Dirt Racing
Wagaman and Brenneman Top Williams Grove
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.
MECHANICSBURG, PA (June 5, 2026): Troy Wagaman, Jr. cashed in on the opportunities given to him to win the Lynn Paxton Classic at Williams Grove Speedway. The second win of the season for the defending track champion and current points leader was his first ever with the All Stars Circuit of Champions, which celebrated fifty-five years of competition at the famed oval. Wagaman received $8,000 for his efforts, matching his payday from the Tommy Classic held earlier in the season.
Wagaman benefitted from two miscues by Danny Dietrich, who had led from the start of the non-stop thirty lapper. The first came on lap fifteen, when Dietrich narrowly avoided disaster coming off turn two. The other came ten laps later when Dietrich slid out of the groove between turns three and four.
“I don’t know if I would have gotten him,” Wagaman said modestly.
He was trailing Dietrich by nearly 1.6 seconds in the middle of the race, but Wagaman squeezed between Dietrich, a lapped car, and the backstretch guard rail to take the lead. Preston Lattomus nearly spun at the exit to turn two, Dietrich came up on him quickly, made slight contact, and almost spun as well, but there was just enough room for Wagaman to scoot by. “I thought he missed it, got too close to the lapped car,” Wagaman explained.
Wagaman then built up a slight lead of his own, which evaporated in traffic. Dietrich drove under both Wagaman and the lapped car between turns three and four on lap twenty-four, but Wagaman came storming back on the next lap to regain the lead. Dietrich slid off the bottom in the same area, and Wagaman pounced. “Danny showed me the bottom. I was struggling on the top and I got down to the bottom after that.”
Wagaman, from Hanover, dedicated the win to his ailing grandmother, adding that he will get to see her on Sunday afternoon.
The starting line-up had a last minute shuffle when Lance Dewease got a flat while the cars were getting into formation. Dewease pitted for a fresh tire, but forfeited his second starting position. He rejoined the field for the start, and put in on an impressive drive to fourteenth from the rear of the twenty-six car field.
Dietrich thus moved to the front row, joining the Dash winner, Cale Thomas. Wagaman and Brady Bacon made up the second row, followed by Doug Hammaker and Kasey Kahne. Brock Zearfoss and T.J. Stutts came next. Chase Dietz and Parker Price Miller were in row five, and Austin Bishop was paired with Ryan “Fig” Newton in row six.
Dietrich wasted no time blasting into the early lead up on the cushion in turns one and two. Wagaman used a more conservative line to reach second. Thomas fell into line in third, ahead of Hammaker, Bacon, Stutts, and Kahne.
Dietrich seemed to have the race under control through the first half of the event. However, things changed suddenly on lap fifteen. He avoided a crash, but lost the lead. Dietrich wasn’t done quite yet, though.
Wagaman was still running the top in turns three and four despite having trouble getting past a lapped car. That allowed Dietrich to flash by on the inside to take the lead away. However, Wagaman came back to lead lap twenty-five when Dietrich slid up the track in almost the same place on the track.
Wagaman changed lines for the remainder of the race, and he paced himself off of the lapped cars, figuring that Dietrich would have to drive around them all if he were to make another bid for the win. However, Wagaman took the checkers 1.120 seconds ahead of Dietrich, who was driving his back-up car after crashing at Selinsgrove Speedway the night before.
Bacon, Stutts, and Dietz completed the top five. Zearfoss, Hammaker, Kahne, Price Miller, and Newton were the next five finishers.
J.J. Loss was the hard charger, advancing seven spots to finish thirteenth.
Kalib Henry, the current All Stars points leader and defending series champion, was the highest finisher from the tour, at seventeenth.
Hammaker, Dewease, Dietrich, and Kahne were the heat winners. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. won the B Main. Stutts was the fastest qualifier, lapping in 17.112 seconds in Group A. Dietrich was the best in Group B. His lap was 17.290 seconds. Thirty-eight cars checked in, including ten All Stars points chasers.
Ageless Steve Wilbur added another Wingless Sportsman victory to his resume. He led Tony Jackson for all twenty laps. “Tony’s hard to beat wherever we go, and to hold him off all of those laps was something,” Wilbur said. “It just feels so good to beat Jackson. I didn’t come all the way from Mechanicsburg to get my a$$ kicked,” he added with a laugh.
Wilbur claimed to use an old right rear tire dating back to his days at Silver Spring Speedway, which closed in 2005.
Cliff Brian, Jr. was third, one spot ahead of the hard charger, Brett Perigo. Brandon Shearer, Derek Shaffer, Brian Nace, Scott Smith, Curt Stroup, and John Edkin were fifth through tenth in the non-stop affair.
Jackson and Wilbur split the heat race wins. There was no B Main necessary for the nineteen car field.
Next Friday, Williams Grove Speedway will present fan appreciation night. All in attendance will get to mingle with the 410 and 358 Sprint Car racers in the front pit area before the start of the action. There will be free potato chips and candy during the pit party. Fireworks will also be part of the fun.
FRANKLIN, PA (May 31, 2026): A.J. Flick claimed his third championship in the Western Pennsylvania Speedweek. His first two titles came in 2023 and 2024.
“This whole week is so cool,” he said. He added, “I think consistency is important and I think that helped me.”
Flick started the week out very strongly, with wins at Michaels Mercer Raceway and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. He was fourth at Lernerville Speedway and fifth in the finale at Tr-City Raceway Park. His worst finish of the week was ninth at Sharon Speedway on Saturday night.
Flick was especially happy with his fifth place finish in the final round because he was not very comfortable in the car.
Other race winners during Speedweek were: Dale Blaney, at Lernerville, Logan Wagner, at Sharon, and Brandon Spithaler, at Tri-City.
Flick’s total earnings for the week were $14,750, which included the $3,000 championship stipend.
One other driver earned more than $10,000. That was Spithaler, who grossed $10.175.
Flick was one of sixteen drivers to enter all five events comprising Western Pennsylvania Speedweek. A total of sixty-one racers competed in at least one round of Speedweek.
The top ten drivers in the point standings shared the point fund, as follows:
- A.J. Flick, 452 points, $3,000
- Mark Smith, 412 points, $2,500
- Brandon Spithaler, 406 points, $2,000
- Jeremy Weaver, 393 points, $1,500
- Carl Bowser, 371 points, $1,000
- Michael Bauer, 368 points, $900
- Adam Kekich, 344 points, $800
- Brandon Matus, 338 points, $700
- Ricky Peterson, 320 points, $600
- Jacob Begenwald, 302 points, $500
Interestingly, one driver in the top ten in points missed a show along the way. Ricky Peterson was absent from Sharon because he had another commitment. He won the FAST on Dirt Sprint Car Series event at Skyline Speedway instead.
FRANKLIN, PA (May 31, 2026): Brandon Spithaler saved his best Speedweek performance for the final night of the five race series. The victory at Tri-City Raceway Park, his first of the season, netted the driver from Renfrew, PA a cool $6,000. He also finished third in Speedweek points, adding another $2,000 to his stash. Spithaler’s total winnings for the week amounted to $10,175, second only to the Speedweek champion, A.J. Flick.
Spithaler noted that “2026 hasn’t been very kind to us. We lost a motor, we trashed a car, we switched chassis. I think we’ve hit on something now.”
He added, “I felt like I was better than him, Ricky (Peterson, who finished a distant second). I was worried when he got by Logan (McCandless, the early leader), but I kept plugging away and I got by him (Peterson).”
Spithaler was especially good in traffic. He explained, “I am a fan of traffic. If we get a long run, I like picking my way through.”
Peterson, who held on for second place, had an opposite opinion about the traffic conditions. “I was really good early. I had issues with the lappers. I think I left a lane open for Brandon, and he got away from us.”
Mark Smith put on a strong charge in the second half of the race to grab the third position. He noted that it was a challenging night and that he changed some things around on his car between the heat and the feature. “We got it going, but it was a little too late. Maybe we needed 35 laps.”
The first ten positions in the starting line-up were reserved for the four heat winners and six of the fastest qualifiers.
Logan McCandless drew the pole position. He was joimed on the front row by the professor, Michael Bauer. Matt Farnham and A.J. Flick pulled the second row, followed by Peterson and Spithaler. Smith and Jeremy Weaver landed in row four. Then came Jared Zimbardi and D.J. Christie. Row six belonged to Tim Shaffer and John Jerich.
The initial start was waved off due to a crash between turns one and two, which claimed Jerich and Christie. Both cars tumbled, but neither driver was injured.
When the field was realigned for the start, Shaffer moved to the outside of row five and Bob Felmlee and Cody Bova became the new sixth row.
McCandless surged into the early lead, followed by Farnham, Bauer, Flick, Peterson, Spithaler, Weaver, Smith, Shaffer, Felmlee, and Zimbardi.
McCandless was exceptionally strong through the first half of the race. His lead grew to more than 1.8 seconds over Farnham through the first nine laps. Peterson moved into second position on lap ten. Gradually, he cut into McCandless’ advantage. On lap fifteen, the margin dwindled to just under a half a second.
Moving into the second half of the contest, McCandless began to have difficulty navigating through the traffic. Peterson narrowed the gap even further over the next few laps. On lap eighteen, Peterson drove by McCandless for the lead.
Meanwhile, Spithaler was closing in on both Peterson and McCandless. Spithaler moved ahead of McCandless on lap nineteen. Just one lap later, he passed Peterson in traffic.
In the final ten laps of the race, Spithaler was clearly superior to Peterson. The lead continued to grow with each lap. He was more than four seconds ahead of Peterson by lap twenty-six. The margin reached 5.338 seconds on the final lap.
Smith cracked the top five on lap sixteen. He held fourth from lap sixteen through lap twenty-nine. On the final trip around the big half mile, Smith moved into third.
McCandless held on for fourth, one spot ahead of Flick, who clinched the Speedweek championship with a steady performance. He was in or just outside the top five for the entire race.
Shaffer edged Farnham for sixth. Greg Wilson, Bauer, and Bova completed the top ten.
Flick, Weaver, Zimbardi, and Peterson won the heat races. Tyler Esh copped the B Main.
Brandon Matus was the night’s fastest qualifier. He topped Group A with a lap of 17.622. However, his night went downhill after that. While running in a transfer position on the last lap of his heat race, Matus flipped hard between turns three and four. His crew thrashed to get the car ready for the B Main with assistance from Spithaler and Weaver, among others. However, Matus finished fifth, with only four cars making the A Main.
Spithaler was the fastest member of Group B. His time was 17,796.
Blaze Myers took the lead on lap six of the RUSH Sprint Car feature and he cruised to an easy victory over Luke Mulichak. The early leader, Zach Morrow, finished in third. Brayden Blackshear and Samantha Priest were fourth and fifth. Lucas Roessner, Devon Deeter, Logen Lockhart, Grayson Bayle, and Ricky Tucker, III, rounded out the top ten. Myers and Roessner took the preliminaries.
The nightcap for the Mini Stock division went to Camden Franz. There was a constant three car battle for second throughout the fifteen lapper. Sheriff Tim Callahan prevailed, with Jordan Wheeler and Justin Forsyth following. Fifth went to Andy Thomson. Kevin Dotten, Michael Phillipson, Andrew Thompson, Ben Aley, and Jacob Wheeler were sixth through tenth.
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