A new alliance between Lorain Raceway Park and Sandusky Speedway has created a buzz around weekly stock car racing in Northern Ohio. For years the competing tracks ran rules packages that virtually forced drivers to choose one or the other to race regularly but that changes in 2025.
Lorain Raceway Park promoter Randy Maggio, Jr. and Sandusky Speedway Race Director Rich Lushes have teamed up to standardize the rules packages for the stock car classes at each track, ushering a new era of racing for both tracks. The alliance should grow both tracks’ car counts weekly and covers four classes of racing.
Grand Nationals, formerly known as Pure Stocks at both tracks raced with decent (but not great) car counts at both tracks. Grand Nationals aim to be the more affordable stock car class, while maintaining the stock look of the 80’s Grand National Cup cars.
The Ohio Pro Compacts (formerly Chargers & Renegade Stocks) will create a standard rulebook for the top class of front wheel drive race cars in Northern Ohio, allowing drivers to travel between the two tracks and National and Regional Touring Series. The Ohio Pro Compacts provide drivers with an opportunity to modify their FWD racers and continue racing in the FWD cars.
The Warrior Compacts feature a more entry-level experience for drivers and likely will include cars that race in The Painesville Speedway’s Rising Stars and Sandusky Speedway’s Beginner Stock classes along with The Painesville Speedway Warriors. Warriors provide rookie racers and veteran drivers with a place to race on a budget.
Factory Stocks take the place of the ACE Racing League and All American Iron Series, both newer classes that began in the past four years. Featuring Rear Wheel Drive, V6 engines, and unibody frames, the Factory Stocks have seen Ford Mustangs, Chevy Camaros, and some interesting vehicles like Cadillacs and BMWs compete. The division between the Ace Racing cars and All American Iron has grown over the past two seasons, as each series took on its own identity and grew in different directions with varying rulebooks. For 2025 they will be united as one class that can compete at both Lorain and Sandusky as well as The Painesville Speedway under the Factory Stock name.
The rules packages will be released shortly for both tracks, but we are assured the alliance won’t stop with just a common set of rules. Lorain Raceway Park has shifted their bi-weekly program to the opposite weeks of what they were in 2024 for the 2025 season, clearing the way for Lorain to sit quiet during the Hy-Miler Nationals at Sandusky Speedway in late July.
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