Local Racing
Dewease Does it Again at Port Royal Speedway
PORT ROYAL, PA (September 12, 2020): Seven was the lucky number for Lance Dewease, as he scored yet another victory in the Tuscarora 50 at Port Royal Speedway. The breaks went his way on this momentous night and he cashed in to the tune of $53,000. He inherited the lead in his heat race when Cale Thomas retired early and that put Dewease into the redraw for the feature event. He drew the pole position. And then, while chasing the leader with thirteen laps remaining, Rico Abreu’s car broke, putting Dewease on the point for the restart.
“Sometimes you have the fastest car but you still don’t win if the breaks don’t go your way. Tonight, the breaks went in our favor,” Dewease said. Dewease quickly added, though, that his team gave him a good car again this night. “I could drive it,” he said confidently.
Dewease was a little disappointed with his performance during the first half of the race. Although he led the first 17 laps, “I got a little too conservative with the lapped cars and I let Rico get by me,” said Dewease. “I thought that I’d be OK when we got back to traffic again.” Dewease was right. He was closing in on Abreu, but the clash of fan favorites never materialized because Abreu’s car broke before Dewease got back to within a car length or two.
Dewease’s seven wins in the Tuscarora 50 took place in four different decades. “To do it in four decades (actually, only 26 years) means two things,” he said. “I’m old. and I’ve been pretty good at his for a pretty long time.” Dewease added that he has been fortunate to drive for some very good people over that span. “I was here when they almost closed this place down,” Dewease recalled. “Steve O’Neil came in as promoter and he started to turn things around, and then they ran him off. They brought him back a few years later and he’s really improved this place.” Dewease was quick to acknowledge the contributions of the hard-working track crew, the dedicated Fair Board, and the loyal fans for making it all possible.
Dewease and Abreu were on the front row for the fifty lapper. T.J. Stutts made repairs to his motor after the heat race and lined up third, with Tyler Courtney next to him. The home town hero, Dylan Cisney started fifth, with the remaining re-draw position going to Anthony Macri. Tony Stewart and Kerry Madsen were in row four, with Danny Dietrich and night one winner, Cory Eliason, in row five. Then came Freddie Rahmer, Jr., and defending race champion, Aaron Reutzel. Buried deep in the pack were track points champion, Logan Wagner, and Kyle Larson. They rolled off in nineteenth and twenty-second respectively.
As anticipated, Dewease surged ahead of Abreu at the drop of the green. Stutts settled into third, but his night ended early. Just four laps into the race, his engine failed him again, and he was through for the night. On the ensuing restart, Dewease again cruised ahead of Abreu, with Macri now holding down the third position. Courtney and Kerry Madsen held down fourth and fifth. Then came Cisney, Tony Stewart, Eliason, Rahmer, and Reutzel.
Larson was climbing through the pack with relative ease. He reached twelfth by the lap four restart and within a couple of laps, he cracked the top ten. His forward progress slowed a bit, as he may have shifted into a conservation mode to save his equipment for the second half of the race.
With ten laps complete, Dewease was into traffic and Abreu started to challenge him for the lead. Soon thereafter, Abreu made his first bid for the lead in turn one, but Dewease calmly turned back under him in turn two to regain the lead as they raced off the corner. Abreu continued to apply the pressure and he succeeded in sliding ahead of Dewease while the two were picking their way through the slower cars.
Abreu led Dewease to the halfway mark, when the race was stopped for fuel. Dewease sat calmly in his car under the red while his veteran crew made some minor adjustments to the car. They also ground the tires to prevent them from sealing up during the stoppage, which was a trick employed by several of the racers, including Abreu, Macri, and Cisney. Meanwhile, Reutzel’s team was making a wing change and some major adjustments in an effort to find more speed for the All Stars points leader.
When racing resumed, Abreu had the point followed by Dewease, Macri, Courtney, Cisney, Madsen, Eliason, Larson, Reutzel, and Rahmer.
Abreu took off, but Dewease was close enough to try a slider for the lead. It did not work, as Abreu kept his momentum up by racing hard on the cushion. Abreu opened a few car lengths advantage over Dewease, but as he started to close in on the slower cars, Abreu’s car began to get loose in the corners. Dewease began to close in as Abreu bounced his car off the outer walls a couple of time.
The impacts, while seemingly minor, took their toll on Abreu’s car. With Dewease closing in, the leader slowed drastically and the caution was displayed for him on lap 37.
Dewease took the point, with Macri second, Courtney third, Cisney fourth, and Madsen fifth. Larson was up to sixth and Logan Wagner was next in line. Eliason, Reutzel, and Spencer Bayston were racing in the top ten at that point.
When the green light flashed on again, Macri spun his tires, and Dewease was able to open up a comfortable advantage. Cisney bolted into third and he started to press Macri for second Courtney was fending off the advances of Larson, while Reutzel was struggling with Madsen and Eliason. Reutzel’s attempt for the repeat ended a few laps later when he slowed after striking the wall one too many times.
This set up a ten lap run to the checkers, which Dewease was able to complete without difficulty. Macri and Cisney had the fans excited as the two young lions traded slide jobs several times per lap. Their contest, while entertaining, kept them both from chasing down the leader.
Macri finally broke free of Cisney with three or four laps left in the race. By then, Dewease had an insurmountable lead. Cisney had his hands full with Larson in the final few rounds of the speedway, but he was able to maintain third for an all-Posse podium. Larson claimed fourth and he also earned the hard charger bonus, with Eliason getting fifth. Logan Wagner was sixth, followed by Courtney, Bayston, Kerry Madsen, and Rahmer.
The heat winners were Macri, Dewease, Stutts, Abreu, Courtney, and Cisney. Remarkably, both Macri and Stutts nursed damaged engines to the finish line in their respective heats. Macri’s crew made an engine change and Stutts’ team made repairs to make the A Main grid.
The B Main win went to Logan Wagner. The race was marred by two major crashes. Instead of throwing the checkered flag with two cars spun to the inside of turn two on the last lap, All Stars officials called for a yellow, requiring the field to complete two more laps before the finish would be official. While several racers were fighting for the final transfer spots on what would have been the last lap, three cars entered turn three side by side. Unfortunately, several cars flipped, one leaving the track. At least three cars were destroyed and several others were heavily damaged. So, the field again tried a green-white-checker finish. This time, as the cars were headed to the checkered flag, there was contact between the ones fighting for the last transfer position. Both cars tumbled wildly into the first turn, collecting yet another car. Both the sixth and seventh place cars were destroyed. Fortunately, no drivers were hurt in either wreck.
The C Main winner was Shane Stewart.
Macri was the night’s fastest qualfier, turning a lap of 15.271 in Group A. Group B’s fastest racer was Kerry Madsen, at 15.478.
A non-qualifiers race was held before the A Main in an effort to widen the track and to slick it off for the feature. Lucas Wolfe picked up the win, which was worth $2,000 and a guaranteed starting spot in the 2021 Tuscarora 50. Brett Michalsk, Tyler Walton, Curt Stroup, and Tyler Bear completed the top five.
Port Royal will be idle until October 9-10, when the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series comes to town. The following week will be the first Speed Showcase 200 for the Modifieds of the Short Track Super Series. The fun will start Thursday, October 15 with a 40 lap feature. Friday will be qualifications and the 200 lapper will be held Saturday. Sportsmen will be the support division each night. The Blue Collar Nationals for the 305 Sprints and Limited Late Models will be pushed back a week to October 24 to accommodate the STSS Modifieds.
FRANKLIN, PA (July 10, 2024): This Sunday, July 14, the spotlight will shine on the Pro Stock division at the Tri City Raceway Park. The region’s top runners will be on hand, as the event will be part of the Penn Ohio Pro Stock Series. Of course, the track’s regulars will be there representing the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks.
“The Pro Stock class has long been part of the tradition at Tri City Raceway Park, and we are proud to have this battle among the best in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio at our track,” said the new owner Josh Shiffer.
“And, last week’s feature was a great example of the competitiveness that the Pro Stocks bring,” he added. Rod Laskey scored his first win of the season by holding off a strong challenge from Jackson Humanic, who was subbing for Josh Seippel. Seippel will be back from vacation in time for the invasion of the Penn Ohio series, in which he also competes. And, we know that Humanic will be hungry for a win after his strong finish last week.
Another track regular expected to be on hand will be Bobby Whitling. The “Seneca Slider” missed the last race due to a fuel pump failure detected at his garage. Tim Bish, a multi-time winner at Tri City this season, may return as well. He has been sidelined by an engine failure.
There will be plenty other talented drivers also carrying the Tri City flag, too. Pat Fielding, Doug Iorio, II, Russ Coyne, Jason Kimmy, Aaron Smith, Andrew Hammond, Jake Whitling, Charlie McMillen, Matt Bernard, and Hunter Exley are some whose names will be familiar to the Tri City fans.
The invaders will include Chris Schneider, who has already been a winner at Tri City this year. Tyler Dietz, Joey Zambotti, Chase Lambert, Brandon Connor, Jason Fosnaught, Brett Hutira, and Tommy Dembowski are among the Penn Ohio Series regulars who are expected as well.
This will be a unique opportunity for the Pro Stock fans to see many of the top stars on the track together, as the Sunday race date eliminates schedule conflicts for so many of the competitors.
But, there will be three other classes in action also. The Krill Recycling 410 Sprint Cars will be on the card, along with the 4 Your Car Connection RUSH Sprints. And, the 21st Century Energy Group 358 Modifieds will be back after their brief hiatus.
On Sunday evening, Matt Farnham and Michael Bauer provided a last lap thrill in the 410 Sprint Car ranks, while A.J. Flick was closing in on them both! John Mollick picked up his second win of the season with young Blaze Myers right behind him in the Rush Sprinters.
While many of his competitors were enjoying the week off from racing, 358 Modified point leader Chad Reitz was at Tri City helping his friend, Bob Felmlee. Felmlee is the points leader in the Krill Recycling 410 Sprints. Reitz will be ready with his Ford powered Modified, the only Blue Oval among the Bowtie Brigade. Eric Gabany will probably be at the controls of Steve Slater’s car once again, as medical issues have kept Slater out of the seat for the last couple of weeks. Hayden and Jimmy Holden, Kyle Fink, Lenny Liebold, III, Makayla Shannon, Frank Guidace, Eric Beggs, Troy McGregor, and many others will be looking for their first wins this season.
Regular event ticket pricing will apply for this exciting event. That means adult admission will be $15. Seniors (ages 62 and up), students (ages 11 through 16), and military will be $13, all with proper identification. The children (ages 10 and under) will be admitted for free, as usual at Tri City. The Pit Passes will be $35, with the exception of those required for the infants (ages 2 and under). The youngsters will be pitside for just $15.
The pit gates will be open at 2 p.m. and the spectator gates will open at 4 p.m. Racing will begin at 6 p.m. There will be practice for the Pro Stocks before the racing begins in earnest.
If you cannot make it to Tri City Raceway Park this week, consider the weekend doubleheader coming up on July 20 and 21. Saturday will feature a Demolition Derby and an Enduro. Next will be a Sunday Thunder program, along with Bike races for the children. Helmets will be required for all riders.
Also, mark your racing calendars for the return of the FAST on Dirt Sprint Car Series on July 28.
The divisional sponsors of Tri City Raceway Park for 2024 are: Krill Recycling, LLC (410 Sprint Cars), 21st Century Energy Group (358 Modifieds), Hovis Auto & Truck Supply (Pro Stocks), and 4 Your Car Connection (RUSH Sprint Cars).
All competitors at Tri City Raceway Park will be eligible for the Marsh Heating & Cooling Heat Race Challenge. The driver that wins the most heat races over the courseof the season, regardless of the class, will receive a special award. Currently leading in that category is Tim Bish.
Other marketing partners of Tri City Raceway Park for 2024 include: Erie Beer, Wab-Tec (manufacturer of locomotive engines), Schaeffer Lubricants, Keystone Transit (school buses), Blue Ox Timbers (buyers of timberland timber land management), Constable Refuse (residential and commercial garbage collectors), First Rate Realty (real estate sales), Landscape Connection (portable toilets and landscape supplies), KEI-Klapec Express Inc. (trucking company), BKI-Bert Klapec Inc. (excavation and demolition), Shambaugh Towing, Gibson Hill Automotive (auto repair), McCandless Ford Sales (located in Mercer and Meadville), McCandless Trailer Sales (located in Mercer and Meadville), Big Dog RC (remote controlled cars and race track), McGregor Excavating, Les Frickshun (lubricants and undercoating), Bish Heating & Cooling, Wet Hose LLC (pressure washing), Heffern Septic Service, Tionesta Builders Supply (located in Tionesta and Shippenville), UCIP-United Community Independence Program (housing and services for the handicapped), Close Racing Supply, Billy’s Garage & Towing, Oakland-Rampart Equipment (makers of centrifugal dryers, wash systems, and separators), Shaw Industries (machine shop), Welding Technologies, Froggie Radio, and Hards Welding.
Remember that you will need to check the Facebook page, Tri City Raceway Park, for current information. The former website is not updated and will soon be replaced.
Tri-City Raceway Park is located just a few miles north of Franklin, PA, at 3430 State Route 417 in Oakland Township. Professional auto racing will be presented in a family friendly atmosphere most Sunday evenings from May through Labor Day weekend.
HARTFORD, OH (July 12, 2024): Bobby Pierce chipped away again at Brandon Sheppard’s point lead on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series tour. His win on night one of the Sharon Showdown was worth $10,000. It was his third consecutive win.
Pierce mounted hard tires for the forty lapper, while many of his adversaries went with softer rubber, The decision seemed to be foolish at the start of the race, as Ryan Gustin got a hole shot on him. “It was slimy when we took the green and the hard tire did not like that. I lost four spots on the start,” Pierce noted. It took a while for the tires to come in, but, when they did, he took off. Pierce steadily moved forward, picking up most of the positions that he gave away at the start. Then, he chased down Gustin for the lead on lap twenty-one. In the second half of the race, it was a matter of keeping the tires warm, especially under the yellow. But, he added, “the last ten laps, I was hanging on. The track was tricky.”
Cade Dillard, who finished second, was one of the racers on softer tires. “We had a good car, but he (Pierce) just kept getting better and better.” Nonetheless, Dillard was pleased with the podium finish. “We needed a good run with all the bad luck lately. Hopefully, we can do better tomorrow night, but I’ll take a podium finish all night long.”
Gustin was in control for the first half of the race, but he struggled after losing the lead to Pierce. “We missed it a little bit on the set-up. It is what it is. It’s what these two-day shows are like. If you don’t win on the first night, you learn from it and go on to the next one.”
Pierce drew the pole, with Nick Hoffman on his flank. Gustin lined up in third, with Brian Shirley as his dance partner. Dillard and Michael Norris were in row three. Dennis Erb, Jr. and Brandon Sheppard made up row four. The fifth belonged to Kyle Bronson and Cody Overton. Row six paired Dustin Sorenson and Tyler Breuning.
Pierce had no grip at the start of the race, and he slid up the track coming off turn four. That left the bottom open for Gustin and he quickly filled the void. Gustin blasted by Pierce and Hoffman, who settled into second. Dillard took third on the opening lap. Then came Pierce, Shirley, Erb, Bronson, Sorenson, Max McLaughlin, and Norris.
Dillard moved into second before the first caution, which came on lap two. By lap five, Hoffman regained second, and Pierce followed him into third.
Gustin built up a commanding lead, and he was already into lapped traffic on lap nine. This allowed Hoffman and Pierce to start to narrow the margin.
On lap eighteen, Pierce worked by Hoffman in traffic. Meanwhile, Gustin cleared several lapped cars and he had a bit of a clear track ahead of him. But Pierce’s tires were coming in, and he chipped away at the lead. It only took him three laps to catch and pass Gustin.
Pierce opened a slight advantage, but a caution on lap twenty-five eliminated that. On the ensuing restart, Dillard rolled off the top of turn two to take second away from Gustin and Bronson charged past Gustin coming off turn four. Bronson could not keep the position, as Gustin rallied to take it back on lap twenty-nine.
Pierce built up a comfortable lead in the final stage of the race. However, he caught a trio of lapped cars that were fighting for position. Pierce opted to follow them the last couple of laps instead of trying to poke his nose into the middle of their contest. This enabled Dillard to close, but he ran out of laps and he could not mount a challenge for the lead.
Pierce, Dillard, and Gustin grabbed the first three positions. Bronson was fourth, with Hoffman picking up the fifth spot. Sixth through tenth went to Sheppard, Norris, Sorenson, Shirley, and Erb.
Gregg Satterlee was the hard charger, advancing seven positions to take thirteenth in the pay line.
There were four heats, with Gustin, Pierce, Shirley, and Hoffman taking the laurels.Dave Hess, Jr. and Alex Ferree captured the B Mains. Gustin set the best time overall, topping Group A with a lap of 15.238 seconds. Shirley topped Group B with a lap fo 15.442 seconds.
In the RUSH Sprint Car feature, John Mollick charged from his outside front row starting spot to lead the opening lap, ahead of Gale Ruth, Jr., Brent Rhebergen, Blaze Myers, Trent Marshall, and Arnie Kent. While Mollick continued to lead, Rhebergen and Myers battled for the second spot. However, that came to an end when Myers got up over the berm in turn four, losing several positions before slowing to bring out the caution with six laps remaining.
Kent stepped up to challenge Rhebergen for second and he secured the position with two to go. Kent chased Mollick to the finish. Rhebergen was third, followed by Charlie Utsinger and Bill Cunningham. Ruth, Marshall, Amelia Clay, Billy Myers, and Curt Emings completed the top ten.
Ruth and Mollick split the heat wins. There was no B Main.
The Econo Modified feature closed out the night. The twenty lapper was shortened to fourteen laps because the twenty-minute time limit expired. Dennis Lunger passed Jeremy Double on the final restart to get the win.
Jacob Eucker, Jarrett Young, and Andy Buckley completed the top five. Buzz Seitz, Arianna Samuelson, Zack Eller, Carter Bidwell, and Troy Pinch were the next five finishers.
Double, Seitz, and Eucker won the preliminaries. There was no B Main.
HAGERSTOWN, MD (July 4, 2024): Logan Schuchart again enjoyed his time off from the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series in victory lane during Pennsylvania Speedweek. He joined Danny Dietrich and Anthony Macri as two-time winners on the circuit. It was Schuchart’s third win overall in his last four starts.
Schuchart benefited from the draw for top starting spots. He drew the number one, again, and that certainly facilitated his drive to victory. Schuchart noted that, on the big half mile, the field got separated, so the air got better as the race went on. He amassed a huge lead before the only caution, on lap twenty-four, and he did not know how hard he had to push. He also observed that “when (he) came up on lapped cars, (he) could go wherever (he) wanted.”
The win “means a lot to me. It’s been ten years since I’ve been here.” Once again, he watched a lot of videos to prepare for the race. This time, they were vintage films of his grandfather, Bobby Allen, racing against the likes of Doug Wolfgang.
Troy Wagaman, Jr., who was making his first ever start at the Capitol of Dirt Track Racing, started second and ran second the entire thirty lap distance. “It sucks being in dirty air. I tried to keep pace, but he (Schuchart) got away.”
Anthony Macri did not time well and he did not win his heat race, so he and Speedweek rival Danny Dietrich started outside the coveted re-draw positions.
Nonetheless, Macri was strong in the second half of the race and reached third, one spot ahead of Dietrich. “It took a little bit for the car to come in, and for me to find a good line.” He certainly was comfortable in the stretch run. “Hopefully, we chipped away at the points.”
Schuchart and Wagaman drew into the front row for the feature event. Chad Trout and Justin Whittal were in row two. The third consisted of Kody Hartlaub and Lance Dewease. Then came Macri and Danny Dietrich. T.J. Stutts and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. were paired up in row five. Next in line were Jacob Allen and Cameron Smith.
Schuchart jumped out to the lead at the drop of the green and he quickly distanced himself from his old karting foe, Wagaman. Whittal, Hartlaub, Trout, Danny Dietrich, Dewease, Macri, Rahmer, and Devon Borden followed.
As Schuchart and Wagaman drove away, Danny Dietrich began his march to the front. He was up to fourth by lap six. It took him seven more trips around the fast half mile to reach third. By lap twenty, he was still in third, but he was starting to test Wagaman for the role as the first chaser.
A caution on lap twenty-four for the disabled car of Mike Waltyer, Jr. bunched the pack up again. Dietrich readied himself to make a charge on Wagaman, but he did not get away cleanly. Instead, it was Macri, who lined up fourth for the restart, that got a good jump. After a short but spirited battle, Macri sailed by Dietrich heading down the backstretch on lap twenty-six.
Macri closed in on Wagaman, but the laps ran out before he could make a move for the second position.
At the checkers, it was Schuchart, Wagaman, Macri, Dietrich, and Whittal. Trout, Dewease, Hartlaub, Stutts, and Borden took positions six through ten.
The three heats went to Hartlaub, Wagaman, and Schuchart. Lucas Wolfe won the B Main. There were thirty-one sprints signed in for the event.
Hunter Mackison, who was making his first Speedweek start of 2024, flipped at the start of the B Main. He was not hurt in the incident.
Speedweek moves back to Williams Grove Speedway for the Mitch Smith Memorial, paying $20,000 to the winner. Danny Dietrich leads Anthony Macri by thirty points headed into that contest. Troy Wagaman, Jr., Devon Borden, and Kody Hartlaub round out the top five in Speedweek rankings. Schuchart has remarkably climbed into seventh in Speedweek standings.
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