By Stephanie Dodson and Frank Buhrman
PORT ROYAL, Pa. (June 22, 2024) – It was a performance reminiscent of a year ago for River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series defending champion Logan Spahr.
Starting 11th in a strong field of IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars, Spahr blasted through the field and took the lead from race-long frontrunner Doug Dodson with two laps to go, crossing under the checkered flags in front by 2.179 seconds for his second win of 2024 Saturday at Port Royal Speedway.
That’s not in the same league as his performance last year, when Spahr won seven of the year’s first 10 races, but it was the team’s second of the year and at the least a hint of better things to come, and it was especially welcome with PASS’s return to Port Royal this weekend for the season’s biggest race, the Keystone RaceSaver Challenge.
Despite the disappointment of not winning, it also was a boost for the veteran Dodson, who had scored top-10 finishes in six of seven starts this year but had no finish higher than fourth.
Performance and luck might go hand-in-hand there. Dodson is notoriously unlucky with redraws for feature starting position and his draw for the outside front row Saturday was a pleasant surprise. He took advantage of it, outgunning Kruz Kepner for the initial lead.
Zach Rhodes then engaged Kepner in a prolonged battle for second and secured the position on lap eight. Meanwhile, Spahr was working his way through the field.
The feature’s only caution flew on lap 10, just as the leaders were entering lapped traffic. Following the restart, Spahr was able to get past both Kepner and Rhodes and set his sights on the leader.
When Spahr caught up to Dodson, the two waged a fierce, four-lap battle for the lead before the decisive pass.
Behind Spahr and Dodson at the checkered was Rhodes in third, Kepner in fourth and Drew Young of took fifth.
The passing behind the leaders was incredible, given that the track had already taken more than 100 green-flag laps by 410 sprints and late models. Ken Duke earned the Penns Valley Meat Markets Hard Charger Award for coming from 17th starting position to sixth at the finish. Kasey Weaver also advanced 11 spots, from 24th to 13th and Kenny Heffner matched Spahr’s 10-position gain, charging from 19th to ninth.
Tim Iulg, one of several New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania drivers who hauled to Port Royal after New Egypt Speedway canceled its Mid Atlantic Sprint Series racing due to heat concerns, took a wild ride after tangling with another car in turn one of the second heat’s first lap. He was done for the night.
This week’s Pennsylvania Sprint Series action is special, with the season’s only visit to Big Diamond Speedway on Friday and then the Keystone RaceSaver Challenge at Port Royal Saturday.
This race features the season’s largest overall purse – still faithful to the commitment to having 24th place pay half of what first place pays – and lap and contingency sponsors are still being sought. Anyone interested in making this special event even more special can go to keystoneracesaverchallenge.com for information and a sign-up form.
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