69K Scores 50K At Tusky 50

Lance Dewease scores richest payday in Port Royal Speedway history

Story By: Tyler Altmeyer/ASCOC

Photos By: Dan DeMarco/RacersGuide.com

PORT ROYAL, PA (September 9, 2017) – Ending a perfect weekend for the Fayetteville, Pennsylvania, native, Lance Dewease scored the richest payday in the history of Port Royal Speedway on Saturday evening, dominating 44 of 50 circuits around the Juniata County Fairgrounds “Speed Palace” to claim the 50th running of the Tuscarora 50 worth $50,000.

Dewease, now with an unprecedented six Tuscarora 50 titles, started sixth on the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions main event grid, taking command officially on lap seven over Kunkletown’s Ryan Smith and Central Pennsylvania hotshot, Danny Dietrich. Despite a competition yellow during the midpoint of the 50-lapper, Dewease remained flawless during his campaign at the top of the running order, crossing under the final checkers nearly four seconds ahead of Smith, Brock Zearfoss, a hard-charging Lucas Wolfe, and the “Madman” Kerry Madsen.

“I know how to run this place for 50 laps,” Lance Dewease said on the Port Royal Speedway victory lane stage. “We didn’t push it real hard at the beginning just because I didn’t want to overheat my left rear. I probably could have ran a little faster, but I didn’t want to yet. This is all about this team right now. We have a 16-race-old motor in here. It’s the ‘little engine that can.’ My team works their butts off every time we show up to race. It’s definitely hard work that gets us here.”

The “Kunkletown Kid” Ryan Smith and Western Pennsylvania’s own Carl Bowser led the 27 starters to green for the 50th running of the Tuscarora 50. Smith earned the early advantage, racing back to the flagstand for the first time with Danny Dietrich, Lance Dewease and Carl Bowser in tow. Utilizing the very topside of the speedway, Ryan Smith kept command for the first six circuits.

By lap three, Lance Dewease had worked his way underneath Dietrich for second. Four circuits later, Dewease was battling for the top spot, ultimately working underneath Ryan Smith with a textbook slide job at the entrance of turn one. Dietrich followed Dewease’s tracks and also worked by Smith, keeping pace with the familiar No. 69K until traffic spoiled Dietrich’s momentum on lap 10.

Working as an advantage for the race leader, traffic eventually intensified which allowed Dewease to escape from the rest of the field. By the time the race was stopped for a competition yellow on lap 25, Dewease’s command was built to nearly four seconds. During the closing laps before the yellow, Ryan Smith battled back to regain second over Dietrich on lap 17. Brock Zearfoss, who started ninth on the main event grid, also raced around Dietrich to claim third on lap 19.

When green flag conditions resumed on lap 26, Dewease was able to pick up right where he left off and return to the bottom of the speedway. By lap 29, Dewease regrew his lead to 2.5 seconds, still flanked by Ryan Smith and Brock Zearfoss. Even when the trio raced into traffic once again, Dewease maintained all momentum, ultimately crossing under the final checkers 3.948 seconds ahead of Smith and Zearfoss.

“We were fortunate enough to win our heat race which put us in a good starting position,” said Dewease, pilot of the familiar Don Kreitz-owned/Sharman Builders/No. 69K. “We had to free ourselves up a little bit during that break. When I got into lapped cars, I started to get really tight. This car loves the clean air. This win is really special to all of us.”

In total, Lance Dewease earned $56,350 during his weekend visit to the Port Royal Speedway “Speed Palace.” The pair of Arctic Cat All Star victories increases his career win total to 35 with “America’s Series.”

Returning to Central Pennsylvania for one final time in 2017, the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will continue the month of September with trips to Selinsgrove Speedway and Bedford Fairgrounds Speedway on Saturday and Sunday, September 16-17, respectively. The 35th Annual Jim Nace Memorial/National Open at Selinsgrove Speedway will highlight the weekend venture to the Keystone State, awarding an $8,000 top prize; the final event of the 2017 season at the Penn Township half-mile.

Those seeking additional news and notes pertaining to the events at Selinsgrove Speedway and Bedford Fairgrounds Speedway should visit each facility live on the Web at www.selinsgrovespeedway.com and www.bedfordspeedway.com.

Contingency Awards/Results: Port Royal Speedway- Saturday, September 9, 2017:
Event: 50th Annual Tuscarora 50
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 66 entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Lynton Jeffrey – 16.153 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Trey Starks – 16.243 second (3rd quick)
Ford Performance Heat #1: Tony Stewart
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Tim Kaeding
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Ryan Smith
Daido Engine Bearings Heat #4: Lance Dewease
Kistler Racing Products Heat #5: Danny Dietrich
Ford Performance Heat #6: Carl Bowser
Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts C-Main: Freddie Rahmer
Classic Ink USA B-Main: Greg Hodnett
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Ryan Smith (2nd)
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Trey Starks (+4)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Danny Dietrich (6th)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Mark Smith (11th)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Chad Kemenah
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)

Qualifying

Group (A)
1. 71-Joey Saldana, 16.199; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 16.279; 3. 21-Brian Brown, 16.324; 4. 17b-Josh Baughman, 16.326; 5. o7-Sammy Swindell, 16.337; 6. 12L-Lynton Jeffrey, 16.374; 7. 48-Tony Stewart, 16.424; 8. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 16.483; 9. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 16.508; 10. 99-Brady Bacon, 16.51; 11. 3-Tim Kaeding, 16.529; 12. 94-Ryan Smith, 16.575; 13. 24-Lucas Wolfe, 16.607; 14. 11-TJ Stutts, 16.632; 15. 21M-Brian Montieth, 16.661; 16. 87K-Alan Krimes, 16.702; 17. 7C-Caleb Armstrong, 16.731; 18. 16-Matt Campbell, 16.745; 19. 12-Blane Heimbach, 16.755; 20. 17C-Steve Buckwalter, 16.809; 21. 1ZF-Stewart Friesen, 16.827; 22. 51R-Freddie Rahmer, 16.851; 23. OO-Dane Lorenc, 16.875; 24. 5B-Justin Barger, 16.923; 25. 8M-TJ Michael, 16.931; 26. 35-Tyler Esh, 17.025; 27. 33E-Jared Esh, 17.065; 28. 55K-Robbie Kendall, 17.066; 29. 28F-Dave Franek, 17.184; 30. 13-Brandon Matus, 17.199; 31. 39-Cory Haas, 17.259; 32. 8S-Trenton Sheaffer, 17.276; 33. 33W-Michael Walter, 17.337

Group (B)
1. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 16.164; 2. 44-Trey Starks, 16.243; 3. 1z-Dale Blaney, 16.282; 4. 27-Greg Hodnett, 16.305; 5. 20-Ryan Taylor, 16.352; 6. 71m-Dave Blaney, 16.428; 7. 69K-Lance Dewease, 16.434; 8. 29-Danny Dietrich, 16.442; 9. 49x-Tim Shaffer, 16.471; 10. M1-Mark Smith, 16.504; 11. 17-Caleb Helms, 16.609; 12. 98-Carl Bowser, 16.634; 13. 7W-Logan Wagner, 16.668; 14. 5-Dylan Cisney, 16.674; 15. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 16.7; 16. 1080-Jordan Mackison, 16.737; 17. 39M-Anthony Macri, 16.806; 18. 55-Mike Wagner, 16.869; 19. 33M-Max Stambaugh, 16.906; 20. 29S-Jason Shultz, 16.965; 21. 95-Hunter Mackison, 17.01; 22. 2-AJ Flick, 17.061; 23. 47K-Kody Lehman, 17.104; 24. 51-John Garvin, 17.163; 25. 75-Nicole Bower, 17.329; 26. 98T-Joe Trenca, 17.521; 27. 44H-Joey Hershey, 17.558; 28. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 17.876; 29. 9C-Roger Campbell, 18.115; 30. 33-Brent Matus, 18.144; 31. 12w-Troy Fraker, 18.626; 32. 17G-George Streaker Jr., 18.965

Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer
1. 48-Tony Stewart [2]; 2. 71-Joey Saldana [4]; 3. 99-Brady Bacon [1]; 4. 24-Lucas Wolfe [5]; 5. 17B-Josh Baughman [3]; 6. 87K-Alan Krimes [6]; 7. 51R-Freddie Rahmer [8]; 8. 12-Blane Heimbach [7]; 9. 39-Cory Haas [11]; 10. 8M-TJ Michael [9]; 11. 55K-Robbie Kendall [10]

Heat #2 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer
1. 3-Tim Kaeding [1]; 2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 3. 11-TJ Stutts [5]; 4. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [6]; 5. 17C-Steve Buckwalter [7]; 6. OO-Dane Lorenc [8]; 7. 35-Tyler Esh [9]; 8. 8S-Trenton Sheaffer [11]; 9. O7-Sammy Swindell [3]; 10. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 11. 28F-Dave Franek [10]

Heat #3 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer
1. 94-Ryan Smith [1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah [2]; 4. 12L-Lynton Jeffrey [3]; 5. 16-Matt Campbell [6]; 6. 21M-Brian Montieth [5]; 7. 5B-Justin Barger [8]; 8. 1ZF-Stewart Friesen [7]; 9. 33E-Jared Esh [9]; 10. 13-Brandon Matus [10]

Heat #4 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer
1. 69K-Lance Dewease [2]; 2. M1-Mark Smith [1]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 4. 27-Greg Hodnett [3]; 5. 33M-Max Stambaugh [7]; 6. 7W-Logan Wagner [5]; 7. 1080-Jordan Mackison [6]; 8. 2-AJ Flick [8]; 9. 75-Nicole Bower [9]; 10. 22-Brandon Spithaler [10]; 11. 12W-Troy Fraker [11]

Heat #5 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer
1. 29-Danny Dietrich [2]; 2. 20-Ryan Taylor [3]; 3. 44-Trey Starks [4]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri [6]; 5. 5-Dylan Cisney [5]; 6. 29S-Jason Shultz [7]; 7. 47K-Kody Lehman [8]; 8. 98T-Joe Trenca [9]; 9. 9C-Roger Campbell [10]; 10. 17G-George Streaker Jr. [11]; 11. 17-Caleb Helms [1]

Heat #6 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer
1. 98-Carl Bowser [1]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [2]; 3. 71M-Dave Blaney [3]; 4. 55-Mike Wagner [6]; 5. 1Z-Dale Blaney [4]; 6. D4-Danny Holtgraver [5]; 7. 95-Hunter Mackison [7]; 8. 51-John Garvin [8]; 9. 44H-Joey Hershey [9]; 10. 33-Brent Matus [10]

C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 51R-Freddie Rahmer [1]; 2. 12-Blane Heimbach [7]; 3. 5B-Justin Barger [5]; 4. o7-Sammy Swindell [15]; 5. 47K-Kody Lehman [4]; 6. 75-Nicole Bower [14]; 7. 2-AJ Flick [8]; 8. 17-Caleb Helms [21]; 9. 8M-TJ Michael [19]; 10. 9C-Roger Campbell [16]; 11. 12w-Troy Fraker [22]; 12. 17G-George Streaker Jr. [20]; 13. 1ZF-Stewart Friesen [11]; 14. 8S-Trenton Sheaffer [9]

B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 27-Greg Hodnett [2]; 2. 24-Lucas Wolfe [1]; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri [4]; 4. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [3]; 5. 17B-Josh Baughman [7]; 6. 17C-Steve Buckwalter [9]; 7. 55-Mike Wagner [6]; 8. 87K-Alan Krimes [13]; 9. 12L-Lynton Jeffrey [5]; 10. 7W-Logan Wagner [12]; 11. 12-Blane Heimbach [19]; 12. 16-Matt Campbell [11]; 13. 29S-Jason Shultz [14]; 14. 21M-Brian Montieth [17]; 15. OO-Dane Lorenc [15]; 16. 33M-Max Stambaugh [8]; 17. 51R-Freddie Rahmer [18]

A-Main (50 Laps)
1. 69K-Lance Dewease [6]; 2. 94-Ryan Smith [1]; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [9]; 4. 24-Lucas Wolfe [22]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [14]; 6. 29-Danny Dietrich [4]; 7. 21-Brian Brown [11]; 8. 71-Joey Saldana [7]; 9. 20-Ryan Taylor [10]; 10. 27-Greg Hodnett [21]; 11. M1-Mark Smith [8]; 12. 44-Trey Starks [16]; 13. 48-Tony Stewart [5]; 14. 3-Tim Kaeding [3]; 15. 10H-Chad Kemenah [17]; 16. 98-Carl Bowser [2]; 17. 71M-Dave Blaney [18]; 18. 87-Aaron Reutzel [19]; 19. 1Z-Dale Blaney [20]; 20. 39M-Anthony Macri [23]; 21. 5-Dylan Cisney [26]; 22. 55-Mike Wagner [27]; 23. 99-Brady Bacon [13]; 24. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [24]; 25. 49X-Tim Shaffer [12]; 26. 33M-Max Stambaugh [25]; 27. 11-TJ Stutts [15] Lap Leaders: Ryan Smith [1-6]; Lance Dewease [7-50]

Additional Arctic Cat All Star Series Info:
Those seeking additional information regarding the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions should visit its official online home at www.allstarsprint.com. Series updates and breaking news will be posted regularly on the official Twitter account of the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions: https://twitter.com/ASCoC. Find full text results from each and every event, as well as an up-to-date schedule, online at www.allstarsprint.com/schedule/.

About the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first ‘outlaw’ Sprint Car organization of the modern era. After a 10 year stint as owner of the All Stars, Miller passed control of the series to Bert Emick in 1980; a reign that would continue through 2002. Guy Webb then purchased the series from Emick in the summer of 2002 and served as the series President for the next 12 years. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015.

About Arctic Cat:
The Arctic Cat brand is among the most widely recognized and respected in the recreational vehicle industry. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), side-by-sides and snowmobiles, in addition to related parts, garments and accessories under the Arctic Cat® and Motorfist® brand names. Arctic Cat Inc.’s world headquarters is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. More information about Arctic Cat and its products is available at www.ArcticCat.com.