The biggest crowd of the season filled Sharon Speedway this past Saturday to honor one of the area’s greatest racers of all time, Lou Blaney.
(Photo: Dale Blaney and family in victory lane Saturday. Photo by Rick Rarer)
Blaney became a racing icon winning over 600 features in both sprint car and modified competition during his storied career. Sadly, Lou lost his battle to Alzheimer’s disease in 2009. Since then, many of the top sprint and modified drivers in the country gather each year to honor his legacy.
For the second consecutive week, rain storms stayed just south of the Speedway. This allowed a strong field of All-Star sprint cars and the area’s top modified drivers to fill the pits and battle for one of the region’s most prized races. When the checkers flew on the sprint car feature there were not many dry eyes in victory lane. Lou’s son, Dale Blaney, dominated the 30-lap event winning the race honoring his father for the first time in his career.
For Dale, it was his third All-Star feature win of 2019 and moves him just 10 points out of the series point lead in his quest for his seventh All-Star championship. Dale became the 10th different winner of the event in 11 years following his brother Dave, who won the event last year.
“Before I was done I knew I had to win this race,” Dale Blaney said. “To win it back-to-back with Dave is really special.”
The King family continued their stranglehold on the area modified competition with a one-two sweep of the top spots in the big block modified feature. Rex King Jr. led all 35 laps of the Mod Tour event to take home the $2,000 winner’s check ahead of his father, Rex King Sr. For King Jr. it was his second Lou Blaney Memorial victory after winning the event in 2014.
It was another winning weekend for Rex King Jr. Photo by Rick Rarer.
Sharon Speedway will not be in action this Saturday due to the Trumbull County Fair.
With Sharon Speedway sitting idle, Michaels Mercer Raceway will rev up the action with two days of action-packed racing this Friday and Saturday.
The first-ever Buddy Barris Trucking Memorial Summer Nationals Sprint Show will take center stage this weekend at the Mercer oval. The 305 RaceSaver sprints will headline Friday action. Then on Saturday, the winged 410 sprint cars will make their only appearance of the season. Joining the sprints both nights will be the mod lites, mini stocks, and micro sprints.
Last Wednesday, July 3, the ULMS Late Model Series invaded Thunder Mountain Speedway only to have rain washout action after the heat races were completed. The show will be made up on Friday, September 13 with a completely new program.
It was announced this week that he ULMS will also return on Friday, August 2 for the Ninth Annual Connor Bobik Memorial.
Thunder Mountain returns to action this Friday with a five-division show highlighted by a $2,000-to-win semi late special.
After another rainout this past Saturday Hummingbird Speedway will try again this Saturday with another five-division show. Joining them will be the young guns sprints.
Lucas Wolfe wrapped up another Pennsylvania Speedweek championship on Saturday by winning the inaugural Greg Hodnett Classic at Port Royal Speedway. For Wolfe, it was his fourth Speedweek title.
The All-Star Circuit of Champions will invade New York this weekend with a three-race swing to the Empire State. Tony Stewart’s series will make their only visits of the season to Utica-Rome, Lebanon Valley, and Orange County Speedway.
On Tuesday, July 16 the World of Outlaws will make their only stop of the season at the always exciting Attica Raceway Park in Ohio for the Brad Doty Classic. This is one of the most popular events all season in Ohio promoted by former racer Doty.
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About Rick
Rick Rarer, a Franklin resident, is the owner of Racestud.com and SprintCarNews.com. He has been covering racing for 19 years, taking racing photos for 14 years, and has covered races at over 100 tracks in 15 states. Most recently, Rick won the Bill Steinbach Media Award at the Lernerville Speedway Annual Awards Banquet.
