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McManus, Policz, Wolbert Among Feature Winners Saturday Night At Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway

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Photo: Ashley Moyer

IMPERIAL, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) Late race caution flags were a bit of a theme Saturday night at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway.

Dave McManus beat Ryan Moyer on a late race restart to win the PPMS Pro Stocks Feature. McManus was trailing Moyer when the caution flag flew setting up a green-white-checkered. Moyer chose the low side for the restart and who could blame him as he found grip on the low side to get to the lead. McManus was left to the high side, which he was running all race to work his way up to the second spot. McManus go the jump on the restart, drove hard into turn one and used the momentum off turn two and down the back stretch to take the lead, beating Moyer to the checkered flag by 0.886-seconds.

“I feel really bad for Ryan that was his race, he deserves it,” said a humble McManus in victory lane.  “I knew I had a chance once that caution came out.  I figured he’d pick the low line and I figured I would just let it sail and see if it sticks.  I wish could be half as good as him on the low line.  The high side is where I live and die at.  The car was just fantastic.  Fortunate caution for us.”

The caution was just as fortunate for Chas Wolbert in the RUSH Sportsman Modified feature and unfortunate for Garrett Krummert.  Krummert had built up a 7-second lead and was en route to a dominating win the caution flag flew setting up a shootout for the win.  Wolbert dove low in turns one and two and as he was sliding up toward the outside wall on the backstretch, Krummert was blasting off turn two with the momentum.  Wolbert made slight contact with Krummert, which scrubbed just enough speed off the 10S to give Wolbert the advantage going into the last two turns.  Wolbert carried enough momentum to claim a 0.276 victory.

“I got into Garrett a bit coming off two and I apologize for that,” said Wolbert.  “I knew I had to get beside him to have a chance.  I can’t thank everybody enough who helps out, what a win.”

The late race caution flags continued in the RUSH Late Model feature.  Ben Policz was out front headed for the white flag when the caution flag came out instead.  Policz held off a John Mollick and a hard-charging Tommy Schirnhofer on a green-white-checkered to earn a 2.068-win.

“They were telling me I had a good lead and we’ve been screwed before on those last-lap cautions and I saw that come out and I was like ‘man not again’,” said Policz.  “I knew Mollick lined up on the outside, I looked up at the screen and I saw the 60 and he’s the fastest guy here it seems like and I knew it was going to be a drag race.  I just had to hit my marks.”

Tyler Fox ended Steven Shelpman’s dominance in the Keystone Coach Works Hobby Stocks make-up feature, which ended due to curfew the previous weekend.  Fox beat Shelpman to the checkered flag by 0.642-seconds.

Shelpman couldn’t be denied in this week’s feature beating Fox by 2.999-seconds for his third win in four tries in 2020 at PPMS.

“I had bad spark plug wire in the first race,” said Shelpman, a three-time track Champion. “I was running on 7-cylinders towards the end there.  We got it fixed in time for this race and the car was great.”

The Open 4-Cylinders also had a make-up feature where Phillip Bubeck took the victory over Bill Tennant and John Gill.  The positions were reversed in this week’s feature as Tennant beat Bubeck and April Tennant to the checkered flag.

In the Young Guns feature, Noah Bubeck split Cameron Hollister and Cameron Lamber going into turn one to take the lead and eventually with victory.

“I didn’t want to waste any time getting the front,” said Bubeck of the three-wide move going into turn one.  “I saw a gap and I went for it.”

Dirt Racing

Gravel Grabs the Morgan Cup

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Photo: Paul Arch

MECHANICSBURG, PA (May 9, 2026):  David Gravel, the two-time World of Outlaws champion and current points leader, dominated the finale in the fifteenth running of the Morgan Cup at Williams Grove Speedway. Gravel’s win, the tenth of his career at the venerable speedway, secured possession of the perpetual trophy for the World of Outlaws for the eighth time. Moreover, the win gave the touring stars a two-to-one edge in the win column for the three-race Pennsylvania swing.

Gravel seized control of the race on the opening lap and he was never challenged during the course of the thirty lapper. The only threat to Gravel during the non-stop affair was a bumping incident when he was lapping Brent Shearer. Shearer’s right rear wheel contacted Gravel’s left rear. Fortunately, the two cars quickly separated and both drivers maintained control as they rocketed toward turn one. Gravel expressed concern that he might have gotten a flat tire from such contact, but he said that the double bead locks on the left rear of his car probably saved the day.

“From the rain this morning, that grip up high was there. They patted it down with the push trucks and water trucks. It just launched really good, and actually my motor was really cold. It didn’t run good for the first five or six laps, but it had enough horsepower to beat him (Kasey Kahne) going into (turn) one. He didn’t try to slide me. It looked like he backpedaled and tried to run the bottom, but that was obviously the winning move of the race.”

Gravel added that it was important for him to control the pace of the race. “You just don’t know, this could’ve been ten cautions or green-to-checkered. Luckily, it went green-to-checkered. Maybe I was getting a little complacent down here in (turns) three and four. Maybe should have moved up. Those guys said the 67 (Justin Whittall) was coming, so. It’s just so hard to lead these races. Lincoln, here, it doesn’t matter where it is. When you’re up front, you know, the track changes and people can judge you, behind you. I feel like I got through the lapped cars pretty good.”

Justin Whittall was making just his second start in his new joint venture with Rod Gross Motorsports. The first outing was a disappointing seventeen in the preliminary night program. He gave props to his crew for working late on Friday night and early on this race day to get more speed in the car. He was able to close in on the leader in the closing laps, but was several car lengths behind him when the checkers waved. “I saw David (Gravel) struggling with the lapped car. He finally got him. That was when I really started to catch him.”

Third place went to defending track champion and current points leader, Troy Wagaman, Jr. Wagaman’s podium finish stretched his points lead over Lance Dewease, who failed to qualify because he was plagued by mechanical problems all night long. Wagaman explained that he put together a complete night. “I felt good. I timed good, I had a good heat race, and a good dash. I had speed in the feature.”

For the second night in a row, Kasey Kahne started on the front row for the A Main. This time, he had the pole as a result of his dash victory. But the difference in lanes may have been his undoing. David Gravel had the outside position, which was clearly superior for the start of the event. Freddy Rahmer lined up third, with Whittall as his running mate. Wagaman and Sheldon Haudenschild were in row three. The last pair of preferred starters were Ashton Torgerson, aboard Kyle Moody’s machine, and Chad Trout. Then came Carson Macedo and Bill Balog, followed by Emerson Axsom and Danny Dietrich.

Gravel and Kahne raced wheel to wheel into turn one, but Gravel had the better line through the corner. He emerged from turn two with the lead and never looked back. Kahne followed closely in the early going, but, with each successive lap, Gravel added to his lead. Whittall, Wagaman, Rahmer, Haudenshild, , Torgerson, Trout, Carson Macedo, and Balog made up the balance of the top ten during the opening laps.

The first five–consisting of Gravel, Kahne, Whittall, Wagaman, and Haudenschild–raced in order through the first half of the event.

Soon after the midway signal, Whittall begal to stalk Kahne. On lap nineteen, Whittall rode the rin in turns three and four to reach second spot. Wagaman and Haudenschild soon followed suit.

Whittall trimmed Gravel’s lead in the closing laps. As he was doing so, Haudenschild was applying some pressure to Wagaman for third. A few spots back in the running order, Rahmer and Carson Macedo were battling for sixth.

At the checkers, it was Gravel over Whittall, Wagaman, Haudenschild, and Kahne. Carson Macedo was sixth, with Rahmer, Torgerson, Dietrich, and Balog completing the top ten.

Carson Macedo was named the hard charger, advancing three positions. Several others also passed as many cars but they were all behind him in the finishing order.

The four heat wins went to Gravel, Kahne, Whittall, and Trout. Daryn Pittman won the B Main. Gravel set the fast time, at 16.431, to top Group A. Whittall was the best in Group B with a time of 16.897.

Williams Grove Speedway will be back in action on Friday, May 15, with a Sprint Car doubleheader. The 410s and 358 Sprints will do battle on York County Racing Club Night. There will be no racing on May 22 , but the American Flat Track Motorcycles will compete on May 23.

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Dirt Racing

Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway cancels Saturday night program

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IMPERIAL, PA (May 9, 2026) – Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway (PPMS) is cancelling their Saturday night program after heavy overnight rains and cloudy skies throughout the morning forced track officials to make the difficult decision.

“After evaluating conditions throughout the property Saturday morning, speedway officials determined that the amount of water absorbed overnight created conditions that would not allow for a practical or enjoyable event experience for fans, teams, and staff” the Speedway announced in a statement.

Fans who purchased advanced tickets for tonight’s event have already had their refunds processed automatically..

Next Saturday PPMS will host a ‘Night of Champions’, which will honor 2025 track Champions and those who finished in the top 10 in points in the respective divisions.

“We’re ready to get this season rolling in a big way and hopefully Mother Nature starts working with us soon,” said Tyler Harris, PPMS Operations Manager. “We know fans, racers, and teams are anxious to get back to the speedway, and we appreciate everyone continuing to stick with us through a difficult start to the year.”

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Dirt Racing

Lernerville Speedway and Tri-City Raceway Park hoping to get seasons started Friday night

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File Photo courtesy of Lernerville Speedway

Lernerville Speedway and Tri-City Raceway Park are hoping Mother Nature cooperates so they can get their 2026 seasons started on Friday night.

Lernerville is planning on Fab 4 Racing with the McConnell Memorial on top.  Sprint Cars, Late Models, Modifieds and Pro Stocks are on the card this evening.

Pits open at 4 p.m. with spectator gates opening at 5 p.m.  Hot Laps begin at 6:15 p.m. followed by racing at 7:30 p.m.

Four weather-related postponements have delayed opening night at Tri-City Raceway Park, who are preparing to drop the green flag Friday night with their regular 4 Star Racing show on its half-mile oval.

410 Sprint Cars will be competing for a $3,000 winner’s purse.  Joining the 410’s on tonight’s card will be the Pro Stocks, with the winner taking home $700!

The RUSH Sprint Cars are set to compete in their 40th race at the Venango County speedway. Tonight’s winning will get $600 for taking home the checkered flag.

The RUSH Stock Cars round out the evening as they return for their second season. Tonight’s winner will take home a $300 top prize.  The racing starts at 7 p.m.

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