wagner nets third straight 410 sprint crown

pOrt rOyal speedway wagner nets third straight 410 sprint crOwn

storY: SHAWN WOOD, FOR INSIDE MOTORSPORTS

logan Wagner finds himself in some rare company in the Port Royal Speedway record books.

Four drivers: Keith Kauffman, Lance Dewease, Larry ‘Smokey’ Snellbaker and Frankie Thompson, have won the 410 sprint car track title three years in a row. Kauffman, the track’s all-time winningest 410 sprint car driver, is the only one to have ever won four straight titles, doing it from 1978 to 1981.

“I feel like any time that your name is mentioned in the conversations as Keith, Lance, Smokey, that’s not only owed to the performance of the car but the team,” Wagner said of his third straight 410 sprint car title.

“At the end of the day, we are focused on getting wins and running up front. By doing that, the point championships will take care of themselves. If we get the fourth straight title and tie Keith, that will be fantastic. But we are focused on the here and now.” This is Wagner’s fourth season with the John and PeeWee Zemaitis-owned sprint car team.

“We started four years ago trying to figure out how (crew chief) Tommy (Karl) likes to set up and what I like and towards the end of that first season he and I clicked,” Wagner said. “Knowing how the driver and crew chief think and can communicate goes hand-in-hand with going fast and winning the race which also leads to a bond between the driver and the crew chief.”

Throughout his career, Wagner has worked with many different crew chiefs including fellow driver Lance

Dewease, who came in and helped for several races when Wagner was driving the Wayne Dadetto car.

Wagner, who has nine career wins at the track, lives in Harrisonville and is a full-time pilot for Bun Air Corporation, based out of the Bedford Airport.

This is his 10th year flying for Bun Air, a testimony to his detailed work habits since he had never flown an airplane and had only flown twice in his life: once to Australia to visit his older brother, Mike, who was studying abroad, and then to the flight school in Florida.

“I did some research online and found that flying a plane was profitable and there may be a high demand for pilots plus the ability to travel and go fast, seemed like a winner,” he said.

He noted the airport in Hatteras, N.C., was an interesting airport to land at with only a 2,800-foot runway, crosswinds, where deer or wildlife could be standing, and people also fly kites at the airport. As for scenery, Wagner said he likes to fly into Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla., with the golf course right alongside the runway.

Heading into the 2021 season, Wagner said that he has never felt better going into a year than this year.

“At the test (March 12) we were three- to fourth-tenths faster than anyone. I felt we left a lot on the table in terms of what the car can do in the feature on Sunday, but I truly feel that we are in a position to be in contention to win every night. I feel really good about the car and the team.’’

His dad Mike has 12 career wins to go along with his two track championships in the 410s.

Port Royal was able to hold 28 events despite the suspension of racing for a time due to the COvID-19 pandemic. Selinsgrove’s Dylan Yoder’s bid for a second straight super late model track championship came up 45 markers short to Andy Haus as the championship was decided on the final night. The top three in the final point standings in the COvID-19 shortened-season, Haus, Yoder, and Colton Finner, were separated by 61 points.

This is the second track title for Haus, whose father Scott, has eight late-model titles at the track.

Andrew Yoder, of Selinsgrove, picked up his second consecutive limited late model championship as he won four times in the eight races held for the limiteds last year due to COvID-19.

Among the improvements which Port Royal made over the offseason was to pave the pits, begin construction on new vIP booths atop the Turn 4 pit bleachers and add multiple Whelen safety lights around the track.

Port Royal has set a slate of 41 races for the 2021 season. Among the highlights are the $10,000-to-win Living Legends Dream Race, the Butch Renninger Memorial, the Labor Day Classic, a pair of Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek dates and the Short Track Super Series for Northeast dirt modifieds. Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions will have six dates on the calendar including the $10,000-to-win Keith Kauffman Classic in April; the two-day Bob Weikert over Memorial Day weekend and the 54th annual Tuscarora 50. The finale of the three-day event will pay $54,000 to win on Sept. 11.

The World of Outlaws will have two dates on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9 while the 10th Annual Keystone RaceSaver Challenge 305 Sprints wraps up the season on Sat., Oct. 23.