’s Sheldon Haudenschild had a great run against the PA Posse last weekend, recording an 11th place run at Williams Grove followed by a sixth place finish at Port Royal. He is currently fourth in the All Star point standings.
After opening the All Star season with two straight podium finishes, West Lodi, Ohio’s Andrew Palker sits ninth in the All Star points. Hall-of-famer Danny Smith is 10th in the All Star points.
The racing at Lernerville Speedway and Mercer Raceway Park will be available for Pay Per View on SpeedShift TV. Go to www.speedshifttv.com for more information.
For more information about Lernerville Speedway go to www.lernervillespeedway.com. The track is located at 313 N. Pike Rd., Sarver, Pa., about 25 miles north of Pittsburgh.
For more information about Mercer Raceway Park go to www.mercerracewaypark.com. The track is located at 555 Fairground Road, Mercer, Pa., about 21 miles from Youngstown, Ohio.
The UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is the original winged sprint car tour. Follow the All Stars during their 50 plus race season on Twitter.com/@ASCoC, www.facebook.com/AllStarCircuitofChampions and www.Instagram.com/AllStarSprints using the hashtag #TheNewAllStars. An all new website has been launched at www.AllStarSprint.com
Article Credit: Brian Liskai
