Local Racing
Championship Sunday Coming at Tri-City Raceway Park
FRANKLIN, PA (August 10, 2021): Like a heavyweight title match that has come down to the final round, the regular season championships at Tri-City Raceway Park have come down to the last night of racing. Three of the four divisions are still in doubt and the action will be intense. You will want to be there to see who comes out on top when the checkered flags fall.
Fittingly, the closest match will be in the Shawgo Real Estate LLC 410 Sprint Cars. Jack Sodeman, Jr., the defending champ from North Jackson, OH, started out the season strong. But, he saw his points lead evaporate when he had a rough stretch in the middle of the season. In fact, his rival, Brandon Matus of Wampum, PA, took the lead for one week. However, Sodeman has outpaced the younger Matus in recent weeks and he has regained the lead. Just eight points will separate them when the final night of racing starts. Sodeman and Matus can earn points in the heat races and the feature, so every time one of them hits the track the pressure will be on.
Most other positions through the top ten in the Shawgo Real Estate LLC 410 Sprint rankings are fairly stable and not much change is anticipated there. However, those racers will be seeking the satisfaction and hefty payoff that a win will provide. So, expect to see the likes of Bob Felmlee, Brent Matus, Darin Gallagher, Brandon Spithaler, Logan McCandless, and Leyton Wagner giving it their all. Kyle Colwell, who has missed several weeks of action, may fall from the top ten if Carl Bowser, Bob McMillin, or Ken Rossey have strong showings.
In the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks, it will be experience versus youth in the championship battle. But, this time, it will be three drivers contending for the top spot! Veteran Curtis J. Bish leads teenager Tyler Wyant by eight points as well. And close behind them is veteran Josh Seippel who is only seventeen points out of first place. All three of these drivers have scored wins this season and it just may take another victory for one of them to seal the deal.
But there will be plenty of other racers who will contend for the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stock win. Darr Diegelman has been consistent. William Hurrelbrink was at the top of the standings earlier in the season before some bad luck caused him to drop back. Patrick Fielding will be looking for his first win of the season, as will Curt Bish, Doug Iorio, II, and Josh Blum. Bobby Whitling has a couple of wins to his credit, and could move ahead with another good showing, but his early season absences hampered his overall performance.
Three drivers may also have a shot at the championship in the 4 Your Car Connection Mini Stocks. Justin Bailey has control, with a twenty-four point margin over Dalton Speer. It seems like it was yesterday that the two were fighting tooth and nail for the top spot, but Speer lost ground when he started to have mechanical problems with his car. Chad Greeley, with two recent wins, is closing in from the third position. He is thirty-five points behind the leader and he could move up if he scores another win and if Bailey and Speer have misfortunes.
The 4 Your Car Connection Mini Stocks have been one of the strongest classes at the track all season, so don’t be surprised if there are two dozen or more competitors on Sunday evening.
The Krill Recycling LLC 358 Modified class has been dominated of late by Jeremiah Shingledecker. He won four in a row, and five overall, to build up a sixty-eight point advantage over Jimmy Holden. Shingledecker will be looking to rebound this week after having his winning streak ended. Many others will try to score the prestigious win, including Sid Unverzagt, Jr., who just had his best Tri-City finish ever, a second to New York invader Erick Rudolph. Kevin Hoffman, Kyle Fink, Lonnie Riggs, Max Smoker, Ryan Riffe, and many more local talents will be there to take on other New Yorkers like Nick Joy and Kyle Inman.
The racing will start at 6 p.m. Pit gates will open at 2 and spectator gates will open at 4. Come out early to get your favorite spots to see all the action.
This will be the final Sunday Thunder program of the season, so regular event ticket pricing will apply. Adult admission, for those ages 16 to 62, will be $15. Seniors, ages 62 and up, will be admitted for $13. Student tickets will be $10 for those ages 10 to 16. The children, ages 10 and under, will be admitted for free. Family passes will be $45 and they will benefit two adults of any age and two students. Pit passes will be $30.
There will be no oval track action for the remainder of August. However, there will be a Renegade Monster Truck Show on Saturday, yes, Saturday, August 28. Racing will resume on Labor Day weekend with a night of practice followed by two nights of competition. That will be September 3-5. There will also be a bonfire and music after the races on Sunday night.
Further information about Tri-City Raceway Park can be obtained by calling the track office at 724-967-4601, or by e-mailing the office at tricityracewaypark2020@gmail.com. Or, you can check the web at Tri-CityRacewayPark.com, or the Facebook page at Tri City Raceway Park. Tri-City Raceway Park is located just a few miles north of Franklin, PA, at 3430 State Route 417 in Oakland Township.
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
