Port Royal Speedway is dark for racing this evening as the World of Outlaws visits Williams Grove Speedway.
Unfortunately, the weather is questionable so check with the track before heading out. Hopefully the Grove will get tonight's show in and I'm sure it is being looked at with great interest by area fans.
Tony Stewart is planning to race at the Grove this weekend. The NASCAR Sprint Cup series has the week off before heading to Indy next week. Stewart chose to go sprint car racing instead of going on vacation. So far he has found success. Stewart picked up his second career World of Outlaws win Tuesday night at the Lernerville Speedway north of Pittsburgh.
The Don Martin Silver Cup Memorial Classic featured twin 30-lap features. Craig Dollansky won the first race and was declared overall champion because his average finish over the two races was better than Stewart's.
Pittsburgh native Danny Holtgraver came from the 19th starting spot to finish second against the Outlaws during the first feature at Lernerville Tuesday. The 22-year-old finished second to Craig Dollansky and is a Lernerville regular. Pretty good against the touring pros. His friend and mentor is the steel city outlaw Tim Shaffer. Holtgraver is learning quickly.
I don't care if you like Stewart or not, if you are a racer you have to respect him. Stewart has not forgotten his roots in dirt racing and supports it regularly as a car owner and driver. He is the only throwback driver like A.J. Foyt was. I like the fact he will run any thing on dirt and win. I say, way to go Tony.
I can't help but notice how improved David Gravel is as he tours the country with the All Stars and Outlaws.
In local go kart racing, young Brandon Secrest of Longfellow claimed his first win of the season last Saturday night at Penns Creek Raceway. Secrest is the son of former 305 and 410 sprint driver Mark Secrest.
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At Port Royal this evening, the fairgrounds will host a rock concert. Camping is available on the grounds and the event runs all day.
Hagerstown Speedway is also taking a night off from racing and will host a Monster Truck Jam at 8 tonight.
Selinsgrove Speedway presents a regular four division show of 358 sprint cars, late models, pro stocks and roadrunner cars. Race time is 7:30. Susquehanna Speedway is in operation this evening with Super Sportsman cars the main attraction. Limited late models, street stocks and vintage cars also are on the card.
The All Star Circuit of Champions has an active week and runs at Wilmont, Wis., Speedway this evening. They move on to Hibiling, Minn., on Wednesday. The World of Outlaws heads north to Lebanon Valley, N.Y.
Chicagoland Speedway hosts the Nationwide cars tomorrow. Race time is 3 p.m. ESPN and ESPN 2 have TV coverage starting at 11:30 a.m.
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Local sprint car drivers are upset at Goodyear because the company has not had enough tires to satisfy their needs and the tires are not up to par in quality. That is unusual for a company like Goodyear, which is working hard to correct the situation.
Still, most racers favor an open tire rule and I do, too. It is more cost effective for the race teams and competition is better. As always that's just my opinion.
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Port Royal has set details for the upcoming Dream Race on Aug. 4. The event will honor Lynn Paxton and car owner Al Hamilton. Twin 16 lap semi-features will pay $2,000 each to win and the top 10 cars in both features will be locked into the A Main. Remaining cars will run in the B Main with the top four finishers moving on. A provisional will be added and voted on by the fans. The 30-lap A Main will pay $10,000 to win.
That's going to do it for this week. Until next time please remember that speed is for the speedway and not the highway. So long everyone.
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Craig Rutherford writes about motorsports for The Sentinel.
