Big events litter the central Pennsylvania Sprint Car calendar. Jam-packed is an underused way to describe the sport’s premier area for racing.
Along with the increased number of one and two-day extravaganzas and sanctioned shows, Pennsylvania Speedweek has also seen growth. It’s become one of the most anticipated weeks of the year and gives the locals a chance to compete for big money.
Purses seem to be increasing across the board heading into next season, especially at the national level. Pennsylvania Speedweek is joining that list, as every show in the 2024 edition of the 10-race series will pay a minimum of $10,000 to the winner.
“I think the tracks just wanted to get behind Speedweek to support it a little more and offer what we think is a pretty attractive package for the 10-race series,” said Alan Kreitzer, organizer of Pennsylvania Speedweek.
“It’s nice that all the tracks worked together to present this, and I think it worked out really well. We are certainly excited about 2024.”
The drivers and teams who are competing should also feel pretty good about it. The total amount of winner’s checks this year will top out at $125,000.
Lincoln Speedway has propped up the second night of the series in a big way. The management team has decided to pay a $25,000 first-place check for the winner of the 25th annual Kevin Gobrecht Memorial. Five days later, Williams Grove will hold the prestigious $20,000-to-win Mitch Smith Memorial.
The week kicks off on June 28 at Williams Grove before Lincoln takes centerstage with the Gobrecht. BAPS Motor Speedway, Lincoln, Grandview, Port Royal, and Hagerstown Speedway follow with $10,000-to-win shows. The Grove is back with a biggie on Friday, before Port Royal and Selinsgrove complete the grueling swing.
“My personal goal was always to do a $10,000-to-win series,” Kreitzer said. “So, I’m very happy about the prospects we have for the 2024 series. It’s really come a long way since we started this thing in 1991.”
The first Pennsylvania Speedweek was five races strong at three different tracks. Since then, it has been held at 10 different speedways and exploded to what it is today, which is a 10-race series at seven different tracks.
As Speedweek has grown, it’s drawn its share of invaders looking to steal a nice payday. With this increase, you could see more travelers making the trek to the Keystone State at different times during the 10-race stretch.
“It’s certainly attractive to run a 10-race series where you can stay around the Carlisle-Harrisburg area and not have more than a 100-mile tow in any direction,” Kreitzer said.
“The total winner’s share alone is like $125,000, and we are working on some things as far as sponsors for the point fund. So, I think it’s attractive, and we are pretty pleased to be able to put this together for the teams.”