Dirt Racing
Dietrich and Bright Bank Big Bucks at the Grove
WILLIAMS GROVE, PA (June 3, 2022): Danny Dietrich threw a big monkey off his back. His victory in the 410 Sprints at Williams Grove Speedway was the first there since July 31, 2020. Alex Bright scored the biggest win ever in the five-year history of the USAC East Coast 360 Sprint Car Series. He was victorious in the 5G Memorial for former car owner Bill Gallagher.
“We had so many good runs, but it seemed like we finished second to Lance (Dewease) a lot. It’s really emotional to win one here,” Dietrich noted. Although he had yet to visit victory lane at the track in 2022, Dietrich found himself sitting on top of the point standings entering the night and he certainly boosted his advantage by logging this win. “It’s a relief that Lance isn’t running for points this season,” Dietrich added.
Luck was on Dietrich’s side in this one. He was running a distant second in the first heat race when the leader, Brent Shearer, suddenly slowed and left the track in turn three. Dietrich coasted to the win, which gave him the pole for the feature event.
Dietrich also benefited from some evasive maneuvers made while lapping slower cars. He played dodge-em with one racer in particular leading his mild-mannered car owner, Gary Kauffman, to make some sharp remarks in the post-race interviews.
Dietrich, who can be volatile when given a platform, was remarkably restrained. “That might be some of the most difficult traffic I’ve seen, especially in the last five laps. There were three or four of them running together. You hope that they go to the bottom and give you a lane. Some of them did, but others were fighting for positions.”
The second place runner, Brent Marks, was not as fortunate when he encountered the lappers on the final circuit. He was making a run on Dietrich with a couple of laps to go, but when Dietrich was able to pick his way through the cluster of cars he had some much needed breathing room. Marks came upon the same group of cars in turn one on the final round, and when one of them checked up, Marks jammed on the brake, and he looped his car. He was able to keep moving, but any hope of catching Dietrich evaporated. Worse yet, Marks lost second place to the sputtering car of Anthony Macri.
Dietrich started the feature from the pole, with the second heat winner, Kyle Moody, beside him. Heat three victor, Aaron Bollinger lined up third, next to Macri. Justin Whittal and Lucas Wolfe were in row three. Chase Dietz and Marks made up row five. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. and Dylan Cisney completed the dozen.
Dietrich rolled into turn one ahead of Moody, but Macri followed Dietrich around the high side to come off turn two in second with one lap completed. That was as close as anyone would get to Dietrich for most of the contest. Dietrich stretched his lead to more than five seconds before he had to contend with slower traffic later in the race.
Meanwhile, Moody regained second place and held it until lap seven, when Macri rolled past him again. But even though Macri was able to open an advantage over Moody and his other pursuers, he was no match for the fleet Dietrich.
Marks moved into third by the halfway mark. He was closing in on Macri, whose car began to sputter. As Macri’s difficulties became more pronounced, Marks was there to take advantage. On lap 22, he roared by Macri on the front stretch. And, while Dietrich was hung up in traffic, Marks began to cut into the lead.
The fans were ready for a battle royal between Dietrich and Marks in the final laps. Instead, Dietrich played the lapped cars perfectly while Marks was not so lucky.
The finish was Dietrch ahead of Macri by 3.183 seconds in the no-stop affair. Then came Marks, Rahmer, and Moody. Devon Borden was the hard charger, at plus eight, good for sixth place at the pay window. Wolfe, Bollinger, Tyler Ross, and Justin Whittal completed the top ten.
There was no B Main. There were 22 cars on hand. Tyler Reeser scratched from the A Main after a mechanical problem eliminated him from heat race action.
Bright was also somewhat lucky in the USAC East Coast 360 feature. He broke the front panhard bar but held on to a transfer spot. But, as he explained, he and his crew were clueless about what changes needed to be made for the feature event. But their set-up was good enough to put him into contention for the win.
“The track got a little more treacherous and I think everybody started to make mistakes,” Bright said. “I made a few, but not as many as the others,” he said with a chuckle.
Mark Smith made a rare appearance sans wings, and he had the pole for the thirty lapper. Next to him was Mike Thompson. Tommy Kunsman and Kenny Miller, III inhabited row two. Joey Amantea and Steve Dravicki were in row three, with Briggs Danner and Kody Swanson in row four. The fifth row belonged to Kyle Spence and Aiden Borden. Ed Aiken and Bright rolled away in row six.
Smith blasted out to an early lead over Miller, Thompson, Kunsman, Amantea and Dravicki. While they ran along in formation, Danner was coming to the front. He reached fifth, and was challenging for fourth on lap six when he got loose in turn three. He saved the car, but he fell out of the top ten. It would take him a handful of laps to work his was ahead again.
Smith was able to stay in the lead through lap eighteen. Thompson and Amantea were fighting for positions in the top ten when they came together in turn three. They slid out toward the fence and then they both began to flip wildly. Both cars landed on their wheels outside the track. Neither driver was hurt in the spectacular crash.
Smith’s tires did not fire when racing resumed and he lost the lead in turn one to Dravicki. Bright was the next racer to slide by Smith. After losing second, Smith slowed and he stopped on the track to bring out the final caution.
That put Dravicki, Bright, and Danner at the head of the field for the final eight laps. On the restart, Bright and Danner were all over Dravicki. Danner took second briefly, by Bright rallied. With 23 laps complete, he executed a perfect slider to take the lead from Dravicki in turn three. Danner would overhaul Dravicki three laps later, but by then Bright was too far ahead for Danner to make a bid for the win.
Bright held off his nemesis for the win. After Danner was Dravicki. Miller came back for fourth ahead of the ringer, Swanson, who came in for this special event. Kunsman, Chistian Bruno, Bruce Buckwalter, Preston Lattomus, and Aiken completed the top ten.
Dravicki, Spence, and Danner were heat winners. Nash Ely won the B Main. There were 23 cars entered.
Next week will be fan appreciation night at Williams Grove Speedway. All ticket holders can venture into the pits before the racing starts to mingle with their favorite drivers in the 410 and 358 Sprint Car ranks. It will be a Yellow Breeches 500 race, meaning that each 410 driver that makes the A Main will take home at least that much in the pay envelope. June 17 will pair the 410 Sprints with the USAC National Sprint Car series. Pennsylvania Speedweek will kick off on June 24 with the 358 Sprints joining the 410s. Then the prestigious Mitch Smith Memorial will be held on July 1, as part of Speedweek.
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.
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