Florence Speedway
Fast Facts: 40th annual Sunoco North-South 100
By Robert Holman
DirtonDirt.com weekend editor
Dates: Aug. 11-13 (split-field $5,000-to-win programs Thursday and Friday followed by Saturday’s $75,000-to-win finale)
Track: Florence Speedway in Union, Ky. (half-mile high-banked clay oval)
Sanction: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Purse: $75,000-to-win, $2,500-to-start (four $5,000-to-win, $400-to-start split-field prelims)
Tickets: Adult general admission is $25 Thursday, $25 Friday and $45 Saturday; see below for discounts for children and more information.
On the web: florencespeedway.com or lucasdirt.com
Track phone: (859) 493-0034
Last year’s winner: Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., who won the event for the first time
Live stream: MavTV on FloRacing
Notes: The 2022 North-South 100 marks the 39th running of the crown jewel event that began in 1983. The race was rained out in 2001. … The event is sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. … This year’s expanded format adds $60,000 to the weekend purse, pushing the three-day payout to more than $300,000, the richest in Florence Speedway history. … Action begins Thursday with a complete program featuring a pair of split-field $5,000-to-win features. Friday’s slate this season will be a duplicate of Thursday. … Drivers accumulate points the first two nights to determine lineups for Saturday’s heat races. … Modifieds will compete in a complete $1,000-to-win program on Thursday and Friday. … Saturday will feature heat races, consolation races and the $75,000-to-win North-South 100 and a $2,000-to-win non-qualifiers race along with a $3,000-to-win modified program. … National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductions are Saturday. Drivers Brian Birkhofer, Steve Boley, Bart Hartman, Mike Jewell and Don O’Neal are in a class accompanied by three contributors, the late Dick Beebe and current national touring announcers Rick Eshelman and James Essex. … The North-South has had 26 winners. … There have been eight winners in the last nine events, with 2020 winner Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., repeating his 2017 victory. … Ten drivers have multiple North-South victories, led by Jimmy Owens and the late Jack Boggs with three apiece. … Boggs and Eddie Carrier Jr. are the lone Kentucky natives to win the race. … Tennesseans have won the event seven times, more than any other state. … The race has three back-to-back winners: Pat Patrick (’83-’84), Owens (’10-’11) and Don O’Neal (’12-’13). … Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., has 12 podium finishes. Along with his two North-South 100 wins, Bloomquist has seven runner-up finishes, including three straight second-place results from 2014-16. Bloomquist has four third-place finishes in the event as well. … Bobby Pierce (’16) and his father Bob (’99) are the only father-son duo to win the event. Bon Pierce met his wife Angie at the event years ago. … Five times in the history of the race, a driver repeated his first victory two years after his inaugural North-South triumph: Jeff Purvis (’87 and ’89), Jack Boggs (’92 and 94), John Gill (’93 and ’95), Donnie Moran (’96 and ’98) and Steve Shaver (’04 and ’06). … Darrell Lanigan, who lives just a few miles from the track, has competed in 24 of 32 events since he first entered in 1988. The local standout has never won his home track’s premier race, however. Lanigan finished second in 1998, ’93 and ’92. He led 90 laps in ’93. He finished 21st in 2021. … The North-South 100 has averaged 58.5 cars over the last decade, including a high of 67 in 2013 and ’17. The event record is 2008’s 95 entries.
(Complete North-South 100 coverage)
North-South 100 winners
Year: Winner, hometown
1983: Pat Patrick, Sayler Park, Ohio
1984: Pat Patrick, Sayler Park, Ohio
1985: John Mason, Millersburg, Ohio
1986: Jack Boggs, Webbville, Ky.
1987: Jeff Purvis, Clarksville, Tenn.
1988: Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, Tenn.
1989: Jeff Purvis, Clarksville, Tenn.
1990: Mike Head, Ellenwood, Ga.
1991: Rodney Combs, Lost Creek, W.Va.
1992: Jack Boggs, Grayson, Ky.
1993: John Gill, Mitchell, Ind.
1994: Jack Boggs, Grayson, Ky.
1995: John Gill, Mitchell, Ind.
1996: Donnie Moran, Dresden, Ohio
1997: Rick Aukland, Fargo, N.D.
1998: Donnie Moran, Dresden, Ohio
1999: Bob Pierce, Danville, Ill.
2000: Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, Tenn.
2001: Rained out
2002: Chub Frank, Bear Lake, Pa.
2003: Dan Schlieper, Sullivan, Wis.
2004: Steve Shaver, Vienna, W.Va.
2005: Bart Hartman, Zanesville, Ohio
2006: Steve Shaver, Vienna, W.Va.
2007: Jimmy Owens, Newport, Tenn.
2008: Darren Miller, Milledgeville, Ill.
2009: Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, Wis.
2010: Jimmy Owens, Newport, Tenn.
2011: Jimmy Owens, Newport, Tenn.
2012: Don O’Neal, Martinsville, Ind.
2013: Don O’Neal, Martinsville, Ind.
2014: Eddie Carrier Jr., Salt Rock, W.Va.
2015: Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, Ga.
2016: Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, Ill.
2017: Tim McCreadie, Watertown, N.Y.
2018: Ricky Weiss, Headingly, Manitoba
2019: Chris Madden, Gray Court, S.C.
2020: Tim McCreadie, Watertown, N.Y.
2021: Brandon Overton, Evans, Ga.
Weekend purses
Thursday and Friday semifeatures
1. $5,000
2. $2,500
3. $1,500
4. $1,250
5. $1,000
6. $800
7. $700
8. $600
9. $550
10. $500
11. $490
12. $480
13. $470
14. $460
15. $450
16. $440
17. $430
18. $420
19. $410
20-24. $400
Saturday feature
1. $75,000
2. $20,000
3. $10,000
4. $9,000
5. $8,000
6. $7,000
7. $6,000
8. $5,000
9. $4,500
10. $4,000
11. $3,500
12. $3,250
13. $3,000
14. $2,750
15. $2,700
16. $2,650
17. $2,600
18. $2,575
19. $2,550
20. $2,525
21-26. $2,500
Event schedule
Thursday
3 p.m. - Pit gates open
5:30 p.m. - Main gates opens
6:30 p.m. - Hot laps
7:30 p.m. - Competition begins
- Late Model time trails
- Late Model heats
- Late Model consolations
- Late Model features
- Complete program for modifieds
Friday
3 p.m. - Pit gates open
5:30 p.m. - Main and back gates open
6:30 p.m. - Hot laps
7:30 p.m. - Competition begins
- Late Model time trails
- Late Model heats
- Late Model consolations
- Two Late Model features
- Complete program for modifieds
Saturday
3 p.m. - Pit gates open
3 p.m. - Main and back gates open
5 p.m. - Dirt Racing Outreach service
7 p.m. - Hot laps
7:30 p.m. - Competition begins
- Late Model heats
- Late Model consolations
- Late Model non-qualifiers' race (30 laps)
- North-South 100
- Complete program for modifieds
Tickets
Thursday and Friday
General admission (18-and-up): $25
General admission (13-17): $15
Children (12-and-under): $5
Two-day general admission pass (Friday-Saturday): 18-and-up $70; 13-17 $45; 12-and-under $10
Three-day general admission pass: 18-and-up $95; 13-17 $65; 12-and-under $15
Pit pass: $45
Two-day pit pass (Fri.-Sat.): $95
Three-day pit pass (Thur.-Sat.): $140
Saturday
General admission (18-and-up): $45
General admission (13-17): $35
Children (12-and-under): $8
Pit pass: $50
Camping
Free on first come, first served basis
Editor's note: Updates camping details.
