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Seavey Snags Two First Time at Port Royal Speedway; Macri Survives Contact to Win Winged Race

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Photo: Paul Arch

PORT ROYAL, PA (June 18, 2022): Logan Seavey scored a pair of wins in his first trip to Port Royal Speedway. In the USAC National Sprint Car Series, he romped to an easy win. However, in the USAC Silver Crown 50 lap nightcap, he made a bold last lap pass to steal the victory from journeyman racer Matt Westfall.

“I knew that this would be a track that I would pick up fast and that I would enjoy driving at,” Seavey said after his first win. He added after the second one, “I figured that this would drive a lot like Eldora.” Although Port Royal Speedway has considerably less banking than the House that Earl Built, it does share one thing in common with the Ohio speedplant: The fast line is high up against the wall and racers need to carry a lot of momentum. Seavey executed the plan to perfection in the Sprint Car portion, but it was especially true for him in the Silver Crown race. Seavey explained that he told his spotter during a mid-race caution that he could not run the inside or the middle like most of his competitors. So, he made some changes to the cockpit adjustable shocks to free up the car so that he could maintain his pace up against the boards.

The first feature up was for the USAC National Sprint Car Series. Briggs Danner had the pole, with another young pilot, Emerson Axsom beside him. Brady Bacon was inside row two, next to Jake Swanson. Seavey was inside row three, with C.J. Leary in sixth. Mark Smith lined up seventh, beside Chase Stockon. Shane Cottle and Robert Ballou came from row five. The sixth row had Justin Grant flanked by Matt Westfall.

Danner rolled into turn one first, but he was pressured by Bacon, Axsom, Cottle, and Swanson. Danner moved to the top to try to break Bacon’s momentum on lap two. In the process, he banged off the cushion on lap two and packed the right rear with mud. The resulting vibration made Danner slow to a stop so that he could pit to allow the crew to remove the mud. They got most of it out before they had to send him back onto the track, but the car was still impaired.

Fortunately, another caution came just a few laps later for a flat tire on Grant’s machine. So Danner pitted again to replace the offending tire.

The remaining twenty-four laps ran off without any further interruptions. During that extended run, Grant moved up to third and Danner to tenth.
When Danner pitted on lap three, Leary inherited the lead, with Bacon, Axsom, Cottle, and Swanson falling in line behind him. In the brief time to the caution for Grant, Axsom raced to the front.

After the final restart, the driver on the move was Seavey. He moved up to third by lap ten. Within a couple of laps, he was fighting Axsom and Bacon for control. Soon after grabbing second from Bacon, Seavey executed a slider on Axsom in turn one to take the lead.

Alex Bright was another racer on the move in the middle stage of the race. After starting sixteenth, Bright was running in the middle of the pack. Grant’s misfortune moved him into tenth for the restart. In just a few laps, Bright was seventh and climbing. He reached fourth by the halfway mark. Over the next five laps, he dispatched Axsom and Bacon.

However, Seavey was very far ahead when Bright took up the chase. With no caution to bring Seavey back to Bright, the question was who would finish a distant third. For most of the remaining laps, it appeared as though Bacon would take the last podium spot. However, Grant continued his charge, getting the position in the waning laps.

Seavey, Bright, and Grant made for an interesting trio. Bright was successful on the inside and middle lanes. He explained that he took his lessons from Lance Dewease, one of the most prolific winged racers at the Speed Palace. Bright also explained that his crew had to thrash to replace a blown engine after the heat race and the team was not sure what changes to make to the car for the feature. Whatever set-up they threw into the car obviously worked. Grant, who made the long climb to third, attributed his success to the fact that most of the racer he passed “didn’t want to mess with the fence, so I pretty much had that to myself,”

Bacon finished fourth. Axsom was fifth. Then came Westfall, Ballou, Stockton, Drevicki, and Danner.

The three heat winners were Bacon, Seavey, and Mark Smith. There was no B Main, as only twenty-one cars registered. Leary was the fastest qualifier, at 18.617 seconds.

In the USAC Silver Crown fifty lapper, Leary had the pole by setting the fastest time in that class as well. His time was 21,402 for the lumbering beasts. Next to him was Bacon. Jake Swanson and Matt Westfall were in the second row, Kody Swanson and Logan Seavey lined up in the third row. Shane Cottle and Justin Grant were next. Mark Smith and Shane Cockrum were in row five. Row six had Dallas Hewitt and Brian Tyler.

Leary led Bacon into the first turn. Jake Swanson, Westfall, Seavey, Cody Swanson, and Cottle followed. They ran in formation through the first several laps. Westfall picked off Jake Swanson just before lap ten went onto the board.

Westfall was getting stronger as the race went on, He passed Bacon for second by lap fifteen. On the next round of the speedway, he blasted by the leader, Leary, going down the back stretch. Bacon made the same maneuver on lap seventeen.

Three Rivers Karting

Westfall began to stretch his lead through the middle stage of the race, while Bacon continued in second. Cottle moved into third with twenty-seven laps complete, but he was still a significant distance back from the leaders.

A caution brought Westfall back to the others with twenty-nine laps in the books. While Westfall got away cleanly, Bacon and Cottle had to contend with Seavey when the green light came on again. The veterans stayed low, while Seavey was committed to the top. He took third from Cottle almost immediately and then he began to battle with Bacon. Meanwhile, Westfall was getting away again.

Seavey was into second by lap thirty-five and he began to reel in the leader. Westfall was running the bottom and Seavey remained up top. Slower cars ahead slowed Westfall’s pace, and Seavey was within a couple of car lengths with ten laps remaining.

Two laps later, Seavey made a big move coming off turn two. Be passed Westfall heading toward turn three. Westfall stayed close though.
Jake Swanson spun in turn three two laps later, which gave Westfall a chance to get a run on the leader. He entered turn one low and grabbed the lead. Now, Seavey was the pursuer again.

Coming through turn one with two laps to go, Seavey lost a wheel cover when he banged off the cushion. The caution for debris west up a two lap dash for the $8,000 to prize.

Westfall set the pack, but Seavey was flogging the cushion trying to build up his momentum again. He had a full head of steam entering turn one for the final time, but Westfall still had the advantage. Coming off turn two, Westfall left the high line open. Seavey took advantage and sailed into the lead. He dropped to the inside entering turn three to make sure that Westfall could not try a slider. Seavey allowed his car to drift up to the cushion and Westfall made a lunge to the inside. But Seavey had momentum working off turn four and he led Westfall to the checkers in a thrilling finish.

Behind Seavey and Westfall were Bacon, Hewitt, and Leary. Cottle was shuffled back to sixth. Cockrum picked up seventh. Kody Swanson, Jason McDougal, and Carmen Perigo completed the top ten. Perigo was named the hard charger, advancing nine positions in the contest.

The Semi was won by Chase Stockon.

The 410 Winged Sprints were the meat between the USAC slices of the program. A pair of Tylers, Reeser and Bear, led the way. Steve Buckwalter and Mike Walter started behind them. Mike Wagner and Jeff Halligan were in row three. Logan Wagner and Anthony Macri were in the fourth row. Dan Shetler and Blane Heimbach were paired in row five. The sixth stanza had the duet of Trenton Shaeffer and Kassidy Kreitz.

Bear looked strong once again in his new ride, the Chiappelli 98. He led Mike Wagner, Walter, Reeser, Halligan. And Logan Wagner through the first lap. He continued to lead after a quick caution, but Mike Wagner was applying the pressure. Halligan moved into third, bringing Logan Wagner along.

On the lap twelve restart, Mike Wagner ran through the middle of turn one to take the lead While Halligan mounted a charge on the outside. Bear was able to fend off his advance. Successive cautions on laps thirteen and fourteen produced no major changes in the running order, except for Macri’s entry into the top five.

When racing resumed, Mike Wagner led Halligan Macri, Logan Wagner, and Bear. It was a three car battle for the lead for a couple of laps. Macri moved into second and started to work on Mike Wagner. After he wrestled the lead away from Mike Wagner, the senior statesman of the speedway mounted a counter attack. He tried to squeeze between Macri and a lapped car coming down the front chute. There was contact between them, sending Wagner spinning across the track with a broken front end.

Macri’s car was not significantly damaged in the incident. He was able to complete the race in dominant fashion, fighting off an inspired Logan Wagner in the process.

Halligan was third, followed by Ryan Taylor, and Walter. Positions six through ten belonged to Justin Whittal, Bear, Reeser, Gerrard McIntyre, Jr., and Shetler.
The heat winners were Mike Wagner, Halligan, and Logan Wagner. There was no B Main, as all twenty-five racers were allowed to start the feature.

Port Royal Speedway will be dark on June 24 for Speedweek. Its Speedweek events will be Wednesday, June 29, and Saturday July 2. The URC Sprints will provide support for the former, and Late Models will back-up the 410s the night of the Greg Hodnett Classic. The Sprint Cars will return on July 9, along with the Super Lates and Limited Lates.

Dirt Racing

Tim Shaffer Wins Herb Scott Memorial at PPMS

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Tommy Hein

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.

Three Rivers Karting

“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]

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Dirt Racing

Macri Romps in Sterner Memorial; Hare Gets First Career Win on His Birthday

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Lincoln Speedway

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.

Three Rivers Karting

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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Dirt Racing

Spithaler, Norris, Krummert, and Christian Schneider take Opening Night Wins at Lernerville Speedway

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Lernerville Speedway

SARVER, PA (April 19, 2024): Brandon Spithaler held on for the win in a non-stop twenty-five lapper to open the season for the 410 Sprint Cars at Lernerville Speedway. Defending track champion A.J. Flick raced from thirteenth to second. Taking the checkers in the Late Models was defending champion Michael Norris. Garrett Krummert earned his first opening night victory in the DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds. Christian Schneider closed out the night holding the checkered flag in the Penn Ohio Pro Stocks.

“With (Will) Flemming getting into the fence coming to the white, I got out of (the throttle), maybe too much. I saw the 2 (A.J. Flick), that was the first time that I saw anybody.” Spithaler said. He maintained his outside line on the final trip around the track, and then he was able to pin Flick behind a lapped car coming off turn four to preserve the win. “The car was a lot better than last week. We came back from Attica (Raceway Park) and made a lot of changes to the car. We went back to some of the things that worked for us last year.”

Cody Bova and Jared Zimbardi paced the start of the first 410 Sprint Car feature event of 2024 season. Blaze Myers made his first 410 start at the Action Track from row two, along with Brandon Spithaler. Matt Farnham and Dan Kuriger were matched in row three. Hall of Fame racer Dale Blaney lined up with Carl Bowser in row four. Ohio invader Ricky Peterson and Michael Bauer had row five. Jeremy Weaver and Pete Landrum made up row six.

Although Bova led the field into turn one, it did not take Spithaler very long to vault into the lead. He shot from fourth to the front coming off turn two. Bova tucked into second, with Zimbardi, Blaney, Peterson, Kuriger, Farnham, Bowser, and Flick in tow.

With Spithaler setting a blistering pace, Zimbardi drove into second place. However, Blaney was making headway, and soon he was challenging for the role of first chaser. Also on the move was Flick, who reached the top five by lap eight.

Blaney took over the second position by lap ten and, just two laps later, Flick was up to third. Continuing his charge, Flick wrestled the second spot away from Blaney in the final five laps.

Spithaler’s lead was shrinking as the laps were counting down. Flick was within striking distance when an opportunity presented itself at the start of the final lap. Spithaler checked up because a lapped car got into the outside wall, but Flick could not scoot by. Flick took another run at the leader in the final corners, but Spithaler pinned him behind a lapped car coming off turn four to ensure the victory.

Blaney held on for third, with Zimbardi and Bova rounding out the top five. Kuriger, Peterson, Bowser, Myers, and Brandon Matus were finishers six through ten.
Sprint Car heats were won by Dale Blaney, Matt Farnham, and Cody Bova. Jacob Begenwald captured the B Main.

Michael Norris was relieved to get the win to open up his title defense in the Late Model ranks. “I pretty much thought that I had that race lost,” he said. He explained that he was running the bottom when Alex Ferree sailed by on the outside. That took Norris by surprise. However, a late race restart gave him the opportunity to battle Ferree for the lead again.

Ken Schaltenbrand was flanked by John Garvin for the start of the race. Tyler Dietz and mid-state racer Jon lee had row two. Daryl Charlier and Norris were dance partners in row three, with Jared Miley making his return in row four. He was paired with Ferree. Logan Zarin and Michael Lake were positioned in row five. Taking up row six were Michael Duritsky and Coltin Flinner.

The first two attempts to start the race were waived off. Miley’s spin in turn two accounted for the first one, and a false start justified the second. When the race did get going, Schaltenbrand was the leader, with Garvin’s new ride holding down the second spot. Trailing them were Dietz, Norris, and Lee.

There were no changes in the running order for the first several laps. Norris claimed third on lap seven. Two laps later, Garvin rode the rim coming off turn two to take command. Soon thereafter, Norris slipped into second. Norris remained close for the next three laps. He made his move to the front on lap twelve. Ferree climbed into third on lap thirteen.

The double file restart on lap sixteen had Norris to the inside and Ferree on the outside. They ran side-by-side for a lap, with Ferree getting a nose out front at the scoring loop. Another caution set them up for a rematch, but Ferree switched things up by taking the inside for the restart. He was able to get to turn one ahead of Norris and Ferree slid across the groove to get to the cushion first.

Ferree started to pull away, but the final caution, on lap twenty-one, wiped out his advantage. On the ensuing restart, Norris executed a slide job to regain the lead, but Ferree battled back. He was out front again using the high line through turns three and four.

Three Rivers Karting

On lap twenty-three, Norris returned the favor. He blasted around Ferree using the cushion to his advantage at the north end of the track.

Norris took the checkers ahead of Ferree, with Flinner in third. Lake and Garvin rounded out the top five. Dietz crossed in sixth, followed by Schaltenbrand, Zarin, and Tyler Wyant claiming tenth.

The trio of Late Model heats belonged to Logan Zarin, Jared Miley, and Alex Ferree. The B Main victory went to R.J. Dellape.

Garrett Krummert was the fourth and final leader of the DIRTcar Big Block Modified race. “We were pretty good anywhere,” Krummert noted. He said that the team tried some different things on the car, and he was able to run the top or the bottom. Krummert was able to take the lead away from Jeremiah Shingledecker on the final restart of the contest, coming on lap twenty-one. “I was surprised that Jeremiah gave me the outside for that restart.”

Will Thomas and Rex King, Jr. were on the front row, with brad Rapp and Shingledecker in row two. Colton Walters and Dave Murdick were in row three. Justin Shea and Krummert lined up in row four, ahead of Jordan Ehrenberg and Mike Kinney. Jeff Miller and Steve Slater departed from row six.

Thomas took the early lead, with King, Rapp, Shingledecker, Shea, and Walters following closely. A caution just three laps into the event gave King another shot at the lead, and he did briefly take the top spot. However, Thomas rallied as the duo came toward the scoring loop, and he was credited with the lead on lap four. King prevailed after another caution, and he continued to lead through lap twelve.

On that trip around the speedway, Shingledecker grabbed the lead using the high line. Krummert used the inside to take second, and King was stranded in the middle. He held onto third, ahead of Thomas and Walters.

While Shingledecker was leading, Krummert began searching for a better line. He was challenging for the lead when Shingledecker used a lapped car as a pick to gain some breathing room.

The final caution set Krummert up to make an outside charge to the front. Shingledecker held second, but a late race mistake cost him dearly. He got up over the berm in turn four losing several positions in the process. Shingledecker’s miscue enabled King to get back into second and Thomas into third.

At the checkers, it was Krummert, King, Thomas, Shingledecker, and Shea making up the top five. Rapp, Walters, Steve Feder, Murdick, and Rodney Beltz were the next five to cross the loop.

A pair of heats were contested for the DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds. Justin Shea and Garrett Krummert took the honors. There was no B Main.

Christian Schneider raced his way to the front early in the nightcap for the Penn Ohio Pro Stocks. To get there, he had to pass defending champ, Tyler Dietz, and Schneider’s legendary father, Chris. The father chased the son the rest of the way, but he could not regain the lead.

On lap twenty, it was Christian getting the nod over Chris in the family feud. Dietz, Cody McPherson, and Jason Fosnaught were third, fourth, and fifth. Fosnaught was subbing for Brett McDonald. Next in line were Brett Hutira, Cody Koteles, Tyler Schneider, Jacob Dietz, and Cole Miller.

The Pro Stocks spun off two heats, with the wins going to Chris Schneider and Christian Schneider. There was no B Main.

Lernerville Speedway will present another action packed four-division program on April 26. Coming up on May 10, the ULMS Late Models will make their first appearance of 2024.

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