selinsgrovespeedway Archives

Lamphere wins NY-Penn Series thriller at Selinsgrove

By Michael Benjamin SELINSGROVE, Pa. (July 7, 2024) – The Close Racing Supply NY-Penn IMCA Modified Series presented by Insinger Performance got its second race scheduled at Selinsgrove Speedway in and the Sunday show did not disappoint. Keith Lamphere pocketed $100 after leading his heat race flag to flag, then followed with the $1,000 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature win, his first of the season and good for Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility. Rodney Morgan and Jacob McConnell brought the feature field to green and Morgan took off with the lead on the initial start. Morgan looked to be the dominant car throughout the feature, only being challenged for the lead by fellow Alpha Chassis driver Jared Spalding. With two laps to go, however, Morgan gave up the lead to Lamphere, who pulled away and won ahead of Morgan and Spalding. Force Flow Pressure Services Hard Charger Brandon Smith, and James Lamphere rounded out the top five. Next for the Close Racing Supply NY-Penn IMCA Modified Series presented by Insinger Performance is Saturday, July [Read More]

Young scores first PASS victory

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. (June 8, 2024) – Just over four years ago, Dustin Young, with no prior climbing experience, strapped on his hiking boots and set off to scale a mountain. He celebrated on the peak Saturday night. The mountain in this case was the River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Car Series, the boots were a driving uniform, and the mountain was the sweeping half-mile Selinsgrove Speedway. Standing “up top” on the wing of his number 24 Sprint Car in victory lane, Young waved the checkered and screamed out in victory at the end of Saturday’s 20-lap IMCA RaceSaver feature, which he had led from start to finish. Mountain climbers everywhere would have understood. The Danville resident began his racing career – no prior experience at all – at Selinsgrove little more than a week beyond exactly four years ago, and he failed to qualify for his first event. But improvement came quickly and he was the 2020 PASS Rookie of the Year. Since then, he has become a regular contender, earning a [Read More]

Duke is first 2024 PASS repeater

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. (June 2, 2024) – Ken Duke put all his experience to work, masterfully handling lapped traffic to hold onto the lead and become the first River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series repeat winner of 2024, taking the 20-lap feature for IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars Sunday at Selinsgrove Speedway. The hometown driver, a two-time PASS champion and 2019 IMCA RaceSaver national champ, fought off a determined bid by Nick Sweigart – also seeking to become the season’s first repeat winner – and came home first by 2.617 seconds, building most of that margin in the last couple of laps after overcoming a final challenge in race traffic. The win was also the 24th in Duke’s career. He leads all active PASS competitors in victories. The race went non-stop … there were no caution flags in any of the PASS racing Sunday … with Duke taking the checkered flag after six minutes and 41 seconds of incredible racing, and that made lapped traffic the defining factor. Duke had taken the lead from fellow [Read More]

Heffner bags PASS ‘Hunting Season’ checkers

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. (Sept. 16, 2023) – If you want somebody else to win, it’s probably not a good idea to let Kenny Heffner start up front. The Watsontown racer drew the outside front-row starting position Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway, raced out ahead of fellow front-row starter Nick Sweigart, fought off an early challenge (and another one later on) from Ken Duke, and led all 20 laps to win one of the biggest River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series races of the season, the Race to Hunting Season sponsored by the Pennsylvania Game Commission as part of the 25th FANiversary Tour, marking a quarter century of PASS/IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car competition in Central Pennsylvania. A six-year veteran of RaceSaver competition, Heffner collected his fifth career victory, his second of 2023 and his career second at Selinsgrove. He won by 1.090 seconds over Kruz Kepner, whose late charge through the top five earned him the runner-up spot. Hometown veteran Duke, who leads active PASS racers with five career wins at Selinsgrove, held on for third, [Read More]

Melair steers to Selinsgrove PASS win

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. (Aug. 26, 2023) – Whether fighting for the early lead, flying on a clear track, or cutting through traffic, Mike Melair had the edge Saturday night, taking home the victory in an exciting, non-stop River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series 20-lap feature at Selinsgrove Speedway. The Warrington driver took the no. 36 IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car across the finish line .466 seconds ahead of Nick Sweigart to score his first win since June of 2021 at Hagerstown. He appeared to win a race later that year at Lincoln, but in his excitement forgot to go straight to the scales after the race and was disqualified. This year he was leading at the white flag at Path Valley Speedway but came home second, and he had another runner-up finish at Port Royal Speedway. Unfortunately, he also had an unwelcome amount of bad luck and bad pill draws for starting position. Saturday, the feature start re-draw was kind, giving Melair the pole position after a runner-up finish in his heat. From there [Read More]

PASS to joins All Stars Sunday at Selinsgrove

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. (Aug. 18, 2023) – The River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series joins Tony Stewart’s Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions this Sunday at Selinsgrove Speedway to honor the memory of one of the region’s legendary sprint car drivers, Kramer Williamson, with the running of the Kramer Cup. The IMCA RaceSaver sprinters will run qualifying events and a 20-lap feature in support of the All Star’s $10,000-to-win feature. Coming off a super successful weekend that saw 41-car fields at both Lincoln and Bedford Fairgrounds Speedways, PASS will be looking for another strong turnout to turn heads among those on hand for the traveling All Stars. Leading the group will be point leader Logan Spahr, who has won nine of the first 20 PASS features run this year and is looking at the possibility of setting a single-season victory record, set by Logan Wagner in 2013 and tied by Garrett Bard last season, with 12 wins each. Spahr scored a dominating victory Sunday in the Junior Ritchey Tribute at Bedford, but he [Read More]

Young is fastest at Selinsgrove for second PASS win

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. (July 29, 2023) – Drew Young’s breakout season kicked up another notch Saturday night when the Beaver Springs driver took his second career victory in the River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series feature at Selinsgrove Speedway. Young drew the pole position, traded the lead with Doug Dodson and led the last half of the 20-lap race, followed throughout by Dodson, who finished 2.068 seconds behind. Friday night’s Big Diamond winner Zach Rhodes started and finished third, followed by Kenny Heffner and Austin Reed. Young had started on the pole and led the field into turn one on the opening lap, only to have Dodson use the high side to assume the lead coming off turn two. Dodson led nine laps before Young slipped past him on the inside and grabbed the lead for good. It was the second career win for Young, who had no prior racing experience and is in his third full season with PASS. The breakthrough IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car victory came less than two months ago, on [Read More]

Reed repeats PASS win at Selinsgrove

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. (July 8, 2023) – Austin Reed squeezed past Zach Rhodes on the outside after a brief but furious battle for the lead and went on to win the 20-lap River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series feature Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway. It was the second straight win at the Snyder County oval for the veteran from Etters, who finished second in PASS points last season, and it came on a night that saw misfortune strike several front-runners, while those with better luck entertained the fans with some great on-track action. Reed claimed a victory margin of 1.77 seconds at the checkers. Rhodes, who drew the pole position after winning his heat race, led the first 17 laps and nearly scored his first career PASS win – he won an IMCA RaceSaver feature earlier this year with the Virginia Sprint Series at Winchester, Va. He hung on for second place ahead of a hard-charging Doug Dodson, who took third from Kruz Kepner on the final lap after starting ninth. Thirteenth starting [Read More]

Reed scores first PASS win of 2023

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. (June 10, 2023) – Austin Reed probably hasn’t had the 2023 River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series season that his team had hoped for, but a hard-fought win at Selinsgrove Speedway Saturday night just might prove the turning point. The Etters driver took advantage of an outside front row starting spot to out-drag Kenny Heffner for the early lead, then held off the most determined of charges by fellow veteran Doug Dodson to earn the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car victory. Dodson, who had finished ahead of Reed in their heat race, finished 0.613 seconds back at the checkered flag, after trying every move available to get by. Starting fourth, he had moved into the runner-up position on the first lap. The two drivers waged their most heated battle after a lap nine caution when Dustin Young and Colton Hoover tangled in turn four. The race went non-stop from that point, allowing the two racers to put on a hard-racing exhibition. Six-time winner Logan Spahr took third from Heffner late, completing [Read More]

Spahr sets PASS record with fifth straight win

By Frank Buhrman SELINSGROVE, Pa. (May 20, 2023) – Technically, it took two days. Logan Spahr’s quest to become the first River Valley Builders Pennsylvania Sprint Series driver to win five feature races in a row started late Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway and ended with the checkered flag falling on the Lewisberry driver and his Eshenaur Racing no. 5 IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car just seconds after midnight. In a non-stop feature that took barely six-and-a-half minutes to run, Spahr had accomplished what no one else had done in 25 years of PASS competition, and it wasn’t easy. Even with an advantageous third-place starting slot for the 20-lap feature, Spahr was looking at two-time PASS champion, 2019 IMCA RaceSaver national champ and hometown veteran Ken Duke in front of him, along with fast-improving Croix Beasom. Duke got the jump on Beasom to lead into the first turn as the race started with Spahr quickly moving into second. The two then spent the first half of the race two-to-three car-lengths apart, with Duke holding his advantage. [Read More]