(Hartford, OH)...After a weekend off for the Labor Day holiday, Sharon Speedway returns to action in a big way this weekend with the "Apple Festival Nationals". Eight divisions will be in competition over the weekend. The Big-Block Modifieds, UMP Mods and RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will each run a complete show on both Friday and Saturday night, while the "305" Sprint Cars, Penn-Ohio Pro Stocks, Econo Mods, Crown Vics, and Mini Stocks will run heat races on Friday night followed by last chance B mains and features on Saturday. Friday is A&MP Electric and Holbrook Sewer & Excavating Night, while Saturday is Wedge Motorsports, Holbrook Sewer & Excavating and Liberty Steel Night. Warmups get underway at 6:30 p.m. on Friday for the four classes that have yet to race at Sharon in 2026 with racing to follow. Racing will get underway at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
The Willy's World Kids Club presented by Millcraft Barns will include games and sensory friendly crafts and will open when the general admission gates open at 5 p.m. Crown Vic racer, Ray Gregory, will be Friday night's featured driver, while Big-Block Modified racer Cameron Miller and multi-division winner, Coleton Longwell, will be Saturday's spotlighted drivers that will be participating in the Kids Club activities.
Saturday is the second Menards Giveaway Night. There will be three drawings with one lucky fan winning a $500 Menards gift card! A second prize drawing will include a Charbroil gas grill with the third prize being a Shark Flexbreeze portable fan.
In commemoration of their 70th anniversary of operation, King Bros. Ready Mix Concrete will give away a bicycle to a lucky child each night. The Big-Block Modified feature winner will draw a child's ticket in victory lane. If Rex King, Jr. wins the feature, two tickets will be drawn and two children's bicycles will be given away! Sharon Speedway would like to thank King Bros. for their support over the years.
Alessa King, wife of Rex King, Jr, who owns Our Village Family Care LLC that provides in-home medical care for the whole family, will be set up in the Fan Zone on Saturday from 5-7 p.m. King will offer free blood pressure screenings, will answer health questions, and will be giving away goodies for both kids and adults.
Anyone who gets their blood pressure checked will also receive one raffle ticket for a chance to win a $100 cash prize! There will be five $100 winners with the drawings taking place during Saturday's intermission.
Sasquatch of Sharon Pa. will be visiting the Speedway this weekend and will be available for a meet and greet at Willy's World Kids Club. Sasquatch will be roaming about the facility, taking part in victory lane ceremonies, and will be involved in fan activities throughout the weekend.
The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Big-Block Modifieds will headline the weekend presented by King Bros. Ready Mix Concrete, King's Sanitary Services, Russ King Racing, and Thermo Supply. Friday night will feature a complete program for $1,800 to-win, while Saturday night will be the "Weller Family Memorial" with $3,100 on the line and $310 to take the green in the BRP Tour-sanctioned event. A total purse of $23,625 has been posted. In addition, each heat race winner will take home $131. The B main will pay $150 to-win. $250 will go to the following: fastest lap, first driver to drop out of the feature, and first driver to be lapped. There will be a random $500 drawing and $250 will go to the hard charger and hard luck. Thank you to Charity Unruh for raising more than $13,000 along with all of the contributing sponsors.
Former Big-Block Modified racer, Jim Weller, Jr. along with his wife Ronnie, son John and daughter-in-law Maria lost their lives in an airplane crash in June 2025. The late Jim Weller, Sr., who passed away January 17, 2025, owned Sharon Speedway from 2002 until his passing.
There have been three Big-Block Modified features run in 2026 with Garrett Krummert, Jeremiah Shingledecker, and Erick Rudolph all victorious. Rudolph won the "Lou Blaney Memorial" for the fourth time in the BRP Tour-sanctioned and currently leads the Series points heading into Saturday.
The Hovis Auto & Truck Supply UMP Mods will race for $1,000 to-win on both Friday and Saturday; special thanks to A&MP Electric, Holbrook Sewer & Excavating, Wedge Motorsports, and Kangaroof for their support of the UMP division in 2026. Thus far this season, there have been four different winners in five races. Eric Wilson won his first career UMP Mod race at Sharon on June 6. Ty Rhoades scored his fifth win in the division and 11th overall at the track on June 13. David Stremme topped a 43-car field on July 11 as a companion class to the World of Outlaws Late Models for his first career win at the track, worth $1,500. And most recently, Coleton Longwell has won back-to-back events- the first two of his career in the UMP division.
The RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will also run in a complete show each night paying $1,000 to-win! Special thanks to Russ King Racing, Simply Nurture Lactation & Support and Central PA Logistics LLC for their sponsorship to allow the RUSH Mods to race in a complete show on Friday night paying $1,000 to-win. The Chevrolet Performance 602 crate engine Northeast center-steer division has competed 107 times with 25 different winners in their history at Sharon, which dates back to 2014, but have yet to race in 2026. Chas Wolbert is the all-time winner with 27 victories. The top active winner at Sharon is Kole Holden, who has seven wins. Holden is currently leading RUSH's $3,500 to-win Weekly Series Championship with four victories on the circuit.
Joey McFalls of Warren Diesel Performance is presenting the "JC Boyer Crap Luck" Award on Friday night with $200 going to the recipient in both the Big-Block Modifieds and RUSH Sportsman Modifieds!
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Like the RUSH Mods, the Pro Stocks will also be making their first visit of the season this weekend. The Penn-Ohio Series event will feature a $2,000 to-win payoff on Saturday night. Alan Dellinger is the all-time winningest driver at Sharon with 66 victories. Top active winners with victories in parentheses include Steve D'Apolito (32), Paul Davis (23), Chris Schneider (20), and Curt J. Bish (14).
The IMCA RaceSaver "305" Sprint Cars will be making just their second ever appearance at Sharon. Jeremy Kornbau of nearby Hermitage, Pa., who still competes part-time in the division, was victorious in 2024. The "305" Sprints will battle for $1,000 to-win.
The Alcon Mechanical Econo Mods will be racing for a top prize of $1,500 to-win on Saturday. The division's all-time winner, Jeremy Double, started the season off winning the first three features before Jacob Eucker ended his win streak on August 29. While it was Eucker's 17th career win, it was his first in more than three years! The Econo Mods have averaged nearly 26 cars per night this season.
The Alcon Mechanical Crown Vics will be racing in their biggest event to date with $1,000 going to the victor on Saturday. The Crown Vics have had 8 different winners in their 11 events run over the past two seasons. Coleton Longwell and Brian Krepps are the only drivers with multiple wins. Steve Hull became the newest first time winner when he won the last event on August 29. The rules are available at the following link: https://www.sharonspeedway.com/downloads/get.aspx?i=1195691. For tech questions, contact Scott Stiffler at 330-978-8648.
Rounding out the eight-division program will be the Mini Stocks racing under SCDRA rules. The Mini Stocks will race for $600 to-win in their first race at Sharon since the 2017 "Apple Festival Nationals". Bill Fuchs, who now competes in the Crown Vic division, is the all-time leading feature winner in the Mini Stocks with 29.
Summit Racing Equipment will present the hard charger award on Friday night to the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds and on Saturday night to the Pro Stocks. The driver that passes the most cars in the feature will receive a $100 Summit gift card. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be the driver that finishes highest in the feature.
The complete payoffs are available at the following link: https://www.sharonspeedway.com/downloads/get.aspx?i=1269447. One-way driver radios are mandatory; channel 454.000. AMB/MyLaps transponders are required; rentals available for $25. If you have yet to register for the 2026 season, please bring the registration form completed with you: https://www.sharonspeedway.com/downloads/get.aspx?i=1006835
Fans can not only experience viewing from the frontstretch and backstretch grandstands, but also from the infield fan zone, which includes concessions and restrooms. Sharon is the only track in the area to have viewing from the unique infield perspective. There will be times throughout the night when fans can cross on the frontstretch back and forth.
The pits will be open throughout the day on both Friday and Saturday with passes going on sale at 4 p.m., while general admission opens at 5. Warmups will get underway at 6:30 p.m. for the four classes that haven't competed in 2026 with heat races to follow. Racing is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday. Grandstand/fan zone admission for those 14 and over is $20 on Friday and $25 on Saturday. Senior admission is $18 on Friday and $23 on Saturday. As always, children under 14 and parking are always FREE. Pit passes are $35 each night. For advance general admission, patio seats, and camping permits, visit: https://sharonspeedway.simpletix.com/
As a reminder, coolers nor outside food or beverages are not permitted. Sharon Speedway is a Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Friend Venue; information is available at the Kids Club site behind the main grandstand building.
The next event will be the final race of the 97th anniversary season on Saturday, October 10 featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars for $17,000 in "Sheldon's Buckeye Brawl" and the UMP Mods for $1,500 to-win. Reserved seats and advance general admission are available through the following link: https://mpv.tickets.com/?agency=WRG_SNG_MPV&orgid=52711&pid=9637143. Camping permits are available through the following link: https://www.simpletix.com/e/rv-trailer-tent-camping-tickets-252429
Sharon Speedway is owned by Dave Blaney, Ryan Blaney, and Will Thomas III and is a 3/8-mile dirt track located on Custer-Orangeville Road in Hartford, Ohio near the intersection of Routes 7 & 305. For more information, check out the website at www.sharonspeedway.com or call 330-772-5481. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharonspeedway and follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @sharonspdwy.
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