MECHANICSBURG — The 36th edition of Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek

kicks off Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway.

This year’s series will once again run 10 straight nights at seven

different tracks with more money on the line than ever before,

including the Steve Smith Tribute Race at Lincoln Speedway Monday

night paying $50,019 to win, and the Mitch Smith Memorial at Williams

Grove Speedway paying $20,000 to win on Friday, July 3.

Total purse money exceeds $500,000 for the week.

Lincoln’s Steve Smith tribute race boasts a $188,000 total purse.

Among Smith’s 150 career Lincoln wins came in the first Speedweek race

on July 4, 1991. Smith also won the first ever Speedweek race, held

the day before at Williams Grove. He was the 1991 series champion. He

ended up with five career Speedweek wins. He retired from driving in

1996 and passed away in 2021 after an extended illness.

His son-in-law, Brian Leppo, and the rest of the family, in

conjunction with Lincoln Speedway, have done a great job putting this

race together. It will be the final tribute race.

All other races pay at least $10,000 to win. Port Royal’s Greg Hodnett

Classic pays $15,000 to win. BAPS, Selinsgrove and Hagerstown features

pay $12,000 to win.

A $37,500 point fund and many other contingency prizes will be up for

grabs as well. The champion earns $7,000, $4,000 for second, $3,500

for third, $3,000 for fourth, and $2,500 for fifth. Plus, the next 10

drivers in points that competed in every race will receive bonus

money.

Anthony Macri won the Speedweek championship the past three seasons

and announced earlier this week his plan to return to defend his

titles. He’s been out since breaking his back in a crash at Williams

Grove on April 3. The 27-year-old from Dillsburg completed a

successful test session leading to his decision to return. Macri won

three races in the early season before the injury. He has nine career

Speedweek wins.

York’s Chase Dietz is looking for his first Speedweek championship.

Dietz has 11 wins on the season, leading the nation in 410 sprint

cars. Dietz has been very consistent finishing in the top five when

he’s not winning.

Part of Kyle Larson’s incredible 2020 season included a Speedweek

championship. Larson won at Hagerstown during last year’s series. He

owns 11 career Speedweek wins, and will likely make a race or two this

year.

Danny Dietrich’s second championship came in 2021 after his first in 2016.

Speedweek returned to BAPS in 2021 with Brent Marks winning the race.

After a rainout the following season, Macri got to victory lane.

Dietrich has scored the last two features during Speedweek at BAPS.

A total of 49 different drivers have at least one win. Lance Dewease

leads that list with 32 followed by Fred Rahmer with 30 and Greg

Hodnett with 27. Dietrich has 17, Stevie Smith, Marks and Larson each

have 11.

A total of 253 Speedweek features have been held at 12 different race tracks.

Following the Grove opener, the series moves to Lincoln for the Kevin

Gobrecht Memorial Saturday night and then onto BAPS Sunday night.

The Smith Tribute at Lincoln is Monday followed by a trip to Grandview

Speedway, near Pottstown.

At Grandview, Speedweek races have been dominated recently by invaders

and Mother Nature. Since Greg Hodnett won in 2014, Kyle Larson and

Mother Nature have four Grandview wins. Christopber Bell broke-up

Larson’s streak in 2019. Rico Abreu won in 2022 and Logan Schuchart in

2024.

Port Royal’s first Speedweek race is Wednesday followed by a trip to

Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway Thursday. The Mitch Smith Memorial is

Friday, July 3, at the Grove followed by the Greg Hodnett Classic at

Port Royal and finally the Opperman/Bogar/Heintzelman Memorial at

Selinsgrove Speedway on July 5.

Macri has three wins in the last five Port Royal Speedweek races,

including the Wednesday race last year. Overall, he has four there.

Lance Dewease, Logan Wagner and Brent Marks are other recent Port

Royal Speedweek winners. Two of Larson’s 11 Speedweek wins have been

at Port Royal.

Marks has tentative plans to run a few Speedweek races. He’s in

Montana at Big Sky Speedway with the High Limit Series Friday and

Saturday. Other High Limit regulars could also join Speedweek.

The series will be very competitive with the regulars, plus numerous

invaders that will pick and choose certain races. Australian Champion,

and former PA regular, James McFadden will run the series in the

California-based Tarlton No. 21. Hanover’s Logan Schuchart returns to

his home track Monday for the Smith tribute race. Other World of

Outlaws drivers are expected at Lincoln.

The Speedweek win list will almost certainly get its 50th different

winner during the 2026 edition of the series.