Lance Dewease Edges Brian Brown For Night Before The Tuscarora 50 Win At Port Royal

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS – PORT ROYAL, PA – A name certainly synonymous with victory lane in Central Pennsylvania, Lance Dewease made his return to the Port Royal Speedway “Speed Palace” on Friday evening and left as a winner, earning the Night Before The Tuscarora 50 victory over a field of 65 Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions entries for a $5,000 top prize.

The victory lane visit, the result of a battle with Midwest invader, Brian Brown, after starting third on the main event grid, bumps Dewease to 34 total wins with the Arctic Cat All Stars throughout the course of his storied career, now with seven at the Juniata County Fairgrounds.

“We were pretty good here tonight for 30 laps, but I think we still need to get a little bit better for the 50-lap race tomorrow,” Lance Dewease explained, pilot of the Don Kreitz-owned/Schannauer Plumbing & Heating/Henry Sharman Builders/No. 69K. “We just had to keep our tires under us. This place was so fast here tonight.”

After withstanding a series of cautions during the first three circuits, once of which resulting in open red flag conditions while track crews cleaned up oil, Fayetteville’s Lance Dewease was able to capitalize on a solid start and maintain third in the running order, eventually taking second from Mike Wagner just as the lead pack was entering traffic for the first time near the completion of lap eight.

Lapped traffic proved to be a benefactor for Dewease during large segments the 30-lap program. By lap nine, Dewease powered his way to second beyond Mike Wagner, now chasing Grain Valley, Missouri’s Brian Brown for the top spot. Despite “Blackjack’s” ability to ring the topside of the speedway through the slower cars, Dewease continued to find ways to keep up with Brown using the very bottom of the half-mile oval, eventually erasing all of Brown’s advantage.

Brown’s lead of nearly two seconds at the midpoint of the main event was cut down to less than a second by lap 23. Dewease ultimately worked his way to the back bumper of the former Knoxville (IA) Raceway track champion on lap 24 which set up his first major bid for the top spot. A successful slide job at the entrance of turn one on the following circuit allowed Dewease to take command of the running order.

On lap 28, Brown set himself up for one last opportunity to regain the top spot back from Dewease, a desperate slide job at the entrance of turn one, but the attempt proved unsuccessful. Dewease kept control to secure his place on top of the Port Royal Speedway victory lane stage. Brian Brown held on to finish second, followed by T.J. Stutts, Greg Hodnett, and the “Madman” Kerry Madsen.

“We knew Brian Brown was going to be fast here tonight,” said Dewease. “He’s got one heck of a motor builder, so we knew he was going to be a rocket ship. This is probably the hardest I’ve had to race this year, but I definitely didn’t keep the tires under me. We are going to have to get better before tomorrow night.”

“To finish second to Lance Dewease while racing against a field of 65 cars is nothing to hang our heads about,” Brian Brown stated. “We have some positive notes to review, so we’ll come back tomorrow and try to get one position better.”

Celebrating its Golden Anniversary in 2017, Tuscarora 50 weekend at the Port Royal Speedway “Speed Palace” will continue on Saturday evening, September 9, with the 50th running of the Tuscarora 50; the biggest sprint car race in the history of Port Royal Speedway. The 50-lap finale will award $50,000 to the main event winner, as well as a minimum of $900 to each starter.

Lance Dewease is the defending Tuscarora 50 champion, claiming the $12,000 payday in 2016 over Stevie Smith, Dale Blaney, Cap Henry, and “Double-D” Danny Dietrich. The 2016 Tuscarora 50 title was the fifth of Dewease’s storied career; the most wins in Tuscarora 50 history.

Those seeking additional news and notes regarding the 50th edition of the Tuscarora 50 should visit Port Royal Speedway live on the Web at www.portroyalspeedway.com.

Contingency Awards/Results: Port Royal Speedway- Friday, September 8, 2017:
Event: Night Before The Tuscarora 50
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 65 entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Greg Hodnett – 15.432 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Ryan Smith – 15.571 seconds (8th quick)
Ford Performance Heat #1: Trenton Sheaffer
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Brady Bacon
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: T.J. Stutts
Daido Engine Bearings Heat #4: Greg Hodnett
Kistler Racing Products Heat #5: Brian Brown
Computer Man, Inc D-Main: Caleb Armstrong
Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts C-Main: Brandon Matus
JE Pistons Dash #1: Brian Brown
Kistler Racing Products Dash #2: T.J. Stutts
Classic Ink USA B-Main: Trey Starks
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: T.J. Stutts (3rd)
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Trey Starks (+6)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Danny Dietrich (6th)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Ryan Smith
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Trey Starks
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)

Qualifying

Group (A)
1. 0-Rick Lafferty, 15.508; 2. 29-Danny Dietrich, 15.541; 3. 12L-Lynton Jeffrey, 15.624; 4. 8S-Trenton Sheaffer, 15.687; 5. 71-Joey Saldana, 15.692; 6. 33M-Max Stambaugh, 15.991; 7. 13-Brandon Matus, 16.018; 8. 71m-Dave Blaney, 16.05; 9. 12-Blane Heimbach, 16.075; 10. 3-Tim Kaeding, 16.175; 11. 51-John Garvin, 16.264; 12. 33-Brent Matus, 16.969; 13. 12w-Troy Fraker, 17.028

Group (B)
1. 1z-Dale Blaney, 15.506; 2. 39M-Anthony Macri, 15.675; 3. 20-Ryan Taylor, 15.857; 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 15.917; 5. 17b-Josh Baughman, 15.943; 6. 39-Cory Haas, 16.023; 7. 5b-Justin Barger, 16.099; 8. 87K-Alan Krimes, 16.103; 9. 28F-Dave Franek, 16.121; 10. 2-AJ Flick, 16.148; 11. 7C-Caleb Armstrong, 16.194; 12. 1080-Jordan Mackison, 16.293; 13. 8M-TJ Michael, 16.471

Group ( C )
1. 69K-Lance Dewease, 15.461; 2. 94-Ryan Smith, 15.571; 3. 11-TJ Stutts, 15.623; 4. 17-Caleb Helms, 15.631; 5. 51R-Freddie Rahmer, 15.783; 6. 21M-Brian Montieth, 15.815; 7. 75-Nicole Bower, 15.849; 8. 24-Lucas Wolfe, 15.963; 9. 16-Matt Campbell, 15.998; 10. 98T-Joe Trenca, 16.068; 11. 98-Carl Bowser, 16.082; 12. 44H-Joey Hershey, 16.0988; 13. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 16.173

Group (D)
1. 27-Greg Hodnett, 15.52; 2. 44-Trey Starks, 15.613; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 15.686; 4. 48-Tony Stewart, 15.694; 5. M1-Mark Smith, 15.76; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 15.936; 7. OO-Dane Lorenc, 15.962; 8. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 15.979; 9. 33E-Jared Esh, 16.036; 10. 47K-Kody Lehman, 16.088; 11. 1ZF-Stewart Friesen, 16.294; 12. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 16.329; 13. 9C-Roger Campbell, 16.609

Group (E)
1. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 15.443; 2. 21-Brian Brown, 15.483; 3. 49x-Tim Shaffer, 15.722; 4. 55-Mike Wagner, 15.796; 5. 17C-Steve Buckwalter, 15.813; 6. 29S-Jason Shultz, 15.873; 7. 5-Dylan Cisney, 15.89; 8. o7-Sammy Swindell, 16.016; 9. 7W-Logan Wagner, 16.032; 10. 35-Tyler Esh, 16.132; 11. 35S-Daryl Stimeling, 16.177; 12. 95-Hunter Mackison, 16.245; 13. 55K-Robbie Kendall, 16.356

Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 8S-Trenton Sheaffer [1]; 2. 29-Danny Dietrich [3]; 3. 12L-Lynton Jeffrey [2]; 4. 12-Blane Heimbach [9]; 5. 0-Rick Lafferty [4]; 6. 33M-Max Stambaugh [6]; 7. 71M-Dave Blaney [8]; 8. 3-Tim Kaeding [10]; 9. 13-Brandon Matus [7]; 10. 51-John Garvin [11]; 11. 33-Brent Matus [12]; 12. 12W-Troy Fraker [13]; 13. 71-Joey Saldana [5]

Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 99-Brady Bacon [1]; 2. 1Z-Dale Blaney [4]; 3. 20-Ryan Taylor [2]; 4. 5B-Justin Barger [7]; 5. 17B-Josh Baughman [5]; 6. 87K-Alan Krimes [8]; 7. 39M-Anthony Macri [3]; 8. 2-AJ Flick [10]; 9. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [11]; 10. 28F-Dave Franek [9]; 11. 1080-Jordan Mackison [12]; 12. 8M-TJ Michael [13]; 13. 39-Cory Haas [6]

Heat #3 – Group ( C ) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 11-TJ Stutts [2]; 2. 17-Caleb Helms [1]; 3. 94-Ryan Smith [3]; 4. 69K-Lance Dewease [4]; 5. 21M-Brian Montieth [6]; 6. 51R-Freddie Rahmer [5]; 7. 24-Lucas Wolfe [8]; 8. 16-Matt Campbell [9]; 9. 98T-Joe Trenca [10]; 10. 98-Carl Bowser [11]; 11. 44H-Joey Hershey [12]; 12. 75-Nicole Bower [7]

Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 27-Greg Hodnett [4]; 2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 3. 48-Tony Stewart [1]; 4. D4-Danny Holtgraver [8]; 5. 44-Trey Starks [3]; 6. 1ZF-Stewart Friesen [11]; 7. M1-Mark Smith [5]; 8. 87-Aaron Reutzel [6]; 9. 47K-Kody Lehman [10]; 10. OO-Dane Lorenc [7]; 11. 33E-Jared Esh [9]; 12. 22-Brandon Spithaler [12]; 13. 9C-Roger Campbell [13]

Heat #5 – Group (E) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 21-Brian Brown [3]; 2. 55-Mike Wagner [1]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [2]; 5. 17C-Steve Buckwalter [5]; 6. O7-Sammy Swindell [8]; 7. 5-Dylan Cisney [7]; 8. 29S-Jason Shultz [6]; 9. 7W-Logan Wagner [9]; 10. 95-Hunter Mackison [12]; 11. 35S-Daryl Stimeling [11]; 12. 35-Tyler Esh [10]

Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 21-Brian Brown [2]; 2. 69K-Lance Dewease [1]; 3. 1Z-Dale Blaney [4]; 4. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [3]; 5. 27-Greg Hodnett [5]; 6. 8S-Trenton Sheaffer [6]

Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 11-TJ Stutts [2]; 2. 55-Mike Wagner [3]; 3. 29-Danny Dietrich [4]; 4. 99-Brady Bacon [1]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6]; 6. 17-Caleb Helms [5]

D-Main (8 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [2]; 2. 1ZF-Stewart Friesen [5]; 3. 35S-Daryl Stimeling [1]; 4. 12W-Troy Fraker [9]; 5. 22-Brandon Spithaler [6]

C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 13-Brandon Matus [1]; 2. 7W-Logan Wagner [3]; 3. 71M-Dave Blaney [5]; 4. 33E-Jared Esh [4]; 5. 98-Carl Bowser [7]; 6. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [15]; 7. 1ZF-Stewart Friesen [16]; 8. 3-Tim Kaeding [14]; 9. 44H-Joey Hershey [9]; 10. 2-AJ Flick [13]; 11. 28F-Dave Franek [11]; 12. 47K-Kody Lehman [8]; 13. 98T-Joe Trenca [6]

B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 44-Trey Starks [2]; 2. 0-Rick Lafferty [1]; 3. 71-Joey Saldana [4]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri [3]; 5. 51R-Freddie Rahmer [6]; 6. 17C-Steve Buckwalter [7]; 7. 29S-Jason Shultz [10]; 8. 5-Dylan Cisney [11]; 9. 75-Nicole Bower [9]; 10. 87-Aaron Reutzel [12]; 11. 24-Lucas Wolfe [15]; 12. 21M-Brian Montieth [8]; 13. 17B-Josh Baughman [13]; 14. 7W-Logan Wagner [20]; 15. 16-Matt Campbell [17]; 16. 33M-Max Stambaugh [16]; 17. OO-Dane Lorenc [14]; 18. O7-Sammy Swindell [18]; 19. 13-Brandon Matus [19]

A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 69K-Lance Dewease [3]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 3. 11-TJ Stutts [2]; 4. 27-Greg Hodnett [7]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [10]; 6. 29-Danny Dietrich [6]; 7. 55-Mike Wagner [4]; 8. 1Z-Dale Blaney [5]; 9. D4-Danny Holtgraver [18]; 10. 94-Ryan Smith [13]; 11. 12-Blane Heimbach [19]; 12. 99-Brady Bacon [8]; 13. 39M-Anthony Macri [22]; 14. 8S-Trenton Sheaffer [11]; 15. 44-Trey Starks [21]; 16. 20-Ryan Taylor [14]; 17. 17-Caleb Helms [12]; 18. 49X-Tim Shaffer [17]; 19. 10H-Chad Kemenah [25]; 20. 47K-Kody Lehman [27]; 21. 71-Joey Saldana [23]; 22. 12L-Lynton Jeffrey [16]; 23. 5B-Justin Barger [20]; 24. 0-Rick Lafferty [24]; 25. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [9]; 26. 48-Tony Stewart [15]; 27. 5-Dylan Cisney [26] Lap Leaders: Brian Brown [1-24]; Lance Dewease [25-30]