track PORT

ROYAL SPEEDWAY

The late models have a long history at the big half-mile race track dating back to 1963, but over the past few seasons, as part of the rejuvenation of the speedway, the late model division has seen a resurgence. The track has become a destination speedway for late model racing in the mid-Atlantic attracting some of the best late model drivers in the country and even some outlaws.

“It’s about the only place we have to go to on a weekly basis,” said Trevor Feathers, who won two straight season openers and travels from Winchester,

Virginia, to race at the speedway.

As on-track improvements continued, the division started to grow and soon hosted a first-ever visit by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2017. The World of Outlaws late model series returned to the track in 2017 after not racing there for 10 seasons. The two series make at least one stop per year now at the track.

The track sees invaders on a regular basis, especially if a high paying event is on the horizon. During his incredible 2020 season, Kyle Larson scored his first career late model win at Port Royal in the finale of a three-day Lucas Oil program at the end of August. Larson was in contention for another Lucas Oil win at the track earlier this season as well.

Pennsylvania native and former World of Outlaws champion Rick Eckert is a frequent visitor and winner at the track. Eckert was the Lucas Oil winner back in 2017.

58 DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE • ISSUE 04 - 2021

Current point leader and four-time winner Colton Flinner drives from near Pittsburgh every week to compete at the track, which is close to a four-hour trip. Flinner won the first four point races at the track this season. “The facility is top notch,” Flinner said.

The entire track and grounds have seen a complete overhaul in the past decade as promoter Steve O’Neal, along with the Juniata County Agricultural Society, and countless volunteers have brought the track back from the brink of extinction. “The staff is a bunch of incredible people and super nice,” Flinner added.

When O’Neal took over the promotion duties, his goal was to reestablish Port Royal and he has done that not only with the sprint cars but the late models as well. “From the first day back as promoter in 2011, the goal has been to raise the bar and excitement in both of our main classes, which I think we have done a good job at it,” O’Neal said.

The speedway has had as many as 46 late models in the pits for a nonsanctioned event. “If we continue to get the support from the racers and fans as we have been getting the past few years, I can see us continuing to add more money and larger events for the late models.”

A wide racing surface with multiple grooves allows for great racing and plenty of room for the big stock cars. Growing purses and sponsorship money helped as well.

Although Flinner dominated the first part of the season in 2022, the win list is usually long with only a few drivers able to win more than once or twice. “The competition is tough, and the weekly purse is crazy good,” Flinner said. A total of 64 different drivers have competed in at least one of the first five races of 2022.

The overall success of the speedway has helped all divisions. “The weekly purse for the late models before I came back was $5,775 per race and now it’s at $15,000 per race, and tow money was $25 and now its $200,” O’Neal said.

The purse is certainly part of the reason for the growth of the division as Flinner pointed out again. “The payout is crazy good,” Flinner said.

Long-time Pennsylvania late model racer Jason Covert owns six career wins at the track where he grew up watching sprint car legend Keith Kauffman. “I’m not very good there, but I like going and supporting them,” Covert said. “The way they have the track shaped now and the way we race it; it gets so clean after a sprint car race, you can race all over it and find where your car is good. Even when it’s slow, you drive hard there. It’s a lot of fun to drive when it gets like that. It has two grooves minimum. Our cars changed and that made them better at Port Royal. You steer more through a bigger corner.”

But, it’s not all about the racing surface. “How they treat you from the promoter to the track workers,” Covert said. “It’s a pleasure to go there. They have put a lot of effort into making it what it is. Guys will go there to work on their stuff before the big races, so you know what you’re doing on the race car,” Covert said.

Covert mentioned the purse and how the speedway kept raising it and drawing top drivers like Rick Eckert and Gregg Satterlee. Port Royal has become the proving ground for late models like Hagerstown Speedway in

Maryland once was. “Now, you go to Port Royal to find out where you stand,” Covert said. “Racing a late model at Port Royal is a pretty big deal now.”

For Covert and the others, it’s a combination deal. “The fans are there, the food is good, the facility, the way they run it, its credible, its well run,” Covert said. “It’s fun to go watch there, too. It’s some of the best racing there is. I am a racer and a fan and I’m proud of what Port Royal has done. It’s not just a race, but it’s an event and you want to be there.”

While Port Royal has seen growth in the class, it’s not necessarily the case for the region as a whole. “One of the reasons we have seen such growth in the division is due to less tracks running them weekly in our area which is good in one way, but not good in another way,” O’ Neal said. “Due to the high costs to field a late model, the overall fields of late models have gotten smaller in our area. It’s very hard to continue to raise purses if you have someone competing against you close by which splits your car counts and fans to pay for it.”

The division has several secondgeneration drivers competing. Scotty Haus owns the most late model wins in track history (96) and Ken Dickson ranks second on that list (54). Both their sons race at the track now. Andy Haus has two championships (2016 and 2020), while Nick Dickson is seeking his first.

The competition level is at an all- time high for the division. Last year, Dylan Yoder claimed his second career track championship with a last lap, last corner pass. Dylan’s father, Jim, and his cousin, Andrew, also race at Port Royal. Veteran racer and Hall of Famer Gary Stuhler has made Port Royal his Saturday night home and last year lost the title to Yoder.

The Rumble by the River, sanctioned by The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, pays $50,000 to the Saturday night winner at the end of August this season.

A successful limited late model division has also helped feed the late model division over the years. Devin Hart won last year’s championship. His grandfather, Butch Renninger, was a former champion at the track. The race run in his honor over Labor Day weekend pays over $6,000 to win and is sanctioned by the regional series ULMS. Last year, the limited late model winner earned over $5,000 in their portion of the Renninger Memorial.

Like the division itself, the Butch Renninger Memorial has grown over the years and is the most-anticipated event for the local late model and limited late model drivers because of Renninger’s connection with the speedway.

Piggybacking off of Port Royal’s commitment to the class, other Central PA sprint car tracks have seen an increase in late model races. The Outlaws even visit historic Williams Grove Speedway, while Lincoln Speedway and BAPS Motor Speedway have added late model racing to their schedules over the past few seasons.