6/21/2016
Lernerville Speedway
Miley, Pegher and King set to defend Action Track for Firecracker 100!
Jared Miley looks to seal the deal in 10th Annual Firecracker 100
Pegher & King are locked into the A-Main, Ferree getting dialed in!
Sarver, PA (June 20, 2016) A milestone is upon us, as the 10th Annual Firecracker 100 presented by www.GottaRace.com is just days away; scheduled for this Thursday-Friday-Saturday, June 23-24-25. In the 9th Annual race, contested last September after being postponed in June, local driver Jared Miley nearly became the first local driver to upset the national field of drivers including the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series contingent.
Miley led the way for the first 63 laps before giving way to Outlaws regular and fan favorite Rick Eckert. Miley was looking to become the first local Late Model driver to defend the Action Track in the Firecracker 100 as Ed Lynch Jr., Tim Shaffer and Dale Blaney have done against the sprint car version of the World of Outlaws in the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup.
Miley has made just two visits to Lernerville in 2016, as hes been focusing more on regional races this season, but he already has a feature and a heat race win at the Action Track and the H1 team will bring their A-game next weekend.
"The Firecracker 100 is probably the biggest weekend of the year for us, not only in terms of payout and level of competition, but in terms of where it is located,? stated Miley. Â Â He continued, œWe've been calling Lernerville "home" for a long time and we spend a lot of Friday nights there. A lot of our fans and sponsors are located right in Western Pennsylvania and visit us at Lernerville regularly. That makes things extra special for us. It's fun to meet with fans and race in front of those who support us. We try to go out and travel some whenever we can, but we always make time to come back."
When asked about last years Firecracker 100 A-Main, Miley expressed that, "winning a Lernerville track championship stands out as one of our more special accomplishments. There's always been a stout field of cars that commit to that track weekly. To come out on top says a lot about our program. Having that track championship, and racing at Lernerville on a near weekly basis since, kinda puts a little extra pressure on your back when a national tour comes through. You want to race well at your home track and try to beat the Outlaws when they are in town. We heard a lot of cheers last year after our Firecracker 100 finish. That's a feeling you can never replace. I'm excited to get back; we're all excited to get back."
Mike Pegher Jr. and Russ King are locked into Saturday Nights $30,000-to-win, 100-lap Firecracker A-Main by virtue of track provisionals. Pegher punched his ticket by winning the Precise Racing Products DIRTcar Late Model Mid-Season Championship last Friday Night and is primed to improve his career best Firecracker finish of 24th in 2014.
Russ King, a former touring regular with the World of Outlaws, sits atop the Fab4 Fueled by Turners Point Standings as the Firecracker 100 weekend fast approaches. In addition to winning the Precise Racing Products DIRTcar Late Model feature on Opening Night, King has three runner-up finishes and four heat race wins already this season. King is also a two-time winner of the $3,000-to-win Uncle Sam 30 non-qualifiers race and has stated in the past that winning the Uncle Sam isnt necessarily a worse fate than running in the middle or back of the 100-lap A-Main. But Kings experience on the road and being a weekly favorite at Lernerville, makes him a perfect candidate along with Jared Miley to thrill the home crowd fans with a Firecracker 100 victory. Kings best Firecracker to date was a 16th place finish in 2009; a mark thats sure to improve next weekend!
During the 10-year span since the inception of the Firecracker 100, no Late Model driver has won more Lernerville features that Alex Ferree. Including back-to-back wins the past two weeks, Ferree has won over 30 features at the Action Track the past 10 years, but until last years 12th place finish, he has not found much success in the Firecracker 100. But Ferree appears to be peaking at the right time and could be a force to reckon with once the best Late Models on the planet roll into town next weekend.
Young local driver Michael Norris and Michael Lake will also be ready to defend their home turf along with veterans Matt Lux, Dave Hess Jr., Ken Schaltenbrand, Gary Lyle, Dan Swartzlander, Dan Angelicchio and others!
In addition to the three complete shows of on-track racing action, there will be a wide variety of off-track entertainment and interactive fan activities, starting with the Froggy Hometown Country Tour Thursday night after the races featuring Farewell Angelina with hometown acts Gabby Barrett and Michael Christopher.
Fridays activities begin at 1:00PM with the Firecracker 100 Kick-It Cup charity kickball game featuring dozens of drivers and a benefit auction. After Fridays racing action The Justin Fabus Band will rock the Firecracker stage along with special guest Jessi Boldy and Coaltown.
Saturday afternoon is chock full of fan-interactive activities starting with the fan/driver horseshoe and cornhole tournaments at 12:00, followed by the always popular driver autograph session at 4:00.
The $69 Advance Reserved ticket package is available online at Lernerville.com through Wednesday at 11:59PM. The $69 three-day package includes FREE fan pit pass upgrades for Thursday and Friday Night preliminaries and priority access to the driver autograph session. There is also a wide array of single, two and three-day œday of show? ticket options available at the gates upon arrival.
Contact: Lernerville Speedway
Eric J. Westendorf, Public Relations Director
(724) 664-1075 / ewestendorf@dirtcar.com
Photos Courtesy of John Stivason/Stivason Photos
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