IMPERIAL, PA (August 15, 2026):  Michael Reft celebrated his recent nuptials with a win in the RUSH (Crate) Late Models at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway.

Also gracing victory lane were A.J. Poljak (Penn Ohio Pro Stocks), Stephen Shelpman (Wee Willie White Memorial for Hobby Stocks), Bill Tennant (Open Four Cylinders), and Ryleigh Heasley (Young Gun Four Cylinders).

“We’ve been real busy:  got married, honeymoon. We try to get out here whenever we can,” Reft happily said.

Reft wrestled the lead away from the polesitter, Cole Petrelle. Jake Gunn, Brandon Burgoon, and Tommy Schirnhofer made up the balance of the top five in the early going.

The only caution occurred with two laps complete when Tony Magill spun in turn two.

Reft maintained his advantage on the restart. Burgoon dipped to the inside to challenge Petrelle for second, but the move backfired. Burgoon fell back two positions, which he quickly made up.

Reft stretched his lead as the race progressed. In the middle stage of the twenty lapper, his advantage over Petrelle was almost 1.4 seconds. However, as the race drew to a close, Petrelle and Jake Gunn closed in on him. Petrelle cut the margin to 0.625 seconds on lap nineteen.

After clearing a lapped car, Reft drove away again for an easy win. Petrelle was second, followed by Jake Gunn, Burgoon, and Schirnhofer. Matt Benard, Zach Gunn, Clinton Hersh, Anthony Monteparte, and Tom Klein rounded out the top ten.

Hersh and Kassidy Kamicker shared the heat race victories. There was no B Main.

A.J. Poljak drove his two-week-old S & S Chassis to the win in the non-stop fifteen lapper for the Penn Ohio Pro Stocks. He took the lead on lap thirteen from Nick Kocuba, who led from the outset. Dale Tuche and Bill Slade were the final two cars running in the event. Ricky Steigerwald and Jacob Billyk, Jr. retired early. Steigerwald won the heat race.

The Wee Willie White Memorial drew a stout field of seventeen Hobby Stocks. Stephen Shelpman, who has the most career wins in the division, made a bold last lap pass on the outside of turn three to take the lead. He then held off Garrett O’Patchen’s counterattack in the final turn for the win. Marc Corio was third, with Tom Anton and Joe Brown, Sr. completing the top five. Devan Jones, Justin Clark, J.D. Moore, Leroy Brown, and Sadie Snatchko were sixth through tenth. The heat wins went to O’Patchen and Shelpman. There was no B Main.

Bill Tennant chased down Noah Bubeck in the final lap and a half of the Open Four Cylinder event. Bubeck led from the start, but his engine was failing and it expired as he crossed the finish line in second. Bubeck’s luck got worse as the car did not pass post-race tech. So, the second position was awarded to Cameron Hollister. Kaitlin McDonald, Haylie Snouffer, and Tom Hollister scored in the top five. John Gill and Hunter Vohn did not start the race. Bubeck won the heat race.

Ryleigh Heasley prevailed in the nightcap for the Young Guns Four Cylinders. Kane Zupancic was second, followed by Hunter Bennett. Nathan Olenik and Connor Greynolds did not finish the race. Heasley also won the heat race.

SARVER, PA (August 14, 2026):  Drake Troutman scored his first Super Late Model victory for the Jerry Foster owned team in the Ken Schaltenbrand, Sr. Memorial at Lernerville Speedway. Troutman, who had much success in Foster’s UMP-style Modified, was making just his fifth start for the new venture. The victory was worth $4,500 and makes Troutman one of the favorites for the Yinzer 100 coming up on September 1.

Ayden Cipriano battled Rex King Jr. for most of the Modified feature before seizing control after a lap twenty-one restart. He went on to secure his first career win at the Action Track.

A.J. Flick dominated the Sprint Car event for the third win of the season at Lernerville Speedway. Importantly, the triumph assured him of his tenth track title in thirteen attempts. It was his seventh point championship in a row.

Chris Schneider led the final sixteen laps to earn his second win of the season and forty-third of his outstanding career in the Pro Stock division.

“This place has been very good to us. This is the fifth race out on this deal, and the first time in victory lane with this thing,” Troutman said.

Brock Pinkerous and Alex Ferree occupied row one for the Topless Late Model feature dedicated to the memory of Ken Schaltenbrand Sr., Levi Yetter and Clinton Hersh were next in line, followed by Michael Lake and Eric Wilson. Drake Troutman and Login Zarin were in row four, with Colton Flinner and Matt Martin, in row five; and Ken Schaltenbrand and Tyler Wyant, in row six.

Pinkerous slid up to the cushion in turn one on the opening lap to take the lead away from Ferree. Despite cautions on laps five and seven, Pinkerous maintained his advantage over Ferree. However, Ferree lost two spots on the lap five restart. That allowed Troutman and Zarin to slip ahead in the running order. On the lap seven restart, Ferree got one spot back.

The lap seven incident involved seven cars, including the title contender, Ken Schaltenbrand. Despite the damage sustained, Schaltenbrand pitted for repairs and returned to action in the fifteenth position. That proved to have a profound impact on the point championship.

The top three, consisting of Pinkerous, Troutman, and Ferree, stayed in formation for the next ten laps. There was a close battle between Norris and Zarin for the fifth spot. Two laps later, a caution for debris allowed Yetter to join in the contest for fifth.

The final six laps were spun off without any further interruptions. Most significantly, Troutman rolled the top in turns one and two to take the lead from his younger adversary on the restart. Zarin moved up to third in the closing laps, with Ferree holding off Yetter for fourth.

Troutman took the win by almost eight tenths of a second over Yetter. Zarin, Ferree, and Yetter completed the top five. Colten Flinner, Tyler Wyant, Norris, Wilson, and Schaltenbrand were sixth through tenth.

Schaltenbrand’s decision to restart the event despite the major damage to his car earned him enough points to garner his third points championship over his nephew, Yetter. The margin was only three points. “It just goes to show that it’s not over until the fat lady says so,” Schaltenbrand commented.

The three heat wins went to Ferree, Weaver, and Zarin. The B Main winner was Norris. Ferree was the evening’s fastest qualifier for the Topless Late Models, at 15.337 seconds.

Ayden Cipriano and Garrett Krummert brought the Modifieds to the green for their last regular season twenty-five lapper. Steve Feder and Dave Murdick lined up in row two, followed by Rex King, Jr. and Austin Eyler. Rick Regalski and Jackson Kristyak started from row four, with Brad Rapp and Rob Kristyak in row five. Preston Cope and Macey Adamik departed from row six.

Cipriano grabbed the lead at the start, however, there was a red flag for a crash involving Rick Regalski and Steve Feder at the end of lap one. Feder was not injured in his somersault.

Cipriano was the leader for the restart, with Krummert and King lurking close behind. Murdick and Preston Copemade up the top five.

The green flag on lap six marked the beginning of an intense three-car battle for the lead. Krummert, King, and Cipriano took turns at the front before King took control on lap eleven. Cipriano moved ahead of Krummert. Krummert began to fall back into the clutches of Cope. But Cope couldn’t overtake him.

The contest between Krummert and Cope for fourth ended on lap twenty-one when Cope stopped on the front stretch with a flat tire.

Cipriano was installed as the leader for the final restart, as he nipped King at the scoring loop moments before the caution for Cope. Nonetheless, King got a good restart, and he pulled ahead of Cipriano in turns one and two. Although the teenager got hung up on the cushion, he fought back in turns three and four. He rolled off turn four with a slight advantage over King.

Cipriano stretched his lead over King to almost eight tenths of a second through the final four circuits. Rapp came on in the closing laps to take third. Krummert fell to fourth. Rigalski was fifth. Macey Adamik, Murdick, Jackson Kristyak, Cameron Miller, and Karley Miller rounded out the top ten.

“The car was great,” Cipriano said. “I’m just lucky the car didn’t snap flip on the top of turns one and two,” he added.

King’s runner-up finish was good enough to capture the point championship by eight counters over Krummert. It was his fourth championship at Lernerville.

King and Krummert split the heat race victories. There was no B Main.

Brandon Spithaler and Leyton Wagner paced the field for the final point race in the Sprint Car division. John Jerich and A.J. Flick were paired up in row two, with Dan Kuriger and Dan Shetler in row three. Will Fleming and Jacob Begenwald had row four to themselves, followed by Cody Bova and Todd Moule, in row five, and Adam Herb and Jared Zimbardi, in row six.

Although Wagner led the first three laps of the twenty-five lap contest, Flick surged ahead on lap four and he never looked back.

Wagner remained in second until lap twelve when he passed the baton to Brandon Spithaler. At that time. Spithaler was almost three seconds behind the leader, but he narrowed the margin to approximately half a second twice in the second half of the twenty-lap contest.

Wagner held onto third until there were three laps remaining. Jacob Begenwald got by in turns three and four.

Flick took the checkers almost two and a half seconds over Spithaler. Then came Begenwald, Wagner, and Jerich. Shetler, Moule, Kuriger, Zimbardi, and Carl Bowser rounded out the top ten.

Flick called the win and the championship “special.” “We’ve run Sprint Cars thirteen years and this is my tenth championship. This is the closest title chase I’ve been in in my ten years, and this was the most relaxed I’ve ever been. Dan Kuriger and Dan Shetler (his two closest competitors) are great guys and I wouldn’t have been upset if either one of them got the title,” Flick added.

Jacob Begenwald, Dan Kuriger, and Dan Shetler took the preliminaries for the Sprint Cars. There was no B Main.

The Pro Stocks closed out the racing action, as usual. Tyler Dietz pulled out to the early lead from his second starting spot. Chris Schneider was running a close second, and he assumed command just four laps into the race.

Despite a number of cautions during the twenty lap affair, Schneider remained out front. Tyler Dietz held off Logan Koteles in the closing laps. Jacob Dietz finished fourth, which was good enough to capture his first track championship in the highly competitive division. Koteles was only four points away from the title. Brett McDonald was fifth.

Positions six through ten belonged to Nate Gebauer, Bill Swaney, Dave Collier, Jonathan Koteles, and John Hartman.

Schneider gave props to the Lernerville track crew for reworking the surface before the Sprint Car A Main. “The weather wasn’t favorable to the good clay at the track this week,” he noted.

Jake Dietz and Joey Zambotti shared the honors in heat race action for the Pro Stocks.

MERCER, PA (August 13, 2026):  “Money Mat” Williamson made the four-hour tow from St. Catharines, Ontario pay off to the tune of $4,018, as he captured his second win in the Rick and Bob Ryder Memorial. Williamson made the extra effort to get to the event despite rainouts in the two Ohio Super DIRTcar Series races that would have preceded this event.

Williamson expressed appreciation to the friends and family of the Ryders for the hard work that they put into developing and promoting the fourth annual race, and he fondly recalled the time that he spent with the Ryders earlier in his career. This race, held at Michaels Mercer Raceway, has become one of the highest paying and most cherished specials on the Western Pennsylvania Big Block Modified circuit.

Williamson advanced quickly to the front from his twelfth starting position, which was determined by a revenge draw for the top three finishers from the four heat races. “I got really lucky. Garrett (Krummert) got tight and the middle opened up for me.”

He added that he got another break when the early leader, Eric Gabany, got a flat right front tire. Just the day before the race, Gabany was tapped to drive a second car for Rick Regalski, and Gabany wrung the most out of it.  “I don’t know if Eric was getting a flat earlier. I saw it on a yellow (on lap six).” Nonetheless, Gabany valiantly held off Williamson for several laps and he closely followed him in second for five more before the deflating tire forced him to get a replacement.

Erick Rudolph, who finished second, was more patient in getting to the front. He did not reach the top five until lap seventeen, when Gabany pitted. “It seemed like I found something with five (laps) to go, but then it went away. To get second in a BRP Modified Tour race was a real accomplishment.”

The third place finisher, Rex King, Jr., was a little frustrated with the outcome. “I feel I got into second three times. I thought I crossed the line once,” he said. But, cautions popped up at unfortunate times for him, and two of his power moves were negated. He added that “we were tired” at the end of the forty lapper. “We didn’t have enough motor, but that’s on us for bringing the wrong car.”

Jeremy Paup had the pole, with Austin Eyler on his flank. Gabany  and Colton Walters made up the second row, followed by Kyle Fink and Brad Rapp. Tyler Willard and Brayden Beatty were next. King, Krummert, Rudolph, and Williamson were relegated to rows five and six by their fellow competitors.

Paup led the first three rounds, but Gabany rode the rim in turns one and two to surge ahead after a restart that followed Beatty’s spin at the entry to turn three. Fink, Walters, and Eyler made up the top five in the early going. Willard, Rapp, Williamson, Rudolph, and King were next in the running order.

Cautions on laps five and six, for Jeremiah Shingledecker and Eyler, respectively, interfered with the flow of the race. But despite that, Williamson found himself in third for the restart on lap six. He worked by Walters two laps later. He closed quickly on Gabany, but the veteran used his considerable experience at Mercer to keep Williamson at bay.

However, Williamson made an unusual move to gain the lead on lap twelve, He went to the outside of turn four to pass Gabany. Turn four at Mercer has a decreasing radius, and racers often bite the outer wall coming off the corner. But Williamson negotiated the tricky corner safely and he was never headed thereafter.

Gabany maintained second, ahead of Walters, King, and Rapp, even though that right front tire was getting softer with each lap. There were a pair of cautions on lap seventeen, the first for Shawn Kozar and the second for Gabany. The latter incident nullified a pass by King for second in turn two.

When the race got going again, Williamson led Walters. Behind them, a good three-car battle was raging among Rudolph, King, and Rapp for positions in the top five.

A caution for Macey Adamik on lap twenty-one gave King another opportunity to power off turn two to take second on the restart. But Walters and Rudolph battled back. It all went for naught, though, when Krummert spun off the top of turn three. King repeated the move and regained second. This time, he was able to hold it through lap thirty-five.

During this extended green flag run, Williamson led King. Rudolph clawed his way into third. Meanwhile, Walters and Fink were fighting for fourth. Rudolph passed King for second moments before the final caution, for Gabany, with four laps remaining.

Williamson had the point for the single file restart, followed by Rudolph, King, Walters, Fink, Willard, Rob Kristyak, Rapp, Steve Feder, and Dave Murdick.

The racers completed the last four circuits without further interruptions. Williamson had an advantage of over a second and a half at the checkers. The first three were unchanged, but Fink got the edge on Walters for fourth in the closing laps.

Positions six through ten went to Willard, Rob Kristyak, Rapp, Feder, and Murdick.

Eyler, Rapp, Beatty, and Gabany shared the heat wins. Adamik took the B Main. A cash dash was held for the fourth and fifth place cars from each heat. Murdick took the victory in that contest. Thirty-four cars registered for the event.

Support was provided by the DIRTcar Sportsmen and Modified Lites.

In the Sportsmen twenty lapper, teenager Logen Lockhart went wire to wire for his second tally at the track. He held off Gabany for sixteen laps! Ryan Riffe, Bill Adams, and Kyle Martell rounded out the top five. Anthony Antus, Todd English, Patrick Lane, Caden Petry, and Brian Schaffer were sixth through tenth. Gabany and Adams took the heat wins. There was no B Main needed to set the field.

Drew Duncan won the tune-up for the Mark Marcucci Tribute coming up on August 21. Duncan’s trip to victory lane was punctuated by Timothy Volzer’s flip between turns three and four. He was not hurt. Carson Hubbard made a last lap challenge for the lead but he came up short by 0.013 seconds. Lucca Ledford, Logan Lewis, and Teddy Williams, II made up the balance of the top five. Drew Hannay, Derek Chismar, Jacob Isenhart, Jacob Eakin, and Ken Downey were the other five finishers. Duncan and Hubbard took the heat wins. There was no B Main.