ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. — Three years after their first stint together ended, Tyler Ross and Rick Lefever are reunited on the Central Pennsylvania sprint car scene and have become one of the more successful short-track teams in the area.
On Saturday, Ross registered his third victory of the season at Lincoln Speedway in Lefever’s No. 75 sprint car.
The win moved the electrical contractor into a tie for fifth with Danny Dietrich in victories among Pennsylvania Posse drivers.
Brent Marks, Lance Dewease, Anthony Macri and Freddie Rahmer have more wins, elevating Ross with some reputable company.
Entering this year, Ross had just one win at Lincoln in April 2016. The sheer benefit of seat time and maturity bundled into a second act with Lefever has made all the difference.
Before 2018, Ross never raced 410s more than 30 times in a season. He was still too green at 24 years old. Lefever, meanwhile, didn’t launch his racing venture with a comfortable amount of resources or even an established shop.
“He didn’t even have a toolbox,” Ross said. “He had nothing, really.”
Lefever bought a few cars, rented a garage to get the team off ground zero, borrowed a Ross family pickup truck to tote his trailer, and ultimately vied to build it all around Ross. The two didn’t have much success and they quickly learned they were better off apart, at least for the next three years.
The Ross family and Lefever remained on good terms. Ross returned to his family car, primarily running 360s in 2019 and entered roughly two dozen 410 shows in 2020. Lefever, on the other hand, hired Chase Dietz as his next project.
But then Dietz took a can’t-miss opportunity in John Trone’s No. 39 late last season, leaving a void in Lefever’s driver seat. Around that same time in early September, Ross had hurt an engine at Williams Grove Speedway and couldn’t race his family car for at least a few weeks.
Those two needs converged and the Ross-Lefever second act commenced.
“I can’t thank Rick Lefever and his wife enough for giving me a second chance at this opportunity here,” Ross said in victory lane Saturday at Lincoln. “Couple years ago, I drove for them and it just wasn’t right. I decided to go somewhere else. He had an opening and put me in the car for a few races last year. That’s why you always want to stay friends. I can’t believe we’re standing here for the third time.”
Saturday marked Ross’ 42nd race of the year. It’s the most he’s run in a single season.
“I matured a little bit more,” Ross added during a phone interview Sunday evening. “I’m able to communicate better. I’m able to talk to my guys and give them better feedback than I ever had. That kind of goes back to the seat time.”
Over the last 10 races, Ross and crew have pieced together six top-10 showings, four top-five finishes and a pair of wins. It’s all the right ingredients as dates with the All Star Circuit of Champions in Central Pennsylvania approach over the next month.
“We’re definitely headed in the right direction,” Ross said. “We race really well. We just have to get our time-trial program better. If we do that, I think we’ll be good.”
Ross hasn’t spent as much time at the race shop recently. That’s because larger scale jobs as an electrical contractor at V.P. Electrical Contracting out of Avondale, Pa., have called for overtime hours.
Crew chief Brian Ross, who has no biological relation to Tyler Ross, holds down the fort during the week.
“Now we are one big happy family,” Ross said.