pennsylvaniasprintseries Archives

Defending champ scores first 2021 PASS win at Selinsgrove

By Frank Buhrman and Stephanie Dodson SELINSGROVE, Pa. (May 22) – If the story of 2020 in the Pennsylvania Sprint Series was the dominance of Garrett Bard, the story in early 2021 has been the lack of that dominance. But Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway, the current story line may have changed. Bard, who won IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car national and PASS championships last year, grabbed the lead from Kenny Heffner on the feature’s final restart and collected his first PASS win of 2021 (he has won in other RaceSaver series). Heffner, looking for his first career PASS win, led most of the race for the second time this season and settled for a career-best second place finish. He battled Bard for nearly a full circuit after the lap 18 restart and was still fighting for the lead at the checkered flag. Hometown favorite Ken Duke, the 2019 national and PASS champion, charged from 10th starting to finish third, followed by Austin Reed and George Riden. Heffner took the early lead after he and polesitter [Read More]

PASS heads back to Selinsgrove

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Foiled by rain on their last scheduled visit, Pennsylvania Sprint Series competitors return to Selinsgrove Speedway Saturday night to run their second 2021 feature at the big Snyder County oval. PASS IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars will run qualifying events and a 20-lap feature. The first IMCA RaceSaver event of 2021 at Selinsgrove was won by New Yorker Justin Mills on April 10. Mills is expected to return Saturday, along with Garrett Bard and Ken Duke Jr., the last two PASS and IMCA RaceSaver national champions. Duke also is the hometown favorite. Gates will open at 5 p.m. for Saturday’s program, with racing scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Adult general admission is $15 and on Family Night, students 17 and under will be admitted free. Pit admission is $30.

Hendershot gets first PASS win in 71st career start

By Frank Buhrman SPRING RUN, Pa. (May 15) – Donnie Hendershot made Pennsylvania Sprint Series career race number 71 extra special Saturday night, earning victory number one in the 25-lap feature at Path Valley Speedway. Hendershot, who began racing with PASS in 2013, had a pair of runner-up finishes on his resume but had only run four times in each of the past two seasons and hadn’t scored a top five IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car finish since late 2018. Still, when the opportunity presented, he knew exactly what to do. After finishing second in his heat race, Hendershot drew the outside second row for the feature. Outside front row starter John Walp darted into the lead but spun in the first turn. That moved Hendershot up to the front row. The red flag had come out for the double mishap of Walp’s spin and a collision between Alyssa Rowe and Tyler Cochran as the field came to a halt. When the race finally got underway for the second start, Hendershot outpaced Austin Reed and grabbed [Read More]

Selinsgrove hosts second PASS show of season on Saturday

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The historic and challenging Selinsgrove Speedway will hosts its second Pennsylvania Sprint Series appearance of 2021 this Saturday night, May 8. New Yorker Justin Mills topped a field of 40 IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars on April 10 when PASS made the first of eight scheduled stops at Selinsgrove this year. Mills is set to return Saturday, along with defending national, series and track champion Garrett Bard. Bard was a three-time winner at the Snyder County oval in 2020. Hometown favorite Ken Duke Jr., who finished second in Selinsgrove points last year but was the national, PASS and Selinsgrove champ in 2019, also is expected. Duke has a win and a second in the last two PASS races. Dave Grube II, who won last Saturday’s PASS feature at Port Royal Speedway, also is preregistered for the race, as is Kassidy Kreitz, who was third in Selinsgrove’s 2020 points and finished second to Duke two weeks ago at Port Royal, barely missing her first career RaceSaver win. With another large field [Read More]

Grube prevails in PASS headliner at Port Royal

By Frank Buhrman PORT ROYAL, Pa. (May 1) – After an incredible three-car, 12-lap battle, Dave Grube II held on for the win Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway, taking the Pennsylvania Sprint Series 20-lap feature by a shade less than a second over Ken Duke Jr., with Kenny Heffner a career-best third and less than two tenth’s of a second behind Duke. Grube started on the pole and led the entire 20 laps, but never shed its multiple-IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car competition, which also included Kassidy Kreitz and Justin Mills early in the race. It was when Kreitz suddenly slowed and dropped out on lap eight that the stage was set for the lengthy final fight. On that restart, Heffner grabbed second from Duke, but six laps later the former national and PASS champion retook the spot. Two laps later Heffner was back in second and on the next lap he went for the lead, with making contact with Grube on the backstretch. That allowed Duke back into second, but even with lapped traffic [Read More]

Duke rules PASS at Port Royal

By Frank Buhrman PORT ROYAL, PA. (APRIL 24) – “It seems like forever since we won a race.” For 2019 IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car national and Pennsylvania Sprint Series champion Ken Duke Jr., that was an understandable thought. After scoring eight victories in that magical season, he only visited victory lane once in 2020, on July 11 at his hometown Selinsgrove Speedway. There were plenty of good finishes – 12 top five’s – but then only the one last year and none so far in 2021, so it made Saturday’s Port Royal Speedway win, the 17th victory of his PASS career, special. “We got a good pill draw tonight (starting second in the feature),” Duke said from victory lane. “The track was to our liking. They did a great job with the surface here. We got lucky, we started on the front row that makes things so much easier.” Duke slipped past fellow front-row starter Rowdy Heffner in the second turn of the first lap and was untouchable in clean air, but some struggling in [Read More]

PASS joins Open Wheel Madness at Port Royal

PORT ROYAL, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Sprint Series will be a part of Open Wheel Madness Saturday, April 24 at Port Royal Speedway. It’s the first of three Madness shows for PASS IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car teams; the others will be July 17 and Aug. 21. PASS will run a 20-lap feature each night at the Juniata County Speed Palace. This weekend’s show will be the second of 11 scheduled for PASS at Port Royal this season. ‘Nitro’ Nick Sweigart took the first on April 3. In the COVID-abbreviated 2020 season, PASS raced at the Port seven times, with Garrett Bard winning four of those events on his way to series, KMJ Performance State and IMCA RaceSaver National titles; he also was Port Royal track champ. Sweigart captured two wins and Derek Hauck won once. Sweigart and Bard are pre-registered for Saturday’s race, as is 2019 PASS, IMCA RaceSaver National and Port Royal Speedway champion Ken Duke Jr. Nathan Gramley, the 2016 track champion, also is expected. All total, more than 50 teams have pre-registered for the race. Gates open [Read More]

Home track hero McGee gets first PASS win at Path Valley

By Frank Buhrman SPRING RUN, Pa. (April 17) – Full circle. Mikell McGee, a fourth-generation member of the family that built Path Valley Speedway, collected his first Pennsylvania Sprint Series feature victory in Saturday night’s 25-lap feature at his home track. In only his tenth PASS race, McGee survived a fierce battle – and contact – with Kenny Heffner, who also was seeking his first PASS win. Then there was the green, white, checkered finish with defending PASS and IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car national champion Garrett Bard on his bumper. McGee faced and rose above those challenges and came home the winner. Bard hung on for second, with second-year PASS driver Rowdy Heffner scoring a career-best third. Will Brunson also posted a career-best finish with his fourth and was the evening’s hard charger, advancing nine positions after starting 13th. Austin Reed completed the top five. The night was most disappointing for Heffner, who grabbed the early lead after fellow front-row starter Justin Mills jumped the cushion and had to retire his car. That made McGee Heffner’s [Read More]

Mills scores first PASS win at Selinsgrove

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. (April 10) – Justin Mills narrowly outran fellow New Yorker Christian Rumsey in a one-lap shootout Saturday to claim his first Pennsylvania Sprint Series win in a 20-lap feature at Selinsgrove Speedway. Mills started third and chased polesitter Rumsey for a dozen laps before making the pass for the lead on lap 13. Rumsey hung tough and continued to challenge, though, and when the race was stopped with one lap to go he had a last chance, but Mills was up to the task and edged his challenger by less than one tenth of a second at the checkered flag. “That was a long red flag,” Mills said in victory lane. “I was just thinking where I should go, top or bottom. I knew the oil was there, so I was trying not to run into that. It just all worked out good.” The win was Mills’ first in an IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car. In a 10-race rookie season with PASS in 2020, Mills was usually fast but a fourth [Read More]

Sweigart finds lightning on top side in Port Royal PASS win

By Frank Buhrman PORT ROYAL, Pa. (April 3) – ‘Nitro’ Nick Sweigart found lightning in the extreme top groove at Port Royal Speedway Saturday night. Sweigart outdueled Dave Grube II, Garrett Bard and the rest of a 54-car Pennsylvania Sprint Series field to win the 20-lap IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car feature at the Juniata County Speed Palace. The early battle between defending national and series champion Bard and Grube set the initial standard. On lap seven, the inside-running Grube made the lead pass, but Josh Bricker tipped over on the front stretch, bringing out the red and negating Grube’s run. Sweigart joined the fray on the ensuring restart and the leaders pulled away in a furious battle, with Grube running low, Bard high, and Sweigart higher. After a few laps, Bard began to fade and Grube and Sweigart engaged of several laps of exchanging the lead before the latter finally won the duel. By this time, Ken Duke Jr. had moved into the top five from 14th starting position, but the final five laps saw [Read More]