For what seemed like the first time this season, the rain was not a factor for local racing this past weekend.

(Photo: Franklin’s Matt Lux was back in victory lane Friday at Thunder Mountain Speedway. Photo by Penny Kay

Things got started Friday with Franklin driver Matt Lux continuing his strong start to the season by scoring his second win of 2019 at Thunder Mountain Speedway. Meanwhile, Phil Bubeck was the big winner of the 4-cylinder special taking home $1,000 for the victory, and Zack Myers from Knox won the semi-lates.

Thunder Mountain Speedway will be back in action this Friday with another five-division program highlighted by the super late models, it will also be Father’s Day Night with fathers receiving $2 off of general admission. ATV races presented by Legends Power sports will also be on the card this Friday.

Lernerville Speedway was also in action Friday night as the biggest crowd of the season took in Fab 4 action along with fireworks. Sye Lynch won a thriller in the sprint car feature for his second triumph of the season. Brian Swartzlander and Joey Zambotti also got their second Lernerville wins of the season in the big block modified and stock car features.

In the late model feature, Jared Miley got his first win of the year while track champion Michael Norris continued to have bad luck breaking while running second. This Friday it will be another Fab 4 racing program at Lernerville along with mid-season championships. The following week the late models will take center stage with the Firecracker 100 featuring the World of Outlaws.

After several rainouts, Hummingbird Speedway returned to action this past Saturday and Paul Kot was back in victory lane after winning the late model feature. Other winners at the Bird included Mike Anderson (pure stocks), Brandon Conner (street stocks), Nick Erskine (semi late), and Shawn Hadden in the 4-cylinders. Hummingbird will present another five-division racing program this Saturday.

Michael’s Mercer Raceway was back in action Saturday night where big block modified veteran Dave Murdick got his first win of the 2019 campaign. A modified regular for nearly 30 years now, Murdick thanked his father and former modified racer Carl for his help along with fellow racer Tommy Kristyak.

“I learned more following Tommy around her e than anybody” stated Murdick.

Joining Murdick in the winner’s circle Saturday at Mercer included Greg Dobrosky (305 sprints), Erik Martin (limited modifieds), Shane Shook (mini stocks), and Rod Jones in mod lite competition.

Mercer Raceway will be back in action this Saturday with another five division program headlined by the big block modifieds.

The Ruhlman brothers were the stars of the show Saturday at Sharon Speedway where Brian Ruhlman won the $1,200 to win Bickerstaff Cup special for the e-mods. Meanwhile, his brother Chad was the winner of the RUSH sprint car feature where Brian returned to finish fourth and Chad’s son Kevin finished third completing the family affair.

This weekend Sharon Speedway will host the biggest stock car race in the area with the running of the Steel Valley Nationals. The event will be highlighted by the Penn-Ohio Pro Stock Series as they battle it out for a $10,000 winner’s check! The econo mods will also be on the card battling for $2,000 to win. Qualifying will take place Friday with the big money on the line Saturday night.

Tony Stewart’s All-Star Circuit of Champions took advantage of the good weather and completed three races in three nights in New York over the weekend. One of western Pennsylvania’s most popular drivers over the years found his way back to victory lane on Saturday night. Six-time All-Star champion Dale Blaney held off defending All-Star champion Aaron Reutzel in exciting fashion for his first series win in nearly three years.

Local favorite Dale Blaney returned to victory lane with the All-Stars for the first time in nearly three years. Photo by Rick Rarer

For Blaney, it was his series-leading 135th career All-Star win and brought the crowd to its feet. The All-Stars will begin their most grueling week of the season this Friday at Attica Raceway Park where Ohio Speedweek kicks off nine straight nights of racing at eight Ohio race tracks. Sharon Speedway will host night five of Speedweek on June 18 next Tuesday night.

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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.