Dirt Racing
Sheppard Slays STSS Foes, Collects $65,000
PORT ROYAL, PA (March 15-16, 2024): Matt Sheppard dominated the Speed Showcase 75 at Port Royal Speedway. He led the final 55 laps of the event, which was carried over from last October due to inclement weather. The $50,000 payday also rolled over. In addition, Sheppard’s win clinched the 2023 Elite Series point title which was worth an additional $15,000. That mini series was also set to conclude last Fall.
Sheppard shot from fourth to the front on a lap 20 restart. “I was excited to restart on the outside, I was hoping to get to second,” Sheppard noted. “But Ryan (Godown) had a problem, and I was leading,” Sheppard explained. “Then I was concerned about saving the tires.”
Sheppard was masterful at driving in conservation mode. “We went harder than a 48, I don’t know what Billy (Decker) had.” Decker, who climbed from twenty-fourth to second, was able to close in on Sheppard, but he could not get close enough to pull off a pass for the win despite several late-race cautions which set up double file restarts. Decker surmised that he may have needed a longer green flag run to get the job done, but a rash of flat tires and mechanical failures made the second half of the race to be contested in short spurts. “I didn’t like our chances when the track was supersonic, but when it slowed down, we were good,” he explained.
Third place finisher, Loudon Reimert, echoed Decker’s assessment. He observed that his car “wasn’t very good in the beginning, but when it started to slick off, we were good.” Reimert was satisfied to finish on the podium with two of the best in the sport.
Ronnie Johnson drew the pole for the seventy-five lapper which started thirty-seven machines. Next to him was Mike Mahaney. Ryan Godown and Ryan Watt made up row two. Jeff Strunk and Jessica Friesen were in the third row. Then came Mat Williamson and Danny Creeden. Matt Sheppard was inside row five, with Mike Gular beside him. Alex Payne and Billy Pauch, Jr. occupied row six.
RJ blasted out to the early lead over Mahaney, Godown, Watt, Strunk, Williamson, and Creeden. Sheppard, Payne, and Gular followed. Mahaney slipped high on lap nine allowing Godown to take second. A lap later, Godown made a slide job stick in turn three to assume the lead. Johnson continued in second, ahead of Mahaney and Watt. Strunk was battling Williamson for fifth. Their private contest continued through much of the race. Mahaney moved into second just before the first caution, for debris, on lap twelve.
On the restart, Williamson made some aggressive moves to grab third, behind Godown and Ronnie Johnson. Watt and Sheppard made up the balance of the top five. Within a couple of circuits, Sheppard displaced Watt, setting the stage for the pivotal restart.
Afterwards, Sheppard ran comfortably ahead of Godown, Strunk, Williamson, and Johnson for the next few laps. Godown got pinched off against the outside wall midway down the backstretch, and both Strunk and Williamson scooted by. He battled back, though, and regained second by lap thirty-five.
Sheppard led Godown, despite some cautions, through lap forty-nine. Godown brought out a caution on that lap, surrendering the second position. That moved Williamson into second, but he was unable to hold that for very long. Decker was on the march, reaching second by lap fifty.
While Sheppard led Decker the rest of the way, Strunk and Williamson resumed their rivalry, albeit for third. Following a lap fifty-nine restart, Williamson grabbed third and Strunk started to fade. He fell out of the top five, as Tim Fuller and Loudon Reimert began to move forward.
The final caution came out on lap sixty-nine. On the ensuing restart, Reimert charged into third. He held the position to the checkers. Meanwhile, Fuller was applying the pressure to Williamson, and he succeeded in displacing Money Mat in the final laps.
Sheppard took the win, followed by Decker, Reimert, Fuller, and Williamson. Jack Lehner, Marc Johnson, Alex Yankowski, Max McLaughlin, and Anthony Perego completed the top ten.
Three B Mains were spun off to complete the starting field. Taking the victories were Austin Hubbard, Lehner, and Yankowski.
The 602 Crate Sportsmen presented a fifty lap affair to conclude their portion of the program. Paulie Hartwig and Travis Hill shared the front row for the start of that contest. Brian Calabrese and Logan Watt were in the row behind. David Rogers and Jean-Francois Tessier were in the third row. Jax Yohn and Brian Krummel were in row four. David Miloszar and Howie Finch were paired up in row five, followed by Ethan Bille and Chris Jakubiak.
Hill led in the early going, with Calabrese, Hartwig, Rogers, and Watt following. Rogers replaced Hill out front before an eleven car pile-up entering turn three. In the melee, Adrianna Delliponti turned over, but she was unhurt in the process.
Rogers led through lap twenty-six, when Hill made a pass for the lead coming off turn two. The lap was not completed before the next caution, so the pass was nullified. Rogers was restored as the leader, and he was able to keep Hill and all others at bay despite two cautions that bunched up the field twice. In that run, Joe Toth climbed into second, but the racer to watch was Watt. The teen had worked his way back into the top five after a pit stop during the clean-up of the lap nine wreckage.
When Toth took the lead on lap forty-three, Watt followed him into second. A caution with six to go put Watt on Toth’s back bumper for the restart. Watt muscled to the bottom of turn one and took the lead from the more experienced Toth. Toth got a chance to redeem himself on lap forty-eight, but Watt was up to the challenge.
Watt took the win, much to the delight of the large crowd on hand. Toth was second, followed by Kyle Smith, Steve Davis, and Sean Imbeault. Brandon Edgar, Krummel, Zach Sobokta, Bill, and Michael White were the next five finishers.
“That was the only shot I had,” said the happy winner. “I followed him about the whole race. I had to go for it,” Watt explained.
Steve Davis, Michael White, and Adam White took the three B Mains that started the day.
The Pro Stocks were the opening feature of the day. “Cousin Luke” Horning and Shane Playford paced the field for the twenty-five lapper. Denis Gauvreau and Bret Belden were in the row behind. Steve Cosselman and Bruno Cyr had row three covered. Ken Gates and Rich Crane were in row four.
Playford took the early lead, but he was closely followed by Gauvreau. The action was quite intense through the first fifteen laps, which ran non-stop. Gauvreau ducked inside of the leader coming through turn three. They made contact, sending both cars spinning up toward the wall. Several others were collected. Somehow, Crane was able to avoid the incident and he inherited the lead for the restart.
Crane led the next ten laps, which were run without any interruptions. Cyr was a close second. He was followed by Jay Fitzgerald, Ken Gates, and Devon Camenga. Jason Casey, Jay Casey, Playford, Johnny Holmes, and Cosselman completed the top ten.
In Friday qualifying, 65 Modifieds, 83 602 Crate Sportsmen, and 16 Pro Stocks took to the track.
Ryan Watt, who was fastest in timed hot laps with a round of 18.836 seconds, cruised to a win in the first qualifier for the Modifieds. Jeff Strunk, Bob McGammon, and Dalton Slack also earned starting spots in the Speed Showcase 75. Brian Swartzlander was challenging for a transfer when he struck the wall at the exit of turn four. He retired due to significant front end damage.
Fonda Speedway regulars Ronnie Johnson and Jessica Friesen dominated the second qualifier. Billy Pauch, Jr. charged from row six to take third. The final transfer went to Danny Bouc.
Ryan Godown outlasted Mike Gular in the third qualifier. Jimmy Phelps and Louden Reimert also advanced. Reimert also came from row six. Mike Trautschold flipped his car in a turn four melee that also sidelined Danny Varin and Matt Caprara. He was not hurt.
Mike Mahaney beat the pole sitter, Matt Sheppard, into turn one and kept him at bay the rest of the way in the fourth qualifier. Max McLaughlin and Erick Rudolph were third and fourth. Western PA drivers Rex King, Jr. and Garrett Krummert did not qualify.
Mat Williamson dominated the fifth qualifier. Danny Creeden, Matt Stangle, and Michael Maresca also locked into the big dance. Maresca made a slick move to get the advantage over Jack Lehner and Billy Decker in the last 50 yards of the race.
Qualifiers in the Sportsmen ranks went to David Rogers, Jax Yohn, Howie Finch, Brian Krummel, Logan Watt, and Travis Hill. Cedric Gauvreau was not injured when his car burst into flames when he was attempting to exit the track after finishing third in his qualifier. Krummel was the best in time hot laps with a lap of 2-.832 seconds.
“Cousin Luke” Horning and Denis Gauvreau shared the honors in the Pro Stock qualifiers.
Port Royal Speedway will open its regular season next weekend with a three division program consisting of 410 Sprint Cars, Super Late Models, and Limited Late Models.
The next event for the Short Track Super Series contingent will be held on Tuesday, May 7, at the Delaware International Speedway. The Modifieds will do battle in the Diamond State 50. The Sportsmen will also compete that night.
FRANKLIN, PA (July 10, 2024): This Sunday, July 14, the spotlight will shine on the Pro Stock division at the Tri City Raceway Park. The region’s top runners will be on hand, as the event will be part of the Penn Ohio Pro Stock Series. Of course, the track’s regulars will be there representing the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks.
“The Pro Stock class has long been part of the tradition at Tri City Raceway Park, and we are proud to have this battle among the best in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio at our track,” said the new owner Josh Shiffer.
“And, last week’s feature was a great example of the competitiveness that the Pro Stocks bring,” he added. Rod Laskey scored his first win of the season by holding off a strong challenge from Jackson Humanic, who was subbing for Josh Seippel. Seippel will be back from vacation in time for the invasion of the Penn Ohio series, in which he also competes. And, we know that Humanic will be hungry for a win after his strong finish last week.
Another track regular expected to be on hand will be Bobby Whitling. The “Seneca Slider” missed the last race due to a fuel pump failure detected at his garage. Tim Bish, a multi-time winner at Tri City this season, may return as well. He has been sidelined by an engine failure.
There will be plenty other talented drivers also carrying the Tri City flag, too. Pat Fielding, Doug Iorio, II, Russ Coyne, Jason Kimmy, Aaron Smith, Andrew Hammond, Jake Whitling, Charlie McMillen, Matt Bernard, and Hunter Exley are some whose names will be familiar to the Tri City fans.
The invaders will include Chris Schneider, who has already been a winner at Tri City this year. Tyler Dietz, Joey Zambotti, Chase Lambert, Brandon Connor, Jason Fosnaught, Brett Hutira, and Tommy Dembowski are among the Penn Ohio Series regulars who are expected as well.
This will be a unique opportunity for the Pro Stock fans to see many of the top stars on the track together, as the Sunday race date eliminates schedule conflicts for so many of the competitors.
But, there will be three other classes in action also. The Krill Recycling 410 Sprint Cars will be on the card, along with the 4 Your Car Connection RUSH Sprints. And, the 21st Century Energy Group 358 Modifieds will be back after their brief hiatus.
On Sunday evening, Matt Farnham and Michael Bauer provided a last lap thrill in the 410 Sprint Car ranks, while A.J. Flick was closing in on them both! John Mollick picked up his second win of the season with young Blaze Myers right behind him in the Rush Sprinters.
While many of his competitors were enjoying the week off from racing, 358 Modified point leader Chad Reitz was at Tri City helping his friend, Bob Felmlee. Felmlee is the points leader in the Krill Recycling 410 Sprints. Reitz will be ready with his Ford powered Modified, the only Blue Oval among the Bowtie Brigade. Eric Gabany will probably be at the controls of Steve Slater’s car once again, as medical issues have kept Slater out of the seat for the last couple of weeks. Hayden and Jimmy Holden, Kyle Fink, Lenny Liebold, III, Makayla Shannon, Frank Guidace, Eric Beggs, Troy McGregor, and many others will be looking for their first wins this season.
Regular event ticket pricing will apply for this exciting event. That means adult admission will be $15. Seniors (ages 62 and up), students (ages 11 through 16), and military will be $13, all with proper identification. The children (ages 10 and under) will be admitted for free, as usual at Tri City. The Pit Passes will be $35, with the exception of those required for the infants (ages 2 and under). The youngsters will be pitside for just $15.
The pit gates will be open at 2 p.m. and the spectator gates will open at 4 p.m. Racing will begin at 6 p.m. There will be practice for the Pro Stocks before the racing begins in earnest.
If you cannot make it to Tri City Raceway Park this week, consider the weekend doubleheader coming up on July 20 and 21. Saturday will feature a Demolition Derby and an Enduro. Next will be a Sunday Thunder program, along with Bike races for the children. Helmets will be required for all riders.
Also, mark your racing calendars for the return of the FAST on Dirt Sprint Car Series on July 28.
The divisional sponsors of Tri City Raceway Park for 2024 are: Krill Recycling, LLC (410 Sprint Cars), 21st Century Energy Group (358 Modifieds), Hovis Auto & Truck Supply (Pro Stocks), and 4 Your Car Connection (RUSH Sprint Cars).
All competitors at Tri City Raceway Park will be eligible for the Marsh Heating & Cooling Heat Race Challenge. The driver that wins the most heat races over the courseof the season, regardless of the class, will receive a special award. Currently leading in that category is Tim Bish.
Other marketing partners of Tri City Raceway Park for 2024 include: Erie Beer, Wab-Tec (manufacturer of locomotive engines), Schaeffer Lubricants, Keystone Transit (school buses), Blue Ox Timbers (buyers of timberland timber land management), Constable Refuse (residential and commercial garbage collectors), First Rate Realty (real estate sales), Landscape Connection (portable toilets and landscape supplies), KEI-Klapec Express Inc. (trucking company), BKI-Bert Klapec Inc. (excavation and demolition), Shambaugh Towing, Gibson Hill Automotive (auto repair), McCandless Ford Sales (located in Mercer and Meadville), McCandless Trailer Sales (located in Mercer and Meadville), Big Dog RC (remote controlled cars and race track), McGregor Excavating, Les Frickshun (lubricants and undercoating), Bish Heating & Cooling, Wet Hose LLC (pressure washing), Heffern Septic Service, Tionesta Builders Supply (located in Tionesta and Shippenville), UCIP-United Community Independence Program (housing and services for the handicapped), Close Racing Supply, Billy’s Garage & Towing, Oakland-Rampart Equipment (makers of centrifugal dryers, wash systems, and separators), Shaw Industries (machine shop), Welding Technologies, Froggie Radio, and Hards Welding.
Remember that you will need to check the Facebook page, Tri City Raceway Park, for current information. The former website is not updated and will soon be replaced.
Tri-City Raceway Park is located just a few miles north of Franklin, PA, at 3430 State Route 417 in Oakland Township. Professional auto racing will be presented in a family friendly atmosphere most Sunday evenings from May through Labor Day weekend.
HARTFORD, OH (July 12, 2024): Bobby Pierce chipped away again at Brandon Sheppard’s point lead on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series tour. His win on night one of the Sharon Showdown was worth $10,000. It was his third consecutive win.
Pierce mounted hard tires for the forty lapper, while many of his adversaries went with softer rubber, The decision seemed to be foolish at the start of the race, as Ryan Gustin got a hole shot on him. “It was slimy when we took the green and the hard tire did not like that. I lost four spots on the start,” Pierce noted. It took a while for the tires to come in, but, when they did, he took off. Pierce steadily moved forward, picking up most of the positions that he gave away at the start. Then, he chased down Gustin for the lead on lap twenty-one. In the second half of the race, it was a matter of keeping the tires warm, especially under the yellow. But, he added, “the last ten laps, I was hanging on. The track was tricky.”
Cade Dillard, who finished second, was one of the racers on softer tires. “We had a good car, but he (Pierce) just kept getting better and better.” Nonetheless, Dillard was pleased with the podium finish. “We needed a good run with all the bad luck lately. Hopefully, we can do better tomorrow night, but I’ll take a podium finish all night long.”
Gustin was in control for the first half of the race, but he struggled after losing the lead to Pierce. “We missed it a little bit on the set-up. It is what it is. It’s what these two-day shows are like. If you don’t win on the first night, you learn from it and go on to the next one.”
Pierce drew the pole, with Nick Hoffman on his flank. Gustin lined up in third, with Brian Shirley as his dance partner. Dillard and Michael Norris were in row three. Dennis Erb, Jr. and Brandon Sheppard made up row four. The fifth belonged to Kyle Bronson and Cody Overton. Row six paired Dustin Sorenson and Tyler Breuning.
Pierce had no grip at the start of the race, and he slid up the track coming off turn four. That left the bottom open for Gustin and he quickly filled the void. Gustin blasted by Pierce and Hoffman, who settled into second. Dillard took third on the opening lap. Then came Pierce, Shirley, Erb, Bronson, Sorenson, Max McLaughlin, and Norris.
Dillard moved into second before the first caution, which came on lap two. By lap five, Hoffman regained second, and Pierce followed him into third.
Gustin built up a commanding lead, and he was already into lapped traffic on lap nine. This allowed Hoffman and Pierce to start to narrow the margin.
On lap eighteen, Pierce worked by Hoffman in traffic. Meanwhile, Gustin cleared several lapped cars and he had a bit of a clear track ahead of him. But Pierce’s tires were coming in, and he chipped away at the lead. It only took him three laps to catch and pass Gustin.
Pierce opened a slight advantage, but a caution on lap twenty-five eliminated that. On the ensuing restart, Dillard rolled off the top of turn two to take second away from Gustin and Bronson charged past Gustin coming off turn four. Bronson could not keep the position, as Gustin rallied to take it back on lap twenty-nine.
Pierce built up a comfortable lead in the final stage of the race. However, he caught a trio of lapped cars that were fighting for position. Pierce opted to follow them the last couple of laps instead of trying to poke his nose into the middle of their contest. This enabled Dillard to close, but he ran out of laps and he could not mount a challenge for the lead.
Pierce, Dillard, and Gustin grabbed the first three positions. Bronson was fourth, with Hoffman picking up the fifth spot. Sixth through tenth went to Sheppard, Norris, Sorenson, Shirley, and Erb.
Gregg Satterlee was the hard charger, advancing seven positions to take thirteenth in the pay line.
There were four heats, with Gustin, Pierce, Shirley, and Hoffman taking the laurels.Dave Hess, Jr. and Alex Ferree captured the B Mains. Gustin set the best time overall, topping Group A with a lap of 15.238 seconds. Shirley topped Group B with a lap fo 15.442 seconds.
In the RUSH Sprint Car feature, John Mollick charged from his outside front row starting spot to lead the opening lap, ahead of Gale Ruth, Jr., Brent Rhebergen, Blaze Myers, Trent Marshall, and Arnie Kent. While Mollick continued to lead, Rhebergen and Myers battled for the second spot. However, that came to an end when Myers got up over the berm in turn four, losing several positions before slowing to bring out the caution with six laps remaining.
Kent stepped up to challenge Rhebergen for second and he secured the position with two to go. Kent chased Mollick to the finish. Rhebergen was third, followed by Charlie Utsinger and Bill Cunningham. Ruth, Marshall, Amelia Clay, Billy Myers, and Curt Emings completed the top ten.
Ruth and Mollick split the heat wins. There was no B Main.
The Econo Modified feature closed out the night. The twenty lapper was shortened to fourteen laps because the twenty-minute time limit expired. Dennis Lunger passed Jeremy Double on the final restart to get the win.
Jacob Eucker, Jarrett Young, and Andy Buckley completed the top five. Buzz Seitz, Arianna Samuelson, Zack Eller, Carter Bidwell, and Troy Pinch were the next five finishers.
Double, Seitz, and Eucker won the preliminaries. There was no B Main.
HAGERSTOWN, MD (July 4, 2024): Logan Schuchart again enjoyed his time off from the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series in victory lane during Pennsylvania Speedweek. He joined Danny Dietrich and Anthony Macri as two-time winners on the circuit. It was Schuchart’s third win overall in his last four starts.
Schuchart benefited from the draw for top starting spots. He drew the number one, again, and that certainly facilitated his drive to victory. Schuchart noted that, on the big half mile, the field got separated, so the air got better as the race went on. He amassed a huge lead before the only caution, on lap twenty-four, and he did not know how hard he had to push. He also observed that “when (he) came up on lapped cars, (he) could go wherever (he) wanted.”
The win “means a lot to me. It’s been ten years since I’ve been here.” Once again, he watched a lot of videos to prepare for the race. This time, they were vintage films of his grandfather, Bobby Allen, racing against the likes of Doug Wolfgang.
Troy Wagaman, Jr., who was making his first ever start at the Capitol of Dirt Track Racing, started second and ran second the entire thirty lap distance. “It sucks being in dirty air. I tried to keep pace, but he (Schuchart) got away.”
Anthony Macri did not time well and he did not win his heat race, so he and Speedweek rival Danny Dietrich started outside the coveted re-draw positions.
Nonetheless, Macri was strong in the second half of the race and reached third, one spot ahead of Dietrich. “It took a little bit for the car to come in, and for me to find a good line.” He certainly was comfortable in the stretch run. “Hopefully, we chipped away at the points.”
Schuchart and Wagaman drew into the front row for the feature event. Chad Trout and Justin Whittal were in row two. The third consisted of Kody Hartlaub and Lance Dewease. Then came Macri and Danny Dietrich. T.J. Stutts and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. were paired up in row five. Next in line were Jacob Allen and Cameron Smith.
Schuchart jumped out to the lead at the drop of the green and he quickly distanced himself from his old karting foe, Wagaman. Whittal, Hartlaub, Trout, Danny Dietrich, Dewease, Macri, Rahmer, and Devon Borden followed.
As Schuchart and Wagaman drove away, Danny Dietrich began his march to the front. He was up to fourth by lap six. It took him seven more trips around the fast half mile to reach third. By lap twenty, he was still in third, but he was starting to test Wagaman for the role as the first chaser.
A caution on lap twenty-four for the disabled car of Mike Waltyer, Jr. bunched the pack up again. Dietrich readied himself to make a charge on Wagaman, but he did not get away cleanly. Instead, it was Macri, who lined up fourth for the restart, that got a good jump. After a short but spirited battle, Macri sailed by Dietrich heading down the backstretch on lap twenty-six.
Macri closed in on Wagaman, but the laps ran out before he could make a move for the second position.
At the checkers, it was Schuchart, Wagaman, Macri, Dietrich, and Whittal. Trout, Dewease, Hartlaub, Stutts, and Borden took positions six through ten.
The three heats went to Hartlaub, Wagaman, and Schuchart. Lucas Wolfe won the B Main. There were thirty-one sprints signed in for the event.
Hunter Mackison, who was making his first Speedweek start of 2024, flipped at the start of the B Main. He was not hurt in the incident.
Speedweek moves back to Williams Grove Speedway for the Mitch Smith Memorial, paying $20,000 to the winner. Danny Dietrich leads Anthony Macri by thirty points headed into that contest. Troy Wagaman, Jr., Devon Borden, and Kody Hartlaub round out the top five in Speedweek rankings. Schuchart has remarkably climbed into seventh in Speedweek standings.
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