Local Racing
Reutzel Races to Win at Williams Grove
WILLIAMS GROVE, PA (September 18, 2020): Aaron Reutzel returned to victory lane at Williams Grove Speedway in the Jack Gunn Memorial at Williams Grove Speedway. The two-time and defending titleholder for the All Stars Circuit of Champions solidified his position atop the standings in his quest for a third consecutive crown. Reutzel explained that this race was a key to his run for the championship in 2019 and that he believes this win could do the trick for him again.
“Our car was phenomenal tonight. I could move around, I could blast around the top and I could run around the bottom.” Reutzel was forced to move around because “(Brian) Brown was using the whole track. Then, Gio (Scelzi) went up and I went down.” Reutzel was patient in making his pass of Scelzi for the lead, however, noting that he had difficulty getting past Brown for second “and I didn’t want to try to make a move too soon.”
Brown and Scelzi started on the front row for the A Main. Paul McMahan and Reutzel were in row two, with Kyle Larson and Zeb Wise in the third row. Kerry Madsen was lined up beside Dylan Cisney, with Ian Madsen and Cory Eliason next in the starting order. Brent Marks and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. had row six covered.
Brown had the early advantage, but it did not take long for Scelzi to get by the 2020 Knoxville Raceway champion. Reutzel moved into third on the opening lap, followed by McMahan and Larson.
Things were pretty much in order until lap eight. That was when Reutzel maneuvered past Brown. Larson tried to get by Brown at that time as well, but was unable to make the pass.
Reutzel began to stalk Scelzi, who was still riding the rim of the speedway. Reutzel moved to the bottom line and suddenly began to pick up speed. With thirteen laps completed, he drove deep into turn one and the car stuck. He drove right past the youngest driver ever to win at the Grove and never looked back.
Meanwhile, Brown and Larson were putting on quite a show racing for the third position. By this time, Brown was also committed to the inside line and Larson was flogging the cushion. Back and forth they went as neither driver was able to seize the spot for good.
In the second half of the race, Wise picked up his pace and he advanced to fifth. He appeared to be gaining on Brown and Larson, who were still fighting for third. The youngster’s strong performance came to an end, however, when he suffered a flat right rear tire with 28 of the 30 laps complete.
The late caution was a concern to the leader, Reutzel. “I wanted to keep it going,” he said. He was concerned that there could be a rash of flat tires, which could send the race into overtime, as series rules call for the last two laps to run under the green. Also, Reutzel was afraid that he could be the next racer to get a flat tire due to the hard and slick track conditions.
His concerns were for naught. He was able to complete the last two rounds without incident. Three others were not as fortunate, including Brown, whose flat tire ended his battle with Larson for the third position. Also getting flats on the past lap were Brock Zearfoss, who was in the top ten, and Brian Montieth.
At the checkers, it was Reutzel over Scelzi and Larson. McMahan crossed in fourth and Marks was fifth. Anthony Macri, Danny Dietrich, Kerry Madsen, Rahmer, and Cisney completed the top ten.
Scelzi was dejected about finishing second. “This sucks. I let my guys down. When I couldn’t get those lapped cars, I should have moved down sooner.” Larson knew that the bottom was starting to take rubber, “but I wasn’t going to be content running single file. I started catching those guys (referring to Reutzel and Scelzi), but they were in the rubber.”
The four heat wins went to Brown, Wise, McMahan, and Reutzel. The B Main went to Chad Trout. Dash victories were scored by Brown and Scelzi. Scelzi was also the fastest qualifier of the evening, clocking in an early lap of 16.742 seconds.
The 305 Sprint Cars presented a 20 lap feature to end the night. Jaremi Hanson went wire to wire for the win. Ken Duke climbed to second. John Walp brought his sputtering car home in third.
Williams Grove will be back in action next Friday, with the final tune-up for the National Open, which will be sanctioned by the World of Outlaws. The September 25 program will include the 410 and 358 Sprint divisions. The National Open will close out the season at Williams Grove on October 2 and 3.
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 2. 18-Gio Scelzi [2]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson [5]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 5-Brent Marks [11]; 6. 39M-Anthony Macri [14]; 7. 48-Danny Dietrich [17]; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen [7]; 9. 51-Freddie Rahmer [12]; 10. 5C-Dylan Cisney [10]; 11. 17-Ian Madsen [8]; 12. 26-Cory Eliason [9]; 13. 27S-Adrian Shaffer [19]; 14. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [21]; 15. 24-Rico Abreu [15]; 16. 14-Tony Stewart [18]; 17. 1X-Chad Trout [20]; 18. 24w-Lucas Wolfe [25]; 19. 21M-Brian Montieth [22]; 20. 99-Skylar Gee [16]; 21. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [13]; 22. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 23. 11-Zeb Wise [6]; 24. 1W-Matt Campbell [23]; 25. 11T-TJ Stutts [24]; 26. 55K-Robbie Kendall [26] Lap Leaders: Gio Scelzi (1-13), Aaron Reutzel (14-30)
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.
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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
