By: Ken Bruce – Once again, Jake and Jasmine Smulley have put together another action packed and diverse schedule for the upcoming 2024 season at Big Diamond Speedway. This season, the track will host 23 nights of racing (weather permitting) starting on Friday, April 12 with the “Thaw Brawl” and ending on Sunday, September 1st with the annual running of the “Coalcracker 72”. Those 23 nights of racing will encompass 14 different classes which include the track’s weekly divisions – the Quandel 358 Modifieds, the USS Achey Inc 602 Crate Sportsman, the Red White and Blue Autos Roadrunners and the Big Creek Concrete 602 Crate Rookies.
That leaves 10 divisions that will call Big Diamond home for at least one night. Included are two of the most recognized traveling series in the Super DirtCar Series Big Block Modifieds on Tuesday, June 4th and the USAC AMSOIL Wingless 410 Sprint Cars on Thursday, July 13th. Other visiting classes are Mid-Atlantic Modifieds, XCEL 600 Modifieds, Wingless Sportsman, East Coast Legends, 358 Sprint Cars, PASS 305 Sprints, Winged 410 Sprints and the URC Sprints. This season will have something for every fan to experience.
Some of the highlights of the 2024 season for the Quandel Concrete 358 Modifieds other than opening night will be the Money in the Mountains race ($10K to win) on Friday, April 19, the Georgie Stevenson Memorial Twin 20’s on Friday, July 5th, “Topless” night ($7K to win) on Friday, July 19th, the Dave Kamp Memorial ($4K to win) on Friday, August 2nd, the “Prelude to the Coalcracker” ($10K to win) and the granddaddy of them all, the “Jack Rich, Coalcracker 72” ($15K to win) on Sunday, September 1st.
Not to be left out in 2024, the USS Achey 602 Crate Sportsman also have some higher paying races sprinkled throughout the schedule highlighted by the “602 Crate Sportsman Classic” on Friday, May 10th paying a cool $3,000 to the winner of the 30-lap race. The Red White and Blue Autos Roadrunners will also race for some extra cash along the way.
The 2024 season will kick-off on Saturday, April 6th with the 3rd Annual “Parade of Power” in Minersville, PA. The Parade of Power will include a car show, food trucks and much more! That will be followed up with an open practice session on Sunday, April 7th for any car with a roll cage.
2024 is shaping up to be another great season for the teams, drivers and fans in coal country and it cannot come fast enough for this writer. Once again, this year, DirtTrackDigest.tv will partner with Big Diamond Speedway to bring you all of the action live via pay-per-view (exceptions are the Super DIRTcar Series race and the USAC Amsoil Wingless 410 Sprint Car race).