Local Racing
Six Opens for Schatz
WILLIAMS GROVE, PA (October 3, 2020): Donny Schatz captured his sixth win in the National Open held at Williams Grove Speedway. The win, which was worth $75,000, was his fifth of the season on the World of Outlaws Sprint tour and his twenty-first career win at the venerable track.
Schatz drove the only Ford-powered car in the field. “When you’re building something from scratch, it takes some time,” he said. He gave props to his team. “People have been working hard,” he noted. The experimental engine seems to work quite well on big tracks, but he acknowledged that they still have some work to do to make it work as effectively on the smaller tracks which make up most of the series schedule.
Schatz had some good luck through the evening. After logging the ninth fastest time in his qualifying group, he was racing second in his heat when the leader, Shane Stewart, suffered a mechanical failure. That got him into the dash, where he finished third. A good pill draw ensured a font row starting spot in the dash and his third place finish in that event got him near the front of the A Main line-up. Thus, he could conserve his equipment through the first half of the feature while keeping the leaders in sight. When it was time to make his move to the front, his car was still fresh.
When his car reached Victory Lane, however, it was a bit worse for wear. On his cool down lap, Schatz was waiving to the fans in on Beer Hill when he clobbered the third turn fence. Despite the bent right front wheel and damaged steering arm, he was able to bring the car around to the front stretch for the customary photo op.
Schatz was not the only racer to overcome a poor qualification time. LoganSchuchart raced from seventh to second in his heat and he snagged a second spot in the dash. Anthony Macri and Brent Marks earned transfers from heat one despite starting eighth and ninth, respectively. Danny Dietrich raced into the A Main from a tenth place start in his heat. Lance Dewease passed seven cars in the B Main to get his spot on the grid and, he passed twelve cars en route to an eleventh place finish in the A Main.
David Gravel and Schuchart were on the front row for the A Main. Jacob Allen and Schatz were in row two. Kyle Larson and Sheldon Haudenschild were in row three. James McFadden and Daryn Pittman occupied row four. Brock Zearfoss and Cory Eliason were in row five, and row six consisted of Kyle Reinhart and Brad Sweet.
At the drop of the green , Schuchart assumed command. He was able to pinch Gravel down to gain the advantage coming off turn four. That strategy worked for him several more times in the early going, as cautions on laps four, eight, and twelve paired them up on the front row three more times. “I tried to hold David down in three and four, but he kept getting better and better,” Schuchart said. “He had too many shots at me and then he got a run on me into turn one.”
Indeed, after running second, Gravel was able to pull off a slider to take the lead with eleven laps in the books. He would lead ten laps before Schatz took control just a few laps before the mandatory fuel stop. Allen and Larson ran in the top five through the break, which came on lap 25.
After the break, Larson had one of the fastest cars on the track. He climbed into third on lap 26 and second one round later. He began to chop into Schatz’ advantage and, with five to go, the tension began to build. With two to go, Larson was within striking distance and Schatz was beginning to have some difficulty getting past the lapped cars. Larson explained, “I was just hoping to be close enough to him when he went to the top in one and two (to try to pass some lapped cars) but we weren’t close enough. Then, I had to go to the top in three and four and I needed a miracle.” Much to the dismay of the huge crowd, though, Larson slapped the wall coming through turn four on the final lap, ending his bid for the win. “I think we had a car capable of winning, but we fell a little short,” he added.
Schuchart followed Schatz and Larson across the line. Gravel held on for fourth. Haudenschild worked up to fifth after falling back in the early going. Pittman took sixth, with Allen, Macri, Marks, and Sweet completing the top ten.
Heat victories were scored by Larson, Allen, Schatz, and Gravel. The B Main winner was Stewart. Tops in the C and D were Spencer Bayston and Troy Wagaman, respectively. The non-qualifiers race went to Chad Trout. Haudenschild was the evening’s fastest qualifier in Group A with a time of 16.685. Stewart was best in Group B with a mark of 17.103.
Williams Grove will be dark until the season opener in 2021. The World of Outlaws will be back in the area next week for the Nittany Showdown to be held at Port Royal Speedway on Friday and Saturday nights.
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
