8/25/2023
Lernerville Speedway
Sprint Cars and Fireworks on the Agenda for Peluso Roofing Sprint Car Spectacular
Jason Brown Photo
Sarver, PA (August 24, 2023) There will be three divisions of Sprint Cars on the track and fireworks in the sky as the action switches to Saturday night for the annual Peluso Roofing Sprint Car Spectacular featuring the Ti22 Performance Fast on DIRT Sprint Car Series, Allegheny Sprint Tour 305 Sprint Cars and the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Sprint Car Series. There will be extra money up for grabs for the Fast on DIRT Sprints as Peluso Roofing recently added $2,000 to the winners share, making it a $5,000-to-win affair on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Allegheny Sprint Tour 305’s will be battling for a cool $2,000-to-win, courtesy of Sportsman’s Supply Co. of Butler, PA. The RUSH Sprints will also receive some extra rewards as they partake in their annual Manufacturer’s Night presented by MSD Performance with a record $15,000 of product giveaways for drivers in attendance.
A familiar name and 2023 Lernerville feature winner sits atop of the standings in the Fast on DIRT Sprint Cars as Brandon Spithaler brings the series lead into Saturday night. Ricky Peterson Jr. who currently resides in the second spot will be looking to get back on track following a string of bad luck in the second half of the schedule after leading the standings earlier in the season. Meanwhile, area drivers Jack Sodeman Jr. and Jeremy Weaver will be looking to improve their current place in the standings in familiar territory at a track both are capable of winning at as Sodeman is coming off a $4,000 feature win on Sunday night at Tri City Raceway Park. Seven time track champion AJ Flick leads a stout field of drivers within the Peoples Natural Gas Sprint Car ranks along with Darin Gallagher, Dan Kuriger, Brandon Matus and a resurgent Carl Bowser. Flick struck for a win in feature number one last Friday night which was a holdover from July 28, and was locked in a tight battle with veteran wheelman Mark Smith who ventured to The Action Track from Central, PA, before slipping on the top of turn four of feature two and suffering a soft rollover, putting an end to his night. Smith had intimated that he may be indeed returning for a chance at the $5,000 top prize on Saturday following a weekend in Western, PA that saw him not only take a win at Lernerville but also a special event win at Michael’s Mercer Raceway Park the following night.
With extra money on the line, it’s fair to suggest that the Allegheny Sprint Tour 305 Sprint Cars could be bringing more than a full field of cars on Saturday night. On July 18, Watsontown, PA pilot Kenny Heffner took home the first of two $2,000-to-win special events as part of the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup. Meanwhile, Jeremy Kornbau drew first blood at The Action Track in series action with a feature win on May 26. On Saturday, round two will once again offer up with same top prize and if their July appearance which drew 31 cars is any indicator, there could be a great field of cars in the pits on Saturday. Jim Morris comes into race night currently locked into a tight battle at the top of the standings as he brings a seven point lead over Jacob Gomola. Rounding out the top five in the AST 305 standings are Jarrett Rosencrance, Jacob Begenwald, and Tommy Jasen.
The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply RUSH Sprint Cars have made two Lernerville appearances thus far in 2023 with John Mollick (June 30) and Blaze Myers (July 21) taking feature wins. The series set an all-time record with 30 cars in attendance in their July event as part of the annual RUSH Summer Showcase and may even top that number on Friday night as a very special Manufacturer’s Night awaits them with chances to win a bounty of racing equipment thanks to some very generous donations from racing parts distributors from around the area and beyond. On the track, Chad Ruhlman brings the series points lead into the evening while a red hot Blaze Myers who currently owns a three race winning streak, is in hot pursuit as the postseason event slate is now at hand.
Pits will open at 4 PM on Saturday with grandstands opening at 5 PM and hot laps scheduled for 6:30. The Fast on DIRT Sprint Cars will time trial during hot laps and racing is scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM. General admission is $18 while children 10 and under will be admitted free as always. Pit passes will be available for $30. For those that aren’t able to make it the track, the entire night of racing will be streamed live on the Dirt.tv Network via subscription ($24.99/Monthly-$149.99/Annually), starting with hot laps.
Submitted By: Gary Heeman