Ryan Smith Eyeing Atomic Speedway’s Open Wheel Championships

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / RYAN SMITH RACING – KUNKLETOWN, PA – With one of the most demanding swings on the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions schedule officially in the books, four events in four days across much of Central Pennsylvania, All Star championship contender, Ryan Smith, will begin preparations for the Open Wheel Championships at Atomic Speedway.

The two-day showcase, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, August 25-26, will feature two, full Arctic Cat All Star programs which will award $5,000 on Friday and $10,000 on Saturday.

Smith is certainly no stranger to the high banks at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio. The recent All Star winner finished third on April 9, followed by a charge from 23rd to 11th during the Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket finale on June 24.

“We’ve had some success Atomic Speedway, so that motivates us even more to get back there,” Ryan Smith explained, full-time pilot of the Tom and Sherry Leidig/Warko Group/Auto Electric of Jupiter, FL/Specialty Rigging/C&B Chubby/Rick’s Auto Body/No. 59. “We have our eyes on that big payday on Saturday night. I have a great group of people who stand behind me and allow opportunities like this to happen. I think we’ll be in good shape.”

During recent Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions competition, the “Kunkletown Kid” earned four consecutive feature starts during his four-race swing through Central Pennsylvania, highlighting his weekend on “home dirt” with a runner-up finish at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville on Thursday, August 17. Smith battled up front the entire distance, only to surrender the top spot to eventual winner, Freddie Rahmer, with ten circuits remaining.

Other Central Pennsylvania results include an 11th place performance at Williams Grove Speedway on August 18; 14th place finish at Lincoln Speedway on August 19; and a 22nd place finish at Susquehanna Speedway on August 20 after being involved in an early race incident.

“We didn’t have the Central Pennsylvania swing that we wanted, but we’ll put that behind us and move forward,” Ryan Smith said. “Racing full-time with the All Stars doesn’t allow us to race close to home often, so when we get an opportunity to do so, we want to represent our fans and partners well. We’ll have more opportunities in the future.”