By: Ron Burt
Several area Dirt Late Model fans made the trip last week to Gaffney South Carolina for the Blue/Gray 100 at the famous Cherokee Speedway (The track your mama warned you about)! The track has links on their web page to watch all the races for free. The fans that messaged me said it was worth the trip for them. The car counts were big, and the races were competitive in every class. The big pay day went to “Smokey” Chris Madden winning his 8th Blue/Gray 100 and picking up $12,000.00 for his effort.
We have about 50 days until the biggest indoor racing event of the year. The Chili Bowl Nationals will be held January 9th-14th 2023, at the Tulsa Convention Center. This is the winter crown jewel for Midget racing. It started in 1987 by Racing Hall of Famers, Lanny Edwards, and Emmett Hahn. If you’ve never been, drivers competing in this Midget event come from all types of racing. NASCAR, USAC, World of Outlaws and other sanctions. I will keep you updated as we get closer.
Local Dirt Late Model drivers and racing fans already have their eyes on the Indiana Icebreaker set for March 18th at Brownstown Speedway. The race pays $15,000.00 to win. Brownstown is an hour south of Indy.
Asphalt Super Late Model fans if you’re planning your Speedweek vacation to the Sunshine State, New Smyrna Speedway has announced their schedule. January 7th they will open with the Super Late Model Red Eye 50/50. February 10th will be the World Series opening night and the series will run through February 14th featuring several classes, but the Super Late Models will be the featured class on this historic half mile oval. After the World Series the track stays open, featuring more nights of racing with the John Blewett III Memorial 76 on 2/15/23, the Richie Evans Memorial 100 on 2/17/23 and the Orange Blossom 100 on 2/18/23 to close out the two weeks. If you can’t make the Florida trip, no worries because all of these rases are normally on the racing channels or live streamed by the track with pay for view.
Indianapolis Raceway Park has announced the 70th Anniversary of the Hoosier Hundred will take place Sunday, April 23rd. Tickets are already on sale. The USAC Silver Crown Cars will be running 100 miles on this famous oval, featuring some of the biggest names in open wheel racing.
I can be reached at ohiosportsblitz@yahoo.com or on www.facebook.com/ohiosportsblitz I have Facebook live high school football playoff and basketball scores every Friday and Saturday night from over 15 conferences. Ron out!
