PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Dylan Cisney didn’t win from the pole Saturday at Port Royal Speedway, but he continued his string of solid runs to start the new year.
Cisney placed fourth at his hometown track, which gives him four-straight finishes inside the top-eight and three-straight top-five finishes to kick start the season.
“It’s definitely a good start,” Cisney said last weekend at Williams Grove Speedway. “We’ll keep taking these top fives.”
The 28-year-old from Port Royal seemed poised to win his first feature at the half-mile since July 13, but fell behind early to Justin Peck. He will, however, take another top-five and continue toward his main objective of being more consistent in bigger events.
This year, Cisney will branch out and run races in Scott Cowman’s No. 2 sprint car, with the Knoxville Nationals atop that list. Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series races are on the docket as well.
Cowman is a long-time car owner from Wisconsin and has maintained a connection with Cisney through the years.
Last year, Cisney finished fourth in the Port Royal track points and plans to run for the championship again this year. On top of those efforts, he wants to race more at Williams Grove Speedway and beef up his schedule.
“If you run only one night a week, you only get 20 races a year,” Cisney said. “You know, you can hit a stretch where you struggle for six, seven, or eight races. That used to be almost half our year. Now, you can run some of these three-day weekends and figure out a lot of stuff.”
Some of Cisney’s finest moments of 2020 came in big races toward the end of the year. He finished third in Port Royal’s Tuscarora 50, sandwiched between the track’s winningest driver, Anthony Macri, and the country’s winningest driver, Kyle Larson.
A few weeks later, Cisney finished third in Selinsgrove Speedway’s $20,000-to-win Jim Nace Memorial National Open.
A three-race weekend is ahead for Cisney, who looks to bolster his consistency to start the new year.
“We kind of showed toward the end of last year we just needed to get better for the bigger races,” Cisney said. “We can work consistency through the week here, then you’ll be in a lot better shape as the bigger shows come around. That’s kind of our goal: to be a contender in these big races.”
– Alan Krimes scored his 22nd career victory at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday, passing Don Kreitz Jr. for 16th all-time in wins at the track.
He’ll look to boost his win total at Williams Grove Speedway this year, too. The five-time winner at the Mechanicsburg half-mile will be driving Stewart Smith’s No. 27 full-time at the famed track.
– A loaded 410 sprint car slate is on tap this weekend. Williams Grove Speedway is back Friday at 7:30 p.m. with its 25-lap, $5,000-to-win show.
Port Royal Speedway hosts the first time trial show of the year Saturday at 4 p.m. with a 25-lap, $4,000-to-win event. On Saturday at 6 p.m., Lincoln Speedway hosts its fifth race weekend of the year with a 30-lap, $4,000-to-win show.
Then, on Sunday at 2 p.m., Selinsgrove Speedway caps it all off with its first 410 show of the year in a 25-lap, $4,000-to-win event.
– Chase Dietz, in his first full year driving John Trone’s historic No. 39, finished second at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday.
Luck hasn’t been there for Dietz, but speed has been five weeks into the new year.
Last week, Dietz suffered a mechanical failure at Lincoln while leading. A day later, at Williams Grove Speedway, another car failure foiled an eighth-place run. The weekend before, Dietz finished seventh at Lincoln.
– Port Royal Speedway’s opening day winner Lance Dewease had an early exit Saturday in the track’s 25-lap main event.
The National Sprint Car Hall of Famer started 10th and wrecked out on lap one in a battle for eighth with Pat Cannon on the backstretch. Dewease was credited with a 24th-place finish.
His next scheduled race is April 16 when the All Star Circuit of Champions invade Williams Grove Speedway.
– George Hobaugh finished eighth after racing his way through the B-Main Saturday at Port Royal Speedway.
2021 Central PA sprint car points through seven of 110 races
1 13 Justin Peck 107 points
2 48 Danny Dietrich -4
3 51 Freddie Rahmer -13
T4 87 Alan Krimes -18
T4 5 Dylan Cisney -18
6 72 Tim Shaffer -21
7 69K Lance Dewease -27
8 39M Anthony Macri -36
T9 99M Kyle Moody -37
T9 55 Hunter Schuerenberg -37
Williams Grove Speedway points through one of 32 races
1 51 Freddie Rahmer 300 points
2 13 Justin Peck -30
3 69K Lance Dewease -50
4 1W Brandon Rahmer -60
5 5 Dylan Cisney -70
6 0 Rick Lafferty -80
7 55 Hunter Schuerenberg -90
8 1X Chad Trout -100
9 12 Brent Shearer -110
10 48 Danny Dietrich -120
Port Royal Speedway points through two of 26 races
T1 39M Anthony Macri 645 points
T1 5 Dylan Cisney 645 points
T3 13 Justin Peck -5
T3 1Z Logan Wagner -5
T5 45 Jeff Halligan -30
T5 12 Blane Heimbach -30
7 24 Kerry Madsen -45
8 55 Mike Wagner -60
9 69K Lance Dewease -75
T10 40 George Hobaugh -85
T10 33 Gerard McIntyre -85
Lincoln Speedway points through four of 30 races
1 72 Tim Shaffer 900 points
2 48 Danny Dietrich -40
3 99M Kyle Moody -50
4 87 Alan Krimes -60
5 8D Billy Dietrich -80
6 75 Tyler Ross -140
T7 5E Tim Wagaman -145
T7 21 Matt Campbell -145
9 69 Tim Glatfelter -150
10 39 Chase Dietz -185