Lernerville set to open another, more conventional, season

Mike Lysakowski took on the duties of general manager at Sarver’s Lernerville Speedway last October, and he was able to take in several races to close out what was a season unlike any other in the new reality of the covid pandemic.

After a flurry of offseason activity, Lysakowski said the Lernerville complex and its famed oval track are ready to host racers and fans alike Friday evening.

“This is my first opening night at Lernerville Speedway, and I am so excited, and I know the fans are, too,” said Lysakowski, a New Castle native who is no stranger to the Lernerville track from his time as a young fan to later visits through work in public relations, promoting and marketing at various levels of the racing industry.

“To the fans, opening day is like a holiday. We had a practice (Test and Tune) session last Friday that went very, very well with great weather. We are reaching a crescendo of hyperactivity to get ready for Friday night. ”

The anticipation for the season, Lysakowski said, is palpable among the fans because of the uncertainty that prevailed at the start of last season when covid concerns and logistics pushed opening night to June.

The schedule was altered and races rescheduled. As the summer went on and turned to fall, fans still flocked to the track to see the best compete.

Lysakowski said the racers and others at the facility got a boost recently as the familiar oval was resurfaced with 500 tons of new clay.

“The drivers really took to the surface,” he said. “We could tell right away that it was some of the best clay we’ve received in years, and the drivers proved that in the practice session.”

Friday will be the first of several Fab4 events again this year. Fans will see their favorite drivers in the Late Models, Modifieds, Stock Car and Sprint Car divisions.

As the green flag waves Friday, weather permitting, the Sprint Car division will race for the 999th time in Lernerville history and will lead to the milestone 1,000th race, scheduled for next Friday.

“We are calling it the Lernerville Grand by Alternative Power Sources,” Lysakowski said. “There will be a $1,000 bonus added to the normal pay for the winner on that particular night. We are having T-shirts printed up with the names of all of the 148 Sprint Car winners in Lernerville history. If someone new wins the 999th, we still will have time to add their name to the T-shirt. It’s so exciting to be here for such a moment.

“I’ve reached out to a number of the drivers who have been retired for several years and have encouraged them to come out and be our guests on that night, to be in victory lane with the winner and be here for an autograph session. The hope would be for younger fans to get to meet some of those drivers on that winner’s list.”

Lysakowski said something new to the schedule is three Test and Tune sessions set for the first Tuesdays of June, July and August.

“They will all work the same, with spectators invited to come free of charge,” he said. “On those Tuesdays, we will run mini stocks.”

The schedule again will feature several special nights of racing, including the Tony Stewart All-Stars Sprints (April 30), the Summer Vacation bus and kids bike races (June 5), Fan Appreciation Night (June 11), the Mid-Season Championship (June 18) and the annual World of Outlaws Late Model Series Firecracker 100 (June 24-26).

The Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup returns July 20 followed by the Sprint Car Spectacular (Aug. 27), the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars Commonwealth Clash (Sept. 25) and the season-ending Steel City Stampede (Oct. 14-16).

Information on the season schedule, drivers and updates to the weekly racing events are at Lernerville.com, at Facebook.com/Lernerville or on Twitter at twitter.com/Lernerville.

“We are all excited to get the season started,” Lernerville track announcer Eric Westendorf said.

“My catch phrase, and maybe I should get it trademarked, is that we provide ‘Dirt Therapy.’ This year has been pretty tough for a lot of people for a lot of reasons. To be able to provide a fun form of escape for four or five hours at the racetrack with family of friends, it’s pretty special.”