Adam Kekich working in his race shop- Fully Injected photo.
Pennsylvania is highlighted on the map as having the competitive edge in many different forms of athletics. High school football in western Pennsylvania, for example, stands out continuously with all star talent and division 1 college recruits. Wrestling in the state of Pennsylvania may be the best country, if not the world, in the high school level. Each year, Pennsylvania high school grapplers are recruited by top notch division 1 and 2 schools all across the country while also competing in a annual tradition where high school wrestlers from Pennsylvania take on the best in the United States; better known as The Dapper Dan Classic. In the NCAA division 1 national wrestling championships this past year , there were more All Americans from Pennsylvania than any other state. The Penn State University women’s volleyball program is almost unstoppable; winning multiple national titles in consecutive years. Obviously, there is also rich tradition in Penn State Football, Pittsburgh Steelers football- with a record number of Super Bowl wins-and of course… sprint car racing.
Sprint car racing in Pennsylvania is no different; having probably the best local competition in the country- if not the world. The Pennsylvania Posse hold a rich tradition in central Pennsylvania as being the best “local” sprint car drivers in the world; defeating incoming travelers such as the All Star Circuit of Champions and World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, in dominating fashion. Each and every race season, the top 410 sprint car teams in the state compete in a week long trek across parts of the Keystone State (and a chunk of Maryland) to race for the Pennsylvania Speedweek Sprint Series title. 8 races in a 9 day stretch is the only obstacle standing in the way from one driver being crowned Speedweek champion.
Lincoln Speedway’s sprint week opener saw Cory Haas pick up the $7,000 pay day; withstanding charges from Brian Lepp0, Fred Rahmer, Daryn Pittman, and Brian Montieth during the main to pick up the win. The Bedford Speedway fairground’s monster half mile hosted the PA 410’s on Sunday evening; resulting in a win by previous World of Outlaw full time traveler- Daryn Pittman. The California Kid, Tyler Walker, grabbed the win at the Grandview Speedway last night over a full field of top notch winged warriors. With three races in the books, Daryn Pittman, the Owasso, Oklahoma native, stands out as being the most consistent traveler of the speedweek sprint series thus far by not finishing outside of the top 3 in the first three night’s of competition. Tonight’s event is the only race not in the state of Pennsylvania as Pennsylvania speedweek visits the Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown Maryland. Along with speedweek points being tallied this week, Pennsylvania sprint car points continue to be added up- with Fred Rahmer still leading the central Pennsylvania sprint car points standings thus for in 2011.
Western Pennsylvania will light up the night sky this weekend with three potential nights of sprint car action for most 410 teams in this half of the state. Fully Injected’s own, Brandon Matus and Rod George, both plan on having a three day weekend swing across western Pennsylvania with stops at three different facilities including Lernerville, Mercer, and Tri-City. Matus, the 4th generation driver and Wampum, Pennsylvania native, is ready to rock for three consecutive nights; starting at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pennsylvania on Friday night, Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, Pennsylvania on Saturday, with Tri-City Speedway in Franklin, Pennsylvania rounding out the weekend on Sunday. Matus, who scored a runner-up finish at the Mercer facility last Saturday, suffered engine problems at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway this past Sunday but still plans on rallying and racing all three nights. Speaking of rally- Rod George, a veteran of the sport and once a Pennsylvania Posse regular, had a rally of a run in Saturday night’s feature event at Mercer Raceway Park. George started 15th and cruised through the field to find himself on the podium. Brandon and Rod have yet to win in the 2011 season. That luck may change as soon as this weekend.
Adam Kekich, the pilot of the Agway, 5K 410 sprinter out of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, will be back in action this Saturday night at Mercer Raceway Park as well. “We changed some things on the car and we are ready to get the car back out on the track” quoted the 18 year old first year 410ci competitor; “I’m still trying to talk my dad into going to Tri-City Speedway (Franklin, PA) on Sunday…we’ll see.” Adam, and the rest of the 5K operation, will continue to prepare this week in hopes of bringing home another top 5 performance; matching or doing better than his 4th place run just a few weeks ago.
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And as always…