SELINSGROVE, Pa. – It was a war on wheels Sunday night at Selinsgrove Speedway to decide the 29th Annual PA Speedweek title for 410 sprint cars.
Danny Dietrich of Gettysburg needed to win the 30-lap Opperman/Bogar Memorial in order to clinch the title but with two laps to race Lucas Wolfe of Mechanicsburg ripped the win and championship away after a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle most of the race.
The $5,000 win was Wolfe’s fourth career at Selinsgrove and second of the 10-race PA Speedweek series.
Greg Hodnett of Spring Grove scored the PA Speedweek title by only two points over Dietrich.
Freddie Rahmer of Salfordville was the night’s Fast Tees fast qualifier with a lap time of 16.509.
Johnny Scarborough of Bomoseen, Vermont, won the 20-lap PASS 305 sprint car feature.
Selinsgrove Speedway is back in action at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, July 14, with fan appreciation night featuring the 360 sprint cars, super late models, pro stocks, and roadrunners. Adult general admission for the four division show will be only $10 on July 14 with all general admission students ages 17 and under admitted FREE! Track gates will open at 5 p.m.
Outside front row starter Danny Dietrich pulled ahead of polesitter Freddie Rahmer exiting turn two at the start of the 410 sprint car main event. By lap six, Dietrich began to encounter slower traffic, allowing Rahmer and fourth-place starter Lucas Wolfe to close in.
On the 14th circuit, Wolfe passed Rahmer for the runner up position and set his sites on Dietrich. The race’s only caution flag unfurled on lap 15, at the halfway point, when Trey Stark’s lost the handle in turns three and four. Starks was able to rejoin the race.
When the green flag waved again, a war on wheels unfolded the entire second half of the race between Dietrich and Wolfe. Wolfe tried repeatedly using the inside line to get by Dietrich as the duo race side by side and had the fans on their feet.
With eight laps remaining, third-place starter Blane Heimbach showed a lot of speed and reeled in the leaders to make it a three-car battle at the front of the pack. On lap 28, Wolfe made the winning pass using the inside lane off turn two. Dietrich continued to race in his shadow and made a last-ditch effort to take the lead back.
At the checkered flag, Wolfe was victorious by a mere .86 of a second over Dietrich. Heimbach finished a a close third, followed by Rahmer and 13th-place starter Jason Shultz.
Polesitter Kyle Smith took the early lead in the 305 sprint car feature. Second-place starter Johnny Scarborough chased the leader for the first eight laps until making the winning pass using the inside line off turn four on lap nine.
A caution flag on lap 12 regrouped the field with Scarborough setting the pace on the restart. Fourth-place starter Ken Duke advanced to second on the restart and set his sights on the leader. A second and final caution flag on lap 18 put Duke right on Scarborough’s rear bumper for a restart.
At the finish, Scarborough took the checkered flag by five car lengths over Duke, Cale Reigle, Austin Bishop, and Nick Sweigart.
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY – 8 July 2018
410 Sprint Cars – 22 Entries
30-Lap A-Main: 1) 24 Lucas Wolfe 2) 48 Danny Dietrich 3) 12 Blane Heimbach 4) 51 Freddie Rahmer 5) 29 Jason Shultz 6) 27 Greg Hodnett 7) 94 Ryan Smith 8) 3 James McFadden 9) 24 Rico Abreu 10) 7K Cale Conley 11) 3Z Brock Zearfoss 12) 1 Kyle Reinhardt 13) 07 Gerard McIntrye 14) 39 Anthony Macri 15) 53 Jessie Attard 16) 33 Jared Esh 17) C4 Jim Shuster 18) 49 Mallie Shuster 19) 19 Landon Myers 20) 44 Trey Starks 21) 33W Michael Walter 22) 49 Bradley Howard
Heat Winners: Danny Dietrich, Lucas Wolfe, Brock Zearfoss
Time Trials: 1) 51 Freddie Rahmer 16.509 2) 44 Trey Starks 16.547 3) 12 Blane Heimbach 16.562 4) 48 Danny Dietrich 16.625 5) 24 Lucas Wolfe 16.691 6) 3Z Brock Zearfoss 16.693 7) 39 Anthony Macri 16.701 8) 27 Greg Hodnett 16.707 9) 24R Rico Abreu 16.728 10) 94 Ryan Smith 16.786 11) 7K Cale Conley 16.787 12) 3 James McFadden 16.872 13) 29 Jason Shultz 16.913 14) 07 Gerard McIntrye 16.960 15) 1 Kyle Reinhardt 16.977 16) 53 Jessie Attard 17.046 17) 33 Jared Esh 17.103 18) 33W Michael Walter 17.332 19) 19 Landon Myers 17.333 20) 49 Mallie Shuster 17.347 21) 49 Bradley Howard 17.490 22) C4 Jim Shuster 17.566
305 Sprint Cars – 19 Entries
20-Lap A-Main: 1) 61J Johnny Scarborough 2) 67 Ken Duke 3) 99 Cale Reigle 4) 11 Austin Bishop 5) 8 Nick Sweigart 6) 11Z Zach Newlin 7) 46 Mike Alleman 8) 36 Jeremi Hanson 9) 41Z Jared Zionkowski 10) 0 Kyle Ganoe 11) 107 Colton Hoover 12) 8D Scott Ellerman 13) 88 Fred Arnold 14) 2 Erin Statler 15) 23 Nathan Gramley 16) 17 Kyle Smith 17) 20 Stephanie Dodson 18) 5 John Walp 19) 21 Eric Valinsky
Heat Winners: Johnny Scarborough, Jeremi Hanson