PORT ROYAL, PA (April 27, 2024): Anthony Macri won the Keith Kauffman Classic for the third straight time, but it was not an easy victory. Macri inherited the lead when Chase Dietz blew his left rear tire. But T.J. Stutts surprised Macri on the restart, and it took several laps for the nation’s win leader to regain the top spot. Macri collected $15,000 for the effort. Also scoring wins were Joey Amantea (USAC East Coast 360 Sprints) and Craig Perigo (Wingless Sportsmen).

“It took us a couple of laps to get up to speed,” Macri noted. “He (Stutts) had a really good restart. But I knew it is not good to follow cars on a big track like this, so I pulled my wing back and I was able to get by.”

The original start of the race was marred by a massive crash in turn one that eliminated six competitors. The incident began when Jeff Halligan got turned and backed across the track toward the outside wall. Five other racers, all from the outside line, were collected in the wreck. Heavy damage was inflicted on the cars of Halligan, A.J. Flick, Lance Dewease, and Cullam Williamson. Steve Buckwalter and Austin Bishop had less damage. Fortunately, none of the drivers sustained any reported injuries.

So, the revised starting line-up went like this. On the front row were Dietz and Logan Wagner. Danny Dietrich and Macri were in row two. Stutts and Justin Whittal were in row three. Mike Wagner and Freddie Rahmer, Jr. were the new partners in the fourth row. Devon Borden and Kody Hartlaub were in row five, with Mike Walter, Jr. and Dylan Cisney in row six.

Dietz got the jump on Logan Wagner. Macri and Dietrich led Stutts, Rahmer, Mike Wagner, Cisney, Walter, and Whittal. The running order did not change through the first five laps. On lap six, though, Macri slid past Wagner for second, but he was still far behind Dietz at the time.
Macri began to close in on Dietz as the race neared the midpoint.

On lap thirteen, Macri closed quickly on the lapped car of Aaron Bollinger. There was contact. Macri was able to keep moving, but Bollinger spun toward the wall in turn two. He hit the wall and turned over. Logan Wagner, who was racing in third, struck Bollinger’s car and spun toward the inside of the track. Dietrich tried to get low enough to avoid contact with Wagner, but the two cars collided. Dietrich bent the left rear wheel and flattened the tire. Borden also sustained a flat in the melee. Both Dietrich and Borden were able to restart the race.

Dietz took off again on the restart. He had a commanding lead when his left rear tire exploded midway down the back stretch.

That put Macri on the point for the restart. Stutts lined up in second, with Rahmer, Mike Wagner, Cisney, Lucas Wolfe, Whittal, Walter, Jacob Allen, and Dietrich trailing.

Macri entered turn one on the cushion, but Stutts charged on the inside. He slid up across Macri’s nose to take the lead, much to the delight of the crowd. Stutts held control for the next seven laps before Macri used his own slider in turn one to retake the lead.

Macri reeled off the remaining seven laps without further ado. Stutts remained in second, followed by Rahmer, Mike Wagner, and Wolfe. Whittal, Cisney, Allen, Dietrich, and Borden completed the top ten.

The four heat winners were Whittal, Logan Wagner, Dietrich, and Stutts. Allen turned in an inspired performance in his heat race, coming from the last row to transfer into the A Main. Gerard McIntyre, Jr. was best in the B Main. Macri set the fastest lap in qualifications. His time of 15.089 was best in Group B. Dietz was fastest in Group A with a time of 15.123.

When the leaders of the USAC East Coast 360 Sprint Car race collided on lap fifteen, a good race became a great one. The misfortunes of Alex Bright and Briggs Danner put Christian Bruno on the point for the restart, with Joey Amantea right behind him. What happened after that left the race fans speechless. Bruno and Amantea traded slide jobs lap after lap, swapping the lead at opposite ends of the track, until Amantea got just enough of an advantage on lap twenty-two that Bruno could not slide him back to regain the lead. But, Bruno then came under attack from Carmen Perigo and Steve Drevicki in the final laps of the race. At the checkers, Amantea claimed his first win of the season and the second in his career with the series, with Perigo just a second behind him.

“I don’t think we had a winning car tonight, but with Alex and Briggs taking each other out, that gave us an opportunity,” Amantea said.

Bruno was on the pole for the twenty-five lap affair, with Bright as his running mate. Amantea and Bruce Buckwalter lined up in row two, with Perigo and Drevicki right behind them. Bobby Butler and Danner made up row four.

Bright blasted into the lead in turn one, with Bruno, Amantea, Danner, and Buckwalter dicing for positions in the top five. Bright set a brisk pace in the early laps, but Danner worked his way into second by lap five. Bruno held third, ahead of Perigo, Amantea, Buckwalter, Drevicki, Bruno, Tommy Kunsman, and Ed Aiken.

Danner was closing in on Bright when the caution waived on lap ten for Buckwalter’s spin in turn four.

On the ensuing restart, Danner provided a glimpse of things to come. With Bright up on the cushion, Danner entered turn one on the low side, looking for an opening to slide up the track and take the lead away. But, Danner did not carry enough speed into the corner and he could not complete the pass. Bright’s momentum propelled him into the lead coming through turn two.

But Danner wasn’t about to give up just yet. He came storming back after Bright. The duo played cat and mouse for several more laps, but there was no change in the running order.

The race took a dramatic change on lap fifteen. Once again, Bright was up on the cushion, and Danner threw his car into turn one on the inside. He began to slide up through the middle and drew up beside Bright. Bright’s car bumped the cushion and became unstable. He started to come down toward the middle as the rivals entered turn two. There was contact, and the first two cars spun much to the surprise of all. Both cars headed to the infield pit area, and only Bright was able to resume the race.

Bruno inherited the lead, with Amantea in second. Perigo restarted in third, ahead of Drevicki, Butler, Kunsman, Aiken, Dalton Herrick, Matthew Swift, and Michael Smith.

When the race went green again, Bruno and Amantea began an intense battle for the lead. Amantea’s first slide job in turn one came up short, but he had a full head of steam entering turn three, and he easily passed Bruno. Bruno returned the favor in turn one, and Amantea rallied again in turn three. Bruno regained the lead with a slider of his own on lap nineteen.

A caution on that lap for Rich Carnathan interrupted the flow, but soon thereafter Bruno and Amantea were locked in a battle for the lead again. Amantea was able to claim the lead for the final time with three laps remaining.

Amantea led Bruno by a couple of car lengths and the final laps played out. But now Bruno was being challenged for the second spot. Perigo and Drevicki came on to make it a three car contest for the second position. Any one of the three contenders could have taken it, but the outcome remained in doubt until the final corner.

Perigo slid past Bruno in turn four on the last lap to earn the second position. Bruno held off Drevicki, who darted to the inside. Bright marched back through the pack to salvage a fifth place finish.

Butler, Kunsman, Aiken, Buckwalter, and Herrick completed the top ten.

“We were going at it pretty good, and then I took his line away,” Amantea explained. “It was pretty good racing with Chris. He’s a really good racer, and he raced me clean,” he added. Amantea said that the victory would give him added confidence when he next faces the USAC National Sprint Car Series at Eldora Speedway.

There were a pair of heats, with wins going to Danner and Bright. There was no B Main.

The Wingless Sportsmen wore the nightcap, and that race did not disappoint either. Craig Perigo was the leader on each of the twenty laps, although he did briefly surrender the point to Jay Fannasy. When Fannasy spun from second place, Cliff Brian took up the chase, with Steve Wilbur in tow. The three racers put on an entertaining contest for the last eleven laps. Perigo came out on top, with Brian a close second. Wilbur bobbled on the last lap and surrendered third to Trent Yoder. Brett Perigo took the fifth spot.

The sixth through tenth place finishers were Chad Thomas, Chad Baker, Curt Stroup, Brandon Shearer, and Joe Gabner.

“That was a lot of fun on my end,” the winner said enthusiastically. “I didn’t have enough gear. I knew I couldn’t go low to block Brian because there was not enough gear. I had to keep my momentum up.”

Craig Perigo, Fannasy, and Yoder were the winners of the three heat races. There was no B Main.

Port Royal Speedway will present a three division program on May 4, featuring the 410 Sprint Cars, Super Late Models, and 305 Sprints. The track will be dark on May 11, in deference to the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event at Williams Grove Speedway. Racing will resume at the Speed Palace on May 18 with the 410 Sprints, a Super Late Model Championship, and the Limited Late Models.

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.”­­­­­­

MECHANICSBURG, PA (April 26, 2024): Troy Wagaman. Jr. scored his first 410 Sprint Car win at Williams Grove Speedway, and third in his career. Trent Brenneman then fulfilled a lifelong dream when he swept the Topless 25 for the Limited Late Models at Williams Grove Speedway.

Wagaman, who brought out a new car for this event, explained that he had been struggling at Williams Grove so far this season. He took the lead away from early leader, Lucas Wolfe on lap five. “I went across Lucas’ nose down there (pointing toward turn four), and he got back by me, but I was able to roll around him in turn one.”

Justin Whittal and Wolfe brought the field to the green flag for the start of the twenty-five lapper. Behind them were Wagaman and Ryan Taylor. Devon Borden and Chase Dietz paired up in row three. Cameron Smith and Dylan Norris made youthful row four. They were followed by Freddie Rahmer, Jr. and Ryan Wilson. T.J. Stutts and Danny Dietrich made up row six. Steve Buckwalter, Matt Campbell, and Dylan Cisney were sprinkled through the second half of the field. The Williams Grove point leader, and winner of two features so far, Anthony Macri, was buried in row twelve.

The first attempt at a start was waived off when Wilson spun coming off turn four. Fortunately, no others were caught up in the incident.

The second try produced a good start, especially for Wolfe, who sailed into turn one with several car lengths on Whittal. Wagaman dropped to the inside coming off turn two to take second from Whittal. Taylor, Dietz, Borden, and Norris followed.

Wolfe maintained control through the first four laps, but Wagaman was pressing him for the lead. Wagaman drove through the middle of turn one to take the top spot from Wolfe. Wolfe stayed close through lap seven, when the first caution was displayed for Campbell’s spin at the entry to turn two.

Wagaman continued to lead Wolfe when the race resumed. Whittal was holding third, ahead of Taylor and Borden. Rahmer was working his way toward the front, with Dietrich following in his wake.

The running order did not change significantly during a green flag run that lasted for fifteen laps. Things changed somewhat with twenty-two laps completed. Whittal spun between turns three and four. Borden was caught up in it as well, but he somehow managed to keep his car moving, so he was allowed to rejoin the field in position three for the restart.

Wagaman and Wolfe got away cleanly when the green light came on again. Rahmer and Dietz moved ahead of Borden in the closing laps.

Dietrich was running in the top five on the final lap, but he crashed between turns three and four just as Wagaman was taking the checkers.

Wagaman, Wolfe, Rahmer, Dietz, and Borden made up the top five. Next across the scoring loop were Taylor, Buckwalter, Macri, Norris, and Cisney.

Heat wins were chalked up by Borden, Smith, Whittal, and Dietz. Aussie Cullam Williamson captured the B Main in his first appearance at Williams Grove Speedway. Macri set the fast time of the night, with a lap of 16.401 seconds, but he dropped out of his heat necessitating a run through the B Main to make the show.

“I really wanted that one,” Trent Brenneman said. He joined his late grandfather, Butch Renninger, as a winner at the venerable speedway. Renninger visited victory lane at the track four times in his illustrious career.

Brenneman said that he did not get any sleep the night before the big race. “I haven’t run here since 2017, and I was worrying what gear to run.” He obviously made the right choice, as he was the fastest qualifier, he won his heat race, and led every lap of the feature.

The main event was not an easy one for Brenneman, though. First, he had to wrestle the lead away from Andrew Yoder, and then he had to withstand a couple of late race challenges from D.J. Myers. “D.J. got into second, and he was breathing down my neck,” Brenneman noted.

Brenneman earned $2,500 for the win, which is top dollar for the Limited Late Model division. “I want to thank everybody for putting together this weekend of extra paying events,” he added. The troupe will have bigger than normal purses on the line at Selinsgrove Speedway, on Saturday, and at Port Royal Speedway, on Sunday, when the class will provide support to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series.

Brenneman and Yoder made up the front row after the pole sitter, Wes Bonebrake, was sent to the tail for stopping on the track during pace laps. Ryan Zook and Chad Earnst occupied row two, with Devin Hart and Myers in row three. The fourth row had Jed Latshaw and Rodney Walls. Behind them were Dalton Bigler and Lane Snook. Dan Zechman and Taylor Farling were matched up in row six.

Brenneman lost the race to turn one. But Yoder was up on the cushion, leaving the inside line open for Brenneman to make a charge. Brenneman took advantage of the opening, and he powered ahead on the first trip down the back stretch. He had several car lengths on Yoder when they got to the scoring loop.

Zook, Earnst, and Hart tucked in behind Yoder.

As Brenneman stretched his lead, Yoder and Zook put on an entertaining battle for the second spot. Yoder had control through the halfway mark, but Myers was on the move. He took over third and he came after Yoder with a vengeance.

The battle between Yoder and Myers for second did not last very long, though. As the duo came upon a lapper entering turn three, Yoder made contact with the slower car and he spun up into the wall, ending his run with fifteen laps in the books.

Yoder’s misfortune put Myers into second for the restart. Zook was his dance partner for the Delaware double file restart. Hart and Earnst were right behind. Myers got a good run into turn one, but Brenneman rolled off turn two with the lead.

Another caution just two laps later gave Myers another shot at the leader. He made the same move to the inside entering turn one, and he drew up beside Brenneman. However, two cars tangled in the middle of the pack, so Myers had to try again.

Brenneman was better prepared for Myers’ inside attack on the final restart of the contest. He got the jump on Myers, and he completed the final eight rounds without incident.

While Brenneman led Myers to the checkers, Hart worked his way around Zook for third. Zechman was fifth, followed by Devin Frey, Shawn Shoemaker, Farling, Walls, and Bonebrake.

The three heat winners were Hart, Brenneman, and Zook. Michael Walls took the B Main.

Williams Grove Speedway will get ready for the invasion of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series next week with a Sprint Car double header. The 358 Sprints will join the 410s. May 10 and 11 will be the first trips to the speedway for the touring series. May 17 will be another 410 and 358 doubleheader.