laurelhighlandssprintseries Archives

Shatzer Streaks to hometown Hub City Win

By Jim Haines HAGERSTOWN, Md. (Aug. 5, 2023) – Hometown driver Dylan Shatzer streaked to heat and feature wins in the Saturday night IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car show at Hagerstown Speedway. Twenty-four cars took to the Hub City oval in the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series and Virginia Sprint Series co-sanctioned event. Shatzer and Ryan Lynn paced the field to green with Shatzer low and Lynn high, but before the field could even settle down, Lynn coasted to a stop with mechanical issues. On the restart, Shatzer took off with Reed Thompson and Stevie Kenawell close behind. Shatzer was trying to run away as Thompson and Kenawell were keeping in touch, but even as traffic came in to play the track was wide with many groves it wouldn’t hold up Shatzer. It all went wrong for Kenawell as he slid to a stop with a few laps to go, giving Thompson one more shot at the win. On the green, Shatzer took off clean and Thompson stayed close, but not close enough to mount a charge [Read More]

Scarborough sweeps Winchester

By Jim Haines WINCHESTER, Va. (July 29, 2023) – John Scarborough had a perfect night Saturday, winning his heat and taking the top spot of the feature at Winchester Speedway co-sanctioned by the Virginia Sprint Series and Laurel Highlands Sprint Series. Twenty-four IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars signed in on what turned out to be a breezy, nice evening. Scarborough and Ryan Lynn paced the feature to green with Scarborough staying low and leaving Lynn to deal with a charging Donnie Hendershot. The track was full of cars and traffic came in to play quickly, bunching up the frontrunners. Scarborough stayed low and worked his way through but not without Hendershot and Lynn staying right on him and sometimes next to him. Hendershot made a run for the lead after getting by Lynn but a yellow for a stalled car slowed the pace. With two to go, Scarborough took off and Hendershot was not able to keep Lynn behind him as retook second and laps ran out to make a charge as Scarborough flashed under a [Read More]

Bittner sprints to Founders Cup, Nittany 40 sweep

Story Courtesy of Clinton County Speedway MILL HALL, Pa. (June 30-July 1, 2023) – Timmy Bittner had the best weekend of his IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car career over the weekend, capturing two hallmark Laurel Highlands Sprint Series events at Clinton County Speedway. Bittner won the Founders Cup event Friday and then put his name in the history books by capturing the coveted Nittany 40 Championship on Saturday. Owen Dimm took command of the field early on Friday in the race honoring speedway founders Del Shank and Tedd Reitz as Zach Rhodes advanced to second and the eighth starting Bittner to third. Bittner was in second when lap five was scored, caught Dimm for the point on lap eight and then built a respectable lead while navigating lapped traffic. Dale Schweikart took over second on the 19th circuit and came within striking distance but had to settle for runner-up honors. Dimm, Josh Beamer and Kasey Weaver ran third through fifth, respectively. Tim Iulg and Ken Duke were on the front row for the start of Saturday’s RaceSaver [Read More]

Spahr sprints to Hagerstown win

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (June 17, 2023) – Already a six-time winner in Pennsylvania Sprint Series action this season, Logan Spahr became a first-time winner in two other IMCA RaceSaver series Saturday night. Spahr collected the checkers at Hagerstown Speedway in the event co-sanctioned by the Virginia Sprint Series, Laurel Highlands Sprint Series and PASS. The annual meeting of the three series was another great event with 43 cars checking in. Michael Alleman and Ken Duke paced the field to green with Alleman out first and right away joined by Austin Reed. Duke and the front group swapped the lead every lap. Alleman was fast on the bottom while Reed stayed to the top. Spahr showed up and moved to second as Reed started to fade with mechanical problems but Duke was right there to take up the charge. Spahr found a new line and moved to the front, leaving Alleman and Duke to fight it out for second. After a quick caution for a spinner it was back at it but nobody would catch Spahr as [Read More]

Co-sanctioned Hagerstown show next for PASS

By Frank Buhrman HAGERSTOWN, Md. (June 15, 2023) – The River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series will make its only 2023 appearance at Maryland’s Hagerstown Speedway this Saturday, joining a co-sanctioned program hosted by the Virginia Sprint Series and also involving the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series. It’s a Dad’s Night Out special program for Father’s Day weekend, with the IMC RaceSaver Sprint Cars racing, along with the wingless super sportsman cars that normally run at Path Valley Speedway, and the track’s regular late model sportsman division. PASS has only run in seven races at Hagerstown (although some teams have run more when VSS was racing there without the PASS co-sanction) and no driver has won more than once, which creates an opportunity for those drivers with single wins who plan on racing: Ken Duke, Jerald Harris, a VSS regular, Stevie Kenawell and Mike Melair. One could end the evening as the first two-time winner for a PASS race. To do that, though, they’ll have to overcome Logan Spahr, who won the first six PASS races [Read More]

Rhodes sprints to IMCA RaceSaver win at Winchester

By Jim Haines WINCHESTER, Va. (April 29, 2023) – With most of the Eastern race tracks raining out, the return of IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars to Winchester brought a good field of sprinters to the Virginia oval co-sanctioned by the Virginia Sprint Series and Laurel Highlands Sprint Series. Zach Rhodes topped the 24-car main event for his first win in the sanctioned division. Heats kicked off the night with Donnie Hendershot, A.J. Barton, Jarrett Rosencrance and Dave Grube taking wins. The feature lined up with Rhodes and Fred Arnold on the front row. Rhodes had the best line at the start with Arnold dropping in for second right away, as the rest of the field tried to get their own line working to move forward. Rhodes liked the bottom and stayed glued to it with Arnold and Logan Jones fighting over second with the other positions changing every lap. Jones made his way to second and Arnold fell to third with Donnie Hendershot and Dave Grube trying to run them down. Jones was all over [Read More]

Kenawell Makes it a Double Weekend with Hagerstown win

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (June 18, 2022) – Stevie Kenawell stared the weekend winning with the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series at Dog Hollow Speedway and then followed it up at the Annual Dad’s Night Out weekend at Hagerstown Speedway by wiring the feature from pole to checkers. The Hagerstown event has been a highlight since the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series, PASS and Virginia Sprint Series got together at Hagerstown a few years ago for the once a year three series race. Kenawell and Dylan Shatzer paced the feature field to green and Kenawell took off with Shatzer in tow. The whole field was dicing for positions in all grooves behind them. Quickly it became a race for second as Kenawell really had the family-owned sprinter dialed in, just a straight arrow lap after lap as Austin Reed made his way to second with Shatzer still third. Even as racers made huge gains headed toward the front spots, the race lap after lap was Kenawell’s in hand. After a couple re-starts he just stayed in the zone to keep [Read More]

Scarborough wins sprint to photo finish checkers at Hagerstown

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (May 21, 2022) – John Scarborough was the photo finish winner, in the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car event co-sanctioned Saturday by the Virginia Sprint Series and Laurel Highlands Sprint Series at Hagerstown Speedway. Heats kicked off the night with Scarborough and Andrew Boyer taking wins before it was off to the feature. Scarborough and Tylor Cochran paced the field to green with Scarborough shooting out like a jet and trying to get away with Reed Thompson, Cochran, Scott Lutz and Donnie Hendershot chasing. Everything was going Scarborough’s way until a caution for a slowing car bunched the field up. On the restart, Scarborough tried to get away again but Cochran found his grove and stayed close as Hendershot made his way to third. With two laps to go, Cochran was on a charge and was right there as the white waved. Coming to the checkered flag on the bottom groove, Cochran inched ahead with Scarborough still up high, but at the line he was able to use the momentum to streak back by Cochran and win [Read More]

Duke is RaceSaver Sprint king at Hagerstown

By Jim Haines HAGERSTOWN, Md. (April 23, 2022) – After winning his heat race, Ken Duke raced hard all feature taking the lead with four laps to go and going on to the Saturday IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car feature win at Hagerstown Speedway. Twenty cars were on hand for the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series and Virginia Sprint Series co-sanctioned event as the red clay oval was perfectly smooth sticky and dust free. The feature lined up with Scott Lutz and Chris Humblet pacing to green with Lutz out first and Duke in with the rest of the field dicing for a spot. Lutz and Duke stayed on the bottom as 10th starting Jerald Harris found a high line to his liking and was a rocket as he made it to third by lap two. Harris swept into the lead on lap four up high, leaving Lutz and Duke to race for second with John Scarborough closing in. Laps clicked off as the track stayed great and Harris was flying out front by himself with Duke [Read More]

Melair dominates IMCA RaceSaver Sprints at Hagerstown

By Jim Haines HAGERSTOWN, Md. (June 19) – Nobody watching Mike Melair would ever have known this would become his first win in an IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car victory Saturday at Hagerstown Speedway. Thirty cars vied in the event co-sanctioned by the Virginia Sprint Series, Pennsylvania Sprint Series and Laurel Highland Sprint Series and Melair tuned up for the main event with a dominating heat win. Melair and Jason Roush then paced the feature field to green with Melair out front up top and Mikell McGee falling in behind before a car got a little too sideways causing a few cars to get together. Once back to green, Melair was off again followed by McGee and soon Ryan Lynn was chasing them down in third. Lap after lap, Melair stayed smooth, never putting a wheel wrong even as traffic came up. Melair’s brother Domenic came through the field and was soon on Lynn for third and using the brother’s high line to do it. With laps winding down, Mike Melair and McGee were still staying [Read More]