Williams Grove Speedway has finalized its 2025 schedule of events, again featuring 30 dates for the Lawrence Chevrolet 410 sprint cars and 13 events for the HJ Towing & Recovery 358 sprints at the legendary oval.
The season opener for the 410 sprints is Sunday, March 16 at 2 pm. The event will be a sprints-only program.
New for the 2025 racing season at Williams Grove will be the return of the All Stars Circuit of Champions Sprints touring circuit, revived after a year hiatus, as it invades for the inaugural Lynn Paxton EMMR Legends Classic on June 6, paying $8,000 to win.
New for 358 sprints in 2025 will be the expansion of the Dirty Deeds series of races with the division now competing in three of the high-dollar events, coming up on April 4, May 30 and August 15.
The first two races will be 25 laps and pay a hefty $2,500 to win for the limited class while details surrounding the final 25-lapper that will boast a $19,000 purse are not yet finalized.
Two Fan Appreciation Nights will again be held in 2025, coming up on May 30 for the 410 sprints and on August 1for 358 sprint cars.
Martins Potato Chips, Hoseheads.com and J & S Classics will again present both Fan Appreciation Night programs, featuring free giveaways and free pre-race pit access to all paying general admission fans.
Kids Night is slated for June 13.
The World of Outlaws will invade Williams Grove Speedway for traditional visits in 2025 including for the HVAC Distributors Morgan Cup on May 9 and 10, the C & D Rigging Summer Nationals on July 25 and 26 and for the 63rd annual National Open on October 3 and 4.
The 63rd annual Saturday National Open finale will again pay $75,000 to win in 2025 to go along with $2,500 just to start.
Three outlaws tune-up races during the season will find purse increases worth $3,000 lined up for each.
The Yellow Breeches 500 series of races featuring substantial purse increases in 2025 while still paying $500 just to start will return for the new season with five races scheduled on April 11, April 25, May 16, June 13and August 15.
All the Yellow Breeches races will see timed practice laps set heat lineups for the night with an additional $4,000 infused into each event’s payoff.
Williams Grove will again host a pair of Pennsylvania Speedweek series races in 2025 as the series kicks off on June 27 with a $10,000 to win feature before the 36th annual Mitch Smith Memorial on July 4 returns with a $20,000 winner’s share and a huge fireworks display.
A total of five $8,000-to-win 410 sprint car shows dot the slate in 2025 offering full purses worth over $31,000 each.
The first show of the five comes in the Tommy Hinnershitz Classic on April 18 as part of the Hoosier Diamond Series before the 8K Diamond Series Darren and Cris Eash Tribute Race on May 23.
Next up paying 8K to win will be the Diamond Series All Stars Paxton Classic event on June 6 followed by the Diamond Series 43rd annual Jack Gunn Memorial on August 22.
And the finale of the five will be when the track honors car owners John and Pee Wee Zemaitis with the Zemaitis Tribute Race as part of the Diamond Series on August 29.
All three races will pay $600 just to start.
Super Sportsman have a total of five events on the 2025 slate including three for the wingless division and two for the winged variety.
The August 22 show will again feature the sportsman showdown, featuring both the winged and wingless sportsman in 20-lap mains.
Also appearing during the 2025 season will be the USAC 410 sprint national tour, appearing on June 20 along with the regular Lawrence Chevrolet Williams Grove 410 sprints as presented by Kurt Smith Motorsports.
For the fourth year in a row, the Spring Sprint Special will be featured, boasting three sprint car divisions, on April 11, this year to include timed practice laps for 410 sprints as a Yellow Breeches event.
The PASS IMCA sprints will be on the grid three times in the new year, on April 11 for the Spring Sprint Special, on May 23 and again on September 12.
The wingless USAC East Coast 360 sprints will compete just once, on August 29.
Street stocks will be on the April 18 racing card.
The Billy Kimmel Memorial for Lawrence Chevrolet 410 sprints will take place on September 12.
A pair of Mamma’s Pizza Summer Series races for the HJ Towing & Recovery 358 sprints will take place on June 13and August 1.
In other speedway news, it was recently announced that a conjoined effort will find Williams Grove and BAPS Motor Speedway competitors in line for thousands in bonus monies as a co-promotion between the two tracks for 2025 takes place.
For 410 sprint car drivers, the total bonus cash on the line totals $6,000, to include races at Williams Grove on April 11 (Yellow Breeches) and September 19 partnered with BAPS events on April 13 and September 20.
Just as the tracks did during the 2024 season, a Kevin Gobrecht Challenge Sweep is again being offered in 2025 if the winner of the Kevin Gobrecht Challenge at Williams Grove on September 19 can go on the claim the Kevin Gobrecht Classic to be held at BAPS on September 20.
A sweep by one driver will be worth an extra $3,000 in the classic finale, on top of the posted BAPS winner’s share.
And in the April 13 race at BAPS, any drivers who raced in the Yellow Breeches event at Williams Grove on April 11 will be eligible for bonus cash in the BAPS event.
Bonus’ of $1,000 each will be paid out to three different drivers that were in the Williams Grove field just two nights earlier.
The $1,000 cash awards will be handed out by random draw to the Williams Grove attendees once the BAPS field is assembled.
For super sportsman racers, bonus cash is on the line at BAPS on April 5 for any driver that attended Williams Grove on March 28.
An extra $100 will be paid out to three sportsman drivers, provided that those drivers also raced in the March 28Williams Grove event.
Again, the cash awards will be handed out by random draw once the BAPS field is assembled.
Keep up to date on all the latest speedway news and information by visiting the oval’s official website located at www.williamsgrove.com and by following the track on X, Facebook and Instagram.
Racing fans, mark your calendars! Dirt track legend Brett Hearn, the all-time feature winner at Orange County Fair Speedway, and Doug Dulgarian, former racer, track historian, and general manager, are proud to unveil the expanded Big Series 2 for the 2025 season at the iconic Orange County Fair Speedway.
The highly anticipated mini-series will feature five thrilling Sunday night races showcasing the best grassroots racing has to offer. The action-packed schedule will bring together three fan-favorite divisions---Modifieds, Sportsman, and Street Stocks---on selected dates throughout the summer.
The 2025 Big Series 2 race dates are:
May 4
June 8
July 13
August 3
September 7 (Championship Night)
The series will culminate in a high-stakes Championship Night on September 7, where champions in all three divisions will be crowned. This thrilling finale will set the stage for one of the most prestigious events in dirt track racing: the 64th Annual Eastern States Weekend, running from October 22 through October 26, 2025.
“The Big Series 2 is all about making racing accessible and exciting for everyone,” said Brett Hearn, a dirt track racing icon with an unmatched legacy. “We’ve designed this series to keep prices affordable for fans while giving teams a chance to join in the fun without having to sacrifice their commitments at other tracks. This is grassroots racing done right.”
For Doug Dulgarian, the expanded series reflects a deep commitment to the history and future of dirt track racing. “Orange County Fair Speedway is the heartbeat of grassroots racing in the Northeast,” said Dulgarian. “This series is built to celebrate that tradition while creating new opportunities for competitors and fans alike. From Modified powerhouses to weekend Street Stock warriors, this is a series for everyone.”
With rules consistent with 2024, the Big Series 2 ensures that competitors can jump into the action without costly adjustments, creating an open door for racers from all over to take part. Meanwhile, fans can expect fast-paced side-by-side racing under the lights at one of the most iconic dirt tracks in the world.
The Big Series 2 offers more than racing---it’s a celebration of the passion, competition, and community that defines grassroots motorsports.
Be a part of history in the making and experience the adrenaline drama!
The two teams suing NASCAR over an antitrust complaint were granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday that will allow them to compete as chartered teams in 2025.
U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth D. Bell said in his ruling, which favors 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, that “NASCAR fans (and members of the public who may become fans) have an interest in watching all the teams compete with their best drivers and most competitive teams.”
NASCAR did not immediately respond to a request for comment and has not said if it plans to appeal.
23XI, the team owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row refused in September to sign take-it-or-leave it revenue sharing offers made by NASCAR just 48 hours before the start of the playoffs.
A charter is essentially a franchise and guarantees prize money, a spot in the field each week and other protections.
The teams filed an antitrust suit alleging NASCAR owners are “monopolistic bullies” and were denied in federal court in November a request to be recognized as “chartered” teams as the suit continues.
23XI and Front Row can now sign the charter agreements and still pursue their lawsuit. They also each were granted permission to purchase additional charters from Stewart Haas Racing, which closed its four-team shop at the end of the 2024 season, and NASCAR must approve the transfers to those teams.
It was a much-needed win for 23XI. Tyler Reddick, who finished fourth in the 2024 Cup standings, had an opt-out clause in his contract that would have gone into effect Wednesday and made him a free agent if the team did not land a charter for next season. Fellow 23XI driver Bubba Wallace also informed his team he needed to know how it intended to compete “immediately” so he could explore options with other teams, the judge wrote.
Jordan had said he took the fight to court on behalf of all teams competing in the top motorsports series in the United States. NASCAR had argued that the two teams simply do not like the terms of the final charter agreement and asked for the lawsuit be dismissed.
Both Front Row and 23XI want to expand from two full-time cars to three. They have agreements with SHR to purchase one charter each. SHR is now Haas Factory and has plans to use one charter in 2025.
Until Wednesday’s injunction, 23XI and Front Row would have been forced to compete next season as “open” teams that don’t have the same protections or financial gains that come from holding a charter.
The teams contend they must be chartered under some of their contractual agreements with current sponsors and drivers, and competing next year as open teams will cause significant losses.
Earlier this month, the suit was transferred to a different judge than the one who heard the first round of arguments and ruled against the two teams in their request for a temporary injunction to be recognized in 2025 as chartered teams as the case proceeds.
“Here, the public interest strongly favors entry of a limited preliminary injunction in favor of the Plaintiffs during the 2025 NASCAR race season, both to give fans of stock car racing the opportunity to watch (and root for and against) the full slate of teams and to allow Plaintiffs’ antitrust legal challenges to be considered,” Bell wrote.
Front Row is owned by businessman Bob Jenkins, while 23XI is owned by Jordan, Hamlin and longtime Jordan adviser Curtis Polk.
Jenkins told The Associated Press in October that the two teams stood to miss out on $45 million in combined revenue if they competed without charters. But he was willing to do so for Front Row because he believed the case against NASCAR was winnable.
NASCAR had been operating with 36 chartered teams and four open spots since the charter agreement began in 2016.
“The availability of multiple sports in the United States says nothing about NASCAR’s control of a major one of them in the same way that the availability of professional basketball and football did not lead to a finding that the NCAA was not a monopolist,” the judge ruled.
Sad News – Fred Lorenzen
2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame member Fred Lorenzen has passed away at the age of 89.
Lorenzen got his start as a mechanic with the famed Holman-Moody in 1960, but was elevated to lead driver by the end of the year.
Lorenzen won three races in only 15 starts the following season. Lorenzen’s best overall season came in 1963 as he finished with six wins, 21 top fives and 23 top 10s in 29 starts. Despite missing 26 races that season, he finished third in the standings.
In 1964, he entered 16 of the scheduled 62 races but won eight, including five consecutive starts. During that stretch, Lorenzen led 1,679 of the possible 1,953 laps, one of the most dominant runs in NASCAR history. In 1965, he won two of NASCAR’s major events —the Daytona 500 and the World 600.
Lorenzen retired in 1967 but made a brief comeback from 1970-1972. Lorenzen was an extremely popular driver with fans, to the point that he had several nicknames—“Golden Boy,” “Fearless Freddie” and “The Elmhurst Express.” In 1998, he was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.
NASCAR Statement:
“Fred Lorenzen was one of NASCAR’s first true superstars. A fan favorite, he helped NASCAR expand from its original roots. Fred was the picture-perfect NASCAR star, helping to bring the sport to the silver screen – which further grew NASCAR’s popularity during its early years. For many years, NASCAR’s “Golden Boy” was also its gold standard, a fact that eventually led him to the sport’s pinnacle, a rightful place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. On behalf of the France family and all of NASCAR, I want to offer our condolences to the friends and family of Fred Lorenzen.” – Jim France, NASCAR Chairman & CEO
Danner Set For Full USAC Sprint Schedule
Briggs Danner, the burgeoning racer from Pennsylvania, is set to take on the full USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship schedule for the first time in his career aboard the Hogue Racing Enterprises No. 39 in 2025.
Danner (Allentown, Pa.) comes into the new season following a dominating run with the USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Car series where he won back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 while accumulating a series-record 29 feature victories.
However, after dabbling with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars sporadically since 2021, Danner expanded his national horizons this past season and was superb. He posted his first three career victories with the series in 2024. In June at Grandview, he became the first Pennsylvanian to win a USAC National Sprint Car feature since Frankie Kerr 25 years earlier in 1999 and the first Pennsylvanian to win a series race in his home state since Paul Pitzer at Reading in 1979.
Now a threat to win anywhere and everywhere they go on the USAC National Sprint Car tour, the feeling was mutual between Danner and the Hogues that the time was right to chase after a national title.
“We have the opportunity to do it, and Tim and Fran (Hogue) are really interested in making it happen,” Danner explained. “Right now is the perfect time. We’ve been showing speed and the whole sprint car program is coming together. I feel like we’re still learning, so we’re only going to get better. We’re going to give it a shot and see what we can make happen.”
Danner and Hogue teamed up at the beginning of the 2023 season. Team owner Fran Hogue and his younger brother, Tim Hogue, are veteran racers who’ve fielded a team for many years on the east coast, first competing with USAC during Eastern Storm 2015. Over the past couple of seasons, both Danner and the Hogues have developed into contenders on the national scene. Now they’re prepared to face the next challenge of visiting several new tracks and hitting the road regularly away from the team’s Westampton, New Jersey base.
“We’ve definitely learned a lot,” Danner stated. “There were some nights where we’re really good and then there were some nights we weren’t as good, and we learned together while just trying to get each other figured out. Nine times out 10, we’re on the same page now, and that’s usually when we’re good. I’m looking forward to doing even more racing and trying to build on that and get even better. You don’t get better by sitting on the couch.”
Not only did Danner win his first three USAC National Sprint Car races in 2024, but he easily could also have won six or seven in all if it hadn’t been for such heartbreaking misfortune in races that he led. Danner went on to cement his status as a winner outside the confines of the Keystone State as well by capturing the Indiana Sprint Week finale in August at Bloomington and the inaugural Greg Staab Memorial at Lawrenceburg in October.
In all, despite starting only 29 of the 44 series features, Danner ranked inside the top-10 in laps led (113), top-fives (11) and top-tens (19), earning him USAC’s National Most Improved Driver Award for 2024. While the first victory was difficult to come by, it seemed as if he would begin to rack several up in the win column. He eventually did, but nothing is handed to you when the competition is so close and so tough, but Danner is up for the challenge.
“To get that first one out of the way, and for it to be at Grandview on the first night of Eastern Storm, was awesome,” Danner reflected. “They always say the first one is the hardest one to get. After the race at Kutztown, I think I said it seems like the second one is the hardest to get. (This past year) boosted my confidence a lot. We’ve always showed speed with the sprint car, but I feel like we’re so much more consistent now, and that makes it a lot easier. When you’re fast all the time. It makes a lot easier to pick off races because not everything all goes your way.”
Danner began his career in quarter midgets at the age of five, and eventually became a three-time champion in USAC’s .25 Midget series between 2013-14. Over the years, the versatile Briggs has raced in, and won with, a wide variety of racecars, including 600cc Micro Sprints, SpeedSTRs, Modifieds, TQ Midgets (on pavement), ARDC Midgets, 360 Sprint Cars and 410 Sprint Cars.
The 23-year-old Danner was actually born on a day that no living person will forget if they lived through that moment – September 11, 2001. The third generation racer is the son of Roy Danner Jr., who competed frequently in quarter midgets, karts and legend cars. Briggs grandfather, Roy Danner Sr., raced stock cars throughout Pennsylvania at venues such as Nazareth and Dorney Park.
Danner also revealed that he’ll return to the seat of the DMW Motorsports No. 10 for all the dirt USAC Silver Crown events in 2025. He also plans to compete in a handful of USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship races as well.
Journalist Deb Williams tells us NASCAR President Says Chicago Race Loses Money, Still Good For Series
Steve Phelps adds that NASCAR is not done thinking outside the box for future schedules.
Non-traditional race venues are working for NASCAR, says series President Steve Phelps.
Phelps noted that for The Clash at the L.A. Coliseum and the Chicago Street Course race, 70% of the people who purchased a ticket had never attended a NASCAR race.
In 2025, NASCAR is bringing the series to Mexico City.
Even though NASCAR didn’t recoup the $50 million it cost the sanctioning body to conduct the Chicago Street Course race, NASCAR President Steve Phelps says scheduling variations will continue.
“We are not going to rest on this (2025) schedule,” Phelps said during Epartrade’s Racing Industry Week. “For us, looking at different marketplaces, whether it’s north of the border, whether it is other opportunities domestically, or other places around the world, all of those things are being looked at, at this particular point.”
Phelps noted that for The Clash at the L.A. Coliseum and the Chicago Street Course race, 70% of the people who purchased a ticket had never attended a NASCAR race.
“That’s a good thing for us,” Phelps said. “Is it difficult to take them (races) from other race tracks? It is, but I think it’s really important for us to do that. We’re willing to invest in Chicago financially. It’s a difficult race for us. It cost $50 million to put that race on and we, unfortunately, didn’t sell $50 million worth of tickets and sponsorship. Was it a smart decision for us? I believe it was. I think it actually helped us with both Amazon coming on board and Warner Brothers Discovery coming on board. We heard from both of their CEOs that, that was the case because this is a sport that was willing to invest in itself and drive innovation that leads to growth.”
Phelps believes the variation in the schedule that has existed in recent years is a nod to what the sport’s media partners, and its fans want. He admitted there were probably numerous fans in the Richmond, Va., area who were unhappy at NASCAR taking one of that track’s races to Mexico City in 2025.
“But as we look at what we believe is in the best interest in the growth of the sport, that actually was a pretty easy decision,” Phelps said. “I think the move back to the Saturday night Cup race (at Richmond) is another nod to long-term race fans and the tradition that is part of NASCAR.
“As we look at these things, it’s as much as how do you have a nod to the history of the sport, while accelerating the growth by doing things unique and different. That’s something I think we’ve done over the past three or four years.”
This year the Clash moves to Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., after three years at the Los Angeles Coliseum. However, Phelps admitted he didn’t know how long the Clash would remain in North Carolina’s Piedmont.
“I would like to see a time when we’re not announcing the schedule in September,” Phelps said. “It would be nice to announce at least pieces of our schedule, if not the entire schedule, that looks more than a single year at a time.”
NASCAR considering rotating Championship race
NASCAR is debating whether to start rotating the championship race to different markets in the coming years, and the venues being considered would go beyond just Phoenix Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, according to COO Steve O’Donnell.
Fans have been calling for a shakeup of the championship race and it appears like NASCAR is taking heed by considering it.
The 2025 schedule has already been released with Phoenix again returning as the championship event, so any change would happen in 2026 at the earliest. It was unclear what other markets are in the mix and whether NASCAR was talking with related municipalities about getting hosting fees to bring its championship race there. Before moving the race to Phoenix, NASCAR had held it at Homestead-Miami since 2002. Homestead is one of the legacy ISC tracks that NASCAR now owns outright after the France family took ISC private in 2019 and absorbed it into NASCAR Holdings’ portfolio. One potential option beyond Homestead and Phoenix would be Las Vegas Motor Speedway, owned by Speedway Motorsports, but it’s possible that NASCAR could look at options outside the universe of Speedway Motorsports and legacy ISC tracks.
On Friday, October 10, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars return to New Egypt Speedway for the first time since 2017.
The most famous touring Sprint Car series in the country invades the confines of Central Jersey for the 10th time in series history.
Defending World of Outlaws Champion David Gravel was the winner in ’17 when the World of Outlaws last visited New Egypt Speedway.
Gravel topped Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet to take home the victory.
The World of Outlaws have trekked upon New Egypt Speedway on nine different occasions, with the inaugural taking place in July of 2001 when Schatz was victorious.
New Jersey native P.J. Chesson claimed one of his two career World of Outlaws wins the following year.
Schatz returned to Victory Lane in ’03 and ‘The King,’ Steve Kinser topped the field when the series returned in 2007.
The series took a hiatus until 2013 and when Daryn Pittman dominated for the next four years. The Oklahoman won four consecutive years from ’13-’16 before Gravel topped him and the rest of the stars of the World of Outlaws in ’17.
Now, the World of Outlaws prepare to tackle the tricky oval for the first time in over eight years.
The Four Cylinders will also be on the docket for the Friday night affair.
Stay tuned to the New Egypt Speedway website (newegyptspeedway.net) and the New Egypt Speedway Facebook page for more schedule release information in the coming weeks.
New Egypt Speedway is located at 720 Route 539 New Egypt, NJ 08533. To learn more visit newegyptspeedway.net, call 609.758.1900
NASCAR Plans Massive 'Ramp Up' Of Live, Streaming Content
NASCAR President Steve Phelps: 'We need to do a better job keeping our fans engaged in the off-season.'
NASCAR’s year-old $53 million production facility in Concord, N.C., will be responsible for 50% of the content seen under the sanctioning body’s new TV agreement that begins in 2025, says NASCAR President Steve Phelps.
Phelps said only about 14% of the content seen in 2024 originated in the facility. However, in 2025 in addition to the networks covering NASCAR’s races, there would be “robust content” through NASCAR.com, NASCAR’s social channels, YouTube and Netflix. He described it as a “massive ramp up” with the facility devoted to live-event production on the weekends and feature content during the week and in the off-season.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps
“I think that we need to do a better job keeping our fans engaged in the off-season just to keep them thirsty so when you get to the Clash, they’re ready,” Phelps said during Epartrade’s Racing Industry Week.
“We have this growing data warehouse, which is over 20 million strong. When we understand who they are, where they are, what motivates them, who their favorite driver is, what they want, we can serve them content as well.”
Phelps said NASCAR was “very deliberate” with what it was trying to achieve with its media rights negotiations that concluded in 2023.
While NASCAR’s Xfinity Series will be exclusively on the CW Network and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on FS1, the Cup TV package is a mixture of broadcast with Fox and NBC, streaming with Amazon, and cable and streaming with Warner Brothers Discovery Max and Turner Sports. Phelps said NASCAR needed to test the streaming market with Amazon “to make sure that streamers look at NASCAR like they do with stick-and-ball sports.”
“I think we have the right partner in Amazon,” Phelps continued. “I think what they’ve done with the NFL in their three years has been extraordinary. They take a fresh look at the production value and what that looks like.”
