[AndersonSpeedway]

Anderson, Indiana: 500 Sprint Car Tour officials are excited to announce the schedule for the 2024 500 Sprint Car Tour racing season.

The ten race schedule will include nine points earning events and one special event, the 76th Annual Little 500. Special events do not count toward the season-long points championship.

2024 Printable Schedule

“We are excited to kick off our third season of competition,” said Jared Owen - 500 Sprint Car Tour, Series Director. “The 2024 season will look both familiar and different to our fans and competitors. It was important to us to maintain a level of familiarity, but also bring in new challenges as well. We feel as though this schedule gives us that perfect mixture and we are very excited for the 2024 season.”

Tour Staples Return
Anderson Speedway will remain a staple on the 500 Sprint Car Tour schedule with four events in 2024 including the Little 500. The 24th Running of the Glen Niebel Classic will take place on April 6th as a tune up event for the 76th Annual Little 500. The series will then return to Anderson on July 13th and October 5th for the 3rd Annual Gene Nolen Classic and the 9th Annual Tony Elliott Classic. Each of the four races contested at Anderson Speedway in 2024 saw a different winner as Kyle O’Gara went to victory in the Glen Niebel Classic, Kody Swanson won the Gene Nolen Classic, Dakoda Armstrong claimed his first victory in the Tony Elliott Classic, and rookie competitor Jake Trainor outlasted the rest to become the first rookie winner since 1981 to win the Little 500 Sprint Car Classic.

Fans of the series will see three tracks from 2023, outside of Anderson, return to the 2024 schedule. The series will travel to Berlin Raceway on June 8th and once again on August 24th. The series had traditionally competed at Berlin on two separate occasions in each of the last two seasons and will continue that tradition in the 2024 season. Toledo Speedway and Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will both see the 500 Sprint Car Tour return to their facilities on June 28th and October 19th respectively. IRP will once again play host to the final chapter of the 2024 season as the series will crown the Season Champion at the historic Indiana oval.

New Venues Added for 2024
Two new facilities have been added to the 2024 schedule that the 500 Sprint Car Tour has not yet visited. The first will be a trip to Kalamazoo Speedway in Kalamazoo, Michigan as part of a double header weekend with Berlin Raceway. The second will be the highly anticipated return of non wing pavement sprint cars to the high banked Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana.
A Michigan Double Header weekend will see the competitors of the 500 Sprint Car Tour compete on Back-to-Back nights at Kalamazoo Speedway and Berlin Raceway in late August. The trip to Kalamazoo will be the first for the 500 Sprint Car Tour, which has a large fan base in Michigan. The track, known as the “Fastest ⅜ Mile Oval in the World”, was founded in 1950 and has played host to numerous premier racing events in their lifetime.

A much anticipated return on non wing pavement sprint cars to the high banks of Salem Speedway has come into fruition as the 500 Sprint Car Tour will bring the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial back to the historic southern Indiana track. Salem Speedway has undergone major improvements since the last time the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial was completed there. Some of the improvements include new safety lights around the track, a new scoreboard, as well as major improvements to the racing surface and the track lighting. Salem’s continued commitment to not only non-wing pavement sprint car racing, but to preserving the history of their facility, has driven the desire of fans and drivers alike to return to the daunting oval. The JJ/PO Memorial is set to be held at Salem Speedway for the first time since 2020.

Continued Focus on Growing the Sport
The United States Speed Association - Mel Kenyon Midget Series will accompany the 500 Sprint Car Tour at seven races in 2024. They will join the tour at Anderson Speedway, Berlin Raceway, Salem Speedway, and Kalamazoo Speedway. The 500 Sprint Car Tour will continue to partner with the series as a training ground for future sprint car teams and drivers.

For More Information visit: 500sprintcartour.com and be sure to follow on social media (Facebook: 500 Sprint Car Tour | Twitter (X): @500SprintTour | Instagram: @500sprintcartour).

2024 500 Sprint Car Tour Schedule:
April 6 - Anderson Speedway | Anderson, Indiana | 24th Running of the Glen Niebel Classic
May 22-25 - Anderson Speedway | Anderson, Indiana | 76th Annual Little 500
June 8 - Berlin Raceway | Marne, Michigan
June 28 - Toledo Speedway | Toledo, Ohio
July 13 - Anderson Speedway | Anderson, Indiana | 3rd Annual Gene Nolen Classic
August 23 - Kalamazoo Speedway | Kalamazoo, Michigan
August 24 - Berlin Raceway | Marne, Michigan
September 7 - Salem Speedway | Salem, Indiana | 65th Running of the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial
October 5 - Anderson Speedway | Anderson, Indiana | 9th Annual Tony Elliott Classic
October 19 - Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, Indiana | Championship Saturday

[DJlives]

Fantastic. I appreciate all the effort to make this happen

[mc/rider]

Winchester is in that neighborhood. Is there a particular reason their not on the schedule?

[hoosier race fan]

Originally Posted by mc/rider Winchester is in that neighborhood. Is there a particular reason they’re not on the schedule?

Probably has more to do with Winchester not wanting to have more than 3-4 races or race weekends a year than the 500 sprint tour not wanting a race there. I would be willing to bet the 500 sprint tour would love to have Anderson, IRP, Salem, and Winchester as the pillars of their schedule.

[snowdrift]

Nice schedule the double in Michigan will be fun

[Vookie]

Originally Posted by mc/rider Winchester is in that neighborhood. Is there a particular reason their not on the schedule?

From the Pavement Pounders Facebook page.
'The most interesting date on the entire schedule by far is the September 7 date at Salem Speedway. This could very well determine the direction of the series for the next few years. Its no secret teams haven’t been overly excited to run the vaunted banks of Salem Speedway or Winchester in recent years. Since 2011, there have only been two attempts to run these two tracks with non-wing sprint cars."

https://www.facebook.com/PavementPoundrs

[mc/rider]

Didnt Plymouth go back to pavement?

[Vookie]

Originally Posted by mc/rider Didnt Plymouth go back to pavement?

Yes.

[hoosier race fan]

Originally Posted by mc/rider Didnt Plymouth go back to pavement?

Yes, and the 500 sprint tour raced there in 2022. No return visit in 2023.