Dirt Racing
Dietrich and Feathers Take Openers at Port Royal
PORT ROYAL, PA (March 21, 2026): Danny Dietrich, of Gettysburg, PA won the inaugural event for the PA Possee Sprint Car Series, held at Port Royal Speedway.
Trever Feathers, of WInchester, VA, won his third opening event for the Late Model division at the track.
Dietrich
Dietrich, who is no stranger to victory lane at the Speed Palace, knew that this one was “pretty special.” Despite assuming the point lead for the new series, he refused to commit to following it in its entirety. “I don’t care about the points. I’m interested in getting the wins.”
Dietrich gave credit to Dave Reedy, of Penske Shocks, for helping him pick up speed this week. He also joked about the new diet that his crew put him on to shave a few pounds off the car.
While Dietrich seemed to be ambivalent about the new series, the second place finisher, Chase Dietz, hinted that he may commit to the venture. “We’re looking forward to running the series.” he said.
Matt Campbell, who was third in the opener, noted that this event was his first at Port Royal Speedway in four years. His last appearance came in a Tuscarora 50, but this was definitely his best finish ever at the track. He added that he plans to return for other Possee Series races even though he is a regular at Lincoln Speedway.
The luck of the draw put Dietrich on the pole for the twenty-five lap series debut. Campbell was on his flank. T.J. Stutts and Dietz lined up in row two, ahead of Aaron Bollinger and Kody Hartlaub. Preston Lattomus and Buddy Schweibinz were in row four. Lance Dewease and Mike Walter, Jr. were followed by Freddie Rahmer, Jr. and Mike Thompson.
Dietrich surged into the lead at the drop of the green. He was followed by Dietz, Campbell, Hartlaub, Stutts, Dewease, Bollinger, Schweibinz, Walter, and Troy Wagaman, Jr. Dewease picked up fifth a few laps into the contest.
On lap five, Dylan Cisney and Nash Ely flipped between turns one and two. Neither driver was injured in their tumbles.
On the restart, Dietz looked to the inside of Dietrich heading into turn one. However, Dietrich was able to carry his momentum through the corner to maintain his lead.
Campbell remained in third. Dewease passed Hartlaub in turns one and two.
Over the remaining twenty laps, which were run off without a caution, Dietrich and Dietz disappeared from the rest of the field. Campbell was steady in third, nearly a full straight ahead of Dewease. He. too, had a comfortable margin over Stutts.
Bollinger was sixth, followed by Hartlaub, Schweibinz, Brock Zearfoss, and Rahmer.
Justin Whittall, the defending track champion, was the hard charger. He advanced ten positions to claim twelfth. Fan favorite, Anthony Macri gained eight spots to reach eleventh at the finish.
There were four heat races, which were captured by Dietz, Schweibinz, Dewease, and Rahmer. Logan Wagner prevailed in the B Main.
J.T Ferry crashed between turns one and two on the first lap of the first heat. He was not hurt, but he was done for the day.
Feathers
In the nightcap for the Super Late Models, Feathers passed the early leader, Andrew Yoder, a handful of laps before a seven-car wreck in turn four that eliminated several of the contenders, Feathers then held off Gregg Satterlee in the closing laps to preserve the win.
“This was a whole new car, so it was a learning experience,” Feathers explained. He added that it was nice to pick up the $4,000 winner’s share.
The track developed some character in turn one, but Feathers was able to negotiate the corner without incident. “I kinda got out to a lead there. I was trying to hit the holes square,” he said. Later in the race he and the second place runner, Satterlee, found a line well above the holes in turn one.
Feathers noted that Andrew Yoder was setting a good pace in the early laps, but he was not concerned about that. “The one that I was worried about was Gregg (Satterlee).” Feathers noted that he was able to see the scoreboard coming off turn four. “I saw him come up on the board, my father was giving me signals.”
Andrew Yoder drew the pole for the twenty-five lapper. Roy Deese was next to him for the start. Feathers and Dylan Yoder were in row two, followed by Lane Snook and Dillan Stake. Scott Flickinger and Satterlee made up the fourth row, with ageless Gary Stuhler and Justin Weaver right behind. Chris Casner and Gene Knaub claimed row six.
At the start, Andrew Yoder got the jump on Deese, who then drifted high in turn one. That enabled Feathers to take second on the opening lap. Snook followed him into third. Deese recovered in time to preserve fourth. Dylan Yoder settled into fifth, followed by Stake, Satterlee, Flickinger, Stuhler, and Justin Weaver.
Andrew Yoder led Feathers and Snook in the early going, but Satterlee quickly reached the top five. Stake, Dylan Yoder, Deese, Flickinger and Stuhler and Eckert made up the top ten with five laps completed.
On lap seven, Feathers made a strong inside move in turn two to grab the lead. Andrew Yoder stayed close and he regained the lead briefly in turn one on the following lap. However, he slid high in turn two, allowing Feathers to scoot under him once again. Meanwhile, Snook and Satterlee were fighting for the third position.
At the halfway mark, Feathers led Andrew Yoder by a couple of car lengths. Satterlee took over third, with Snook, Stake, and Dylan Yoder in tow.
Snook’s impressive run ended a couple of laps later when his car stopped in turn two.
On the restart, which came with fifteen laps in the books, Satterlee took over second. Andrew Yoder held third, but not for long. When the field reached turn four, Andrew Yoder got sideways. Stake had nowhere to go. Both cars spun, and five others came piling in. Eckert, Stuhler, Flickinger, and Knaub were eliminated as a result.
When the race resumed, Feathers led Satterlee, Dylan Yoder, Hayes Mattern, and Weaver.
Andrew Yoder, and Stake, both of whom pitted for repairs, began to work their way forward after restarting at the rear of the depleted field.
Feathers completed the final ten laps without further incident. Satterlee closed to within a car length or two, but he could not mount a challenge for the lead.
Feathers took the checkers 0.848 seconds ahead of Satterlee. Dylan Yoder was third, followed by Mattern and Weaver. Andrew Yoder came back for sixth. Stake was seventh. Kody Lyter, Chad Myers, and Tristin Neiderer completed the top ten.
The Late Models competed in a pair of heat races. The winners were Andrew Yoder and Snook. There was no B Main.
Coming Events
Port Royal Speedway will reprise the program on March 28. It, too, will be a PA Possee Sprint Series event. The 410 Sprints will return on April 3, with support from the Limited Late Models and the PASS 305 Sprint Cars. There will be a candy scramble for the children and an appearance by the Easter Bunny.
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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