06/03/2026
𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙃𝙚𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙎𝙣𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙎𝙞𝙭-𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝘿𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝟮𝟳𝟬 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙎𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙝 𝙖𝙩 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙖’𝙨 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙬𝙖𝙮
𝐵𝑦 𝐾𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑦 𝐾𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟
If you’ve been a regular viewer of Linda’s Speedway’s racing action over the past few years, you’re used to seeing a “Heist” in the winner’s circle at the end of a 270 Micro Sprint A-Main. And while three-time defending track champion Brandon Heist has been the dominant force of late, it was older brother Brian’s turn to finally return to victory lane on Friday night at the quarter-mile.
Four weeks prior, Heist had come tantalizingly close to a Linda’s Speedway win, leading the first 24 laps of the A-Main before Cory Myers passed him in the final turn and swiped away the victory. Thus, the Annville native came into Friday night still riding a nearly six-year winless streak at the speedway, with his most-recent win coming in July of 2020.
But Heist once again found his No. 11 Mt. Gretna Roller Rink-sponsored entry at the front of the pack, inheriting the lead after Isaac Graby broke from the top spot just a few laps into the feature. Heist held serve through the middle stages of the race, but lapped traffic made things interesting at the end. Heist once again found himself having to navigate through traffic with Chase Walker and the points leader Myers rapidly approaching.
But Heist made sure that this time, lapped traffic wouldn’t thwart his attempt at a win. Heist was able to keep just enough of a cushion between himself and Walker all the way to the final flag, and took the checkers four car lengths ahead of the No. 96W to secure the long-awaited win.
Although Shane Flaherty’s win streak in the GP Motorsports Front Wheel Drive Cars may have come to an end a few weeks ago, the Lebanon native decided there was no time like the present to head back into the winner’s circle. Flaherty made an aggressive move on Bud Hopple in the first couple laps of the race in order to put his No. 18 out in clean air. From there, Flaherty was uncontested the rest of the way, scoring his sixth victory in his last seven stock car starts at the quarter-mile.
Looking for some redemption after a heartbreaking loss a few weeks ago, Dave Carraghan was a man on a mission all night long in the Hoffer Paving All Star Slingshots. With a daring, three-wide move on the opening lap of the A-Main, Carraghan bolted from fifth to first and set sail to pick up his second win of the year at the quarter-mile, putting him right back in the championship chase.
It was a battle of the siblings in the Xcel 600 Modified Tour 25-lapper on Friday night, with Richie Hitzler holding off his hard-charging sister Tiffany in the closing laps to claim his first Linda’s win of 2026. Although Tiffany appeared to be faster after chasing Richie down from six car lengths behind, the six-time track champion never missed his marks on the dry-slick surface and kept his sister at bay all the way to the finish, leading her by just a car length under the checkered flag.
Linda’s Speedway has a jam-packed night scheduled for next Friday, June 5 – which will also be an autograph night at the speedway. The Slingshots will take center-stage for their annual Super National Weekend event, as both the Hoffer Paving All Star Slingshots and the J&J Auto Body Junior Slingshots will compete. The Mt Gretna Roller Rink 270 Micro Sprints and Winged 600 Micro Sprints will also be in action on Friday night, with the Precision Powder Coating Chargers and the Xcel 600 Modifieds rounding out the racing card. General grandstand admission remains at just $5, and for those unable to attend in person, live streaming coverage will be provided via The Cushion.
