Dirt Racing
Snyder Surprises in Thrilling Speedweek Finale at Tri City
FRANKLIN, PA (June 1, 2025): In just his fifth winged 410 Sprint Car start ever, Steven Snyder, Jr. of Rising Sun, MD scored the big win at Tri City Raceway. The victory was his first in the class, and, most likely, his first top five finish as well. The highly successful driver of 600 Micros was the 100th 410 Sprint Car driver to grace victory lane at the Venango County oval. He earned $4,000 for the impressive effort and he secured second place in the points for the Western PA Speedweek series, which was abbreviated due to wet weather.
Blaze Myers and Jake Gomola won the support races for RUSH (Crate) Sprints and Allegheny Sprint Tour 305s, respectively.
“I didn’t expect to win,” Snyder said modestly. He explained that he had just finished some Midget racing in Illinois and it took him some time to get adjusted to the winged Sprint Car. The first night of Western PA Speedweek, at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, may well have been his first race of the year in a Winged Sprint.
Snyder came on strong in the closing laps, chasing down and then passing Jeremy Weaver in the final 50 feet, or less. “I hope that you (the fans) enjoyed that,” Snyder exclaimed. “He (Weaver) was kinda bound up front. I saw him enter high down there (gesturing toward turns three and four). We were good in three and four.” Snyder then won the dash to the scoring loop.
What is even more remarkable about Snyder’s win is that he survived a kamikaze attack by Ricky Peterson on lap nine. Snyder was leading at the time, with a lapped car separating him from Peterson, who was then racing in second. Peterson dove low entering turn three to get under the lapper, and his extreme momentum carried him well past the slower car and directly into Snyder. The two collided side to side very forcefully and, amazingly, they both maintained control of their cars. They bounced away from each other and kept on going. In the confusion, Weaver snuck by them both, grabbing the lead which he held until the stretch run on the last lap.
“I don’t know what that guy (Peterson) was thinking,” Snyder mused. “He about cleared us out.”
Weaver, who also ran second to Brandon Spithaler in the opening round of Speedweek, noted “I’m trying not to pout too bad. That’s two (races) that I gave away in traffic this week.” Weaver, who was running his old faithful mount this night, chalked it up to experience. His disappointment with the individual race results was assuaged by his achievement in the abbreviated series. His pair of second place finishes clinched the point championship by eight markers over Snyder. The adjusted point fund paid him $2,000.
Taking third was another unexpected competitor, Brock Hallett. His first outing at the track was a successful one for the Australian pilot. “That was different,” he said. Elaborating, he mentioned that the tracks in his homeland are much smaller than Tri City. He added, “I would have liked a few more laps. I like it in traffic.” He was able to reel in Snyder and Weaver in the closing laps as he negotiated the slower cars.
The luck of the draw placed Weaver and Snyder on the front row for the twenty-five lap finale. Behind them were Hallett and Peterson. In the third row were Brandon Spithaler and Adam Kekich. Then came Matt Farnham and Michael Bauer. Zane Devault and Brandon Matus were the last two racers eligible for the drawing. To be eligible, one had to finish first or second in the heat or be first or second in qualifying time.
Snyder used the middle of the track to race out to the early lead over Weaver. They were followed by Peterson, Hallett, Kekich, Spithaler, Bauer, Farnham, Devault, and Brandon Matus. Spithaler soon slowed to a stop, bringing out the only caution of the race on lap two. His misfortune eliminated him from any chance of taking the overall Speedweek title.
On the restart, Snyder resumed control, with Peterson holding second over a trio of cars numbered five: Weaver, Hallett, and Kekich. Farnham moved ahead of Bauer. Devault, Matus, and A.J. Flick closely followed.
Snyder maintained his lead despite encountering some lapped cars. However, on lap nine, he averted disaster. After being struck by Peterson, Snyder relinquished the lead to Weaver, who ducked low to avoid any involvement with them. In the aftermath of that incident, Hallett also advanced past Peterson. Kekich remained in fifth.
In the second half of the event, three racers moved forward. Farnham and Flick moved into the top five and Logan McCandless reached the top ten. Peterson faded, due in part to wing damage he sustained in his shunt with Snyder. Kekich also drifted out of the top ten.
Although Snyder’s car was leaking some oil, it continued to run smoothly. He chased down Weaver, who was having some difficulty with lapped traffic. Snyder made his dramatic move coming off turn four, nipping Weaver by just 0.079 seconds at the line.
Following Snyder, Weaver, and Hallett were Farnham and a fast closing Flick. Positions six through ten went to Devault, Peterson, McCandless, Bauer, and Brandon Matus.
Farnham, Devault, Bauer, and Hallett won their respective heats. Brent Matus prevailed in teh B Main. The evening’s fastest qualifier was Brandon Spithaler, with a lap of 15.104 seconds.
In the RUSH Sprint Car twenty lapper, Cooper Fritz used his front row starting spot to grab the early lead. However, eighth starting Blaze Myers zipped past him four laps into the fray. Gale Ruth, Jr. moved into second by the halfway mark.
Myers led the ramaining laps to earn his second victory of the season at Tri City. Ruth was second, followed by Fritz, Curt Emings, and Zach Morrow. Luke Mullichak, Arnie Kent, Ricky Tucker, III, Lucas Roessner, and Devon Deeter completed the top ten.
Ruth, Morrow, and Myers scored in the preliminaries. There was no B Main.
The Allegheny Sprint Tour closed out the night of open wheeled action. Jake Gomola, the founder of the AST, swept the heat and feature events. On the fifteen lap main, Gomola took the lead on the opening round. Although a caution wiped out his substantial lead, he was again able to build up a comfortable margin over Jim Pattock in the final six circuits.
Vivian Jones fought off Jeremy Kornbau in the second half of the race to earn the third position. Arnie Kent came on late for fifth. Roman Jones and Jazlyn Boyles were the final two finishers. Nolan Groves and Brandon McWilliams did not finish. Seth Harrelson did not start the contest.
Western PA Speedweek Round 2 Official Finish: Steven Snyder, Jr., Jeremy Weaver, Brock Hallett, Matt Farnham, A.J. Flick, Zane Devault, Rocky Peterson, Jr., Logan McCandless, Michael Bauer, Brandon Matus, Adam Kekich, Carl Bowser, Dalton Rumbaugh, Cody Bova, D.J. Christie, Jacob Begenwald, Dusty Larson, Todd Hoddick, Chase Metheny, Bodey McClintock, Andy Cavanaugh, Brent Matus, Brandon Spithaler, Michael Lutz, Jr. DNQ: Jimmy Morris, Jack Sodeman, Jr., Steve Bright, Louie Mattes, IV, Natalie Brannon, David Kalb, Jr., Davey Jones, Cale Thomas, Logen Lockhart.
RUSH Sprint Cars: Blaze Myers, Gale Ruth, Jr., Cooper Fritz, Curt Emings, Zach Morrow, Luke Mullichak, Aenie Kent, Ricky Rucker, III, Lucas Roessner, Devon Deeter, Grayson Bayle, Charlie Utsinger, T.J. Rosario, Cooper Macormac, Zach Wilson, John Mollick, Wyatt Long, Samantha Priest, Joe Buccola (DNS), Jesse Armstrong (DNS).
Allegheny Sprint Tour 305 Sprint Cars: Jake Gomola, Jimmy Pattock, Vivian Jones, Jeremy Kornbau, Arnie Kent, Roman Jones, Jazlyn Boyles, Nolan Groves, Brandon McWilliams, Seth Harrelson (DNS).
MECHANICSBURG, PA (June 5, 2026): Troy Wagaman, Jr. cashed in on the opportunities given to him to win the Lynn Paxton Classic at Williams Grove Speedway. The second win of the season for the defending track champion and current points leader was his first ever with the All Stars Circuit of Champions, which celebrated fifty-five years of competition at the famed oval. Wagaman received $8,000 for his efforts, matching his payday from the Tommy Classic held earlier in the season.
Wagaman benefitted from two miscues by Danny Dietrich, who had led from the start of the non-stop thirty lapper. The first came on lap fifteen, when Dietrich narrowly avoided disaster coming off turn two. The other came ten laps later when Dietrich slid out of the groove between turns three and four.
“I don’t know if I would have gotten him,” Wagaman said modestly.
He was trailing Dietrich by nearly 1.6 seconds in the middle of the race, but Wagaman squeezed between Dietrich, a lapped car, and the backstretch guard rail to take the lead. Preston Lattomus nearly spun at the exit to turn two, Dietrich came up on him quickly, made slight contact, and almost spun as well, but there was just enough room for Wagaman to scoot by. “I thought he missed it, got too close to the lapped car,” Wagaman explained.
Wagaman then built up a slight lead of his own, which evaporated in traffic. Dietrich drove under both Wagaman and the lapped car between turns three and four on lap twenty-four, but Wagaman came storming back on the next lap to regain the lead. Dietrich slid off the bottom in the same area, and Wagaman pounced. “Danny showed me the bottom. I was struggling on the top and I got down to the bottom after that.”
Wagaman, from Hanover, dedicated the win to his ailing grandmother, adding that he will get to see her on Sunday afternoon.
The starting line-up had a last minute shuffle when Lance Dewease got a flat while the cars were getting into formation. Dewease pitted for a fresh tire, but forfeited his second starting position. He rejoined the field for the start, and put in on an impressive drive to fourteenth from the rear of the twenty-six car field.
Dietrich thus moved to the front row, joining the Dash winner, Cale Thomas. Wagaman and Brady Bacon made up the second row, followed by Doug Hammaker and Kasey Kahne. Brock Zearfoss and T.J. Stutts came next. Chase Dietz and Parker Price Miller were in row five, and Austin Bishop was paired with Ryan “Fig” Newton in row six.
Dietrich wasted no time blasting into the early lead up on the cushion in turns one and two. Wagaman used a more conservative line to reach second. Thomas fell into line in third, ahead of Hammaker, Bacon, Stutts, and Kahne.
Dietrich seemed to have the race under control through the first half of the event. However, things changed suddenly on lap fifteen. He avoided a crash, but lost the lead. Dietrich wasn’t done quite yet, though.
Wagaman was still running the top in turns three and four despite having trouble getting past a lapped car. That allowed Dietrich to flash by on the inside to take the lead away. However, Wagaman came back to lead lap twenty-five when Dietrich slid up the track in almost the same place on the track.
Wagaman changed lines for the remainder of the race, and he paced himself off of the lapped cars, figuring that Dietrich would have to drive around them all if he were to make another bid for the win. However, Wagaman took the checkers 1.120 seconds ahead of Dietrich, who was driving his back-up car after crashing at Selinsgrove Speedway the night before.
Bacon, Stutts, and Dietz completed the top five. Zearfoss, Hammaker, Kahne, Price Miller, and Newton were the next five finishers.
J.J. Loss was the hard charger, advancing seven spots to finish thirteenth.
Kalib Henry, the current All Stars points leader and defending series champion, was the highest finisher from the tour, at seventeenth.
Hammaker, Dewease, Dietrich, and Kahne were the heat winners. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. won the B Main. Stutts was the fastest qualifier, lapping in 17.112 seconds in Group A. Dietrich was the best in Group B. His lap was 17.290 seconds. Thirty-eight cars checked in, including ten All Stars points chasers.
Ageless Steve Wilbur added another Wingless Sportsman victory to his resume. He led Tony Jackson for all twenty laps. “Tony’s hard to beat wherever we go, and to hold him off all of those laps was something,” Wilbur said. “It just feels so good to beat Jackson. I didn’t come all the way from Mechanicsburg to get my a$$ kicked,” he added with a laugh.
Wilbur claimed to use an old right rear tire dating back to his days at Silver Spring Speedway, which closed in 2005.
Cliff Brian, Jr. was third, one spot ahead of the hard charger, Brett Perigo. Brandon Shearer, Derek Shaffer, Brian Nace, Scott Smith, Curt Stroup, and John Edkin were fifth through tenth in the non-stop affair.
Jackson and Wilbur split the heat race wins. There was no B Main necessary for the nineteen car field.
Next Friday, Williams Grove Speedway will present fan appreciation night. All in attendance will get to mingle with the 410 and 358 Sprint Car racers in the front pit area before the start of the action. There will be free potato chips and candy during the pit party. Fireworks will also be part of the fun.
FRANKLIN, PA (May 31, 2026): A.J. Flick claimed his third championship in the Western Pennsylvania Speedweek. His first two titles came in 2023 and 2024.
“This whole week is so cool,” he said. He added, “I think consistency is important and I think that helped me.”
Flick started the week out very strongly, with wins at Michaels Mercer Raceway and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. He was fourth at Lernerville Speedway and fifth in the finale at Tr-City Raceway Park. His worst finish of the week was ninth at Sharon Speedway on Saturday night.
Flick was especially happy with his fifth place finish in the final round because he was not very comfortable in the car.
Other race winners during Speedweek were: Dale Blaney, at Lernerville, Logan Wagner, at Sharon, and Brandon Spithaler, at Tri-City.
Flick’s total earnings for the week were $14,750, which included the $3,000 championship stipend.
One other driver earned more than $10,000. That was Spithaler, who grossed $10.175.
Flick was one of sixteen drivers to enter all five events comprising Western Pennsylvania Speedweek. A total of sixty-one racers competed in at least one round of Speedweek.
The top ten drivers in the point standings shared the point fund, as follows:
- A.J. Flick, 452 points, $3,000
- Mark Smith, 412 points, $2,500
- Brandon Spithaler, 406 points, $2,000
- Jeremy Weaver, 393 points, $1,500
- Carl Bowser, 371 points, $1,000
- Michael Bauer, 368 points, $900
- Adam Kekich, 344 points, $800
- Brandon Matus, 338 points, $700
- Ricky Peterson, 320 points, $600
- Jacob Begenwald, 302 points, $500
Interestingly, one driver in the top ten in points missed a show along the way. Ricky Peterson was absent from Sharon because he had another commitment. He won the FAST on Dirt Sprint Car Series event at Skyline Speedway instead.
FRANKLIN, PA (May 31, 2026): Brandon Spithaler saved his best Speedweek performance for the final night of the five race series. The victory at Tri-City Raceway Park, his first of the season, netted the driver from Renfrew, PA a cool $6,000. He also finished third in Speedweek points, adding another $2,000 to his stash. Spithaler’s total winnings for the week amounted to $10,175, second only to the Speedweek champion, A.J. Flick.
Spithaler noted that “2026 hasn’t been very kind to us. We lost a motor, we trashed a car, we switched chassis. I think we’ve hit on something now.”
He added, “I felt like I was better than him, Ricky (Peterson, who finished a distant second). I was worried when he got by Logan (McCandless, the early leader), but I kept plugging away and I got by him (Peterson).”
Spithaler was especially good in traffic. He explained, “I am a fan of traffic. If we get a long run, I like picking my way through.”
Peterson, who held on for second place, had an opposite opinion about the traffic conditions. “I was really good early. I had issues with the lappers. I think I left a lane open for Brandon, and he got away from us.”
Mark Smith put on a strong charge in the second half of the race to grab the third position. He noted that it was a challenging night and that he changed some things around on his car between the heat and the feature. “We got it going, but it was a little too late. Maybe we needed 35 laps.”
The first ten positions in the starting line-up were reserved for the four heat winners and six of the fastest qualifiers.
Logan McCandless drew the pole position. He was joimed on the front row by the professor, Michael Bauer. Matt Farnham and A.J. Flick pulled the second row, followed by Peterson and Spithaler. Smith and Jeremy Weaver landed in row four. Then came Jared Zimbardi and D.J. Christie. Row six belonged to Tim Shaffer and John Jerich.
The initial start was waved off due to a crash between turns one and two, which claimed Jerich and Christie. Both cars tumbled, but neither driver was injured.
When the field was realigned for the start, Shaffer moved to the outside of row five and Bob Felmlee and Cody Bova became the new sixth row.
McCandless surged into the early lead, followed by Farnham, Bauer, Flick, Peterson, Spithaler, Weaver, Smith, Shaffer, Felmlee, and Zimbardi.
McCandless was exceptionally strong through the first half of the race. His lead grew to more than 1.8 seconds over Farnham through the first nine laps. Peterson moved into second position on lap ten. Gradually, he cut into McCandless’ advantage. On lap fifteen, the margin dwindled to just under a half a second.
Moving into the second half of the contest, McCandless began to have difficulty navigating through the traffic. Peterson narrowed the gap even further over the next few laps. On lap eighteen, Peterson drove by McCandless for the lead.
Meanwhile, Spithaler was closing in on both Peterson and McCandless. Spithaler moved ahead of McCandless on lap nineteen. Just one lap later, he passed Peterson in traffic.
In the final ten laps of the race, Spithaler was clearly superior to Peterson. The lead continued to grow with each lap. He was more than four seconds ahead of Peterson by lap twenty-six. The margin reached 5.338 seconds on the final lap.
Smith cracked the top five on lap sixteen. He held fourth from lap sixteen through lap twenty-nine. On the final trip around the big half mile, Smith moved into third.
McCandless held on for fourth, one spot ahead of Flick, who clinched the Speedweek championship with a steady performance. He was in or just outside the top five for the entire race.
Shaffer edged Farnham for sixth. Greg Wilson, Bauer, and Bova completed the top ten.
Flick, Weaver, Zimbardi, and Peterson won the heat races. Tyler Esh copped the B Main.
Brandon Matus was the night’s fastest qualifier. He topped Group A with a lap of 17.622. However, his night went downhill after that. While running in a transfer position on the last lap of his heat race, Matus flipped hard between turns three and four. His crew thrashed to get the car ready for the B Main with assistance from Spithaler and Weaver, among others. However, Matus finished fifth, with only four cars making the A Main.
Spithaler was the fastest member of Group B. His time was 17,796.
Blaze Myers took the lead on lap six of the RUSH Sprint Car feature and he cruised to an easy victory over Luke Mulichak. The early leader, Zach Morrow, finished in third. Brayden Blackshear and Samantha Priest were fourth and fifth. Lucas Roessner, Devon Deeter, Logen Lockhart, Grayson Bayle, and Ricky Tucker, III, rounded out the top ten. Myers and Roessner took the preliminaries.
The nightcap for the Mini Stock division went to Camden Franz. There was a constant three car battle for second throughout the fifteen lapper. Sheriff Tim Callahan prevailed, with Jordan Wheeler and Justin Forsyth following. Fifth went to Andy Thomson. Kevin Dotten, Michael Phillipson, Andrew Thompson, Ben Aley, and Jacob Wheeler were sixth through tenth.
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Flick is Speedweek King
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