ABBOTTSTOWN, PA (October 17, 2026):  Danny Dietrich romped to the win in the Final 50 at Lincoln Speedway. He earned $20,000, which included the $5,000 bonus for leading at the halfway mark. It was his sixty-ninth career win, which is the highest of all active drivers. The Gettysburg driver sits fifth, behind Fred Rahmer, Sr., Steve Smith, Bobby Allen, and Kenny Weld, all of whom are inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

Dietrich, who made a bold outside pass in turn four to go from third to the lead on lap eighteen, explained that he wanted the bonus money. “I was prepared to hit the wall, but I hit some dirt instead, and I got the lead.” He added that Dylan Norris, who simultaneously peeled off to the bottom in his bid to move from second to the lead, “must have used up his tire.”

Dietrich noted that, after taking the lead in such a dramatic fashion, his car started to sputter. “It ran out of fuel under the yellow.”

In addition to adding fuel, Dietrich and company made wholesale changes to his car during the mid-race break. “We changed the whole car.” He mentioned that they went back to the same set-up that he used successfully to advance from seventh to third in his heat race. They also made an adjustment to the motor because he “didn’t want the car to fire off too quickly.” He added, “I wanted to pace myself. I was hoping that it would go non-stop (in the second half).”

The changes worked out perfectly. “The car was really good. It was really fun to drive,” he said. “It was like driving a Cadillac.”

It took three tries to get the race started. There was a false start on the initial attempt. The second was nullified by a spin by Tyler Ross in turn two. The third was the charm, especially for the pole sitter, Brandon Rahmer.

Rahmer established the early lead, with intermittent pressure coming from Dylan Norris. Norris looked to the inside on several occasions. While he was able to pull alongside the leader, he could not get his nose out front. Matt Campbell, Cameron Smith, and Billy Dietrich followed in the early going.

However, Danny Dietrich wasted little time in moving into contention. In just five laps, he climbed from tenth to fifth. He was third by lap ten. He remained there until lap eighteen, which was when he swept around Rahmer and Norris to assume control.

Two other racers were also making tremendous forward progress during the first half of the contest.

Chase Dietz, who started twelfth, reached the top ten on the opening lap. He was eighth at lap five, and seventh on lap ten, when the first caution was displayed for Buddy Schweibinz. Dietz cracked into the top five four laps later. He moved up one more spot by the halfway mark.

Anthony Macri was also on the move. After transferring from the B Main and starting twentieth, Macri was all the way up to tenth by lap ten. He picked up two more positions by lap fifteen and one more by lap seventeen, when the second caution came out for Jude Siegel. Macri was fifth at the break.

The starting order for the second half had Danny Dietrich on the point, followed by Norris, Rahmer, Dietz, Macri, Cameron Smith, Logan Rumsey, Campbell, Troy Wagaman, Jr., and Ryan Smith.

Danny Dietrich drove away from the field in the second half, which did go non-stop. Dietz took third on lap twenty-six and he advanced to second three laps later.

Danny Dietrich stretched his lead despite the lapped traffic. He was able to roll around the outside most of the way, while the slower cars were racing in the middle or on the bottom of the track. Dietz was not as strong as Dietrich was on the top, so he moved down to pick his way through the backmarkers.

Macri battled with Cameron Smith during much of the second half. Macri took third position on lap thirty-one, with Cameron Smith right behind him. They continued their struggle to the finish.

Danny Dietrich had a margin of more than four and a half seconds at the checkers. Dietz was second, followed by Macri, Cameron Smith, and Norris. Justin Whittall, Campbell, Rumsey, Wagaman, and Ryan Smith rounded out the top ten.

The anticipated battle for the Lincoln Speedway championship did not materialize. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. was absent due to an injury suffered Friday at his place of employment. So, Dietz claimed his third track championship of 2026 by default.

Dietz maintained his lead of 112 points in the PA Posse Series. However, Danny Dietrich moved fifteen points ahead of Wagaman for second in the standings. Three races remain on the tour schedule.

Cameron Smith, Rumsey, and Billy Dietrich scored heat race victories. Schweibinz took the B Main in his family-owned car. Norris was the evening’s fastest qualifier, turning in a time of 14.368 seconds. Twenty-nine cars entered the event which closed out the season in the Pigeon Hills.

In the 358 Sprint Car division, Chase Guttshall went wire-to-wire to score his first win of the season and second of his career at Lincoln Speedway. Dylan Smith ran second the entire twenty laps.

Ashley Cappetta was running strong in third place until lap fifteen when she had a mechanical failure. That handed the position to Jayden Wolf who held it to the end of the race. His third place finish was more than enough to secure his first track point title.

Brock Hammaker was fourth, followed by Logan Spahr, Matt Findley, Chase Robinson, Chris Arnold, Steve Owings, and Andy Best.

Tylar Rutherford flipped his mount in turn two during the feature event, collecting several other cars. He was not injured. One of those involved was Cody Fletcher who was second in the points. Fletcher was able to continue, but was never a factor in the race.

Guttshall, Smith, and Findley won the preliminaries. There was no B Main needed to set the twenty-five car field.

SARVER, PA (October 15, 2026):  Rex King Jr. kicked off the Steel City Stampede weekend with a Thursday win in a BRP Modified Tour race held over from September 19.

“That’s just my luck,” King Jr. lamented after being reminded that the race did not award any points toward the series championship. Indeed, after the race was postponed from its original date, Modified Tour officials determined that the make-up date would not be a points race. As such, Erick Rudolph–who was absent on this night–was declared the 2026 series champion.

However, King Jr. also had some good luck in this event.

First, he survived the opening lap. He started next to his son, Karston, who teased his father that he was going to run him up the track in turn one. The boy was not close enough to make good on his good-natured “threat.” In any event, King Jr. admitted that he was not worried about it.

Second, the lap after he lost the lead to Garrett Krummert on a restart required because Karston stopped coming off turn four, King Jr. got a second chance when Rob Kristyak brought out another caution. This time, King Jr. nailed the restart and he rolled through the middle of turns one and two to regain the lead. after the race, King Jr. poked some fun at his son for bringing out the caution that enabled Krummert to take the lead for that one lap. “He almost cost me the race.” King Jr. then added, with a laugh, “he’s got to pull off when daddy’s leading.”

Third, King Jr. brought his mount home in one piece despite suffering a bent steering wheel after he bounced through a rough patch of the track between turns three and four. King Jr. noted that he’s never had a steering wheel get bent due to adverse track conditions. “It got a little rough and it bent my steering wheel. That’s the first time that ever happened to me.”

In conclusion, King Jr. switched back to a jocular mode. “We got to get him (Karston) going so I can get out of this $h!t.”

King Jr. reached turn one well ahead of his son at the start of the thirty-five lapper. This, he was able to establish a lead of several car lengths over the teen on the opening lap. Kyle Fink watched this unfold from his third position. He was followed by Dave Murdick, Macey Adamik, Krummert, Rick Regalski, Colton Walters, Dr. Brad Rapp, and Jackson Kristyak.

Dr. Rapp brought out the first caution, on lap one, with damage to his front suspension.

When the race resumed, Fink got under Karston King for second in the first turn. Krummert then shuffled the third generation driver back to fourth later on lap two.

Chad Brachmann, in a second Regalski entry, triggered the next caution, on lap four.

Fortunately, the yellow fever abated somewhat after that. The racers completed twelve laps under the green, with King Jr. stretching his lead over Fink. Krummert ran in third, followed by Murdick and Karston King.

The caution came back out again for Jackson Kristyak on lap sixteen. This time, the field completed ten laps under the green, with King Jr. again leading the way. At the end of the run, Fink tangled with a lapped car and he sustained a flat tire, ending his night. That elevated Krummert to second for the restart, with Murdick, Walters, Karston King, and Regalski making up the second and third rows.

Unfortunately, a second bout of yellow fever broke out, as cautions on laps twenty-eight and twenty-nine slowed the pace.

Following the lap twenty-eight restart, Krummert repeated his diamond move in turns one and two. This time, the maneuver was successful and he was scored as the leader for one lap. He opted for the inside line for the next restart, and that gave King Jr. the middle groove. King Jr. was called for a jump on that restart but no additional penalty was imposed. Even though King Jr. exercised some patience on the second try, he was able to roll past Krummert in turn one to regain the lead.

The final six laps were completed without further interruptions. King Jr. took the checkers almost three seconds ahead of Krummert. Regalski clawed his way into third, followed by Murdick and Empire State driver Noah Walker. Walters, Ayden Cipriano, Adamik, Karston King, and Rodney Beltz completed the top ten.

The qualifications were completed on September 19 before the rain settled in. Karston King, Krummert, and Steve Feder were the heat winners that night. No B Main was held. Twenty-one of the scheduled twenty-six starters were on hand for the make-up race.

IMPERIAL, PA (September 26, 2026) – Champions Night officially closed the book on the 2026 points season at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile Saturday night, but with two championship battles separated by just one point entering the evening, there was still plenty left to decide.

The Rohrich Parts Center/Chevrolet Performance RUSH Late Model championship came down to three drivers separated by a single point, while the top two in the Auto House Hobby Stocks were also just one point apart as qualifying, nine heat races, a six-lap dash, and six feature events stood between them and a championship.

Adding even more to the night were the Josh Langer Memorial for the Auto House Hobby Stocks, the Crawford Auto Repair SCDRA Sport Compact Shootout, and a Super Late Model tune-up ahead of the upcoming Pittsburgher 100.

Alex Ferree (1C), from Saxonburg, captured the Super Late Model feature; Ben Easler (02), from Linesville, scored his first Rohrich Parts Center/Chevrolet Performance RUSH Late Model victory; and defending champion Brandon Burgoon (5X) survived the razor-thin points battle to claim another division championship.

Stephen Shelpman (17P), from Bethel Park, won the Josh Langer Memorial and secured his sixth Auto House Hobby Stock track championship, while AJ Poljak (36), from Baldwin, added another Kehm Oil Penn Ohio Pro Stock victory and wrapped up his fourth track title.

Josh Frantz (114), from Reynoldsville, claimed the Crawford Auto Repair SCDRA Sport Compact Shootout; Bill Tennant (2), from Colliers, West Virginia, earned the division championship; Kane Zupancic (11), from Collier, scored his first career Young Guns victory; and Ryleigh Heasley (212), from Beaver, was crowned the Young Guns track champion.

Defending track champion Brandon Burgoon (5X) entered Saturday night with a one-point lead over Tom Klein (77), from Rochester, and Clinton Hersh (16), from Somerset, setting up a three-way fight for the Rohrich Parts Center/Chevrolet Performance RUSH Late Model championship.

With 19 RUSH Late Models on hand, the field was split into two heat races with the top four from each advancing to the redraw.

Burgoon started second in heat one, while Hersh started third and Klein ninth in heat two, and when the heats were complete, Burgoon and Hersh had earned redraw spots while Klein missed the cut by just one position.

Hersh drew the pole for the 20-lap feature with Colby Beighey (36), from Romulus, Michigan, alongside him, while Ben Easler (02), from Linesville, and Philip Bubeck (4), from Colliers, West Virginia, made up row two.

Burgoon rolled off fifth with the championship lead hanging by a thread, while Klein started tenth with plenty of work ahead of him.

When the green flag dropped, Easler and Hersh raced side by side for the lead before Easler gained the advantage on lap two, just as the first caution of the event slowed the field.

Easler chose the inside for the restart and held the lead when racing resumed, but another caution on lap four forced the field to regroup once again.

The next restart barely made it through turns one and two before another caution brought out a complete restart, keeping the field packed together and the championship battle very much alive.

When racing finally resumed, Easler again led the charge while Daryl Charlier (42), from Midway, moved into second, Marino Angelicchio (55), from Greensburg, climbed to third, and Hersh slipped back to fourth.

Cautions at the halfway point on lap 10 and again on lap 12 gave Charlier more chances to challenge, but Easler continued choosing the inside lane and continued holding the field behind him.

From there, Easler controlled the final eight laps and raced to his first Rohrich Parts Center/Chevrolet Performance RUSH Late Model feature victory.

Charlier finished second, Hersh crossed the line third, Burgoon came home fourth, and Angelicchio rounded out the top five.

But when the checkered flag fell, the race for the win was over while the championship still needed one final calculation.

Hersh and Burgoon finished the season tied in points, sending the championship to the tiebreaker of most feature wins during the season.

Burgoon held three victories to Hersh’s zero, giving Burgoon the tiebreaker and his second consecutive Rohrich Parts Center/Chevrolet Performance RUSH Late Model track championship.

Heat race victories went to Brandon Burgoon and Philip Bubeck.

Alex Ferree (1C), from Saxonburg, set the fast time for the Super Late Models with a lap of 17.515 seconds, while Colton Flinner (48), from Allison Park, was close behind at 17.614.

Following the redraw, Flinner started on the pole for the 25-lap feature with Levi Yetter (10), from Cabot, alongside him in second, while Michael Norris (72), from Sarver, and Ferree made up row two.

When the green flag dropped, Ferree quickly moved to the front with Flinner settling into second and Norris running third.

By lap nine, Ferree had stretched his advantage to 2.240 seconds over Flinner, Norris, and the rest of the field.

Norris moved into second on lap 12 and began cutting into Ferree’s advantage, trimming the gap to 1.929 seconds by lap 16.

Just as Norris appeared to be closing in, lapped traffic slowed his charge and gave Ferree the opportunity to rebuild his advantage with five laps remaining.

Ferree controlled those final five circuits and went on to score the Super Late Model feature victory in his final tune-up before the Pittsburgher 100.

Norris finished second, Flinner came home third, Kyle Lukon finished fourth, and Yetter rounded out the top five.

Ferree also picked up the heat race victory.

Garrett O’Patchen (25), from Scott Township, entered Saturday night with a one-point lead over Stephen Shelpman (17P), from Bethel Park, setting up a winner-take-all feeling for the Auto House Hobby Stock championship during the Josh Langer Memorial.

O’Patchen struck first by setting the fast time with a lap of 23.724 seconds, while Shelpman was right behind him at 23.751.

Following qualifying, the field was split into two heat races with the top three from each advancing to the six-lap dash.

Adam Kostelnik (25A), from East McKeesport, started on the pole for the dash with O’Patchen alongside him, while Leroy Brown (40B), from Aliquippa, and Shelpman made up row two.

O’Patchen won the dash with Shelpman finishing second, putting the two championship contenders side-by-side on the front row for the 15-lap Josh Langer Memorial.

Kostelnik started third with Brown alongside him in fourth, but the field could not complete the opening lap before a caution forced a complete restart.

On the second attempt, Shelpman and O’Patchen raced door-to-door for the lead before Shelpman gained the advantage on lap two.

A caution on lap five erased that advantage, and Shelpman chose the outside for the restart with O’Patchen lining up underneath him.

When green replaced yellow, O’Patchen used the inside line to wrestle the lead away, putting the championship advantage back in his hands.

Shelpman refused to let him get away, however, and the two championship contenders raced side-by-side again from laps seven through nine before Shelpman reclaimed the lead at the completion of lap nine.

O’Patchen stayed glued to Shelpman over the final six laps, leaving both the Josh Langer Memorial and the track championship hanging in the balance all the way to the checkered flag.

Shelpman held him off to win the Auto House Hobby Stock Josh Langer Memorial, while O’Patchen crossed the line a close second; Joe Brown Jr. finished third, Marc Corio finished fourth, and Leroy Brown rounded out the top five.

The victory also gave Shelpman his sixth Auto House Hobby Stock track championship.

Heat race victories went to Garrett O’Patchen and Stephen Shelpman.

AJ Poljak (36), from Baldwin, started on the pole for the 15-lap Kehm Oil Penn Ohio Pro Stock feature with Dale Tuche (310), from Cheswick, alongside him in second.

Daryl Charlier (74) started third, while Brandon Connor (55C), from Penfield, completed row two in fourth.

Poljak wasted no time taking control at the drop of the green flag, and by lap three he had already built a 2.679-second advantage with Charlier running second and Tuche third.

From there, nobody could reel him back in as the feature stayed green from start to finish and Poljak led every lap of the event.

Poljak went wire-to-wire for the victory, giving him an incredible 17 feature wins since the start of the 2025 season.

The win also capped another dominant season, with Poljak securing yet another Kehm Oil Penn Ohio Pro Stock track championship.

Charlier finished second, Tuche came home third, Jason Fosnaught finished fourth, and Nick Kocuba rounded out the top five.

Poljak also picked up the heat race victory.

Seventeen Crawford Auto Repair SCDRA Four Cylinders were on hand for the Sport Compact Shootout, with Anthony Uddstrom (18U), from Pittsburgh, starting on the pole for the 15-lap feature and Josh Frantz (114), from Reynoldsville, alongside him in second.

Camden Frantz (158), from Reynoldsville, started third, while Adam Bales (626), from Knoxdale, completed row two in fourth.

When the green flag dropped, Josh Frantz immediately jumped to the lead and quickly began separating himself from the field.

Early in the event, Frantz had already opened a 3.410-second advantage over Camden Frantz in second, and the gap continued to grow as the laps clicked away.

By lap 11, Josh Frantz had stretched his lead to 4.015 seconds with Camden Frantz still holding second, David Seibert Jr. (777) running third, and Bales fourth.

With nobody able to mount a challenge, Josh Frantz led every lap and crossed the finish line 4.553 seconds ahead of the field to win the Crawford Auto Repair SCDRA Four Cylinder Sport Compact Shootout.

Camden Frantz finished second, Bales came home third, Seibert Jr. finished fourth, and Uddstrom rounded out the top five.

Adam Bales and Josh Frantz picked up the heat race victories.

When the night was complete, Bill Tennant (2), from Colliers, West Virginia, was crowned the Crawford Auto Repair SCDRA Four Cylinder track champion.

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), from New Cumberland, West Virginia, completed the four-car field in fourth.

When the green flag dropped, Zupancic jumped to the early lead with Heasley quickly moving into second and settling directly onto his rear bumper.

Heasley stayed within striking distance for all 10 laps, but Zupancic never gave him the opening he needed.

On this night, the spotlight belonged to Zupancic as he led every lap and raced to his first career Young Guns feature victory.

Heasley finished second, Greynolds came home third, and Bennett rounded out the top four.

Zupancic also picked up the heat race victory.

While Zupancic celebrated his breakthrough win, Heasley capped the season by being crowned the Young Guns track champion.