Hello again race fans. Selinsgrove and Lincoln speedways were able to race last weekend. Lance Dewease won at the Snyder County oval.
The program was an open tire rule race and all three heat race wins came on Hoosier right rear tires. By feature time, nine teams were on Hoosiers.
Selinsgrove was scheduled to race Friday with 358 modifieds. Today the big block modifieds compete in the 40-lap Race of Champions, which pays the winner $ 4,000. This program has become a big deal in only three years. Gates open at 2 p.m. with racing at 4.
Lincoln Speedway has raced twice already. Brian Montieth and Doug Esh have come away with wins. I'm glad to see Esh have early success in the Dick and Leslie Leach-owned car. The team has been together before and performed well. Dennis Kohler is the mechanic. Look for Esh to race regularly at Williams Grove Speedway while they seek additional funds to race Saturday nights. Published reports have the team traveling to Port Royal this evening.
Hagerstown Speedway holds a practice session today and will open for racing next week. The track has revamped its schedule and I think it will help. Lesa Plessinger remains in charge at the hub city oval.
Port Royal Speedway is scheduled to start tonight. Track crews worked hard this week trying to get the grounds ready for the track's opener.
Gates open at 3. Racing starts at 6. The 358 and 410 sprint cars make up the show. The late models start racing next week. Stock cars will have track time tonight to practice after the races have been run.
Jimmy Layton has sold his 410 sprint car equipment, which his brother Chad was to drive during All Star Circuit of Champions eastern division events. I don't know if Layton will run those shows in his Middleswarth car or not.
Long time modified driver Frank Cozze made his sprint car debut at Lincoln and Selinsgrove last weekend. Also, Billy Pauch Jr. came over from modifieds to try his hand in 358 sprint cars at Lincoln.
Aaron Ott had a rough day at Selinsgrove in the Al Hamilton-sponsored No. 77. Ott broke two studs on his left front wheel during hot laps. The crash pretty much destroyed the car.
Fred Rahmer sat out Selinsgrove's feature event after being hit with a large clump of mud during qualifying. Rahmer was sore and having trouble lifting his arm earlier this week.
Plenty of engine problems have plagued sprint car racers so far this spring. It happened in Florida and again at Lincoln and Selinsgrove. I hate to say it but it's just too cold to run alcohol engines in the early spring. Mike Erdley and Justin Henderson had motor problems at Selinsgrove last Sunday.
World of Outlaws star Steve Kinser will skip racing this week end to watch his son Kurt wrestle in the NCAA Championships at Philadelphia.
Volkswagen has announced its is not interested in being part of NASCAR racing. Frankly, I'm glad. We have enough other international participation in Formula 1 and Indy racing.
Someone likes Daryl Waltrip's boogity, boogity, boogity comments even if I don't. Fox sports renewed his contract through 2013.
Here's an item that irritates me and I'm sure others: A man purchased the hearse that carried Dale Earnhardt's body to its final resting place for $ 8,500. He placed the hearse for sale on eBay listing it as Earnhardt's last ride. His initial asking price was $1.5 million. Negative publicity caused eBay to pull the listing from the site.
Firestone recently announced it will leave Indy car racing at the end of the 2011 season, but then reversed that decision and will stay until at least 2013.
Volusia Speedway Park in Florida will be operated under a lease agreement with former Orange County (N.Y.) Speedway Promoter Ken Sands. The World Racing Group owns the facility and will still promote its own Dirt Car Nationals each February. The track will headline with late models every week.
The U.S. Postal Service will issue a special Indy 500 stamp commemorating the 1911 Indy 500. The bottom of the stamp will read 100 years of racing.
Glenn Donnelly, longtime former owner of Dirt Motorsports, is proceeding with plans to build a $20 million, 3/4-mile dirt track in Brewerton, N.Y. There also will be a two-mile road course and three-story restaurant and catering facility. Donnelly and his partners will break ground along I-81 this year and the track is planned to open in 2012. Horse racing may also take place at the track.
Donnelly is developing an artificial dirt racing surface that could cause an end to dust problems if successful. I hope it works. I'd love to see that placed on Jennerstown Speedway. Dust is what forced the track to be paved in the first place.
A piece of racing history is being preserved in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Streamline Hotel on Atlantic Avenue is being purchased by Victory Lane Racing Association, which plans to renovate the facility into lodging for race fans and teams to use while racing there. The Streamline is where Bill France Sr. called a meeting Dec. 14, 1947, and formed what became NASCAR.
That's going to do it this week. Get out and visit a track near you. Until next time, please drive safely!
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Craig Rutherford writes about motorsports for The Sentinel.
