Dale Blaney wins Ohio Speedweek

The victory was Blaney’s second straight in Speedweek action at Sharon Speedway

Staff report

Hartford

Dale Blaney passed Tim Shaffer on lap 14 and held off hard-charging Sam Hafertepe Jr. to capture the Ohio Speedweek for the O’Reilly Auto Parts All-Star Circuit of Champions race at Sharon Speedway on Wednesday.

The victory was Blaney’s second straight in Speedweek action after dominating Saturday’s event at K-C Raceway, and was his 80th career All Star win.

Forty-five drivers, including NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kasey Kahne were on hand for the first Sprint Car race of 2011 at Sharon Speedway.

“It was really hard to pass lapped cars,” said Blaney. “You got to their dust and spun a little bit. Tim [Shaffer] and I talked before the race and I don’t think he wanted to lead, and I didn’t want to lead. It was a good race, but it kind of slipped our way. I started running the bottom where he wasn’t and it worked out. To pass him you have to be awfully good.”

Blaney started on the pole, but Shaffer grabbed the early lead from the outside. “It’s always fun to come here,” said Blaney. “I’ve had a lot of good memories here. This is the first race I’ve won here in awhile, but hopefully we can win another one in a couple weeks [Lou Blaney Memorial on July 12]. That would be real special.”

Sharon will return to action with a doubleheader weekend. Tonight is “Friday Night Thunder” and Saturday it’s the inaugural Gary Knollinger Memorial for the FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series.