06/21/2026
McConnell Memorial Winners are Spithaler, Norris, King and Dietz (DGoody Photography )
Sarver, PA (June 19, 2026) Friday night was one of celebrations at Lernerville Speedway; even before the first green flag waved. In addition to finally getting good weather for the Willie and Conda McConnell Memorial, we celebrated two Lernerville Speedway Hall of Famers, Jack Crowell and Smokey Schempp. For 50 years Jack has been at the forefront of #1 Cochranโs partnership with Lernerville Speedway and himself a steward of local racing which long ago earned him the moniker of the Mayor of Lernerville. Over the years, Smokey has been called many things by many people, some good, some not so kind, but through it all, Smokey has been a staple of fairness and consistency, and we were honored to celebrate his 79th birthday.
On the track, four familiar names stood victorious as McConnell Memorial feature winners as Brandon Spithaler dominated in the Peoples Sprints; Michael Norris and Jakes Dietz both stole wins on late race restarts in the Glassmere Lates and Pic-A-Part Pro Stocks; and in between, Rex King Jr. endured contact mid-race in the Diehl Mods then went on to victory.
In the early stages of the Peoples Natural Gas Sprint feature, Dan Shetler appeared to have the car to beat in front of another stout field of his 410 brethren. But as the track evolved and lapped traffic came into play, Shetler lifted entering turn three to avoid contact with car stubborn to go a lap down. Brandon Spithaler, however, stayed on the gas and pounded the cushion in three and four, and never looked back en route to Terry Bowser Excavating Victory Lane. Behind his dominant win, Shetler fended off a relentless Carl Bowser to finish second. Just off the podium, last weekโs feature winner Jeremy Weaver came from 16th on the starting grid after having to transfer from the Tomson Scrap Metal B-Main, and got by 9-Time and Defending Track Champion AJ Flick for fourth as the checkers waved. Heat races were claimed by Flick, Bowser, and Jared Zimbardi. Flick did take over the points lead, but only 14 points separates the top five
(Dan Kuriger, Shetler, Bowser, and Jacob Begenwald) as we head into a two-week Fab4 Siesta with Firecracker Fest and Fourth of July weekend on deck.
The stars appeared to be aligned to cap off the night-long celebration of Jack Crowell with another trip to TBE Victory Lane for the #1 Cochran Late Model, but a late race caution brought about a
green-white-checkered restart, and despite Alex Ferree trying everything but destroying two race cars to make it happen, Michael Norris would not be denied on the Friday before the Firecracker.
Norris broke-in a brand new Rocket Chassis and struggled early to get a feel for the car and track conditions, but coming from mid-pack and
having to work lapped traffic forced Norris to explore multiple lines, and he ultimately used the topside of both sets of turns to steal the win
from Ferree in the Glassmere Fuel Service Late Models. The win moves Norris into a tie for ninth all time in Lernerville wins with Johnny
Beaber and Kevin Bolland. Colton Flinner, Ken Schaltenbrand, and Eric Wilson rounded out the top five. Brock Pinkerous and John Garvin won their heat races. In the 2026 title hunt, Ferree leads by 25
and 26 points respectively heading into the Firecracker over Schaltenbrand and last weekโs feature winner Levi Yetter.
Ayden Cipriano led the early portion of the Diehl Automotive Big Block Modifieds feature seeking his first Action Track Big Block victory, but it
was fellow Russ King Racing Compound pilot Rex King Jr. that prevailed on a very technical race surface. King himself had to overcome mid-race contact with veteran Dave Murdick, and King took
full ownership over the contact in Victory Lane after the two collided fighting for the same lane entering turn one. Jeremiah Shingledecker, Garrett Krummert, and Steve Feder rounded out the top five. Heat races were checkered by Cipriano, Will Thomas, and Feder, and Rob Kristyak won the TSM B-Main. By virtue of his win, King leads the
Marburger Farm Dairy Fab4 point standings by 10 markers over 3-Time and Defending Track Champion Garrett Krummert.
Logan Koteles was also in a position to win his first Fab4 feature in the Millerstown Pic-A-Part Pro Stocks, but a late race caution set the stage for the Dietz and Schneider brothers to deny Logan that
milestone. The fearsome foursome proved too much for Koteles to fight off, and Jake drove away from brother Tyler to score his first win of the season, becoming the sixth different winner in as many races. The win also helped Dietz cut into Opening Night feature winner Brett Hutiraโs points lead; now just a scant two heading into the Firecracker
mid-season break. When the checkered flag waved, Chris Schneider, Logan Koteles, Tyler Schneider, and Rocky Kugel followed to round out the top five. Tyler Schneider and Jake Dietz were heat races
victors.
Fab4 Racing Revved Up with the Marburger Farm Dairy returns to action on Friday, July 10, but it will actually be a Fab5 with two divisions of Micro Sprints replacing the Glassmere Late Models for the Ernie Gardina Memorial!
