The Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek series concluded Sunday night at the Selinsgrove Speedway with the Jan Opperman Memorial.
It was a tough start for co-Speedweek point leader Lucas Wolfe, who had a front axle break at the end of hot laps. He slammed the first turn wall and flipped. The Zemco crew, along with others, went to work and got the car fixed for his time trial lap. He set fast time for the sixth time in eight races. Hodnett was sixth fastest and Wolfe had a 14-point lead heading into the heat races. They were tied heading into the night with 895 points.
"It has been an interesting night thus far," said Wolfe as he accepted his $300 for fast time. "I have to thank everybody that came over and helped us get it back together in time to make our qualifying spot and go out and set a good lap. It's been a busy night. Hopefully, things will calm down and we can focus on the rest of the night. I was fortunate to slow the car down a little bit before impact. It was a pretty minor crash for Selinsgrove with the speeds we're going here. I'm very fortunate to be standing here with quick time."
Both drivers were in the first heat race, but Wolfe stopped on the backstretch with a blown engine and was pushed to the pit area. The team changed the engine. Hodnett won the heat giving him a six point edge heading into the main event.
The Speedweek champion will each earn about $3,000 for the championship and runner-up gets $1,700.
Speedweek Recap
Wolfe was the winner Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway as he inherited the lead when Dave Blaney blew a tire with 10 laps to go. He beat Stevie Smith and Doug Esh.
Smith picked up the $10,000 win Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway in the Mitch Smith Memorial passing Brian Montieth with three laps to go. Montieth and Donnie Kreitz followed.
Hodnett won both mid-week races including Tuesday night at Grandview Speedway and again Wednesday night at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway. Wolfe finished second in both of those races.
The Thursday night race scheduled at Port Royal was rained out. Speedweek began Friday night at Williams Grove with Danny Dietrich scoring the victory.
Kyle Moody scored an upset win Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway in the Kevin Gobrecht Memorial.
Retired Hall of Fame driver Fred Rahmer promoted the Speedweek race Sunday night at the Path Valley Speedway and Oklahoma invader Brady Bacon scored the win.
Brent Marks started on the pole and led all 30 laps of the Jan Opperman Memorial Sunday night at Selinsgrove Speedway. Blane Heimbach came from the seventh starting spot to finish second. Mike Erdley was third and Kyle Reinhardt fourth. Lucas Wolfe finished fifth and clinched the Speedweek championship by six points over seventh finisher Greg Hodnett.Dave Blaney was sixth, Hodnett seventh, Ryan Smith, Mike Walter Sr. ninth and Chad Layton completed the top 10. Marks earned $5,000 for his first win of the season and first during SW competition.
OTHER SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY NEWS
Bloomsburg's Ryan Kissinger won the 360 sprint car feature Saturday night at the Selinsgrove Speedway after passing defending track champion Jason Shultz late in the 25-lap main event. It was his second career win, which he dedicated to his friend and fellow competitor Duane Mausteller of Bloomsburg, who was critically injured in a sprint car racing accident at the speedway on May 17.
Mausteller was released from Geisinger Medical Center on July 2, and transferred to the MOSS Rehab Center in Philadelphia where he is undergoing therapy and showing signs of improvement, according to his father Randy Mausteller.
Kissinger's $2,000 win came over T.J. Stutts, Shultz, Mike Walter and Brock Zearfoss.
In the 30-lap late model summer championship, the $2,000 win was awarded to Jim Bernheisel of Lebanon when Coleby Frye's car was disqualified for a racing tire infraction. The win was Bernheisel's first of the year. Jim Yoder, Jeff Rine, Jerry Bard and Dave Zona were in the top five.
Kyle Bachman of Selinsgrove scored his third win of the year in the 15-lap pro stock thriller, while John Fowler Jr. of Montandon won his first race of the season in the 12-lap roadrunner feature.
Selinsgrove Speedway's half-mile track will be dark July 12, and weekly racing will resume on July 19, with the annual Jeff's Auto Body & Recycling Center Driver & Fan Appreciation Night featuring 360 sprint cars, late models, pro stocks, and roadrunners at 7:30 p.m. The sprint car and late model features on July 19 will each pay $2,500 to win.