Dirt Racing
Wise and Fletcher Get Career First Wins at Williams Grove
MECHANICSBURG, PA (April 7, 2023): Zeb Wise and Cody Fletcher inked their names in the record book at Williams Grove Speedway on opening night in 2023. Wise, a member of the All Star Circuit of Champions, took advantage of the postponement of the Attica Spring Nationals to get some track time at the venerable speedway. Fletcher, a veteran of the midstate 358 Sprint division, will campaign regularly at the track now that his familiar Friday stop, Trailways Speedway, is no longer in operation.
Wise said happily, “I always wanted to get one at the Grove.” He explained that he “spent a lot of time following guys like (Anthony) Macri, Lance (Dewease), and Danny (Dietrich), who really get around this place, and I learned a lot.”
Wise was battling with Macri in the late stages of the twenty-five lapper. He even squeezed by on the inside to lead a lap before Macri rolled around the top to regain the lead in turn one. However, when Macri had difficulty with a lapper, Wise stayed on the bottom and drove into the lead in turns one and two on the final lap.
“I saw Macri having trouble with Scotty (Thiel), I knew that he’d go to the top. I stayed on the bottom.” The lane choice proved to be the difference maker, as Macri was unable to mount a charge after clearing Thiel.
Danny Dietrich and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. were paired on the front row, with Macri and Wise in row two. Devon Borden and Chase Dietz came off row three, with new track record holder T.J. Stutts and Dewease making up an experienced fourth row. Kyle Reinhardt and Tyler Ross started in row five, with Troy Wagaman, Jr. and Brandon Rahmer in row six.
The highly anticipated duel between Dietrich and F. Rahmer never materialized, as Dietrich suffered a flat front tire after making contact with Rahmer atthe drop of the green. That moved Macri to the front row for the restart, but he was no match for F. Rahmer.
Rahmer bolted into the lead, with Macri giving chase. Wise, Borden, Dietz, Dewease, Stutts, Ross, Reinhardt, and Wagaman were in pursuit. Rahmer saw his advantage shrinking away in traffic when Dewease looped it in turn two with seven laps complete.
On the restart, Rahmer was in control again. With nothing in front of him, he was able to open a comfortable lead over Macri. Wise remained close, while Borden and Dietz contended for the fourth spot. Dietz claimed fourth by the halfway mark.
As the laps wound down, Macri was closing in on Rahmer. They made contact coming through turn four, but Rahmer still was leading. Macri grabbed the lead with an outside pass in turn two, and Wise took up the attack on Rahmer. Wise got a tremendous run off four to lead lap nineteen, but Macri rallied to regain the lead on lap twenty.
Macri seemed to be in control until he closed in on Thiel in the final laps. Macri tried to get by Thiel on the inside and then again on the outside. However, Thiel fought hard to remain on the lead lap. Macri tried again on the outside, but Wise darted by both cars on the inside of turns one and two.
Macri finally cleared Thiel in turn two, but Wise had a couple of car lengths heading into turn three. Macri tried to slide under the new leader, but he did not have enough momentum to complete the pass.
Wise took the checkers .182 seconds ahead of Macri. F. Rahmer crossed in third, with Dietz and Borden following. Ross, Stutts, B. Rahmer, Reinhardt, and Kyle Moody completed the top ten.
Dietz, Borden, and Wise chalked up heat race victories. Sean Rayhall, another All Stars visitor, won the B Main. Stutts set a new single lap mark of 16.089 seconds during group time trials.
In the nightcap, Cody Fletcher overhauled Kody Hartlaub on a lap nine restart to take the lead. Fletcher powered by on the inside of turn one. Eventually, defending divisional champion Derek Locke did the same, but it was too late for him to make a bid for the win.
“We had enough fuel to finish the race,” Fletcher said. “We had teh car rolling good, I did not want to get off the bottom. I had a good starting spot,” he added.
Chase Guttschall and Hartlaub were on the front row, followed by Fletcher and Scott Fisher. Steve Owings and Locke made up row three. Then came Chad Criswell and Devon Borden, who was doing double duty. Tim Glatfelter and Nash Ely held down row five. Departing from row six were Brett Strickler and Matt Findley.
Guttschall and Hartlaub set the early pace, with Feltcher, Locke, Fisher, and Owings trailing. Hartlaub slid by the leader in turn one on the fourth circuit, and Fletcher followed suit soon thereafter.
The only caution was displayed one lap shy of halfway. That set the stage for Fletcher to charge into the lead soon after the green light flashed on again.
Fletcher opened up a couple of car lengths on Hartlaub, who held second until the final laps.Locke took over the position, but he did not have enough time to challenge Fletcher for the win.
At the checkers, it was Fletcher by .229 seconds over Locke. Hartlaub held on for third, ahead of Borden and Owings. Guttschall, Fisher, Criswell, Ely and Doug Hammaker rounded out the top ten.
Fletcher, Owings, and Criswell took the preliminaries. Chris Frank scored the win in the B Main.
Next Friday, Williams Grove Speedway will present a Sprint Car triple header. The 410 Sprints will be joined by the 305 Sprints and the USAC East Coast non-wing sprints. Then, on April 14, the 410 Sprints will contest the Tommy Hinnershitz Classic for $8,000 to win. The Stock Cars will provide support. The month of April will conclude with the 410s paired up with the URC 358/360 Challenge race.
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.

