PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Port Royal Speedway returns to action this Wednesday, July 20, for a rare mid-week visit by the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series with $20,000 on the line for the winner.
The Path Valley Wingless Sportsman are also on the card.
This will be the ninth consecutive season that the Outlaws visit the Speed Palace, but it will be the first time the series hits the Juniata County oval in July. Later this season the series will return for it’s customary October visit for the two-day Nittany Showdown.
In two visits last season, the driver’s visiting victory lane at the track were a pair of first-time Port Royal Speedway winners. Kerry Madsen threaded the needle between PA Posse and World of Outlaws as he scored a victory for “The Other Guys” behind the wheel of Tony Stewart’s No. 14 sprint car, while the finale went to Spencer Bayston as he prepared for his rookie season on the Outlaw Tour with CJB Motorsports.
Other past winners in Outlaw competition at the track include Donny Schatz (4), Kyle Larson (2), Logan Schuchart, Brad Sweet, Ryan Smith, Jason Meyers, Brad Furr, Danny Wood, Doug Wolfgang, Don Kreitz Jr. and Lynn Paxton won the very first visit in July of 1979.
Logan Wagner sits on top of the Weikert’s Livestock 410 Sprint Car point standings in search of his historic fifth consecutive championship at the Speedway, but he saw his lead nearly cut in half two weekend’s ago as a result of an accident on track. His father, Mike Wagner, now only trails by 145 points with Jeff Halligan (-260), Lucas Wolfe (-500) and Dylan Cisney (-535) rounding out the top five.
Halligan is the most recent winner at the Speedway as he owns two victories at the Speed Palace this season. Anthony Macri leads the local contingent of drivers this season at Port Royal with five victories, while Logan Wagner has four. Other winners this season at the track include Lance Dewease, Rick Lafferty and arguably the hottest driver in the country right now, Brent Marks.
It is expected that several other outsiders will make the trek to the Juniata County oval as well.
To go along with the PA Posse vs the Outlaws rivalry, the Outlaws points battle is very much up for grabs entering the weekend. Currently Sweet holds a 42-point advantage in the standings over David Gravel and a 58-point advantage over third-place Carson Macedo. Sheldon Haudenschild (-80) and Schuchart (-122) make up the top five.
Schatz, Bayston, James McFadden, Jacob Allen and Brock Zearfoss complete the top ten. Kasey Kahne will also be in attendance as he continues in his rookie season as a regular with the World of Outlaws along with Kraig Kinser, Noah Gass, Bill Rose and Robbie Price filling in for Jason Sides.
Wednesday’s event will feature the Wingless Sportsman on the card and it will be Steve Wilbur entering the event as the most recent winner at the speedway with the series.