Local Racing
Steel City Stampede Weekend At Lernerville
SARVER, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – The 2019 racing season for the RUSH Dirt Late Model, Sportsman Modified Touring Series and RUSH Sprint Cars will come to a close this weekend at Lernerville Speedway for the 11th annual “Steel City Stampede”. The “Steel City Stampede” includes most of the region’s racing divisions all showcased in one big event weekend.
This weekend the RUSH Late Models will compete in a Sweeney Marquee Tour event, while the RUSH Sportsman Modifieds will battle in a Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Touring Series event and the RUSH Sprint Cars in a Bonnell’s Rod Shop Weekly Series special.
“This is always a great way to end our season,” said RUSH Director Vicki Emig. “Our Late Model racers are always excited to get the chance to compete at Lernerville. The car counts have always been strong and the racing at Lernerville is always some of the best of the season. Our championship annually comes down to this event.”
There has yet to be a repeat winner in the Crate Late Models; past winners include Colton Flinner (2018), John Waters (2017), John Mollick (2016), Jacob Hawkins (2015), Chad Ruhlman (2014), Dennis Lunger Jr (2013), Max Blair (2012), Butch Lambert (2011), Bryan Force (2010) and Josh Holtgraver (2009).
The RUSH Late Models are coming off a very successful record-setting “Bill Hendren Memorial” event as part of the “Pittsburgher 100” at Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway two weeks ago where Kyle Lukon won $5,200. Saturday’s event will pay $2,000 to-win. There will also be a $200 to-win, $150 to-start non-qualifier.
Lukon sits atop the points standings for the first time in his career. Lukon sits three-points ahead of defending champion Jeremy Wonderling. Michael Duritsky Jr. is third in points and is followed by Braeden Dillinger, Ryan Frazee, and Logan Zarin, who fourth through sixth in points respectively in their first year on the Tour.
The RUSH Sportsman Modifieds are taking part in their 6th “Steel City Stampede”. Blaze Myers is your defending race winner. Steve Slater took home the checkered flag in 2017. Rocky Kugel was victorious in 2016 and the year before Nick Ritchey took the win. Greg Martin won the inaugural race in 2014. The Sportsman Mods will complete their fifth season of Bicknell Touring Series competition and will be featured in an $800 to-win event.
“The Sportsman Modifieds have been given the opportunity to race numerous times over the past six seasons at Lernerville,” said Emig. “It’s been a great way to continue to grow this division, and we expect a large turnout this weekend.”
Garrett Krummert sits atop the tour standings by 26 over Jim Rasey, who is in his first year of RUSH racing. Krummert can clinch his second straight title by finishing 22nd or better on Saturday night. The Hovis Weekly Series Championship is a different story as Krummert, Chas Wolbert, and Rob Kristyak are in a three-way tie for the lead. A win by any of the three drivers will earn them the $3,000 title. If none of the three wins and one finishes second, that driver will earn the title. If none of the three finish in the two top, then Krummert wins the tiebreaker. The RUSH Sportsman Modifieds have only raced once thus far this season at Lernerville with Kristyak taking the victory back on July 26th.
The RUSH Sprints wrap up their second season by racing in an $800 to-win, $160 to-start feature. Chad Ruhlman has already clinched up his second $5,000 Bonnell’s Rod Shop Championship. Ruhlman has won 10 times in 2019, including one of the two Lernerville races. Gibsonia’s Zach Morrow won the other on August 31 for the “Manufacturers Night” presented by MSD Performance, which had an all-time high 21 cars in action. Morrow, who finished third in last year’s points, sits second over Brian Woodhall, who led the points for much of the season. Jeremy Weaver and Brandon Blackshear are fourth and fifth in points in their first season of Sprint Car racing.
“Lernerville was a very important part of getting our RUSH Sprint division off the ground in 2018, and their races this year at the track have been tremendous,” said Emig. “We’ll also reward the Lernerville RUSH Pro Stock racers on Saturday with their Manufacturers Night.”
Test and Tun for all divisions took place on Thursday. Heat Races for all divisions takes place Friday night. Saturday night’s action features Last Chance Showdowns and Main events for all divisions.
Schedule and ticket information is available on Lernerville’s website, www.lernerville.com.
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.
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