Port Royal Speedway is looking to resume the 2024 racing season on Saturday April 6th with the Penns Valley Meat Market PA Sprint Series and the 12th running of the Keystone RaceSaver Challenge sponsored by the Pennsylvania Game Commission as well as Weikert Livestock 410 sprint cars racing for $6,000 to win.
Both divisions boast impressive purses as the Keystone RaceSaver Challenge has a total purse of $19,000 to payout to the teams, and the Weikert Livestock 410 purse payout is $26,000 in total. The 410 purse is up $1,000 from it's normal $25,000 in thanks to Packer's Concessions for the additional support for the first 410 sprint car race of the season.
This is the rescheduled running of the Keystone RaceSaver Challenge from 2023 that was originally scheduled for October 2023 which was postponed due to weather conditions. The 13th annual (2024) edition of the race will then be run on Saturday, June 29. This is a departure from the traditional October date for the race in an attempt to get more favorable weather for the teams and the fans.
This will be only the second time a Keystone RaceSaver Challenge race has been postponed and rescheduled for the following spring. The 2016 edition actually was run in April 2017 after it was rained out.
"Fans can expect competitive racing from the RaceSaver division at Port Royal Speedway," said regional director Rod Ort. "our series is dedicated to the amateur racer. You’ll see the best RaceSaver racers in the country and we attract them to Port by registering teams focused on RaceSaver and our usual dedication to purse distribution. The main event pays $1000 to win and $500 to start giving more teams a good payday for their travels. For this reason, the event brings in a large car count with already 50 cars pre-registered. Registration is required so we can make sure teams are ready and know the procedures. We focus on being efficient and keeping the show moving while also having some of the most competitive racing of the night."
In the past 11 years, a total of 570 competitors have taken part in the race, an average of 52 cars per year. The top total was 68 in 2021.
A total of 10 different drivers have won the event since its inception, and 2 of them – defending race winner Logan Spahr and 2019 winner Nick Sweigart – will look to join Jeff Miller as the only two-time winners. Other past winners include Garrett Bard, Sean Campbell, Jeff Geiges, Kyle Smith, Darren Miller, Justin Clark, and Jake Waters.
Ken Duke Jr. of Selinsgrove has one of the strongest records of any competitor coming into this event. He didn’t begin his PASS career until 2013, so he missed the inaugural race, but in the ten years since then, his 3 top-five finishes (including a second in 2016) and 6 top-tens are the most of any racer. At one point the 2019 IMCA/RaceSaver National Champion had a string of 5 top-tens in a row.
Fans can arrive at The Speed Palace in the early afternoon Saturday April 6th for this event. Pit gates will open at 2PM, general admission gates open at 3PM, hot laps will begin at 4PM and racing starts at 5PM.
General admission tickets are $20, pit passes are $35, students (age 13-18) are $10, and kids under 12 are free.
The entire event will be livestreamed on FloRacing, the livestreaming partner for weekly racing at Port Royal Speedway.
To learn more about the PA Sprint Series you can visit their website at www.pasprintseries.com or visit keystoneracesaverchallenge.com to learn more about the event.
To learn more about Port Royal Speedway and any other upcoming events visit www.portroyalspeedway.com or follow along on Facebook at Port Royal Speedway Trackside Media as well as @PortRoyalSpdway on Twitter/X.
- Brad Strawser on Apr 02, 2024
- Article Date: 4/2/2024 by Brad Strawser