Dirt Racing
Borden Thrills at Port Royal; Robinson, Covert, and Hart also Score
PORT ROYAL, PA (April 13, 2024): Defending track champion, Devon Borden, battled Danny Dietrich in the final laps of the 410 Sprint Car race at Port Royal Speedway, bringing fans to their feet. Borden’s first win of the season came by 1.219 seconds over Dietrich, who won the season opener. Borden earned $5,800 for the effort.
“I just knew that I was going to have to go where they weren’t and drive the $h!+ out of it,” Borden said as he struggled to catch his breath. Starting twelfth, Borden knew that he had to make a big push early to get to the front with several heavy hitters starting ahead of him. “I had to make the top work before it went away.” He was able to charge to third in just nine laps and it only took him three more to reach second. Getting that final position was quite a bit harder to accomplish. “The last three laps were pretty hectic, and things had to play out in our favor.”
Borden gave props to his crew chief, Chris Shuttlesworth. “We didn’t start out very good, but now we have it going.”
A modified version of the PA Speedweek format was used for this program. The only deviation was the use of group time trials to set heat race line-ups. In the Speedweek format, each driver times against the whole field; whereas, the group approach only pits the racers against the same cars that will run in the same heat race. The heat race winners and the fastest car to qualify draw for starting positions at the front of the field. The remainder are seeded by their heat race finishes. B Main transfers make up the final rows.
The luck racers were Lucas Wolfe and Steve Buckwalter. Behind them were Dietrich and Logan Wagner. Dylan Cisney, the Mayor of Port Royal was paired up with Jeff Halligan in row three. The fourth row belonged to Gerard McIntyre, Jr. and Jake Karklin. Mike Wagner and Blane Heimbach claimed row five. T.J. Stutts was inside Borden in row six.
Buckwalter sailed into turn one on the outside and began to pull away from his pursuers. Dietrich settled into second, with Logan Wagner a close third. Wolfe fell back to fourth, followed by Karklin, Halligan, Cisney, Heimbach, Borden, and McIntyre. Buckwalter held control for the first six rounds. However, Dietrich closed in on him when Buckwalter encountered lapped traffic.
Dietrich became more aggressive on lap seven, sliding ahead of Buckwalter in turn three. Buckwalter turned back under him in turn four to regain the lead as they thundered down the long front stretch. Dietrich fought back through turns one and two, coming off the bottom of turn two with the lead. This time around, it was Buckwalter’s turn to slide for the lead in turn three. Dietrich crossed over in four to assume command as they completed lap eight. Meanwhile, Borden was making steady progress to the third position, but he was a good distance behind the lead duo.
When Kassidy Kreitz slowed to a stop on the back stretch on lap later, that eliminated the deficit for Borden. He got to start right behind Dietrich and Buckwalter. Borden took advantage of the opportunity, picking up the second spot just three laps after the race resumed.
It took Borden a few more laps to close the gap on the leader. Dietrich began picking his way through the slower cars, and Borden closed in. However, he could not make a move for the lead, as he seemed to have poor timing when approaching the lapped cars.
With just a few laps remaining, though, the front two cars broke free of the slower cars. With no traffic separating himself from the leader, Borden was able to press for the lead.
Over the final three laps, Dietrich and Borden swapped the lead several times, much to the delight of the fans. Borden took the lead for good entering turn three on the final lap. Dietrich dove low while Borden kept his momentum up on the cushion. Dietrich scrubbed off some speed coming through turn four, and Borden scooted ahead for the win.
Buckwalter turned in a creditable performance for third. Chase Dietz came on in the final laps to get fourth. Logan Wagner slipped to fifth in the final tally. Wolfe, Halligan, Karklin, Cisney, and Heimbach completed the top ten.
Dietrich, Buckwalter, Wolfe, and Cisney chalked up the heat wins. Justin Whittal prevailed in the B Main. Dietrich was fastest in Group one and overall, with a time of 17.113 seconds.
In the Super Late Models, Dillan Stake and Chad Myers brought the field to the green. Jeff Rine and Ross Robinson were right behind them. Shaun Jones and Colton Flinner were in row three, ahead of Brian Bernheisel and Dylan Yoder. Row five matched Tyler Emory and Chris Casner. Tim Wilson and Matt Cosner completed the top twelve.
Myers grabbed the early lead, with Robinson hot on his heels. Stake, Rine, Flinner, and Yoder followed in close formation. Myers rode along in the middle groove, and Robinson searched high and low for a place to try to make a pass. Robinson finally settled in on the inside, and he began to chip away at Myers’ lead.
Robinson came off the bottom of turn two and powered ahead of Myers just before the halfway point in the contest. Robinson started to draw away from Myers, but a caution on lap fourteen wiped out his advantage. Myers could not get a run on the Delaware racer when the action resumed. Instead, Myers was under attack from Flinner, Eckert, Stake, and Rine.
Flinner worked his way into second, bringing Eckert along into third. Myers continued on fourth with Stake on his tail.
At the checkers, it was Robinson ahead of Flinner by 3.806 seconds. Eckert, Myers, and Stake completed the top five. Next to cross were Rine, Yoder, Cosner, Jones, and Jason Covert.
The four heat winners were Robinson, Rine, Myers, and Stake. Gregg Satterlee won the B Main.
Robinson was relived to capture the win, his first at the Speed Palace. “We got lucky with the pill draws,” he said. Robinson said that he changed his set-up after hot laps, reverting to the combination that brought him a win recently at his hometown track, the Georgetown Speedway.
The top ten racers from the A Main were inverted for an Australian pursuit immediately following the A Main. Covert, who raced hard just to make it to the tenth spot in the A Main, earned the pole for the pursuit, which paid $1,000 to the winner. He was able to stay out front for the entire ten laps. “It just goes to show how even we all are,” he said. “We were inverted and the clean air on my nose made all the difference. I could come off the corners wherever I wanted.” Jones, Cosner, Yoder, and Rine were the balance of the top five. Eckert and Robinson were the other finishers. Flinner, Myers, and Stake were the drivers eliminated in the race.
Devin Hart went wire to wire in the twenty lap Limited Late Model nightcap. Tommy Slanker ran second in the early going before fading to fifth at the finish. Jared Fulkroad, Trent Brenneman and Shawn Shoemaker were the racers who moved ahead of him. Kenny Yoder, Ryan Zook, Casey Steinhoff, Lane Snook, and Jaxton Garman rounded out the top ten.
The pair of heats went to Brenneman and Zook. There was no B Main.
A three division program will be held next weekend, with the 305 Sprints joining the 410 Sprints and Super Late Models. The Keith Kauffman Classic for the 410 Sprints will be on April 27, with support coming from the USAC East Coast Sprints and the Wingless Sportsmen. Then, on Sunday, April 28, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirst Series will invade the speedway. Limited Late Models will also be on the card.
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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