Dirt Racing
Peck Picks Posse’s Pockets
ABBOTTSTOWN, PA (February 26, 2023): After a successful, but impromptu, opening night on Thursday, won by three-time and defending track champion Freddie Rahmer, Jr., Lincoln Speedway came back with its second show of Icebreaker Weekend. Taking the win was Justin Peck, the All Stars regular who drives for Lancaster’s Tom Buch. The $6,000 win was Peck’s first of the year and fourth in his career in the Pigeon Hills. He was second on Thursday evening.
Peck, who hails from Monrovia, IN, has made it a habit of racing and winning in the midstate area in the early season events since taking over Buch’s machine a couple of seasons back. Peck’s All Stars obligations will not kick in until April, so look for him to be in contention in the weeks ahead.
“I’ve always liked Lincoln Speedway,” Peck said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks.” He added that he “plan[s] to stick around some, and hopefully, we can pick up a couple more wins.” Peck will face some tougher competition in the weeks ahead, though, as the World of Outlaws will invade Central Pennsylvania with a doubleheader at Port Royal Speedway (March 10-11) and single events at Williams Grove Speedway (March 17) and Lincoln Speedway (March 18).
Peck rode the rim in the early going, but it was a slider in turn three that handed him the lead over Brandon Rahmer, who led from the official start of the race. After taking the lead, Peck went back to the cushion for several laps before moving down to the middle, which was taking rubber. “They watered the top and it was slick up to the cushion,” Peck explained. “It slowed down on the top,” he continued. “I tried not to think about it. I couldn’t go hard into one because of tripping over the curb.”
The top three finishers in the trio of heat races drew for the first nine starting positions. Brandon Rahmer was the lucky one, pulling the pole, with Dylan Norris outside. Anthony Macri and Peck made for a potent second row. Bevin Borden and Troy Wagaman, Jr. were behind them. Chase Dietz made his season’s debut in row four with Freddie Rahmer, Jr. as his dancing partner. Brent Marks and Tim Wagaman, last year’s Icebreaker winner, were in row five. Danny Dietrich and Riley Emig were in row six.
Norris fought off Brandon Rahmer’s charge on the initial start, but the lap did not count because Dietz and Emig tangled in turn four, cutting their day short. On the second try, Rahmer maintained control, and Norris settled into second. Peck raced along in third, followed by Macri, Marks, Troy Wagaman, Borden, F. Rahmer, D. Dietrich, and Tim Wagaman.
The first three began to separate themselves from the battle that was going on between Marks and Macri for the fourth and fifth positions. The pace was slowed on lap six when Tim Wagaman stopped in turn two.
On the restart, with Brandon Rahmer still out front, Peck looked to the inside of Norris, taking second briefly. Norris came back in turn four to regain the position for one more circuit. Peck made the pass for good on lap eight and he took off after B. Rahmer.
Withink a handful of laps, Peck closed the gap on B. Rahmer. He made a slider stick in turn three to take command on lap fourteen.
While Peck maintained his advantage for the rest of the thirty lapper, he did have one close call. With twenty-three down, Peck crowded a lapper in turns one and two. Both cars slid up the track before separating, and Peck drove away.
As the laps counted down, Macri moved into second, followed by Marks, Borden, Double D, Brandon Rahmer, Norris, Troy Wagaman, F. Rahmer, and Justin Whittal.
Matt Campbell brought out the final caution of the journey with three laps remaining. Things were a little helter-skelter on the restart, with Marks and Macri coming together in the first turn. Both racers kept going, with Marks taking the position of first chaser and Macri falling back in the running order.
Borden and Danny Dietrich benefited from Macri’s misfortune.
Peck grabbed the checkers ahead of Marks, Borden, Danny Dietrich, and Macri. Norris, B. Rahmer, F. Rahmer, Whittal, and Troy Wagaman completed the top ten.
Marks said, “we had a really good car, but we weren’t sure how to get to the front.” He added, “It was so top dominant. When I got up there, I hit the wall. I got a little too aggressive around halfway, that’s when Anthony (Macri) got by me.” Marks noted that he had a good restart at the end of the race to regain the position, however.
Borden agreed with Marks that the last restart was a key to his success. “It was a lot of wild racing (in the last three laps). It was really tight.”
There were twenty-nine cars signed in for the event. Three heats were held, with wins going to Dietz, and the Rahmer brothers. Billy Dietrich prevailed in the B Main. Mike Lutz, Jr., Michael Millard, and Glendonn Forsythe turned over during the program, but none of them were injured.
Lincoln Speedway will present its final afternoon event next Saturday, with competition starting at 3 p.m. and gates opening at 1:00. On the card will be the 410 Sprints and 358 Spec. Modifieds. Lincoln wall be dark on March 11 and it will return for its first night race with the World of Outlaws on March 18.
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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