YORK HAVEN, Pa. — Danny Dietrich has taken strides in the offseason to become a smarter and improved sprint car driver.

His dedication has paid off. Not only has he become a more tactical driver, it’s led to more early-season wins.

That was the case Sunday at BAPS Motor Speedway. Dietrich lost the lead to Brock Zearfoss, stayed focused and retook the top spot to capture his 12th career win at the York Haven speedway.

“I kind of had a new focus since January 1st,” Dietrich said after his third win in eight starts this season. “I’m just focused really, really hard on racing and getting myself in better shape, getting healthier, going to the gym.

“I think that’s propelled the beginning of the season. For me, personally, hopefully I can keep working on that and get back to the gym when things slow down. Racing is keeping us in pretty good shape now.”

Dietrich grabbed the lead at the drop of the green, passing pole-sitter Brett Michalski. Brock Zearfoss also dipped under Michalski and took the second spot, with Ryan Smith taking third before the completion of lap one.

The leaders approached lapped traffic on the eighth circuit. Dietrich dropped down to the bottom of turn two, which allowed Zearfoss to fly around the cushion and take the lead out of the second corner.

“I hate leading a race,” Dietrich said. “I would rather run second. I’ve told people that multiple times, and I don’t like starting in the front row.

“I don’t like setting the pace. I would rather pass someone knowing what my car has in it. You don’t know until you are in second how good you are. We weren’t the best, but we were good and had to make the most of it.”

The frontrunners got into lapped traffic on Lap 9. Dietrich was able to close and stalked Zearfoss for the next four laps.

Dietrich pounced on lap 13. Zearfoss was attempting to get by Trey Hivner and lost momentum. Dietrich closed in a hurry and pulled off a slider through Turns 3 and 4 to regain the top spot.

“I know exactly what my mistake was, and it was the same mistake Danny made,” Zearfoss said. “I was just kind of messing around too long.

“He left the door open, and I got him. I tried to drive away, caught lapped traffic, just messing around too long. That’s the deal breaker right there. I need more laps on short tracks to gauge when to pull the slide job on somebody, so I learned a lesson and got beat by it.”

Dietrich opened up a half-straightaway lead by the halfway point. Four laps later, Zearfoss got a shot at the leader after Chase Dietz got upside down in turn two. Jared Esh was also involved.

After the red flag, Dietrich was able to stretch his advantage. But, Zearfoss closed again when the leaders approached a four-pack of backmarkers on lap 29.

Dietrich took action, squeezing around Dylan Norris and Dan Shetler in turn two and sped away over the final circuit to take the win by 1.928 seconds.

Zearfoss settled for second, with Smith holding third. Anthony Macri came from 13th to fourth, and Cory Eliason completed the top five.

Kevin Nouse started seventh and methodically made his way to the front to earn the win in the 25-lap 358 sprint car main event.

The finish:

Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 48-Danny Dietrich; 2. 70-Brock Zearfoss; 3. 72-Ryan Smith; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri; 5. 26-Cory Eliason; 6. 99-Kyle Moody; 7. 24-Lucas Wolfe; 8. 40-George Hobaugh; 9. 51-Freddie Rahmer; 10. 67-Justin Whittall; 11. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 12. 91-Tony Fiore; 13. 73B-Brett Michalski; 14. 44-Dylan Norris; 15. 7K-Dan Shetler; 16. 19-Bryn Gohn; 17. 90-Jordan Givler (DNF); 18. 33-Jared Esh (DNF); 19. 75-Chase Dietz (DNF); 20. 7-Trey Hivner (DNF); 21. 2W-Glenndon Forsythe (DNF); 22. 9-Ryan Linder (DNF), DNS: 21-Brian Montieth, 49H-Bradley Howard.

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MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – Matt Sheppard has a long resume of victories in his dirt Modified career.

Orange County Fair Speedway, however, had eluded him. Until Sunday, that is. S

Sheppard collected his first victory at the Legendary House of Power in the Escape RV Inc. Hard Clay Open, the season opener of the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco Halmar Int’l North Region.

Sheppard collected $11,919 from the posted $47,219 payout plus $100 from Rob Sherlock Roofing for winning his heat race, $150 as a Precision Hydraulic & Oil Halfway Cash Dash winner and $200 from Superior Remodeling as the Halfway Leader for a total of $12,369 for 50 laps.

The win for Sheppard came from 12th starting position aboard the Hurlock Auto & Speed No. 9s.

“There were no excuses tonight,” a smiling Sheppard said after climbing to the roof of his Bicknell race car. “We started 12th and had to drive our way to the front.”

A field of 60 STSS modifieds rolled through the gates in hopes of kicking off the 100th anniversary of OCFS in Victory Lane. The car count was the highest in the six-year history of the Hard Clay Open springtime event. A large crowd took in the action from both sides of the five-eighths-mile oval.

Invader Danny Varin and defending OCFS champion Anthony Perrego led the field to the drop of the green flag for the 50-lap affair. Varin grabbed the initial lead in the Magsarus No. 93, with Perrego wasting little time in his drive to the front. He rolled the outside lane to the lead on lap three.

Following a yellow on lap seven, two cars stood out from the rest. Matt Sheppard had made his way from his 12th starting spot to sixth in the first seven laps. Not too far behind was Stewart Friesen who was up to 11th from his 20th starting position.

When the race resumed, Sheppard and Friesen continued their assault on the field. After Varin took the lead back from Perrego on the restart, a three-car battle ensued after Sheppard climbed into the third spot. After three laps of intense, door-to-door racing, Sheppard emerged from the fray with the lead on lap 16 and went to work on lapped traffic.

Friesen’s Halmar Int’l No. 44 had clawed his way into the top-five and caught the battle up front. He along with, Perrego, Varin, Brett Hearn, and Mat Williamson fought for the runner-up spot until a yellow came out on lap 31.

Sheppard motored away on the restart, leaving the chasers battling each other. Williamson began to show signs of an ill-handling racecar, sliding back to fifth before cutting the right-rear tire on the Jeff Behrent-owned No. 3 prior to the final yellow on lap 48.

Friesen’s climb from the 10th row ended with a runner-up finish as Savannah, N.Y.’s Sheppard broke his long winless drought at Orange County.

Friesen earned $5,000 as the race’s runner-up plus $400 from Rock Fantasy Concert Shop in Middletown, N.Y., as the race’s Hard Charger for his 18-position ascent.

Perrego placed third in the Superior Remodeling No. 44 ($4,000), followed by Brett Hearn, who survived a 360-degree spin in turn one to place fourth ($2,600 including heat win money) and Mike Gular, who drove forward from 16th to finish fifth in the Terry Fasnacht-owned No. 2A ($1,800).

Grant Hilfiger rim-rode to victory in the accompanying 20-lap Crate 602 Sportsman feature. Hilfiger powered past longtime OCFS competitor Jimmy Johnson in the final laps to take home a $1,000 top prize.

The finish:

Matt Sheppard, Stewart Friesen, Anthony Perrego, Brett Hearn, Mike Gular, Mike Mahaney, Brian Krummel, Danny Johnson, Andy Bachetti, Billy Decker, Jimmy Horton, Danny Creeden, Chris Whitehead, Mat Williamson, Allison Ricci, Ryan Watt, Tommy Meier, Brian Gleason, Craig Hanson, Brett Tonkin, Danny Varin, Tyler Dippel, Brandon Grosso, Jeremy Smith, Willy Decker, Rick Laubach, Tyler Boniface, Jerry Higbie, Billy Pauch Jr., Matt Janiak.

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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Paul Nienhiser picked up the 13th victory of his Built Ford Tough MOWA Sprint Car Series career Sunday afternoon at Jacksonville Speedway.

Nienhiser and Logan Faucon led the field to the green flag, with Nienhiser getting the early jump over the field. He was able to stretch his lead, only to be slowed by yellow flags and one red-flag period, which saw Austin O’Dell collide with the turn three wall before landing on his wheels.

Nienhiser ripped around the top side of the quarter–mile bullring to pick up victory in the 25-lap feature ahead of 2016 series champion Parker Price-Miller, who came from 16th in the 19-car field.

Korey Weyant, Jeremy Standridge and Robbie Standridge completed the top-five.

Heats were won by Joe B. Miller, O’Dell and Weyant.

The finish:

Paul Nienhiser, Parker Price-Miller, Korey Weyant, Jeremy Standridge, Robbie Standridge, Jacob Patton, Logan Faucon, Braydon Fox, Kyle Schuett, Steve Short, Brady Barker, Joe B. Miller, Bill Balog, Austin O’Dell, Jason Keith, Tyler Shoemaker, Dylan Tuxhorn, Carson Short, Bret Tripplett.

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MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Bobby Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will return to the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series this weekend in Valencia, Spain.

Labonte, who ran the full NASCAR Whelen Euro Series schedule last year, will drive the No. 70 Mishumotors Chevrolet SS in the ELITE 1 Division for the German team, sharing the car with team owner Mirco Schultis.

“The racing is really good and the competition is getting stronger every year in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series so I am excited to get back in the car at the GP of Spain,” Labonte said. “Last year’s race in Valencia was pretty intense, especially in turn one. We had some great door-to-door battles along the way and it will be great to take what we learned last year and drive there for the second time.

“More and more European fans are discovering the special atmosphere of the Euro NASCAR events and it will be great to meet them again in Valencia this weekend.”

It will be the second start at the Spanish 4-km road course for Labonte, who finished 14th in points with one top-five and four top-10s last year in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.

At Tours in France, in what was his first outing on a European short track, the Corpus Christi native grabbed his first NASCAR Whelen Euro Series podium finish.

The first ever NASCAR driver to win a championship both in the NASCAR Cup Series and in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Labonte won 21 races at the highest level of NASCAR in the United States.

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INDIANAPOLIS – McLaren Racing has unveiled the livery for the No. 66 car that Fernando Alonso will drive in an attempt to qualify for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500 in May.

The car, built at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England, sports the unique McLaren papaya orange, which echoes the color chosen by Bruce McLaren for the team’s first Formula One Grand Prix entry in 1966 and reflects the livery of the McLaren Formula 1 team’s MCL34.

This year’s scheme for both racing series features a complementary blue that nods to the team’s racing heritage, while the choice of No. 66 is to honor McLaren’s first victory at the Brickyard, achieved with Mark Donohue’s Penske-run M16 in 1972.

“The reveal of the No. 66 car and livery is an important moment for McLaren Racing’s journey to the Indianapolis 500,” said Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing. “It represents the beginning of the next phase of our program, and reflects a tremendous amount of hard work by our specialist Indy 500 team at the McLaren Technology Centre.  We are all looking forward to seeing the No. 66 out on track for the first time on April 24.”

The No. 66 race car is en route from the England to the United States ahead of the open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 24. Meanwhile, its sister test car will take to track at a closed test at the Texas Motor Speedway on April 9, in the hands of Alonso.

The Indianapolis 500 is the final jewel in the Triple Crown of Motorsports for Alonso, who already has victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Monaco Grand Prix during his career.

“I’m excited we are finally able to reveal to the world the No. 66 car which I’ll be racing with McLaren at the Indy 500 in May,” said Alonso. “The team at the McLaren factory has worked very hard to build this car ready for our return to the iconic Brickyard and I think it looks fantastic in the 2019 McLaren Racing colors. My hopes for the race remain the same, to win and achieve the Triple Crown, and I’m looking forward to meeting the fantastic U.S. fans who made me feel so welcome first time around.”

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INDIANAPOLIS – Long-time Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach sponsor King Taco will grow their relationship with Harding Steinbrenner Racing this weekend.

The Mexican fast food company will serve as primary sponsor of Colton Herta’s No. 88 Honda-powered Indy car on the 1.968-mile temporary street course around the Long Beach Convention Center. King Taco is a current season-long associate sponsor of the Harding Steinbrenner No. 88.

“Super happy to have king taco on board for Long Beach as a primary sponsor for the #88 Indy car,” said Herta. “King Taco has always supported the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and IndyCar as a whole. Their tacos are amazing, and being from Los Angeles…I know what a street taco should taste like.”

“It is very exciting to welcome another sponsor to the Harding Steinbrenner team for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach,” said team co-owner Mike Harding. “Let’s bring the #88 King Taco car to victory lane so we can celebrate with victory tacos.”

“Delighted to have King Taco as the team’s primary sponsor for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach,” said team co-owner George Michael Steinbrenner. “They are a Long Beach staple and I feel so proud to have them on board. Hoping to bring home a good result on Sunday.”

A Herta family tradition is to enjoy victory tacos after a race win, but King Taco is taking the victory taco celebration further. If Herta wins the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, anyone who attended the race can enjoy a free taco. Fans can bring their ticket stub into any participating King Taco location in Southern California and present it at the time of ordering to receive a free victory taco until April 30 if Herta wins.

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HOUSTON – Risi Competizione has finalized its driver lineup for the No. 89 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE-Pro entry in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Joining Pipo Derani, who joined the team for Le Mans last week, in the No. 89 will be Frenchman Jules Gounon and England’s Oliver Jarvis.

The Houston, Texas-based Risi Competizione entry is the 15th entry over 10 years at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, having competed for the first time in 1998. The Ferrari team’s record includes three victories, in 1998 with the Ferrari 333 SP, and 2008 and 2009 in the Ferrari 430 GT, and an additional five podiums.

“Jean and I are excited about our driver line-up for this year, with Pipo, Oliver, and Jules as our Le Mans drivers,” said Team Principal Giuseppe Risi. “Pipo is a fast young driver and has driven the 488 before at Le Mans. Oliver has driven at Le Mans many times over the past decade and Jules comes from a French racing family and has raced in plenty of endurance races including an overall win at Spa 24 Hours in 2017. We expect good results from our trio. I’m looking forward to the race and wish to thank Jean for his support in our combined effort.”

“The 24 Heures du Mans is a very special race, and especially for the French people,” said Jean Guikas, principal of Guikas GTC. “We are pleased to be part of the Risi Competizione entry with the Ferrari 488 GTE-Pro. Of course, the team have a French driver, with Jules Gounon, as well as two other excellent drivers in Pipo and Oliver. It will be a very special year and I await race week with pleasure.”

“I am delighted to be returning to Le Mans with Risi Competizione, after winning the LMP2 class in 2017 and leading the race outright,” said Jarvis,. “Having raced at Le Mans in LMP1 and LMP2 it will be a new challenge for me in GTE Pro, but I am confident with such a strong team behind me that I will be able to get up to speed quickly.  I can’t wait to start working with my new team and team mates and return to a race I absolutely love!”

Jarvis, a current DPi factory driver who recently broke the Daytona Int’l Speedway track record, will be competing in his seventh Le Mans twice-around-the-clock enduro. Having started off with fastest rookie honors in his first Le Mans in 2010, Jarvis added three third-place finishes (2012, 2013 and 2016, all with AudiSport) and one second place (with Jackie Chan in LMP2) on his racing resume.

“For me, it’s a big dream come true,” said Gounon. “It’s been a dream since I was a child to race for a French affiliated team at Le Mans. To be able to do it with Risi Competizione, who’s already won three times in its own class, is something really special for me. I’d really like to thank Giuseppe Risi and Jean Guikas regarding this project and for the trust they are putting in me for this race. I really believe we have a strong package with the Risi team, the car and the drivers to make a good result there. Thanks a lot for that and I’m looking forward to Le Mans.”

Gounon, who will be making his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, already has a number of endurance races under his belt and a 24 Hours of Spa victory. Additionally, he was the 2017 winner of the ADAC GT Masters Championship.

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TOLEDO, Ohio – Southeastern Mills, Madison Int’l Speedway and the Automobile Racing Club of America have announced Shore Lunch will sponsor the ARCA Menards Series’ annual stop at Madison Int’l Speedway.

The ARCA Menards Series Shore Lunch 200 is scheduled for June 14 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT. ARCA practice and General Tire Pole Qualifying will precede the 200-lap feature event, which is scheduled for live coverage on MAVTV.

“When we first learned that ARCA and Menards were going to bring Shore Lunch to Madison Int’l Speedway to be the ARCA race event sponsor, we were quite excited,” said Gregg McKarns, who along with his wife Angie own and promote the high-banked paper-clip shaped oval in Oregon, Wisconsin, just south of the state’s capitol city of Madison. “A lot of our fans are outdoors people and sportsman. People who go fishing. And trust me, they know what Shore Lunch is.”

Plans call for fans to have a chance to try some of Shore Lunch’s product offerings the track on race day, via a sampling program featuring Shore Lunch fish breading and Shore Lunch Soups. Gregg and Angie McKarns are looking to promote the sampling event as “Wisconsin’s Fastest Fish Fry.”

Shore Lunch soups, breadings and batters first partnered with ARCA series sponsor Menards in 2016 as a team sponsor with then-rookie driver Myatt Snider. Snider, now a driver in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, won in his ARCA Menards Series debut at Toledo Speedway, and Shore Lunch has been a part of the series ever since. The business-to-business relationship between Menards, the country’s third-largest home improvement retail chain, and Southeastern Mills, a leading food company with brands such as Better Than Bouillon, The Original Louisiana Hot Sauce and Southeastern Mills Gravy and Baking Mixes, brings opportunities for Southeastern Mills to promote its Shore Lunch Brand products to the Menards customer base.

“We continue to be excited about our association with the ARCA Menards Series, and our retail partnership with Menards,” said Ralph Byers, Vice President of Sales for Southeastern Mills. “They are top-notch organizations whose culture and values mirror those of our own company. The ARCA Menards Series platform provides an excellent means for us to reach and connect with our own consumers and provide exciting in-store sales building opportunities for Menards.”

The Shore Lunch 200 will mark the only appearance in Wisconsin, Menards’ home state, for the ARCA Menards Series in 2019. It will mark the series’ eighth appearance in the last nine years at Madison, and the eleventh overall stop by the national tour. Past winners include current NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series regulars Chris Buescher and Alex Bowman, as well as current ARCA Bounty Rookie sensation Chandler Smith, the race winner in 2018.

“We are excited to partner with Southeastern Mills and the Shore Lunch Brand to bring the ARCA Menards Series back to Madison Int’l Speedway,” said Jeff Abbott, Promotions Manager and Spokesperson for Menards. “What better way to kick off Father’s Day Weekend than to offer Dad a night at the races?”

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For many years, the annual migration to Tulsa, Okla., for the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals has triggered a near-mass delusion.

Seeing a record number of midgets under one roof and a huge crowd on hand suggested this unique racing discipline was enjoying a level of popularity only exceeded by those heady days in the immediate aftermath of World War II.

Then reality would set in. Car counts across the country would suffer by the time the frost had departed for good and this would be quickly followed by reports of the near demise of some of the oldest, and proudest, midget racing clubs in the land.

From a historical perspective, the rise and fall of midget racing has been a constant storyline for seven decades running, with the trend, unfortunately, generally pointing south.

This past January, once again, folks flocked to the Oil Capital for some indoor fun and left exhausted after six days of action, and a thrilling duel between Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson in the finale.

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