Dirt Racing
Larson Achieves Lifetime Goal
KNOXVILLE, IA (August 14, 2021): Kyle Larsen always dreamed of winning the Knoxville Nationals. Now, that dream has become reality.
“The atmosphere this week was unbelievable,” Larson said. He speculated that the year off added to the buzz that surrounded the activities at the Knoxville Raceway. “I felt the energy all week and that kept me pumped up.” He also admitted to being quite nervous before the big race. “Honestly, this is as nervous as I’ve been leading up to a race in a couple of years. I had butterflies all day today.” He also admitted to being distracted during practice for his NASCAR Cup race, saying that he kept playing different scenarios through his head. He also gave thanks to Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon for their belief in him and for allowing him to come and race at Knoxville before racing a Cup car.
Larson revealed a bit of his race strategy. “I wanted to get the lead before the break. I looked at the board and I knew that we were coming down to the end of it. I just blitzed it for a lap and I pulled it off.” He lost the lead briefly on lap 26, but he managed to get back in front of his adversary, Donny Schatz, to be the leader heading into the pit stop.
He would see Schatz again, late in the second half of the race, but he picked up his pace and scooted away from the ten-time winner of the race. “I could see that Donny was taking huge chunks out of my lead lap after lap. He was on my rear bumper and I just told myself ‘I know he’s here, just don’t miss it.’ It was great to beat Donny here for the Nationals. He beat me a few years ago, and he’s the best there is.”
Giovanni Scelzi was the youngest driver ever to sit on the pole for the Knoxville Nationals finale. He had Brad Sweet by his side, and Larson and Brent Marks in the row behind. Schatz was inside row three, with David Gravel next to him. Kasey Kahne was in the fourth row, paired with Logan Schuchart. Brian Brown, a crowd favorite, had row five along with Ian Madsen aboard the Rudzik Excavating car formerly driven by Tim Shaffer. Row six belonged to Brooke Tatnell and Tyler Courtney.
Scelzi broke out to the early lead followed by Schatz, Larson, Gravel, Sweet, McFadden, Marks, and Kahne. By the time that the fans settled into their seats, the top five had formed a single file formation. That lasted for about five laps before racers began to make some moves to improve their track positions.
Schatz and Larson moved in on Scelzi and there was a brief three-car battle for the lead. Scelzi scooted away and Sweet moved in to make it a three-car battle for second.
This time, it was Schatz who drove away from his competition. He began to reel in the leader. He did get his nose out in front of Scelzi on lap nine, but the teen came right back to regain the lead before they got to the scoring loop. Schatz stayed close and he worked on Scelzi again. He succeeded in making the pass count on lap eleven.
Now, it was Larson giving chase to Scelzi, but it was for the second position. Larson made the pass stick on lap 14.
As the racers closed in on the halfway mark, Larson was catching the leader. He rolled the top of turns one and two to take the lead with 24 laps completed. Schatz fought back after the leaders took the halfway sign, but Larson rallied at the west end of the track to be scored as the leader on lap 26 when the yellow flag was displayed.
The racers all ventured pitside for final adjustments on their cars. Almost all of them changed both rear tires, but McFadden also replaced a heavily worn left front tire. The pit stop was uneventful for most teams, but Marks and Tatnell were penalized two positions each for working past the final horn.
When the race resumed, Larson darted out to the lead. Before the racers could settle in for the second half, Rico Abreu brought out the caution. Two laps later, the race was halted again for a flip by Brown in turn one. That incident collected several other cars, including Brock Zearfoss and Sheldon Hadenschild. During the clean-up, Zearfoss replace dthe entire front end of his car and Haudenschild replaced a right rear tire. Cory Eliason’s crew also made a wing change and other repairs. Although he came back out with the others, he did not take the green as there was some additional damage that the crew did not correct when making their hasty repairs.
With those interruptions behind them Larson began to stretch his lead over Schatz. which he would never surrender. Larson settled in behind a lapped car and was riding along in the rubber. Schatz, meanwhile, was pouring on the coals. Behind him there was an intense three-car battle for third between Scelzi, Sweet, and Gravel. Soon after Sweet and Gravel overtook Scelzi, Gravel blew his engine.
With twenty laps remaining, Schatz was closing in on the leader, and he was bringing Sweet along for good measure. Scelzi was under attack from Schuchart, who was one of the few drivers to make headway in the second half of the contest.
Schatz caught up to Larsen with five to go. Larson was still riding behind the lapped car and Schatz moved up a groove in turns three and four with three laps remaining. Schatz came off turn four next to Larson, who realized that Schatz was within striking distance. He picked up his pace and gained a few car lengths on his challenger. Schatz tried again on the final lap, but he could not get a run on the leader.
Larson took the checkers to a thunderous ovation. Schatz was second, followed by Sweet, Scelzi, and Schuchart. Marks crossed in sixth. McFadden paid for the new rubber with a seventh place finish. His car owner, Kahne, was next, with Carson Macedo and Sheldon Haudenschild rounding out the top ten.
The B Main transfer cars were Macedo, Kerry Madsen, Eliason, and Haudenschild. The B Main finish was quite thrilling, as Madsen, Eliason, Haudenschild, and Spencer Bayston were closing rapidly on a lapped car. All five came to the finish line in a wild scramble, with Haudenschild driving down to the berm to keep up his speed and grab the final transfer by just .008 seconds.
The C Main transfers were Hunter Schuereberg, Ayrton Gennetten, Harli White, and Sawyer Phillips. Wayne Johnson suffered a flat while leading on the last lap, forcing a green-white-checkered finish to the event.
The D Main was dominated by Jack Dover. Scotty Thiel, Dustin Selvage, Mark Dobmeier, Chad Kemenah, and Jesse Attard also advanced.
The E Main winner was Jason Sides, followed by Dylan Cisney, Jacob Allen, John Carney, II, and Tyler Esh. Bobby Mincer was added to the D Main as an alternate when Skylar Gee scratched from the event.
A Main: Kyle Larson, Donny Schatz, Brad Sweet, Giovanni Scelzi, Logan Schuchart, Brent Marks, James McFadden, Kasey Kahne, Carson Macedo, Sheldon Haudenschild, Kerry Madsen, Brooke Tatnell, Justin Peck, Shane Stewart, Brock Zearfoss, Ian Madsen, Anthony Macri, David Gravel, Justin Henderson, Brian Brown, Tyler Courtney, Cory Eliason, Rico Abreu, Danny Dietrich.
B Main: Carson Macedo, Kerry Madsen, Cory Eliason, Sheldon Haudenschild, Spencer Bayston, Shane Golobic, Kraig Kinser, Scott Bogucki, Davey Heskin, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Bill Balog, Lynton Jeffrey, Sawyer Phillips, Ayrton Gennetten, Sye Lynch, Daryn Pittman, Hunter Schuerenberg, Josh Schneiderman, Josh Baughman, Sammy Swindell, Zeb Wise, Kyle Reinhardt, Harli White, Jac Haudenschild, Paul McMahan (DNS).
C Main: Hunter Schuerenberg, Ayrton Gennetten, Harli White, Sawyer Phillips, Carson McCarl, Tim Shaffer, Tim Kaeding, Marcus Dumesny, Roger Crockett, Clint Garner, Tasker Phillips, Mark Dobmeier, A.J. Moeller, Tanner Carrick, Colby Copeland, Jesse Attard, Dustin Selvage, Mike Wagner, Jack Dover, McKenna Haase, Chad Kemenah, Wayne Johnson, Terry McCarl, Scotty Thiel (DNS).
D Main: Jack Dover, Scotty Thiel, Dustin Selvage, Mark Dobmeier, Chad Kemenah, Jesse Attard, Jake Bubak, Don Droud, Jr., Derek Hagar, Greg Wilson, Robbie Kendall, Ryan Roberts, Jordan Goldesberry, Jacob Allen, Jeff Swindell, Riley Goodno, T.J. Stutts, Jason Sides, Dylan Cisney, John Carney, II, Chris Martin, Tyler Esh, Bobby Mincer, Noah Gass, Skylar Gee (DNS), Lucas Wolfe (DNS).
E Main: Jason Sides, Dylan Cisney, Jacob Allen, John Carney, II, Tyler Esh, Bobby Mincer, Kevin Ingle, Tori Knutson, Austin Miller, Joe Simbro, Logan Wagner (DNS), Ryan Giles (DNS), Austin MCCarl (DNS), Skylar prochaska (DNS), Matt Moro (DNS), Cale Thomas (DNS), Parker Price-Miller (DNS).
SELINSGROVE, PA (April 21, 2024): Austin Bishop dominated the second half of the 410 Sprint Car feature at the Selinsgrove Speedway to score his first victory of the 2024 season. It was the first win for his car owner, Charlie Sorokach, since 2012.
Bishop had to overcome a malfunctioning top wing to garner the victory. He explained that the wing was sliding back on its own and he was having trouble keeping the car straight entering the turns. He was able to fiddle with the controls during a caution period on lap eleven and he got the wing to hold in a preferred position for the remainder of the race. It made a drastic improvement in the performance of the machine.
T.J. Stutts and Bishop brought the field to the green flag. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. and Davey Franek were lined up behind them. Cameron Smith and Devon Borden made up row three. Callum Williamson and Justin Whittal were in the fourth row. Mike Walters, II, and Blane Heimbach were in the fifth row. The sixth consisted of Mike Thompson and Lucas Wolfe.
A handful of racers were unable to make the call, including Danny Dietrich who lost a motor while leading his heat race.
Stutts roared into the lead on the opening lap, with Bishop, Franek, Borden, Smith, and Rahmer following closely. While Stutts and Bishop set the pace, Borden was making progress early. He was third by lap five and second by lap seven. He was gaining on Stutts when the first caution was displayed, on lap eight, for Walters. Who came to a halt in turn one.
When the race resumed, Borden was pressing Stutts for the lead. Indeed, coming off turn two on lap ten, Borden pulled up next to Stutts, but he could not complete the pass. It may not have mattered, for on the next trip around the fast half mile, Borden coasted to a stop with an apparent engine failure. It was the second of the night for him, as he also lost an engine in qualifications.
It was during this interlude that Bishop made his critical adjustment to the top wing.
Whatever Bishop did to the car was just what the doctor ordered. On the restart, he was hounding Stutts. On lap fourteen, he moved to the outside coming off turn two. He blew by Stutts midway down the backstretch. Bishop dropped to the inside entering turn three to prevent Stutts from attempting a slider to regain the lead, but the precautionary maneuver was not necessary, and Bishop had several car lengths on his adversary.
Bishop had the superior car for the last ten laps of the race. He was able to build a lead of slightly more than four seconds.
Stutts remained in second, with Whittal closing in on him in the final laps. Franek and Rahmer completed the top five. Williamson logged his first top ten since taking over the controls of John Trone’s famed 39. Heimbach, Cameron Smith, Mark Smith, and Wolfe were the balance of the top ten. Thompson was the last car running at the finish.
Heat wins belonged to Borden, Rahmer, and Franek. There was no B Main. Two cars broke the single lap track record in qualifications. Stutts claimed the top honors with a lap of 15.428 seconds. Also breaking the old mark, which belonged to Anthony Macri, was Cameron Smith. His time was 15.509 seconds.
The Limited Late Models and Roadrunners provided support. Their heat races were completed, but the features were postponed to next Saturday due to a broken water main. Scoring heat wins for the Limited Lates were Trent Brenneman and Devin Hart. Scott Dunham, Jr. and Mike Goodwin prevailed in the Roadrunners. The next 410 Sprint Car show on the docket at Selinsgrove Speedway will be the Ray Tilley Classic on May 12. Super Late Models and Roadrunners will also be on the card that evening.
IMPERIAL, PA (April 20, 2024) Aliquippa’s Tim Shaffer started on the pole position and survived several caution flags and restarts to win the Herb Scott Memorial Saturday night at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway (PPMS).
“Boy I earned that one huh,” said Shaffer following the race. “These wins just keep getting better and better. Herb Scott won a lot of features and I have a long way to go to catch him, but my career went on the road and it became hard to win races. It’s kind of back home racing now for me and it’s a lot of fun.”
Brock Pinkerous and Dave Hess Jr. staged an epic battle over the last several laps with Pinkerous scoring an emotional runner-up finish.
“Congrats to Tim on the win,” said Pinkerous, who hails from Ellenville, NY. “He’s really good at this track. Him and Dave are legends around this area. It’s really cool to battle with them; they raced me clean and I raced them clean. Even though we didn’t win tonight, this is for my uncle tonight who passed away about a month ago. I hope he’s watching over us tonight, and I really love you uncle Chris.”
“We were really good on those restarts,” said Hess, the 39-year-old Waterford, Pa. driver. “A little tweak to the car and maybe a gear change and we could have had something for the leaders. Once those two (Shaffer and Pinkerous) got rolling, they were a little better than I was.”
Kyle Lukon finished fifth and Logan Roberson rounded out the Top 5.
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 45-Tim Shaffer[1]; 2. 555-Brock Pinkerous[4]; 3. 44-Dave Hess Jr[21]; 4. 184-Kyle Lukon[5]; 5. 17R-Logan Roberson[19]; 6. 10S-Joe Martin[16]; 7. 36-Cody Dawson[7]; 8. 3J-Jeremy Wonderling[10]; 9. 42-Daryl Charlier[6]; 10. 184C-Justin Chance[13]; 11. 21J-Jim Rasey[24]; 12. 184P-Cole Petrelle[20]; 13. 77-Tom Klein[23]; 14. 57-Charlie Sandercock[11]; 15. 36B-Colby Beighey[15]; 16. 18-Mike Wonderling[25]; 17. 29-Ryan Hare[17]; 18. 60H-Brian Huchko[22]; 19. 9R-Mike Reft[14]; 20. 25-Zachary Kane[9]; 21. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[18]; 22. 75-Jared Miley[3]; 23. 60-Brandon Burgoon[2]; 24. 14AJ-AJ Miller[8]; 25. 14G-Jake Gunn[12]
ABBOTTSTOWN, PA (April 20, 2024): Anthony Macri made a triumphant return to the Keystone State. After spending a few weeks racing in the Midwest, Macri came back for some top-paying races in his own backyard. Weather claimed the first night of racing, at Williams Grove Speedway, but Macri made up for it by earning $20,000 in the 20th Annual Weldon Sterner Memorial at the Lincoln Speedway. It was his second victory of the season in the Pigeon Hills.
Macri, who was dominant running up near the wall in turns three and four, said “I think running out on the road made me more comfortable running up there, and running at that pace.” He did admit, though, that he did back off a bit in the late stages of the race in order to conserve his tires because this was the longest race he has run this season and he was not sure how the tires would hold up. “I was worried about tire wear. I had to run a good pace to make sure the tires would last.”
The luck of the draw put Macri on the pole for this forty lapper. Next to him was Aussie Ryan Newton. Billy Dietrich and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. were in the second row. Danny Dietrich was scheduled to start fifth, but a magneto problem forced him to pit just as the A Main was about to push off. The car could not be repaired in time to allow him to tag the tail of the field. So, Lucas Wolfe slid over to fifth and Troy Wagaman, Jr. became his dance partner. Cameron Smith and Kody Hartlaub were in row four. Behind them were Kyle Moody and Chad Trout, whose car was carrying the Sterner Cement wing to commemorate the event. Kyle Reinhart and Matt Campbell were in the sixth row.
Macri led Newton and Rahmer Jr. in the opening laps. Wagaman, Wolfe, Billy Dietrich, Moody, Smith, Campbell, and Hartlaub were next in line. A caution on lap three for Cory Haas bunched things up again, but the running order remained unchanged after the green lights came on again.
The first significant move occurred on lap twelve, when Rahmer Jr. worked the inside line to take over second. As Rahmer began his pursuit of Macri, Newton was busy keeping Wagaman and Wolfe at bay.
After a caution on lap sixteen for debris, Wagaman moved ahead of Newton, who struggled to stay ahead of Wolfe. In the second half of the race, Wolfe got stronger. He moved ahead of both Newton and Wagaman.
Macri continued out front, of course. Rahmer Jr. still held second, but Wolfe was closing in on him. Wagaman, Newton, and Campbell were battling for positions in the top five.
The final caution was displayed with seven laps remaining. Macri got away cleanly, and Wolfe resumed his attack on Rahmer Jr. As they contested the second spot, Macri began to pull away.
At the checkers, it was Macri ahead of Rahmer Jr. by over 2.4 seconds. Wolfe was a close third, followed by Wagaman and Newton. Billy Dietrich rallied in the closing laps to take sixth. Campbell, Devon Borden, Rinehart, and Brandon Rahmer completed the top ten.
Heat winners were Wolfe, Billy Dietrich, Macri, and Smith. Tyler Ross won the B Main. The evening’s fastest qualifier was Rahmer Jr., with a time of 13.768 seconds. He earned a $300 bonus for that accomplishment. Danny Dietrich received the hard luck award, worth $100. T.J. Stutts was the hard charger at plus eight. He, too, received $100 extra.
Ayden Hare will forever remember his sixteenth birthday, as he celebrated the occasion in victory lane after just his fourth 358 Sprint Car race. The teen drove a flawless race, leading wire to wire. “I am at a loss for words, I am so happy,” he said.
Scott Fisher had the pole, with Hare to his right. Behind them were Doug Hammaker and Frankie Herr. Row three consisted of Adam Carberry and Preston Lattomus. Jayden Wolf and Ashley Cappetta were in the fourth row. The fifth belonged to Mike Bittinger and Tyler Ulrich. Dylan Norris and Cody Fletcher claimed row six.
Hare won the race to turn one and he claimed the middle groove as his own. Fisher and Herr were side by side fighting for second, with Hammaker lurking in fourth. Carberry, Lattomus, Wolf, Bittinger, Cappetta, and Norris strung out behind the leaders.
Hare began to pull away from Fisher and Herr as they continued their struggle for second place.
A red flag on lap eleven for Wolf’s flip between turns three and four brought Hare back to the rest of the racers, but the teen had no trouble building his advantage up again in the final nine laps.
Hare, Fisher, Herr, Hammaker, and Carberry were the top five finishers. Bittinger, Cappetta, Norris, Lattomus, and Logan Rumsey were sixth through tenth. Wolf received the hard luck award and Jude Siegel was the hard charger, at plus seven. They each received $250.
Next week, Lincoln Speedway will present another 410 and 358 Sprint car doubleheader. The same two divisions will return on May 4. The World of Outlaws will be in for the Gettysburg Clash on May 8. There will be no racing on May 11, but the speedway will host the Hot Rod Annual for the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing.
Scott Dixon on top of INDYCAR Championship Standings after Team Penske Penalty
Checkmate for Bishop at Selinsgrove
Team Penske Penalized for St. Pete Infractions. Newgarden Stripped Of Win
Historic Stock Cars to run at Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
Scott Dixon Good To The Last Drop at INDYCAR Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Borden Thrills at Port Royal; Robinson, Covert, and Hart also Score
Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway Cancels Saturday Program; Pivots To Flood Relief Drive
Spithaler, Norris, Krummert, and Christian Schneider take Opening Night Wins at Lernerville Speedway
Scott Dixon Good To The Last Drop at INDYCAR Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach