Dirt Racing
Miley, Shingledecker, Lynch, and Clark Dominate at Lernerville
(Sarver, PA June 11, 2021): Four drivers turned in dominant performances at Lernerville Speedway. Three of the winners were familiar names–Jared Miley (Late Models), Jeremiah Shingledecker (Pictured above – Big Block Modifieds), and Sye Lynch (410 Sprints). The fourth to reach victory lane was Justin Clark in the Allegheny Sprint Tour for 305 Sprint Cars.
“I found a nice lane on the restart and I thought I could get him,” Miley said of his mid-race move that relegated early leader Colton Flinner to the role of the first chaser. Once out front, Miley set sail. “When the track is wet, we’re really good. We’ve got to do some work on the slick,” he added when asked about what he needs to do to get ready for the Firecracker 100 coming soon to the Action Track.
Flinner lined up next to Tommy Beck for the first twenty-five leap feature of the night. Kelvin Kohan and Will Thomas were in the second row, with Levi Yetter and Ken Schaltenbrand in the third. Clay Ruffo and Tyler Gietz were in row four, with former champions Alex Ferree and Maily in the fifth row.
Flinner bolted out to an early lead, with Beck, Thomas, Kohan, and Schaltenbrand following. A couple of cautions slowed the pace in the early laps of the event. On the second restart, with seven laps complete, there was contact between Beck and Gary Lyle, who had worked his way to the front. Lyle got up into the fluff and lost several positions. Miley snuck past Beck during the incident, and he pursued Flinner.
Flinner continued to lead Miley through lap fifteen. Miley had several shots to overtake Flinner on restarst in this segment of the race, but he was unable to overtake the leader. The lap fifteen restart proved to be the turning point in the contest.
Miley led the rest of the way. Flinner raced along in second. Beck tussled with Schaltenbrand before losing the third position in the final laps of the race. Dietz crossed in fifth. Lyle rebounded to get the sixth spot. He was trailed by Yetter, Clayton Kennedy, Collin Burke, and Logan Zarin.
A pair of heats were held, with Flinner and Beck taking the checkers. There was no B Main.
Jeremiah Shingledecker used his second starting spot to launch into the lead at the drop of the green for the Big Block Modifieds. He had a huge advantage wiped out by a red flag on lap twenty when fourth place runner John Mollick tumbled in turn four.
That incident put Garrett Krummert on the outside for the restart, but he had nothing for Shingledecker on the restart. “It was a lot better before the caution came out,” Shingledecker noted. “Garrett’s been good all season,’ he added, “but the bite was really good in the middle and it was a little rough on the outside, so I thought that I would be OK.”
In the final five laps, the battle was for the third position. Brain Swartzlander held it until two laps remained. Rex King, Jr. grabbed the position with a strong move off turn two. Swartzlander held off Rex King, Sr. at the finish.
Rick Regalski, Steve Feder, Dave Murdick, Chas Wolbert and Colton Walters completed the top ten. Wolbert was making his fist start in a Big Block Modified this night.
King Jr. and Mollick prevailed in the preliminaries. There was no B Main.
Sye Lynch had the pole position for the 410 Sprint A Main. Next to him was A.J. Flick. The two drivers from Apollo, PA ran ahead of the other drivers, with Lynch building upon his lead. Flick seemed to have second sewn up, but he spun unexpectedly in turn four with twenty-one laps in the books.
Brandon Matus fired off second on the restart, but Lynch had no difficulty holding the point. George Hobaugh was third. David Kalb turned in an impressive run to get the fourth spot. Dan Kuriger was fifth. Flick charged back through the field to claim sixth. Ralph Spithaler, Bryan Salisbury, and Matt Sherlock completed the top ten.
“The track was really tricky,” Lynch observed. “When you start on the pole, you don’t know what the other guys are doing. It was a real shame what happened to A.J., he’s really tough here,” Lynch commented.
Darin Gallagher and Brandon Matus won their respective heats. Gallagher’s win was costly, as he lost his motor after taking the checkers. Gallagher was unable to start the A Main. Also unable to start the feature were Jack Sodeman, Jr., and Michael Bauer, both of whom tangled coming off turn four in the first heat race.
In teh nightcap of the 305 Sprint Cars of the Allegheny Sprint Tour, it was Justin Clark driving past Robbie Bartchy six laps into the race. Clark led the remaining fourteen laps without incident to earn the win.
Bartchy was second. Garrett Bard came on in the second half of the race to get third. Fourth went to Derek Hauck. Jacob Gomola was fifth. Rob Felix, Andy Cavanaugh, Jarrett Rosencrance, Logan McCandless, and Jeff Bacha rounded out the top ten.
McCandless and Felix were tops in the heats. There was no B Main.
Dirt Racing
Macri Makes Comeback at Lincoln
ABBOTTSTOWN, PA (March 3, 2024): Anthony Macri lost the lead in traffic before a red flag stopped the action, but he regained the top spot soon after the feature event restarted at Lincoln Speedway. The victory was his ninth career score in the Pigeon Hills and, importantly, it marked the first since being reunited with his family-owned race team.
“Anytime you can get a win, that’s great, (but) this was special because we haven’t won since last July,” Macri said. The driver from nearby Dillsburg explained that he was concerned that his mistakes could have cost him the victory. “I almost gave it away, but I got it back on the restart. I was too conservative in lapped traffic.” with a clean track ahead of him and the leader, Kyle Moody, Macri drove harder following the mid-race restart. “I had a good run on him,” he said of his charge to the front in turn three. He added that he ran harder in lapped traffic after that.
Moody, who fought off others in the second half of the race to maintain second, likewise commented that he was more aggressive after the restart. “I tried to be aggressive and slid myself in one.” While that strategy worked at the east end of the track, it did not hold up, for Macri was able to slide by him in turn three. “I couldn’t get back by him.”
Danny Dietrich, who booked another podium finish, noted that he “hated to see the red, we had a good car in traffic.” After the restart, he was caught up in an intense battle with Matt Campbell and Gerard McIntyre for third. By the time that Dietrich salted the position away, he did not have enough time to mount an attack on Moody for second.
The luck of the draw put Macri on the pole with Moody on his flank. Campbell and McIntyre occupied row two, with Steve Owings and Kody Hartlaub in row three. Danny Dietrich was inside row four, with Justin Whittal as his partner. Austin Bishop made his season debut in row five, accompanied by Brandon Rahmer. Chad Trout and Emerson Axsom were in row six. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. missed the re-draw and he held position thirteen for the initial start. Opening day winner, Troy Wagaman, Jr., was less fortunate. He was the last car to transfer from the B Main and he was the caboose for this train.
Macri blasted to the lead on the opening lap. Moody held second briefly, but McIntyre took it away by the time that lap one was completed. Campbell, Owings, Hartlaub, Danny Dietrich, Whittal, Bishop, and Trout made up the top ten in the early going.
Just three laps into the fray, Cameron Smith and Tyler Ross tangled in between turns three and four. Smith was done, but Ross was able to push off again.
Macri resumed the lead, while McIntyre kept Moody at bay. Campbell continued in fourth, but Danny Dietrich broke into the top five.
As the race approached the midpoint, Macri was into traffic, and Moody was able to close in. Moody was pressing for the lead, which he was able to wrestle away from Macri soon after the crossed flags were shown to the field. Macri came storming back but he could not make the pass in turn three.
Hartlaub’s strong run came to an end soon thereafter, as he took a tumble between turns three and four. He was not hurt in the process, but the crash did change the complexion of the race.
On the restart, with sixteen laps on the board, Moody held the lead, but Macri had a full head of steam coming to turn three, and he made the slide job stick. McIntyre was challenging Moody as Macri began to separate himself from that contest for second.
The last fourteen laps were run under the green. Moody settled into second and the action was for third. McIntyre, Campbell, and Danny Dietrich were the contestants. Dietrich was superior and claimed that spot as his own. “That was a fun race with Matt and Gerard,” Dietrich remarked. “We were throwing haymakers and there was no contact.”
Following Macri, Moody, and Danny Dietrich were Devon Borden and McIntyre. Campbell, Chase Dietz, Freddie Rahmer, Jr., Aaron Bollinger, and Brandon Rahmer completed the top ten.
Thirty-one cars signed in for the event. Taking the four heat wins were Owings, Macri, Brandon Rahmer, and Bishop. Billy Dietrich topped the B Main.
The support for this program was provided by 500 cc and 300 cc Micro Midgets. Ryan Roost, Sam Miller, Jeremy Sperlien, Justin Care, and Jonathan Schill were the top five in the 500s. Chris Ott, Dustin Harman, Alyssa Hackart, Barry Thomas, and Timothy Colliflower were the top five in the 300s.
Next Saturday, Lincoln Speedway will present another 410 Sprint program with the Central PA Legends backing up the headliners. This will be the final 3 p.m. start. March 16 will see the start time pushed back to 6 p.m. for the first Sprint Car doubleheader. The 410s will be joined by the 358s. Legends will be back on March 23 and the 358s will return on Easter Eve.
Dirt Racing
Wagaman Works Magic in Lincoln Icebreaker
ABBOTTSTOWN, PA (February 25, 2024): Troy Wagaman, Jr. scored the biggest win of his career on opening day at the fabulous Lincoln Speedway. His second career win in the Pigeon Hills was worth $6,000, his biggest payday to date.
Wagaman, who took the seat in Michael Heffner’s potent machine midway through the 2023 season, commented, “we had some big ones get away from us last year, we hope we can hang onto some more of them this season.” Well, if the Icebreaker 30 is an indication of what may come, he just may do that.
Wagaman lamented that it was hard for him to develop any kind of rhythm, particularly in the first half of the race, which was disrupted by several cautions and two red flags. “I just had to keep pace. I was moving around,” trying to dirty up the air for the big dogs that were chasing him. Then, his strategy changed. “I was trying to make it as wide as I could, and not leave it open for them to get a nose under me and push me out of the way.”
Danny Dietrich, who became his challenger in the second half of the contest, commended Wagaman for his performance. “I wish we could have gotten to Troy a little sooner. He did a great job clearing traffic atthe right time.” Dietrich explained that his car wasn’t very good at the beginning of the race, and he was hovering in fourth, “it wasn’t very grippy.” He added, “thank God for that red, we made some wholesale changes.” His car was substantially better after those adjustments during the fuel stop, and he did close to the rear bumper of Wagaman, but Wagaman was able to negotiate the lapped traffic quite well.
Freddie Rahmer, Jr., charged from thirteenth to second in the first half of the race, but he could not get close to Wagaman. But, his downfall came after the fuel stop. “It wasn’t meant to be, we were a little off after the red.” That enabled Dietrich to move into the role of the first chaser.
Dominic Melair and Wagaman paced the field for the start of the northeast’s first 410 Sprint event. Cameron Smith had his new ride, the Lefervre 75, in the third spot, next to Double D. Lucas Wolfe was flanked by Indiana racer Emerson Axsom in row three. Then came Slick Rick Lafferty and Jordan Givler. Chase Dietz and T.J. Stutts made up row five. Aaron Bollinger and Chad Trout followed in row six.
It took two tries to get the feature race started. The first was lost when several cars tangled in turn four. Although a few cars suffered minor damage, Axsom was eliminated for the remainder of the contest. On the second attempt, Wagaman assumed control, with Smith, Melair, Dietrich, Dietz, Wolfe, Freddie Rahmer, Jr., Stutts, Trout, and Matt Campbell following. A few laps into the race, Melair fell back due to motor problems. Lafferty moved forward, cracking the top five despite leaving a trail of moisture leading into turn one.
On lap six, a synchronized spin in turn two by Bollinger and Brandon Rahmer slowed the action, followed by another caution on lap eight for Lafferty’s worsening wet streak, and yet another on lap thirteen for a flat on Justin Whittal’s car. That incident was converted into an open red for fuel.
The race resumed two laps shy of the halfway mark, with Wagaman ahead of Rahmer, Jr., Smith, Dietrich, Lafferty, Norris, Trout, Bollinger, Dietz, and Wolfe. Soon thereafter, Dietrich was up to second. Rahmer Jr. remained in third, followed by Smith and Trout.
The final seventeen laps were run without interruption. About midway through that sprint to the finish, Dietrich closed in on Wagaman, but Wagaman maintained his composure under heavy pressure that lasted for a few laps.
Wagaman was able to keep Dietrich at bay by running consistent laps in the middle lane and the low groove. Dietrich tried the top, but there was no cushion to lean on. Rahmer Jr. continued in third, close enough to pounce if Dietrich were to slide out a bit too far. Bollinger and Dietz completed the top five.
Smith, Trout, Lafferty, Kyle Moody, and Wolfe were the next five to cross. The 2023 track champion in the 358 Sprint division, Kody Hartlaub, was thirteenth, earning the hard charger bonus for being plus twelve.
Three heats were run for the twenty-five cars. Wins went to Lafferty, Givler, and Wagaman. There was no B Main, as all cars were allowed to start the feature event.
Next Saturday, Lincoln Speedway will present another 410 Sprint race commencing at 3 p.m. The PA Micro Midgets will provide support. The final afternoon show will be held at 3 p.m. on March 9 for the 410 Sprints and Central PA Legends Cars. Night action will kick in on March 16, when the first 410 and 358 Sprint doubleheader will take place at 6 p.m.
Dirt Racing
Tri-City Raceway Park to Be Sold, New Owners to Continue Sunday Operation
FRANKLIN, PA (February 25, 2024): After releasing the 2024 tentative schedule, Merle Black, the current owner of Tri-City Raceway Park, has reached an agreement in principle to sell the Venango County, PA oval to Josh and Kyrsten Shiffer. Final negotiations are in progress, and the written agreement has yet to be signed, but both sides are moving forward earnestly to complete the transaction before the first green flag waives in mid-April.
The Shiffers are entrepreneurs who live in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Their businesses include Flea Flickers LLC, a liquidation company, and Shiffer Powersports, engaged in ATV sales. They have a strong interest in ATV Motocross racing and several members of the family compete, including their son, Jayden, an aspiring professional rider.
The Shiffers are excited about the potential for Tri-City Raceway Park. They hope to bring back premiere sanctioned events and to introduce some new programs in the years ahead.
They plan to follow the tentative schedule recently released by Black. That calls for an April 13 Enduro, followed by two weekly practice sessions. The FAST Sprints will compete in the opener on Sunday, May 5. Other Sprint Car specials are on the docket, including the acclaimed Western PA Speedweek finale. The BRP Modified Tour will also make two appearances. The backbone of the schedule will consist of four divisions: 410 Sprint Cars, 358 Modifieds, Pro Stocks, and Mini Stocks. The season will come to a close over the Labor Day weekend. Additional details on the schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
The Shiffers recently met several key members of the current staff, and they look to fill some vacancies that currently exist. Announcements regarding employment opportunities may be forthcoming.