FINDLAY, Ohio — Big Diamond Speedway, Forestville, has become the third Pennsylvania speedway scheduled to host a program of the new Renegade Sprints series in the 2015 season.
The tour of 410 sprints announced Thursday that Big Diamond will host a Sunday program, whose date will be announced later.
“It’s something new and exciting,” Big Diamond Speedway promoter Jake Smulley said of the return of 410 sprints to the Schuylkill County oval. “It’s not the same old song and dance. Everything you read about the Renegades is good. It seems like they have a good driver following and our fans have been asking to see them.”
The Renegade Sprints series was formed earlier this year and plans to conduct about 50 programs next year in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Michigan. Details on a points fund and race payouts have not been announced, but Renegade Sprints President Shane Helms expects each race to pay at least $5,000 to the winner.
“The most important thing is that a group of drivers in this area have decided to band together to form a new series,” Helms said about the group that has
developed in competition with the All-Star Circuit of Champions, which sanctions races in the same region.
“Our desire is to do this for the fans and for the racers,” Helms said. “We want to be able to control our own destiny, take care of the fans and grow the sport.”
More than 10 drivers have committed to running the series. They include former All-Star Circuit of Champions series champions Tim Shaffer, Greg Wilson and Chad Kemenah.
Other drivers who have signed up to join the Renegade Sprints next season are Randy Hannagan, Dean Jacobs, Cole Duncan, Danny Holtgraver, Danny Smith, Caleb Helms, Andrew Palker, Travis Philo, Bryan Sebetto and Rob Chaney.
In addition to Big Diamond, the series has tabbed former Big Diamond 358 modified feature winner Fred Rahmer to promote a Renegade Sprints program, likely in April, at Path Valley Speedway Park in Spring Run.
The series is also scheduled to appear twice next season at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville under Thunder on the Hill promoter Bob Miller.
Other series programs are scheduled in western Pennsylvania, which hosted one of three Renegade Sprints events in their inaugural season earlier this year.
In those events, Hannagan won the series opener at Atomic Speedway in Ohio. Wilson won a feature at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, and Dale Blaney took the Open Wheel Championship, which closed the schedule at Atomic.
Like the All-Stars, the Renegade Sprints hope to capitalize upon strong driver contingents in both Ohio and Pennsylvania, where the group is known as the Pennsylvania Posse. That group has competed in Pennsylvania Speedweek programs at Big Diamond in past years.
“It’s a great competition every time the Ohio drivers and the Pennsylvania drivers race one another,” Helms said. “It will be exciting to have another one of those battles at Big Diamond Speedway, where Jake and his team have done a great job.”