PORT ROYAL, Pa. – No matter his path, Brock Zearfoss expects to be in the proverbial mix for the prestigious Tuscarora 50 title at Port Royal Speedway this weekend.

He is, after all, a former track champion at the half-mile Pennsylvania dirt track.

But this year, the twists and turns that have unwillingly guided Zearfoss matter, perhaps more than any other driver in a field expected to be vast and stout.

Earlier in the season, unexpected circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic forced Zearfoss off the road with the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions and back to his roots in central Pennsylvania.

It’s not a fine resort, coming back home to race for good money. But Zearfoss believes he’s built for the road, and weekends like this cross his desires to prove he belongs on that playing field in what would have been a sweet homecoming.

“Obviously, when you go out racing on the road, that’s what you want to do,” Zearfoss said after his runner-up finish Monday at Port Royal, the last tuneup ahead of this weekend’s Tuscarora 50. “We weren’t sure what this COVID deal was going to be so we made the decision to pull off [the ASCoC] and that’s what we’re going to keep doing. It’s good for weekends like this, being able to get laps here and get our car better here. It pays off. It has its advantages and disadvantages.

“At the end of the day, we deserve to be on the road, racing,” he added. “We made a business decision this year.”

A business decision could yield a big payday, $53,000 to be exact, and a monumental moment for Zearfoss come Saturday.

The 2017 track champion hasn’t raced this much at Port Royal since 2018, before he went full-time with the ASCoC tour last year and eventually finished fourth in the standings.

Even though he hasn’t won since June 11 at Southern Oklahoma Speedway, Zearfoss has found speed at the right time, fresh off back-to-back runner-up finishes to Anthony Macri at Selinsgrove and Port Royal.

Strangely enough, those are his first two podium finishes of the season in central Pennsylvania.

“We were struggling there for a bit,” Zearfoss said. “We’ve been trying different things, getting better here and there. This past weekend has probably been the best weekend we’ve had in a while. Getting consistent again, that’s the main thing. We’re consistent right now, but that could change tomorrow. We’ll just keep working at it.”

“We’ve found the balance in the race car,” he added. “We veered off the path a little bit but are going back to basics.”

Zearfoss made important strides Sunday at Selinsgrove, when he drove from sixth, a good distance behind Macri and Brent Marks, to challenge late for the win.

After getting a slow start, Zearfoss made his way to third by lap 10 and pulled within 1.5 seconds of Macri before a lap-13 caution.

With seven laps to go Zearfoss moved to second and stayed close enough to pressure Macri, but not close enough to pull the trigger for the win.

On Monday at Port Royal, Zearfoss raced from fifth to second on a rubbered-down surface that didn’t provide much room to pass.

Like Sunday, Zearfoss pressured Macri, but couldn’t get within striking distance.

“We needed traffic to make something happen there,” Zearfoss said. “It was one of those deals where clean air is everything, especially in the rubber. When we were in traffic there earlier in the race, I made a couple mistakes and just wasn’t close enough to capitalize. We’ll take second from that one.”

Through all of this, Zearfoss has saved a substantial amount on travel expenses and learned more about his desires to race with the likes of Aaron Reutzel and Donny Schatz, just two of many road warriors he’ll see over this last stretch of the season.

Even though he’s a local who’s racing against travelers this weekend, Zearfoss is hoping next year those roles are flipped.

“That’s the plan,” Zearfoss said on returning to the road next season. “We don’t want to be racing locally much. You only get better racing on the road and with those caliber drivers. That’s where I want to be as a race car driver. I want to race with the (World of) Outlaws.

“Whether that’s this year or next year, we’ll keep building toward it, and whatever happens in the future happens.”