MINERSVILLE, PA-The high flying 360 cubic inch sprint cars of the United Racing Club make their first and only appearance of 2023 at Big Diamond Speedway this Friday night, May 19th. The URC Sprint club has a long and storied history which includes some memorable races at the Schuylkill Valley dirt oval. The URC schedule got off to a slow start in 2023 with two out of the first three races cancelled due to rain. Last weekend, the traveling series finally was able to get a scheduled race in with Jason Schultz going to victory lane.
Friday night will be the 33rd time URC has made a visit to Big Diamond Speedway. Last season saw frequent URC racer Mark Smith go to victory lane on two occasions. Smith has made the most out of his visits to Big Diamond with four total wins (3 URC, 1 410) and loves running at Big Diamond when he has the chance. Two-time defending URC champion Jason Schultz will be in attendance looking for his first ever Big Diamond win along with a host of others who follow the URC schedule.
Last Friday night saw Brett Kressley wheel his No. 19K to victory for the first time this season in the Quandel Concrete Modified division. Kressley has been fast all season long and will look to continue his winning ways on Friday. Rick Laubach and Ryan Watt had their best races of the year last Friday night finishing second and third respectively and look to build off of their strong finishes. Louden Reimert is the driver that sits atop the Quandel Concrete points standings by four points over a fast-closing Brett Kressley. Jeff Strunk, Craig Von Dohren and Mike Gular make up the remainder of the top five in points.
The ultra-competitive USS Achey Crate 602 Sportsman division are back in action on Friday with points leader Brandon Edgar still looking to visit victory lane for the first time in 2023. Edgar has been fast and consistent but has not been able to win. Could Friday night be that night. If so, he will have to fight off the competition which include but not limited to Jordan Henn, Nick Desantis, Logan Watt, Kevin Olenick and a host of others in the close racing that the Crates provide.
In the Big Creek Concrete Crate Rookie class, the drivers are improving each week and last week’s race between winner Brennan Chapman and Jax Yohn was a rookie classic with Chapman holding off Yohn for the win. Opening night winner Bryce Bashore has had some recent bad luck but look for the young driver to bounce back quickly. Other drivers showing improvement each week are Alex Bartorillo, Danica Getz and Brady Shea.
Alex Schoffstall returned in a big way on Friday night with a win taking the lead from rival Chuck Fayash before Fayash dropped out in the Red White and Blue Autos Roadrunner division. Schoffstall has won three out of the five races run so far this season and will be looking to win number four on Friday.
Pit gates will open Friday night at 5:00 PM with the Grandstand gate opening at 5:30 PM
Pit passes are $35 for Big Diamond Speedway members. Non-member pit passes are $45.
Hot laps will get underway at 7:15 PM with racing starting at 7:45 PM
General admission is $25, Senior admission is $23, Kids under 16 are free. Active military are admitted free with a valid ID.
If you cannot attend in person, Dirt Track Digest TV will have all the action live via Pay-Per-View.
For the full schedule, rules and speedway forms along with any other information regarding Big Diamond Speedway, please visit the track website at www.bigdspeedway.net
