Dirt Racing
Bernheisel Wires Bedford Opener
(Bedford, PA April 2, 2023): Veteran Jimmy Bernheisel ended a drought that lasted for more than thirty-four years when he roared to victory in the opening race of the 87th season at the Bedford Fairgrounds Speedway. The Jonestown, PA car builder won his first Super Late Model feature at the storied venue in 1988! The win came just a week before his sixty-fifth birthday, making the accomplishment all the more important to him.
Joining Bernheisel in victory celebrations were Dalton Weyant (Semi Lates and Pure Stocks), Mitch Thomas (Modifieds), and Shawn Smith (Mini Stocks).
Bernheisel climbed atop the roof of his car in victory lane and excitedly raised his clenched fists high above his head before pondering how he would get down. He executed the move rather gingerly.
“This was a good day,” he said. “It was Palm Sunday, so we started the day at church, and then we got to come here and play with the race cars,” he explained. “This was really cool,” he added. “There were a lot of good cars here.”
Bernheisel started on the pole and he led every lap, but it was not as easy as that may sound. “We had a good car,” he observed. “But I’ve had too many races when I started up front and went straight to the back. So, I was concerned.” Instead, he set a comfortable pace through most of the race and he had a comfortable margin as the laps were winding down.
However, two restarts late in the race gave Colton Flinner prime opportunities to overtake the leader. With three laps remaining, Flinner charged hard into turn one and slid up ahead of Bernheisel. But, the veteran calmly turned back under him in turn two to regain the lead. Bernheisel had a couple of car lengths on his younger foe when the caution came out again a lap later. “I was ready for him the second time,” Bernheisel said. Although Flinner tried to duplicate the slider in turn one, he was unable to get in front, and Bernheisel pinched down on him through turn two to ensure that Bernheisel maintained the lead.
Bernheisel was paired with Michael Lake for the start of the twenty-five lapper. Jeff Rine and Flinner made up row two. Spike Moore and Jon Lee were in the third row, with Dylan Lewis and Brian Booze in row four. Then came Justin Weaver and Matt Cosner. Row six belonged to Chuck Clise and Deshawn Gingerich. Buried in nineteenth was Drake Troutman.
Bernheisel assumed command at the drop of the green. Flinner nestled into second, with Lake, Rine, Moore, Booze, Lee, Lewis, Weaver, and Cosner following. The opening laps were uneventful, but as the race neared the halfway mark things started to heat up.
Rine and Lake had a struggle for the third spot. Rine got the spot with twelve down, but Lake fought back, literally. On the next round, there was contact between them and Rine got into the front stretch wall. Somehow, he saved the car and only lost the position to Lake.
Soon thereafter, Lake set his sights on Flinner. Lake slid Flinner in turn one with seventeen laps complete, but Flinner regained the position in turn two. The two went back and forth for the next five laps. Lake took second on the front stretch with twenty-two down.
Lake then went after Bernheisel. He never got the chance to challenge the wily veteran, though, as he jumped the cushion between turns three and four before slamming the outside wall. Lake’s spectacular effort ended at that point.
Lake’s misfortune restored Flinner to the second spot for the restart and it set the stage for the two daring sliders of his own going into turn one. The first one netted him the advantage briefly, but Bernheisel countered in the next corner. The second put the contenders wheel to wheel until Bernheisel crowded Flinner in turn two. The two did not make contact, but it was enough to break Flinner’s momentum and to preserve the win for Bernheisel.
At the checkers, it was Bernheisel over Flinner by .68 seconds. Moore overtook Rine in the final laps for third. Lee rounded out the top five. Booze, Weaver, Troutman, Cosner, and Gingerich were the next five across the line.
There were three heats for the twenty-four cars on hand. Wins went to Rine, Lee, and Lake. There was no B Main.
In the Semi Late Model go, Greg Hainsey jumped out front from his pole starting spot, and within a couple of laps Travis Calhoun worked his way into second from the outside of row two. Calhoun was mounting a challenge for the lead with nine laps complete, but a caution nullified his attempted pass.
Calhoun was the next victim of a caution just two laps later, and it looked as though Hainsey had the race in the bag.
However, on the ensuing restart, Dalton Weyant came to life. He moved into the third spot soon after the green was displayed for the final time. But his charge was not finished yet. He took second coming off turn two on the last lap and he drove up beside the leader in turn three! Hainsey maintained a slight advantage on the inside, but Weyant had the momentum on the outside. Weyant came off turn four with the lead and held it to the checkers,
Weyant, Hainsey, Bob Jay, Brian Weyandt, Jr., and Bill Replogle were the top five. They were followed by Josh Bummy, Laura Chamberlain, Nick Bechtel, John Miller, and Bob Torquoto.
Heat wins went to Calhoun and Bechtel. There was no B Main.
The Modified twenty lapper went to Mitch Thomas, his second victory of the weekend. Drake Troutman challenged Thomas midway through the race, but faded. He still held off Mike Altobelli, Jr. for the runner-up money. Jimmy Jesmer, Jr. and Donnie Farling were fourth and fifth. Jacob Marker, Brandon Inglish, Tory Johnson, Alyssa Rowe, and Brandon Hoover completed the top ten.
Heat victories went to Altobelli and Troutman. There was no B Main.
Dalton Weyant came back to victory lane after the Pure Stock feature. He finished ahead of rookie Charlie Clise, Dalton Ritchey, Derrick Hinish, and Kyle Beckett. Darian Ritchey, Mark Shope, Tom Lewis, Madison Miller, and Denver Dishong were next to cross the line.
Clise and Weyant were the winners in the Pure Stock preliminaries. There was no B Main.
The Mini Stocks wore the nightcap. Taking the win was Shawn Smith over Brad Marker and Derek Long. Casey Fleegle took fourth and fifth. Next finishers were Colin Welsh, Josh Corbin, Harlan Group, Steven Martin, and Todd Price.
Heat winners were Corbin and Long. There was no B Main.
Bedford Fairgrounds Speedway will continue action on Friday night, April 7, with Super Late Models, Late Model Sportsmen, Semi Lates, Pure Stocks, and Four Cylinders.
Dirt Racing
Michael Norris wins his 5th Jook George Steel City Classic
IMPERIAL, PA (July 25, 2026) – Michael Norris is back in Victory Lane at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway after winning Saturday night’s Jook George Steel City Classic.
The win was Norris’ fifth in seven events and the Late Model standout from Sarver, PA dedicated the win to his Grandparents.
“I want to dedicate this win to my grandma and grandpa,” said the 34-year-old Norris. “We lost them this year and miss them a lot- this one is for them. My pap would always say I want you to go down there and show them how it’s done and I showed them how it’s done for him.”
The victory was a family affair for Norris, who was driving the ND Motorsports #N1.
“I have to think Nico (Dabecco) and Vinny,” said Norris, Nico’s brother-in-law. “We really changed the car a lot from the Firecracker (Lernerville Speedway June 27) and found some things we needed to address.”
Norris and Kyle Lukon led the 26-car field to the green flag with Norris leading lap 1 but Lukon grabbing the lead on lap and holding it through lap 7.
Norris wasn’t done however, pulling a slider in turn three to lead lap 8. Norris padded his lead the next couple of laps, pulling out over a second over Lukon.
Lukon was slowed when he slid into the wall on lap 15, giving third place Dan Angelicchio the chance to catch up and the battle was on for second.
Lukon slid into the wall a second time on lap 23 and slowed to bring out the caution.
The restart lined Angelicchio up alongside Norris but ‘the crusher kid’ dropped the hammer and was gone. Demetrios Drellos was able to drive around Angelicchio on the outside to take over the runner-up spot, but was never able to get close enough to Norris to challenge in lapped traffic.
“When this track is like this, it’s so much fun and you can race all over it,” Norris explained. “They did a great job on it tonight.”
Norris took home $6,010 for the win and $6,500 for the night to bring his total take home from ‘the Jook’ to $34,000 over his five wins.
“I have to thank Branden (Lockwich),” said Norris. “He does such a great job, puts a lot of effort into this, and tries different things every year to make it better and get more people here. We’ll keep supporting it as long as they keep having it. Thanks to all the fans for coming out and Blair (Cress) for keeping this place open.”
Dirt Racing
Marks Magnificent in Hodnett Classic at Port Royal
PORT ROYAL, PA (July 25, 2026): Brent Marks dominated the Greg Hodnett Classic at Port Royal Speedway to score a $15,000 victory on night number one of the Bob Weikert Memorial Weekend. Marks established himself as the odds on favorite to scoop up the $100,000 first prize.
Marks’ lead was almost 4.8 seconds before the only caution of the race. It was called prematurely on lap eighteen by a track official when Daison Pursley got out of shape in turn two. Pursley got his car righted and he was allowed to blend in where he was running after the caution.
Marks sped away from his rivals when the race resumed. Justin Peck moved into second with five laps remaining. Although Chase Dietz took over third on lap twenty-three, he was penalized to positions at the finish for being out of line for the restart. That moved Anthony Macri into third and Ryan Smith into fourth.
“The car was awesome all night,” Marks said. He timed in third in Group B, won his heat race, and ran away with the dash. He led all twenty-five laps of the feature event without any challenges.
“I wanted to make the top work a little more,” Marks noted. “Fortunately, there was a good cushion to help me out. After the caution, Marks came down off the top and ran in the middle for the final seven laps. His margin of victory was 1.035 seconds over Peck.
Peck, who came on strong in the final half of the race, mentioned, “I think we were fast from start to finish.” He was the fastest qualifier of the night, topping Group A with a lap of 15.862 seconds. He was second in his heat race and fourth in the dash. He added, “I haven’t felt this good at Port Royal since 2021.” He thought he could have squeezed a little more speed out of his car for the feature, “but, I was scared to get out of our window.”
Macri also thought that he had a good car. He commented, though, “I have to work on my tires under the yellow. I have to study.”
The dash finish set the first eight positions in the A Main. Marks and Macri occu[ied row one. They were followed by Dietz and Peck. Then came the championship contenders, Rico Abreu and Aaron Reutzel, in row three; and Pursley and Kerry Madsen, in row four. Ryan Smith and Giovanni Scelzi claimed row five based on their heat reace finishes. James McFadden and Danny Dietrich (who was sporting Weikert colors and the iconic number 29 tonight) departed from row six.
Marks jumped out to the early lead and he began to pull away from Macri. Peck and Dietz raced along in fourth and fifth, ahead of Abreu, Reutzel, Madsen, Smith, Scelzi, and Tyler Courtney.
The first five were unchanged through the first half of the race. Abreu and Reutzel battled for sixth, while Smith began to close in on them.
That premature caution on lap eighteen wiped away Marks’ advantage. Macri, Peck, Dietz, Smith, Reutzel, Abreu, Courtney, Madsen, and Scelzi were the announced starting order for the remaining seven laps. However, Dietz managed to position himself ahead of Peck for the restart, giving rise to the penalty imposed at the finish.
Dietz blasted into third on the restart. But Peck rallied and drove up to second by the finish. Macri was under attack from Smith in the closing laps and they were both moved ahead of Dietz in the finishing order.
Positions six through ten went to Logan Wagner, who was designated as the hard charger. He advanced sixteen positions over the course of the race. Most of his passed came after the restart. Abreu was seventh, followed by Reutzel, Courtney, and Madsen.
Madsen, Macri, Marks, and Pursley took the checkers in their respective heat races. Domenic Melair won the C Main. Cameron Smith took the honors in the B Main. Peck was the top qualifier, at 15.862. Abreu topped Group B with a time of 16.682 seconds. Forty-seven cars checked in for the event
Ageless Steve Wilbur went wire to wire to win the Wingless Sportsmen thirty lapper. He took the lead at the start and steadily pulled away to a seven second advantage. Brett Perigo moved into second on lap fifteen and he cut into the margin while Wilbur struggled with lapped traffic.
The lead was down to 1.666 seconds by the time the red came out for a spectacular crash involving Dexter Ehrenzeller and Donnie Farlling on the front stretch. Ehrenzeller’s car came to rest near the victory lane. He required medical attention and was transported to a nearby hospital. No report of his condition was available by the end of the program.
Tony Jackson followed Wilbur and Brett Perigo at the finish. Marty Brian and Sam Leonard, Jr. completed the top five. The nxt five finishers were Eric Wlaker, Curt Stroup, Scott Smith, Lee Kauffman, and Craig Perigo.
Jackson, Brian, and Brad Mellott tallied the heat race wins. There was no B Main needed to align the twenty-one car field.
Dirt Racing
Dietz Finally Scores At Williams Grove
MECHANICSBURG, PA (July 24, 2026): Chase Dietz finally got a win at Williams Grove Speedway. It was his seventeenth overall for the season and sixth in his career at the famous oval. The $6,000 triumph also extended his points lead in the fledgling PA Posse Series.
Dietz executed a perfect slider in turn four on lap thirteen to take the lead from the current Williams Grove points leader and defending track champion, Troy Wagaman, Jr. “You have to take your shot when you get it,” Dietz said.
Dietz commented that he tried to drive under Wagaman in turn one on the opening lap, but he could not pull off the pass. In fact, he lost a position to Anthony Macri in the process. He explained that the temporary setback “probably helped me, it pissed me off.”
He noted that “the track was pretty narrow with a good cushion.” But, he added, ”it was pretty dicey with those lapped cars. They want to run where you are.” Fortunately, Dietz was able to navigate around them efficiently after taking the lead.
He concluded, “it’s a great time to have this (his first win at the track) happen. We have the Outlaws coming in and we want to put it on them.”
Although this was a Posse Series race, the track used a format similar to a World of Outlaws event to help get the race teams ready for next week’s Summer Nationals program. Thus, the heat races started heads-up, with the fastest qualifier on the pole instead of fourth per Posse Series procedures. The first two finishers from each heat advanced to the dash, instead of the heat winners and the fastest qualifiers from beach heat. The dash established the starting order for the first six cars in the feature event, instead of a random draw. All others fell in line based upon their qualifying times, instead of their heat race finishes.
Accordingly, the pole position for the twenty-five lapper went to Wagaman, with Dietz as his wingman. Logan Rumsey and Macri were next in line. The final two dash participants, Brent Shearer and Austin Bishop, manned row three. Then came Danny Dietrich and Preston Lattomus, in row four; Justin Whittall and Dylan Norris, in row five; and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. and Doug Hammaker, in row six.
Wagaman reached turn one ahead of Dietz and established himself on the cushion. Dietz opted for the low side, and that allowed Macri to roll in behind Wagaman on the top. Macri had better momentum coming off turn two, and he gained the second position heading down the back stretch. Rumsey was fourth, followed by Bishop, Shearer, Dietrich, Lattomus, Whittall, and Norris on the opening lap.
The first four began to separate themselves from the other racers in the early going. Meanwhile, Dietrich was pressing Rumsey for the fifth spot.
On lap seven, Macri got a tremendous launch off turn two and he closed very quickly on the leader. However, Wagaman was able to get to a lapped car before Macri could make a bid for the lead. Soon thereafter, Dietz powered past Macri for second. He then closed in on Wagaman in traffic.
The only caution of the event occurred on lap eleven. Rahmer got a flat and struck the outside wall in turn two while running in the top ten.
Wagaman had the point for the single file restart, with Dietz in second, followed by Macri, Rumsey, Dietrich, Bishop, Shearer, Whittall, Lattomus, and Norris.
Dietz pressed Wagaman for the lead when the race resumed. It took him a couple of laps to set up his winning pass in turn four. Meanwhile, Dietrich and Bishop moved ahead of Rumsey.
Dewease was another racer making forward progress after the restart. He was thirteenth in the queue when the green light came on again, and he cracked into the top ten on lap fifteen. He gained two more positions in the final ten laps.
Dietz stretched his lead over Wagaman as the laps clicked off. Wagaman remained in second. Dietrich got under Macri for third with three laps remaining in the contest.
Dietz took the checkers almost four and a half seconds ahead of Wagaman. Then came Dietrich, Macri, and Bishop. Whittall, Rumsey, Dewease, Norris, and Ryan Smith completed the top ten.
Rumsey, Dietz, and Bishop took the heat wins. There was no B Main. Wagaman prevailed in the dash. Rumsey was the evening’s fastest qualifier with a lap of 16.715 seconds. It was his first quick time award.
Eli Tuckey survived an early challenge from Austin Reed to get his first career win at the speedway in the 358 Sprint Car division. “I was diving poorly,” Tuckey conceded. “I figured if I could stay next to him (Reed), I could pull it off.” Tuckey adjusted his wing and did exactly that.
Reed held on for second, followed by Chase Gutshall, Derek Locke, and Adam Carberry. Cody Fletcher, Brock Hammaker, Seth Schnoke, Matt Findley, and Tim Wagaman, II rounded out the top ten.
Tuckey, Gutshall, and Schnoke copped the preliminaries. There was no B Main needed to set the starting field.
Cole Young had a spectacular crash at the start of his heat race. His car flipped several times and the front axle was ripped from the car. He was not hurt in the wreck. Brian Wolf, Jr. tipped his car over at the start of his heat. The car was not extensively damaged, and he was not injured. He was able to start the feature.

