$3,000 to Win / $300 to Start Saturday Night at Lawrenceburg Speedway
The 2020 running of the “Dick Gaines Memorial” will once again offer an increased purse with over $11,000 up for grabs on Saturday night August 22nd at the Lawrenceburg Speedway. The winners share is a cool $3,000, and every driver that starts the 25-lap Kelsey Chevrolet Sprint feature will take home at least $300.
Dick Gaines Memorial Feature Payout:
1- $3,000, 2- $1,500, 3- $700, 4- $600, 5- $500, 6- $450, 7- $400, 8- $375, 9- $350, 10- $325, 11- $300, 12- $300, 13- $300, 14- $300, 15- $300, 16- $300, 17- $300, 18- $300, 19- $300, 20- $300.
There will also be $100 tow money to all sprint cars that do not start the feature, and a $63 hard charger award for the driver that advances the most positions from the original posted feature lineup.
In addition to the increased purse, there will also be a slight change to the standard Lawrenceburg Speedway race format.
A blind pill draw will still be used to set the heat race groups, but lap times gathered during practice will set the heat race lineups. Cars will be lined straight up by time with the fastest four cars in each heat race inverted. Heat race finish will determine the lineups for the B Main(s) and feature. Due to COVID-19, and the need to practice safe social distancing, we have temporarily halted the redraw.
There are only three Kelsey Chevrolet Sprint races remaining on the Lawrenceburg Speedway schedule and drivers will by vying for a good finish Saturday night to either improve or solidify their position in the standings.
Nick Bilbee is the current point leader after collecting a pair of feature wins and three out of four heat races. Additional feature finishes of second and seventh have netted him a 215-point advantage over second place JJ Hughes.
Hughes, the current point leader at Gas City I-69 Speedway, had a horrible start to the 2020 season at “The Burg,” getting collected in a heat race accident on opening night. That incident caused enough damage that he was unable to finish the B main and failed to transfer to the feature. Since that night he has been fast and very consistent with a fifth, and a pair of sixth place feature finishes.
2018 track champion Garrett Abrams sits third in the standings 30-points behind Hughes. Abrams also had a rough opening night, but has rebounded nicely with finishes of sixth, third and ninth in the last three races.
Rounding out the top five are a pair of rookie drivers from Ohio, Saban Bibent and Ryan Barr. 15-year-old Bibent drives for the same Wolf Motorsports team that propelled Callie Wolsiffer to the 2019 Lawrenceburg Speedway Rookie of the Year. Bibent already has a pair of top ten finishes under his belt and holds a 30-point advantage over Barr.
Barr, a former champion quarter midget driver, has been close to earning his first top ten finish at “The Burg.” The 18-year-old has been improving each week and was the “Hard Charger” last weekend at Tri-State Speedway.
Rounding out the top ten are a trio of previous track champions, a former rookie of the year, and yet another rookie contender.
Champions Joss Moffatt (2007, 2009 and 2015), Dickie Gaines (2004 and 2019), and Shawn Westerfeld (2014) fill spots six thru eight, with Drew Abel (2011 Rookie of the Year) and rookie Justin Lewis tied for ninth.
KELSEY CHEVROLET SPRINT
DRIVER STANDINGS
1. Nick Bilbee-830
2. JJ Hughes-615
3. Garrett Abrams-585
4. Saban Bibent (R)-515
5. Ryan Barr (R)-485
6. Joss Moffatt-470
7. Dickie Gaines-465
8. Shawn Westerfeld-450
9. Drew Abel-430
9. Justin Lewis (R)-430
In addition to the Kelsey Chevrolet Sprints also competing Saturday night will be the KOI Auto Parts UMP Modifieds, Impact Sports Pure Stocks and the Bessler’s U Pull & Save Hornets.
The track is also hosting a “Pet Food & Toy Drive” in conjunction with their friends at Kroger. For each item you bring to donate you will receive a chance to win a $100 Kroger gift card.
General admission gates are set to open at 5:00 pm Saturday with hot laps at 6:00 pm, and opening ceremonies are scheduled for 7:00 pm. Adult general admission is $18, children (7-12) are $7, and those 6 and under are free. Pit passes are $30 for all ages (pit passes cannot be purchased as an upgrade from a promo ticket, family four pack, or a theme night).
It is also “47025 Night at the Races.” Any 47025 zip code resident who presents a valid driver license at the gate to prove residency will receive free general admission.
For more information please visit
www.lawrenceburgspeedway.com or the “Lawrenceburg Speedway” Facebook page.