For sprint car racing fans, this next week, starting with Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, PA, it will be like an early Christmas. The 12th Annual CARQUEST Auto Parts Pennsylvania Sprint Speed Week Series will get the green flag on 7:30 P.M. when the Kevin Gobrecht Memorial sprint car race is presented. The Thundercars will also be part of the Saturday night show at Lincoln Speedway. More than $177,000 in prize money has been posted for the eight race sprint car series. The top 410 sprint car drivers of central Pennsylvania are expected to take part in the tour. This list of participants include Lance Dewease, the winningest sprint car racer in the nation, Fred Rahmer, Don Kreitz Jr., Keith Kauffman, Todd Hestor, Todd Shaffer, Greg Hodnett, Lenny Thompson, Cris Eash and a host of many others. 2002 marks the second year that CARQUEST Auto Parts is participating as series sponsor of Speed Week. Rich Pallai of CARQUEST commented, "We're happy to be part of Pennsylvania Sprint Speed Week since it offers CARQUEST an opportunity to visit eight different speedways and reach thousands of grass root race fans."
    After the kickoff of the series on Saturday at Lincoln Speedway, the action will move to Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, PA on Sunday, June 30. On Monday there is no racing scheduled but the night is set aside as a rain date. Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, PA will play host to the 410 sprints and sportsman stock cars at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 2. The series continues at Silver Spring Speedway on Wednesday, July 3; Susquehanna Speedway in Newberrytown, PA, on Thursday, July 4; Williams Grove Speedway plays host to the Mitch Smith Memorial paying $10,000 to win on July 5 as part of the series; Port Royal has the 410 sprints on Saturday, July 6 and on Sunday, July 7th, the sprints close out the series at Selinsgrove, PA Speedway.
Through the eleven year history of the Speed Week Series, sixty-seven events have been presented at eleven different tracks. The series has produced 14 different feature winners., The 2001 CARQUEST Series Champion was Lance Dewease, who also captured the championship in 1997 and 1999.
    Fred Rahmer, Fast Freddy as most know him, has been the most successful driver in the series. Rahmer, who calls Salfordville, PA home, has been the title winner in 1992, 93, 95, 98 and again in 2000. Rahmer and Dewease figure to be the drivers to beat during the eight night series of events. And Keith Kauffman has to be considered a threat as he won the title in 1996 and has been a frequent visitor to victory lane this season. The only other driver to claim a Speed Week Title was Steve Smith. The series started in 1991 and Smith, who is no longer active as a driver but spends a lot of time on the World of Outlaws circuit with his son Stevie, claimed the inaugural series event.
The format for each of the CARQUEST Speed Week Series events will offer time trials, a series of qualifying events and a feature race. Hank's Performance Products is offering the Hank's Clean Sweep Bonus. Any driver that can set fast time, win their heat and win the feature on the same night, will earn a bonus of $500 from Hank's. At the Thunder on the Hill event at Grandview Speedway, COMDIAL Telephone Communications will post $250 for the driver that sets fast time. Sean Michael, driving the ZEMCO sprint set a new one lap track record at Grandview on May 26 and collected the COMDIAL cash that night.
    Truly Christmas in July for sprint car racing fans.
    ONE OF THE TOUGHEST IMAGES in motorsports is watching a team pack up the hauler and pull out of the race track after failing to qualify for a race. Jimmy Spencer and his Target Dodge team had to do that when he was one of 10 teams that did not make the 2002 Daytona 500. It was the first time Spencer had missed a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race since 1998, when he sat out two races due to injury. Spencer, who is from the Berwick, PA area, is the only racer from Pennsylvania who is currently on the Winston Cup circuit.
This coming week Spencer will have two races to qualify for during the July 3-6 Pepsi 400 weekend at Daytona International Speedway. That is where this column will come from for the next two weeks. Spencer, called Mr Excitement because of his aggressive driving style that goes back to his days on the NASCAR Featherlite Modified circuit, will race the No. 1 Yellow Freight Chevrolet in the inaugural Stacker 2/GNC Live Well 250 NASCAR Busch Series race on July 5 and the No. 1 Target Dodge in the July 6 Pepsi 400. He plans on not only making both races, but also winning them.
    The Pepsi 400 has been good to Spencer. In the 1994 edition of the mid-summer classic, Spencer, driving the No. 27 McDonald's Ford for the legendary Junior Johnson, delivered one of the most memorable finishes of the race. Spencer battled door-to-door with Ernie Irvan's famed No. 28 Ford on the last lap of the race and eked out the victory by inches at the start/finish line. It was the only lap that Spencer had lead all day long.
    "That was my first ever Winston Cup win," said Spencer, who wears a Rolex watch given to him by McDonald's to commemorate the victory. "A win at Daytona was so special. You hear all the drivers talk about Daytona. There's nothing like Daytona. I think everybody - a race fan or a driver - has been to the Daytona 500 or Daytona International Speedway.

    "Running underneath the lights at Daytona is awesome and it gives us a whole new format. I think we'll do well there." Tony Stewart has announced that he will not only run the Home Depot Pontiac in the Pepsi 400 but also will be a teammate with road racing veteran Elliott Forbes-Robinson and run in the Rolex Sports Car Series Jani-King Paul Revere 250 at Daytona. The sports car race will take place after Winston Cup qualifying is completed on Thursday, July 4th, under the lights.
    BIG DIAMOND RACEWAY had Keith Hoffman winning the Friday night NASCAR Modified feature while Billy Moyer, Jr. got his first career win in the Sportsman feature and Doug Hendricks continued to be the man to beat in the Roadrunners as he won his fifth of the season. Friday night the 3/8th mile clay oval offers an 8 p.m. show of Modifieds, Sportsman and Roadrunners. And on Tuesday, July 2, at 7:30 p.m. they offer the 410 sprints and Sportsman stock cars. The Georgie Stevenson Memorial on July 5 offers twin features for the NASCAR Modifieds plus racing for the Sportsman and Roadrunners.
    KENT WHEELER earned his first Super Stock feature win at Clinton County Speedway on Friday night. Bobby Stokes won the Late Model feature while Levi Ardery was tops in the Four Cylinders and Dave Riddell won the Daredevil main event. All four classes are back in action on Friday night at 7 p.m.
    EAST WINDSOR,NJ SPEEDWAY had Doug Hoffman and Billy Pauch each winning a Modified feature on Friday night. Dom Buffalino won the Sportsman main while Paul Marra Jr. won the Street Stock main event. Friday night racing gets the green at 7:30 p.m. with 360 sprint cars being the main attraction along with modifieds, sportsman and street stocks.
    TODD SHAFFER won the 410 sprint car feature at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday and it was Rick Hench taking the 358 sprint feature. 410 sprints and 358 limited sprints are back in action on Friday night and on July 5 the Mitch Smith Memorial, offering $10,000 to win, will attract the top 410 sprint car drivers in the area. Friday night racing starts at 8 p.m.
    CHRIS SHUEY won the Super Late Model feature on Friday night at Susquehanna Speedway while Rick Laubach got a win in the 358 Modified feature. The Limited Late Models are back on Friday along with the 358 Modifieds in a special challenge event. From what we understand it will be a feature that pits the modifieds against the late models in the same race. And the Super Late Models and Enduros will be part of the 7:45 p.m. show. On July 3 the Pepsi 100 will feature the 358 Modifieds. And on Thursday, July 4, it will be the Harry's U-Pull-It PA Speedweek race for 410 sprints and the Super Late Models will be part of the show.
    JOE WHITCOMB won the 25-lap sprint car feature, his second of the season, at Selinsgrove Speedway on Saturday. Dale Kerstetter won the late model feature and Kyle Bachman won his fifth of the season in the pro stocks. Sprints, late models, pro stocks and roadrunners will make up the show on Saturday, June 29. Gates open at 5 p.m. And there will be fireworks.
    AT SILVER SPRING SPEEDWAY Dave Neuman became the first three time feature winner in the Super Sportsman on Saturday night. Art Schwarz won the street stock feature and Mark Zimmerman won the 12-lap Racer's Edge sportsman B-main. On Saturday night there will be the annual Firecracker 40 for Super Sportsman and on July 3rd the PA Sprint Speed Week 410 sprint series will visit the track.
    LANCE DEWEASE won the wild sprint car feature at Lincoln Speedway after a fan pleasing battle with Fred Rahmer and Greg Hodnett. Mark Billet won the 20-lap limited late model main event and it was Duane Watson winning his second of the year in the Thundercar feature. The Kevin Gobrecht Memorial for 410 sprint cars will be presented on Saturday night as part of the CARQUEST Auto Parts Pennsylvania Sprint Speed Week 410 sprint series. The Thundercars will also be part of the action at 7:30 p.m.
    KEITH KAUFFMAN won his second Port Royal Speedway sprint car feature of the season while Kenny Dickson and Terry Naugle was tops in stock car feature action. On Saturday night, the KARS 358 sprint cars will be on hand along with 358 Late Models, Pro Stocks and Enduro cars. Racing starts at 7 p.m. 410 sprints will be back on July 6th with a CARQUEST PA Sprint Speed Week Series show.
    AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY Doug Manmiller won the Modified feature and it was Lou Egrie won the 30-lap Chuck Sennott Memorial Late Model race. Modifieds and Late Modelds are featured on Saturday night while the 410 sprints and 358 KARS sprints are there on Sunday night . Both shows start at 7:30 p.m.
    ANDY MARTIN won the 250cc Two-Strokes feature. Michelle Miller was tops in sportsman micro sprints along with Tim Drybola was tops in the 125cc micro sprint main and Chris Snyder took the 250cc four-stroke feature. All this action at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in Brickerville, PA. The 600cc micro sprints join the show on Saturday night at 6 p.m.
Ernie Saxton can be reached at Esaxton144@aol.com.