The local racing scene has been strong this spring. There is so much going. It all leads up to the "heat of the summer" racing action at area tracks. The Sportsdrome Speedway cranks it back up after taking the weekend off due to the Kentucky Derby. Most regular divisions are competing. The Salem Speedway's next mega race is June 3: A CRA Saturday! Prior to that, a fun Drifting event is scheduled. Of course, mother nature can play games with racing and force events to be re-scheduled. Check track social media for last minute changes. And that includes the Ohio Valley Dragway. It is a 1/8th mile track about 25 minutes from Louisville along Dixie Highway in West Point, Kentucky. The Ponderosa Speedway is another great track. The short Bullring is in central Kentucky at Junction City near Danville (About an hour and fifteen minutes southeast of Louisville). Drive south to Bowling Green (KY) and you'll enjoy Beech Bend. There is an amusement park, camping, and racing. The Beech Bend dragstrip brings in the fans and has a wide range of events. By the way when you go to local tracks, there is a good chance you'll see a Lucas Oil logo somewhere!
The Track Too Tough To Tame is this weekend. It is a Throwback weekend at Darlington for the stars of NASCAR. It is always fun to see the old paint schemes of past racing generations. What a great finish this past weekend at Kansas. As Kyle Larson battled and bumped with Denny Hamlin the last 25 laps. Hamlin narrowly got the win after handling with Larson's car got loose. It was Hamlin's first win of the year and the 400th for his boss, Joe Gibbs. No doubt NASCAR spoke to both Cup drivers Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson after the Kansas race. They two exchanged a few blows and pushing after the race. They were out of the cars, in the pits. Crew members and other officials had to pull them apart. Both have strong personalities, and seemingly have some issues with one another.
A reminder, this summer many people will enjoy the outdoors. We urge you to look around. Think about the non-stop work our farmers and ranchers are doing. Protect the Harvest supports them. It is a Lucas Oil backed initiative. Learn more at: www.protecttheharvest.com
Memorial Day weekend will attract thousands of fans to Indianapolis (Indy Car) and Charlotte (NASCAR) for the mega holiday weekend festivities. Prior to both events, it will be standing room only as the stars of NASCAR return to North Wilkesboro. The short historic track and hour-and-a-half north of Charlotte will host the NASCAR All-Star Race. Jeff Gordan won the last Cup race there in 1996. Scores of people in North Wilkesboro, state officials, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and others all helped bring North Wilkesboro back to life!
The Indy Car Series will be busy this month. And front and center is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The GMR Grand Prix is this weekend. It's run on the 2.4 mile and fourteen-turn road course. It includes portions of Turns 1 and 2 and the front straightaway of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. After that, Indy 500 qualifying and other activities at the historic track, all leading up the the great Memorial Day weekend!
It's been a action packed year for the NHRA. The competition and speed, incredible. The next stop the NHRA is in Elwood, Illinois on May 19 for a three day weekend in the Route 66 Nationals. Our sponsor, Lucas Oil is a longtime supporter of the NHRA. You can watch the excitement of the NHRA on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2. At the last event in Charlotte, teammates Austin Prock and Robert Hight scored victories. Also Deric Kramer and Gaige Herrera secured wins. If 3 NASCAR Cup titles isn't enough, we'll remind fans one more time, Tony Stewart continues to amaze. He's a NHRA owner and this year, a full time dragster. At Vegas a few weeks ago, Stewart won for the first time in a NHRA Top Fuel Alcohol dragster. Smoke loves competition. Expect more wins for him.
We've told you Lucas Oil has been a longtime sponsor of Kentuckiana Motorsports, and we're thankful. Spring is here and soon the heat of the summer will be upon us! Be sure when taking spring and summer trips to put some Lucas Oil in your car! It Works! Our other sponsors include PNC Bank (Sponsor of Scott Dixon's Indy Car Series Car), Sportsdrome Speedway (Celebrating more than 77 years of Racing!), locally owned Bright Pest Control and Bright Retail in Louisville, (Offering Do-It-Yourself Professional Pest Products with a retail store), and Knox Ford in Radcliff, Kentucky) (It also has a sister dealership, Tri-County Ford in Oldham County, KY). KMS friends also include: VoiceTel Kentucky (Offering telephone service for $25.00 a line, and that includes all taxes and fees), Temco Roofing, Jim Ellis/Attorney At Law, ICA Dumpsters, Kentucky Raceway Ministries, Nimlok Kentucky, Dynamic Healthcare, Lyndon Mower Repair, and Kentucky Medicare Plans (Serving Kentucky and Southern Indiana with Health and Medicare plans). We also thank our media connections in all series, NASCAR and with NASCAR Media, Indy Car, Monster Jam, ARCA, and NHRA for helping us bring the sport to the fans!
