- Four 410 sprint events are scheduled for dirt tracks in the region this weekend.
- Lucas Oil Super Late Models on Tour visit the area for two events.
- BAPS Motor Speedway and Port Royal Speedway will each race Saturday and Sunday.,
The local racing season got a big boost last weekend when all Saturday tracks got their events on the books.
Friday’s races at Williams Grove Speedway were postponed due to cold and wet weather, but a number of classes were finally able to start their season on Saturday.
This week, big races punctuate the local racing calendar.
Touring Lucas Oil Super Late Models visit the area and 410 sprint cars get a four-race weekend.
Please consider subscribing to support local journalism.
It all starts on Friday when Williams Grove hopes to return to action. The 410 sprint cars enhance the Grove show with a Yellow Breeches 500 program. Yellow Breeches races offer $500 just to start the feature.
This year, the Grove will adopt a new qualifying format for its Yellow Breeches races. Timed hot laps will define the heat race fields. Also on the Grove’s schedule this week is its first race of the season for the 358 sprints.
Saturday’s slate sees the 410 sprint cars compete in their first major race at Lincoln Speedway this year. The Weldon Sterner Memorial race honors the memory of a former track promoter. Sterner became interested in racing as a fan, then fielded cars for the ever-popular Van May, then spent several years as a co-owner/promoter at Lincoln.
In honor of May’s familiar #69 car, this race will pay out $6,900 to its winner. The 358 sprints are also on Lincoln’s Saturday card.
Port Royal will kick off a two-race weekend with Open Wheel Madness on Saturday. The 410 weekly sprints will be joined by United Racing Club’s 360 winged sprints and 305 sprints. But it will not be the only race at the Port this weekend.
Sunday’s Lucas Oil Super Late Model Race at Port is the second local race in this weekend series. Joining Lucas Oil cars will be the latest limited models.
Lucas Oil cars arrive in the area Saturday for the Conococheague 50 at Hagerstown Speedway. At the Hub City oval in northern Maryland, they will be joined by the pure stocks.
BAPS Motor Speedway has also scheduled a two-race weekend. Saturday the 602 modified sportsman crate are joined by the Legends, street stocks, extreme stocks and limited stocks.
On Sunday evening, BAPS welcomes the 410 sprint cars again in a program that also includes the modified 602 sportsman crate and midgets.
Path Valley has both the wingless super sports and limited late models on its Saturday schedule.
PIT STOPS
Father-son madness: It’s a little hard to imagine, but this past weekend two local tracks started their features with a father and son at the forefront of their features.
Last week’s Port Royal 410 sprint saw veteran rider Mike Wagner join his son, four-time defending champion Logan Wagner, in the front row.
About 35 miles down the road at Selinsgrove Speedway, the super-late model feature saw Bryan Bernheisel join his father, Jim Bernheisel, in the front row.
Things went better for the Bernheisel family than for the Wagners. Bryan outplayed Jim at the start of Selinsgrove’s feature and they ran one-two the entire event. Bryan Bernheisel picked up his first win since suffering serious back injuries early last season at Williams Grove.
At port, Mike Wagner made a mistake and spun on the first lap of the feature. On the restart, Justin Whittall got the better of Logan Wagner and it wasn’t until halfway through the race that Logan was able to take the lead and take his first win of the season.
Dietrich rises in the rankings: Danny Dietrich came from the 10th start to take the lead just five laps from the finish at Lincoln on Saturday.
Dietrich then took the win, which was his 57th in the 410 sprints at Lincoln. The win moved Dietrich ahead of Bobby Abel and into sixth place on Lincoln’s all-time sprint wins list.
Continued:Danny Dietrich wins again at Lincoln Speedway; other central Pennsylvania dirt races
Dietrich is now targeting fifth place Brian Montieth. Montieth, who hasn’t raced since the 2020 season, has 66 Lincoln wins.
At one point in Lincoln’s feature, it looked like it might be a double for the Dietrich brothers. Billy Dietrich took second place at one point in the race but slipped to fourth behind Tim Wagaman II and Freddie Rahmer at the finish.
Flinner shines in Port Royal: Colton Flinner has had bad luck in his other races this year, but at Port Royal the super late model rider is spot on.
Flinner has won all three super late model races contested at the Port this season.
Marks is doing well against the Outlaws: Brent Marks has been very fast in all of his local races this season, with a number of best results including a win earlier in the year at Lincoln.
Last weekend he decided to test how good he really was this season. Marks traveled to his co-owner’s home state to take on the outlaw world at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Texas.
Marks thought he was doing just fine. He managed to steal the win from the Outlaws on Saturday night. Interestingly, Devil’s Bowl is the track that hosted the very first Outlaws race in 1978.
CHAMPION RACING OIL
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
SPRINT CAR SERIES
Presented by Hoseheads.com
(Earnings in brackets)
1. Danny Dietrich (2) 244
2. Anthony Macri (2) 215
3. Justin Peck (1) 179
4. Brent Marks (1) 173
5. Freddie Rahmer (1) 140
6. Dylan Norris (1) 101
7. Lucas Wolfe 80
8. Justin Whittal 79
9. Logan Wagner (1) 70
10. Chase Dietz 69
10. Buddy Kofoid 69
Contact Bryan Householder at [email protected] or on Twitter at @ydsports.
