By Marty Czekala
After weather plagued last season’s shows to Pennsylvania, the A-Verdi Storage Containers CRSA Sprints return to the Keystone State Friday night for the first of two trips this season to Penn Can Speedway in Susquehanna.
Penn Can hosts more CRSA races than any other active track on the schedule, and Friday will be the 35th CRSA race there. CRSA first ran there May 18, 2007 and was won by Billy Jaycox Jr. The last time was Sept. 13, 2024, when Billy VanInwegen was claimed King of the Can for the second time.
“The Future Stars of Sprint Cars” will also be at Penn Can Sept. 12 for a King of the Can race.
In addition, this race will officially begin the third edition of the Joe’s Garage Southern Tier Series, a miniseries that will travel to Penn Can and Thunder Mountain this year.
Here’s a look at the top stories.
Last Time Out: It was CRSA’s second trip of the season to Land of Legends July 2 for round three of the DisBatch Brewing Company/Stirling Lubricants Challenge.
The series saw its 89th different winner, as Land of Legends regular Lance Dusett took the lead from Tyler Graves on a lap seven restart to take the win.
Dusett has been a LOLR regular for years, but this is his third season of 305 Sprint Cars. He’d previously run modifieds, with the last season in 2021.
“We’ve worked really hard to get to this point and it’s ecstatic to get a series win,” said Dusett post-race.
Tyler Graves matched his career-best CRSA finish in second, his first podium with the CRSA Sprints since Utica-Rome Sept. 2024, when he finished second.
Dalton Herrick recorded his second straight podium in third.
Nick Webb charged from 26th to fourth while Timmy Lotz rounded out the top five, his second top five of the season.
Points Standings: Graves and Herrick are tied for the overall lead at 916 points.
Coming off his first top five since Fonda last May, Timmy Lotz remains third, 69 points behind the point leaders.
Even with a tough finish last race, Paul Colagiovanni Sr. remains fourth in points.
Nick Webb’s strong charge allowed him to retain P5 in the standings, 15 points ahead of Johnny Scarborough, who is sixth. Scarborough is coming off back-to-back 10th-place runs.
Also in the battle is Jerry Sehn Jr., who is seventh in points. Sehn Jr. is six points back on Scarborough.
The rest of the top 12 look like this: Maverick Coffey eighth (-248), Tomy Moreau ninth (-323), Dan Craun 10th (-335), Steve Glover 11th (-359) and Dustin Sehn 12th (-373).
Last Time at The Can: The lone trip to Penn Can in 2024 saw Jordan Hutton and Billy VanInwegen bring the field to green. VanInwegen took the lead and stretched it to as much as 3.2 seconds before a caution.
Kevin Nagy would move to second and cut down the lead to a car length on VanInwegen in heavy lapped traffic. A caution with two to go wouldn’t affect VanInwegen as he led every lap to take King of the Can for the second time.
“What a racecar,” said VanInwegen. “Tip of the hat to Mike VanDusen [car owner] for turning the motor around. We’ve been second so many times and got this thing to make off on starts and it ripped.”
The Championship Contenders: With Dalton Herrick and Tyler Graves tied for the lead, let’s meet the pair currently competing for this year’s title.
Herrick, a veteran of the CRSA Sprints tour, has championship experience, having won it all in 2022. Most recently, Herrick was one of three drivers competing for the title in 2024, but fell short to Kyle Pierce. Herrick hasn’t won since that year at Skyline, the 10th of his career.
Graves has run Sprint Cars at the 305 and 360 level for numerous years, but this is his first season competing full-time with the CRSA Sprints. Graves has a pair of second-place finishes, one last time out at Land of Legends Raceway, the other at Utica-Rome Speedway in Sept. 2024. The first time Graves scores the CRSA victory, it will hit hard for the TGR team.
By the Numbers: 73 drivers have finished in the top five all-time and 25 drivers have recorded a checkered flag. Jeff VanSteenburg and Joe Kata lead the way in wins with three, followed by Josh Flint, Billy VanInwegen, Kyle Pierce, Chuck Alessi and Eddie Strada with two. The last time a driver not from New York won a CRSA feature at Penn Can was in June 2023, when Tim Iulg won his lone A-Main.
Tune In: Action can be seen live on The Cushion with Marty Czekala on the call. For $5.99 a month, you can expand your race night experience at the track or online through the MyRacePass app or at www.myracepass.com, which features entries, lineups, fantasy and results.
From the Frontman: “It’s about time we return to Penn Can! Mother Nature was not kind to the track when we were scheduled, nor the Joe’s Garage Southern Tier Series. We’re looking forward to returning here and putting on a great show for the fans!” ~ Mike Emhof
Up Next: CRSA gets set for its second doubleheader of the season at Utica-Rome Speedway July 24 for the I-90 Pit Stop Challenge and Woodhull Raceway July 25 in the Dandy Triple Play. Action at Utica-Rome can be seen live on FloRacing.
Standings
29 Dalton Herrick, 916 pts
25G Tyler Graves, 916 pts
18 Timmy Lotz -69
10SR Paul Colagiovanni Sr. -90
27W Nick Webb -161
61 Johnny Scarborough -176
410 Jerry Sehn Jr. -182
31C Maverick Coffey -248
2 Tomy Moreau -323
18C Dan Craun -335
121 Steve Glover -359
D9 Dustin Sehn -373