MINERSVILLE, PA-Coalcracker Weekend begins this Friday night September 1st at Big Diamond Speedway with Championship Night presented by No Sweat Industrial Solutions. Championships in all three divisions are on the line as the 2023 season winds down.
The Quandel Concrete 358 Modifieds division currently shows Brett Kressley atop the championship standings with a 60-point lead over 2020 champion Mike Gular. Kressley is looking for his first ever modified title at Big Diamond. Last season Kressley and Duane Howard battled to the wire with Howard getting the upper hand to win the 2022 championship. You can expect Kressley to be on his game to not let the same scenario play out again this season. Should both Kressley and Gular falter, Jeff Strunk will be ready to pounce and put his name at the top of the list. Louden Reimert and the 2022 champion Howard round out the current top five in the standings.
The race for the championship is even tighter in the USS Achey, Inc Crate 602 Sportsman division. Jordan Henn is the leader in the clubhouse with a 44-point lead in the standings over the hard charging Danny Buccafusca. Buccafusca affectionately referred to as the Rockaway Rocket has been on fire as of late making a charge to the top of the hill. Lurking just behind in third place is the teenager Logan Watt only 105 points out of the lead. This battle could easily come down to the last lap of the feature to determine the 2023 champion. The always steady Kevin Olenick and Brandon Edgar round out the top five in points.
Chuck Fayash is the points leader in the Red White and Blue Autos Roadrunner class. Fayash looked to have an insurmountable lead at one point in his quest for the 2023 title, but the recent surge of Kris Ney has cut his once big lead to 69 points as they race into championship night where anything can happen.
Friday night will be the last race of 2023 for the Big Creek Concrete Crate Rookie division. This division has done exactly what it was intended to do as rookie winners Jax Yohn, Brennan Chapman, Alex Bartorillo and Bryce Bashore have all moved up to the regular Crate division and have done well in their outings. Ken Bruce of Bill Brown & Company and DirtTrackDigest.com will add $75 to the winner’s share of the purse in recognition of the great racing this division has shown all year.
Of course, when all is done on Championship Friday, it will be the Jack Rich, Inc. Coalcracker 72 on Sunday, September 3rd which will be the culmination of the 2023 Big Diamond season.
Information and pricing for Championship Friday:
Pit gates will open at 5:00 PM, Grandstand gates will open at 5:30 PM
Warmups will get underway at 7:15 PM with racing to follow.
Pit admission is $35 with Big Diamond license, $45 without.
General admission for this Friday is $20, Kids 16 and under are free.
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.