Dirt Racing
Dietz Digs for Gold at Path Valley; Walker Takes Sportsman Loot
SPRING RUN, PA (July 6, 2025): Chase Dietz became the fiftieth driver to win a Pennsylvania Speedweek show. The driver from York, PA captured the finale held at Path Valley Speedway Park after hounding the leader, Ryan Smith, for fifteen laps. To earn the $10,000 victory, Dietz made a strong inside move coming off turn two of the quarter mile with just eight laps remaining.
In the companion race for Wingless Sportsman, Eric Walker dueled with Transtan Stoner for the entire thirty laps before claiming the victory.
Dietz Does It
“Winning a Speedweek show was one of my goals,” Dietz said. Early in the week, he had his doubts about whether he could accomplish it. “We didn’t start off the week good at all. We trashed a car (Monday, at Lincoln Speedway).” He gave props to Tommy Carl, his veteran crew chief, and the rest of the crew for putting together a car capable of winning.
Dietz and Carl moved to the Stehman Motorsports 23 after John and Pee Wee Zemaitis folded up the Zemco operation over the off season. That development left Dietz without a steady ride and Carl without a car to wrench. “There aren’t many opportunities and I am just so appreciative to be with this team.” The move has certainly paid off, as Dietz has been one of the most competitive, and consistent racers in Central Pennsylvania this season.
Dietz was somewhat winded at the conclusion of the thirty-five lap race on the smallest track hosting Sprint Cars in the Keystone State.
“This definitely is not what we are used to,” he said. “I was excited to get here and to put on a show,” he added. “I was just fortunate to be in the right place.”
The Speedweek format used a redraw to establish teh starting order for the first eight positions. The eligible drivers were the four heat winners and the quickest qualifiers. Danny Dietrich was the lucky fellow who pulled the number one pill. Ryan Smith was beside him in the Dernochick 6. In row two were Tyler Ross and Dietz. Brent Marks was inside row three, with Cameron Smith to his right. They were followed by J.J. Loss and Anthony Macri. Then came Brady Bacon, a former Speedweek winner at Path Valley, and Brock Zearfoss. Austin Bishop and T.J. Stutts made up row six.
The initial start was nullified by a caution, wiping away Danny Dietrich’s advantage. Ryan Smith changed his approach for the second attempt, and he rode the high groove to the early lead over Dietrich, Dietz raced along in third, followed by Cameron Smith, Ross, Marks, Macri, Loss, and Zearfoss.
Smith led the early going, but Danny Dietrich was close behind him, looking for an opportunity to grab the lead in traffic.
Unfortunately for Dietrich, he tangled with a lapped car in turn four, and he spun toward the infield. Dietrich did a 360, kicking up a lot of dust in the process. But, he managed to keep his car moving when the lapper, Alex Attard, came to a halt. Officials allowed Dietrich to blend in, in sixth place, for the restart.
Ryan Smith had the point, with Dietz now in second. Marks, Cameron Smith, Macri, Danny Dietrich, Ross, Bacon, Zearfoss, and Loss made up the top ten. Soon after the race resumed, Bacon picked up a couple of positions.
The caution light flashed on again on lap fifteen for a spin by Zearfoss in turn four. Traffic was hectic the lap following the restart, and several cars got together on the backstretch. The caution cars included several top runners, such as Cameron Smith and Bacon.
One lap away from halfway, Ryan Smith was still the leader, followed by Dietz, Marks, Macri, Danny Dietrich, Ross, Billy Dietrich, Loss, Stutts, and Bishop.
Ryan Smith and Dietz resumed their battle for the lead when the green light flashed on again. As the leaders caught the slower cars, Marks began to close in. Meanwhile, Macri and Danny Dietrich were fighting for positions which could determine the Speedweek championship between them.
Dietz pressed Ryan Smith as they worked through the slower cars. Dietz made his power move to grab the lead on lap twenty-seven. Ryan Smith tucked in behind Dietz as they continued through the maze of slower cars. Marks drew closer to them as the laps wound down.
Marks made a move to the outside of Ryan Smith coming off turn two with two laps to go, However, Marks could not pull up beside Dietz. Ryan Smith lodged a counterattack on Marks on the final lap to regain second place.
Dietz took the checkers ahead of Ryan Smith, Marks, Danny Dietrich, and Macri. Billy Dietrich came hime in sixth, followed by Stutts, Ross, Loss, and Dylan Norris.
Norris claimed the hard charger award. at plus nine.
Heat wins belonged to Marks, Loss, Cameron Smith, and Danny Dietrich. Mike Walter, Jr. won the B Main. Macri was the fastest qualifier overall, logging a lap of 10.124 seconds during Group A time trials. Ryan Smith was the best in Group B with a time of 10.297 seconds.
This race concluded the 35th Annual Pennsylvania Speedweek. Three of the events were rained out, but seven were contested. Car counts were good, and fan attendance was outstanding, with one exception. The race at Lincoln Speedway on Monday was run under threatening weather conditions.
Anthony Macri won the championship for the third year in a row. He joined Fred Rahmer, Sr. with that honor. Macri still has a long way to go to match the elder Rahmer ‘s incredible career record of thirteen such titles.
Macri racked up 1035 points to 998 for Danny Dietrich. Chase Dietz was third, with 847 markers. Ryan Smith was fourth, with 783. Brock Zearfoss was fifth, with 705.
Macri earned $6,000 from the point fund.
Macri earned a bonus of $5,000 from Weikert’s Livestock for having a perfect record of top ten finishes in all seven events completed. Danny Dietrich also had a perfect record, but Macri had the tie breaker by winning the point championship.
He also gained a bonus of $1,000 for having the best aggregate time for all of the Speedweek races.
Walker’s Win
Walker had to withstand several restarts in the first half of the contest to garner the win. “The first caution really helped me because I caught two right rears,” Walker said. He added sheepishly, “maybe I was the cause of that big crash,” which eliminated a couple of cars and significantly altered the running order.
Walker explained that he had to move up from the inside line during the course of the race because his car felt better half a groove up the track. He was concerned that he may have left the door open for Stoner to force his way past him for the win. “Fortunately, he raced me clean,” Walker concluded.
Stoner and Walker shared the front row for the start of the thirty lap nightcap. Brad Cowan and Steve Wilbur lined up behind them. Then came Brandon Shearer and Kevin Gutshall, followed by Jason Failor and Brad Mellott.
Stoner led the opening lap, with Walker, Wilbur, Cowan, and Gutshall in tow. Walker scooted past Stoner on the second trip around the tight quarter mile. They waged their fight for the lead between the several cautions which punctuated the first half of the race.
In the second half, which was completed without any cautions, Walker and Stoner drew away from the rest of the field to continue their battle in a more private setting. Meanwhile, Wilbur and Shearer had their own wrestling match going for third for a number of laps before Wilbur began to fade in the final laps.
At the checkers, it was Walker by nearly three tenths of a second over Stoner. Shearer, Mellott, and Wilbur completed the top five. The next five across the finish line were Gutshall, Luke Lenker, Cowan. Craig Perigo, and Tony Jackson.
Gutshall, Shearer, and Wilbur scored the heat wins. There was no B Main, as all twenty-three entrants were allowed to start the A Main.
MECHANICSBURG, PA (October 3, 2025) – Chase Dietz, of York, PA, led a Posse sweep of four of the top five positions on night number one of the National Open Weekend at Williams Grove Speedway. Joining Dietz on the front stretch were second place finisher, Lance Dewease, and the third place runner, Danny Dietrich. Justin Whittall was fifth in the race. The only card carrying Outlaw was Carson Macedo, who led the first twenty-one laps before fading to fourth at the finish.
“I just want to soak it in,” Dietz said as he tried to catch his beath following the exhilarating victory, his first ever against the travelling band. Although Dietz noted that he had speed all year at the Grove, his team assembled a new car this week and, in doing so, they made a lot of changes. “The car was very maneuverable.”
Although Dietz ran most of the race in the top groove, he admitted, “I knew that the bottom was going to come in. I knew that I had to get down there before Lance (Dewease) did. I saw his nose.” As it turned out, Dietz barely got to the bottom ahead of Dewease, forcing the cagy veteran to move to the middle in the closing laps.
“We’re just extremely grateful to be here, this sport can be very humbling,” Dietz added. Even last year, when he was running his own cars, Dietz explained that they fought hard to be competitive with the Outlaws. Although they were winless, they showed good speed and had a podium finish against the Outlaws in the 2024 National Open. “I looked back at the nights when we didn’t win, and I tried to figure out what we needed to do to bet better.”
Dewease, who followed Dietz into second on lap twenty-two and wh briefly challenged him for the lead, commented, “the last three or four laps I wasn’t very good. The lapped cars made it interesting.”
Dietrich, who completed the podium for the Posse, felt that he may have had the fastest car in the final laps but, he added, “things didn’t go my way.” He explained that, when he did pass Dewease, he did not get enough of a gap on him, and that let him (Dewease) get back in.”
Macedo drew the pole for the Dash and his win in that event placed him on the pole for the twenty-five lap preliminary, which paid $12,000 to the winner. Dietrich lined up on his right, Dewease and Dietz made up row two, followed by David Gravel and Buddy Kofoid. Diason Pursley and Justin Whittall stacked our row four. Then came Daryn Pittman and Bill Balog. Row six paired Kody Hartlaub with Justin Peck.
The back of the field was almost as impressive as the first six rows. Back there were racers such as Kerry Madsen (fourteenth), Giovanni Scelzi (sixteenth), Brock Zearfoss (seventeenth), Brent Marks (eighteenth), Ryan Timms (nineteenth), Freddie Rahmer, Jr. (twentieth), Sheldon Haudenschild (twenty-first), Logan Schuchart (twenty-first), and Troy Wagaman (twenty-sixth).
Macedo held off Dietrich in turn one to assume control of the race. Dietz ran in third on the opening lap, but he drove under Dietrich in turn four to take over second one lap later. Dewease ran along in fourth, followed by Kofoid, Gravel, Whittall, Pittman, Pursley, and Balog in the early going.
The running order was pretty static through the first five or six laps. The top ten had a major shake-up on lap seven, though. Something broke on Pittman’s car in turn three, and he spun wildly toward the outside wall. In the process, he collected Pursley, Balog, and Hartlaub. Pittman and Pursely retired from the race due to the damage incurred, but Balog and Hartlaub were able to rejoin the field for the restart after pitting for repairs.
That fracas was the only caution of the race.
Macedo and Dietz resumed the battle for the lead on the restart. However, one lap later, Dewease moved into third, ahead of Dietrich, Kofoid, and Gravel. Whittall, Peck, Scelzi, and Rahmer made up the balance of the top ten. At that juncture, Wagaman was about six positions behind Rahmer in their race within the race for the point championship.
Through the middle stage of the race, Dietz began to close in on Macedo. Dewease continued in third, several car lengths behind the leaders. Dietrich was about the same distance back in fourth.
Dietz caught up to Macedo with about five or six laps remaining in the contest. He managed to pass Macedo on the inside of turn three on lap twenty-one, but Macedo countered in turn four to regain the lead.
Macedo dove to the inside heading into turn one, but he scrubbed off spme speed. Dietz was able to get some momentum coming through turn two and that propelled hin down the backstretch. He slid Macedo for the lead coming through turns three and four, and Dewease followed in his tire tracks to take over second coming off turn four.
Dietz missed the bottom entering turn one, and Dewease poked his nose under him going through the turn, Dietz recovered, and he got a good run off turn two to preserve his lead. Dietz then committed to the low line for the final laps, requiring Dewease to move more toward the middle of the track.
Dietrich dispatched Macedo and he got a run on Dewease near the end of the race. However, Dewease was able to reclaim second soon thereafter.
At the finish, it was Dietz by a tad under eight tenths of a second over Dewease. Dietrich was third, followed by Macedo and Whittall. Kofoid, Gravel, Scelzi,Peck, and Marks completed the top ten.
Rahmer was eleventh, and Wagaman sixteenth. Although Wagaman was the hard charger at plus ten, he lost valuable points to Rahmer. The two racers will be separated by 125 points, unofficially, heading into Saturday’s season finale.
Heat wins were scored by Gravel, Kofoid, Dewease, and Pursley. Ryan Newton won the non-qualifiers race. Kyle Spence recovered from a tipover in his heat race to capture the C Main. The B Main went to Haudenschild. Gravel was the evening’s fastest qualifier, with a lap of 16.409 seconds topping Group A. Dewease timed the best in Group B, with a lap of 16.760 seconds. Fifty-six cars participated in the event.
HARTFORD, OH (September 27, 2025) – Dale Blaney had the hometown crowd on their feet and screaming after winning the World of Outlaws feature Saturday Night at Sharon Speedway, the track owned for years by the Blaney family.
Blaney started fifth and passed Cole Macedo on lap 11 for the lead then held off a furious last lap charge by Buddy Kofoid to win by just 0.136 seconds for the $12,000 payday!
The victory was Blaney’s first World of Outlaws victory in 10-years, becoming the oldest winner in Series history at 61 years 7 months and 28 days. Blaney broke the previous record set by his older brother Dave when he won at 58 years of age in 2021 at Sharon.
“There’re so many good young race car drivers out here, but to win a race at 61 (years old) is awesome,” said Blaney. ““I had the feeling that I was never going to win an Outlaw race ever again. I don’t race much. This is our sixth race this year. I haven’t run in seven weeks. The car was awesome. We just got it back together this week. I don’t know what to say. It’s great and cool to win this at Sharon Speedway- it’s the only place I’ve run this year. This is a special freaking night. I know that.”
“I wanted traffic,” said Kofoid. “My car is usually amazing in traffic. He slipped up, and then I kind of got in his air and got me slipped up. And then I hit the wall coming to the checkered, and it shot me down the track. I tried to send it and was close. I’m just happy for Dale and Dave.”
Sheldon Haudenschild finished third follow by WoO points leader David Gravel in fourth. Logan Schuchart rounded out the Top 5.
The night however belonged to the Blaney family, who fittingly closed out the the first year of the new ownership group of Dave Blaney, Ryan Blaney, and Will Thomas III in Victory Lane.
ABBOTTSTOWN, PA (September 27, 2025): A persistent, localized drizzle forced a stoppage of the Fallen Heroes Memorial at the Lincoln Speedway. The event, which was originally dubbed the Fallen Firefighters Memorial, was expanded to give tribute to the three York County police officers recently slain while serving a subpoena.
Brett and Jordan Strickler, policemen in the area, honored the fallen officers on the wings of their 410 Sprint Cars.
The 410 Sprint Cars were ready to take to the track for their feature event when the rain set in for the second time of the night. A brief shower interrupted the heat races for the 358 Sprint Cars. However, after the rain stopped, the track crew and push truck operators quickly prepared the surface so that all qualifications could be completed.
The line-ups for both feature races are set, and the events will be completed on October 18, along with the full program for both divisions in the Final 50. So, fans will be treated to four features that evening.
The point races in both divisions will conclude on October 18.
Dallas Schott, Kyle Moody, and Billy Dietrich won the heat races for the 410 Sprinters. Ryan “Fig” Newton prevailed in the B Main. Troy Wagaman, Jr. was the fastest qualifier of the twenty-nine cars on hand. His time was an astonishing 12.855 seconds. He was one of four racers to turn sub-thirteen second laps.
In the 358 Sprint Car preliminaries, the checkers waved for Cameron Merriman, Logan Spahr, and Cody Fletcher. There were twenty-one 358 Sprints checked in for the contest.
On October 4, Lincoln Speedway will present AMA Flat Track Motorcycles and Quads. There will be no auto races in consideration of the National Open to be held at Williams Grove Speedway. The World of Outlaws will take on the Pennsylvania Posse on October 11. The Lincoln season will conclude with the blockbuster event, the Final 50 plus the held over features.
Dietz Does It, Leads Posse Sweep
Corey Heim parlays overtime restart into record 10th NASCAR Truck Series win
Opportunistic Chase Elliott steals a NASCAR Cup Playoff win at Kansas
Dale Blaney Wins World Of Outlaws At Sharon Speedway
