9/13/2024
Lernerville Speedway
Commonwealth Clash Preview-Can Abreu Be Stopped; Thornton Jr. Makes First Winged 410 Start;
Sarver, PA (September, 12, 2024) The richest Sprint Car weekend in Lernerville Speedway history gets underway on Friday, September 13 as the High Limit Sprint Car Series presented by Kubota invades The Action Track for the first two day Commonwealth Clash event in speedway history as well. There will be $10,000 on the line for the winner of Friday's preliminary night and $50,000 awaiting the winner of the Clash finale on Saturday, September 14. The stars of the High Limit Series will be looking to extract ever penny of the winner's shares and will have some high quality cars to contend with coming from not only the Knoxville, IA area but Central, PA and California who might not follow the tour per se, but have grown accustomed to following the money as the summer draws to a close and the trail of cash moves to the east.
The weekend's field could and very well may top 50 cars as the best Sprint Car pilots in the country call The Action Track home for 48 hours.
Can Abreu Be Stopped?
He may not be sitting atop the points at the moment, but Rico Abreu as already had a season to remember in 2024. Coming off a huge win in the Tuscarora 50 and another recent victory at the Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals where he drove away with over $100,000 in winnings, Abreu finds himself atop the current earnings list with over $410,000 accumulated thus far. Abreu was the winner his last time at The Action Track when the High Limit Series invaded for the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup, scoring $25,000 in the process back on July 23. Abreu has a fast car and a hot hand coming into the weekend and along with Brad Sweet have to be considered the two favorites to win the $50,000 on Saturday night.
High Limit Standings
Through this point in the 2024 season, Brad Sweet has been the man to beat in terms of overall performance race in and race out. In 43 series events thus far, the former four time World of Outlaws champion has accumulated 7 wins, 31 top 5's and 37 top 10's, putting himself in a lock tight lead with a 230 point advantage over second running Abreu. Here's a look at the current standings.
- Brad Sweet- 2624
- Rico Abreu- 2394
- Tyler Courtney- 2354
- Brent Marks- 2237
- Corey Day- 2184
- Justin Peck- 2172
- James McFadden- 2128
- Parker Price Miller- 2010
- Spencer Bayston- 1970
- Cory Eliason- 1884
Thornton Jr. Makes First Winged 410 Sprint Start
He's won two Firecracker 100 features in his career and was on the verge of a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship in 2023. He's also been a regular winner in the IMCA Modified and and Stock Car divisions for years before making the transition to Super Late Models on a full time basis several years ago. And, this weekend, the most versatile driver on dirt makes his first appearance behind the wheel of a Winged 410 Sprint Car. Chandler, Arizona native Ricky Thornton Jr. announced on Thursday afternoon that he would be making his sprint car debut behind the wheel of the Indy Race Parts #71 entry for owner Bernie Stuebgen.
"I'm excited. Obviously it's something I've always wanted to do, just never really had the right opportunity to," Thornton told FloRacing. "To be hooked up with Bernie and Indy Race Parts, I think it's the best opportunity I'm going to get. Hopefully we can go out and have a really good weekend."
Tickets and Times
Friday, September 13
Pits open 2 PM
Grandstands open 4 PM
Hot Laps 6:30 PM followed by qualifying, opening ceremonies and racing.
General admission $35
Children 10 and under are admitted FREE in the general admission areas.
No reserved tickets available for Friday only
Two day reserved $85
Two day general admission $75
Two day pit pass $90
Friday only pits $45
Saturday, September 14
Pits Open 3 PM
Grandstands Open 3 PM
Hot Laps 6:30 PM followed by qualifying, opening ceremonies and racing.
Reserved tickets (available on Saturday online at Lernerville.com) $45
General admission $40
Children 10 and under are admitted free in the general admission areas.
Pits $50
Submitted By: Gary Heeman
