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Dirt Racing

Thomas and Trout Sprint to Wins at Williams Grove

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Photo: Paul Arch

MECHANICSBURG, PA (June 20, 2025): Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Chad Trout were victorious at Williams Grove Speedway. Thomas’ win came in the United States Auto Club National Sprint Car Championship Series event that was part of the Eastern Storm mini-series. Trout’s triumph came on the winged 410 Sprint Cars that compete weekly at the famed dirt track.

The feature events were delayed briefly by a power outage that struck the speedway just as the USAC feature was about to push off. A motor vehicle accident nearby was the cause.

Thomas Goes Wire-to-Wire
Kevin Thomas, Jr. earned the $6,000 for the victory which tied him for sixth with Jack Hewitt on USAC’s all-time winner’s list. It was not an easy one because Thomas had to withstand numerous starts and restarts, including one with just two laps to go.

Thomas acknowledged that starting strategy was an important part of the successful outcome. He explained that variations were difficult to come by. “It’s hard here, especially the way that the corners are shaped. To change up your approach to it, if you get it wrong, you can really open yourself up for failure down there in (turn) one.” Indeed, he admittedly “overcooked the first one, I thought it had a little more grip than what it did and I just got up there in the marbles. Fortunately, I got another shot at it.”

The numerous interruptions also concerned him late in the race because of fuel consumption. “I was just hoping we didn’t run out of fuel like Briggs (Danner) did last year.”

The number of restarts also helped Kyle Cummins to dial in his car for his journey to second place. “I got myself a little spooked thinking it (the track) was tacky.” He kept making adjustments to his car under cautions. He even had the opportunity to correct some of his mistakes along the way.

For the third place finisher, Briggs Danner, the race was all about patience. “I knew I had to be patient, I had to hit my marks.”

For the second night in a row, the first two starters in the A Main were Thomas and current USAC points leader, Kyle Cummins. Behind the pair of Mach 1 Chassis were Jake Swanson and C.J. Leary. In the third row were Justin Grant and Mitchel Moles. Daison Pursley, who was doing double duty this night, and Robert Ballou were next in line. Logan Seavey and Briggs Danner made up row five, with Gunnar Setser and Hayden Reinbold departing from row six.

It took three tries to get the race started, as flips in turn three nullified the first two attempts. The first victim was J.T. Ferry. The second incident claimed two more racers, Leary and Abby Holbein. Fortunately, none of the drivers were injured. Also retiring from the event before a single lap was completed were Mike Haggenbottom, Joey Amantea, Pursley, and Leary.

Thomas got progressively better on each of the green flag attempts. On the third go at it, he raced out to a lead of several car lengths. Swanson settled into second, with Cummins pressing him from the third position. Moles, Grant, Ballou, Danner, Seavey, Setser, and Kale Drake were giving chase.

While the top five remained static for the first several laps, Danner was working his way forward. He reached sixth by lap ten, but he was nearly a straightaway behind the fifth place machine of Grant. A caution for Seavey on lap fourteen closed the field up, giving Danner a new lease on life.

Just three laps after that restart, Danner was up to the fourth spot. He was chasing the three leaders, Thomas, Swanson, and Cummins. It took him nine more rounds of the famous half mile to overtake Swanson, who had slipped to third a lap or two earlier.

Another caution, on lap twenty-eight, gave Cummins and Danner a chance to challenge Thomas for the win. Thomas led the field into turn one. Cummins went low, and Danner tried the middle of the track. Their struggle for second allowed Thomas to scoot away. Meanwhile, Swanson was struggling to stay ahead of Grant.

Grant closed out the final two laps ahead of Cummins. Danner was close behind in third. Swanson held on for fourth, followed by Grant. Drevicki earned hard charger honors by advancing eight positions to get sixth. Teammates, Reinbold and Moles, were seventh and eighth. Setser and Drake rounded out the top ten.

The three heats were captured by Pursley, Grant, and Ballou. There was no B Main. Moles was the fastest of the twenty-three cars to qualify. His time was 19.246 seconds.

Trout’s Romp
Chad Trout also led the entire race to pick up his win. His journey to victory lane was considerably easier than Thomas’ was. Trout jumped out to the early lead and the race went non-stop.

Trout, a long-time competitor at Williams Grove, earned his first career win in the 410 Sprint Car division to go along with his four tallies in 358 Sprint Car competition. “All these young kids coming up say ‘I can’t believe this happened. Well, I’ve been here for a long time.”

Trout chalked the win up to good luck, which does not ride along with him often enough. “We just got lucky. I didn’t know where to race. Fortunately, we started where we did.”

Trout had the pole for the twenty-five lapper that closed out the evening at the track. Next to him was Austin Bishop. Behind them were Ryan Newton and Cole Knopp. In row three were Justin Whittall and Ricky Dieva. T.J. Stutts and Brock Zearfoss made up row four. In row five were Derek Hauck and Troy Wagaman, Jr. Ryan Taylor and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. made up row six.

Trout led the way to turn one at the drop of the green. Bishop, Newton, Zearfoss, Whittall, Knopp, Stutts, Wagaman, Dieva, and Rahmer followed.

Trout led a three-car breakaway at the front of the pack. Behind them, positions were changing frequently. Fourth and fifth were hotly contested, as Zearfoss, Whittall, and Wagaman battled it out. Wagaman took control in the middle stage of the race and Whittall eventually moved into fifth.

As Trout navigated the lapped traffic, Bishop did close in somewhat. However, he ran out of laps and he was over 1.1 seconds behind

Trout at the finish. Newton was fourth, Zearfoss regained the fifth position in the closing laps. Positions six through ten went to Whittall, Lance Dewease, Rahmer, Chase Dietz, and Stutts.

Trout, Bishop, and Newton claimed the heat wins. The B Main went to Jordan Thomas, who was making his first start in the John Trone number 39.

Coming Events
The next two contests at Williams Grove Speedway will be part of the annual Pennsylvania Speedweek. The 358 Sprints will provide support on June 27. The July 4 holiday event will be for the 410 division only, as it will be the Mitch Smith Memorial paying $20,000 to the winner.

Dirt Racing

Parker Price-Miller rules the Fantasy Cup at PA Motor Speedway

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Photo: Steve Skarupa/PPMS

By Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway

IMPERIAL, PA (September 5, 2026) – The 3rd Annual Dow Carnahan Fantasy Cup delivered exactly what fans came to Dirt’s Monster Half Mile to see Saturday night, but one driver made sure the biggest story of the evening belonged to him.

PPMS packed the night with qualifying, nine heat races, a B Main, and six feature events, all building toward the 25-lap main event for the Falconi’s Moon Township Automotive FAST on Dirt 410 Sprint Car Series.

When the green flag dropped for the Fantasy Cup, “The Law Firm” Parker Price Miller (71), from Kokomo, Indiana, wasted no time taking control.

What followed was a wire-to-wire performance as Price Miller led all 25 laps and never surrendered the top spot on his way to winning the 3rd Annual Dow Carnahan Fantasy Cup.

But the Sprint Cars were only part of a night filled with familiar faces finding their way back to victory lane.

Matt Benard (15), from Oakdale, picked up his third win of the season in the Rohrich Parts Center/Chevrolet Performance RUSH Late Model feature.

Nick Kocuba (10), from Burgettstown, added another victory in the Kehm Oil Penn Ohio Pro Stock feature.

Ryleigh Heasley (212), from Beaver, continued his winning ways with another victory in the Young Guns feature.

Garrett O’Patchen (25), from Scott Township, returned to victory lane in the Auto House Hobby Stock feature.

Shawn Metty (45), from Rawlings, Maryland, completed the night’s list of winners by taking the checkered flag in the Northeast Crown Vic Series feature.

And while Price Miller may have led every lap of the headline event, there was plenty more happening behind him before the final checkered flag fell at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile.

A strong field of 26 Falconi’s Moon Township Automotive FAST on Dirt 410 Sprint Cars was on hand for the 3rd Annual Dow Carnahan Fantasy Cup.

Following qualifying, the field was divided into three heat races, with each heat winner and the fastest qualifier from each group drawing for the top six starting positions in the 25-lap A Main.

Parker Price Miller (71), from Kokomo, Indiana, started the night by setting fast time with a lap of 16.921, but that was only the beginning of what was to come.

Price Miller later drew the pole for the 25-lap Falconi’s Moon Township Automotive FAST on Dirt 410 Sprint Car feature, with Brandon Spithaler (22), from Butler, starting alongside him in second.

Carl Bowser (11), from Butler, started third with Leyton Wagner (38), from Enon Valley, lining up fourth.

When the green flag dropped, Price Miller immediately jumped out to the lead with Spithaler following him into second.

As the leaders quickly began working through lapped traffic, Wagner moved his way into the runner-up position and tried to close the gap on Price Miller.

But every time the traffic seemed like it might give the field an opportunity, Price Miller continued to control the race from the front.

Then, with just one lap remaining, the yellow flag flew and erased the advantage Price Miller had built, giving the field one final shot at “The Law Firm.”

It still wasn’t enough.

Price Miller nailed the restart and completed a dominant wire-to-wire performance, leading all 25 laps and picking up right where he left off during his last visit to Dirt’s Monster Half Mile with a victory in the 3rd Annual Dow Carnahan Fantasy Cup.

Bowser finished second, Wagner crossed the line third, Ricky Peterson finished fourth, and Jeremy Kornbau rounded out the top five.

Heat race victories went to AJ Flick, Carl Bowser, and Brandon Matus.

Mitch Harble picked up the victory in the B Main.

A field of 17 Rohrich Parts Center/Chevrolet Performance RUSH Late Models was on hand Saturday night, and with just two points separating the top three drivers in the championship standings, every position suddenly carried a little more weight.

Tom Klein (77), from Rochester, entered the night leading the standings with 775 points, while Clinton Hersh (16), from Somerset, sat second with 774 points and Brandon Burgoon (5X), from McDonald, was right behind them in third with 773 points.

That made the 20-lap feature more than just another race, especially with Burgoon starting from the pole.

Matt Benard (15), from Oakdale, started alongside Burgoon in second, while Zach Gunn (17G), from McDonald, lined up third and Jacob Billyk (4), from New Castle, started fourth.

When the green flag dropped, Benard quickly took control of the race with Burgoon settling into second and Gunn running third.

Benard continued to lead as the laps clicked away, but a caution on lap 12 suddenly erased his advantage and gave the field another opportunity.

Benard chose the outside for the restart with Burgoon lined up to his inside, setting up a late-race showdown with both the win and valuable championship points hanging in the balance.

When green replaced yellow, Benard held onto the top spot and quickly regained control of the race.

Nobody could take it away from him.

Benard led all 20 laps to pick up his third win of the season in the Rohrich Parts Center/Chevrolet Performance RUSH Late Models.

Gunn finished second, Burgoon crossed the line third, Daryl Charlier finished fourth, and Hersh rounded out the top five.

Heat race victories went to Clinton Hersh and Zach Gunn.

The Kehm Oil Penn Ohio Pro Stocks rolled onto Dirt’s Monster Half Mile for their 12-lap feature with Nick Kocuba (10), from Burgettstown, starting from the pole.

Jordan Perkins (13), from New Wilmington, lined up alongside Kocuba in second, while Adam Kostelnik (36), from East McKeesport, completed the three-car field in third.

When the green flag dropped, Kocuba immediately took control of the race and never gave the top spot back.

Kocuba led all 12 laps from green to checkered to pick up another Kehm Oil Penn Ohio Pro Stock victory at PPMS.

Perkins finished second with Kostelnik crossing the line third.

The Kehm Oil Penn Ohio Pro Stocks did not run a heat race.

Kane Zupancic (11), from Collier, started on the pole for the 10-lap Young Guns feature with Hunter Bennett (67), from New Cumberland, West Virginia, alongside him in second.

Ryleigh Heasley (212), from Beaver, started third, while Connor Greynolds (18) was listed as a DNS.

When the green flag dropped, Heasley wasted no time making her move, shooting from third into the early lead with Zupancic following her into second and Bennett settling into third.

Once Heasley grabbed the top spot, nobody was taking it away.

She led all 10 laps from green to checkered to pick up another Young Guns victory at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile.

Zupancic finished second, Bennett crossed the line third, and Greynolds was credited with fourth.

The heat race victory went to Kane Zupancic.

Shawn Metty (45), from Rawlings, Maryland, started on the pole for the 10-lap Northeast Crown Vic feature with Dacron Powell (13), from Wiley Ford, West Virginia, alongside him in second.

Garrett Wolfe (22), from North Huntington, started third with Mike Matta (7), from West Mifflin, lining up fourth.

When the green flag dropped, Metty immediately took control of the race and quickly established himself as the driver to beat.

Once out front, Metty never gave the rest of the field an opening.

He led all 10 laps from green to checkered to pick up the Northeast Crown Vic victory.

Devin Thompson finished second, Wolfe crossed the line third, Powell finished fourth, and Matta rounded out the top five.

The heat race victory went to Dacron Powell.

Last but not least was the 15-lap Auto House Hobby Stock feature, with Joe Brown Jr. (48), from Aliquippa, starting on the pole and Leroy Brown (40B), also from Aliquippa, starting alongside him in second.

Tom Anton (64), from Jefferson Hills, started third with Adam Kostelnik (25A) lining up fourth.

When the green flag dropped, L. Brown jumped out to the early lead with Garrett O’Patchen (25), from Scott Township, moving into second.

L. Brown controlled the opening portion of the race, but O’Patchen stayed within striking distance as the laps began to disappear.

On lap 10, O’Patchen made his move and took over the top spot.

Once out front, O’Patchen never gave it back, leading the final five laps on his way to another Auto House Hobby Stock victory.

Kostelnik finished second, L. Brown crossed the line third, Marc Corio (14) finished fourth, and J. Brown Jr. rounded out the top five.

Heat race victories went to Stephen Shelpman and Leroy Brown.

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Dirt Racing

Dietrich Takes Hawkins Memorial at Lincoln

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Photo: Lincoln Speedway

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA (September 5, 2026):  Danny Dietrich scored his second consecutive victory in the Elijah Hawkins Memorial at Lincoln Speedway. The race, the first of two Labor Day Duels, celebrated the life of a young boy who loved Sprint Car racing. He succumbed to burn injuries in July of 2021.

Dietrich’s second Lincoln win of the season and seventh overall netted the Gettysburg driver $7,000.

This one, however, was controversial.

Late in the thirty-five lap contest, Dietrich chased down Freddie Rahmer Jr. in traffic. Rahmer Jr., who led from lap twelve, began driving defensively as Double D explored his options to get by. Rahmer Jr. brushed the wall at the exit of turn four and Dietrich went low to make the pass on lap thirty-three. Rahmer Jr. immediately began plotting for a counterattack.

On the next trip around, it was Dietrich’s turn to get loose coming through turn four. He, too, brushed the wall coming off the corner and heading to the white flag. As Dietrich came down the track, Rahmer Jr. tried to get to his inside. The two racers collided. Rahmer Jr. spun down the track and collected Justin Whittall, who was running a lap down in tenth at the time. Dietrich then held off Logan Rumsey in a one lap shootout for the win.

“There was a monster cushion in (turn) four,” the happy victor said. “I went in hard and got over the cushion.” Dietrich noted that he had two wheels into the fluff. He did not realize that he had made contact with Rahmer Jr. until he saw the mark on his own left rear tire in victory lane.

Dietrich explained that he and crew chief Jake Sprugnoli worked hard all day to get his car ready for this event. “We busted our butts to get this car ready for today. It was just the two of us in the shop.” He explained that the car had not raced since July. They switched machines so that his other ride would be fresh for the upcoming Tuscarora 50.

Rumsey battled with T.J. Stutts on the opening lap. Rumsey’s slider in turn three put the nineteen-year-old out front. They continued to lead in the early laps, with Rahmer Jr. lurking in third. Chase Dietz and Dietrich followed.

The more experienced Rahmer Jr. closed the gap on Rumsey after they got into traffic on lap seven. Rahmer Jr. assumed control five laps later.

The intensity of the race picked up after the halfway sign was displayed to the field. Rahmer Jr. continued to lead over Rumsey. Dietrich was up to third, and Dietz was fourth. Around lap twenty, the top four were racing nose to tail with no lapped cars among them. Stutts still held down fifth, but he was some distance behind the frontrunners.

Dietrich rode the top line to take over second on lap twenty-two. Rumsey stayed close as the duo began to close in on Rahmer Jr. Several laps later, Dietrich got within range to try a slider for the lead in turns three and four, but he could not pull off the pass.

Rahmer Jr. maintained his lead of six-tenths as the race was drawing to a close. After Dietrich began to press him, however, Rahmer Jr. changed his approach. He got over the berm in turn four and lost the lead to Danny Dietrich, who swooped low as they thundered down the front stretch to complete lap thirty-three.

Their battle continued for another lap. It ended when Dietrich swerved left coming off the wall in turn four. Rahmer Jr. tried to turn under him, leading to the collision that literally popped the balloon.

Track officials called for a red flag so that medical attention could be provided to Whittall, who became a victim of the leaders’ tangle.

After the field realigned for the anticlimactic last lap, Rumsey made a desperate attempt to steal the win in the final turn. However, his slider failed and he took the checkers three tenths of a second behind Dietrich.

Dietz, Troy Wagaman, Jr., and Stutts completed the top five. Cameron Smith was sixth, followed by Kyle Moody, Dylan Norris, Chad Trout, and Tyler Ross.

Lance Dewease was the hard charger for the night, coming from twenty-second to thirteenth. Rahmer Jr. received the hard luck award.

Heat wins went to Rumsey, Whittall, and Dietrich. Chris Arnold won the B Main. Stutts was the fastest of thirty cars that tested the clock. His time was 13.189 seconds.

Tim Wagaman took the win in the 358 Sprint Car nightcap. He inherited the lead when Chase Hendershot slowed in turn one and Logan Spahr struck the disabled machine. They were first and second at the time of impact.

Steve Owings was second, followed by the hard charger, Brock Hammaker, who advanced sixteen positions in the twenty lapper. Bryn Gohn and Tylar Rutherford were fourth and fifth.

Ashley Cappetta also passed sixteen cars on her way to sixth. Andy Best, Jayden Wolf, Cody Fletcher and Matt Findley rounded out the top ten.

The race got off to a rocky start. Cameron Merriman struck the turn four wall while six cars tangled further ahead on the track. None of the drivers required medical assistance.

Eli Tuckey, Owings, and Fletcher scored heat race triumphs. Travis Leh tipped over in his heat race before Jansen Strine flipped spectacularly a few laps later. Neither driver was injured in their respective spills. Hammaker took the B Main laurels.

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Dirt Racing

Hammaker Defeats Rahmer In Williams Grove Thriller

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Photo: Williams Grove Speedway

MECHANICSBURG, PA (September 4, 2026):  Doug Hammaker, a highly successful 358 Sprint Car racer at Williams Grove Speedway earlier in his career, defeated Freddie Rahmer, Jr. in a thriller to notch his first career 410 victory at the historic oval. Hammaker lost the lead to Rahmer twice during the closing laps, but he rallied to pass Rahmer in turn three on the final lap. However, Hammaker did not earn the bonus for a last lap pass because he was electronically scored as the leader on lap twenty-four by only 0.026 seconds.

Hammaker had what appeared to be an insurmountable lead with five laps remaining. But when lapped traffic slowed his pace, Rahmer was able to cut the margin significantly as the race drew to a close. Indeed, Rahmer passed Hammaker twice in the final laps, but Hammaker retained the lead at the scoring loop throughout. Nonetheless, Hammaker trailed Rahmer through turns one and two on the last lap and he made a strong inside move in turn three to regain the lead. Hammaker took the checkers 0.119 seconds ahead of his challenger.

Hammaker explained why his lead shrank in the closing laps thusly. “I hit the lapped cars at the wrong time,” adding that he seemed to reach them at the end of the long straights. “I knew I was just a sitting duck. I was trying to run the bottom and that was not the right move.” He continued, “they (the lapped cars) were too far of a gap where I couldn’t slide them. So, I had to do my best to try and carry my momentum around those corners.”

However, Rahmer first passed Hammaker on the inside coming off turn two when the leader got hung up behind some slower cars.

There were no lapped cars to interfere with Hammaker’s winning move on the final lap. Hammaker used the same strategy to salvage the win. “I ran it in on the bottom (of turn three) and I think that screwed up Freddie’s entry,” he noted. Hammaker then finished off the pass with a short slider.

Despite the frenzied last lap, Hammaker candidly admitted that Chase Dietz was the man to beat this night. Once again, though, Dietz suffered from some bad racing luck. He led Hammaker by more than 1.2 seconds moments before tangling with a lapped car in turn four on lap nine. Dietz spun toward the inside guardrail but avoided contact with the barrier. With no apparent damage, he rejoined the back of the field and raced his way into the top ten by the conclusion of the thirty lapper.

Dietz used the cushion in turn two to drive by Hammaker on the opening lap. Rahmer, Cameron Smith, and Dylan Norris made up the rest of the top five in the early going. Dietz built a substantial lead until the calamity in turn four nine laps into the event.

Hammaker inherited the lead for the restart, with Rahmer, Smith, Norris, Dietrich, Logan Rumsey, Austin Bishop, Troy Wagaman, Jr., T.J. Stutts, and Kody Hartlaub rounding out the top ten at that time. Hartlaub lost his spot in the top ten on lap fourteen, and Norris ended his top five run five laps later.

The caution for Norris was converted into an open red because track officials determined that the racers would not be able to finish the remaining eleven laps without adding fuel.

So, Hammaker had the point for the final restart with eleven laps to go. He was followed by Rahmer, Smith, Dietrich, Rumsey, Wagaman, Bishop, Stutts, Lance Dewease, and Brent Shearer.

Rahmer tried to go under Hammaker entering turn one on the restart. Hammaker had the right rear planted in the cushion, and his momentum carried him past Rahmer.

Three laps after the race resumed, Dietrich took third away from Smith with a slider in turn four. Dietrich then began to close in on Rahmer. Soon, they were both approaching Hammaker.

However, the late race drama began to unfold because Hammaker was struggling with lapped traffic. Rahmer and Dietrich had both cut into his lead. For a moment, It seemed that there would be a three-car battle for the top spot, but Dietrich lost contact with the leaders while they were navigating through the slower cars.

Rahmer made his most significant move taking the lead coming off turn two, but Hammaker was somehow ahead by a nose at the scoring loop as they took the white flag. Rahmer regained the advantage through the first two corners on the final lap. Hammaker came storming back entering turn three. Rahmer tried to turn back under him coming off turn four, but Hammaker was far enough ahead after the final two turns to secure his momentous win.

Dietrich followed Hammaker and Rahmer to the checkers. Smith and Rumsey were fourth and fifth, respectively. Wagaman, Bishop, Stutts, Dewease, and Dietz completed the top ten.

The $8,000 victory was the first for Sandy Kline at Williams Grove as the sole owner of the yellow number 22 with the throwback paint scheme. For several years, she co-owned a similar car with her late husband, Jim. Their last win at the Grove came in 2009 with the late Greg Hodnett at the controls.

Dietz, Rahmer, and Hammaker scored heat wins. There was no B Main needed for the twenty-five car field.

Justin Whittal flipped during hot laps and scratched for the night. He was not injured in the crash.

Mike Walls surprisingly passed Kyle Lee in turn two on the final lap of the Limited Late Model race. Kyle Lee took the lead from Dan Zechman on lap nine and it appeared that he would cruise to victory in the twenty lapper. However, Kyle Lee slowed when he jumped the cushion following a lap nineteen restart and Mike Walls was there to capitalize on the error.

D.J. Myers made some nifty moves in the closing laps to get third, finishing ahead of Chase Billet and Brian Booze. Travis Mease, Treyton Lee, Chad Earnst, Colton Friese, and Shannon Slaughter completed the top ten.

Lane Snook, Kyle Lee, John Moser, Jr., and Mike Wells won the heat races in the only appearance of the Limited Late Models at the track for 2026. Travis Horan captured the B Main. Thirty-three cars signed in for the event.

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