Dirt Racing
Dewease and Cockrum Share Williams Grove Spotlight
WILLIAMS GROVE, PA (June 18, 2021): When Lance Dewease notched win number 100 at Williams Grove Speedway, he said that they were only just beginning. Well, it did not take him very long to build upon his stellar achievement and he did so in supreme fashion. And, he warned his competitors that he’s looking for win 102 next week when his 87-year-old crew chief, Davey Brown, gets his accolades.
Taking the top honors in USAC Silver Crown competition was Shane Cockrum.
“The car was free, I would have liked it a little tighter,” Dewease said. “I usually slow down once I have the lead, but I wanted to show how fast we could be.” Dewease, who is not known to talk smack, added, “we got 100 out of the way and next week I want to win for him.” Dewease was referring, of course, to Brown, who will be honored with a tribute night. The original ceremony was rained out, so speedway management moved it to the first night of PA Speedweek for the 410 Sprint Cars.
By winning his heat race, Dewease locked up a front row starting position. On the pole was Robbie Kendall and behind him was the third heat winner, Devon Borden, who was making his first start for Mike Heffner. Next to Borden was Chad Trout. Jeff Halligan and Dylan Norris were in row three, followed by Doug Hammaker and Steve Buckwalter. Row five had Alan Krimes paired up with Lucas Wolfe. Anthony Macri and Kyle Moody were next in line.
Kendall got the jump on Dewease, with Borden settling into third. Trout, Halligan, Krimes, Hammaker and Norris followed. With three laps completed, Dewease dipped inside of Kendall coming through turn four and easily drove past to take the lead. On the next circuit, rookie Gordon Smith, III spun in turn four and gave Kendall a chance to see if he could overtake the leading feature winner in speedway history.
However, Dewease would have none of that. He pulled away from Kendall, who was being hounded by the upstart Borden. Borden swept into second on lap seven and the fans began to ponder whether the teenager from Washington could chase down Dewease.
A caution on lap twelve for the disabled car of B Main winner Ricky Dieva put the youngster on Dewease’s rear nerf bar for the final restart of the race. Once again, Dewease powered into the lead, but Borden stayed within shooting distance for several laps.
Soon thereafter, another 27, this time the Smith entry driven by Alan Krimes, slipped into second. Borden then began slipping down the running order.
Dewease led the remaining 18 laps and stretched his lead over Krimes. Anthony Macri made progress over the last ten laps of the race cracking into the top five. He wound up third at the finish. Kendall held on for fourth, followed by Borden. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. was sixth, with Buckwalter, Hammaker, Brandon Rahmer, and Trout completing the top ten.
In the century grind for the USAC Silver Crown division, Jason McDougal had the pole as a result of his new track record in qualifications. Next to him was Kyle Robbins. Shane Cottle and Chris Windom were in the second row, with defending race champion Brady Bacon and defending series champion Justin Grant in the third row. Shane Cocrum and Logan Seavy were next. Robert Ballou and Matt Westfall had row five and Casey Buckman and Austin Nemire were in the sixth row.
McDougal and Robbins led the field into turn one, with Cottle, Grant, and Windom following. Grant picked off Robbins within the first several laps, and Seavy was into third by lap five. Cottle and Bacon were fighting for fourth.
By lap ten, Seavy was into second and he set his sights on McDougal, who had built up a nice lead. Seavy narrowed the margin as the laps clicked away. He made his move to the front on lap 22, and he began to separate himself from McDougal and the rest of the thundering herd.
As Seavy built up his advantage, McDougal ran in second. Grant, Cottle, and Bacon were running in a tight pack for the third position.
Seavy’s domination ended on lap 42. He broke a steering arm and brought his car to a stop in turn two. That gave the lead back to McDougal for the restart.
But, when the green light came on again, Grant seized the opportunity to challenge the leader. He managed to work inside of him in turn one and he powered off turn two with the lead. Bacon soon followed him into second. Cottle then moved ahead of McDougal, who seemed to be struggling a bit.
Cockrum then began to move forward. On lap 53, he took over second. Later on that lap, he dove into turn three to take the lead, but he could not hold the line. He slid up out of the groove, giving the lead back to Grant.
Cockrum stalked Grant for almost twenty laps. He slipped under Grant in turn one tio take the lead on lap 72 and Bacon followed him into the second position.
Cockrum had a scare on lap 81 when he locked wheels with a lapped car going through turns three and four. Both cars slid high before separating. Both cars were able to keep moving. Fortunately for Cockrum, his lead was still intact when he came off turn four.
Meanwhile, Bacon and Cottle were fighting for second.
The lead pack tightened up and it looked as though there would be a real dogfight over the final twenty laps. However, the caution came out on lap 85 and the field had to go single file.
The race went green again with ten laps to go. Several racers were in conservation mode at that point, as tire wear was a factor. One driver that had some extra rubber was Carmen Perigo, Jr., who picked up several positions in the final laps.
Cockrum took the checkers, his first victory in about six years. “It’s been too damn long,” Cockrum quipped. “We got there in in 2015 and started racking up some wins, and then we had a dry spell.” Cockrum said that a new fitness plan made him feel better in the car. “I am 39 years old, I got to bicycle, and lost 40 pounds.”
Cottle chased Cockrum across the finish line. Chris Windom moved up to third, followed by Bacon, Robbins, and McDougal. Perigo, Grant, and Ballou completed the top ten.
McDougal’s fast time was 20.354 seconds. Ronnie Wuerdeman had a spectacular crash, leaving the speedway between turns three and four on his first timed lap. He was not hurt, but the car was a total loss.
Williams Grove will return to action on June 25 for the opening night of PA Speedweek. The 358 Sprints will also be on hand. There will be fireworks and the Davey Brown tribute. The Mitch Smith Memorial will be the second show of Speedweek at Williams Grove, on July 2. The 410s and 358s will supply the speed and fireworks will fill the air. July 9 will be fan appreciation night, with the United Racing Club 360 Sprints joining the 410s.
MECHANICSBURG, PA (June 5, 2026): Troy Wagaman, Jr. cashed in on the opportunities given to him to win the Lynn Paxton Classic at Williams Grove Speedway. The second win of the season for the defending track champion and current points leader was his first ever with the All Stars Circuit of Champions, which celebrated fifty-five years of competition at the famed oval. Wagaman received $8,000 for his efforts, matching his payday from the Tommy Classic held earlier in the season.
Wagaman benefitted from two miscues by Danny Dietrich, who had led from the start of the non-stop thirty lapper. The first came on lap fifteen, when Dietrich narrowly avoided disaster coming off turn two. The other came ten laps later when Dietrich slid out of the groove between turns three and four.
“I don’t know if I would have gotten him,” Wagaman said modestly.
He was trailing Dietrich by nearly 1.6 seconds in the middle of the race, but Wagaman squeezed between Dietrich, a lapped car, and the backstretch guard rail to take the lead. Preston Lattomus nearly spun at the exit to turn two, Dietrich came up on him quickly, made slight contact, and almost spun as well, but there was just enough room for Wagaman to scoot by. “I thought he missed it, got too close to the lapped car,” Wagaman explained.
Wagaman then built up a slight lead of his own, which evaporated in traffic. Dietrich drove under both Wagaman and the lapped car between turns three and four on lap twenty-four, but Wagaman came storming back on the next lap to regain the lead. Dietrich slid off the bottom in the same area, and Wagaman pounced. “Danny showed me the bottom. I was struggling on the top and I got down to the bottom after that.”
Wagaman, from Hanover, dedicated the win to his ailing grandmother, adding that he will get to see her on Sunday afternoon.
The starting line-up had a last minute shuffle when Lance Dewease got a flat while the cars were getting into formation. Dewease pitted for a fresh tire, but forfeited his second starting position. He rejoined the field for the start, and put in on an impressive drive to fourteenth from the rear of the twenty-six car field.
Dietrich thus moved to the front row, joining the Dash winner, Cale Thomas. Wagaman and Brady Bacon made up the second row, followed by Doug Hammaker and Kasey Kahne. Brock Zearfoss and T.J. Stutts came next. Chase Dietz and Parker Price Miller were in row five, and Austin Bishop was paired with Ryan “Fig” Newton in row six.
Dietrich wasted no time blasting into the early lead up on the cushion in turns one and two. Wagaman used a more conservative line to reach second. Thomas fell into line in third, ahead of Hammaker, Bacon, Stutts, and Kahne.
Dietrich seemed to have the race under control through the first half of the event. However, things changed suddenly on lap fifteen. He avoided a crash, but lost the lead. Dietrich wasn’t done quite yet, though.
Wagaman was still running the top in turns three and four despite having trouble getting past a lapped car. That allowed Dietrich to flash by on the inside to take the lead away. However, Wagaman came back to lead lap twenty-five when Dietrich slid up the track in almost the same place on the track.
Wagaman changed lines for the remainder of the race, and he paced himself off of the lapped cars, figuring that Dietrich would have to drive around them all if he were to make another bid for the win. However, Wagaman took the checkers 1.120 seconds ahead of Dietrich, who was driving his back-up car after crashing at Selinsgrove Speedway the night before.
Bacon, Stutts, and Dietz completed the top five. Zearfoss, Hammaker, Kahne, Price Miller, and Newton were the next five finishers.
J.J. Loss was the hard charger, advancing seven spots to finish thirteenth.
Kalib Henry, the current All Stars points leader and defending series champion, was the highest finisher from the tour, at seventeenth.
Hammaker, Dewease, Dietrich, and Kahne were the heat winners. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. won the B Main. Stutts was the fastest qualifier, lapping in 17.112 seconds in Group A. Dietrich was the best in Group B. His lap was 17.290 seconds. Thirty-eight cars checked in, including ten All Stars points chasers.
Ageless Steve Wilbur added another Wingless Sportsman victory to his resume. He led Tony Jackson for all twenty laps. “Tony’s hard to beat wherever we go, and to hold him off all of those laps was something,” Wilbur said. “It just feels so good to beat Jackson. I didn’t come all the way from Mechanicsburg to get my a$$ kicked,” he added with a laugh.
Wilbur claimed to use an old right rear tire dating back to his days at Silver Spring Speedway, which closed in 2005.
Cliff Brian, Jr. was third, one spot ahead of the hard charger, Brett Perigo. Brandon Shearer, Derek Shaffer, Brian Nace, Scott Smith, Curt Stroup, and John Edkin were fifth through tenth in the non-stop affair.
Jackson and Wilbur split the heat race wins. There was no B Main necessary for the nineteen car field.
Next Friday, Williams Grove Speedway will present fan appreciation night. All in attendance will get to mingle with the 410 and 358 Sprint Car racers in the front pit area before the start of the action. There will be free potato chips and candy during the pit party. Fireworks will also be part of the fun.
FRANKLIN, PA (May 31, 2026): A.J. Flick claimed his third championship in the Western Pennsylvania Speedweek. His first two titles came in 2023 and 2024.
“This whole week is so cool,” he said. He added, “I think consistency is important and I think that helped me.”
Flick started the week out very strongly, with wins at Michaels Mercer Raceway and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. He was fourth at Lernerville Speedway and fifth in the finale at Tr-City Raceway Park. His worst finish of the week was ninth at Sharon Speedway on Saturday night.
Flick was especially happy with his fifth place finish in the final round because he was not very comfortable in the car.
Other race winners during Speedweek were: Dale Blaney, at Lernerville, Logan Wagner, at Sharon, and Brandon Spithaler, at Tri-City.
Flick’s total earnings for the week were $14,750, which included the $3,000 championship stipend.
One other driver earned more than $10,000. That was Spithaler, who grossed $10.175.
Flick was one of sixteen drivers to enter all five events comprising Western Pennsylvania Speedweek. A total of sixty-one racers competed in at least one round of Speedweek.
The top ten drivers in the point standings shared the point fund, as follows:
- A.J. Flick, 452 points, $3,000
- Mark Smith, 412 points, $2,500
- Brandon Spithaler, 406 points, $2,000
- Jeremy Weaver, 393 points, $1,500
- Carl Bowser, 371 points, $1,000
- Michael Bauer, 368 points, $900
- Adam Kekich, 344 points, $800
- Brandon Matus, 338 points, $700
- Ricky Peterson, 320 points, $600
- Jacob Begenwald, 302 points, $500
Interestingly, one driver in the top ten in points missed a show along the way. Ricky Peterson was absent from Sharon because he had another commitment. He won the FAST on Dirt Sprint Car Series event at Skyline Speedway instead.
FRANKLIN, PA (May 31, 2026): Brandon Spithaler saved his best Speedweek performance for the final night of the five race series. The victory at Tri-City Raceway Park, his first of the season, netted the driver from Renfrew, PA a cool $6,000. He also finished third in Speedweek points, adding another $2,000 to his stash. Spithaler’s total winnings for the week amounted to $10,175, second only to the Speedweek champion, A.J. Flick.
Spithaler noted that “2026 hasn’t been very kind to us. We lost a motor, we trashed a car, we switched chassis. I think we’ve hit on something now.”
He added, “I felt like I was better than him, Ricky (Peterson, who finished a distant second). I was worried when he got by Logan (McCandless, the early leader), but I kept plugging away and I got by him (Peterson).”
Spithaler was especially good in traffic. He explained, “I am a fan of traffic. If we get a long run, I like picking my way through.”
Peterson, who held on for second place, had an opposite opinion about the traffic conditions. “I was really good early. I had issues with the lappers. I think I left a lane open for Brandon, and he got away from us.”
Mark Smith put on a strong charge in the second half of the race to grab the third position. He noted that it was a challenging night and that he changed some things around on his car between the heat and the feature. “We got it going, but it was a little too late. Maybe we needed 35 laps.”
The first ten positions in the starting line-up were reserved for the four heat winners and six of the fastest qualifiers.
Logan McCandless drew the pole position. He was joimed on the front row by the professor, Michael Bauer. Matt Farnham and A.J. Flick pulled the second row, followed by Peterson and Spithaler. Smith and Jeremy Weaver landed in row four. Then came Jared Zimbardi and D.J. Christie. Row six belonged to Tim Shaffer and John Jerich.
The initial start was waved off due to a crash between turns one and two, which claimed Jerich and Christie. Both cars tumbled, but neither driver was injured.
When the field was realigned for the start, Shaffer moved to the outside of row five and Bob Felmlee and Cody Bova became the new sixth row.
McCandless surged into the early lead, followed by Farnham, Bauer, Flick, Peterson, Spithaler, Weaver, Smith, Shaffer, Felmlee, and Zimbardi.
McCandless was exceptionally strong through the first half of the race. His lead grew to more than 1.8 seconds over Farnham through the first nine laps. Peterson moved into second position on lap ten. Gradually, he cut into McCandless’ advantage. On lap fifteen, the margin dwindled to just under a half a second.
Moving into the second half of the contest, McCandless began to have difficulty navigating through the traffic. Peterson narrowed the gap even further over the next few laps. On lap eighteen, Peterson drove by McCandless for the lead.
Meanwhile, Spithaler was closing in on both Peterson and McCandless. Spithaler moved ahead of McCandless on lap nineteen. Just one lap later, he passed Peterson in traffic.
In the final ten laps of the race, Spithaler was clearly superior to Peterson. The lead continued to grow with each lap. He was more than four seconds ahead of Peterson by lap twenty-six. The margin reached 5.338 seconds on the final lap.
Smith cracked the top five on lap sixteen. He held fourth from lap sixteen through lap twenty-nine. On the final trip around the big half mile, Smith moved into third.
McCandless held on for fourth, one spot ahead of Flick, who clinched the Speedweek championship with a steady performance. He was in or just outside the top five for the entire race.
Shaffer edged Farnham for sixth. Greg Wilson, Bauer, and Bova completed the top ten.
Flick, Weaver, Zimbardi, and Peterson won the heat races. Tyler Esh copped the B Main.
Brandon Matus was the night’s fastest qualifier. He topped Group A with a lap of 17.622. However, his night went downhill after that. While running in a transfer position on the last lap of his heat race, Matus flipped hard between turns three and four. His crew thrashed to get the car ready for the B Main with assistance from Spithaler and Weaver, among others. However, Matus finished fifth, with only four cars making the A Main.
Spithaler was the fastest member of Group B. His time was 17,796.
Blaze Myers took the lead on lap six of the RUSH Sprint Car feature and he cruised to an easy victory over Luke Mulichak. The early leader, Zach Morrow, finished in third. Brayden Blackshear and Samantha Priest were fourth and fifth. Lucas Roessner, Devon Deeter, Logen Lockhart, Grayson Bayle, and Ricky Tucker, III, rounded out the top ten. Myers and Roessner took the preliminaries.
The nightcap for the Mini Stock division went to Camden Franz. There was a constant three car battle for second throughout the fifteen lapper. Sheriff Tim Callahan prevailed, with Jordan Wheeler and Justin Forsyth following. Fifth went to Andy Thomson. Kevin Dotten, Michael Phillipson, Andrew Thompson, Ben Aley, and Jacob Wheeler were sixth through tenth.
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