pennsylvaniasprintseries Archives

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]

Hanson takes PASS thriller at Lincoln Speedway

By Frank Buhrman ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. (March 27) – Jaremi Hanson survived a fierce, multi-lap battle, and serious contact with Mikell McGee, then held off Doug Dodson’s last-lap challenge to win the Pennsylvania Sprint Series 20-lap feature for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars Saturday at Lincoln Speedway. Dodson came home less than a quarter of a second behind Hanson, with Dom Melair, who also had a shot at the leader before being passed by Dodson on the next-to-last lap, finishing third. McGee, who led the first six laps, was fourth, with North Carolina invader Daren Bolac fifth. Hanson had started outside the front row, but pole-starting McGee grabbed the early lead, with a fierce battle behind them for the next several positions. That battle collected Ohio’s Justin Clark, who backed into the second turn rail and rolled over on lap seven. He was not injured, but the car was done. On the restart, Hanson made what turned out to be the winning pass. The scene changed again following a lap 19 caution that set up the final [Read More]

Nagy rules opening event for Mid-Atlantic, PA Sprint series

By Frank Buhrman SWEDESBORO, N.J. (March 26) – Veteran Kevin Nagy started on the pole Friday night at Bridgeport Motorsports Park and held off multiple challenges and challengers to lead all 25 laps and score the feature win on Day 1 of the track’s Kingdom of Speed Weekend. The IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car event was co-sanctioned by the Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series, which hosted, and the Pennsylvania Sprint Series. Entries numbered 37. Nagy first fought off outside front-row starter Phil Meisner, then dealt with challenges from Rick Stief. Finally, Dave Brown took over second and mounted attacks on the race’s last two restarts, narrowly failing to displace the winner. At the checkers, Nagy led Brown across the line by 1.736 seconds, with Dom Melair finishing 1.205 seconds farther back in third, a position he held despite a broken front wing. Feature results – 1. Kevin Nagy; 2. Dave Brown; 3. Dom Melair; 4. Rory Janney; 5. Bryant Davis; 6. Larry McVay; 7. Zack Bealer; 8. Cody West; 9. John Brennfleck; 10. Eddie Wagner; 11. Rich Janney; 12. Josh [Read More]

PASS honors champion Bard, other top performers at 2020 banquet

By Frank Buhrman MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (Jan. 23) – The Pennsylvania Sprint Series found a way to hold its 2020 awards banquet – just as it had been able to race 28 times last year despite COVID-19 restrictions and concerns – and it honored 2020 champion Garrett Bard and other top finishers from that against-the-odds successful season. Bard, the Wells Tannery driver, also won the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car national championship, the KMJ Performance Pennsylvania State championship and the division title at four tracks the series frequents. Because the IMCA national banquet was canceled last year, PASS attempted to have IMCA Vice President of Operations Jim Stannard connect via Zoom to congratulate Bard, but technical gremlins interfered. Also honored in person were the other drivers finishing in the top five in the 2020 PASS standings: Doug Dodson of Middletown (second); Ken Duke Jr. of Selinsgrove (third); Landon Price of Fleetwood (fourth); and John Walp of Wapwallopen (fifth). Duke was the 2019 PASS champion and also claimed the national IMCA RaceSaver title, the first driver from Pennsylvania [Read More]

Lincoln Speedway PASS checkers fly again for Bard

By Frank Buhrman ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. (Sept. 25) – Garrett Bard made it two-for-two at Lincoln Speedway Friday with a convincing Pennsylvania Sprint Series feature win. Bard brushed aside a bad heat race starting draw and won that event, then moved from his fourth starting position to second on the opening lap and passed early leader Ken Duke Jr. following a lap four restart to take control of the feature. He held off a charging Devin Adams at the end of a race that highlighted several of the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car series “young lions.” Bard had led all 20 laps for a July 4 win at Lincoln, countering Doug Dodson’s bid for the lead. This time, while Adams closed the gap on the leader in the final couple of laps, Bard’s mastery of traffic kept his lead safe. Duke ended up third, ahead of recent high school graduate Justin Mills and Derek Hauck. Feature results – 1. Garrett Bard; 2. Devin Adams; 3. Ken Duke Jr.; 4. Justin Mills; 5. Derek Hauck; 6. Dave Grube II; 7. [Read More]

PASS ends season at Lincoln Speedway, Selinsgrove

By Frank Buhrman ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Sprint Series will run its final two-race weekend of the season this Friday and Saturday, at Lincoln Speedway and Selinsgrove Speedway. This also is the final weekend for 2020 points. On Friday night, the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car series will be part of the program at Lincoln. Early registration has indicated a likely field of well over 30 RaceSaver teams. Pit gates open at 5:30 p.m., with hot laps at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 7:30 p.m. General admission for the evening is $10 for adults and pit passes are $30. On Saturday, PASS is at Selinsgrove, where division sponsor Apache Tree Service has put up $200 for the hard charger award. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. with racing getting underway at p.m. Adult general admission is $30 and $15 for youth ages 12-17. Reserved seats cost an additional $2. Pit gate admission is $40. For more schedule information and the latest news, visit www.pasprintseries.com or the Pennsylvania Sprint Series Facebook page.

PASS win at Williams Grove puts Hanson, team ‘in happy land’

By Frank Buhrman MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (Sept. 18) – Sometimes a win is more than just a win. Like when the driver wins for the first time in more than five years and has only recently became a new father. Like when it all happens at Williams Grove Speedway, a track where that driver has finished every position second through sixth but never won. And like when the owner wins for the first time in 44 years at the track and is in the pits on his stepson’s wedding weekend. Jaremi Hanson’s win on Friday night met all those criteria, leading to an outpouring of congratulations for him and car owner Rod Ort, also director of the Pennsylvania Sprint Series. Hanson led all the way in the 20-lap IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car feature, fending off early challenges from fellow front-row starter John Walp and a late charge from defending series and national champion Ken Duke Jr. Hanson said in victory lane that he wasn’t nervous “at the beginning” about his prospects for the win (because he [Read More]

Sweigart rides high for Port Royal PASS win

By Frank Buhrman PORT ROYAL, Pa. (Aug. 22) – “Nitro” Nick Sweigart has made some heroic charges from the back of the field to good finishes this season, but he got a good starting position Saturday and made the most of it, wiring the field for his second Pennsylvana Sprint Series feature win of the season at Port Royal Speedway. Sweigart drew the pole for the 20-lap IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car feature, outdueled outside front row starter Kirsten Hess for the lead and then held off charges from Doug Dodson and Garrett Bard. Dodson made his most determined challenge in the race’s only restart, on lap four. Dodson went for an inside pass but couldn’t pull it off. Sweigart, Dodson and Bard then pulled away from the field, with all three cars running an extreme high line. With the race remaining green the rest of the way, that battle continued in traffic, but Sweigart handled the lapped cars and never allowed another serious challenge. On lap 14, Bard slipped past Dodson for second, and three [Read More]