By James Essex

The 35th edition of Indiana Sprint Week has expanded to eight events over a nine-night span between July 22 and 30, 2022.

It will feature seven familiar Hoosier State venues and a first-time host on the annual USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship summer tour.

Gas City, Kokomo, Lawrenceburg, Terre Haute, Lincoln Park, Bloomington and Tri-State will be joined by Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis in making 2022 tied for the largest Indiana Sprint Week slate. An eight-race schedule also took place in 2007 and 2019.

The 2022 schedule includes eight events, each paying $6,000 to win and $600 to start, and features a total point fund of $20,000 with $10,000 going to the Indiana Sprint Week champion.

Eight distinct tracks with a rich history and unique characteristics each their own are on the docket, ranging from quarter-miles to three-eighths to half-miles with degrees of banking both flat and high throughout the mini-series, offering a unique challenge to both driver and machine throughout a rigorous week of racing.

For the ninth time overall, Gas City I-69 Speedway will host the ISW opener July 22. The quarter-mile track has become the official kickoff for ISW throughout the past decade.

From there, the series travels due west the following day to the quarter-mile Kokomo Speedway, which has ISW origins dating to the inaugural year of 1988.

The first weekend concludes July 24 in the southeastern part of the state at the high-banked 3/8-mile of Lawrenceburg Speedway.

The newest addition to the schedule, Circle City Raceway, will be the host July 25 at the quarter-mile dirt oval, which began operations during the 2021 season.

After a one-day break, the series returns for a final four-day stretch beginning at the famed half-mile Terre Haute Action Track on July 27, the largest track on the schedule. Then July 28, it’s off to the world’s fastest 5/16-mile, Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, which first hosted an ISW event in the inaugural year of its existence.

Working southbound and down, the quarter-mile red clay of Bloomington Speedway hosts ISW for the 34th year on July 29.

The series concludes with the ISW finale and championship decider July 30 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, which has been the scheduled host of the final race of the series since 2007.

Indiana Sprint Week debuted in 1988 but first became USAC-sanctioned in 1996. Since then, the event has grown from a single weekend to eight races over a week-and-a-half span and has become one of the marquee events and most sought-after tickets on the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship schedule that draws massive crowds and welcomes travelers from around the world, both driver and fan alike.

The USAC National Sprint Car division’s winningest driver, Dave Darland, owns the most Indiana Sprint Week victories with 20. Levi Jones and Kevin Thomas possess the most ISW titles with four. Kevin Thomas Jr. captured the most recent Indiana Sprint Week title in the summer of 2021.

The 2022 Indiana Sprint Week schedule:

July 22: Gas City I-69 Speedway, Gas City

July 23: Kokomo Speedway, Kokomo

July 24: Lawrenceburg Speedway, Lawrenceburg

July 25: Circle City Raceway, Indianapolis

July 27: Terre Haute Action Track, Terre Haute

July 28: Lincoln Park Speedway, Putnamville

July 29: Bloomington Speedway, Bloomington

July 30: Tri-State Speedway, Haubstadt

Stewart racing in Fort Wayne next weekend

Tony Stewart will be back in the cockpit for the 23rd Rumble in Fort Wayne when he looks to add to his racing résumé Dec. 17 and 18 at War Memorial Coliseum.

With the event canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, organizers are expecting a big turnout from fans who are hungry to see the well-known event make its return. Stewart, who has 11 Rumble wins in the Midget field, headlines a pre-entry list of 36 cars in the Midget division — the largest field since 2016.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or the Coliseum box office. For those unable to make the trek to Fort Wayne, this year’s program will be livestreamed in its entirety via Pit Row TV and SPEED SPORT TV.

Lucas Oil Raceway returns to IRP name

In advance of the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, it was formally announced that Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis would transition to a new name for the 2022 season and beyond: Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

The name change marks a return to the full Indianapolis Raceway Park moniker used from 1961 to 2005. The track has been named Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis since 2011 and was O’Reilly Raceway Park from 2006 to 2010.

“We are excited to bring back the IRP name with the continued support of our longtime partner, Lucas Oil,” said Kasey Coler, vice president of track operations and management for the NHRA. “We just wrapped up our 60th anniversary of the facility, and the timing couldn’t be better to celebrate a bit of our history with the new moniker.”

Incorporating Lucas Oil into the Indianapolis Raceway Park title continues a partnership with the two parties that began in 2011. The new name will see continued affiliation with Lucas Oil Products and their support of the property as well as the NHRA at large.

“Everyone at Lucas Oil is excited for the new name change,” said Brandon Bernstein, director of partnership marketing for Lucas Oil. “It brings back the old-school oval logo and feeling of the IRP name with added Lucas Oil, of course. We are pleased to be associated with NHRA and the track for many years to come.”

Already on the slate for 2022, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park is poised to feature another diverse and exciting schedule of events from the spring to the fall. Notables already announced include five oval race dates — including the Carb Night Classic, Thursday Night Thunder Homecoming, NASCAR’s return in July and a tripleheader of open-wheel action in October — as well as the prestigious Dodge//SRT NHRA U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend.

Lawrenceburg names 2021 track champions

Lawrenceburg Speedway has named its 2021 track champions for its respective divisions.

The point champions were Nick Bilbee (sprints), David Spille (modifieds), Will McRoberts (pure stocks) and Landen Ramirez (hornets).

This week in racing history

From 40 years ago in 1981, the Columbus Kart Club named its season champions. Tony Stewart won the two track titles in the divisions he competed in during the season, winning the 4-cycle and 3-cycle rookie classes. Other champions were Darrin Scudder (3-cycle junior class), Bill Knox Jr. (expert lite class), John Pollock (expert heavy class), Greg Dailey (mac class) and Brad Tobias (open class)

From 30 years ago in 1991, Tory Collins was named the late model track champion at Twin Cities.

Also from 1991, Mark Cummins (sprints) and Kevin Claycomb (late models) were named track champions for the year at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt.

From 20 years ago, Brownstown Speedway announced its track champions for the year: Mark Barber (late models), Brad Cummings (super stocks), Matt Boknecht (modifieds) and Matt Bex (bombers).

From 10 years ago in 2011, Bob Franklin was named the late model track champion at Whitewater Valley Speedway in Liberty.