1. Brent Marks put up historic numbers during this year’s version of Pennsylvania Speedweek. Not only did Marks tie the record for most wins in a series — Stevie Smith in 2015 — with five, he racked up $68,500 in earnings, also a Speedweek best.
2. The $68,500 in earnings for Brent Marks also included $6,000 for the championship and a $5,000 bonus from Selinsgrove Ford for finishing in the Top 10 of every Speedweek race. It does not include fast time or any contingency awards.
3. We mentioned the Top-10 bonus Brent Marks achieved during PA Speedweek. One of the more impressive stats I’ve seen in years is that Marks has finished on the podium in 18 of his last 19 starts. Wow.
4. A week ago, we broke news on SprintCarUnlimited.com that Cory Eliason was let go by Rudeen Racing. Zeb Wise has been hired to run the No. 26 starting next week. He kicks off his tenure Tuesday night at the Brad Doty Classic.
5. Back to Brent Marks’ dominance … he won four straight PA Speedweek races, which broke a record shared by Stevie Smith (2015) and Kyle Larson (2020). He also led 137 laps, which was over twice Anthony Macri’s 60.
6. Speaking of Anthony Macri, he was second in earnings for the week at $33,701. Danny Dietrich ($21,649), Justin Peck ($19,950), and Rico Abreu ($18,400) complete the top five.
7. It’s been a busy couple of weeks for Danny Dietrich and Justin Peck. The two drivers competed in both Ohio and Pennsylvania Speedweek for a grueling stretch of 18 races in 24 nights.
8. Justin Peck ended up second in the Pennsylvania Speedweek point standings. The All Star Circuit of Champions ace was a top-five finisher in six of the nine races.
9. Rico Abreu kicked off his Pennsylvania Speedweek run at Grandview Speedway with a win in the Hodnett Cup. He also added three more top fives and finished with an average finish of 4.6 in six races. It should be noted that Abreu finished seventh in points despite missing the first three events.
10. A total of 55 drivers qualified for an A-Main in Pennsylvania Speedweek competition. Brent Marks, Danny Dietrich, Justin Peck, Lucas Wolfe, and T.J. Stutts are the only drivers to qualify for every main event.
11. There were 11 drivers who competed in every PA Speedweek event last week. The five from No. 10 were joined by Freddie Rahmer, Ryan Smith, Devon Borden, Dylan Norris, Chase Dietz, and Kyle Moody.
12. One driver missing from that list was Anthony Macri. The Dillsburg, Pa., missed the finale at Selinsgrove Speedway due to personal issues within the team.
13. Anthony Macri was running sixth on Lap 17 at Port Royal Speedway Saturday night when he shredded a tire. The debris pushed the skid rail through the fuel cell, and he developed a leak while in the work area.
14. The average car count for the nine Pennsylvania Speedweek events was 34.66. The highest was the Kevin Gobrecht Memorial at Lincoln Speedway (47). The lowest came in the finale at Selinsgrove (23).
15. A total of 82 drivers participated in a Pennsylvania Speedweek event. That’s pretty good considering the tire shortage going on Sprint Car racing.
16. If there is a local team in Central Pa. looking for a young driver, it might be time to look in Troy Wagaman Jr.’s direction. In his last six starts, which consists of five at Lincoln Speedway and one at Williams Grove, he has four top-five finishes and two top 10s. His average during the stretch is 4.16.
17. Danny Dietrich wasn’t able to put together the PA Speedweek he envisioned. The Gettysburg, Pa., driver struggled and didn’t have a top-three finish until the finale at Selinsgrove. He did manage to save the week with a $10,099 victory in the last event.
18. On the road with the World of Outlaws, Jacob Allen notched his third win of the season on Friday night at Cedar Lake Speedway. The Shark Racing driver has seven top-five finishes this season, which is one behind his career best of eight in a single season (2020).
19. Victory Lane was pretty emotional with the World of Outlaws last week. Brock Zearfoss earned his second career Outlaw victory on Night 2 at Cedar Lake. His first win came in the 2017 Summer Nationals at Williams Grove.
20. It’s still hard to believe that Brad Sweet only has one World of Outlaws win this season. Despite being in the middle of a 23-race losing streak, the three-time defending series champion holds a 38-point lead over Sheldon Haudenschild in the point standings.
21. Piggy-backing No. 20 … Brad Sweet will break his losing streak this weekend or during next week’s stretch of events at Attica Raceway Park and Eldora Speedway.
22. Talk about competitive. No World of Outlaws regular is averaging a top-five finish for the first 34 races of the season. Brad Sweet (6.0), Carson Macedo (6.29), and David Gravel (6.85) top the list.
23. Looking to handicap next week’s Historical Big One and Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway? David Gravel has the best average finish on half-mile ovals this season at 5.2. Donny Schatz is second (6.6). Brent Marks is third in seven races at 7.0.
24. David Gravel also seems to be picking up speed of late. In his last five races, he leads the series in average finish at 5.2. Brock Zearfoss is second on that list at 6.4.
25. The order gets shuffled a little bit if you look at the last 10 races of World of Outlaws competition. Carson Macedo is tops among series regulars with a 6.4. Brad Sweet (6.6) and David Gravel (6.8) follow his lead.
26. Carson Macedo surged to the top of the list of laps led in World of Outlaws events this season with 146. Sheldon Haudenschild (143), Brad Sweet (108), Jacob Allen (78), and David Gravel (73) complete the top five.
27. Our condolences to Donny Schatz and his family on the passing of Danny Schatz, Donny’s father. He was a huge influence on the 10-time World of Outlaws champion.
28. Brandon Spithaler has parted ways with the Bryan Grove Sprint Car team. He joined the team in late May, taking over for Tim Shaffer.
29. Cory Eliason showed up at Knoxville Raceway last week behind the wheel of the Bernie Stuebgen Indy Race Parts No. 71. He finished second in the 410 Sprint Car A-Main.
30. The Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions are back in action this week after a 17-day layoff after Ohio Speedweek. First up is the $25,000 Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway, which takes place tonight (July 6). The series heads to New York for events at Ransomville and Stateline over the weekend.
31. Danny Dietrich was supposed to head west to compete at Lernerville Speedway. Due to weather, he indicated that he was going to stay home and prepare for the upcoming weekend in Central Pa.
32. Anthony Macri has racked up the most top-five finishes in central Pennsylvania this season with 26. He is followed by Danny Dietrich (24) and Brent Marks (22). The most interesting stat is that Justin Peck is fourth on the list with 16.
33. A total of 65 drivers have registered a top-five finish in Central Pa. this season. Kyle Larson and Rico Abreu joined the list last week.
34. Robbie Kendall will drive John Westbrook’s No. 1W this Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway. All Star Circuit of Champions regular Kyle Reinhardt drove the car in select Speedweek events last week.
35. Brent Marks led 137 laps over Pennsylvania Speedweek and has now paced the field for 240 circuits in the region this season. Anthony Macri is second at 231, with Danny Dietrich coming in third at 157. No other driver has led 100 laps this season.
36. There have been 44 lap leaders in central Pennsylvania competition this season. Rico Abreu and Kyle Larson joined the list last week.
37. The USAC AMSOIL National Tour posted its highest car counts of the season last week at Lincoln Park Speedway. There were 49 cars in the pit area Friday night before 52 entered on Saturday.
38. Brady Bacon is second in the USAC National point standings, but he has led the most laps this season with 128. Justin Grant is second with 82 and is the point leader. Robert Ballou is third with 73.
39. It’s a big weekend for the USAC stars. They head to South Dakota’s Huset’s Speedway to take part in the three-day USAC Nationals, which features a $12,000 payday for the winner of the finale.
40. Trey Starks and Justin Sanders top the win list on the West Coast with seven checkered flags. Dominic Scelzi and Corey Day each have five.
41. The King of the West Series has canceled its scheduled visit to Petaluma Speedway on July 9 due to the recent tire shortage. The speedway will still run the Dwarf Car, 600 Micro Sprints, and Mini Stocks.
42. It appears the tire shortage and a drought have impacted other divisions in California. The USAC/CRA and Kings of Thunder 360 Series have also canceled a pair of shows. Is this going to be a trend across the country? Stay tuned.
43. Reserved for Richard Petty and Jerry Reigle.
44. Ian Madsen has hooked up with the Iowa-based TKS Motorsports team. The Aussie finished 17th in Saturday’s main event at Knoxville Raceway. Madsen and TKS will head to Iowa’s Lee County Speedway Thursday before heading to Knoxville Raceway Thursday.
45. Lance Dewease and the Don Kreitz Jr.-owned team were absent from the Greg Hodnett Classic at Port Royal Speedway last week. On Friday, Dewease was involved in an incident which led to his car hitting the wall and helicoptering down the frontstretch at Williams Grove. Dewease was OK, but he was sore, and the team decided to sit out Saturday.
46. After a failing to make the finale of the High Bank Nationals at Huset’s Speedway, Aaron Reutzel returned to action last Saturday and bagged the win in the Mid-Summer Championship at Knoxville Raceway. It was his eighth triumph of the season.
47. Zach Blurton made news over the weekend by capturing his first career Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour win. It came at Kansas’ WaKeeney Speedway.
48. Logan Wagner is making the trek to Lernerville Speedway Wednesday night to compete in the Silver Cup. He will be joined by central Pennsylvania’s Brent Marks and the All Star Circuit of Champions regulars.
49. Kevin Thomas Jr. returned to USAC action last week behind the wheel of the BGE/Dougherty Motorsports Team at Lincoln Park Speedway. He finished 16th and 19th over the two-race weekend. The team plans to compete in the upcoming USAC Sprint Week from July 22-30.
50. Looking ahead to next week, the prestigious Month of Money kicks off at Tuesday’s Brad Doty Classic. It continues over the next four days at Eldora Speedway for the Kings Royal and Historical Big One weekend.
You must be logged in to post a comment.