PORT ROYAL, Pa. — It had been nearly a year since Logan Wagner visited victory lane at Port Royal Speedway, and he ended that drought on June 1 in exciting fashion.
Devin Adams and Gerard McIntyre led the field to green in the 25-lap A-main event, and it was McIntyre who led the opening lap.
Lance Dewease, who started in the third spot, put pressure on McIntyre over the opening six laps and took the lead in Turns Three & Four with just 18 laps to go.
After starting seventh, Wagner found himself sixth when Dewease took the lead. At this point in the race, he started to hit his stride.
Wagner worked the top side of the corners to build momentum around the speedway, and over the next seven laps, picked off cars to find himself in the runner-up spot.
While battling through lapped traffic, Dewease’s three-second lead was eaten up by Wagner, and Wagner dispatched of the track’s 2nd all-time leading winner with eight laps remaining.
A caution caused by Derek Hauck with five laps remaining gave Dewease one more shot at the lead, but Wagner continued working the top side of the track to hold on for the $5,000 payday.
“Tonight was all about pulling the trigger and going for it,” said Wagner in victory lane. “Tonight I said, we’re going back to the way I used to drive this place and just go for it.”
Lance Dewease and Chase Dietz rounded out the podium. Gerard McIntyre won the J&S Classics Warrior award, given to a driver who finishes a bit further back in the field decided by pill draw. Mike Walter won the night’s hard charger for driving from the 22nd starting spot up to 11th.
In super late model competition, Rick Eckert charged from the ninth starting spot to pick up the $4,000 win as well as an extra $300 for winning from ninth or further back, per the speedway’s rules.
Andrew Yoder and Justin Weaver made up the front row in the 25-lap A-main with Yoder taking the lead in the opening lap.
Eckert started to weave his way through the field on lap 7 when he passed three cars between Turn One and Turn Four to get to the sixth spot.
Andrew Yoder opened up to a three-second lead over the first 11 laps, but a caution for Chris Casner who spun in Turns One and Two drew the field back together over the next 14 laps.
Over the next six laps, the top five cars became Andrew Yoder, Logan Zarin, Justin Weaver, Dylan Yoder and Rick Eckert, and they all were within a one-second margin of each other.
Coming to the line with seven laps to go, Eckert turned on the boosters, getting by both Dylan Yoder and Justin Weaver to move into the top three. Three laps later, he overtook Andrew Yoder for the lead.
Once out in front, Eckert built up just under a three-second lead and went on to win the Selinsgrove Ford super late model feature event.
“I felt like I was better than the cars in front of me, but I wasn’t sure,” said Eckert. “Andrew Yoder started on the front row and that kid is really good. He’s got a lot of talent, and he does a great job. I figured in clean air, he’d be gone. The cautions probably worked in my favor to catch him.”
Andrew Yoder and Dylan Yoder rounded out the podium and Colton Flinner was the hard charger for going from 21st to 11th.
For the Penns Valley Meat Market 305 sprint car feature event, Austin Reed started 12th and charged to the front throughout a 20-lap race to pick up the win.
Owen Dimm led the opening 18 laps of the race after starting on the pole. He was closely challenged by Mike Melair, who started to his outside throughout the feature. But while they battled, Austin Reed charged his way to the front.
With just two laps remaining, coming off of Turn Two, Reed charged past both Dimm and Melair for the win.
Dimm and Melair rounded out the rest of the podium in the 305 A-main event.