5/30/2023
Lernerville Speedway
Western Pennsylvania Sprint Speed Week Highlights Friday Night's Fab4 Racing Program presented by HVAC Partners for Success
Scott Goodman Photo
Sarver, PA (May 30, 2023) The best Sprint Car drivers in the area and beyond will be calling The Action Track home on Friday night as the Western Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speed Week makes its annual appearance on Friday night, headlining a reunited Fab4 lineup which will include the Precise Racing Products Late Models following a two week hiatus, making for a fantastic night of racing, this week presented by HVAC Partners for Success. The Sprint Car festival, which was rebooted just two years ago will once again feature a complete program featuring a $3,000-to-win main event. However, this year the drivers on hand can look forward to an extra $1,100 in the nightly purse plus a cool $2,500 extra in the point fund making for an additional $8,500 available for drivers who follow the entire five-race tour in 2023.
Central PA invader Ryan Smith found himself in Terry Bowser Excavating Victory Lane in 2021 during the tour’s annual stop and AJ Flick wound up scoring a victory in 2022, making the most of his home track advantage. Smith has stated his intention to once again race for his second overall title, however he won’t be the only invader making his way over once Friday rolls around as Bradley Howard, 360 Sprint Car standout Mark Smith, Tylar Rutherford, last year’s overall hard charger, New York’s Denny Peebles and veteran wheelman Greg Wilson are all scheduled to appear on Friday night. Joining the Sprint Car program, which will also feature a good many of the Peoples Natural Gas Sprint Car drivers, will be the aforementioned Late Models, Diehl Automotive Big Block Modifieds and Millerstown Pic-A-Part Pro Stocks.
Coming into Friday night, AJ Flick not only has the points lead and two out of four feature wins, he’s got the hottest hand of any driver within a two hour radius and perhaps beyond as he comes off a weekend performance that not only saw him in victory lane at Lernerville, but Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway and Tri-City Raceway Park as well. Flick will be looking to defend home turf and also add a second Speed Week championship to his resume.
Meanwhile, Brandon Spithaler will be looking to make some history of his own and has wins at multiple tracks within the area, including a night two feature win at Lernerville, and some strong finishes outside the area to boot. Spithaler’s engine failed him on Friday night, causing him to load and leave early as he failed to make the call for the main event, but should be returning to action better than ever by all accounts. Also in the mix for the win will be Darin Gallagher who was less than one lap away from taking his first career victory at Lernerville last Friday before succumbing to a pass from Flick on the final set of turns, as well as week three feature winner Dan Kuriger and the always dangerous former track champion Jack Sodeman Jr.
For the Precise Racing Products Late Models, Tyler Dietz brings the points lead into Friday night and has definitely shown that he’s taken his program up a notch in 2023. 2022 champion John Garvin Jr., Michael Norris and Levi Yetter remain within 10 points of the lead at this time.
In the Diehl Automotive Big Block Modifieds, with his win last Friday night, Garrett Krummert has drawn to a tie with former division leader Rex King Jr. with 137 points each while 2022 champion Jeremiah Shingledecker 18 points off the pace after four Fab4 appearances. Meanwhile, Dietz brings a fairly commanding points lead into the program with the Millerstown Pic-A-Part Pro Stocks and is coming off the heels of yet another big money payday following his victory in the $2,000-to-win Bob Lambert Memorial last Friday night. Dietz’s closest pursuer, Cody Koteles is 23 points back and has on three occasions raced side by side with Dietz late in weekly battles, coming up just short of the win each time.
On Friday, Pits will open at 4 PM with grandstands opening at 5 PM and racing starting at 7:30 PM. General admission is $20 while kids 10 and under are admitted FREE, pit passes are available for $30. The entire race night program will be streamed LIVE on the Dirt.TV Network, starting with hot laps which are currently scheduled for approximately 6:45 PM on Friday night. Tickets will be available on our website at Lernerville.com and also at the gate. We look forward to seeing you there.
Submitted By: Gary Heeman