Storylines: 500 Sprint Car Tour Travels into Buckeye Country

Storylines: 500 Sprint Car Tour Travels into Buckeye Country

The 500 Sprint Car Tour enters uncharted territory?

Known for winged sprint car racing and super modified competition, fans at Lorain Raceway Park will get a dose of non-wing racing for the first time since 2017. The 500 Sprint Car Tour presented by Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores has played a pivotal role in the rebirth of non-wing pavement sprint car racing. Stemming from the annual Little 500 Classic, the 500 Sprint Car Tour travels across the midwest with one goal in mind, promoting non-wing pavement sprint cars. Now, the series heads to Northeast Ohio and Lorain Raceway Park where fans have not seen the likes of this style of racing in six years.

Donnie Adams Jr. jumps back in for the final three events of 2023.

After taking a hiatus from competition, Donnie Adams Jr. will climb back into his sprint car for the final three events of 2023, beginning at Lorain Raceway Park this weekend. Fans will most notably remember Adams from his long Little 500 career. He amassed 12 starts between 2005 and 2019. He won pole position in 2007 and has one top five finish and two top 10 finishes with 2,633 laps completed. Adams has not competed since 2019 and will look to knock the rust off early in his return to racing. Can the wily veteran make some noise in the final three races of 2023 and return to victory lane?

Does Santos get his first win of the season? 

Arguably the most experienced full time driver in the field when it comes to competing at Lorain Raceway Park is Bobby Santos III. Especially when it comes in a non-wing sprint car. Santos III currently hold the track record for non-wing sprint cars around Lorain’s ⅜ mile oval. He also went to victory lane at Lorain earlier in 2023 with Must See Racing in a winged sprint car. Can Santos III get over the hump and claim his first 500 Sprint Car Tour win of 2023?

Lorain investing in the future race fans

A new promotion at Lorain Raceway Park will move into effect this Saturday, September 9th as they will extend the age limit on kids tickets from 12 years old to 15 years old. Kids aged 15 and under will now gain admission to the event for FREE. The track hopes to move this promotion into permanent effect beginning in 2024.

Can teams draw similarity with other race 500 Sprint Car Tour race tracks?

With a lot of unknowns going into Lorain, drivers are looking to similar tracks to find setups and advantages. The majority of drivers are looking at one track in particular that the series visits on a regular basis, Berlin Raceway. If Lorain does in fact race similar to Berlin Raceway, the Tyler Roahrig will surely be an early favorite ahead of the event. Roahrig has dominated at Berlin since the series began racing there in 2022. Winning four straight events there, and doing so in dominating fashion, Roahrig is primed to repeat that dominance at a track that races in similar form.

Local sprint car competitor takes off wing for first 500 SCT start.

Todd Mcquillen may not be a household name in 500 Sprint Car Tour circles, but that could change after Saturday night’s inaugural appearance at Lorain Raceway Park. The Mansfield, Ohio resident is one of only two Ohio entrants in Saturday’s event. McQuillen doesn’t have a lot of laps in a non-winged pavement sprint car. But what he does have is a lot of laps at Lorain Raceway Park. In fact, he and Bobby Santos III are the only two drivers entered in Saturday’s event who competed at the last non-winged event at Lorain in 2017.

Does Billy Wease get on a roll?

Two drivers have already seen victory lane on multiple occasions in 2023. Only one of those, Kody Swanson, won in back to back races. Billy Wease now can become the third driver to win multiple times and be the second to win back to back. After going to victory lane at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on July 29th, Wease enters this weekend with confidence and momentum. Many drivers believe Lorain will race similar to Berlin Raceway, a track Wease has competed well at. Can he get on a roll late and make some noise in the 2023 championship?

-Jack Kessler Photography