From Marty Czekala
SUSQUEHANNA, PA (September 12, 2026) — Mikey Smith never hits the track without his signature Burger King crown.
It’s a lighthearted ritual and a reminder to have fun behind the wheel. But Saturday night at Penn Can Speedway, the Scranton native traded cardboard for glory.
Smith put on a royal clinic, crushing the competition by eight seconds in the Joe’s Garage Southern Tier Series finale and earning the only crown that truly matters in these parts: King of the Can.
“I can’t believe we did it here again for the home fans,” said Smith in victory lane. “The way the car felt has me feeling like a king. It was just a pure beauty to drive. Put it anywhere, was wheeling it on the cushion and went right around the track exactly how I needed to.”
Smith started outside pole next to Dustin Sehn for the feature and pulled away immediately, opening a lead over Sehn and Bailey Boyd.
By lap eight, Smith had a 3.2-second lead over Sehn in lapped traffic, while Boyd challenged Sehn for second.
Meanwhile, Dillon Paddock was working through the field in Brandan Warner’s No. 21B, starting 10th and moving into fourth past Tyler Graves with 12 to go.
With 11 to go, Boyd moved around the outside of Sehn for second in lapped traffic, then survived a close call with a backmarker. Contact put the No. 3 on two wheels for a half second, but he stayed straight and no yellow was thrown.
Paddock closed in on Sehn and Boyd to take the runner-up spot with five to go.
In the end, though, “Steeze” was the class of the field, holding on, lapping up to seventh place, and averaging three tenths per lap faster than Paddock (15.6 to 15.9), sweeping Penn Can this season.
“I can’t think of any better option of an outcome,” said Smith. “Beginning of the season, that was a hard-fought win with Dalton there on a late race restart. Tonight, we had a lot better of a track and allowed the sprint car to go to its full potential. A great way to end my season. We won, I think, six out of nine shows this year.”
In addition to the four shows Smith won with CRSA, “The Music Man” also won two at Bridgeport with the Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series.
After winning a 305 vs Crate showdown at Can-Am last Thursday with the No. 21B, Paddock ran it back with the Warner team to a runner-up finish. After a slow start to heat racing, finishing second in the Elab Smokers Boutique Scramble Dash, Paddock started 10th in the feature. As the biggest mover, up eight spots, Paddock earned the Powdertech Powdercoating Hard Charger award.
“I would have liked to see a caution there towards the end,” said Paddock. “He was fast all night, but starting 10th, you got a lot of cars to pass on a technical track. WoFuld’ve liked to see if we had something for him. Got to thank Brandan for letting me race his car. We want to win a couple more shows. Not too much racing left this year.”
Rounding out the podium was Bailey Boyd with his first podium since his career best of second at Ransomville last year. Growing up around 30 minutes from Penn Can, the Binghamton native won a 600cc Modified track championship before moving up to the 305 Sprint Car ranks.
“It really means a lot to do good here,” said Boyd. “We wish we did a little better. I kind of jumped the tire out there on the outside of the backstretch. Messed up the car a little bit, but I’ll take third tonight.”
Outside of the race, seven drivers entered the feature with a chance to win the Joe’s Garage Southern Tier Series. For points leader Dalton Herrick, a seventh-place finish or better would clinch it regardless of how others finished. A P7 secured it by five points over Smith. The key moment of the miniseries championship was Herrick’s win at Thunder Mountain last month, ending a long winless streak.
“It definitely was the turning point,” said Herrick. “Would’ve been better if we ran better tonight or last time at Thunder. The car’s in one piece, and we got done early. It’s been a tough week. We lost a great man in Art Kiser this week. This was the first place I ever officially drove a race car for him, so it’s fitting to be here this week.”
It’s the second miniseries championship Herrick has won, adding to the I-90 Pit Stop Challenge Championship.
In the overall standings, Herrick now leads by 48 over Tyler Graves.
Maverick Coffey won the Elab Smokers Boutique Scramble Dash for the second time this season, earning $100 courtesy of Elab.
In a caution-free event this evening, all sessions ran green to checkered without interruption.
15 drivers signed in tonight.
CRSA Sprints
Penn Cann Speedway
Susquehanna, Pennsylvania
Saturday, September 12, 2026 a
Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. D9-Dustin Sehn[1]
2. 29-Dalton Herrick[3]
3. 9K-Kyle Pierce[4]
4. 3-Bailey Boyd[5]
5. 33-Scott Landers[7]
6. 85C-Cam MacKinnon[6]
7. 22M-Cody Higbie[8]
8. 30-Kirsten Dombroski[2]
Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 4ST-Mikey Smith[6]
2. 25G-Tyler Graves[1]
3. 18-Timmy Lotz[2]
4. 31C-Maverick Coffey[4]
5. 4-Cliff Pierce[3]
6. 21B-Dillon Paddock[7]
7. 410-Jerry Sehn Jr[5]
Elab Smokers Boutique Dash (4 Laps)
1. 31C-Maverick Coffey[1]
2. 21B-Dillon Paddock[2]
3. 4-Cliff Pierce[3]
4. 22M-Cody Higbie[5]
5. 410-Jerry Sehn Jr[6]
6. 85C-Cam MacKinnon[4]
A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 4ST-Mikey Smith[2]
2. 21B-Dillon Paddock[10]
3. 3-Bailey Boyd[3]
4. D9-Dustin Sehn[1]
5. 25G-Tyler Graves[4]
6. 9K-Kyle Pierce[6]
7. 29-Dalton Herrick[5]
8. 31C-Maverick Coffey[9]
9. 22M-Cody Higbie[12]
10. 4-Cliff Pierce[11]
11. 410-Jerry Sehn Jr[13]
12. 85C-Cam MacKinnon[14]
13. 30-Kirsten Dombroski[15]
14. 33-Scott Landers[8]
15. 18-Timmy Lotz[7]