Tyler Carpenter announced he will compete at Ohio Valley Speedway on Friday after Elkins Speedway canceled its racing action due to the track getting flooded.

Carpenter shared in an update to Facebook, “Change of plans for Friday night — with Elkins Speedway canceling, we’ll be rolling into Ohio Valley Speedway instead.”

He added, “If you’re looking for some exciting racing action, come spend your Friday night at the track with us!”

Carpenter previously announced on May 26th he would compete at Elkins Speedway and take on Kyle Hardy for the $1,750 bounty bonus the track put on his head for any driver to beat him. Additionally, he shared he would head to Skyline Speedway on Saturday.

However, Elkins shared a photo of the track under water and announced it was canceling its racing scheduled for Friday, May 29th. The track stated, “Due to the track flooding for the second time in a week, we are unfortunately forced to cancel racing this Friday, May 29th at Elkins Speedway. As you can see, the water is currently over the racing surface and with more rain continuing to fall, conditions will not improve in time for the event.”

“We hate to make this call, especially with all the excitement surrounding the Battle of the Regional Badasses Part II, but the safety of our drivers, teams, and fans always comes first,” the track added, “The good news is the current bounty on Kyle Hardy will STILL be up for grabs on Friday, June 5th along with the Street Stock Extravaganza paying $1,000.00 to win! The pressure continues to build as everyone gets another week to prepare their shot at taking down the ‘Queen of Kings.'”

The track concluded, “We appreciate everyone’s support, patience, and understanding through all of this crazy weather. We will continue working hard to get the facility back in shape and ready for an even bigger night of racing on June 5th!”

Carpenter was recently banned from selling merchandise at Ohio Valley Speedway after he planned to sell a shirt referencing a victory lane interview he gave on May 8th where he reportedly told a tech official to kiss his genitals following a dispute over his lack of proper equipment specifically a neck brace. 

StockCarReport.com spoke with Rich Michael Jr. and he confirmed that Carpenter had been banned from selling merchandise at the track due to the shirt design. There was not a single specific reason, but it was multifold. He relayed that multiple sponsors had spoken to him about the shirt and indicated they would no longer support the track if the shirts were sold there. Additionally, Michael also indicated that numerous parents contacted him about how the shirt is objectionable and not appropriate for children or families. Carpenter himself noted the shirt is “not recommended for the young crowd” and even put a parental advisory on the graphic and in the post announcing the new design. Finally, Michael objected to the shirt on moral grounds saying it is “very wrong to do that.”

On top of his explanation for why he’s banned Carpenter from selling merchandise due to the shirt, he also indicated that if Carpenter does not comply with the track’s safety rules such as wearing a neck brace and wearing the proper racing shoes he will be disqualified moving forward. He specifically cited insurance and the track being held liable if anything were to happen to due to a driver not wearing the proper safety equipment.

While a number of fans indicated they would no longer attend the track due to the merchandise ban, Carpenter encouraged at least one fan to not boycott it. He wrote, “No. We we need all tracks to stay alive. No disrespect to Ohio valley speedway that’s my home track. We’ll be back down there some this season.”

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