Dirt Racing
Shaffer Scores at Lincoln
ABBOTTSTOWN, PA (March 6, 2021): Tim Shaffer, the ‘Steel City Outlaw’, celebrated his first win as the newest member of the Pennsylvania Posse, an endearing term reserved for those regularly racing in cozy Central Pennsylvania. Although Shaffer has not relocated to the midstate, the Aliquippa native plans to spend many race nights competing at Lincoln Speedway and other famous eastern venues. On this occasion, he triumphed over midwestern invader Hunter Schuerenberg, who seemed to have the race well in hand until his driving error led to a wounded racecar.
This is not the first time in his Hall of Fame career that Shaffer was regarded as a member of the Posse. As he was climbing the ladder in Sprint Car racing, Shaffer spent a year and a half racing in Central PA, including an extended stay in the Apple Chevrolet car owned by Bob Stewart and wrenched by Shaffer’s pal, Lee Stauffer. Remarkably, that team never graced victory lane at Lincoln together. “I have a lot of friends back here,” Shaffer said.
Shaffer left Stewart and Stauffer to take the ride in the Selma Shell car from California, and he became a traveler after that. Shaffer spent years as a member of the Outlaw fraternity, hence his nickname, as well as racing with the All Stars and other sanctions along the way. Ironically, Shaffer’s move to the Selma Shell car brought Memphis driver Greg Hodnett to the Keystone State, as they essentially swapped rides. Hodnett went on to great success as a Posse member himself before tragically losing his life in a racing accident while driving for Mike Heffner. Hodnett was posthumously elected to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
“Mike Heffner, thank you very much for giving me a great opportunity,” Shaffer noted. His options for 2021 were not looking very promising before hooking up with the venerable car owner about two months ago. Now, they find themselves atop the national leader board in feature wins in the early part of the season. His other two victories came against 360 Sprint competition in the Sunshine State.
“It is all about communication,” Shaffer explained. In just this short time, Shaffer has bonded with crew chief Heath Moyle, and it will be interesting to see how the season unfolds.
Shaffer has showed an uncanny knack for negotiating Lincoln Speedway. On opening day, he marched from twenty-second on the grid to twelfth in the payoff line. This week, he did not have so much ground to cover, as he pulled the number three pill for the main event. “The track was kinda narrow,” Shaffer observed, “but it had two grooves and I could move around some.” He was able to “bend” the car around corners, as he put it, and he could get under other drivers coming off the turns. Indeed, that was how he assumed the lead with just a couple of laps remaining.
The second place finisher, Schuerenberg, had a fast car all day, but he was unable to make the inside moves like Shaffer. Schuerenberg had a problem holding the inside line off turn four on the start of his heat race, bouncing into his partner and leaving the bottom line open for a holeshot from the third place starter to take the lead. In the feature, Schuerenberg was leading when he tried to put a lap on Chad Trout. Schuerenberg’s left front wheel struck Trout’s right rear tire, flattening it, and Glendon Forsythe scooted by for the lead. Because Trout was unable to limp off the track, the caution was displayed, and Schuerenber was put back on the point for the restart. However, the damage was done. Schuerenberg had a broken and loosened nose wing, a bent torsion tube, and a broken shock.
“I really wish we didn’t have that incident with that lapped car that bent a torsion tube and broke a shock,” Schurenberg explained. Schuerenberg was able to maintain his speed when racing in clean air, but when he caught slower cars, he had to be more cautious. And, to make matters worse, his car developed a fuel leak and his legs were soaked with fuel. “I didn’t want to jam on the brakes and throw a spark into the cockpit.” He concluded, “I think we had the car to beat,” and remarked that he was looking forward to coming back into the area for some extra laps before the start of the All Stars season.
The front row for the start belonged to Forsythe and Schuernberg. Shaffer and Billy Dietrich were in the second row. Kyle Moody and Rick Lafferty were in the third. Steve Buckwalter and Tim Glatfelter came next, with Chase Dietz and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. behind them. The sixth pair were Dylan Norris and Tyler Ross. Once again, some heavy hitters were sprinkled through the second half of the starting field. Kerry Madsen made his first start for Michael Barshinger from row seven, as did Matt Campbell. Danny Dietrich was inside row eight, Alan Krimes outside row nine, and last week’s winner, Tim Wagaman, was in row eleven.
Schuerenberg took the early lead, followed by Forsythe, Billy Dietrich, Shaffer, and Moody. Trout slowed to a stop on the frontstretch to inform track officials of a safety issue on Brandon Rahmer’s car. Rahmer pitted because the fuel tank was loose and he was unable to continue. Trout was put back into the proper running order.
The leaders ran single file until Schuerenberg’s incident with Trout on lap seven. On the restart, Billy Dietrich made a bold inside move to take second from Forsythe, but a flip by Buckwalter in turn one brought out the red and negated the pass. On the second try, Forsythe looked to the inside of Schurenberg in turn one and Shaffer peeked to the outside of Dietrich. No passes were completed, however.
Shaffer moved by Billy Dietrich nine laps into the race with an inside move off turn two. He began to close in on Forsythe and took over second soon after the crossed flags were shown to the field.
With Schuerenberg encountering lapped cars with increasing frequency, Shaffer started to close in. The question was whether there would be enough time for him to work past the leader. The question was answered on lap 26. Shaffer pinched the car to the inside coming off turn four and he powered by for the lead. Then Billy Dietrich took up the chase of Schuerenberg in the final laps, but he was unable to make a move for second.
Shaffer grabbed the win, much to the delight of the small but hardy crowd. Schuerenberg was impressive in taking second with the dmaged machine. Billy Dietrich, Forsythe, and Moody rounded out the top five. Danny Dietrich was sixth, followed by Dietz, Freddie Rahmer, Jr., Glatfelter, and Lafferty.
Shaffer, Glatfelter, and Forsythe were the heat winners. Trout copped the B Main. There were 27 cars signed in for the event.
Next week will be the last afternoon race for Lincoln Speedway, but it will be the first doubleheader. The Central PA Legends cars will join the fun. Racing will commence at 2 p.m. March 20 will be the first Sprint Car doubleheader, as the 358 Sprints make their season debut. March 27 will see the PASS/IMCA 305 Sprints in their stead. March 20 and 27 will be 6 p.m. starts.
PORT ROYAL, PA (May 27, 2023): Anthony Macri scorched the field in round one of the Bob Weikert Memorial at the Port Royal Speedway. His seventh All Stars victory at the track and twenty-second of his career was worth a hefty $10,000 and it made him the odds-on favorite to take home $29,000 more when the weekend celebration of speed concludes on Sunday evening. But finishing behind the Dillsburg pilot were four other members of the PA Posse.
Macri dominated the top like no other racer in the twenty-nine lap affair that went non-stop. His margin of victory was 9.667 seconds. Macri was unsure of his race strategy. He did not know if he should get to the front early or whether he should hold back and let his competitors “burn up their stuff.” Ultimately, he let his car make the decision for him. “I was making decent speed, so I decided to go up top. I figured that I couldn’t pass anybody running the same line as they were.” He summed, that “it was a pleasure” to drive he car this night.
A re-draw of the top ten drivers in passing points determined teh starting line-up. Mike Wagner was the lucky fellow to grab the pole. Next to him was Justin Whittal. Tyler Courtney and Macri populated row two. Zeb Wise and Devon Borden ahd the third row. Tim Shaffer and Brent Marks mad up the fourth row. Behind them were Tyler Bear and Logan Wagner. Cory Eliason and Jeff Halligan were in row six.
Lance Dewease rolled away from the outside of row eight, and Dylan Cisney from the inside of row ten. After experiencing engine problems in his heat and failing to transfer from the B, Danny Dietrich used a track provisional to start dead last.
Mike Wagner fought off Whittal and Courtney in turn one to take the lead. Macri, Wise, Logan Wagner, who is back in black, Marks, Borden, Halligan, and Bear followed.
Mike Wagner led the first ten laps. However, toward the end of that run, he encountered lapped traffic, and many of those drivers were using the inside line, which he preferred. That enabled Macri to close in. With Mike Wagner stick behind some slower cars, Macri blasted around the top of turns one and two to take the lead with eleven laps completed.
“He (Macri) was really good. I was good the first ten laps but then the car loosened up,” the Legend noted. Mike Wagner added that he had pulled his wing all the way back, but he was still spinning his tires, and Macri just drove away from him.
While the first two positions were well settled, the rest of the top ten was in doubt. Courtney held third until the second half of the race. Logan Wagner took third with about ten laps to go. But both Logan Wagner and Courtney faded in the final few laps. Marks and Dewease chased them down to get third and fourth, respectively. Logan Wagner held on for fifth.
Wise, Halligan, and Whittal also passed Courtney in the stretch run. Courtney was ninth and Blane Heimbach was tenth.
Although Heimbach passed eleven cars in the race, he lost the hard charger honors to Dewease, who was plus twelve.
There were four heats. The winners were Gerrard McIntyre, Jr., Logan Wagner, Macri, and Heimbach. Heimbach also won the B Main. He was
required to run the B becasue his heat win came from the pole position, and he did not earn enough passing points to make the A Main.
The evening’s fastest qualifier was Borden, with a remarkable lap of 16.940 seconds.
In the twenty lapper for the PASS IMCA 305 Sprint Cars, Logan Spahr chased drown early leader Jared Zionkowski just past halfway. Spahr led the rest of the way to earn his sixth series win in a row!
Zionkowski, who started on the pole, held on for second. Seth Schnoke ran third the full twenty laps. Jeff Weaver, Jr. and Ken Duke completed the top five.
Kenny Heffner, Doug Dodson, Mike Melair, Austin Reed, and Zach Rhoades were sixth through tenth.
The quartet of heat winners consisted of Dodson, Jason Roush, Dustin Young, and Heffner. Mike Alleman took the B Main. Heffner was also the evening’s fastest qualifier in the timed hot lap sessions. He toured the big half mile in 18.557 seconds.
A Feature (29 Laps): 1. 39M-Anthony Macri[4]; 2. 55W-Mike Wagner[1]; 3. 19-Brent Marks[8]; 4. 69K-Lance Dewease[16]; 5. 1-Logan Wagner[10]; 6. 26-Zeb Wise[5]; 7. 45H-Jeff Halligan[12]; 8. 67-Justin Whittall[2]; 9. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[3]; 10. 12-Blane Heimbach; 11. 23-Devon Borden[6]; 12. 45-Tim Shaffer[7]; 13. 77K-Tyler Bear[9]; 14. 11-Cory Eliason[11]; 15. 29W-Danny Dietrich; 16. 5-Dylan Cisney[19]; 17. 5W-Lucas Wolfe[13]; 18. 33M-Gerard McIntyre Jr[20]; 19. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[18]; 20. 4-Chris Windom[17]; 21. 35-Austin Bishop[14]; 22. 47K-Kody Lehman; 23. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[15]; 24. 29-Sye Lynch; 25. 33W-Michael Walter; 26. 35S-Jason Shultz LAP LEADERS: Mike Wagner (1-10), Anthony Macri (11-29)
2023 All Star Circuit of Champions DRIVER Standings (As of 5/27):
Tyler Courtney – 1348
Chris Windom – 1256
Hunter Schuerenberg – 1246
Tim Shaffer – 1240
J.J. Hickle – 1180
Scotty Thiel – 1178
Conner Morrell – 1114
Zeb Wise – 1066
Parker Price-Miller – 956
Sye Lynch – 898
MECHANICSBURG, PA (May 26, 2023): For Lance Dewease, his second win of the season and 113th of his career at Williams Grove Speedway was very significant. It achieved a goal that he and his car owner, Don Kreitz, Jr., set during the off-season. That was for Kreitz to overtake the late Al Hamilton as the winner of the most features as a car owner at the venerable track. Kreitz now has 93 checkers to his credit, 61 as an owner-driver and the rest as the owner for Dewease.
While Dewease thanked Kreitz for the opportunity, he dedicated the win to the third member of the Hall of Fame Dream Team. Davey Brown, his octogenarian crew chief, was absent due to an illness for the second week in a row. “Davey’s not feeling well, he’s at home watching,” Dewease explained. Then, he added with a laugh, “his daughter kept texting us all night.” Dewease added that he anticipates having Brown back for the two-day All-Stars event upcoming at Port Royal Speedway.
Dewease conceded that he may not have had the fastest car. “I think Freddie (Rahmer, Jr.) was the fastest car here, but we got some breaks.” One was for a lap ten miscue by the race leader, Chase Dietz, who did a 360 between turns three and four that collected Rahmer, who was racing in fifth at the time. The incident not only eliminated two strong contenders who had track position on Dewease, it also brought the new leader, Anthony Macri, back to him.
Dewease restarted in fifth, behind Macri, Devon Borden, Tyler Courtney, and Dylan Norris. He wasted no time moving up one position in turn one, and then he picked off another in turn three. On the next lap, Dewease was second, but he was already a good distance behind Macri.
The other break for Dewease came when Macri spun his tires and jumped the cushion in turn two with six laps remaining. At that moment, Macri was still in range to overtake Dewease as the leader, but he lost his momentum and, importantly, the runner-up position. For just two laps later, Courtney got a flat but Macri was stuck in third behind Dewease and Danny Dietrich for the final restart. Needless to say, Macri was not a factor in the last four laps.
Dietz had the pole for the start of the thirty lapper as a result of his victory in the dash. Next to him was Borden. Tim Shaffer and Macri were in row two, with Norris and Courtney in row three. Dewease and Kyle Moody were the final dash eligible drivers in the line-up. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. occupied row five, with Danny Dietrich and Jimmy Siegel in row six.
Dietz seized control in turns one and two on the opening lap, but Macri was pressing him for the lead as they headed toward turn three. Borden stayed close in third, with Shaffer, Courtney, Norris, Rahmer Jr., Dewease, Moody, and Hafertepe following.
Dietz began to compile an advantage in the early laps while Macri and Borden battled for second. Macri was holding the spot when Dietz spun on his own with ten complete.
While Macri paced the field after the green flag dropped, it was Dewease who was making the most progress. In just two laps, he was into second and he began to whittle away at Macri’s lead.
Dewease made a couple of attempts to pass Macri, but exercising the discretion and patience of a veteran, Dewease did not force the issue. The opportunity presented itself as the duo raced off turn four to complete lap nineteen. Dewease, who was forced to search around for several laps because Macri took away his preferred low line, was able to get inside of Macri this particular time.
Dewease maintained control despite having some troubles with slower cars as the race entered its final stages. Macri’s misfortune gave Dewease some breathing room and it also provided a buffer in the form of Danny Dietrich. Then, Courtney’s flat tire reset the running order and it eliminated the lapped cars.
Dewease was not challenged in the last four rounds of the speedway. He crossed the line more than three seconds ahead of Dietrich to get win number 45 with the All Stars and $10,000. Macri was third, followed by Borden and Moody. Norris, Siegel, Cory Eliason, Zeb Wise, and Brent Marks completed the top ten.
Four heats were presented on Doug Esh Tribute night. The winners were Borden, Moody, Shaffer, and Dewease. The B Main victory went to Kyle Reinhardt. The fastest qualifier overall was Norris, with a lap of 16.999 seconds.
Williams Grove Speedway will present the 410 Sprints along with the Bill Gallagher Memorial 5G to win USAC East Coast 360 Sprint Cars on June 2. Plus there will be a phot shoot with the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing and fireworks that night. The following week will feature the 410 and 358 Sprints on Fan Appreciation Night. All general admission ticket holders will be allowed outside before the racing begins to meet their favorite stars.
June 16 will have the 410 Sprints racing along with the USAC National Sprints as part of the annual Eastern Storm tour. Then come the two PA Speedweek events on June 23 and 30.
FRANKLIN, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Tri-City Raceway Park will present its first special of the season this Sunday, May 28. Three divisions of Modifieds will be in action on the big half mile oval. The ground pounding Big Blocks of the BRP Modified Tour will make their first appearance of the season. A return engagement is set for Labor Day Weekend. The UMP Modifieds will make their first appearance as well. And, the Vintage Modifieds will add a little nostalgia to the event when they race in the Lloyd Keith Memorial.
“We are really excited to have all of those Modifieds at the speedway,” said owner and promoter Merle Black. “The BIg Blocks and the UMP Modifieds were once part of the weekly shows at Tri City, so bringing them back for a special appearance over the Memorial Day holiday weekend is fantastic,” he added. “And, everybody likes to see the Vintage Cars because it brings back fond memories.”
The track’s 358 Modifieds are not on the card for this one, but all of those racers are invited to participate with the BRP Modified Tour. Many fans can remember when a 358 driven by Gary Smoker upset the Big Blocks at Tri-City and it could happen again. Those 358s that do take the challenge will not receive any track points for this contest, but there would be no limit to the bragging rights if Ayden Cipriano, for example, could back up his career first 358 Modified victory against the regional Big Block stars.
While those three Modified divisions alone would be enough to whet any race fan’s appetite, there is even more on-track action to enjoy. The 410 Sprint Cars and the 4 Your Car Connection Four Cylinder Mini Stocks are going to log their second races of the season. Ohio pilot Ricky Peterson defeated defending track champion A.J. Flick in round one for the winged warriors last Sunday. Matt Urey dominated the Four Cylinder Mini Stocks. Can they repeat?
Black went all in for this event. He added the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks. Tyler Wyant captured his first of the 2023 season in the opener, so he, too, will try to double up on May 28.
There will be added purse money on the line for the 410 Sprint Cars, Pro Stocks, and Four Cylinder Mini Stocks thanks to Virgile Iron & Steel, Travis Harry Racing Engines, Bish Heating & Cooling, Grandview Auto Body, Singleton Family Chiropractic, Siple Racing Edits, and Bernard’s Electrical Services and Troubleshooting. The 410 Sprints will now pay $2,200 to win, the Pro Stock winner will now take home $1,000.02, and the Mini Stocks will battle for $500!
And, there are extras for the fans, too. In addition to the added classes in competition, two lucky fans will be eligible for an upgrade to the VIP section courtesy of Bernard’s Electrical Services and Troubleshooting. Plus, there will be a big bonfire and a DJ on Saturday night, as well as free camping throughout the holiday weekend!
Fans can enjoy all of this racing and the pre-race activities for the low price of $20 for Adults. Seniors (ages 60 and up) and Students (ages 10 to 16) will be admitted for $15. Children (under the age of 10) will be free, as usual. Pit Passes will be $35.
Pit gates will open at 2 p.m., with spectator gates opening at 4 p.m. Practice sessions will start at 5:30. Heat races will commence at 6 p.m.
Remember that Tri-City Raceway Park will host the final round of the Western PA Sprint Car Speedweek on June 3. The other Sunday Thunder divisions will also be in action. So come out to watch the 358 Modifieds, the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks, and the 4 Your Car Connection Four Cylinder Mini Stocks.
Also, there will be no auto racing on June 11. Instead, the track will present the All American Rodeo Company on Saturday, June 10, under the auspices of the International Professional Rodeo Association.
Further information about Tri-City Raceway Park can be obtained by calling the track office at 724-967-4601, or by e-mailing the office at tricityracewaypark2020@gmail.com. Or, you can check the web at Tri-CityRacewayPark.com, or the Facebook page at Tri City Raceway Park. 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.
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