Dewease Wins 103’rd At Port Royal In $7,000-To-Win Speedweek Event
Story By: PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY – PORT ROYAL, PA – Lance Dewease scored the 103rd sprint car victory of his career at Port Royal Speedway on Saturday night, taking $7,000 in the 27th annual Pennsylvania Speedweek 30-lap event for 410 sprint cars.
In the 25-lap Moon Shine Camo Rt. 35 Dirt Late Model Challenge Series, Danville’s Jeff Rine pulled out a squeaker after a duel with Coleby Frye.
Only the first lap of the 30-lap speedweek feature for sprint cars was completed when Matt Campbell stopped on the frontchute with rear end issued on his machine.
Polesitter Dale Blaney led the first lap over fourth starter Dewease of Fayetteville.
On the restart, Blaney tried hard to hold off Dewease’s challenge but he could only control the event for one more lap before Dewease rode the inside lane in the first and second turns to take control.
And when he got to the front, he began pulling away, entering the rear of the field on the eighth lap to start working traffic while holding a 2.38 second lead with 10 laps completed.
At the halfway point, Dewease had built his advantage to 4.02 seconds with Lucas Wolfe chasing him in second spot.
Wolfe started second in the field and took second from Blaney on the eighth tour as Dewease entered traffic.
With 12 laps to go, another caution flag regrouped the field, wiping out what was by that time a 6.06 second lead for Dewease.
The caution flag appeared after 11th runner Danny Dietrich hit the outside first turn wall and developed a right rear flat tire.
Blaney, Trey Starks and Greg Hodnett followed the lead pair when action resumed.
Wolfe was unable to mount a challenge on the restart and Dewease drove off, headed to the victory but a final caution flag with two laps to go for a stopped Rico Abreu slowed his pace again.
Abreu started 10th in the field and was racing seventh at the time.
Dewease again got away on the final restart, taking his second win of this speedweek by 1.856 seconds, ahead of Wolfe, Blaney, Starks and Hodnett.
Sixth through 10th went to Blane Heimbach, Freddie Rahmer, Brock Zearfoss, Mike Wagner and Dylan Cisney.
The mid and late stages of the race showcased a spirited and hectic five-car battle for fourth between Starks, Hodnett, Heimbach, Zearfoss and James McFadden.
McFadden ended up with a left front flat tire on the 18th lap and had to rejoin at the rear of the field.
Heats for the 38-car field went to Danny Dietrich, James McFadden, Greg Hodnett and Brock Zearfoss with Matt Campbell taking the consolation race.
Fast time was set by Dewease with a lap of 16.153 seconds.
After Port Royal, Wolfe took the speedweek point lead going into the final race of the series on Sunday night at Selinsgrove Speedway.
The 25-lap Rt. 35 Late Model Challenge event saw Chad Hollenbeck lead from the pole for the first seven laps before Coleby Frye, who started fourth, powered around the outside and into control.
And while Frye was advancing into the lead, eighth starter Jeff Rine was flexing his muscle, working through the top five cars.
Rine Took second away from Hollenbeck on the ninth circuit and then saw the field bunched up a lap later when the first caution flag of the race appeared.
Running the cushion with Rine using low side, the pair spent the next 15 laps racing one another for the lead with Rine edging ahead in turns one and two while Frye powered around the top through turns three and four.
At times Frye, was able to sneak away from Rine when he took his bottom groove away in the first and second turns by Rine was always there and as the leaders entered the rear of the field with five laps to go it was either driver’s race to win.
Meanwhile, 20th starter Dylan Yoder was using a rail to run through the field, getting by Andy Haus for third with four laps to go while chasing down the leaders.
Rine used lapped traffic to his advantage to get ahead of Frye for the lead as the pair raced to the two-to-go sign and Yoder was there for the lead as well.
Rine beat Frye back to the line to lead lap 24 with Yoder all over the pair.
Rine ended up scoring the event, his second of the year at the track, while Yoder took second from Frye on the final turn.
With the win, Rine took a one point lead in the 2017 Moon Shine Camo Rt. 35 Challenge Series point standings.
Frye ended up third followed by Andy Haus and Nick Dickson.
Sixth through 10th went to Mike Lupfer, Jim Yoder, Chad Hollenbeck, Matt Parks and Trent Brenneman.
Heats went to Steve Campbell, Brenneman and Hollenbeck while Matt Parks took the consolation race.
Stay up to date with all the latest Port Royal news and information by visiting the oval’s official website at www.portroyalspeedway.com or by following the track on Facebook or Twitter.
Feature Finishes
7/8/17
410 sprints, 30 laps: 1. Lance Dewease, 2. Lucas Wolfe, 3. Dale Blaney, 4. Trey Starks, 5. Greg Hodnett, 6. Blane Heimbach, 7. Freddie Rahmer, 8. Brock Zearfoss, 9. Mike Wagner, 10. Dylan Cisney, 11. Anthony Macri, 12. James McFadden, 13. Aaron Ott, 14. Danny Dietrich, 15. TJ Stutts, 16. Rick Lafferty, 17. Joey Hershey, 18. Rico Abreu, 19. Trenton Sheaffer, 20. Cory Haas, 21. Ryan Taylor, 22. Logan Wagner, 23. Kody Lehman, 24. Matt Campbell
DNQ: George Streaker Jr., Curt Stroup, Tyler Walker, Sammy Walsh, Eric Riggins Jr., Mitchell Wormall, Jordan Givler, Daryl Stimeling, Jared Esh, Joe Trenca, Jay Galloway, Cale Grubb, James Pryde, Tyler Bear
Super late models, 25 laps: 1. Jeff Rine, 2. Dylan Yoder, 3. Coleby Frye, 4. Andy Haus, 5. Nick Dickson, 6. Mike Lupfer, 7. Jim Yoder, 8. Chad Hollenbeck, 9. Matt Parks, 10. Trent Brenneman, 11. Jeff Miller, 12. Jason Schmidt, 13. Steve Campbell, 14. Hayes Mattern, 15. Dave Brouse Jr., 16. Tim Smith Jr., 17. Jerry Bard, 18. Rick Singleton, 19. Chad Myers, 20. Dave Stamm, 21. Larry Baer, 22. Tim Krape, 23. Scott Flickinger, 24. Chris Casner
DNQ: Meade Hahn, Austin Berry
