Race fans love a sparkling sky with plenty of action on the clay oval. While there's no guarantee the former will happen, there will be plenty of Independence Day tributes at Western Pennsylvania tracks this weekend.

On Saturday, Mercer Raceway Park will host its annual American Patriot Night. Between races after sunset, a huge fireworks display will be held. All Butler County residents will be admitted free. Also, veterans and active service personnel get in free with their IDs.

Roaring Knob pays tribute to all veterans Saturday with a huge fireworks show after dark.

On Sunday, Tri-City Speedway presents a fireworks extravaganza in addition to their regular program.

In other racing news:

• This weekend's World of Outlaws Late Model Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Speedway will extend into July, as SPEED will televise a replay of the race from 5 to 7 p.m. July 13. The two-hour show will highlight qualifying, heat races, B-Main and Uncle Sam 30 action, plus every lap of the second annual Firecracker 100. These racing programs have attracted excellent ratings.

• Mercer Raceway Park will utilize a pill draw format to determine the first 12 starting spots of all feature lineups. New drivers will not be penalized in any manner. The Sprint purse has been restructured and the feature will pay $175 to start. The second change will take place in the Sprint Car division. The top two spots will now pay $1,100 and $800 instead of $1,300 and $850, but the payouts for the seventh through 24th positions have been increased, with the biggest change being $175 to take the green instead of $125.

• Pittsburgh Raceway Park plays host to the All-Junior Dragster Team Finals this weekend. The event pits teams from IHRA and NHRA tracks starting at 9 a.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. Sunday. The four divisional age brackets are; 8-9, 10-11, 12-14 and 15-17.

• The young sensation known as "Kid Rocket," 20-year-old Josh Richards, achieved a personal goal Sunday night, winning a World of Outlaws Late Model show on Canadian soil for the first time at Cornwall Motor Speedway in Ontario. He earned $10,150 for his ninth career triumph. This weekend, Richards wants to extend his streak at the $40,000-to-win Outlaws Firecracker 100 at Lernerville.

• Rain postponed Racing for the Cure, a benefit for the American Cancer Society, at Mercer Speedway. It has been rescheduled for Aug 2. Race crews and friends at Mercer Speedway already have collected more than $7,500 for the American Cancer Society.

• The Lynn Geisler team cars of Geisler in the Late Models and protégé Mike Pegher Jr. in the Crate Lates scored their second big wins together at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway last Saturday. The track will run on Sunday this weekend.

• The fans were waving "terrible towels" in the stands for Late Model driver Jared Miley, who won the feature at Lernerville last week. Actually they are checkered flag towels! This could start a new trend in racing.

Carol Gamble is the racing columnist for the Butler Eagle.