Dirt Racing
Macri Sweeps Weikert Weekend
PORT ROYAL, PA (May 29, 2022): After a red-hot start to the 2022 season, Anthony Macri went into a brief dry spell. But, he came out of it in a big way this weekend taking both ends of the Bob Weikert Memorial at Port Royal Speedway. The latest victory for the Concrete Kid was worth $29,000 and his total earnings for the weekend approached $40,000! Macri could have banked a little more, but Friday’s All Stars event at Williams Grove Speedway was washed out and he crashed out early in last week’s feature that was cut short and completed as the last race on a busy holiday card.
Macri, the emerging star from Dilsburg, PA, now has ten wins on the season, four of them being with the All-Star Circuit of Champions.
The make-up 410 Sprint Car race was won by Logan Wagner. Steve Wilbur was victorious in the Wingless Sportsmen race which punctuated the two 410 Sprint Car races.
Once again, Macri took a cerebral approach to the main event. In the opener, he changed up his line several times to keep Lance Dewease guessing in the final four laps of the thriller. This time around, he varied his starting points and corner entry into turn one to keep Brent Marks on his toes. “Brent is not dumb. He will catch on to what we do on restarts. I took away the slider line,” Macri explained about his technique in a pivotal lap 25 restart. Macri nailed it perfectly and that gave him some needed breathing room for the final five rounds of the spacious half mile.
Macri also mentioned two other tricks that helped him pick up the big win. The frist was tire management. “I was trying to keep ahead of my tires, keep them warm and keep them from picking up dirt under the yellow.” The second was the installation of a larger fuel tank for the night. He mentioned that he only had three gallons of fuel left after his battle to the wire with Dewease. He was not sure how much fuel was on board after this win, but he was confident that he had plenty enough to go the distance and to have a reserve if extra laps were called for in this contest.
Marks commented on Macri’s successful restarts. “He did a good job on the restarts.” But Marks made another point in Macri’s favor. “He could really stick the middle. I was good on top, but he was good in the middle, and that made a big difference.” Marks added that Macri’s use of the middle line was particularly effective when they were racing in clean air. ”I wanted to stay in traffic, we just weren’t good enough to stay with him in clean air.”
The luck of the draw for the ten top point getters in qualifications put Rico Abreu and Chris Windom on the front row. Tyler Courtney was paired up with Macri in row two. Jeff Halligan shared row three with Marks. Danny Dietrich was beside Giovanni Scelzi. Brian Brown and Justin Peck made up row five. The best of the rest for the start of the race were Mike Wagner and Hunter Schuerenberg. Lance Dewease was buried in nineteenth as a consequence of a poor time trial effort. Steve Buckwalter was twenty-first, Freddie Rahmer, Jr. was twenty-third, Dylan Cisney was twenty-fourth, and Lucas Wolfe was twenty-fifth.
Buckwalter, Rahmer, and Cisney came through the B Main, while Wolfe used a track provisional to start the race.
Windom rolled around Abreu to take the early lead. The newcomer to winged Sprint Car racing held control to lap ten. Abreu ran second through the first six laps until he hit the turn one fence and damaged the right rear suspension to bring out the first yellow.
That handed the second position to Marks who gave chase for several laps before he was overhauled by Macri. Macri swept into the lead and the battle was on between Windom and Marks for the role of first chaser. Marks secured the position with sixteen laps in the books and he began to close in on Macri as they darted through the traffic.
Meanwhile, Courtney and Halligan began to mix things up with Windom. Courtney assumed third for several laps, but Halligan came on after the lap 25 restart. He shot by both Windom and Courtney, but he could not close in on Marks for second.
Two other racers making moves through the race were Dewease and Wolfe. Dewease advance to thirteenth rather quickly, but his middle stage of the race was not very spectacular. He came on on the final ten laps to move into the top ten. Wolfe was slower to advance in the opening laps, but for the second half of the race his progress was impressive. He reached tenth by the time the checkers flew, which was impressive considering that he started shotgun on the field.
Macri, Marks and Halligan made for an all posse podium again. Courtney and Peck were the first two travelers across the finish line. Then came Logan Wagner, Dewease, Windom, Dietrich, and Wolfe.
Heat winners were Peck, Halligan, Ryan Smith, and Dewease. The B Main belonged to Buckwalter. The evening’s fastest qualifier was Macri with a lap of 16.499 seconds. There were 44 cars registered for the event.
The 410 finale was the final seventeen laps of last week’s feature event.
Justin Whittal led through the red flag for Tyler Walton’s crash in turn one on lap eleven. During the stoppage, it was determined that Whittal was leaking fuel and he had to pit for repairs. Marks was put at the head of the line for the restart, but he never led a lap. Logan Wagner swooped under him in turn one on the restart and led the rest of the distance.
“What a cool experience,” Wagner said enthusiastically. “We wanted to win the Weikert, but this is a good way to close the weekend.”
Following Wagner and Marks were Cisney, Halligan, and Gerard McIntyre. The next five to cross were Buckwalter, Wolfe, Mike Wagner, Cody Lehman, and Whittal.
In the Wingless Sportsmen, the twenty lapper went non-stop. But the race seemed to play out in separate halfs. The first belonged to Brett Perigo, who led from the drop of the green. But the second, and most important, was dominated by Steve Wilbur.
While WIlbur was all alone out front, Brett Perigo was locked in a battle with Trent Yoder and Michael Smith for the second spot. Perigo retained that position, but it was a very entertaining contest. Smith took third, followed by Yoder and Eric Jennings.
Positions six through ten belonged to Tony Jackson, Tom Savage, Bob Gutshall, Kevin Gutshall, and Jason Failor.
The trio of heat races belonged to Wilbur, Brett Perigo, and Kevin Guttshall. There was no B Main. Twenty-one wingless warriors were on hand.
Port Royal will return to action Saturday with the 410 Sprints joined by the Super Late Models and Limited Late Models. The latter will contest double features. It will be Senior Citizens Night, with $10 general admission for that group and dollar dogs for all! June 11 will be 410 Sprint Cars supported by Limited Late Models and PASS/IMCA 305 Sprints. The 305s will run double features. June 18 will be Open Wheel Madness II, featuring two divisions of the United States Auto Club along with the 410 Sprints. The USAC National Sprint Cars will be joined by the Silver Crown Series. There will be no racing on June 25 in recognition of the PA Speedweek Sprint Car event held at Lincoln Speedway.
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.
Team Penske and Chevrolet Dominate Day 1 of Indy 500 Qualifying
Courtney Conquers Port Royal; Flinner Emotional Late Model Winner; Zook Zooms in LLMs
Pittsburgh PA Motor Speedway and Latrobe Speedway Cancel Saturday Programs
Wolfe and Best Win at Williams Grove
Tri City Raceway Park To Go Again On Sunday
Historic Stock Cars to run at Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
Team Penske Penalized for St. Pete Infractions. Newgarden Stripped Of Win
Scott Dixon on top of INDYCAR Championship Standings after Team Penske Penalty
Scott Dixon Good To The Last Drop at INDYCAR Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
