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No Racing This Week At PPMS Due To Lantern Fest, Big Shows Ahead

There will not be a racing program at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 8.  However, the speedway will be hosting the Pittsburgh area portion of national event Lantern Fest.  PPMS race fans that wish to attend the event can get a 20 percent discount on tickets by clicking on the following link and using the PPMS20 discount code.  Complete information is available at  https://the-lantern-fest-pittsburgh.eventbrite.com?discount=PPMS20 .

Racing will return on Saturday, July 15, as the Super Late Models return for Race 2 of the Diehl Automotive Super Series.  This will be the inaugural event for the Ultimate Super Late Model Northeast Tour.  The race winner will earn $3000, with all starters earning at least $400.  The Big Block / Small Block Modifieds will return for their second visit.  There will be weekly point racing for the Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models and Sunoco Sportsman.  The RUSH Modifieds will also be visiting.  There has been talk that another group of Delaware drivers will be making the over six hour trip for the Modified portion of the program.

Then on Saturday, July 22, the sprint cars take center stage with a visit by Tony Stewart’s Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions.  Presented by Falconi’s Moon Township Automotive, the PPMS is a part of a western Pennsylvania weekend where the group races at Eriez Speedway on Friday night and at Tri-City Raceway Park on Sunday.  Also in competition that night will be a Sizzler Series event for the Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, and the RUSH Modifieds will be returning.

During last Saturday’s racing program, the visiting BOSS traditional non-winged sprints brought a field of 24 cars for the 100th all time sprint car race at the track.  Eighth starting Mike Miller took the lead from Justin Owen on lap 18 and held off Dustin Smith for the victory.  John Mollick won the feature in the Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, but sits third in points, nine points behind Justin Lamb, who leads Daryl Charlier by four.  Wayne Carbo won the Dob’s Automotive Star Spangled Spectacular for the Sunoco Sportsman, as Dave McManus leads the standings by 11 over A.J. Poljak.  Stephen Shelpman earned his first track win in the Miley Truck Rental Hobby Stocks, but trails Karlee Kovacs by one point for the division lead.  Ben Anton won in the Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns, and leads Kayla McManus by three points.  Paul Koffler, III was the winner in the CruiseAmerica Open Fours, as Matthew Rubright leads the points by 12 over Tom Anton.

Starting lineups for any regular racing event for the Super Late Models, RUSH Late Models, Sportsman, and visiting events like the Modifieds and RUSH Modifieds are done by the track’s randomized computer system.  Race teams simply sign their cars in at the pit booth when they arrive, and the computer program assigns a random number value between 1 and 1000 in a spreadsheet program.  Every time that something is typed into the computer, all of the random numbers change, so the order is constantly changing throughout the registration process.  Then there is a shuffling process where the random numbers are again changed hundreds of times in a matter of seconds.  The spreadsheet program then automatically places the sorted order into heat race assignments.  The registration process normally ends around 6:30, depending on when hot laps are over.  At this point a final shuffling takes place, which is witnessed by one of the drivers that are in competition.  Any drivers that wish to see the process are invited to do so.  The heat race lineups are then printed for the track officials, and posted on the track’s Twitter account.  It has made the registration process much more efficient for all.

Feature lineups for these classes are done by a redraw, normally for the top 12 starting positions depending on car count, with the remaining starters lining up by their heat race finishes.  Defending feature winners, on the next night that they race, if they make the redraw they get the 12th or final redraw position.  The redraws were formerly done in the pits, but starting with the last event, they are now done by a fan in the grandstands that draws positions for all drivers.

Something different that will be utilized at the remaining Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Model Sizzler Series events, which will start with the event on July 22, will be a “Christmas Present Draw.”  The draw order will remain the same, as the first heat winner always gets first choice of the numbers between 1 and 12.  However, in a “Christmas Present Draw,” the only rule for the number that is drawn is that it cannot be kept.  Much like a Christmas present, they are gifts that are given away.  Each driver that draws a number will get to look at it, and then decide which driver that he would like to give their present to.

The starting lineups for the Hobby Stock, Young Gun, and Open Four divisions are calculated by handicap points.  Using the last three nights of racing, all drivers earn points for their feature event finishes.  The feature winner earns 40 points, with a one point drop per finishing spot.  Any driver that is in attendance but cannot start the feature earns one point less than the last place car.  To reward drivers for their attendance, any driver that is not in attendance earns 41 points, or one point more than the feature winner.  The points are totaled up for the three nights, and drivers are then ranked by points from lowest total to highest total.  Any ties are broken by the most recent finish, with the better finish earning the lower ranking.  Any new cars have no handicap points, so they are placed behind all cars with handicap points in random draw order.  Heats are lined up by these rankings.  Features are also, unless car counts are over 12, in which case the top finishers in the heats would be ranked by handicap points, similar to the formats used in the other divisions as they would be used for the redraws.

The 2017 fuels incentive continues to race on at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway.  Sponsored by Brian Bazell of Bazell Race Fuels, the fuel incentive program is open to each week to any race team in the RUSH Late Models and Sunoco Sportsman division.  To be entered, teams must purchase at least five gallons of fuel at the track to be eligible, plus carry a Sunoco decal.  The highest finishing car that is entered and eligible will earn five gallons of the fuel that they purchased.

For all racing programs, the gates open at 5:00 PM, with warm-ups at 6:00 PM and racing at 7:00 PM.  Follow us on Facebook at @PAMotorSpeedway or on Twitter at @PAMotorSpeedway for timely information updates.  The Twitter account is used extensively on race nights for live updates.  Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway is located west of the city of Pittsburgh, just south of the Noblestown exit of U.S. Route 22, or 170 Kelso Road in Imperial, PA, for GPS purposes.  The track phone is 724-695-3363 on race days, or call 412-279-RACE.  For complete information including ticket information, please visit the track website at www.ppms.com .

Upcoming Events:

Saturday, July 8, 2017 – Lantern Fest, no racing.

Saturday, July 15, 2017 – Race 2 for the Diehl Automotive Super Series, featuring the Ultimate Super Late Model Northeast Tour for Super Late Models, $3000 to win and $400 to start.  Plus Big Block / Small Block Modifieds, Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, Sunoco Sportsman, and RUSH Modifieds.

Saturday, July 22, 2017 – Tony Stewart’s Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Winged Sprints, presented by Falconi’s Moon Township Automotive, plus a Sizzler Series event for the Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, and RUSH Modifieds.

Saturday, July 29, 2017 – “Action Event” featuring a Sizzler Series race for Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, plus Diehl Automotive Super Late Models, Sunoco Sportsman, Super6 Late Models, Miley Truck Rental Hobby Stocks, Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns, and CruiseAmerica Open Fours.

Saturday, August 5, 2017 – “Action Event” featuring the Wee Willie White Memorial for the Homak Manufacturing Penn Ohio Pro Stock Series for Sunoco Sportsman.  Plus Diehl Automotive Super Late Models, Precise Racing Products RUSH Late Models, Super6 Late Models, Miley Truck Rental Hobby Stocks, Imperial Heights Garage Young Guns, and CruiseAmerica Open Fours.

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