NASCAR aces to visit Speedway

Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer will join Dave Blaney on Tuesday.

HARTFORD — For the first time in Sharon Speedway’s history, a $5,000 to win open sprint car race will take center stage on the speedway’s 3/8-mile dirt oval.

That race will be on Tuesday when NASCAR drivers also are slated to lap the track against the area’s best e-mod drivers in a $1,000 to win e-mod race.

Joining Sharon Speedway co-owner Dave Blaney will be Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. 

Howard Fraley and Alan Dellinger have been the men to beat this season in the e-mod class at Sharon Speedway.

The tri-state area’s best 410 sprint car drivers will hit the Hartford dirt for a 50-lap feature.

Sprint drivers

Ed Lynch, Jr. and Bob Felmlee have been the hottest sprint drivers at Sharon Speedway this season.

Howard Fraley and Alan Dellinger have been the men to beat this season in the e-mod class at Sharon Speedway.

Blaney, who pilots the No. 22 Caterpillar Toyota in NASCAR’s premier division, is a seasoned veteran on the dirt.

Blaney won the World of Outlaws Sprint Series championship in 1995, the 1997 Knoxville Nationals and has 70 career A-Main victories with the Outlaws, placing him sixth on the all-time win list.

Old dirt racer

Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet and 2007 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard winner, is very familiar with the ranks of dirt racing.

He has four United States Auto Club (USAC) championships to his credit, including the 1995 USAC Triple Crown title (sprints, midgets and sliver crown).

Stewart also owns Eldora Speedway and dirt racing teams in the World of Outlaws and USAC.

Bowyer, who hails from Emporia, Kan., grew up in the ranks of dirt racing. He has a host of dirt track championships under his belt, including modified crowns at Thunderhill Speedway (Mayetta, Kan.) in 2000 and Lakeside Speedway (Kansas) in 2001.

Bowyer, who currently drives the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, will be making his first visit to Sharon Speedway.

Limited dirt experience

Harvick, who won the 2007 Daytona 500, will be taking his own e-mod onto the Hartford dirt for the first time. He has limited dirt experience, which began two seasons ago at Eldora Speedway.

An autograph session involving a lottery process is set. Fans will receive a lottery scratch off ticket upon entering the track.

If the letter on that ticket matches one of the drivers, that fan will be able to receive an autograph from that driver.

The session will take place at 6 p.m. in the FANtastic Zone. No scratch off tickets will be handed out once the autograph session begins.

Gates open at 4 p.m.

Tickets for the NASCAR Duel on the Sharon Speedway Dirt cost $25 for adults and $5 for kids (age 2-13), with reserved seats $2 more. Pit passes are available for $30.

To order tickets, fans can log on to www.sharonspeedway.com or call (330) 772-1186. Online orders must be placed by Sunday at midnight.