DREVICKI HANGS ON, WINS WITH USAC EC SPRINTS AT PORT ROYAL

Winner Steven Drevicki. (Steve Koletar Photo)

By: Kurt Bettler

Port Royal, Pennsylvania (May 31, 2025)………On a cloudy, misty, and cold evening at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway, four-time and defending USAC East Coast Sprint Car champion Steven Drevicki was hot to the touch, leading all 25 laps to earn his second series victory of the year.

On a night in which many of the neighboring racetracks had thrown in the towel and called it a night, Port Royal promoter Steve O’Neal and his staff forged ahead. With 104 sprint cars in the pits between 410s, 305s, and the USAC East Coast series, there was no turning back.

A great crowd and a good field bared through some short showers before the racing got underway, and the wind howled through the mountains of Juanita County. Also, 20 Innovative Machine Technology wingless sprint cars also howled.

Kenny Miller III and Cameron Smith won thrilling heat races. After the heat races, it was clear the USAC East Coast Sprints were racey, and thanks to Gene Franckowiak of JMO Motorsports, the wingless racers were ready to race for a great purse.

By virtue of the draw, Kyle Spence, wheeling the Fraker 42, started on the pole alongside defending champion Drevicki. Twenty cars took the drop of Nicole Flood’s green flag, and the race was on.

Drevicki leaped to the lead. However, he had a hard-charging Christian Bruno working every inch of the speedway close behind. Cameron Smith, an established Central PA winged racer, was aboard the Ilgenfritz Financial 96 and very stoutly leapt into second. Drevicki ripped 15 great non-stop laps when, suddenly, eighth starting Miller came into play. Miller worked over Bruno and Smith, and further back in the top-10, Jason Cherry, Ronald Helmick, and Kyle Spence went tooth and nail for the seventh spot while Bobby Butler ran a content fifth.

With just a handful of laps to go in the non-stop A-Main, both Miller and Smith broke down a 1.5-second lead held by the DeGre Engineering No. 19 of Drevicki to less than a second as the leaders had found lapped traffic.

With five laps remaining, the Weikel Sportswear No. 23m came to life on the bottom of the sweeping 1/2 mile. The Man from Morgantown was bearing down on Drevicki, and closed to within a bumper coming out of turn four.

Working the middle groove to the “diamond line,” Drevicki could not be denied as he flashed across the finish line ahead of Miller III in second with Cameron Smith bringing the Rocky Ridge No. 96 home third.

NOTES:

Olivia Thayer made the first wingless start of her career with a 358 c.i. engine under the hood. The female racer out of Hanover, Pennsylvania finished 15th in the feature. Richy Carnathan made his first start of the season as well while utilizing a Buick engine and ran an impressive heat race but injection issues sidelined the Northampton, Pennsylvania racer in the feature. Jake Galloway returned to action after a scary incident caused by a stuck throttle recently at BAPS Motor Speedway. Jason Cherry made the best of a 20-year-old chassis and broke the top-10 with a solid ninth place result.

USAC IMT EAST COAST SPRINT CARS PRESENTED BY BAER DEN FARMS RACE RESULTS: May 31, 2025 – Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, Pennsylvania

BDB GRAPHICS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Kenny Miller III (#23m Miller), 2. Ed Aikin (#7 Aikin), 3. Christian Bruno (#17B Bruno), 4. Jason Cherry (#67 Cherry), 5. Chris Allen Jr. (#71 Allen), 6. Dale Schweikart (#78 Schweikart), 7. Blaine Emery (#35 Thomas), 8. Jake Galloway (#27 Galloway), 9. Troy Fraker (#12w Fraker) 10. Gary Huston (#44 Huston). 2:57.073

E. SCHNEIDER & SONS SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature), 1. Cameron Smith (#96 Kauffman), 2. Richy Carnathan (#64 Carnathan), 3. Kyle Spence (#42 Fraker), 4. Steven Drevicki (#19 Drevicki), 5. Bobby Butler (#5B Butler), 6. Ronald Helmick (#22R Helmick), 7. Mike Haggenbottom (#51 Kelly), 8. Olivia Thayer (39T Thayer), 9. Billy Ney (#83 Ney), 10. Dirk Rimrott (#27 Rimrott). NT

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Steven Drevicki (2), 2. Kenny Miller III (8), 3. Cameron Smith (6), 4. Christian Bruno (4), 5. Bobby Butler (10), 6. Chris Allen Jr. (9), 7. Ed Aikin (5), 8. Kyle Spence (1), 9. Jason Cherry (3), 10. Ronald Helmick (12), 11. Jake Galloway (15), 12. Blaine Emery (13), 13. Mike Haggenbottom (14), 14. Dale Schweikart (11), 15. Olivia Thayer (16), 16. Billy Ney (18), 17. Gary Huston (19), 18. Troy Fraker (17), 19. Richy Carnathan (7), 20. Dirk Rimrott (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Steven Drevicki.

USAC IMT EAST COAST SPRINT CARS PRESENTED BY BAER DEN FARMS POINTS: 1-Kenny Miller III-296, 2-Steven Drevicki-295, 3-Christian Bruno-261, 4-Ed Aikin-259, 5-Jason Cherry-194, 6-Kyle Spence-174, 7-Chris Allen Jr.-166, 8-Ronald Helmick-164, 9-Billy Ney-153, 10-Mike Haggenbottom-147.

NEXT USAC IMT EAST COAST SPRINT CARS PRESENTED BY BAER DEN FARMS RACE: June 6, 2025 – Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

Bitner Automotive Fast Time: Kenny Miller III

BDB Graphic First Heat Winner: Kenny Miller III

E. Schneider & Sons Second Heat Winner: Cameron Smith

C & C Landscaping Hard Charger: Kenny Miller III (8th to 2nd)

Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic Poker Chip Draw: Richy Carnathan

JPA Hard Luck Award: Richy Carnathan (motor issues after a strong run)