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Marks Surprise Winner of Morgan Cup at Williams Grove

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Photo: Paul Arch

WILLIAMS GROVE, PA (May 14, 2022): Brent Marks has a knack for winning big money races. But he needed a little luck to get the job done at Williams Grove Speedway. He inherited the lead when Jacob Allen’s mount ran out of fuel following a lap 28 restart. The victory in the Morgan Cup was Marks’ second of the season with the World of Outlaws and they happened to be the two highest paying events to date on the 2022 tour. “The high paying races are very meaningful, especially for a team like mine,” Marks said. He will bank $17,500 for this one.

Marks, of Myerstown, made sure that the perpetual trophy would return to the track office at Williams Grove Speedway for the next year.

He now has scored wins in the three big races staged at Williams Grove, the National Open, the Summer Nationals, and the Morgan Cup.

“We just got lucky there,” he said. Marks commented that he tried to conserve fuel because the cooler temperatures and tacky surface meant that the cars burned off an excessive amount of fuel. “We tried to save as much fuel as we could, we leaned it out under the caution.” But fuel management was not his only concern. He also lost the brakes in his machine. “We lost our brakes with three to go. The car had a vibration.” He explained that, at first, he thought that he had a driveline problem, but then he realized that part of the rear inboard brake came loose.

With those difficulties, Marks explained that he wanted the lapped traffic. “I didn’t want to race the car too hard and get caught up on the cushion.” Instead, he got a late race caution that may have clinched the win for him.

Jacob Allen had the pole and he was gunning for his second victory of the week. He was paired up with Sheldon Haudenschild for the start of the thirty lapper. Rico Abreu and Marks had row two, with Carson Macedo and Matt Campbell in row three. The other two dash competitors, David Gravel and Donny Schatz, made up row five. Logan Schuchart and Brad Sweet made up the rest of first half of the starting field. Track favorites were further back in the line-up. Anthony Macri rolled away in fifteenth, Lance Dewease in seventeenth, and Danny Dietrich in twenty-fourth.

Allen seized control at the drop of the green, with Haudeschild following. Macedo was up to third, then came Marks, Gravel, and Abreu. Allen, racing mostly in the middle and the low groove, maintained the advantage despite cautions on laps eight and nine. A second caution on the lap nine restart gave him a single file restart that allowed him to pull away slightly from Haudenschild.

By lap seventeen, the leader caught the rear of the field and he had to switch lines to put some of the slower cars a lap down. That enabled Haudenschild to close in. Unfortunately, the lapped traffic also cost Haudenschild second place.

Three Rivers Karting

“I made one mistake racing behind Jacob,” he said. “He threw a slider on a lapped car and boxed me in and Brent (Marks) got by.” Marks did dip inside of Haudenschild in turns one and two to grab the position.

Nonetheless, Jacob Allen was firmly in control and it appeared as though he would take his first career win at another track where his famous father, Bobby, enjoyed much success. However, things changed after Campbell’s car slowed to a stop off turn two.

The field realigned with Allen on the point, Marks in second, Haudenschild third, Macedo fourth, and Abreu fifth. When the green flag was displayed, Allen’s car sputtered and Marks had to swerve to the outside to avoid running over him. Allen picked up some speed when his car reached turn one and he was able to hold Marks off. But coming off turn two, Allen faltered again and Marks drove by to take the lead. Other divers had to take evasive maneuvers this time. Allen limped along and slid his car into the pit exit at turn one.

Meanwhile Marks completed his rounds and sailed under the checkers.

Macedo was second, but he lost the position at the scales, as his car came up light due no doubt to fuel consumption. Macedo’s misfortune also stripped him of points that would have moved him ahead of Sweet in the current Outlaws championship standings.

Macedo’s disqualification moved Haudenschild up to second in the final rundown. Abreu was credited with third. Fourtha and fifth were Schatz and Schuchart.

Gravel, Sweet, Spencer Bayston, James McFadden, and Giovanni Scelzi completed the top ten.

The heat winners were Allen, Haudenschild, Abreu, and Schatz. McFadden captured the B Main. Allen was victorious in the Dash. Track provisionals were claimed by Dylan Norris and Devon Borden. Borden advanced from twenty-sixth on the grid to twelfth to earn the hard charger award. Macedo was the evening’s fastest qualifier, topping Group B with a lap of 16.517 seconds. Allen led Group A with a lap of 16.673 seconds. There were 41 cars on hand.

Williams Grove Speedway will be back in action Friday night with a 410 and 358 Sprint Car doubleheader. It will close out the month of May with the All Stars Circuit of Champions paying $10,000 for the Randy Wolfe Tribute Race.

Dirt Racing

Macri Makes Comeback at Lincoln

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Photo by Paul Arch

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.

Three Rivers Karting

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.

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Dirt Racing

Wagaman Works Magic in Lincoln Icebreaker

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Lincoln Speedway

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.

Three Rivers Karting

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.

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Dirt Racing

Tri-City Raceway Park to Be Sold, New Owners to Continue Sunday Operation

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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.

Three Rivers Karting

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.

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