It’s Speedweek Redemption For Ruppert At Linda’s; Brexton Busch Pockets Junior Sprint Triumph

Story By: KASEY KREIDER / LINDA’S SPEEDWAY – JONESTOWN, PA – To say that Lewisberry’s Alex Ruppert had a little bit of motivation entering the 2024 edition of Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek presented by Performance Electronics would be a little bit of an understatement.

Two years ago, Ruppert ran second in the big Speedweek Finale at Lanco, a race he very well could’ve won. Last year, a heat race crash and deflating right rear tire in the Finale denied Ruppert of a Speedweek championship.

And in last year’s Speedweek race at Linda’s Speedway, Ruppert appeared to have the dominant car. He pulled out to a lead of multiple seconds early in the race, but faded heavily in the late laps, surrendering the win to Tommy Kunsman.

So with all that in back of his mind, when Ruppert saw a chance at victory on Thursday night at the quarter-mile, the former National Open champion was sure to not let the opportunity slip through his fingers again. Ruppert took the lead from the outside pole on the opening lap and never looked back en route to his first career Speedweek triumph.

While it was apparent early on that Ruppert would be a contender for the win, it was also clear that his challengers would be aplenty. The 87 entries were split into two flights, and Ruppert timed second-fastest among all cars in Flight A, trailing only the overall quick timer in Matt Warner. Meanwhile, Wilmington, DE’s P. J. Williams was the fastest among the Flight B drivers.

A rough heat race from Warner took him out of contention, but opened the door for Ruppert to establish a top starting position for the A-Main. The teenager carved deftly through the pack from his sixth starting spot, and picked up a thrilling heat race win that put him firmly near the top of the passing points chart.

The only driver that stood in the way of Ruppert and pole position of the 35-lap feature was Williams, and his own 6-to-1 run in a heat race coupled with his maximum points earned during time trials was just enough to nab the top spot away from Ruppert in the passing points category. The Speedweek tune-up winner from three weeks prior would lead the field to green for the A-Main, searching for a big marquee win of his own.

But Ruppert shot out of a cannon on the initial start, buzzing through the top of turns 3 and 4 and grabbing the lead right away while bringing Alec Quiggle with him into the second spot.

Once Ruppert built up a big advantage, it was easy to wonder if this would be a repeat of last year’s Speedweek event. But as the race wore on, it soon became apparent that it was instead deja vu from the 2021 National Open, where Ruppert thoroughly dominated the field to claim a victory that put him on the map as a big-race threat.

As laps wound down, Ruppert’s challengers knew they had to put themselves in position to try and make a bid for the win. While fighting for the runner-up spot after a restart with eight to go, Quiggle and Williams both crashed in turn 3. This opened the door for defending National Open champion Christian Bruno and last year’s Speedweek winner Tommy Kunsman to put their hats into the ring and steal the victory from Ruppert.

But over the final eight-lap green flag run, Ruppert’s car did what it had done all night long. The No. 5 drove away from the fray, and there would be no one that could take the checkered flag away from him this time as he flashed across the finish line in first.

“It’s been nothing but a year of straight motivation,” Ruppert said in victory lane. “I feel like we really gave it away last year… we pulled through and this one feels good. This is probably the best one yet.”

Bruno came home with second, while Steven Snyder, Jr. went from 19th to third and was the hard charger. Kunsman and Zack Weisenfluh made up the rest of the top five.

In Junior Sprint competition, Brexton Busch had to duel with Linda’s Speedway regular Jase Smith in order to pick up the victory. For the fourth time in as many Speedweek races, Busch came out on top, as he wrestled the lead away around the halfway mark and held off Smith through the closing laps for the victory.

Behind Busch and Smith, Ashlyn Wittmer finished third to grab her first Speedweek podium, while Landon Snyder and Gage Pio completed the top five.

Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek presented by Performance Electronics continues Friday, July 19 with the inaugural event at the McGrewBid Motoplex. Speedweek then concludes Saturday, July 20 with the $10,000-to-win Finale at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway.

Linda’s Speedway returns to action on Friday, July 26 with five classes in competition. The Mt. Gretna Roller Rink 270 Micro Sprints will be joined by the Front Wheel Drive division, the East Coast Legends Series, and a Speedweek event for the PA Micro Midgets featuring the 500 and 300 divisions.