MECHANICSBURG, Pa.: It would be easy for Freddie Rahmer to get caught up in his success at Williams Grove Speedway.
He’s been that good.
Coming into Night 1 of Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek, Rahmer’s been the fastest car at the paperclip this season. He entered the night with seven top-three finishes in nine starts, two of which were wins.
But Rahmer continues to stay grounded. He knows he can improve and works toward being the best every night he sits in the car.
That paid off again Friday. Rahmer put his car on the cushion to catch T.J. Stutts, and then pulled off a slide job to take the lead and cruise to his third Williams Grove win of the season in the 25-lap event.
“That’s what the racetrack was calling for tonight,” Rahmer, 21, said of running the top of the speedway. “It threw me off all night long.
“We got that rain shower, and it was a big chunky curb all night, and I really didn’t do a good job until the feature. They ran the track in with the grader, and we could race.”
Continued Rahmer, “The bottom came in for a couple of laps, and I just picked it up a little bit. I still need to work on some things, but we were pretty good.”
Lance Dewease was slated to start on the outside pole but went to the pit area before the green flag flew. That moved Trey Starks to the front row and Rahmer from sixth to fourth on the grid.
Rahmer took advantage. He settled into third and hit the bottom of Turn 1 on Lap 2 to take second from Starks.
Stutts, who started on the pole, pulled out to a 1.756 lead by Lap 5. It was wiped out when Matt Campbell took a hard flip on the backstretch. Campbell climbed from his car and was OK.
Rahmer took a look to the inside of Stutts at both ends of the speedway on the restart. Two laps later, Cory Haas had a flat and stopped in Turn 4.
Again, Rahmer looked to the bottom in Turns 1 and 2 on the Lap 7 restart. When he couldn’t pull off the pass, Stutts was able to build a 1.180-second advantage by the time Lap 10 was scored.
Rahmer moved to the top and ran Stutts down by Lap 13. One lap later, he pulled off a slide job in Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead.
“I had an excellent start, and I just had to bide my time for our race car,” Rahmer said. “T.J. was exceptional at the beginning, but he just got a little loose. I couldn’t keep up with him early.
“I was catching him with those lapped cars. I slid him down there and just beat him to the exit.”
Rahmer never looked back.
While the Salfordville ace was building a two-second lead over the field, James McFadden slid by Starks for third on Lap 16. On the next circuit, Lucas Wolfe shot under Starks to take fourth.
Rahmer ripped off a 2.433-second lead by Lap 20. He was on cruise-control to the win when Sam Walsh slowed on the fronstrestch.
It didn’t matter. Rahmer was money on the restart and drove away to a .986-second win over Stutts and McFadden, who had some anxious moments holding off Wolfe for third. Brian Montieth finished fifth.
“I struggled with some of the lapped cars, but it wasn’t their fault,” said Rahmer, who banked $5,000. “It was just how I got positioned. It worked out, and I’m really happy.
“My dad does the motor during the week, and me and a good friend do everything else. I have great help at the track, and it’s my mom’s birthday, so this is for her.”
Continued Rahmer, “I’m happy where we are at so far. We just need to keep digging, here.”
Troy Wagaman Jr. led every lap and scored the win in the 20-lap 358 Sprint Car main event at the speedway. Adrian Shaffer, Kevin Nouse, Phil Walter, and Brie Hershey completed the top five.
410 Sprint Feature Finish, 25 Laps: 1. Freddie Rahmer; 2. T.J. Stutts; 3. James McFadden; 4. Lucas Wolfe; 5. Brian Montieth; 6. Trey Starks; 7. Dale Blaney; 8. Greg Hodnett; 9. Aaron Ott; 10. Danny Dietrich; 11. Brock Zearfoss; 12. Brandon Rahmer; 13. Mike Wagner; 14. Anthony Macri; 15. Rick Lafferty; 16. Rodney Westhafer; 17. Jared Esh; 18. Jordan Givler; 19. Tyler Walker; 20. Sam Walsh; 21. Cory Haas; 22. Justin Barger; 23. Matt Campbell; 24. Lance Dewease.
DNQ: Alan Krimes, George Streaker, Frankie Herr, Kyle Pruitt, Troy Fraker, Mitchell Wormall, Steve Buckwalter.
358 Sprint Car Feature, 20 Laps: 1. Troy Wagaman Jr.; 2. Adrian Shaffer; 3. Kevin Nouse; 4. Phil Walter; 5. Brie Hershey; 6. Chad Trout; 7. DJ DeHaven; 8. Chris Frank; 9. Jared Esh; 10. Brett Wanner; 11. Chris Arnold; 12. Matt Findley; 13. Brent Shearer; 14. Steven Drevicki; 15. Kyle Abraham; 16. Nyle Berkes; 17. DJ Montgomery; 18. Michael Hamer; 19. Cody Keller; 20. Rich Eichelberger; 21. Eric Parker; 22. Scott Fisher; DNS: Nathan Prezenica, Shai Morris.