Unpredictable spring weather continues to take its toll on the short-track racing industry and that has continued into the April 26-28 weekend, with numerous events already postponed or canceled.
Forecast Forces Fremont Cancelation
Rains all day Friday and into Saturday morning, coupled with a forecast of more rain in the early evening, has prompted Fremont Speedway officials to cancel Saturday night’s event.
“The track is fine for now, but the grounds are completely saturated. And the forecast is calling for rains around 8 p.m. and throughout the evening. We don’t want to get race teams and fans here and then have rain in the middle of the program. We had hoped the forecast would change, but unfortunately it didn’t,” said Ryan Schiets, president of the Speedway Committee.
Fremont Speedway will try again Saturday, May 6.
Williams Grove Falls To Friday Rain
Friday rains have caused Williams Grove Speedway officials to cancel Friday night’s 410 sprint/URC Sprint doubleheader at the oval.
Williams Grove will return to action next Friday, May 5, with a program of 410 sprint and 358 sprint action on Shilo Paving & Excavating Night. The 410 sprints will compete in a Hoosier Diamond Series World of Outlaws Tune Up race as they prepare for an invasion by the Outlaws on May 12 and 13.
Drenched In Virginia
JAMAICA, Va. — After much discussion and thought, speedway management has decided to cancel racing activities for Saturday, April 29, due to saturated grounds.
“We have had so much rain that the grass parking areas have standing water, and it looks like a lake out there,” said track owner Bill Sawyer. “We hate to cancel an event, but there is no way to get the facility dry enough for an event, and with the chance of more thunderstorms tonight, we had no other choice but to cancel so that we could notify our competitors and fans.”
Chemung Swims
CHEMUNG, N.Y. — With practice and track rentals behind them, officials at Chemung Speedrome were ready for the 2023 season opener.
“We changed our schedule a little this year to start with three Saturday afternoon shows. Nights can get cold,” stated promoter Ray Hodge. The rainy front that moved up the coast washed away any hope of starting the year in April.
No Go For OCRS
Mother Nature strikes again!
After wet conditions forced cancellation of Friday’s AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories OCRS Sprint Car event at Tulsa Speedway on Thursday saturated grounds, and more rain on the way, has canceled Saturday’s event at Caney Valley Speedway.
ASA/CRA At Anderson Canceled
Officials with Anderson Speedway and Champion Racing Association have canceled the O’Reilly Auto Parts 125, originally scheduled for Saturday, due to weather.
Consistent inclement weather forecasts have reflected strong rain chances for Saturday afternoon and evening. In an effort to prevent unnecessary travel expenses for race teams and all parties involved, the decision to cancel the event came Friday morning.
The event will not be rescheduled.
The next event for the ASA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS is June 3 on the historic high banks of Salem Speedway.
Spring Sizzler Sinks
STAFFORD SPRINGS, Conn. — The 51st NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway has been postponed to May 12-13.
The updated schedule moves the NAPA Auto Parts Duel and American Canadian Tour 75 to an evening event Friday, May 12th with feature racing schedule for 6:45 p.m. The 51st NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler will now be held Saturday, May 13 with feature racing scheduled for 3:15 p.m.
Due to the condensed Friday May 12th evening schedule, Street Stocks and Limited Late Models will be pre-qualified for their feature and Vintage All-Stars have been moved to the NAPA Fall Final.
Attica Aced
ATTICA, Ohio — A forecast of rain throughout Friday has once again forced Attica Raceway Park officials to cancel races for Friday, April 28.
Attica will hold a special Dirt Nerds Podcast presented by Propane.com Night on Friday, May 5. The feature will pay $3,000 to win for the UMP Late Models. The Fremont Fence 305 Sprints will battle for $1,200 to win the dirt trucks will be in competition as well on Stillwater Metal/Bazell Race Fuels Night.
Talladega Thunder
EASTABOGA, Ala. — A Newsome Raceway Parts Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model Series event scheduled April 28-29 at Deep South Speedway in Loxley, Ala., has been postponed due to inclement weather.
A suitable makeup date will be discussed in the next few days, and should a potential schedule opening be found, announcements will be made.
Devil’s Bowl Drowns
MESQUITE, Texas — Saturated grounds and a forecast calling for rain on both race days has forced cancellation of this weekend’s April 28-29 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship / ASCS Elite Non-Wing Sprint Car Series events at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
The Devil’s Bowl weekend was intended to be the first visit by the USAC National Sprint Cars to Devil’s Bowl and to the Lone Star State since 1985.
USAC events at Rocket Raceway and Texarkana 67 Speedway were also washed out.
Lucas Late Models
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series has again fallen victim to Mother Nature.
Rain is forecast to move into the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday and continue through the weekend, with more than an inch of rain expected in some locations.
The $18,049-to-win Melvin L. Joseph Memorial at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway has been rescheduled to August 24 – preceding The Rumble by the River at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway.
The Conococheague 50 at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway will not be made up this season.
Sunday’s Battle in the Borough at Port Royal will also not be made up.