Hitzler Makes It Three In A Row In Modified 50 During Linda’s Speedway’s Golden Anniversary Season

Story By: KASEY KREIDER / LINDA’S SPEEDWAY – JONESTOWN, PA – Despite being a late addition to this year’s racing calendar at the Linda’s Speedway, it seemed only fitting for the Xcel 600 Modified Tour’s 50-lapper to return to the quarter-mile for the 2025 season – the 50th year of competition at the Jonestown racetrack.

And in this special season of racing, perhaps no driver has put a bigger stamp on it in the Modified class than Lebanon’s Richie Hitzler. After scoring an unthinkable 50th-career Modified win at the speedway earlier in the year, Hitzler used a mid-race restart to elevate past points leader Kenny Harris and claim his third consecutive – and fifth total – Modified 50 win.

Time trials kicked off the night of competition for the Modified competitors, and it was two-time Linda’s champion, defending Tour champion, and current points leader Kenny Harris setting the pace in qualifying with a lap time of 13.170 seconds.

That effort locked Harris directly onto pole position for the 50-lap feature, but the Fredericksburg native – along with outside polesitter Korey Inglin – were given the option to take a $100 bonus if either driver was able to win the race starting from no higher than the ninth position. Valuing the track position despite the race’s long distance, both drivers declined the opportunity, and instead would pace the field at the start of the A-Main.

While the early portion of the race was disrupted by a number of caution flags, each restart saw some thrilling action as drivers sliced and diced for position. Harris and Inglin remained in the top two spots, but Hitzler – who started the race in fifth – methodically worked his way up the pack. On a lap 17 restart, he ripped the runner-up spot out of Inglin’s grasp.

Then, the decisive moment of the race came on a lap 30 restart, as Hitzler drove the Ray Gradwell-owned No. 9 into turn 1 hard up against the cushion to blast around Harris for the race lead.

Hitzler never lost command of the race from that point forward, as he scored the win ahead of current Tour points leader Doug Newbigging and Harris. Despite not scoring the victory, Harris did extend his points lead in the Linda’s Speedway standings to 23 entering the Modifieds’ championship finale and doubleheader on Sept. 26.

Friday night was also a special one for a valued member of Linda’s Speedway’s 50-year history, as Chris Smith was inducted as Linda’s Speedway’s newest “Living Legend.” Smith – afour-time track champion in the Charger class who also serves as a track worker on his nights out of the driver’s seat – was honored during intermission alongside family and several close friends. Smith competed in both Bernheisel Race Component Charger events on Friday night, finishing sixth in the second race after mechanical issues knocked him out of the first A-Main.

Both of those races saw plenty of excitement on Friday night, as in the first event, former Linda’s champion Aaron Updegraff was there to pick up the pieces after an incident involving Jeremy Ott, Chris Warren, and Chucky Kimmel while those three drivers were battling for the lead around the halfway mark.

With all three drivers being sent to the tail, Updegraff inherited the top spot, and held on the rest of the way to score the victory from the 10th starting position.

In the second race of the doubleheader, five-time champion and current points leader Eric Hollenbach claimed his second win of the year aboard the Kimmel Racing No. 711. With the win, Hollenbach takes an 18-point lead into the Charger Championship Race on Sept. 26.

Despite nursing a sprained ankle from an accident one week prior, nothing slowed down Brandon Heist on Friday night in Mt. Gretna Roller Rink 270 Micro Sprint competition, as the Jonestown driver came out on top of an exciting early-race scrap with Brayden Winters to claim an astounding seventh Linda’s Speedway win of the season. Moreover, with his result on Friday night, Heist mathematically clinched his third consecutive title in the 270 class ahead of the division’s final points race next weekend. Heist will join Mike Rutherford, Nick Skias, and Mike Boyer as drivers to win three-straight championships in the 270s at Linda’s.

In the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic Wingless 600 Micro Sprint race, “The Wild Child” Chase Schott stomped the competition and racked up his third win of the season in the class, making up for the heartbreak of a near-miss in the Winged 600 contest one week prior. Points leader Matt Warner came home with a solid third, and will hold a 21-point advantage over Schott in the standings going into their championship finale on Oct. 3.

Linda’s Speedway returns next Friday, Sept. 19 with a four-division show on the calendar. The All Star Slingshots will run their “Slinger Stinger 32” event in honor of former Lebanon county racer Cyrus Patschke. The Hoffer Paving Junior Slingshots will also be on the card, as both Slingshot divisions contest their final points races of 2025. The Mt. Gretna Roller Rink 270 Micro Sprints will also run their final points-paying event of the season, while the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic Winged 600 Micro Sprints are back on the quarter-mile as well.

Results 9/12/2025-

Mt. Gretna Roller Rink 270 Micro Sprints 23 Entries

A-Main 25 Laps

1. 5R-Brandon Heist Sr[2]; 2. 41-Mike Boyer[6]; 3. 2B-Brayden Winters[1]; 4. 27O-Billy Logeman[5]; 5. 11-Brian Heist[4]; 6. 1-Jesse Snyder[7]; 7. 15-Alex Swift[9]; 8. 6-Danial Boyer[11]; 9. 96W-Chase Walker[14]; 10. 5W-Chris Dolan[17]; 11. 88J-Jason Klinger[3]; 12. 95-Bennett Skelton[8]; 13. 747-Richie Hartman[21]; 14. 77G-Issac Graby[12]; 15. 23K-Courtney Kupp[16]; 16. 34-Christi Sweigart[15]; 17. 94-Dallas Sanders[22]; 18. 5-Cayden Forsythe[19]; 19. 08-Jason Paisley[23]; 20. 24M-Andrea Matter Martin[18]; 21. 76H-Bryson Haugh[20]; 22. 19-Matt Fernsler[13]; 23. 84-Zach Glass[10]

Heat 1 8 Laps

1. 95-Bennett Skelton[1]; 2. 1-Jesse Snyder[3]; 3. 2B-Brayden Winters[5]; 4. 84-Zach Glass[2]; 5. 19-Matt Fernsler[7]; 6. 23K-Courtney Kupp[8]; 7. 24M-Andrea Matter Martin[6]; 8. (DNF) 76H-Bryson Haugh[4]

Heat 2 8 Laps

1. 5R-Brandon Heist Sr[2]; 2. 27O-Billy Logeman[5]; 3. 15-Alex Swift[4]; 4. 6-Danial Boyer[3]; 5. 96W-Chase Walker[6]; 6. 5W-Chris Dolan[8]; 7. 5-Cayden Forsythe[7]; 8. (DNF) 747-Richie Hartman[1]

Heat 3 8 Laps

1. 41-Mike Boyer[2]; 2. 11-Brian Heist[1]; 3. 88J-Jason Klinger[4]; 4. 77G-Issac Graby[3]; 5. 34-Christi Sweigart[7]; 6. (DNF) 94-Dallas Sanders[6]; 7. (DNS) 08-Jason Paisley

Wingless 600 Micro Sprints 8 Entries

A-Main 25 Laps

1. 19-Chase Schott[1]; 2. 11H-Holden Eckman[3]; 3. 98-Matthew Warner[4]; 4. 55-Sam LaMothe[5]; 5. 33-Scott Lutz[6]; 6. 3Y-Zachary Young[7]; 7. 2L-Luke Hess[8]; 8. 127-Korey Inglin[2]

Heat 1 8 Laps

1. 19-Chase Schott[2]; 2. 127-Korey Inglin[1]; 3. 11H-Holden Eckman[4]; 4. 98-Matthew Warner[7]; 5. 55-Sam LaMothe[5]; 6. 33-Scott Lutz[6]; 7. 3Y-Zachary Young[8]; 8. 2L-Luke Hess[3]

600cc Modifieds 25 Entries

Modified 50 50 Laps

1. 9RGR-Richie Hitzler[5]; 2. 29-Douglas Newbigging[3]; 3. 17K-Kenny Harris[1]; 4. 8-Tiffany Hitzler[10]; 5. 127-Korey Inglin[2]; 6. 13-Ed Hollenbach[15]; 7. 22-Raymond Gradwell[18]; 8. 19-Shawn Light[16]; 9. 20K-Chad Kreiser[19]; 10. 15-Jimmy Stong[23]; 11. 54-Chris Warren[4]; 12. 20-Cody Reichard[22]; 13. 13W-Vincent Wenrich[13]; 14. 31-Gage Landis[6]; 15. 78-Josh Bewley[9]; 16. 71D-Austin Daniels[11]; 17. 122-Brandon Kulp[21]; 18. 21-Mark Bressler[8]; 19. 116-Gerry Bressler[12]; 20. 756-Steve Lehman[24]; 21. 17-Cory Phillips[17]; 22. 5-John Hall[20]; 23. 10T-Tyler Fronina[14]; 24. 4M-Dylan Cordier[7]; 25. 20R-Ryley Garman[25]

Qualifier 8 Laps

1. 78-Josh Bewley[1]; 2. 8-Tiffany Hitzler[6]; 3. 71D-Austin Daniels[2]; 4. 116-Gerry Bressler[3]; 5. 13W-Vincent Wenrich[4]; 6. 10T-Tyler Fronina[7]; 7. 13-Ed Hollenbach[8]; 8. 19-Shawn Light[10]; 9. 17-Cory Phillips[9]; 10. 22-Raymond Gradwell[12]; 11. 20K-Chad Kreiser[14]; 12. 5-John Hall[13]; 13. 122-Brandon Kulp[5]; 14. 20-Cody Reichard[15]; 15. 15-Jimmy Stong[17]; 16. 756-Steve Lehman[11]; 17. 20R-Ryley Garman[16]

Time Trials 2 Laps

1. 17K-Kenny Harris, 00:13.170[12];

2. 127-Korey Inglin, 00:13.191[22];

3. 29-Douglas Newbigging, 00:13.236[7];

4. 54-Chris Warren, 00:13.289[23];

5. 9RGR-Richie Hitzler, 00:13.306[11];

6. 31-Gage Landis, 00:13.308[4];

7. 4M-Dylan Cordier, 00:13.329[20];

8. 21-Mark Bressler, 00:13.353[19];

9. 78-Josh Bewley, 00:13.396[24];

10. 71D-Austin Daniels, 00:13.401[13];

11. 116-Gerry Bressler, 00:13.413[21];

12. 13W-Vincent Wenrich, 00:13.452[15];

13. 122-Brandon Kulp, 00:13.485[18];

14. 8-Tiffany Hitzler, 00:13.546[6];

15. 10T-Tyler Fronina, 00:13.580[14];

16. 13-Ed Hollenbach, 00:13.600[16];

17. 17-Cory Phillips, 00:13.638[17];

18. 19-Shawn Light, 00:13.671[2];

19. 756-Steve Lehman, 00:13.799[9];

20. 22-Raymond Gradwell, 00:13.825[1];

21. 5-John Hall, 00:13.835[5];

22. 20K-Chad Kreiser, 00:13.879[8];

23. 20-Cody Reichard, 00:14.515[3];

24. 20R-Ryley Garman, 00:14.734[25];

25. 15-Jimmy Stong 00:14.800[10];

Chargers 15 Entries

A-Main (from 7/25/2025) 15 Laps

1. 77A-Aaron Updegraff[10]; 2. 711-Eric Hollenbach[8]; 3. 21-Ian Herr[5]; 4. 15-Butch Helsel[12]; 5. 27-Austin Webster[11]; 6. 21X-Chris Derr[7]; 7. 32-Dennis Christ[6]; 8. 01-Ed Hollenbach[14]; 9. 10-Chucky Kimmel[1]; 10. 6PK-Justin Riegel[13]; 11. 10J-Jeremy Ott[3]; 12. 2M-Josh Michael[4]; 13. 69-Christian Smith[9]; 14. 29-Hailey Smith[15]; 15. 54-Chris Warren[2]

A-Main 15 Laps

1. 711-Eric Hollenbach[2]; 2. 2M-Josh Michael[1]; 3. 54-Chris Warren[6]; 4. 32-Dennis Christ[13]; 5. 6PK-Justin Riegel[14]; 6. 69-Christian Smith[11]; 7. 77A-Aaron Updegraff[7]; 8. 21-Ian Herr[3]; 9. 01-Ed Hollenbach[8]; 10. 27-Austin Webster[9]; 11. 10J-Jeremy Ott[4]; 12. 15-Butch Helsel[10]; 13. 29-Hailey Smith[15]; 14. (DNS) 21X-Chris Derr; 15. (DQ) 10-Chucky Kimmel[5]

Timed Dash 2 Laps

1. 2M-Josh Michael, 00:15.534[8];

2. 711-Eric Hollenbach, 00:15.577[6];

3. 21-Ian Herr, 00:15.596[4];

4. 10J-Jeremy Ott, 00:15.753[9];

5. 10-Chucky Kimmel, 00:15.771[7];

6. 54-Chris Warren, 00:15.786[14];

7. 77A-Aaron Updegraff, 00:15.878[13];

8. 01-Ed Hollenbach, 00:15.965[5];

9. 27-Austin Webster, 00:16.000[15];

10. 15-Butch Helsel, 00:16.044[3];

11. 69-Christian Smith, 00:16.105[11];