Dirt Racing
Dietz Slides To Victory At BAPS On His Birthday
YORK HAVEN, PA (May 17, 2026): Chase Dietz celebrated his birthday in style, claiming his third consecutive win at BAPS Motor Speedway. The win was his second of the weekend, after a close second place finish to young Logan Rumsey on Friday night. Sandwiched in between was Dietz’ most lucrative victory.
To get this win, Dietz had to fight his way to the front after losing several positions on the initial start. When he took over second, he was more than half a second behind the leader, Brent Marks. Soon thereafter, a red eliminated that advantage. Following the restart on lap fourteen, Dietz tried a number of sliders, mostly in turn one, without success. However, he made a slider in turn four stick to grab the lead for good on lap twenty-three. Dietz went on to the win, with the margin of victory being 1.949 seconds.
“I was worried, I dropped back a couple of spots at the start, but I got them back and the car was getting better,” Dietz said. “Logan (Rumsey) showed me the inside,” he added. But after clawing his way to fourth on the inside, Dietz was back to the cushion in turns one and two when he powered past Rumsey and Rahmer, who were battling for second at that time.
During his furious struggle with Marks for the lead, Dietz got out over the cushion, which was razor thin. “I caught the wall in two a couple of times, once before the opening and once after.” Dietz explained that he was trying to keep up his wheel spin. He gave credit to his crew for building and maintaining a sturdy car that gave him confidence to make such risky maneuvers.
“This was an awesome way to finish off the weekend. Man, this was lots of fun.”
As if on que, the assembled crowd in victory lane spontaneously broke into a happy birthday serenade.
By the luck of the draw, Marks shared the front row with J.J. Loss, who was celebrating the return of his car owner, John Trone. Trone was recently released from Temple University Hospital where he underwent critical cardiac care. Dietz lined up inside of fow two, joined by Freddie Rahmer, Jr. The last of the preferred starting spots went to Rumsey and Cameron Smith, who was back in his familiar Lefever-owned mount.
Row four consisted of Dylan Norris and Kyle Moody. Then came Brock Zearfoss and Danny Dietrich. Row six belonged to Ryan Smith and Preston Lattomus.
Marks jumped out to the lead on lap one, followed by Rahmer, Loss, Rumsey, and Dietz. Before the racers could settle into a rhythm, a caution came out for Norris, who was off the pace in turn one.
Marks set sail on the restart and led the next thirteen laps. Rahmer gave chase in the early going, but Rumsey and Dietz closed in on him as they raced through traffic. When the top lane opened up for Dietz on lap fourteen, he was able to rocket past both Rahmer and Rumsey, who were hotly contesting the second position.
A red came out before the halfway mark. Johnny Edkin spun between turns three and four and began to back up the track. Zearfoss, who was running sixth at the time, tried to scoot between Edkin and the wall, but the opening closed, and Zearfoss took a tumble. He was not hurt in the incident, but his relatively new Glenn Styres machine was significantly damaged.
Dietz flew into turn one on the restart and tried a slider on Marks for the lead. He came up short, and lost valuable ground on that try. It took Dietz a couple of laps to get close enough for another try. This time, he cleared Marks, but he could not hold the position, as Marks turned back under him in turn two to regain the lead.
Dietz was persistent, but unsuccessful, for a couple more attempts to slide Marks for the lead in turn one.
However, things were better for him at the other end of the track. He was able to pull off the winning move in turn four to grab the lead on lap twenty-three.
Dietz completed the remaining seven laps without incident. Marks was second, followed by Rumsey, Rahmer, and Cameron Smith. Dietrich, Tyler Ross, Kyle Moody, Ryan Smith, and Justin Whittall completed the top ten.
Whittall was named the hard charger for advancing ten positions over the thirty-lap distance.
Dietz, Cameron Smith, and Rumsey scored the heat wins for the thirty-one car field. Mark Smith prevailed in the B Main. Marks was the evening’s fastest qualifier in timed hot laps with a lap of 14.714 seconds.
Derek Locke held off red hot Cody Fletcher to score the win in the 358 Sprint Car nightcap. “Cody’s real good on the slick,” Locke observed. “I saw it (the track) taking rubber in turns three and four in the 410s, so I tried to stay there. If he slid me, I figured I could get to the bottom in three and four.”
“It’s been a long time since we ran three races in the weekend,” Locke observed. He gave credit to his crew, who worked extremely hard to complete the three-race weekend. He explained that all of them have important jobs that often keep them fully occupied for sixty-plus hours during the week.
It took three tries to get the twenty-five lapper going. One of the attempts produced a multi-car incident in turn four, which included a tip-over by Brayden Mickley. None of those involved required medical attention.
On each of the attempts, Locke got stronger. When the race did get going, he rolled through the middle of turns one and two to establish a substantial lead.
It took Fletcher seven laps to work his way into second from ninth on the starting grid. One lap later, tere was a caution for Cole Young, who surrendered his sixth position by stopping on the front stretch. That eliminated Locke’s lead of over five seconds.
When the race resumed, Fletcher went to work on Locke. Fletcher did take the lead off turn two on one occasion, but he slid out too far in turn four to give Locke the advantage once again.
Fletcher regrouped and made another run at the leader on lap fifteen. He drew next to Locke racing down the backstretch. However, a caution thwarted that attempt.
Fletcher continued to stalk Locke through the remaining ten laps. However, he could not make another bid for the lead.
Locke took the win, with Fletcher, Brock Hammaker, Wyatt Hinkle, and Tyler Rutherford competing the top five. Logan Spahr, Chase Robinson, Brian Wolf, Jr., Kinser Lightner, and P.J. Reutimann were the next five finishers.
Reutimann, the grandson of former Modified star, Wayne Reutimann, was making his first start at BAPS Motor Speedway.
The three heat winners were Fletcher, Young, and Locke. No B Main was needed for the twenty-three car field.
The 358 Sprints will join the Winged Sportsmen, PASS 305 Sprints, and Extreme Stocks on May 23. The next show featuring 410 Sprints will be the $5 Keystone Nationals on Sunday, June 7. Extreme Stocks will also be on the card.
PORT ROYAL, PA (July 25, 2026): Brent Marks dominated the Greg Hodnett Classic at Port Royal Speedway to score a $15,000 victory on night number one of the Bob Weikert Memorial Weekend. Marks established himself as the odds on favorite to scoop up the $100,000 first prize.
Marks’ lead was almost 4.8 seconds before the only caution of the race. It was called prematurely on lap eighteen by a track official when Daison Pursley got out of shape in turn two. Pursley got his car righted and he was allowed to blend in where he was running after the caution.
Marks sped away from his rivals when the race resumed. Justin Peck moved into second with five laps remaining. Although Chase Dietz took over third on lap twenty-three, he was penalized to positions at the finish for being out of line for the restart. That moved Anthony Macri into third and Ryan Smith into fourth.
“The car was awesome all night,” Marks said. He timed in third in Group B, won his heat race, and ran away with the dash. He led all twenty-five laps of the feature event without any challenges.
“I wanted to make the top work a little more,” Marks noted. “Fortunately, there was a good cushion to help me out. After the caution, Marks came down off the top and ran in the middle for the final seven laps. His margin of victory was 1.035 seconds over Peck.
Peck, who came on strong in the final half of the race, mentioned, “I think we were fast from start to finish.” He was the fastest qualifier of the night, topping Group A with a lap of 15.862 seconds. He was second in his heat race and fourth in the dash. He added, “I haven’t felt this good at Port Royal since 2021.” He thought he could have squeezed a little more speed out of his car for the feature, “but, I was scared to get out of our window.”
Macri also thought that he had a good car. He commented, though, “I have to work on my tires under the yellow. I have to study.”
The dash finish set the first eight positions in the A Main. Marks and Macri occu[ied row one. They were followed by Dietz and Peck. Then came the championship contenders, Rico Abreu and Aaron Reutzel, in row three; and Pursley and Kerry Madsen, in row four. Ryan Smith and Giovanni Scelzi claimed row five based on their heat reace finishes. James McFadden and Danny Dietrich (who was sporting Weikert colors and the iconic number 29 tonight) departed from row six.
Marks jumped out to the early lead and he began to pull away from Macri. Peck and Dietz raced along in fourth and fifth, ahead of Abreu, Reutzel, Madsen, Smith, Scelzi, and Tyler Courtney.
The first five were unchanged through the first half of the race. Abreu and Reutzel battled for sixth, while Smith began to close in on them.
That premature caution on lap eighteen wiped away Marks’ advantage. Macri, Peck, Dietz, Smith, Reutzel, Abreu, Courtney, Madsen, and Scelzi were the announced starting order for the remaining seven laps. However, Dietz managed to position himself ahead of Peck for the restart, giving rise to the penalty imposed at the finish.
Dietz blasted into third on the restart. But Peck rallied and drove up to second by the finish. Macri was under attack from Smith in the closing laps and they were both moved ahead of Dietz in the finishing order.
Positions six through ten went to Logan Wagner, who was designated as the hard charger. He advanced sixteen positions over the course of the race. Most of his passed came after the restart. Abreu was seventh, followed by Reutzel, Courtney, and Madsen.
Madsen, Macri, Marks, and Pursley took the checkers in their respective heat races. Domenic Melair won the C Main. Cameron Smith took the honors in the B Main. Peck was the top qualifier, at 15.862. Abreu topped Group B with a time of 16.682 seconds. Forty-seven cars checked in for the event
Ageless Steve Wilbur went wire to wire to win the Wingless Sportsmen thirty lapper. He took the lead at the start and steadily pulled away to a seven second advantage. Brett Perigo moved into second on lap fifteen and he cut into the margin while Wilbur struggled with lapped traffic.
The lead was down to 1.666 seconds by the time the red came out for a spectacular crash involving Dexter Ehrenzeller and Donnie Farlling on the front stretch. Ehrenzeller’s car came to rest near the victory lane. He required medical attention and was transported to a nearby hospital. No report of his condition was available by the end of the program.
Tony Jackson followed Wilbur and Brett Perigo at the finish. Marty Brian and Sam Leonard, Jr. completed the top five. The nxt five finishers were Eric Wlaker, Curt Stroup, Scott Smith, Lee Kauffman, and Craig Perigo.
Jackson, Brian, and Brad Mellott tallied the heat race wins. There was no B Main needed to align the twenty-one car field.
MECHANICSBURG, PA (July 24, 2026): Chase Dietz finally got a win at Williams Grove Speedway. It was his seventeenth overall for the season and sixth in his career at the famous oval. The $6,000 triumph also extended his points lead in the fledgling PA Posse Series.
Dietz executed a perfect slider in turn four on lap thirteen to take the lead from the current Williams Grove points leader and defending track champion, Troy Wagaman, Jr. “You have to take your shot when you get it,” Dietz said.
Dietz commented that he tried to drive under Wagaman in turn one on the opening lap, but he could not pull off the pass. In fact, he lost a position to Anthony Macri in the process. He explained that the temporary setback “probably helped me, it pissed me off.”
He noted that “the track was pretty narrow with a good cushion.” But, he added, ”it was pretty dicey with those lapped cars. They want to run where you are.” Fortunately, Dietz was able to navigate around them efficiently after taking the lead.
He concluded, “it’s a great time to have this (his first win at the track) happen. We have the Outlaws coming in and we want to put it on them.”
Although this was a Posse Series race, the track used a format similar to a World of Outlaws event to help get the race teams ready for next week’s Summer Nationals program. Thus, the heat races started heads-up, with the fastest qualifier on the pole instead of fourth per Posse Series procedures. The first two finishers from each heat advanced to the dash, instead of the heat winners and the fastest qualifiers from beach heat. The dash established the starting order for the first six cars in the feature event, instead of a random draw. All others fell in line based upon their qualifying times, instead of their heat race finishes.
Accordingly, the pole position for the twenty-five lapper went to Wagaman, with Dietz as his wingman. Logan Rumsey and Macri were next in line. The final two dash participants, Brent Shearer and Austin Bishop, manned row three. Then came Danny Dietrich and Preston Lattomus, in row four; Justin Whittall and Dylan Norris, in row five; and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. and Doug Hammaker, in row six.
Wagaman reached turn one ahead of Dietz and established himself on the cushion. Dietz opted for the low side, and that allowed Macri to roll in behind Wagaman on the top. Macri had better momentum coming off turn two, and he gained the second position heading down the back stretch. Rumsey was fourth, followed by Bishop, Shearer, Dietrich, Lattomus, Whittall, and Norris on the opening lap.
The first four began to separate themselves from the other racers in the early going. Meanwhile, Dietrich was pressing Rumsey for the fifth spot.
On lap seven, Macri got a tremendous launch off turn two and he closed very quickly on the leader. However, Wagaman was able to get to a lapped car before Macri could make a bid for the lead. Soon thereafter, Dietz powered past Macri for second. He then closed in on Wagaman in traffic.
The only caution of the event occurred on lap eleven. Rahmer got a flat and struck the outside wall in turn two while running in the top ten.
Wagaman had the point for the single file restart, with Dietz in second, followed by Macri, Rumsey, Dietrich, Bishop, Shearer, Whittall, Lattomus, and Norris.
Dietz pressed Wagaman for the lead when the race resumed. It took him a couple of laps to set up his winning pass in turn four. Meanwhile, Dietrich and Bishop moved ahead of Rumsey.
Dewease was another racer making forward progress after the restart. He was thirteenth in the queue when the green light came on again, and he cracked into the top ten on lap fifteen. He gained two more positions in the final ten laps.
Dietz stretched his lead over Wagaman as the laps clicked off. Wagaman remained in second. Dietrich got under Macri for third with three laps remaining in the contest.
Dietz took the checkers almost four and a half seconds ahead of Wagaman. Then came Dietrich, Macri, and Bishop. Whittall, Rumsey, Dewease, Norris, and Ryan Smith completed the top ten.
Rumsey, Dietz, and Bishop took the heat wins. There was no B Main. Wagaman prevailed in the dash. Rumsey was the evening’s fastest qualifier with a lap of 16.715 seconds. It was his first quick time award.
Eli Tuckey survived an early challenge from Austin Reed to get his first career win at the speedway in the 358 Sprint Car division. “I was diving poorly,” Tuckey conceded. “I figured if I could stay next to him (Reed), I could pull it off.” Tuckey adjusted his wing and did exactly that.
Reed held on for second, followed by Chase Gutshall, Derek Locke, and Adam Carberry. Cody Fletcher, Brock Hammaker, Seth Schnoke, Matt Findley, and Tim Wagaman, II rounded out the top ten.
Tuckey, Gutshall, and Schnoke copped the preliminaries. There was no B Main needed to set the starting field.
Cole Young had a spectacular crash at the start of his heat race. His car flipped several times and the front axle was ripped from the car. He was not hurt in the wreck. Brian Wolf, Jr. tipped his car over at the start of his heat. The car was not extensively damaged, and he was not injured. He was able to start the feature.
HARTFORD, OH (July 18, 2026) Sharon Speedway is cancelling Saturday night’s “Steel Valley Thunder” program thanks to a near 100% likelihood of thunderstorms in the forecast from late afternoon through the evening hours including the potential for severe weather.
Sharon made the decision in the best interest of safety for fans, racers, and staff members.
“Super Series” action presented by Bala Management will return next Saturday (July 25) featuring the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply “410” Sprint Cars for $4,000 to-win along with the Hovis UMP Mods presented by A&MP Electric, Gibson Insurance Agency RUSH Sprint Cars, and the Gibson Insurance Agency Crown Vics on Alcon Mechanical and Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Night. Kids Club Night presented by Willy’s World with kids bike and big wheel races. It’s also the first of three Menards Giveaway Nights.
Additional information can be found at www.sharonspeedway.com.
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