MECHANICSBURG, PA (July 3, 2026):  Anthony Macri seemed to have complete control over the Mitch Smith Memorial at Williams Grove Speedway. However, his defensive strategy on the final lap almost cost him the race. Chase Dietz’s charge off turn four came up just a tad short, and Macri claimed his fourth win of the Thirty-sixth Pennsylvania Speedweek. Macri received the $20,000 check and added to his points lead in the quest for a fourth straight Speedweek title.

“I made the stupidest corner,” Macri said of his mistake.

The Dilsburg pilot explained, “after the caution, I didn’t have a good car. I used the left rear too hard.. I went into defensive mode. I knew if I committed to my slider line in (turns) three and four and I went low in (turns) one and two, it would be a long way around for him.”

That seemed to be a reasonable strategy. So, what went wrong on the last lap?

Macri indeed used the slider line coming through turn four on the last lap. But, he didn’t get up to the cushion the way he wanted to. Coming off the corner he was desperately looking to find some moisture so he could get a launch down the front stretch to the checkers. Instead he spun his tires. And that enabled Dietz to get a run on him.

Macri won by a scant 0.041 seconds.

Although he came up short, Dietz was happy with his performance. Once again, he was coming off a race in which he did not qualify. The first time that it happened, he reeled off three straight wins. He noted that racing every day makes for short memories.

“I was trying to pressure as much as I could,” Dietz said. “Right before the caution, I found a line in (turns) one and two about three quarters of the way up. It must have gotten a little dirty on exit because I wasn’t getting a run off the corner.” Nevertheless, he did show his nose once during the final ten laps, and that got Macri going again.

Dietz later reported to a source, “that last lap, he (Macri) actually told me, like he lost his left rear in the middle and he put himself in the dirty stuff down the straightaway there, and he gave me a run which I didn’t think was coming. Honestly, that was just an awesome race.”

Logan Schuchart took advantage of a gap in the World of Outlaws schedule to get some extra track time in advance of the upcoming Summer Nationals at Williams Grove. His strong third place run gave him some ideas of things that he can improve upon for that event during the month of money.

Schuchart was aided by the restart on lap seventeen. He got by Tanner Holmes for third and he was able to close in on the leaders. But, he couldn’t make it a three-car race.

“The restart was good. You didn’t know what to do going into one. I was dragging the brake a little too much,” he said.

Macri and Ditez manned the front row for for the thirty lap feature event. Holmes and Doug Hammaker were in row two, with Brady Bacon and Schuchart next in line. Troy Wagaman, Jr. and Ryan Newton selected the last two preferred starting spots. Brent Marks, Dylan Norris, Ryan Smith, and James McFadden got the next four positions based upon their heat race finishes.

Macri took the early lead, with Dietz, Hammaker, Holmes, Schuchart, and Bacon in tow. As Macri began to pull away from Dietz, Holmes moved into third, and Hammaker continued in fourth. However, his effort ended on lap seventeen, when his car coasted to a stop coming off turn four.

When the race resumed, Macri and Dietz went off to settle the score by themselves. Schuchart ducked under Holmes for third. But, it took the leaders getting into traffic for Schuchart to make any headway after that.

After the leaders cleared the traffic, Macri switched up his line in turns one and two. He stayed low, in the rubber, giving Dietz the high line if he wanted it. Instead, Dietz found a lane a little below the cushion that seemed to work. He was able to draw clse to Macri, but the grip was somewhat better for Macri coming off turn two and he could scoot away down the backstretch.

Macri was thus able to maintain a lead of about four tenths of a second through most of the closing laps. However, he did not effectively execute his plan for the final corner and the stretch run.

Still, he got the win over Dietz, Schuchart, Marks, and McFadden. Holmes faded to sixth at the finish. Norris, Newton, Bacon, and Logan Rumsey completed the top ten.

Bacon, Macri, Hammaker, and Schuchart won the four heat races. Lance Dewease won the B Main, but he was an early retiree from the race. Dietz was the fastest qualifier again, topping Group A with a lap of 17.120 seconds. Newton was the best in Group B. His time was 17.357 seconds.

The bad luck bug bit former track champion Freddie Rahmer, Jr. this time. He had a fuel pump failure during his heat race and did not start the B Main.

HAGERSTOWN, MD (July 2, 2026):  Anthony Macri drove away from his competition at the Hagerstown Speedway. The Thirty-sixth Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek tour made its southern-most stop on a hot and steamy night.

Anthony Macri proved that he is definitely a better race car driver than a prognosticator. Just one night after he counted himself out of contention for a fourth consecutive Speedweek title, the driver from Dilsburg, PA found himself atop the standings heading into round eight at the Williams Grove Speedway. Macri’s cause was aided by the failure of Chase Dietz to qualify for a second time in seven days.

“Points aside, I knew I had a job to do, and that was to win the race,” Macri said.

Macri explained that the team made the proper adjustments for the thirty-lap feature event. “Obviously, we made the right call before the race. We were able to get through lapped traffic pretty good.” Although he moved around on the speedway, Macri made an effort to stay on the top side as much as possible.

Second place went to Aussie Ryan “Fig” Newton, who is quietly compiling a string of good finishes. Through the first seven rounds of Speedweek, Newton has a pair of top fives and four top tens to his credit.

Third place finisher, Troy Wagaman, Jr., improved one position over his Port Royal showing. “Third was pretty good here. We were just a tick off, we were better in the second half of the race.”

Wagaman and Macri shared the front row for the start of the event. Justin Whittall and Newton were in row two, with Preston Lattomus and Mike Wagner in the third. Dylan Cisney and Ryan Smith drew the final two preferred starting spots. Cameron Smith, Freddie Rahmer, Jr., Danny Dietrich, and Logan Rumsey earned the next four positions on the grid based upon their heat race finishes.

Macri rolled into turn one with the lead after the first attempt to start the race failed due to a flat tire on Cisney’s machine. Wagaman, Newton, Whittall, Wagner, Rumsey, Ryan Smith, Lattomus, Rather, and Chad Trout comprised the rest of the top ten. Newton slipped past Wagaman on lap three for second place. Meanwhile, the racers in positions six through ten were mixing things up in the first several laps.

Buddy Schweibinz slowed the pace with his spin in turn one on the sixth trip around the speedway. That turned out to be the only caution of the race.

When the action resumed, Macri easily pulled away from Newton, Wagaman, and Whittall. Rahmer cracked into the top five by lap ten, and he hovered there as the field strung out during the long green flag run.

Rumsey, Ryan Smith, and Zearfoss were the next three finishers. Wagner slipped back to ninth in the final tally, one spot ahead of Brady Bacon.

Macri, Wagner, Ryan Smith, and Lattomus scored in the heat races. James McFadden won the B Main after failing to fire for his heat race. McFadden set the quickest time during Group Aqualifications. His time was 15.499 seconds. Newton topped Group B with a time of 15.664 seconds.

Chase Dietz sustained front end damage while the field was shaping up for the start of his heat. His throttle stuck and he rammed into the rear of Wagner’s mount. Wagner’s car was unharmed, and he went on to get the win. Dietz’s woes continued in the B Main. He raced from eleventh to fifth, missing the transfer by one position.

PORT ROYAL, PA (July 1, 2026) There was plenty of late race drama at the Speed Palace during the Wednesday portion of the Thirty-sixth Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek. Chase Dietz caught a break when Anthony Macri checked up for a lapped car that got out of shape ahead of him, and that allowed the nation’s winningest driver to get an unexpected victory. Then, in the nightcap for the URC Sprint Cars, Jason Shultz recovered from athree-wide, late race incident that could have had disasterous results.

Dietz Does It Again

Chase Dietz, of York, picked up his fourth win of Speedweek in an unexpected fashion. He was chasing the leader, Anthony Macri, with just a couple of laps remaining in the thirty lapper. Dietz was closing in when something unexpected happened. The lapped car of Buddy Schweibinz got out of shape in turn four and Macri had to take evasive action. Dietz was committed to the low line and he safely drove by for the lead.

“That was an intense one,” Dietz shared. “The track was gripped up. I don’t think anybody in the pits expected that. I didn’t.” Dietz added that the track developed some ruts in turns three and four in the new clay that was laid down recently. That added character in an area that usually gets smooth and slick come feature time.

Dietz gave all the credit to his team for the win, sayingthat their efforts “give() me the chance to do whatI need to do.”

Macri was downhearted after the race. “I think it’s obvious that the lapped car got in my way there.” He was so dejected that he almost conceded the Speedweek championship to Dietz. “I think that may have mathematically eliminated my chance.”

James McFadden made a rare start at Port Royal. The Australian racer who now runs a part-time schedule for a California team remarked, “it’s a hard place to come for the first time with this car.” He added, with his usual flair, “I’m getting thirsty. I haven’t had a shoey for a while.” He was referring, of course to the gulp of beer that winning drivers down under take from their shoe in victory lane.

McFadden and Macri shared the front row for round six of Speedweek. Troy Wagaman, Jr. and Dietz made up the second row, with Logan Wagner and Parker Price-Miller paired up in the third. The final preferred starting spots went to Ryan Smith and Tanner Holmes. Brock Zearfoss and Billy Dietrich came next based on their heat race finishes, as did Doug Hammaker and last year’s Port Royal champion, Justin Whittall.

Macri sailed into turn one ahead of McFadden and he claimed the high line as his exclusive territory for the early going. Dietz, Wagaman, Price-Miller, Holmes, Ryan Smith, Wagner, Zearfoss, and Whittall followed.

Lap four was eventful. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. spun in turn four to set-up a restart that included a flip by Brady Bacon in turn one.

In the middle stage of the race, Macri was forced up over the cushion by a slower car between turns one and two. He gathered it up again and retained his considerable lead. A couple of laps later, McFadden got into Billy Dietrich causing Dietz to slow unexpectedly. Dietz recovered though, and he took second from McFadden on lap fourteen. Then, just one lap later, Brent Shearer lost his right front wheel just ahead of the leader, Macri.

But, the excitement wasn’t quite over yet. After the race resumed, Macri began to drive away from Dietz and the rest of the field. However, when Macri encountered lapped traffic again, Dietz began to close in on him. Fans were expecting to see a shoot-out between the two hottest drivers in the region, but it did not materialize. Instead, Macri had to check up for an errant lapper and that gave Dietz the opening that he needed to race past them both.

Dietz completed the journey without incident. Macri was second. McFadden. Wagaman, and Price-Miller completed the top five.Holmes, Zearfoss, Whittall, Wagner, and Ryan Smith were the next five finishers.

Wagaman, McFadden, Price-Miller, and Ryan Smith split the four heat wins. Logan Rumsey and Kody Lehman picked up the twin B Mains. Macri was the fastest of the forty-four cars that checked in. His lap of 15.531 seconds was the best in Group B. Dietz topped Group A with a time of 15.584.

Shultz Comes Back

It was a night of come backs for Jason Shultz, of Carlisle. First, he left his family vacation in Virginia to return to the Port Royal Speedway for the annual visit by the United Racing Club during the Thirty-Sixth Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek. Then, after he got shuffled out of the lead on a wild, late race restart, he came charging back to claim the victory, and the $2,000 that came with it.

Shultz talked about the late race drama. “I’m getting older and older, and these things don’t come very easily, you know. If this were a couple of years ago, I don’t think they would have had achance to throw anything at me, but they did, and it kind of ruffled my feathers a little bit. So, it got me on the wheel a little bit.”

Adam Carberry, who was right in the middle of things at the end of the race, noted, “that restart was a lot of fun. I did’t really have a chance at one point. We were either going for a ride or somebody’s ending up in front. It was me for a little while, but that’s about all the speed our 358’s got.”

Michael Walter was the third man in that exciting restart despite a mechanical problem. “They gave me a good car. But, it’s too bad the nose wing flipped back. Maybe I’d have had a shot at second.”

Shultz surprised himself by starting from the pole for the twenty-five lap finale. Carberry was beside him. Behind them were Josh Spicer and Michael Walter. Josh Weller and P.J. Reutimann were assigned to row three, with Cole Young and Bryn Gohn in row four. Brayden Mickley and Tyler Ulrich held row five, followed by Brock Hammaker and Tyler Ross.

Shultz swept into the lead, followed by Carberry, Walter, Spicer, Weller, Reutimann, Ross, and Gohn. Weller gained several positions in the early going, but Shultz was so dominant in the clean air that he opened a commanding lead over Carberry. When Weller reached third, he was a considerable distance behind the leaders.

There was contact while Weller and Walter were battling for position, and Walter’s nose wing became loose and it flipped backward. Nonetheless, he soldiered on. Indeed, it seemed that his car actually picked up speed as the race progressed.

The only caution appeared on lap seventeen, when Dylan Smith coasted to a stop coming off turn four.

That set up a double file restart, with Shultz on the pole, Carberry in second, Walter in third, and Weller in fourth.

There was a mad scramble in the first turn when the race resumed. Walter was on the inside, Carberry in the middle, and Shultz on the outside, which should have been the preferred place to be. However, he got crowded out, and Carberry went into turn two with the lead. Shultz rallied for second, and Walter fell into third.

Shultz stayed close to Carberry for a couple of laps as he was looking for a place to make a pass. He got the opportunity entering turn one on lap twenty. Shultz executed a perfect slider to regain the lead.

In the final five laps, Shultz was able to drive away from Carberry with ease. He had a margin of victory of 3.267 seconds at the checkers.

Walter held on for third, followed by Ross and Weller. Young, Reutimann, Austin Reed, Cody Feltcher, and Gohn completed the top ten.

Gohn, Walter, and Weller captured the three heat wins. No B Main was needed for the twenty-two cars on hand.

Coming Events

Port Royal Speedway will host its second Speedweek show on Saturday evening, July 4, for the Greg Hodnett Classic. The Super Late Models will be on the holiday card, along with fireworks, music, and more. July 11 will feature the 410 and 305 Sprints, with the Limited Late Models for good measure. Then July 18 will be a Sprint Car triple header, as the 410, 358, and 305 winged warriors will be in action.

All of that will be a build up for the return of the High Limit Series for the Bob Weikert Memorial. The event was moved from its traditional Memorial Day weekend due to inclement weather.