laurelhighlandssprintseries Archives

Three RaceSaver series run Saturday at Hagerstown

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – The Pennsylvania Sprint Series will join two other IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car series this Saturday night for a Father’s Day Weekend special program at Hagerstown Speedway. PASS, the host Virginia Sprint Series and the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series will vie for supremacy June 19 on the half-mile track alongside Conococheague Creek in Washington County, Md. Four weeks ago, PASS regular Dave Grube invaded a VSS/LHSS co-sanctioned race at Hagerstown and came away with the victory. An earlier RaceSaver date was rained out. In 2019, VSS stalwart Jerald Harris was a winner, along with former PASS drivers Zach Newlin and Scott Ellerman. A large field of cars is expected Saturday, including Grube and the last two IMCA RaceSaver national champions, Ken Duke and Garrett Bard. Local entries are expected to include Donnie Hendershot, a PASS winner earlier this season, and Dylan Shatzer, a former LHSS winner at Hagerstown and a winner this season at Hesston Speedway. It will be Kids’ Hot Dog Night at the speedway, plus Dads will get $5 off general [Read More]

Grube leads the way to Hagerstown checkers

By Jim Haines HAGERSTOWN, Md. (May 22) – Dave Grube topped the 25-car field Saturday night in a Hagerstown Speedway event co-sanctioned by the Virginia Sprint Series and Laurel Highland Sprint Series. Donny Hendershot and Alex Schmiedel paced the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car field to green and Hendershot out first but nobody was getting away. While leading on lap three, Hendershot slowed to a stop and Grube took over on the restart, bringing Brad Mellott with him. The laps went by quickly on the wide smooth oval as Grube and Mellott entered lapped traffic with Jerald Harris and Dylan Shatzer closing in. Shatzer got by Harris for third and was working on Mellott, allowing Grube to start inching away as the two raced for second. Shatzer got second and was making up ground as his line on the bottom was working better. Time ran out, however, as Grube flashed under the waving checkered flag for his second win of the year, the first coming on May 1 with the Pennsylvania Sprint Series. Shatzer, Mellott, Jeff [Read More]

Ritchey sprints to seventh of season at Hagerstown

HAGERSTOWN, M.D. (Sept. 22) – Drew Ritchey won his seventh IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car event of the season on Sunday by leading every lap of the 25-lap feature at Hagerstown Speedway. It was his third win in the Pennsylvania Sprint Series and came in an event co-sanctioned by PASS with the Virginia Sprint Series and the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series Hagerstown joined Bedford, Path Valley, Cumberland and Hesston on Ritchey’s trophy list, with Bedford and Path Valley having fallen twice to the 24-year-old Sprinter.. Ritchey survived an early duel with Ken Duke Jr. and then a wild lap 20 restart, during which eventual runner-up Ryan Lynn and Dave Grube challenged for the top spot. Scott Lutz reclaimed third place in the final laps, with Grube coming home fourth and Jaremi Hanson fifth. Lutz and Hanson had come through from fifth-row starting spots. Duke, who got the nose of his car inside of Ritchey early, tangled with the leader on lap 14 and spun, but recovered and came home 11th. Thirty drivers vied in the finale. [Read More]

Bedford PASS checkers fly for rookie Bard

By Frank Buhrman and Stephanie Stevens Dodson BEDFORD, Pa. (Sept. 21) – Coming into Saturday’s racing at Bedford Speedway, rookie Garrett Bard had three wins in Pennsylvania Sprint Series competition and one with the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series, all in less than three months. Now he can add a win to both lists, after taking the 25-lap feature co-sanctioned by the two IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car groups. Bard led the entire race but hardly had it easy. With leaders entering traffic in about five laps, Bard had to contend with challenges from Drew Ritchey and Doug Dodson until polesitter and rookie Kyle Keen, running fourth, lost his right front tire on lap nine and skidded along the outside guard rail before stopping in turn two, ending an impressive return to racing two weeks after getting married. At the same time as Keen’s misfortune, Randy Sterling and Devon Adams made contact. All three cars were done for the night. With three front-runners out, 10th-place starter Christian Rumsey inherited fourth and Tyler Denochick fifth. The restart saw [Read More]

Duke wins Clinton County PASS battle

By Frank Buhrman LOCK HAVEN, PA. (July 26) – Ken Duke Jr. emerged from an intense, nearly race-long three-car battle to win the 25-lap IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car event co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Sprint Series and Laurel Highlands Sprint Series Friday at Clinton County Motor Speedway. Duke took his sixth PASS event of the season and third at Lock have. Most of the race was a dogfight between Duke, polesitter John Walp and outside front-row starter Dylan Proctor, with Proctor leading the most laps but all three drivers taking turns at the front. After Duke, who had started third, grabbed the lead for the final time, Walp spun and had to restart in the rear. That enabled sixth starting Jack Frye to move into third but he was unable to challenge for the lead. Scott Ellerman finished fourth and Scott Lutz finished fifth. Feature results – 1. Ken Duke Jr.; 2. Dylan Proctor; 3. Jake Frye; 4. Scott Ellerman; 5. Scott Lutz; 6. Reed Thompson; 7. Dakota Schweikart; 8. Jeffrey Weaver; 9. Dale Schweikart; 10. Tylor [Read More]

Harris hustles to Hagerstown IMCA RaceSaver win

By Jim Haines HAGERSTOWN, Md. (June 15) – His return visit to Hagerstown Speedway ended with Jerald Harris in victory lane. Eighteenth in the main event at last month’s East Coast Nationals, Harris showed he had a good handle on the setup he needed on a super-fast sticky track as he went up high on the start and streaked to the Saturday IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car win. David Grube II and Drew Ritchey were second and third, respectively, in the co-sanctioned Laurel Highlands Sprint Series, Pennsylvania Sprint Series and Virginia Sprint Series event. Erin Statler and Harris paced the field to the initial green with Harris staying high and taking the lead with Statler right on his tail and Grube in tow. Ken Duke, Zack Newlin and Ritchey worked their way up as Grube got by Statler, but Harris stayed straight smooth and fast as traffic came into play. After a red for a car getting in to the guardrail it was back at it for a run to the checkers. Harris took off and [Read More]

Ellerman sprints to IMCA East Coast Nationals crown

By Jim Haines HAGERSTOWN, Md. (May 24-25) – Scott Ellerman used his outside front row starting spot to the best possible outcome Saturday night, staying smooth and never letting challengers move him off his line to the finish of the East Coast Nationals main event at Hagerstown Speedway. The IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car checkers were good for $1,000. Ellerman, who admitted to not having much luck at the draw, had run third in the final heat and was left with the number two pill and outside pole start. “This win means a lot,” said Ellerman, who beat fellow Pennsylvania Sprint Series regular Ken Duke to the finish by maybe a car length. “We’ve had motor trouble and we’ve had car trouble. It’s been real frustrating. We definitely got our confidence back.” Christian Rumsey, Steven Kenawell and Jonathan Jones rounded out the top five in the holiday weekend special, co-sanctioned by PASS, the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series and the Virginia Sprint Series. Jacob Gomola and Ellerman paced the field to green, with Ellerman grabbing the lead [Read More]

Sprint foes at Hagerstown can’t keep up with Jones

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (April 20) – Jonathon Jones wasn’t sure he would make the trip to Hagerstown Speedway until Saturday morning, but he sure made it worthwhile by topping the field of 23 IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars for the win that evening. Christian Rumsey challenged but ran out of laps and settled for second in the main event, co-sanctioned by the Virginia Sprint Series and Laurel Highland Sprint Series. Tyler Denochick and Jones paced the feature field to green. Jones stayed up high and that would be the magic line as he kept his car smooth and fast with Rumsey quickly challenging for second. Rumsey lost that spot to Drew Ritchey for a few laps before regaining the position and set off after Jones. Denochick and Ryan Lynn had a long-term battle for fourth as most other positions continued to change throughout the field. Rumsey reeled in Jones as the laps counted down but couldn’t catch up before the checkers flew. Ritchey was third with Denochick and Lynn rounding out the top five. Next, the [Read More]