By: Ron Burt
Barry Marlow shared a couple of things with me this week. Great Lakes Traditional Sprints will have a solid presence in NW Ohio in 2023, with 8 non wing races between Fremont, Waynesfield and Limaland! Those races added to the 9 races in Southern Michigan at Butler, Harford and I-96 Speedways will give Ohio and Indiana teams more choices and a solid slate of closer races. The other bonus is the increased GLTS purse at these races to $9.295, which will pay $1,500 to win, $1,000 for 2nd and $750 for 3rd. We’re looking forward to some great non wing racing in the tri-state region!
The blending of Great Lakes Super Sprints and the NRA Sprint Invaders is still a work in progress! Having 39, 360 Winged races in Ohio and Michigan gives full sized wing sprints a significant schedule and be able to stay closer to home. The Ohio races will fall into the South Region and the Michigan races will fall into the North Region, giving us 2 Regional Champions. The team that finishes the highest in combined points of both Regions will be crowned the overall Great Lakes Super Sprints Champion for 2023.
At the monthly Racing Promotion Workshop in Daytona, Rex LeJeune of Attica Raceway Park was selected the 47th Annual Auto Racing Promoter of the Year for Region 3. Locally everyone agrees Rex is very deserving of this award after years of dedication to Attica Raceway Park.
The defending Little 500 winner Tyler Roahrig could make history this spring in the sprint car classic at Anderson Speedway (asphalt track). A first-place finish would give him three in a row, joining Bob Frey and Eric Gordon. It also places Roahrig in a five-way tie for fourth most wins in the Little 500’s prestigious history. In 2021 and 2022 he joined eight other drivers on a distinguished list of back-to-back winners. Tyler lead a race-high 254mlaps in the 2021 Little 500, in 2022 he came back to the speedway with momentum and confidence on his side. He qualified on the pole position for the 2022 Little 500 for the first time in his Little 500 career. His pole position run was also a record-breaking run, setting the one-lap record at 10.799 seconds and the four-lap record at 43.477 seconds. He went on to lead 230 laps in route to another dominating performance. Tickets for the 75th Annual Lucas Oil Little 500 presented by UAW are on sale now. Tickets can be obtained by calling the Anderson Speedway ticket office.
The new promoter at Montpelier Motor Speedway (Indiana) wants to bring in some new events to the ¼ mile dirt oval in 2023. The track is planning to run weekly shows, with regular shows containing Modifieds, Super Streets, Street Stocks, and Front Wheel Drives. The track is currently looking at rules for a “pure stock” class, but the class isn’t set in stone yet. All rules will remain the same as last year at this time with the exception of the front wheel drives. Montpelier’s working on bringing in Late Model shows. The Dirt Trucks will return this summer. The BOSS Sprints will make an appearance. The FAST-Wing Sprint show has been booked. The track is hosting the steel block Sprint Nationals, and they’re trying to get the summer nationals back for a show.
Drivers, pit crews and fans are getting excited for racing as the weather is unseasonable. No reports this week on our area drivers racing in Florida and South Georgia. Until next week, keep your wheels down. Ron out! ohiosportsblitz@yahoo.com
