Story By: RICH WATTS / KHK MOTORSPORTS – PORT ROYAL, PA – Devin Hart has been itching to get the 2023 season started. Last weekend he had a choice to make. He could stay home, he could haul about an hour for a test session, or he could haul two and a half hours to race.
Well, racers race.
Saturday morning, at their shop in the shadow of Port Royal Speedway, the team loaded up and by sunset they were standing in victory lane 130 miles away in Winchester, VA.
A field of 18 limited late models signed in for Saturday’s event at Winchester Speedway in Virginia. Teams were divided into groups for timed hot laps to determine heat race lineups within their group.
Devin Hart set quick time in group number three, giving him the pole of the third heat. He remained fast in the heat race and claimed the win handily.
By virtue of his victory in the heat race, Hart started 3rd in the feature. He jumped out in front on the opening lap, then survived some pressure in lapped traffic and a late race caution to record the win in his Lucky Buck, Hungry Run Wine Cellars, FK Rod Ends, JDS Racing, Penske Racing Shocks, Barron’s Racing Engines, Centre Boot Company, Gridiron Pizza & Gridiron Pub, Brown’s Automotive, Rocket Chassis XR1 No.33k.
“This was just one of those days where everything went our way it seemed. When that hole opened up in turn one on the first lap, I went for it and got out front early. Seemed like we were at the right place at the right time all day. I hope we have a lot of these kinds of days this year.”, Hart said.
A lap 18 caution, followed by a red flag on the ensuing restart, bunched the field and gave the frontrunners another shot at Hart. He was up to the task though and held on for his first win of the season in his first opportunity.
“We haven’t changed the core of our program. We still have Barron’s Racing Engines power from Tom Barron under the hood. We still have Penske Shocks by JDS Racing with great support from Doug Distasio (Penske) and Jim Stevens (JDS). And of course, we are still in our Rocket XR1 chassis.” Hart added.
“I can’t thank all of them enough for the great stuff they give us. Along with the win, we learned some things today too, so it was definitely worth the trip. Hopefully we can get all our great partners in victory lane a bunch this year.”
After dividing his time between the Steve Campbell owned No.2 and his own No.33k in 2022, Hart is back fully focused on his own program this season.
After winning track championships at both Port Royal Speedway and Selinsgrove Speedway in 2021, Hart fell short of repeating the feat in 2022. He finished 4th and 2nd respectively at those tracks last season.
In 2023, Hart won’t chase points.
“We’re going to run where it makes sense for us. We’ll still be at Port Royal (Speedway) a lot; probably every time they have our division, but there are some bigger races we want to take a shot at when we can.”, Hart said.
“Another part of it is we all have jobs, so we will work around everyone’s schedule and make the most of our opportunities to go racing.“
Port Royal Speedway has eleven limited late model dates on their schedule, so that leaves plenty of room on the calendar for Hart and the KHK Motorsports team to roam. Hart noted a handful of events at Hagerstown Speedway and Bedford Speedway as some the team have penciled in on their schedule.
“If there’s one race I have circled on the schedule though, it’s the Butch Renninger Memorial at Port Royal. That one honors my grandfather. It would mean a lot to me to win it.”, Hart shared.
“I have wanted to win that one since we started but it just hasn’t come together for us yet. We race one week at a time but every lap around that place before September, in my mind, is just preparation for that race.”
Hart and the KHK Motorsports team will open their Port Royal Speedway season this weekend with the track’s first Limited Late Model event of 2023.