Heist Rebounds in a Big Way With 270 Micro Sprint Triumph; Sherwood is a Stock Car Winner Again at Linda’s Speedway

COLUMN BY: Kasey Kreider / LINDA SPEEDWAY – JONESTOWN, PA  – When racing for a track championship, a driver can ill afford to have a bad night, especially when competing in a class as competitive as the Mt. Gretna Roller Rink 270 Micro Sprints at the Linda’s Speedway. Sometimes the only way to offset an ugly night is with an outstanding one, and that’s exactly what three-time defending track champion Brandon Heist did at the quarter-mile on Friday night.

After rare mechanical issues plagued Heist’s race last Friday and caused him to lose valuable championship points to eventual race winner Cory Myers, the native of Jonestown knew that he needed to bounce back in a big way when this Friday night rolled around. After making a statement with a heat race win in the early portion of the evening, Heist flat-out dominated the 25-lap A-Main from pole position and turned in a performance that netted him the maximum number of championship points.

Myers – already a two-time feature winner this year – was on the outside of the front row and ran second for the entire race, but was never able to pose a legitimate threat to the Dave

Walter-owned No. 4R entry, as Heist cruised to his second win of the season and cut Myers’

early-season points lead down to 11.

The GP Motorsports Front Wheel Drive Cars returned to the Linda’s Speedway on Friday night with a 15-lapper that was “off the wall.” Six cars ran among the lead pack for the entirety of the race, but it was 11-time and defending track champion Bill Sherwood who took the lead around halfway, and then held off a furious charge from Chris Yob in the closing laps. Yob got to Sherwood’s back bumper coming to white flag and turned the No. 11 Scirocco sideways, but Yob lifted to allow Sherwood to save his machine, and Sherwood held on through the final circuit to seal his first Linda’s win since August of 2024.

Meanwhile, it was Schuylkill Haven’s Tyler Ulsh claiming his second win in the first three races of All Star Slingshot competition in 2026. Ulsh needed a little bit of misfortune for Dave Carraghan, who grabbed the lead away late in the going but suffered a mechanical problem with three laps to go that thwarted his effort for back-to-back wins. Ulsh re-inherited the lead and pulled away over the final few laps to secure the victory.

Both the Junior Sprints and the Restricted Wingless 600 Micro Sprints were in action as well on Friday night, showcasing two of the young and talented female racers at the speedway. Ashlyn Wittmer rebounded from a Thursday night crash at McGrewBid Motoplex to take another Linda’s Speedway win – her third in the past four races dating back to last year. Meanwhile, the Restricted Wingless 600s saw an intense race, with Izzy Landis breaking through for her first-ever win at the quarter-mile.

Linda’s Speedway will race again next Friday, May 15 with another five-division show on the

schedule. The Winged 600 Micro Sprints will highlight the micro sprint action, while the

Precision Powder Coating Chargers and Xcel 600 Modifieds will bring some stock car flavor as well. The Junior Slingshots will also return, and the Midgets are scheduled to make their first appearance of 2026. Gates will open at 5 p.m., with warmups beginning the on-track festivities at 7 p.m. Grandstand admission remains at just $5, but for those unable to attend, live streaming coverage will be provided by The Cushion.

Mt. Gretna Roller Rink 270 Micro Sprints 

A-Main 25 Laps

1. 4R-Brandon Heist Sr[1]; 2. 20-Cory Myers[2]; 3. 27-Brayden Spencer[4]; 4. 27T-Mike Rutherford[6]; 5. 27O-Billy Logeman[16]; 6. 95-Bennett Skelton[7]; 7. 23K-Courtney Kupp[11]; 8. 41-Mike Boyer[13]; 9. 6-Danial Boyer[19]; 10. 1-Jesse Snyder[14]; 11. 94-Dallas Sanders[15]; 12. 5-Bret Cronrath[12]; 13. 08-Jason Paisley[10]; 14. 19-Matt Fernsler[5]; 15. 34-Christi Sweigart[24]; 16. 5W-Cayden Forsythe[23]; 17. 88J-Jason Klinger[17]; 18. 56-Brian Kramer[22]; 19. 11-Brian Heist[3]; 20. 96W-Chase Walker[9]; 21. 08G-Austin Graby[21]; 22. 22J-Joshua Ohlinger[20]; 23. 5A-Jason Swavely[8]; 24. (DNS) 82-John Maurer

All Star Slingshots 

A-Main 20 Laps

1. 1T-Tyler Ulsh[3]; 2. 42H-Brett Bieber[6]; 3. 77-Daniel Betz[8]; 4. 28-Dustin Degler[2]; 5. 55B-Barry Seaman[4]; 6. 1-Lilly Esterly[1]; 7. 97Z-Zack Gerber[10]; 8. 98-Jeff Shank[7]; 9. 8DS-Darren Shenk[12]; 10. 83-Tyler Behney[11]; 11. 3-David Carraghan[5]; 12. 94S-Emma Sneddon[13]; 13. F14-Scott Gray[9]

Restricted Non Winged Micros

A-Main 15 Laps

1. 38-Isabella Landis[2]; 2. 44-Waylon Wolf[1]; 3. 36-Jocelynn Darinsig[3]; 4. 707-Jax Wittmer[5]; 5. 28-Archer Jumper[4]; 6. 1S-William Simco[9]; 7. 2-Brantlee Leitzel[6]; 8. 33S-Cole Surman[8]; 9. 1-Enzo Iudicello[7]

Junior Sprints 

A-Main 15 Laps

1. 7-Ashlyn Wittmer[1]; 2. 64B-Barrett Bressler[2]; 3. 45-Logan Schibilia[3]; 4. 33S-Cole Surman[5]; 5. 26-Andrew Ferriola[4]; 6. 36J-Jaxson Payero[6]; 7. 21-Caleb Mertz[7]