Dirt Racing
Macri and Eckert Split Port Royal Honors
PORT ROYAL, PA (March 22, 2025) – The regular season opener at Port Royal Speedway played out under blustery conditions, but the action on the track was hot, for sure. An hour long rain delay did not put the dampers on Anthony Macri’s triumphant return to Pennsylvania soil after spending a few extra weeks chasing the World of Outlaws. Joining him in victory lane was the track’s defending Late Model champion, Rick Eckert, who debuted a throwback paint scheme.
Macri, who hails from Dilsburg, PA, was relieved to be back to familiar surroundings. “We were struggling,” he said of his recent sojourn.
It was not easy for him, though. “It was a tricky track, the way it was chunked up on the curb.” He added that it was tight off of turn four.
Macri noted that the restarts did work in his favor. He was able to get a slider in turn one on leader Brock Zearfoss after a lap sixteen red flag. “And, I played defense after that.” He explained that, on a subsequent restart, “I slid myself, I wasn’t sure how close he was. I figured if I got to the curb first, I could drive off of it.” As it turned out, Zearfoss had nothing for the Concrete Kid on the restart, so the closing laps were uneventful.
The luck of the draw put Zearfoss on the pole, with Iowa invader Kelby Watt on his flank. Gerard McIntyre, Jr. took his new Scott Cowen mount to third on the grid, with Steve Buckwalter as his dance partner. Mike Walter, Jr. and Troy Wagaman, Jr. lined up in row three, followed by Macri and Danny Dietrich. Ricky Peterson, Jr. and Chase Dietz claimed row five. The sixth belonged to Justin Whittall and Jeff Halligan.
Several familiar names started further back in the field. Former champions Logan Wagner and Lucas Wolfe were in row eight. Blaine Heimbach was in row nine, Freddie Rahmer, Jr. in row ten, Mike Wagner and Lance Dewease in row eleven, and T.J. Stutts in row twelve.
Zearfoss rolled through the middle of turn one on his way to the cushion. He found it midway between turns one and two and used it to rocket out to an early lead over Watt. Buckwalter, Dietrich, McIntyre, and Dietz followed closely.
The first caution came early in the twenty-five lapper. Rahmer spun in turn four and he immediately retired from the event. Just as the caution was displayed for him, Dietrich pulled up lame in turn one. Dietrich pitted during the caution and returned at the rear of the field for the restart. However, the repair did not cure the problem and he left the race soon after the green flag was displayed again.
On the restart, Watt threw a hard slider at Zearfoss in turn one. Zearfoss was up on the rim and his momentum was enough to preserve his lead coming through turn two. Watt remained in second, followed by Buckwalter and Wagaman. Macri was up to fifth, with McIntyre, Halligan, and Whittall trailing him.
Zearfoss had a scare on lap nine as he was lapping some slower cars. Austin Bishop looped it in turn four right in front of the leaders. Zearfoss and Watt reacted quickly and avoided impact.
On the ensuing restart, Watt tried another slider in turn one. However, he did not have enough speed entering the corner to get a nose ahead of Zearfoss. Once again, the momentum favored Zearfoss. Buckwalter followed Zearfoss to the cushion and he was able to drive past Watt in turn two. Macri followed Buckwalter into third coming off turn two.
Macri picked up more speed coming down the backstretch. He was able to slide Buckwalter for second in turn three. Buckwalter rallied to regain second briefly. However, by lap fifteen Macri was solidly in second.
Lap sixteen was critical to the outcome of the race. A three-car crash in turn one eliminated Bishop, Doug Hammaker, and Mike Wagner, all of whom were in the back of the field. However, the red for the calamity set up Macri’s dramatic slider for the lead in turn one on the restart.
When the green came out, Macri was able to accomplish what Watt could not do twice before. He entered turn one with enough speed to get across Zearfoss’ nose. Zearfoss checked up and could not turn back under Macri to fight off the challenge. Buckwalter remained in third. Whittall moved ahead of Watt for fourth. Dietz and Halligan worked past Wagaman. Meanwhile, McIntyre was busy holding off Dewease who had come from deep in the pack.
Macri built a comfortable lead over Zearfoss. The final caution of the contest, with two laps remaining, gave Zearfoss one last chance for redemption. However, Macri was up to the task.
Macri led the final two rounds of the big half mile. Zearfoss remained in second. Dietz charged up to third. Buckwalter and Whittall completed the top five. Wagaman was sixth, followed by Halligan, Dewease, McIntyre, and Walter.
Dewease was rewarded with $500 as the hard charger. Kody Lehman received $1,000 for the warrior award.
Heat wins for the thirty-four car field belonged to Buckwalter, McIntyre, Watt, and Zearfoss. Mike Wagner prevailed in the B Main.
The Super Late Models also raced for twenty-five laps. On the front row were J.T. Spence and Rick Eckert. Dylan Yoder and Justin Weaver made up row two. Gene Knaub and Gregg Satterlee followed them. Then came Dillan Stake and Lane Snook. In row five were Tim Smith and Hayes Mattern. The sixth row consisted of Logan Zarin and Gary Stuhler.
Eckert was perfectly positioned to assume control of the race when the green flag waived. He planted the right rear tire on the cushion and rolled away from Spence in turn one. Yoder ducked under Spence in turn two to take second.
Satterlee was showing early speed. He was fourth on the break. He took third on lap two and second on lap four. It tppk him several laps to close in on Eckert, but he could not make a bid for the lead.
A caution for Spence on lap twelve gave Satterlee his first opportunity to challenge Eckert. On the restart, he entered turn one on the inside. However, Eckert used the top to his advantage once again.
Eckert led Satterlee and Dylan Yoder. Knaub and Weaver were running in the top five, ahead of Stake, Zarin, Mattern, Stuhler, and Trevor Feathers at the halfway mark.
The final caution came on lap sixteen for Snook’s mechanical failure. Although that gave Satterlee another shot at the leader, he could not capitalize upon it.
Eckert, from York, PA, completed the last nine laps without any significant challenge from Satterlee. Dylan Yoder held off Weaver for third. Zarin got by Knaub in the closing laps for sixth. Feathers, Stuhler, Colton Flinner, and Dtake completed the top ten.
Flinner was the night’s hard charger, coming from row twelve to ninth.
Heat winners for the twenty-four entries were Dylan Yoder, Eckert, and Spence. There was no B Main.
Although Eckert led wire to wire, he expressed concern about Satterlee, who was running second for most of the race. “When the yellow came outI got to look at the scoreboard and I saw it was Gregg (running in second), and I got worried.” Eckert explained that Satterlee using a different tire and Eckert thought that might give Satterlee the edge.
However, the threat never materialized. Instead, Eckert brought his immaculate orange and black number twenty-four home a winner in its maiden voyage. He noted that he wanted to do a throwback paint scheme for this season. He chose the Raye Vest style because “everything in my shop was twenty-four.” He added that his grandson plays a lot of ball, and he always wears number twenty-four while doing so.
Next week, Port Royal Speedway will present a three-division program. Joining the 410 Sprint Cars and Super Late Models will be the Limited Late Models. Race time will be at 4 p.m. On April 5, 510 and 305 Sprints will accompany the Limited Late Models. The first special of the season will be on April 12, the Lynn Paxton Tribute race. It will be for the 410 Sprints and Super Late Models. There will also be a display for the Eastern Museum of Motorsports, which was near and dear to Paxton’s heart.
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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Rough day for Wright at Michigan
Opportunistic Wagaman Wins at Williams Grove
Heim holds off Honeycutt to win Truck race at Michigan
Flick is Speedweek King
Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi Racing win the pole position for the 110th Indianapolis 500
Alexander Rossi, Pato O’Ward and Romain Grosjean involved in multi vehicle crash during Indy 500 practice
New York Dog wins the Wienie 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
NASCAR community mourns the loss of champion driver Kyle Busch
