Rain forces Lernerville Speedway to cancel event celebrating 1,000th sprint car race

At event at Lernerville Speedway meant to celebrate the track’s 1,000th sprint car race on Friday was canceled due to inclement weather.

With an event dubbed Lernerville Grand, the speedway was set to host its 1,000th sprint car race. The event was planning to feature the All Star Circuit of Champions, a national touring group that visits the Buffalo Township racetrack once a year.

On Friday, the speedway announced they were cancelling the event due to inclement weather, as unexpected heavy downpours and cold temperatures hampered their plans.

The speedway was working with the All Star Circuit of Champions to find a potential make-up date for the speedway’s mile-stone event.

“It’s really a testament to how consistently Lernerville Speedway has been able to provide this form of family sports entertainment every Friday night,” general manager Mike Lysakowski said. “I think more important than the milestone is the legacy of Lernerville Speedway.”

The track’s Friday night events typically involve different types of races, but the Lernerville Grand lineup is dedicated solely to sprint cars.

In addition to standard sprint car races, there will be races for limited sprint cars and non-winged sprint cars. Limited sprint cars have lower powered engines, allowing young drivers to develop skills — “the minor league of the sprint car world,” as Lysakowski described it. The non-winged sprint cars, he said, are “sort of a throwback.”

Several former champions planned to be in attendance to sign autographs and pose for photos in victory lane with the winner of the 1,000th race. They also designed shirts with the names of the 146 drivers who have won sprint car races at the track.

Lernerville Speedway opened in 1968, when Don Martin built the track at the former site of a small amusement park called Lernerville. Sprint car races have been a staple at the track ever since.

“Sprint cars have always been pretty much the highlight of the show for a lot of race fans,” Lysakowski said.

Friday’s event is particularly special for Sye Lynch, a third-generation race car driver who will be racing on the track for the 1,000th sprint car race. Both of Lynch’s grandfathers raced, along with his father and uncle. His grandmother helped found the All Star Circuit of Champions, the national group coming to Lernerville on Friday.

“Lernerville has had such a strong history in my family tree,” he said. “A lot of our memories and history come from that.”

After first going to Lernerville Speedway at 2 weeks old to watch his father race, Lynch is now in his fifth season driving there himself.

He won the speedway’s 999th sprint car race last week.

“To be able to be on the track and compete for the 1,000th is pretty special,” he said.

The Lernerville Grand event also will be special for many fans, Lynch said.

“The track has a lot of history and for the fans, whenever covid hit and concerts were taken away and everything was restricted, we were still able to race,” he said. “I think that really helped, because it gave people the chance to come out.”

The track did operate with covid-19 restrictions last year, Lysakowski said, but this year, those restrictions have loosened. Masks are still required for entry, but the speedway is open at full capacity, he said.

Maximum capacity is 11,000 people, Lysakowski said. He said it is possible the Lernerville Grand event draws a crowd close to that number.

Tickets for the event cost $25 for adults and $15 for students. They can be purchased online or at the gates.

Gates open at 5 p.m., with the races slated to start at 7:30 p.m. The All Star Circuit of Champions racers will drive qualifying laps individually beginning around 7 p.m.