Everyone was able to evacuate Mercer Raceway Park and get to a safe place when storms hit the track last weekend.

"Mother Nature's ugly trend just continues," said 10th year owner Vicki Emig. "We've now had 13 race events scheduled and all 13 have been affected by weather.

"This is the first time we've ever had severe storms of that magnitude on our doorsteps," she added.

Emig will try her luck again Friday, when a new event, the Small Car National Open, makes its debut.

Included in the show are the STAR's Championship Tour for Mod Lites, 270 Micro Sprints, the INEX Legend Cars, Mini Stocks and the KABOOM 150 Enduro.

Racing begins at 6 p.m. and the rain date is Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $7 for adults, families are only $18 and students ages 6 to 15 get in for $3.

The drivers will be racing on about 600 tons of new clay that was laid down earlier this week.

In other racing news:

• NASCAR team owner Chip Ganassi terminated the Dario Franchitti race team Tuesday because of lack of sponsorship, letting go 71 employees. This places the former IndyCar Series champion's future in limbo. Franchitti, the Indianapolis 500 winner, has struggled in his first year in NASCAR in the No. 40 Dodge, ranking 41st in driver standings. Ganassi's other two Sprint Cup teams are driven by Juan Pablo Montoya and Reed Sorenson, who is in his final year of his contract.

• Dale Earnhardt Inc. will use Aric Amirola full time next season in a promotion that will free Mark Martin to move to Hendirck Motorsports. Hendrick released Casey Mears.

• Drivers choose the numbers that appear on the side of their cars. Their selections vary for a multitude of reasons. Pure Stock driver Eric Piotrowski was a big fan of the late Polish NASCAR driver Alan Kulwicki, so his car bears the number seven.

• Chuck Sarver of West Sunbury loves to race and he drives the impeccable No. 88 Late Model. He started in the claimer division, and, when it came time to number the car, he found an old stencil of an eight in his garage. During the week, Chuck works for Clay Township. He is a landfill inspector, checks building permits, and enforces ordinances. Chuck's racing business is small scale. He has one motor and one car. "We do the best that we can and try to keep everything in good shape," Sarver said.

• Martha Dionese bought a Sprint car for her 15th wedding anniversary. She numbered it 15 and kept that number on her purple Sprint car.

• Modified driver Kevin Bolland has a "War Wagon" at the races. Actually it is a Kawasaki Mule that resembles a portable garage. Three sides contain a jack, drills shocks, springs, gears, hoses and a sundry of other parts in drawers. The top is an observation deck. Air ride shocks have been installed. When their car is on the racetrack, the crew parks the "Wagon" near the exit ramp in case an emergency should arise. Bolland's number is 777 because trip sevens is a lucky number in gambling.

• Lernerville Speedway's Firecracker 100 was rescheduled for July 29. Rain checks and pit bands will be honored.

• Sharon Speedway will hold its fireworks extravaganza Saturday night in addition to their regular show.

Carol Gamble is the racing columnist for the Butler Eagle.