BUTLER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Evergreen Raceway was in need of getting in some racing, having fallen victim to weather cancelations in the past few weeks. So, on short notice the call was made to race this Saturday night and make it a “Weekend Double” to coincide with the next day’s regularly scheduled Sunday afternoon program.
And headlining the night’s action would be the Tour Type Modifieds and knowing all well that it would not be a great car count because of the short notice to drivers, track owner Jason Makarewicz wanted to give fans a show nonetheless and they were indeed rewarded with some thrilling action and not just from the Modifieds but all classes that competed.
Of the Tour Type Modified drivers who did sign in, Roger Coss was one of the first to give the nod that he would attend and was also the first to cross the finish line as well.
And for Coss it was a relief of sorts as over the past two seasons he has had more runners-up than any other driver and many of those coming behind Matt Hirschman.
On this night, though, Coss was not to be denied. Even though he started on the pole, it was not an easy ride as the entire race he was having to fend off Bryce Bailey and did so with perfection lap after lap.
“The 60 (Hirschman) is not here but still, we come to support local short track racing. We only had 10 cars here today and I personally kept texting people to come, and I was getting responses back that there’s not going to be many cars,” said Coss.
“Well, if you don’t show up then ya, that’s what you get but Pete Morgantini told me a long time ago that no matter where you go or where it is it’s a race and someone has to win it. We put this much effort in today as we do every other race we go to.”
Brian DeFebo had a steady run taking third, Lou Strohl was fourth and Ricky Ross Jr., rounded out the top five.
The Rotten-and-Forgotten opened up their season back on May 3 with Jordan Young from Berwick picking up his career first win. And keeping it all in the family his father, Josh Young, grabbed the win on Saturday night.
Young started third and tailed early leader Vince Corter in the early going which then became a torrid side-by-side battle by lap six. Hooked up on the outside lane, Young then sprung to the front at the completion of lap eight and once at the helm there was no looking back as he cruised to a solid victory.
May 30, 2026, will be one that 16-year-old Caitlyn Makarewicz of Freeland won’t soon forget as she realized a dream in her young racing career by winning a Modified feature.
It was the second race of the newly formed Rookie 602 Crate Modified class, and the outcome came down to a pair of lady racers battling for the win. Sarabeth Mesko grabbed the early lead ahead of Joey Torchia, but when he spun on lap seven Makarewicz then went to second.
Keeping glued to the rear of Mesko, Makarewicz patiently waited for the right time to make a move, and it would come with three laps to go. Mesko drove into turns one and two just high enough for the window of opportunity to open and Makarewicz seized the moment to take the lead and go on to score the popular victory.
An Open Comp Four Cylinder feature was also run with the relaxing rules in place Corey Edelman of Northampton brought his hyped-up Ford Focus, complete with slicks and other tech induced parts which made he no match for the opposition.
He led right from the get-go and did so the entire distance with no one even close. For Edelman it was his second Open Comp win at Evergreen and overall, his 46th.
