News Director 
Story By: BIG DIAMOND SPEEDWAY – MINERSVILLE, PA – It has been a great season at Big Diamond Speedway. With the exception of the month of May when Mother Nature intervened with rain every Friday.
The season has been one of excitement culminating with battle for the 2022 Insigner Performance Modified Championship. Duane Howard ended up on top with a pass for the lead with only a few laps remaining to give him the win and the title.
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! This is the day all Big Diamond Speedway fans wait for each year. It is the race all of the teams look forward to. Of course, it is the Jack Rich Inc. Coalcracker 72 all set for this Sunday Sept. 4th. This year’s race will pay a cool $17,000 to the winner along with a spot in Big Diamond history. Our friends at DirtTrackDigest.TV who provide the weekly PPV for Big Diamond have stepped up to give away $250 to each of five random finishing positions in the Coalcracker 72.
The annual Coalcracker race has a deep tradition in Schuylkill County with the best in modified racing having won the race. Drivers such as Billy Pauch, Kenny Brightbill, the late Doug Hoffman along with others have won this classic race in years past. Newly crowned Insigner Performance modified champion Duane Howard leads the list with eight Coalcracker wins and must be the favorite going into this year’s race. Howard has won four times this season in the Getz Motorsports No. 15G and has been consistently fast all season long. Craig Von Dohren (3 CC wins), Jeff Strunk (3 CC wins) will be looking to add to their win totals on Sunday as part Big Diamond lore. Second place in points this season was the always exciting Brett Kressley who is still searching for his first Coalcracker win. 2020 Coalcracker winner Ryan Watt will be in the field aboard the Ron Roberts owned No. 14W searching for CC win number two.
Other drivers expected to be in attendance on Sunday looking to cash the big check are Billy Pauch Jr, Timmy Buckwalter, Ryan Krachun, Jack Butler amongst a host of others. Nick Rochinski who has become a weekly contender at Big Diamond in 2022 and finished a strong third in points will be just one of the Big Diamond regulars set to compete on Sunday. Others include Rick Laubach, Kevin Beach Jr, Louden Reimert, Mike Lisowski and Eddie Strada plus a host of others all seeking glory in the biggest race of the year at Big Diamond. The winner will receive $17,000 with $1,000 for tenth and $500 to take the green.
The USS Achey Inc Crate Sportsman division will also be a big part of Coalcracker Sunday as they compete in a 30-lap feature paying $1,500 to win. Brandon Edgar, Danny Buccafusca and Logan Watt have to be the favorites to win. This young trio of drivers have won 11 out of the 15 Crate 602 features completed in 2022. Talan Carter, Jordan Henn, Kevin Olenick, Kyle Kania are just a few of the drivers who might have something to say about that.
Rounding out the racing schedule for Sunday will be the Red White and Blue Autos Roadrunners who will race for $500 to win. The Roadrunners provided some of the most exciting racing weekly all season and racing for the extra money on Sunday should keep that trend going.
*All divisions will be an open draw*
Pit gates will open on Sunday at 4:00 pm.
Grandstand gates opening at 4:00 pm
Pit admission is $40
Warmups get underway Sunday at 7:15 PM with racing starting at 7:45 PM.
General admission on Sunday will be $35 Kids 6 thru 12 are $10, Kids under 6 are free.
