The road to “Racing’s Biggest Party” begins at Georgetown Speedway for the first Super DIRT Week 53 Qualifier of the year on Tuesday, May 13.
The track’s Delaware Diamond 75 will be the first of 11 Qualifier events for the Super DIRTcar Series in 2025, which awards one driver a guaranteed starting spot in the legendary Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at Oswego Speedway (Saturday, Oct. 11).
Each Qualifier race will award a guaranteed starting spot and pay $10,000 or more to win. The guaranteed spot goes to the race winner, but if that driver wins another Qualifier race, the lock-in spot will go to the next driver in the Feature finishing order not yet locked in.
2025 Super DIRT Week Qualifiers:
Georgetown Speedway (May 13)
Selinsgrove Speedway (June 4)
Lebanon Valley Speedway (June 19 and Aug. 28)
Cornwall Motor Speedway (June 29)
Weedsport Speedway (July 26 and Sept. 6)
Autodrome Drummond (July 28 and July 29)
Sharon Speedway (Aug. 11)
Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Sept. 20)
Full-time drivers on the Super DIRTcar Series can choose to use one of their Series provisionals at Oswego. However, for drivers who don’t race with the Series full-time, winning a Qualifier is the only way to guarantee seeing the green flag on Saturday, Oct. 11.
L.J. Lombardo, the Series’ most recent winner, earned a guaranteed starting spot by winning the King of Spring at Lebanon Valley in 2022. That victory locked him into the field and changed his outlook on his entire season.
“Super DIRT Week was on our schedule, but it wasn’t a definite,” Lombardo said. “Eastern States Weekend (at Orange County Fair Speedway) is normally my big race weekend, but when we won that race at the Valley, we put it in the plans to go.”
Being locked into the race also allowed the Danbury, CT driver to try different setups for the Billy Whittaker Cars 200. Those trials paid off for the two-time Series Feature winner, who didn’t have to worry about a bad qualifying run ruining his weekend.
“I’d never ran a Big Block there in my life, so I would try stuff that didn’t work,” Lombardo said. “We fell backwards knowing we had that pillow to lay on, knowing that we’d start the race no matter what.
“We time trialed well. I felt good going in. I had the right mindset and all of that, and then, looking at the following year, I didn’t make the show. It was a huge buffer that kind of hurt us not having that starting spot. The whole time you’re sitting there thinking if I don’t do well here, I’m screwed for the week.”
Lombardo’s buffer in 2022 was an opportunity that Billy Pauch Jr. didn’t have during last year’s Super DIRT Week. The Frenchtown, NJ driver, who’s yet to make a start in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 after two attempts, said he understands how vital a guaranteed spot can be when he gets to Oswego.
“Last year, I broke in Qualifying, and it made my whole weekend go to shit,” Pauch said. “It did not go good. If you get off to a good start, it makes Super DIRT Week a whole lot easier, and it takes the stress off any mechanical failure of something stupid that may put you in a bad spot up there.
“For me, it would be very beneficial.”
Pauch and Lombardo will battle the Super DIRTcar Series stars for the first guaranteed spot at Georgetown, along with current Series points leader Alex Yankowski.
The Covington Township, PA driver, who will be in the Tim and Debbie Millman-owned No. 84Y in the Delaware Diamond 75, said being locked into Super DIRT Week would allow him to be more comfortable throughout the week.
“That’s a place you can unload and struggle and not get out of it,” Yankowski said. “It might take you all 200 laps to get back going there. The place is so tough. There’s so many good cars there and if you don’t time trial well, it’s an uphill climb.
“Being locked into the 200-lap battle is a huge comfort thing and a little bit of a confidence booster.”
“Kid Rocket” said he’s confident he can earn the guaranteed spot in the Delaware Diamond 75 because he’s had more track experience than many Super DIRTcar Series drivers. However, locking into Super DIRT Week isn’t the only thing he’s looking at.
With each Super DIRT Week 53 Qualifier paying $10,000-to-win or more, a victory in any of the 11 races would help his racing program.
“All of the (No. 84y) red car stuff is my own personal equipment that I pay the bills on, so that chunk of change really helps me get down the road,” Yankowski said. “Being teamed up with Tim and Debbie Millman on the NAPA car as well as the Petruska No. 66 is how we’re able to do what we’re doing. Between three different teams and three different pockets, those teams do help my own program as well.
“It makes it all possible to split the costs up.”
Yankowski, Pauch, and Lombardo will compete in the first of 11 Super DIRT Week 53 Qualifiers in 2025 on Tuesday, May 13, when the Super DIRTcar Series visits Georgetown Speedway in Georgetown, DE for the first time since 2008 for the Delaware Diamond 75.
The $10,075-to-win Feature kicks off the road to Super DIRT Week 53 at Oswego Speedway, Oct. 6-11, culminating in the 53rd running of the Billy Whittaker Cars 200. For tickets to Super DIRT Week 53, visit SuperDIRTWeek.com.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the Super DIRTcar Series action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
