MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – Two years of troubles sent Lucas Wolfe down the most trying road of his sprint car career.
On Friday at Williams Grove Speedway, he finally righted the ship. In the Jim and Laura Allebach No. 5W, Wolfe led all 25 laps from the pole to score his first win since July 12, 2019 at the historic half-mile.
The All Star Circuit of Champions regular fended off Justin Peck on a restart with six laps to go to earn a .952-second victory.
“It’s been a little bit of a long and winding road, some ups and downs, of course,” Wolfe said. “It’s been really long since I’ve last been here [in victory lane] with Jim and Laura Allebach. So, happy to get a good result here tonight. Obviously, [had a] good starting spot, was able to make good laps, and fortunately hang on through a few caution periods there.”
It’s Wolfe’s 22nd career victory at Williams Grove, which ranks him 23rd all-time at the track.
Wolfe, who will primarily run the Mark Coldren No. 07 on the All Star Circuit of Champions tour this year, took advantage of the track’s handicap system. He started the night with a win in the first heat from the second-starting position, putting him on the pole for the main event.
After Sunday’s All Star Circuit of Champions show at Bedford Fairgrounds Speedway, Wolfe felt he made some strides in his 24th-to-15th run. Whatever he gained, he put that to use Friday.
On restarts, Wolfe rolled the bottom nicely through turns one and two, making it tough for Kyle Moody to set up a pass for the lead. Once things got going, Wolfe established a solid line up top, maintaining enough momentum to never really be challenged.
“Felt pretty good,” Wolfe said. “It was hard to get much of a gauge. It was pretty [slippery] at spots. Felt pretty good. Sometimes, you have to trust where you’re at hope and it works.”
The only time Wolfe needed to dig deep was when he approached the wake of traffic right before the final caution for Bradley Howard with six laps to go. Wolfe hadn’t been in this position, the transition from clean to dirty air, in nearly two years so he had some adjusting to do.
“My feel on that isn’t quite as sharp,” Wolfe said. “I have a little bit of building to kind of get back and regain. We’ll keep working on it.”
During the final restart Peck, who had raced from 14th to third, got by Moody for second and set his sights on Wolfe. But by that point, Wolfe had shaken free for a return to prominence.
“Hopefully it’s an upswing of momentum for no matter which car I’m in,” said Wolfe, who returns to the All Star Circuit of Champions tour when it resumes next Friday at Lernerville Speedway.
During the break, Wolfe will continue to run in the Allebach-owned No. 5W, a ride he’s run at some capacity over his lengthy sprint car career. He’ll continue to sprinkle in races around central Pennsylvania in the Pabst Blue Ribbon-backed machine away from the All Star Circuit of Champions tour.
Freddie Rahmer charged from 13th to finish third. Dylan Cisney finished fourth. Moody faded to fifth.
Lance Dewease won the B-Main but elected to not take the green flag for the feature and continues his search for win No. 100 at Williams Grove.
In the 20-lap 358 sprint main, Derek Locke won for the second week in a row to notch his fifth Williams Grove Speedway victory and tie his father Howie Locke on the all-time win list.
The finish:
1. Lucas Wolfe. 2. Justin Peck. 3. Freddie Rahmer. 4. Dylan Cisney. 5. Kyle Moody. 6. Alan Krimes. 7. Anthony Macri. 8. Troy Wagaman. 9. Chad Trout. 10. Chase Dietz. 11. Kerry Madsen. 12. Steve Buckwalter. 13. Robbie Kendall. 14. BrentShearer. 15. Justin Whittall. 16. TJ Stutts. 17. Matt Campbell. 18. Jared Esh. 19. Dylan Norris. 20. Doug Hammaker. 21. Rick Lafferty. 22. Brad Howard. 23. Tyler Ross. 24. Brandon Rahmer.