Story By: BRAD STRAWSER / PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY – PORT ROYAL, PA – Danny Dietrich scored a $6,000 payday by winning the opening 410 race of the season at Port Royal Speedway and Ken Duke Jr took home $1,000 in the Keystone RaceSaver Challenge.
Dietrich started 11th in the Weikert Livestock 410 A-main on the initial green flag start before a multi-car accident brought out the red flag to start the event. Lynton Jeffrey, driver of the Trone Outdoor #39 who started 2nd, got turned sideways in front of the field and multiple cars got collected in the wreckage.
Once the field was reset, Dietrich lined up in the 10th starting spot and defending track champion Devon Borden lined up 3rd. Borden on the start quickly drove to the lead on the restart and Dietrich quickly moved up into the runner up spot.
Borden would lead the field through the opening 22 laps with Dietrich tight to his tail. With 3 laps to go, a late race restart following a caution for slowing TJ Stutts, allowed Dietrich to take advantage in the entrance of turn 1 to overtake Borden.
Another caution with 1 lap to go set up for a final chance for Borden to claim the top spot back, but Dietrich took the bottom side away in turns 1 and 2 and pulled away for the opening race payday.
“My thought process is a little different than most guys,” said Dietrich in victory lane when talking about the restart that saw him take the lead, “but when we came out of 4, I got a good run on him coming down the front stretch and stuck my car in there.”
in Penns Valley Meat Market RaceSaver 305 sprint car competition, Ken Duke Jr. was able to drive from the 9 starting spot to claim the 2023 makeup of the Keystone RaceSaver Challenge.
With single digit laps remaining, Ken Duke Jr. was able to take over the top spot following a caution that saw the leader drop out due to a flat tire. Duke Jr. took home $1,000 which is the top paying race for the RaceSaver series in PA, and he’ll have the chance to repeat when the 2024 edition of the event is held on June 29th.
410 Sprints
410 A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 48-Danny Dietrich[11]; 2. 23-Devon Borden[4]; 3. 45-Jeff Halligan[1]; 4. 12D-Lance Dewease[12]; 5. 8-Billy Dietrich[3]; 6. 1-Chase Dietz[8]; 7. 5W-Lucas Wolfe[5]; 8. 35K-Jake Karklin[10]; 9. 69K-Logan Wagner[19]; 10. 5-Dylan Cisney[14]; 11. 77-Mike Walter[15]; 12. 55-Mike Wagner[22]; 13. 33H-Derek Hauck[16]; 14. 67-Justin Whittall[24]; 15. 27-Emerson Axsom[13]; 16. 47K-Kody Lehman[17]; 17. 12-Blane Heimbach[20]; 18. 51-Freddie Rahmer[6]; 19. 17B-Steve Buckwalter[23]; 20. 11-TJ Stutts[18]; 21. 17-Dylan Norris[21]; 22. 14-Corey Day[7]; 23. 39-Lynton Jeffrey[2]; 24. 33-Gerard McIntyre Jr[9]; 25. (DNS) 99-Devin Adams; 26. (DNS) 35-Austin Bishop; 27. (DNS) 12J-Tyler Esh; 28. (DNS) 17K-Kyle Keen; 29. (DNS) 69X-Kassidy Kreitz; 30. (DNS) 0-Rick Lafferty; 31. (DNS) 66-Ryan Newton; 32. (DNS) 11T-Mike Thompson
410 B Feature (8 Laps): 1. 17-Dylan Norris[1]; 2. 55-Mike Wagner[3]; 3. 17B-Steve Buckwalter[4]; 4. 67-Justin Whittall[8]; 5. 11T-Mike Thompson[2]; 6. 69X-Kassidy Kreitz[6]; 7. 35-Austin Bishop[12]; 8. 99-Devin Adams[5]; 9. 0-Rick Lafferty[7]; 10. 17K-Kyle Keen[10]; 11. 66-Ryan Newton[11]; 12. 12J-Tyler Esh[9]
410 Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Chase Dietz[2]; 2. 23-Devon Borden[1]; 3. 33-Gerard McIntyre Jr[3]; 4. 27-Emerson Axsom[4]; 5. 47K-Kody Lehman[6]; 6. 17-Dylan Norris[5]; 7. 99-Devin Adams[8]; 8. 12J-Tyler Esh[7]
410 Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 14-Corey Day[1]; 2. 8-Billy Dietrich[4]; 3. 35K-Jake Karklin[3]; 4. 5-Dylan Cisney[5]; 5. 11-TJ Stutts[8]; 6. 11T-Mike Thompson[2]; 7. 69X-Kassidy Kreitz[6]; 8. 17K-Kyle Keen[7]
410 Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 51-Freddie Rahmer[2]; 2. 39-Lynton Jeffrey[3]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich[7]; 4. 77-Mike Walter[4]; 5. 69K-Logan Wagner[8]; 6. 55-Mike Wagner[5]; 7. 0-Rick Lafferty[6]; 8. 66-Ryan Newton[1]
410 Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 5W-Lucas Wolfe[4]; 2. 45-Jeff Halligan[2]; 3. 12D-Lance Dewease[6]; 4. 33H-Derek Hauck[1]; 5. 12-Blane Heimbach[5]; 6. 17B-Steve Buckwalter[7]; 7. 67-Justin Whittall[8]; 8. 35-Austin Bishop[3]
410 Hot Laps: 1. 23-Devon Borden, 00:16.737[1]; 2. 55-Mike Wagner, 00:17.247[19]; 3. 35K-Jake Karklin, 00:17.253[10]; 4. 14-Corey Day, 00:17.364[2]; 5. 1-Chase Dietz, 00:17.376[5]; 6. 5-Dylan Cisney, 00:17.450[18]; 7. 69K-Logan Wagner, 00:17.495[31]; 8. 27-Emerson Axsom, 00:17.551[13]; 9. 48-Danny Dietrich, 00:17.701[27]; 10. 17-Dylan Norris, 00:17.760[17]; 11. 39-Lynton Jeffrey, 00:17.793[11]; 12. 77-Mike Walter, 00:18.047[15]; 13. 51-Freddie Rahmer, 00:18.051[7]; 14. 12D-Lance Dewease, 00:18.107[24]; 15. 67-Justin Whittall, 00:18.112[32]; 16. 33-Gerard McIntyre Jr, 00:18.155[9]; 17. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, 00:18.177[28]; 18. 11-TJ Stutts, 00:18.205[30]; 19. 0-Rick Lafferty, 00:18.275[23]; 20. 8-Billy Dietrich, 00:18.279[14]; 21. 47K-Kody Lehman, 00:18.291[21]; 22. 69X-Kassidy Kreitz, 00:18.299[22]; 23. 12-Blane Heimbach, 00:18.355[20]; 24. 99-Devin Adams, 00:18.388[29]; 25. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 00:18.531[16]; 26. 35-Austin Bishop, 00:18.533[12]; 27. 45-Jeff Halligan, 00:18.568[8]; 28. 33H-Derek Hauck, 00:18.613[4]; 29. 17K-Kyle Keen, 00:18.798[26]; 30. 11T-Mike Thompson, 00:19.147[6]; 31. 66-Ryan Newton, 00:19.238[3]; 32. 12J-Tyler Esh, 00:23.905[25]
305 Sprints – Winged
305 A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 67-Ken Duke Jr[9]; 2. 12-Roger Irvine[3]; 3. 52-Jeff Weaver[4]; 4. 89-Nick Sweigart[6]; 5. 28R-Jason Roush[2]; 6. 17-Owen Dimm[8]; 7. 1R-Christian Rumsey[13]; 8. 19B-Danny Buccafusca[15]; 9. 25G-Nolan Groves[17]; 10. 2-Erin Statler[25]; 11. 97-Kenny Heffner[5]; 12. 46-Mike Alleman[18]; 13. J9-Jerald Harris[21]; 14. 32B-Ethan Beasom[14]; 15. 98-Croix Beasom[23]; 16. 31Z-Zach Rhodes[11]; 17. 4W-Kasey Weaver[12]; 18. 25R-Jarrett Rosencrance[20]; 19. 7-Drew Young[1]; 20. 20-Doug Dodson[7]; 21. 19-Kruz Kepner[10]; 22. 4J-Jacob Gomola[19]; 23. 36-Mike Melair[22]; 24. 69P-Landon Price[24]; 25. 01-Timmy Bittner[26]; 26. 99-AJ Barton[16]
305 B Feature 1 (8 Laps): 1. 4J-Jacob Gomola[1]; 2. J9-Jerald Harris[2]; 3. 98-Croix Beasom[3]; 4. 2-Erin Statler[7]; 5. 88-Fred Arnold[4]; 6. 5W-Kolby Weaver[10]; 7. 47-Benjamin Miklos[8]; 8. 21-Andrew Boyer[5]; 9. 53W-Jimmy White[13]; 10. 19A-Alan Rhodes[11]; 11. (DNS) 5-Logan Spahr; 12. (DNS) 34-Austin Reed; 13. (DNS) 25-Dustin Young; 14. (DNS) 19K-Chris Kreider
305 B Feature 2 (8 Laps): 1. 25R-Jarrett Rosencrance[2]; 2. 36-Mike Melair[1]; 3. 69P-Landon Price[5]; 4. 01-Timmy Bittner[10]; 5. 1M-Paul Moyer[11]; 6. 31H-Donnie Hendershot[8]; 7. 10-Nathan Pierce[4]; 8. 7H-Kyle Hart[9]; 9. 98S-Bill Sheehan[6]; 10. (DNS) 29R-Seth Schnoke; 11. (DNS) 11W-Donald Wise; 12. (DNS) 461-Colton Hendershot
305 Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 67-Ken Duke Jr[1]; 2. 17-Owen Dimm[3]; 3. 1R-Christian Rumsey[2]; 4. 4J-Jacob Gomola[4]; 5. 88-Fred Arnold[5]; 6. 2-Erin Statler[7]; 7. 5W-Kolby Weaver[8]; 8. 53W-Jimmy White[6]
305 Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 89-Nick Sweigart[1]; 2. 4W-Kasey Weaver[3]; 3. 32B-Ethan Beasom[2]; 4. J9-Jerald Harris[5]; 5. 21-Andrew Boyer[6]; 6. 47-Benjamin Miklos[4]; 7. 19A-Alan Rhodes[8]; 8. 19K-Chris Kreider[7]
305 Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Kruz Kepner[1]; 2. 12-Roger Irvine[7]; 3. 19B-Danny Buccafusca[3]; 4. 98-Croix Beasom[6]; 5. 5-Logan Spahr[2]; 6. 34-Austin Reed[5]; 7. 25-Dustin Young[4]
305 Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 31Z-Zach Rhodes[1]; 2. 20-Doug Dodson[6]; 3. 99-AJ Barton[4]; 4. 36-Mike Melair[3]; 5. 10-Nathan Pierce[7]; 6. 11W-Donald Wise[2]; 7. 01-Timmy Bittner[5]
305 Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 52-Jeff Weaver[2]; 2. 28R-Jason Roush[4]; 3. 25G-Nolan Groves[1]; 4. 25R-Jarrett Rosencrance[5]; 5. 69P-Landon Price[6]; 6. 31H-Donnie Hendershot[3]; 7. 1M-Paul Moyer[7]
305 Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 97-Kenny Heffner[1]; 2. 7-Drew Young[4]; 3. 46-Mike Alleman[3]; 4. 29R-Seth Schnoke[6]; 5. 98S-Bill Sheehan[5]; 6. 7H-Kyle Hart[7]; 7. 461-Colton Hendershot[2]
305 Hot Laps 1: 1. 17-Owen Dimm, 00:19.706[13]; 2. 4W-Kasey Weaver, 00:20.000[14]; 3. 89-Nick Sweigart, 00:20.056[2]; 4. 36-Mike Melair, 00:20.099[16]; 5. 5-Logan Spahr, 00:20.137[9]; 6. 20-Doug Dodson, 00:20.147[34]; 7. 25G-Nolan Groves, 00:20.173[5]; 8. 19-Kruz Kepner, 00:20.320[3]; 9. 461-Colton Hendershot, 00:20.357[12]; 10. 31Z-Zach Rhodes, 00:20.369[4]; 11. 97-Kenny Heffner, 00:20.398[6]; 12. 25-Dustin Young, 00:20.427[21]; 13. 46-Mike Alleman, 00:20.629[18]; 14. 10-Nathan Pierce, 00:20.631[40]; 15. 25R-Jarrett Rosencrance, 00:20.721[29]; 16. 28R-Jason Roush, 00:20.722[23]; 17. 34-Austin Reed, 00:20.731[27]; 18. 12-Roger Irvine, 00:20.750[39]; 19. 67-Ken Duke Jr, 00:20.754[1]; 20. 2-Erin Statler, 00:20.805[37]; 21. 53W-Jimmy White, 00:20.822[31]; 22. 1R-Christian Rumsey, 00:20.837[7]; 23. 52-Jeff Weaver, 00:20.890[11]; 24. 29R-Seth Schnoke, 00:20.958[36]; 25. 99-AJ Barton, 00:21.047[22]; 26. 01-Timmy Bittner, 00:21.057[28]; 27. (DNS) J9-Jerald Harris, 00:21.064; 28. (DNS) 98-Croix Beasom, 00:21.115; 29. (DNS) 7-Drew Young, 00:21.176; 30. (DNS) 32B-Ethan Beasom, 00:21.295; 31. (DNS) 1M-Paul Moyer, 00:21.341; 32. (DNS) 31H-Donnie Hendershot, 00:21.427; 33. (DNS) 47-Benjamin Miklos, 00:21.509; 34. (DNS) 88-Fred Arnold, 00:21.549; 35. (DNS) 21-Andrew Boyer, 00:21.622; 36. (DNS) 11W-Donald Wise, 00:21.651; 37. (DNS) 69P-Landon Price, 00:21.677; 38. (DNS) 98S-Bill Sheehan, 00:21.789; 39. (DNS) 19B-Danny Buccafusca, 00:21.844; 40. (DNS) 7H-Kyle Hart, 00:22.144; 41. (DNS) 19A-Alan Rhodes, 00:22.973; 42. (DNS) 5W-Kolby Weaver, 00:23.028; 43. (DNS) 4J-Jacob Gomola, 00:25.445; 44. (DNS) 19K-Chris Kreider