The final tuning of the engines and tire prep are happening in shops throughout an eight-state area.
That is all in preparation for the tradition of the Indiana State Dirt Championships at Ben Hur Speedway this Saturday.
For the 40th consecutive year racing karts will fly around the third-mile dirt oval just west of Crawfordsville.
“It is a tradition,” BHS club official Juan Grino said. “This event gets marked on calendars way at the beginning of the season. There’s another track that also runs a special race fairly close, but a lot of the racers can’t turn down our state race.’
Nearly $10,000 will be up for grabs over about a dozen different classes and age ranges.
“Just to win will total about $5,000 for the classes,” Grino added. “With that kind of money, we could see racers from not just our Indiana and Illinois regulars, but all the states around.”
The event had been a two-day affair for the first 38 editions. But the sport has changed and Ben Hur Speedway is keeping up.
“It used to be over Labor Day Weekend and now we’ve pushed it back a week. Racers like that they have time with their families. Some still find other tracks to hit, but they’re here the next weekend.”
The Indiana State Dirt Championships have quite the alumni list, including Tony Stewart, Joey Saldana, C.J. Leary, Scotty Weir and McKay Wenger.
Wingate’s Jaxon Rexing took home $1,000 in last year’s Clone Heavy clash and is expected to be back to defend his title.
For the second straight ISDC the Shooky Shootout will be part with $1,000 going to the winner of the 375-pound class. The event was again rained out in July.
“Since the rain took it again during the summer we may just make it part of the state race weekend,” Grino said. “We got good feedback and great entry count last year.”
Gates open at noon Saturday with karts hitting the surface for practice at
2 p.m. For more information log on to the Ben Hur Speedway Facebook page.
