Dirt Racing
Borden and Weller Win at Williams Grove
WILLIAMS GROVE, PA (April 29, 2022): Devon Borden raced to victory in the 410 Sprint Cars at Williams Grove Speedway. His bid to win the nightcap in the United Racing Club 360 Sprint challenge with the track’s 358 Sprint Cars ended for all intents and purposes when he was involved in a multi-car crash in turn one with a single lap in the books. While the young Washington state driver was able to restart at the rear of the field, he could only get to fourth in the finale. The victory went to former URC champion Josh Weller instead.
“I felt like I was spinning my tires and I felt like I needed to move up,” Borden said. After taking to the top of the speedway, Borden acknowledged that he “was a lot faster.” Borden was chased most of the way by veteran Mark Smith and, when the race was restarted with four laps remaining, they had two former track champions stacked up behind them. Borden was not flustered by the talented racers behind him. “I wasn’t thinking about what was behind me, I was just thinking about hitting my marks. I just had to do my job.”
Borden had the pole position as a result of his victory in the first of two heat races. Next to him was the other heat winner, Brett Shearer. Tyler Ross and Smith were in row two, with Rick Lafferty and Alan Krimes in the third. Row four had Justin Whittal paired with Freddie Rahmer, Jr. Kyle Moody and Aaron Bollinger were in row five. Brandon Rahmer and Lucas Wolfe made the top twelve for the start of the twenty-five lapper.
Borden took the early lead over Shearer, Smith, Ross, Krimes, and Lafferty. The racers only completed one lap before Bollinger took a nasty spill between turns three and four. Bollinger climbed out of the mangled car unscathed.
When the action resumed, Borden found himself out front again, with Shearer, Smith, and Ross trailing. Krimes led the Rahmer brothers and current points leader, Dylan Norris. Freddie Rahmer was on the move, cracking the top five on lap seven. Smith was advancing as well, taking over second just one lap later.
Through the middle stage of the race, Borden stretched his lead over Smith. Shearer held onto third, but Rahmer was coming on. He reached fourth just before the halfway signal was shown to the field.
Danny Dietrich was coming on as well. He started in seventeenth position due to his early retirement from his heat race. He was lurking just outside the top five when the crossed flags were displayed. Within a lap or two, he was into the fifth spot.
Dietrich reached fourth by lap 20, and he caught a break one lap later when the final caution was shown for Krimes, who stopped in a cloud of smoke or vapor in turn four.
In the final four laps, Dietrich was the fastest car on the track, reaching second before the checkered flag was waived. Smith edged out Freddie Rahmer for the third position. Ross placed fifth. Brandon Rahmer, Whittal, Wolfe, Dylan Cisney, and Shearer completed the top ten.
In the URC/358 challenge, Derek Hauck and Tyler Brehm brought the field to the green flag. They were followed by Borden and Doug Hammaker. Steve Buckwalter and Nash Ely made up row three, with Troy Betts and Adam Carberry next in line. Josh Weller and Derek Locke were in row five and Lucas Wolfe and Jason Shultz were in row six.
With the field approaching the starting zone, Betts slowed and Wolfe checked up. However, Wolfe spun to the inside guardrail while Betts limped along. Both racers were able to restart the event, but they were moved to the rear of the field.
When the green light came on for real, Hauck and Brehm were racing side by side for the lead. They remained in formation as they entered turn one with a lap complete, but the cars got together and they slid across the track, collecting Hammaker and Borden. Somehow, Hauck kept his car moving and he was not charged with any responsibility for the caution that followed.
Hauck was awarded the pole for the double-file restart, with Buckwalter in second, followed by Ely, Weller, Carberry, and Jake Karklin.
Buckwalter rolled through turns one and two on the high side and emerged with the lead. Weller was into second, followed by Hauck, Ely, and Locke.
Just before halfway, Weller slipped under Buckwalter for the lead. Hauck remained in third, but Ely was battling with Locke for fourth. Meanwhile, Borden was steadily advancing through the pack. He was up to sixth by lap fifteen and he picked up another position just before the final caution came out with eight laps to go.
Weller completed the remaining laps without incident. Buckwalter was second, with Locke third. Borden gained one more position in the stretch run. Fifth went to Hauck. Wolfe, Ely, Schulz, Karklin, and Cody Fletcher completed the top ten.
“We struggled for a couple of years here,” Weller said. “I thought that we could do it, we put in a set-up to run the bottom,” and, as the race progressed, he was the only racer using that line. “I knew that we were good enough to stay there if we didn’t make any mistakes.” Weller almost made a critical error before teh final caution. Hw moved to the middle to try to pass a lapper in turn three, and Buckwalter closed rapidly. Welelr could not make the pass, and Buckwalter was ready to pounce just as the caution light flashed on when another backmarker spun in front of the leaders. With no lapped traffic to contend with in teh final rounds, Weller maintained his advantage over Buckwalter.
Heat winners were Carberry, Shultz, Hauck, and Buckwalter. Mike Thompson took the B Main. There were thirty-two 360/358 Sprinters on hand.
Next week, Williams Grove will present a 410 and 358 Sprint doubleheader. It will be a time-trial show to get ready for the World of Outlaws invasion on May 13 and 14. Another doubleheader will be held on May 20. The Randy Wolfe Tribute will close out the month of May with the All Stars Circuit of Champions in the house.
PITTSBURGH, PA (May 18, 2024) – Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway and Latrobe Speedway are cancelling their Saturday programs because of rain.
“We can’t get a break,” said SNB Promotions Dennis Bates. “The speedway grounds are too wet after Friday’s storms. We are looking forward to the next Blue Collar Night at the Races on August 10.”
Next Saturday Latrobe Speedway plans the Memorial Day Clash as the Penn Ohio Pro Stocks Touring Series returns to Latrobe. They will be joined by 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.
“Heavy overnight rains and saturated grounds have forced us to cancel tonight’s Action Event + RUSH Sportsman Modifieds event,” PPMS said in a statement. “This marks our third consecutive cancelation.”
Next Saturday PPMS plans the Choice for Change Action Event + RUSH Sprint Cars.
They’re not the only ones. Lernerville Speedway was forced to cancel Friday night, which was the third week in-a-row for ‘The Action Track’. The make up date for the BRP Modified Tour portion will be held on July, 26.
MECHANICSBURG, PA (May 17, 2024): Lucas Wolfe had to play defense in the final five laps of the 410 Sprint Car race, but the strategy paid off. He captured his first win of the season at Williams Grove Speedway. But, getting his first career win at the track was Andy Best in the 358 Sprint Cars.
“I did see him (Freddie Rahmer, Jr.), he was beside me, but I had good enough traction coming off turn two, and I got to three ahead of him,” Wolfe said. Rahmer was not done, though. With Wolfe stuck behind a lapped car, Rahmer took to the outside in an unsuccessful attempt to overtake the leader. “I had trouble getting by a lapped car, so I took the ‘all over line,’” Wolfe added. His final defensive maneuver was to crowd Rahmer going down the backstretch with two to go.
Kyle Reinhardt and Wolfe were on the front row under the point average handicapping system employed for this race. Devon Borden and Chad Trout were in row two. Tim Wagaman, Jr. and Rahmer were the final cars subject to the handicap. Row four consisted of Dylan Cisney and Ryan Wilson. Jeff Halligan and Jarrett Cavalet made up row five. The sixth belonged to Logan Wagner and Matt Campbell.
Wolfe got a great start, and he led Reinhardt and company by several car lengths entering turn one. Trout ducked under Reinhardt for second, and Rahmer settled into fourth as the field rounded turn two. Borden, Wagaman, Wilson, Cisney, Campbell, and Halligan followed. As the field began to sort itself out, a light rain began to fall, resulting in a caution on lap two.
After a brief delay, the cars returned to the track to complete the race. Wolfe started on the point, and he maintained the lead when the race went green again. Rahmer moved ahead of Reinhart, but the running order otherwise remained static.
Another caution came on two laps later for the spin by Tony Jackson in turn three. On the ensuing restart, Wolfe led Trout, Rahmer, Reinhardt, Wagaman, and Borden.
Halligan, who was running inside the top ten at the time, spun himself out of contention on lap seven. That turned out to be the final incident of the race.
Wolfe opened up a slight margin over Trout on the restart. Rahmer continued in third, with Wagaman and Borden now running ahead of Reinhardt.
Soon after the halfway signal, Rahmer began to challenge Trout for second. Trout was able to stay ahead of the current points leader for a couple of laps, but he lost the position in turn one when he got over the cushion with fifteen laps complete.
Rahmer then began to close in on Wolfe. By lap twenty, Rahmer was stalking the leader. Rahmer tried the inside line, but Wolfe won the drag race to turn three to preserve his dwindling lead.
Wolfe caught up to a lapper soon thereafter, but he could not make the pass to earn some breathing room. Rahmer came charging back, this time to the outside. Wolfe moved up the track on the backstretch with two to go, and Rahmer had to burp the throttle a bit. That allowed Wolfe to scoot away by a car length or two.
Wolfe maintained the advantage to the checkered flag. Rahmer was a close second, followed by Wagaman, Trout, and Campbell. Campbell’s strong stretch run earned him the hard charger award. Borden, Reinhardt, Wagner, Justin Whittal, and Cisney completed the top ten.
Reinhardt, Wolfe, and Borden captured the heat wins. Ryan Taylor prevailed in the B Main. The evening’s fastest qualifier was Wagaman, who toured the speedway in 16.609 seconds.
Andy Best romped to an easy win in the nightcap for the 358 Sprinters. “It was a really good piece,” he said with a sigh of relief. “We struggled the last three weeks, we were a lapped car. We just threw things at it,” the Delaware pilot explained.
Best had a prime starting spot for the twenty lapper, outside row one. On the pole was Logan Rumsey. In the second row were Derek Locke and Steve Owings. The third row paired Sam Miller and Joe Timmins. Chase Gutshall and Tyler Rutherford made up row four. Behind them were Justin Foster and Dwight Leppo. Wyatt Hinkle and Kyle Spence occupied row six.
Best hopped out to the early lead, with Locke, Owings, Rumsey, Gutshall, and Leppo in tow. As Best drove away from the field with ease, the first five remained in order, but the second five were battling for positions.
Best’s lead was erased when the red flag came out for the spectacular crash by Miller at the entry to turn three. He was not hurt, but his car was demolished.
Best picked right up again after the stoppage. He completed the remaining ten laps with Locke giving chase. Owings, Gutshall, and Rumsey were the first five finishers. Next in line were Hinkle, Spence, Doug Hammaker, Leppo, and Adam Carberry.
Rumsey, Best, and Locke scored the heat wins. Carberry claimed the B Main, which put him into position to be the hard charger.
Next week, Williams Grove Speedway will present the John Trone Tribute race, with a hefty $10,039 going to the winner of the 410 Sprints. The PASS IMCA 305 Sprints will provide support. Fireworks will also be included. The merry month of May will close with a 410 and 358 Sprint Car doubleheader. The 410s will pay $8,000 to the winner. Extra money will be on the line for the 358s as well, with $2,500 on the winner’s nose from a purse that will exceed $12,000. The first Friday in June will be fan appreciation night. The 410s will be joined by the USAC East Coast Sprints with 5Gs going to the winner of the Bill Gallagher Memorial.
FRANKLIN, PA (May 15, 2024): After a delayed, but highly successful opening event featuring the FAST on Dirt Sprint Cars, Tri City Raceway Park will be ready to present its second show of the season on Sunday, May 19. The program will consist of five exciting divisions, and the high speed thrills will start at 6 p.m.
“We were extremely happy with the support and encouragement of the racers and the fans for our first program,” Josh Shiffer said. “We learned some things that will make future events better and we will be ready to incorporate new ideas as we move forward,” the track’s new owner added.
Two time and defending track champion, A.J. Flick, served notice last Sunday that he is prepared to compete for a third consecutive title in the Krill Recycling 410 Sprint Cars. He romped to the win against the touring series and he will compete against the best that Western PA has to offer this week.
In the 21st Century Energy Group 358 Modifieds, Chad Reitz took his Ford powered car to victory lane. He held off the Chevrolet contingent, which was led by young Hayden Holden and veteran Steve Slater. They will be back to give the Bowtie fans something to cheer about.
There was a banner field in the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks last week, too. Regional star Chris Schneider took the top prize, but the question on everybody’s mind is whether he will be back for a second crack at the fast half mile. Even if Schneider does not participate this week, top runners like Tim Bish, Hunter Exley, Josh Seippel, Rod Laskey, Pat Fielding, and many more will battle for top honors.
Matt Urey kicked off his title defense with a win in the 4 Your Car Connection Mini Stocks. He made a late race pass to take the victory away from Dillon Morrison, who was driving a nearly identical Honda. They will face a dozen or more challengers.
Joining the fun will be the Old Skool Kool Tour vintage racers.
Pit gates will swing open at 2 p.m., and spectators can grab their favorite seats starting at 4 p.m. Practice sessions will begin at 5 p.m. and the races will start at 6 p.m.
The adult admission price will be $15. Seniors (ages 62 and up), students (ages 11 to 16), and military will be admitted for $13, all with proper I.D. The children (ages 10 and under) will be admitted for free. Pit passes will be $35, with the exception of children ages two and under, who will be admitted to the pits for $15.
If you cannot make it to Tri City Raceway Park this weekend, plan to come out Memorial Day weekend for the first appearance of the BRP Modified Tour. The 305 Sprint Cars, Pro Stocks, Mini Stocks, and Vintage racers will also be on the May 26 card.
Remember that you will need to check the Facebook page, Tri City Raceway Park, for current information. The former website is not updated and will soon be replaced.
Tri-City Raceway Park is located just a few miles north of Franklin, PA, at 3430 State Route 417 in Oakland Township. Professional auto racing will be presented in a family friendly atmosphere most Sunday evenings from May through Labor Day weekend.
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