Jason Shank is the new Lernerville Speedway General Manager.

In 2021, he was hired by the Tomson family to be the Media Relations director. Last January, he just “changed hats” and accepted the new position. Shank attended Ohio University on a football scholarship, where he majored in Information Technology.

After a knee injury, his football days were over, but he completed his education through the University of Phoenix. Football season must be interesting at his house, since both his sons are currently enrolled at Penn State.

Jason has a long history in racing. His parents, the late Jim and Janet Shank, were avid race fans and brought him to Lernerville when he was 6-days old. That’s days, not years! At the age of 8, he began selling Fennell’s Motorsports World programs at area tracks. At the start of 2000, Jason began writing for the racing magazine called Fire on Dirt, which was later changed to Dirt Track Digest.

He became involved with the MACS Late Model Series in 2006. In 2008, Jason was the Series Director of the All-Star Late Models and then the ULMS racing series. Later, he started doing promotions for Lernerville with his photography expertise and became Series Director for the National Dirt Racing League.

Jason’s teen sons were involved with hockey, baseball and other activities. In 2014, he decided to take a hiatus from racing and spend quality time with his boys. When they graduated from high school, Jason returned to racing in 2021.

He thoroughly enjoys his new job. “We really have a great team here that works well together,” he said. “The Tomson family wants to see the track succeed and reinvests, making many upgrades as well as maintaining the area!”

Some of the things the fans will notice is the new #1 Cochran Jumbotron above the scoreboard, the video board outside on Route 356, a new cement wall from the flag stand to turn one, and all new apparel, trinkets and accessories designed by the Arizona Company.

The 2023 schedule has added more “Fab Four” nights. The Tomson family has made significant purse increases for this season. It features $2,000-to-win for both the 410 Sprints and Super Late Models. The winner’s share of the Big Block Modified is $1,600. That is up from $1,271 last season. The Penn-Ohio Pro Stocks boosts the winner’s share to $600, which climbed from $405.

These purse increases come without additional cost to the drivers or their crews, as pit passes remain at $30 and there is no season registration nor membership fees. However, after several seasons of general admission remaining at just $15, the Fab4 General Admission cost for guests 11 and older will see a minimal increase to $18. As always, children 10-and-under will be admitted free with a paying adult.

Lernerville is still the only track in the country where you can see the top three divisions on a weekly basis.

$50,000 winner’s purse

Two special events, including the 17th annual Firecracker 100, June 24, will pay $50,000 to the victor. The other is the High Limit Series Sprint Commonwealth Clash headlined by NASCAR Champion Kyle Larson and co-owner Brad Sweet. This will be the highest-paying Sprint car race in the 50+ year history at Don Martin’s Lernerville Speedway.

The new High Limit Series has been affectionately called the “World of Inlaws” Sprints! Collectively, Larson and Sweet are brothers-in-law who are champion race car drivers. Together, the twosome will have a 12-race Tuesday schedule with one exception of a Wednesday at a St. Louis Speedway.

Sweet, the four-time reigning World of Outlaws champion said, “High Limit is not out to make enemies with the World of Outlaws or All-Star Circuit of Champions!” He believes High Limit is a win-win situation for all involved. Teams can smartly offset travel costs with additional races that are conveniently scheduled between WoO and All-Star Sprint events.

Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Champion, is a big drawing card, and he and Sweet will run most events. Kasey Kahne, Sweet’s Sprint owner, plans to race the events.

WoO Sprint regulars will have to decide when and where they will choose to race with High Limit action. Fulltime Outlaws have to sign a contract that includes tow money for the top ten on a nightly basis, bonuses in addition to the regular purse, pit passes and more … and tight restrictions on their ability to race elsewhere.

With the news of the creation of High Limit, the WoO management have modified that contract for 2023. Teams can now run up to four non-Outlaw races without losing their perks.They can run eight races to be eligible for the $150,000 championship reward.

Sweet said, “We don’t want it to turn into a wild, wild, west or anything, but in every series in the world, even NASCAR … you’re allowed to race outside your series. The World of Outlaws Late Models guys can race outside but not the World of Outlaws Sprints. That has been a contentious point within the teams … wanting a little more freedom to maybe offset some of the rising costs.”

Sweet, the 2019-2022 Outlaws Champion, will pursue his fifth consecutive title, but will forego the exclusivity bonus. “The exclusivity bonus is good,” Sweet said, “but it is a controlling factor.” One driver that won’t be going that route is Outlaw veteran Jason Sides, who depends on the WoO bonuses to bridge the gap from one season to the next.

Cavalcade Points

Butler’s Walt Wimer listed the Cavalcade Point winners. Fifty years ago, he volunteered to do a daunting accounting task in racing.

All season, when a driver checkers a feature race at a Western Pennsylvania track or Ohio and New York border line track like Sharon, Raceway 7, Expo and Stateline, he is awarded three points, second place, two and third place one. Points are totaled at the end of the track schedule. The 2022-2023 winners are as follows: Sprints- AJ Flick, Late Models- Jon Lee, Modifieds-Garrett Krummert, Limited Lates Michael Duritsky Jr., Limited Modifieds-Dennis Lunger, Limited Sprints-Gale Ruth Jr., and Stock cars- Chris Schneider.

Friday is “First Responders Night” at Lernerville. Let’s hope the 2023 season will bring good weather and pray for the safety of all the racing family.

Carol Gamble is a racing columnist for the Butler Eagle