Local Racing
Michael Norris Wins “Jook George Steel City Classic”
IMPERIAL, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Michael Norris passed Ben Policz on lap 25 and survived a late restart to win the RUSH Late Model Series “Jook George Steel City Classic” Presented by Zarin Truck & Auto Saturday night at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Norris in Victory Lane. “I was hoping the track would get like that all night. (Kyle) Lukon and the 14 (Policz), we didn’t really touch at all. I tip my hat to those guys, they are good in this deal. I’m just happy to come out on top of them.”
Norris was talking about the battle between himself, pole-sitter and PPMS track champion Policz and last year’s Jook George winner Kyle Lukon.
Norris started fourth in the 26-car field and Lukon started second with Daryl Charlier starting third. The intense battle took a few minutes to get going as there was a quick caution with 2-laps down for Josh Ferry. Policz chose the outside for the restart and before the lap could be completed there was a huge, multi-car crash that involved nine cars including Robbie Scott, who was driving a second Zarin Motorsports entry and Cole Petrelle in the team car to Lukon. Fortunately no injuries were reported.
Once the race restarted Policz took the lead with Lukon in second and Norris in third after getting around Charlier.
Lukon chased down Policz on lap 12 and used a slick move to the outside to grab the lead. Norris got to second place with Policz falling to third.
Policz and Norris waged a battle for second but Lukon couldn’t get away as he was dealing with lap traffic. Norris was third on lap 23, less than a second out of the lead and two laps later he passed both Policz and Lukon to take the top spot.
“The Crusher Kid” was able to navigate lap traffic masterfully from that point, building a 7.8-second lead and appeared to be cruising towards a victory when John Mollick, who passed Policz for third place on lap 30, slammed into the outside wall between turns 1 and 2 on lap 39. Mollick walked away from his heavily damaged car.
Norris got a great restart and quickly pulled out to a 1-second lead over Lukon, who cut to a half-second but couldn’t get back to Norris.
“I love coming here, especially when it (the groove) gets up by the wall like that,” said Norris. “I figured Lukon would be close because this is his cup of tea as well. The temperature was getting pretty hot and I’m like ‘well, I’ll just keep going and hopefully if we win, I’ll buy him a new one’.”
The ‘him’ was Norris’ brother-in-law Nico Dabecco, who usually drives the #F1.
“I’ve got to thank my brother-in-law Nico Dabecco for letting me run his car,” said Norris. “It takes a big man to step out of your car and watch somebody else beat the crap out of it so I really appreciate it and I’m glad to get this win for him and my sister. This was kind of a whole family deal, so it’s really special.”
Norris won the $6,010 purse as well as the $1,000 bonus for contributing to the purse making the night’s haul a total, including contingencies, of $7,260 for the win. Not bad for a driver’s first time ever in a crate late model.
“I know this is a big deal and I appreciate ‘Cleetus’ (event coordinator Branden Lockwich) for everything he did putting this on. To bring up this much money in this day and age with everything going on that shows you how hard he worked. It’s awesome to race for this an hour from the house.”
Finishing Position – Starting spot – Driver name (car number) – Hometown
1 – 4 – Michael Norris (F1) – Sarver, PA
2 – 2 – Kyle Lukon (184) – Burgettstown, PA
3 – 1 – Ben Policz (14B) – Rices Landing, PA
4 – 15 – Kyle Hardy (14C) – Linden, VA
5 – 7 – Michael Duritsky (90J) – Masontown, PA
6 – 8 – Jeremy Wonderling (3J) – Wellesville, NY
7 – 25 – Joe Martin (10S) – Punxsutawney, PA
8 – 3 – Daryl Charlier (12) – Midway, PA
9 – 6 – Logan Zarin (1Z) – Moon, PA
10 – 13 – Levi Crowl (5C) – Clear Springs, MD
11 – 10 – Jake Gunn (14G) – McDonald, PA
12 – 14 – Dusty Waters (14W) – Portville, NY
13 – 5 – John Mollick (60M) – Toronto, OH
14 – 16 – Tommy Schirnhofer (8S) – Dormont, PA
15 – 20 – Garrett Paugh (03) – Elkins, WV
16 – 24 – Justin Lamb (93X) – Findlay Township, PA
17 – 12 – Max Blair (111) – Centerville, PA
18 – 22 – Josh Ferry (33) – Cochranton, PA
19 – 18 – John Waters (18) – Whitesville, NY
20 – 26 – Bill Kessler (09) – Freedom, PA
21 – 9 – Zach Gunn (17G) – McDonald, PA
22 – 11 – Keith Barbara (64K) – South Park, PA
23 – 19 – Christian Schneider (1ST) – Warren, OH
24 – 17 – Steve Dixon (65D) – Smethport, PA
25 – 21 – Robbie Scott (18) – Shinnston, WV
26 – 23 – Cole Petrelle (184P) – Weirton, WV
Dirt Racing
Gravel Grabs the Morgan Cup
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.
Dirt Racing
Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway cancels Saturday night program
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.”
Dirt Racing
Lernerville Speedway and Tri-City Raceway Park hoping to get seasons started Friday night
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.

