Local Racing
Spithaler, Tom Holden, Seippel, and Dillon Speer Prevail at Tri-City
FRANKLIN, PA (July 5, 2020 – Pittsburgh Racing Now): Brandon Spithaler cruised to his second 410 Sprint Car win of the season at Tri-City Raceway Park. Spithaler benefited form a front-row starting spot, but he had to chase down Darin Gallagher and wrestle the lead away from him in traffic. Once that was accomplished, Spithaler ran away from the field to earn $2,000.
Joining him in victory celebrations were Tom Holden in the 358 Modifieds, Josh Seipple in the Pro Stocks, and Dillon Speer in the Mini Stocks.
Gallagher and Spithaler had the prime starting positions in the 25 lap 410 Sprint Car feature. Jeremy Kornbaugh and Brandon Matus were in the second row, with Jack Sodeman, Jr. flanked by last week’s winner, Carl Bowser. Dan Kuriger started in row four, his best starting spot of the season so far. He was joined by Michael Bauer. Then came Gary Kriess, Jr. and Cody Bova.
Gallagher jumped out to an early lead and, for a while, it appeared as though the Butler driver would snare his first career 410 victory. But Spithaler stayed close while Sodeman, Brandon Matus, and Bowser fought for position.
Gallagher and Spithaler distanced themselves from the rest of the field. When the leaders reached lapped traffic, Spithaler found another groove and picked up speed. He passed Gallagher and opened up a considerable margin while continuing to put slower cars behind him. Spithaler was consistently a half a second faster than his rivals, despite the fact that he was experiencing brake failure.
As the race progressed, Kuriger began to move ahead and soon he was challenging Sodeman for second. Bauer also moved forward while Gallagher began to fade.
Sodeman had several shots at Spithaler in the closing laps due to late race cautions. But Spithaler was up to the task each time.
At the finish, it was Spithaler, Sodeman, Kuriger, Bowser, and Bauer. Gallagher held on for sixth. He was followed by Brandon Matus, Bova, Brent Matus, and Davey Jones. Jones passed nine cars to reach the top ten.
Tom Holden had the pole position for the 358 Modified feature event, but he had to battle with Lonnie Riggs and Kyle Fink to earn the win, his second of the season. Riggs and Fink each had multiple shots at the leader, but neither of them could deliver a knock-out blow. Jeff Schaffer, Jr., Jimmy Holden, and Kevin Hoffman were also in the mix, but Jimmy Holden and Hoffman got tangled up and had to go to the rear and, then, Holden had another single-car mishap that sent him to the rear. Holden and Hoffman both overcame their difficulties and managed to salvage decent results.
Tom Holden was followed by Riggs, Fink, and Jimmy Holden, last week’s winner. Schaffer was fifth. Then came Hoffman, consistent Kevin Green, Dave Schrader, Jr., Don Cornelius, and Todd Gabriel.
Two was the hot number this night, as Josh Seippel also scored his second win of the season in the Pro Stock division. He had to fend off Curtis J. Bish, Rod Laskey, Leigh Wheeler, and Blaze Myers.
Dillon Speer was also a repeat winner, but this time it was his fourth triumph. Pat Hanlon, Dave Greeley, Terry Feeley, and David Lowe completed the top five.
Garrett Davenport, age nine, drove his Jerry Schaffer Racing entry to victory ahead of Grady Reinhart, Randy White-Majors, Bella Begenwald, and Jacob Begenwald to score his first win in the Junior Sprints.
Tri-City Raceway Park will be back in action this Sunday with a four division show. The 410 Sprints will have the night off in defernce to Sharon Speedway, which will close out Ohio Sprint Speedweek. Taking the place of the winged warriors will be the Super Late Models. The 358 Modifieds, Pro Stocks, and Mini Stocks will also be competing.
PITTSBURGH, PA (May 3, 2024) Rain is forcing local tracks to cancel their events this weekend.
Lernerville Speedway was the first to pull the plug on Friday’s program after late afternoon showers and an ominous forecast forced the tracks hand. Racing returns to ‘The Action Track’ on Friday, May 10 as the Jay’s Automotive ULMS Late Models take center stage, complemented with the remaining Fab4 racing divisions.
Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway was next to throw in the towel. PPMS and BRP Modified Tour officials made the difficult but necessary decision to cancel the BRP Big Block Modifieds + Cinco De Mayo Fiesta event. The event will not be rescheduled. All tickets purchased online will be fully refunded. PPMS and BRP look forward to scheduling a 2025 date! PPMS hopes to be able to get in Nostalgia Night and Action Event next Saturday.
Rain late Friday evening and through the early morning hours on Saturday brought over a half-inch (0.51) of rain to Latrobe Speedway, forcing the cancellation of Saturday’s (May 4) FAST-Five racing program. The rain gauge at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, just 2 miles away, continues to record the rain. The airport forecast calls for an 80 % chance of showers, mainly before 1 pm, and a 100% chance of showers continuing again tonight.
Next Saturday, May 11, Latrobe plans to hold the Dave Kittey Memorial ULMS Super Late Models. The 30-lap $4,000-to-win feature also offers bonuses for ULMS racers. The FASTrak Pro Late Models, the Joe’s Body Shop & Towing Pure Stocks, the Special T Metals LLC Modified 4 Cylinders, and the Marilungo Disposal LLC Strictly Stock 4 Cylinders will also be on the card.
SARVER, PA (April 26, 2024) AJ Flick picked up his first Peoples Natural Gas Sprint Car win of 2024 at Lernerville Speedway on Friday night and Michael Norris made it back-to-back wins in the Late Model Division.
Flick started fourth on the grid and passed leader and pole-sitter Carl Bowser using the bottom side on lap 8 while Bowser worked the high side. Bowser wouldn’t go away easily, pulling side-by-side with Flick at the halfway mark. Flick eventually was able to hold Bowser at bay, building a three-second lead as he encountered lap traffic.
A caution flag with five-laps-to-go bunched up the field but Flick got an impressive restart and kept the field at bay to pick up the victory. Bowser finished second and Michael Bauer finished third after starting eighth.
“I didn’t expect it to slick off as much as it did,” Flick said about the track conditions. “It was odd because it wasn’t really wide but yet the actual racing groove was getting slick and starting to come in already. I missed it in the heat race, but come feature time it seems like we’re starting to dial it in a bit more.”
Norris started 10th and put on a clinic coming through the field to make it two straight at ‘The action Track.’
“Luck was on our side tonight,” Norris said. “I always seem to have late race cautions. Thanks to John Garvin for leaving me a lane, he got me pretty good on that last restart but I knew as long as I could be even with him going into turn one, the top was so good and it was.”
Erick Rudolph made the trip to Sarver from Ransomville, New York and it paid off. Rudolph took home the feature victory in the Diehl Automotive Big Block Modified main event.
“There’s something about Lernerville Speedway,” said Rudolph. “It’s one of my favorite tracks in the country and anytime we get a chance to come down here it’s always something we look forward to.”
Tyler Dietz proved to be the class of the field once again, garnering his first feature win in the Millerstown Pic-A-Part Pro Stock main event. Dietz survived a late race restart and held off front row starter Tim Bish and a hard charging Chris Schneider to grab the checkered flag.
“I kind of thought that he (Bish) was going to take the bottom,” Dietz stated, remarking about the crucial restart. “I was hoping he would go high because I think I was better up high but I just never got the chance to go up there.”
PITTSBURGH, PA (April 24, 2025) The Historic Stock Car Racing Association (HSCRA) is joining the lineup of racing groups at this year’s Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix (PVGP) Historics at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. This is the first time the HSCRA will race in the PVGP Historics 3-day weekend, July 26 to 28, 2024.
“We are thrilled to welcome the HSCRA to our 2024 event,” said Dan DelBianco, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. “Their participation not only broadens the appeal of the PVGP Historics but also aligns with our mission to celebrate all automotive history. This is a fantastic opportunity for race fans of all types to witness the power and beauty of historic stock cars in action.”
The HSCRA, renowned for its commitment to preserving and celebrating the history of stock car racing, will bring a new dimension to the PVGP Historics. The group is open to all stock cars that ran in one of the major NASCAR series.
“The HSCRA is anxious to bring NASCAR to Pittsburgh,” said Carlus Gann of HSCRA. “We look forward to making this a regular stop on our tour. Western Pennsylvania has deep roots in racing, and building a world-class track at Pitt Race in Beaver County makes it a perfect fit.”
The most popular class is Generation 4 Cup cars built for the 1992-2007 seasons. During this era, teams built a few cars for the two road courses on the schedule.
“We are hoping for a full field of meticulously restored stock cars,” added Chris Evans of the HSCRA. “Former NASCAR winners like Joe Nemechek and a competitive lineup of today’s top historic stock car drivers will be on hand.”
Gary Moore, a seasoned participant in over a dozen PVGP races, knows the intricacies and challenges of the Pitt Race track. Moore will be showcasing his 1969 Mercury Cyclone (right), victoriously driven by Cale Yarborough, exclaiming, “It’s quite the adventure behind the wheel!”
The HSCRA will have a practice session in the morning and a qualifying race in the afternoon on Friday, July 26. A morning and afternoon practice session on Saturday, July 27. Sunday, July 28 will see the HSCRA have a short morning warm-up prior to being one of the featured Sunday afternoon races.
The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Motorsport Festival features two weekends of racing action. The first weekend is the PVGP Historics at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The second weekend is racing through a 2.33-mile road course set on the streets of Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park. In addition to the race weekends, the PVGP stages car shows, parties, road rallies, and a black-tie formal. The PVGP’s mission is to provide residential care, treatment and support for people with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities – donating $6.7 million to charity since 1983.
Dewease and Hammaker Get First Wins for New Car Owners at Williams Grove Speedway
Mother Nature winning the weekend as local tracks cancel events
McLaughlin goes back-to-back at Barber Motorsports Park
Macri Gets Third Straight Kauffman Classic at Port Royal; Amantea and Craig Perigo Also Score
Flick, Norris, Rudolph and Dietz Victorious at Lernerville
Borden Thrills at Port Royal; Robinson, Covert, and Hart also Score
Team Penske Penalized for St. Pete Infractions. Newgarden Stripped Of Win
Historic Stock Cars to run at Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway Cancels Saturday Program; Pivots To Flood Relief Drive
