Local Racing
Dewease Scores in Speedweek Opener at Williams Grove
WILLIAMS GROVE, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now – June 26, 2020): Lance Dewease started off the 30th Annual Pennsylvania Speedweek with a convincing win at Williams Grove Speedway, holding off one of the hottest dirt trackers in the country, Kyle Larson. The $7,000 victory was the 99th in Dewease’s illustrious career and the 29th career Speedweek triumph. He trails the all-time Speedweek champion, Fred Rahmer, Sr. by one tally.
Dewease, who was sporting a brand new powerplant in his potent Don Kreitz Motorsports machine, chased the early leader, Brian Montieth, for the first ten laps of the contest. While Montieth rode the high line, Dewease was searching for an alternative. He eventually found the inside to his liking. Soon after the third stoppage, Dewease powered past Montieth in turn three, pulling the trigger on a textbook slide job. Montieth fought back in turn one but he could not carry enough momentum to return the favor at that end of the track.
While Montieth and Dewease were dicing for the lead, Danny Dietrich was riding in third. However, Larson took the position away from him just before the halfway signal. Larson was chasing down the leaders when Montieth suddenly slowed his pace. Montieth pulled into the pits allowing the race to remain under green flag conditions.
As the laps wound down, Larson continued to cut into Dewease’s advantage. With two to go, Dewease was closing in on Mike Wagner. Dewease had some difficulty putting him a lap down and Larson drew even closer. “I came up on a lapped car and he was kinda where I needed to be,” Dewease explained. However, he was able to make the pass on the inside of turn one on the white flag lap. Larson then encountered the same difficulty getting by Wagner. That enabled Dewease to stretch his lead to almost a full second over the popular California driver.
Dewease took the checkers to a thunderous ovation. Larson trailed him by .931 seconds at the finish. Freddie Rahmer, Jr. worked by Dietrich for third. Ryan Smith came home in fifth. Anthony Macri, Brent Marks, Lucas Wolfe, Jeff Halligan, and Brock Zearfoss rounded out the top ten.
Montieth, Larson, T.J. Stutts, and Dietrich were the winners of the four heat races. Matt Campbell topped the B Main. Rico Abreu was the fastest qualifier for the 38 racers. he toured the speedway in 16.645 seconds.
Kevin Knouse won the 358 Sprint undercard. It was his first win of the year and 23rd career 358 triumph at the track. Knouse has scored at least one victory for the last 25 years!
Williams Grove will be back in action next Friday with round seven of Speedweek. The Mitch Smith Memorial will pay $15,000 to the winner. Speedweek moves on to Lincoln Speedway for the first of two appearances in the Pigeon Hills. The Kevin Gobrecht Memorial will pay $9,200 to the winner.
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.
Dewease and Hammaker Get First Wins for New Car Owners at Williams Grove Speedway
Mother Nature winning the weekend as local tracks cancel events
McLaughlin goes back-to-back at Barber Motorsports Park
Macri Gets Third Straight Kauffman Classic at Port Royal; Amantea and Craig Perigo Also Score
Flick, Norris, Rudolph and Dietz Victorious at Lernerville
Borden Thrills at Port Royal; Robinson, Covert, and Hart also Score
Team Penske Penalized for St. Pete Infractions. Newgarden Stripped Of Win
Historic Stock Cars to run at Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway Cancels Saturday Program; Pivots To Flood Relief Drive
