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Macri is the Man on Labor Day at Port Royal

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PORT ROYAL, PA (September 7, 2020): Port Royal Speedway ran its 69th Annual Labor Day Classic during the 166th Annual Juniata County Fair. Taking the win, his sixth of the season at the track, was Anthony Macri, the twenty-year-old from Dillsburg, PA. Joining Macri in celebration were Todd Snook in the Limited Late Models, and Billy Brian, Jr. and Joey Biasi in the Wingless Super Sportsmen.

“I saw the 17 car (Ian Madsen) blow a right rear and I got a little worried becasue we had a softer tire on. I used it up,” said Macri. The daytime surface was hard on tires and Macri added “you gotta calm yourself down. I got worried becasue the tire was starting to rattle.”

Macri drew the pole for the 25 lapper. He was flanked by Jeff Halligan. T.J. Stutts and recent father Logan Wagner had row two. Brock Zearfoss and Rod Stroup were in row three. A.J. Flick and Tyler Bear were in row four. Then came Justin Peck and Mike Wagner. Danny Dietrich and Brent Marks, both of whom tasted victory racing on Saturday night were in row six. Cory Eliason and Lucas Wolfe were in row six. Buried deeper in the pack were invaders Cory Eliason (row six), Brian Brown (row ten) and Aaron Reutzel (row eleven).

Macri took the initial lead, but Halligan raced in his shadow. Halligan made a move for the lead on lap four, but Macri regained the top spot with a deft move in turn one on lap eight. The next time around, Zearfoss made a similar pass on Halligan for second. Meanwhile, Stutts, Logan Wagner, and Danny Dietrich were fighting for the remaining spots in the top five.

Ian Madsen popped the right rear tire, which worried Macri, on lap eleven. Another caution one lap later slowed the pace. Two more stoppages saved Macri from racing in heavy traffic.

Those interruptions gave Macri a clean track and he was able to set his own pace to control tire wear. Zearfoss took up the challenge and he was able to close in on Macri but he could not pull off the pass. “I tried the low side on the restarts,” Zearfoss commented, but it wasn’t clean enough down there,” as he gestured toward turn four. “To come from fifth to second was pretty good on a rubber down track.”

The top five consisted of Macri, Zearfoss, Logan Wagner, Halligan, and Dietrich. Stutts was sixth, Mike Wagner was seventh, followed by Flick, Cisney, and Peck. Zach Newlin passed ten cars on the difficult surface and earned the hard charger award and an extra $400.

The Heat victories went to Stutts, Halligan, and Macri. Kyle Reinhardt topped the B Main.

The Limited Late Model feature was essentially a three-car contest between Todd Snook, Dillan Stake, and Devin Hart. The three ran nose to tail through most of the race, with Snook maintaining control. Donnie Farling held off a stiff challenge from Andrew Yoder for fourth. Danny Snyder, Derrick Quade Randy Burkholder, Shawn Shoemaker,a nd Cah Myers completed the top ten.

Dillan Stake, Ryan Zook, and Hart were heat race winners. there was no B Main.

The Wingless Super Sportsmen raced a pair of features on the holiday card. Billy Brian, Jr. took the first victory. His last win at the speedway was in 1989, in a Limited Late Model. Kevin Gutshall, Joey Biasi, Craig Perigo, and Cliff Brian rounded out the top five. Biasi had the measure of the field in the second race. Eric Jennings, Steve Wilbur, Steve Whary, and Brian Hartzell were second through fifth in the make-up feature.

Craig Perigo, Biasi, Wilbur, and Jennings took the checkers in the heat races. Michael Smith won the
B Main.

Port Royal Speedway will embark upon its biggest race of the season, the Tuscarora 50. The action starts on Thursday with an All Stars Circuit of Champions race. Another tune-up will be held on Friday, again under the All Stars banner. The big event is Saturday and that will pay a whopping $53,000 to the winner.

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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