Local Racing
Miley Wins Late Model Feature At Lernerville But Schaltenbrand Wins Championship
SARVER, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – Fab4 racing took center stage Friday night as the battle for track championships continued at Lernerville Speedway.
The Precise Racing Products Late Models feature had trouble getting going as the yellow flag flew after one lap was in the books. Tommy Beck was leading followed by points-leader Ken Schaltenbrand and Chris Schneider and Colton Flinner. Disaster struck for Flinner two laps later when he shredded a rear tire while Jayme Beck and Brandon Wearing went off the back of track in turn three.
Schaltenbrand led Tommy Back, Schneider and Tyler Dietz when the racing resumed on lap 5. Jared Miley, who started 13th, moved into the Top 5 on lap 7 behind Schaltenbrand and Beck.
Miley passed Beck on lap 10 to move into the second spot and set his sights on Schaltenbrand. Miley caught Schaltenbrand on lap 17 and took the lead but Schaltenbrand took it right back when the caution flag flew for Jon Myers.
Schaltenbrand led the field back to green followed by Miley, Andrew Wiley and Clayton Kennedy. The lead was short lived as Miley took the lead with 7-laps to go and never looked back, finishing 4.052-seconds ahead of Schaltenbrand for the victory. Schaltenbrand’s second place finish guaranteed him the 2019 track Championship, his first career Lernerville Championship! Wyllie came home in third place to round out the podium.
Apollo’s Sye Lynch led the Peoples Natural Gas Sprints field to the green flag and led the first four laps when the caution flag came out for Clay Riney, who slid off the track in turn two while running second. AJ Flick was in second place followed by Brandon Spithaler in third.
Lynch led the field to the green flag again and two laps later the caution was back out for Gale Ruth, who slowed in turn two. Flick and Spithaler continued to follow with points-leader Jack Sodeman Jr. moving into fourth from his tenth starting position.
The restart saw Lynch and Flick racing side-by-side with Flick making his way around Lynch with seven laps in the books. Sodeman moved into third place at the midway point of the feature followed by Carl Bowser, who had worked his way up from his seventh starting spot.
Flick continued his charge through the field and lapped traffic while Bowser got around Sodeman and set his sights on Lynch. Bowser passed Lynch with 5-laps to go and set his sights on Flick. Flick by that point pulled out to a full straightway lead and cruised to a 6.2-second victory over Bowser. Sodeman finished third to maintain his points lead.
The Diehl Automotive Big Block Modifieds feature saw Dave Murdick pick up the victory, his first visit to Terry Bowser Excavating Victory Lane since 2014. Points leader Brian Swartzlander looked like he was going to take the checkered flag but contact with the front stretch wall and a shredded tire ended those hopes. Swartzlander managed to return to the track and finished sixth, leaving him tied with Rex King Jr for the season championship. King Jr finished third as the Modified track Championship will be decided next week.
Joey Zambotti captured the checkered flag in the Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar/RUSH Pro Stock feature passing leader Tyler Dietz with three laps remaining. Dietz finished second to take the points lead over Corey McPherson, who finished fifth.
Three of the four track championships remain up for grabs heading into next week’s Championship Night.
Tickets and information are available at www.lernerville.com.
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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