400MILESofTRAILS

That First

inside of the half-mile Selinsgrove Speedway. In fact, he won the first race ever held on the track’s opening day.

“I won that first race and I’ve been hooked ever since,” he said. “(Winning) that first time, that’s what got me started and I didn’t want to quit after that.”

The Shippensburg University graduate and former eighthgrade mathematics teacher in the Line Mountain School District went on to win more than 100 kart races before moving up, as he and his father planned, to the limited and eventually super late models.

Unlike his go-kart racing, success was a little slower to find Dylan in the super late models. Nevertheless, that first win is one he will not forget.

It came in the prestigious Labor Day race at Port Royal Speedway in his first season racing with Krenn Motorsports. But it gets better.

“I was 17, and I passed Scottie Haus for the win,” Dylan recalled, referring to the legendary racer who dominated Port Royal Speedway for years.

From there, Dylan started collecting wins and track championships to add to his improving resume.

He has won two track titles at Port Royal and, had it not been for the track’s all-time win leader, Danville’s Jeff Rine, he would probably have won a few at his home track of Selinsgrove.

“I ran second to Rine a few times,” Dylan said, adding, “He spoils my fun.”

Dylan, father of a 3-year-old daughter, Ella, now works for a restaurant supply company in Buckhorn and his schedule –12-hour days Tuesday through Thursday – allows him to be free to race.

DYLAN YODER, WHO WON MORE THAN 100 GO-KART RACES, HAS FOLLOWED HIS DAD, JIM, IN RACING LIMITED LATE MODELS AND SUPER LATE MODELS, AND HAS WON TWO TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS AT PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY.

Meanwhile, Andrew was just starting to go kart racing when Dylan moved up to the bigger tracks and bigger cars. Before moving into stock cars, Andrew was a crew member for Dylan.

Not only did Andrew win on the kart tracks, but he also got a chance to race Jim’s super late model in the former Chili 100 at Clinton County Speedway in 2013. He ran all 100 laps in his first outing in a super late and finished ninth.

The next year, he won his first three races at Port Royal in the Econo late model class.

Andrew started racing go-karts in 2007, and sold all his karts and equipment in 2023 to race limited late models.

“I always wanted to go (late model racing) at Clinton but Port started a two-barrel class and I found a neighbor who had a car and it was pretty much ‘here you go.’ Things fell the right way, it was kind of what I was hoping for,” Andrew said.

He said there were some difficult moments early, but “once I started going it was kind of there.”

“It wasn’t the best but if you pay attention, you learn a lot and when someone is trying to teach you something, you pay attention,” Andrew added.

He has since run a super late model for Ed Powell Motorsports but also raced limiteds, where he won the Selinsgrove track championship in the last two seasons.

As the 2023 season got under way, Andrew said he didn’t

THE YODERS, FROM LEFT ANDREW, DYLAN AND JIM, ARE READY TO GO FOR MORE CHECKERED FLAGS IN 2023.

Saturday, March 18:Shor tTrack SuperSeriesIcebreakerforModifieds &602CrateSportsmanModifieds

Saturday, April1: PASS305SprintCars,LimitedLateModels &Roadrunners

Saturday, April8:SuperLateModels,LimitedLateModels &Roadrunners

Saturday, April22:URC360/358Challenge &PASS305SprintCars

Sunday, April23: 410 SprintCar s&IMC AModifieds

Saturday, May6:SuperLateModels, WingedSuperSportsman &Roadrunners

Saturday, May13: PASS305SprintCars,LimitedLateModels &Roadrunners

Sunday, May14: 410 SprintCar s&SuperLateModels RayT illeyClassic

Saturday, May27: TBD

Saturday, June3:URC360/358SprintCar s&LimitedLateModels

Saturday, June 10:PASS305SprintCars,LimitedLateModels &Roadrunners

Sunday, June 18:AppalachianMountainLateModelSpeedweek/PaulLongMemorial/ 25thAnnualSuperLateModelNationalOpen&358SprintCars

Saturday, June 24:PASS305SprintCars,LimitedLateModels, &Roadrunners

Sunday, July2:PASpeedweekOpperman-Bogar-HeintzelmanMemorialfor 410 SprintCar s&W inglessSportsman

Saturday, July8:PASS305SprintCars,LimitedLateModels &Roadrunners

Sunday, July23: 410SprintCar s&TheJoeWhitcombMemorialURC360/358SprintCars

Saturday, July29: PASS305SprintCars, Roadrunners&TBA

Saturday, August5:PASS305SprintCars, Roadrunner s&TBA

Sunday, August20:TEZO’SAIl StarCircuitofChampion 410 SprintCar s&PASS305SprintCars-KramerCup

Saturday, August26: PASS305SprintCars,LimitedLateModels &Roadrunners

Sunday, September 3: 410SprintCar s&SuperLateModels

Saturday, September 16:Jim Nace Memorial 41st Annual NationalOpenfor 410 SprintCar s&TBD

Sunday, September 17:Jim NaceMemorial NationalOpenfor360/358SprintCars plan to run for points anywhere, but that can change if you win the first race or two.

He has won titles at Clinton, Selinsgrove and Port Royal but he said the most fun he had was in 2019 when he won the championship in the former Mason-Dixon traveling series.

“Out of everything, that was the best one,” he said, adding that if such a series would return, he might be interested.

Andrew, who works with his dad running a garage in Kreamer, said he doesn’t see himself leaving racing, at least not because of his family.

“I met my wife (Krista) at the racetrack. She loves it, the kid loves it and I have a kart for him whenever he’s ready.’’

The Yoder Racing family shows no signs of winding down.

Jim, who is a modular home builder foreman by day, said he plans to race a few more years, or “as long as I can win.”

He added, “I’ll keep trying as long as I am in the hunt.”

The Yoders have occasionally raced at the same track at the same time and finished one-two-three in a couple of limited races, but not yet in the supers. Jim and Dylan have finished one-two in the supers a few times.

“It took me a long time to beat him in the feature,” Dylan said of racing with his dad. “But when I did, we ran first and second a couple times (at Selinsgrove).

“Once he passed me with five to go and we finished onetwo and another time we were side-by-side coming to the checker. I ran him down and almost passed him at the checkers,” Dylan said.

Added Jim, “I just enjoy racing as long as long as we’re doing good. We like to beat each other, but we don’t try to overdo it.”

Gene is having just as much fun working to make the cars go fast and spending time with the family.

“We’ve had a lot of fun, I wouldn’t want do anything else,” he said

Gene admits that when the three Yoders do race together, they do want to win, but having fun is the most important. “We do it all ourselves. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.

“It’s a lot of fun, it sure is.”

And just maybe the oldest member of the racing clan will be around long enough to see River join in the action.

ANDREW YODER, WHO WON A LOT OF RACES IN A VARIETY OF GOKART CLASSES, IS THE TWO-TIME DEFENDING LIMITED LATE MODEL CHAMPION AT SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY. HE WILL CONTINUE TO RACE BOTH CLASSES OF STOCK CARS THIS SEASON AND TRY TO KEEP ADDING TO HIS WIN TOTAL.