Local Racing
Marks Makes Most at the Grove; Locke and Drevicki also Score
WILLIAMS GROVE, PA (August 14, 2020): It was a good night to be leading points at Williams Grove Speedway. Each of the three feature winners sat atop the standings in their respective classes. Winning the Billy Kimmel Memorial for the 410 Sprints was Brent Marks. Taking the 358 Sprints was Derek Locke. And, taking the first ever USAC East Coast 360 Sprints was Steve Drevicki.
“It feels good to be at home racing,” said Marks, also known as the Myerstown Missile. “We were going to do a lot more traveling,” he said, “but the virus situation changed that.” Marks had spent the last several seasons touring with the World of Outlaws, and he planned to run a true outlaw schedule, mixing in better paying local events with All Stars and World of Outlaws treks. But Marks has remained close to home while series and track schedules went through radical adjustments. Now, he finds himself leading the points battles at the Grove and at Port Royal Speedway, an unexpected benefit for sure.
The win for Marks was his first of the season at the Grove, and his tenth career win. It was his first since knocking off the National Open last fall. Unfortunately for Marks, though, the track was only giving show-up points this night because the date was penned in after the cancellation of the 2020 Knoxville Nationals. Originally, the Grove was to be dark to allow competitors to journey west. Several drivers did opt to attend the One and Only, the substitute for the 60th running of the Nationals, but the majority of them stayed home to race at the Grove.
The win did not come easy for Marks. “That was a really hard race, it was the hardest that I’ve raced in a while,” he said as he struggled to catch his breath. Marks had to chase down pole sitter Brian Montieth, who led from the outset. “I made a lot of mistakes, Brian made a lot of mistakes.” Marks continued, “I thought that I lost the race, I got bottled up down there (pointing toward turn four) and, then, he did the same thing two laps later.” That enabled Marks to get a good run at Montieth and he nipped him at the flag stand as they registered lap 21. Montieth fought back to regain the lead in turn one, but Marks had the better line and he was able to power off turn two with the lead once and for all.
Montieth was paired up with another hungry veteran, Lucas Wolfe, on the front row for the 25 lapper. Jeff Halligan and Marks were in the second row. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. and Matt Campbell were in the third, and Chad Trout and Tyler Ross were in the fourth. The fifth row was made up of Rick Lafferty and Kyle Reinhardt.
Montieth wasted no time building up a lead over Wolfe. Wolfe could not hold onto second for very long, as he was displaced by Marks and Halligan with a couple of laps in the books. Rahmer nestled into fifth, followed by Campbell, Ross, and Trout.
Montieth survived a pair of restarts, on laps six and seven, brought about by minor incidents.
The final 18 laps were run under the green. Marks closed in on Montieth around the halfway mark. Montieth led by a nose on lap 15, but he was able to open up a few car lengths on his challenger when Marks got hung up behind some lapped cars. But Marks rallied and drew close to Montieh as the laps clicked away.
Things got very exciting over the last five laps. When Montieth got caught behind some slower cars, Marks made his move. He grabbed the lead at the line, but then he had to fight back Montieth’s counterattack in turn one. Marks was able to do so successfully and he held the lead to the end.
Following Marks and Montieth were Campbell, Rahmer, and Trout. Halligan, Zeb Wise, Wolfe, Kyle Moody, and Reinhardt completed the top ten. It was Moody’s first race in several weeks, as he was sidelined with a concussion.
Heat wins were scored by Campbell, Lafferty, and Rahmer. There was no B Main.
In the 358 Sprints, Derek Locke scored his second career win at the Grove in remarkable style. Locke took command just two laps into the race and he cruised to the easy win. Doug Hammaker raced up to second, and he was followed by two-time winner Kevin Nouse. Cody Fletcher was fourth after leading the first two circuits. Zach Newlin was fifth. Dylan Norris, Matt Findley, Chris Frank, Scott Fisher, and Chad Criswell rounded out the top ten.
In the USAC 360 debut, Steve Drevicki scored his first career win at the Grove. He had finished second several times before in different classes of cars, but this was his first feature triumph of any kind at the historic venue. He had to fend off the charge of Alex Bright over the last ten laps. Taking third was a former New York Modified ace, Billy Vaninwegen. Joey Biasi out dueled Carmen Perigo, Jr. for fourth. Early leader Bill Unglert crossed in sixth, followed by Kyle Spence, Bruce Buckwalter, Chris Allen, Jr. and John Stehman.
Next week, Williams Grove will host the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Also on the card will be the 410 Sprint Cars. Coming up soon will be the Jack Gunn Memorial Twin 20s for the All Stars Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars.
IMPERIAL, PA (July 25, 2026) – Michael Norris is back in Victory Lane at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway after winning Saturday night’s Jook George Steel City Classic.
The win was Norris’ fifth in seven events and the Late Model standout from Sarver, PA dedicated the win to his Grandparents.
“I want to dedicate this win to my grandma and grandpa,” said the 34-year-old Norris. “We lost them this year and miss them a lot- this one is for them. My pap would always say I want you to go down there and show them how it’s done and I showed them how it’s done for him.”
The victory was a family affair for Norris, who was driving the ND Motorsports #N1.
“I have to think Nico (Dabecco) and Vinny,” said Norris, Nico’s brother-in-law. “We really changed the car a lot from the Firecracker (Lernerville Speedway June 27) and found some things we needed to address.”
Norris and Kyle Lukon led the 26-car field to the green flag with Norris leading lap 1 but Lukon grabbing the lead on lap and holding it through lap 7.
Norris wasn’t done however, pulling a slider in turn three to lead lap 8. Norris padded his lead the next couple of laps, pulling out over a second over Lukon.
Lukon was slowed when he slid into the wall on lap 15, giving third place Dan Angelicchio the chance to catch up and the battle was on for second.
Lukon slid into the wall a second time on lap 23 and slowed to bring out the caution.
The restart lined Angelicchio up alongside Norris but ‘the crusher kid’ dropped the hammer and was gone. Demetrios Drellos was able to drive around Angelicchio on the outside to take over the runner-up spot, but was never able to get close enough to Norris to challenge in lapped traffic.
“When this track is like this, it’s so much fun and you can race all over it,” Norris explained. “They did a great job on it tonight.”
Norris took home $6,010 for the win and $6,500 for the night to bring his total take home from ‘the Jook’ to $34,000 over his five wins.
“I have to thank Branden (Lockwich),” said Norris. “He does such a great job, puts a lot of effort into this, and tries different things every year to make it better and get more people here. We’ll keep supporting it as long as they keep having it. Thanks to all the fans for coming out and Blair (Cress) for keeping this place open.”
SARVER, PA (July 17, 2026): Alex Ferree survived a caution-filled late Model feature to score his third feature victory of the season at the Lernerville Speedway, where he leads the seasonal points. In the Big Block Modifieds, Garrett Krummert came on strong in the second half of the race to secure his fourth win of the season, vaulting him into the lead in the championship standings. With his win, A.J. Flick expanded upon his slim two point lead in a quest for a tenth title in the 410 Sprint Car ranks. Corey McPherson became the most successful driver in the rich history of the Pro Stock division at the track.
“Running down on the bottom in (turns) one and two was better for me. I didn’t know where to go in (turns) three and four. I didn’t see (Michael Norris) until he came across my nose down there. I didn’t like it, but that’s how it’s done these days.” Fortunately for Ferree, a caution negated the aggressive pass and, then, on the following restart, Norris jumped the cushion in turn one, forcing his retirement from the race with two to go. Ferree kept Jared Miley at bay for the final trips around the Action Track.
Alex Ferree drew the pole position for the Late Model twenty-five lapper. Tyler Wyant was on his flank. Chris Schneider debuted his new machine in the third spot, and he was paired with former Modified kingpin Del Rougeux. Colton Flinner and Jared Miley were in row three. Josh Ferry and Levi Yetter occupied row four, followed by Clinton Hersh and Michael Norris, in row five, and John Garvin and Mike Miller, in row six.
Ferree took the early lead over Wyant, Flinner, and Ferry. Flinner took second in the early going, but he did not challenge Ferree until a restart five laps into the event.
Things heated up after that restart. Flinner and Ferree swapped the lead on several occasions. Ferree took control again by lap ten and he maintained the lead despite a number of restarts.
Flinner faded from the second position, turning the position over to Norris, who was flying on the outside. Ferree switched up his line in turns one and two, running the bottom and driving up to the top coming off turn two to block a flyer from Norris around the rim of the speedway.
In the closing laps, Norris drew closer to Ferree. He threw caution to the wind in turn four with two laps to go. He slid across into the lead, almost crashing himself and Ferree in the process, but a caution negated the wild pass. On the ensuing restart, Norris took to the high lane in turn one, but he jumped the cushion. Whatever damage he sustained by his excursions sidelined him for the remainder of the race.
Miley inherited the second spot, but he had nothing for Ferree. Ferree cruised to the win, followed by Miley, Schaltenbrand, Wyant, and Ferry. Hersh, Rougeux, Schneider, Will Britsky, and Travis Hayes completed the top ten.
Ferree and Norris were the heat race winners. There was no B Main for the nineteen car field.
Dr. Brad Rapp and Jeremiah Shingledecker drew into the first row for the twenty-five lap Modified go. Mike Kinney and Kyle FInk made up row two, followed by Garrett Krummert and rookie Karston King, who was making his first Modified start ever. Steve Feder and Rick Regalski staked out row four, with Rex King, Jr. and Ayden Cipriano, in row five, and Tyler Dietz and Shawn Kozar, in row six.
Rapp took the early lead but he gave way to Shingledecker on the second trip around the speedway. That duo maintained a comfortable advantage over Kinney, Krummert, and Feder through the first several laps.
King Jr. moved into the top five, along with Cipriano in the middle stage of the race, with Krummert still holding fifth place.
Krummert got rolling soon thereafter. He surged into the lead coming off turn two on the thirteenth lap. Shingledecker remained in second, followed by Rapp, King, and Cipriano.
Shingledecker began slipping back in the field as the race progressed to the third stage. However, he rallied to regain a position in the closing laps.
Krummert took the win over Rapp, Cipriano, Shingledecker, and Dave Murdick. King Jr. was sixth, ahead of Dietz, J.C. Boyer, Feder, and Karston King.
“I wasn’t any good at the start of the race,” Krummert said. “I went to the bottom and got going again.”
The preliminaries went to Rex King, Jr., Fink, and Regalski. Cameron Miller was the B Main winner. Twenty-eight cars registered for the event.
The potent first row consisted of A.J. Flick and Dan Kuriger for the Sprint Car twenty-five lap feature event. Then came Dan Shetler and David Kalb. Carl Bowser and Jared Zimbardi started in row three, with John Jerich and Carmen Perigo next in line. Chris Frank made the long tow from Wellsville, in Central PA, to land in row five with Jacob Begenwald. Vivian Jones started her 305 Sprint inside row six, next to Rayce Jacobs.
Flick and Kuriger, the prime contenders for the point championship in the Sprint Car division, battled side by side for most of the first lap. However, Flick assumed command in turn three and he never looked back.
Kuriger ran a strong second place until the final lap of the race. Jerich slipped past him on the last trip around the speedway. Kuriger was third, followed by Begenwald and Perigo. Bowser, Shetler, Frank, Zimbardi, and Jacobs completed the top ten.
“This was probably the most moisture that stayed in the track all night,” Flick said. “I was able to rip the top for the first time since June,” he added.
Kuriger, and Begenwald took the checkers in their heat races. There was no B Main needed for the nineteen Sprints that checked in.
Corey McPherson achieved a career milestone in the Pro Stock division, breaking the tie with Joe Kelly atop the career win list. McPherson was patient in the early laps of the race. He took the lead on lap nine and led the remaining eleven laps.
Logan Koteles and Jason Fosnaught brought the field to the green for the final race of the night. Cody Koteles and McPheson were in row two, followed by Bill Swaney and Joey Zambotti, in row three, and Brett Hutira and Trevor McCann, in row four.
Logan Koteles grabbed the early lead, followed by Cody Koteles, Fosnaught, McPherson, and Zambotti. McPherson moved up to third on lap three, and second on lap six.
McPherson grabbed the lead on lap nine and held it until the end, while Logan Koteles remained in second, and Cody Koteles in third. Hutira and Fosnaught completed the top five. Zambotti, Tyler Schneider, McCann, Bill Swaney, and Jonathan Koteles rounded out the top ten.
Dietz, and Cody Koteles topped their heat races. No B Main was needed to set the seventeen car field.
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.
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