An annual visit to the “Keystone State” is up next for the Super DIRTcar Series, as it kicks off a busy June schedule with a Pennsylvania doubleheader.
First, the Series returns to Big Diamond Speedway in Pottsville, PA, on Tuesday, June 3, for the Anthracite Assault. Drivers will battle in a 75-lap Feature paying $7,500-to-win.
Then, the Series makes its highly anticipated debut at Selinsgrove Speedway in Selinsgrove, PA on Wednesday, June 4, for the Snyder County Showdown. The Series’ debut brings a 75-lap Feature with a $10,000 prize and Super DIRT Week Billy Whittaker Cars 200 guaranteed starting spot on the line.
Big Diamond’s Road Runner division will join the Series on Tuesday and the PASS Sprint Cars will join Wednesday’s program at Selinsgrove.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the Super DIRTcar Series action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
Here’s a look at what to watch for at Big Diamond and Selinsgrove:
Rocketing Home: Now that he’s officially a full-time Super DIRTcar Series driver, points leader Alex Yankowski doesn’t have to wait long to defend his home state.
The Covington Township, PA driver enters the Keystone State doubleheader with an 11-point lead over Erick Rudolph and has finished in the top 10 in all four championship season races, a feat only matched by Rudolph and Anthony Perrego.
Despite finishing outside the top 10 in the last two Series races at Big Diamond, he’s found success at the 3/8-mile oval, winning the track’s Coalcracker and Money in the Mountains in 2021, along with two other wins in 2020.
He also has experience at Selinsgrove, but not in a Modified. He scored a ninth-place finish in a USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series event in 2020.
A win this weekend would be his fourth career Super DIRTcar Series win.
Chasing Milestones: After winning the Natural 77 at Thunder Mountain Speedway earlier this week, Matt Sheppard is one win away from becoming the second driver in Super DIRTcar Series history to earn 100 Series wins.
The 10-time Series champion is one of the few drivers in the field who have won at both tracks on the Pennsylvania swing. Sheppard has four wins at Big Diamond, including two Anthracite Assault wins (2019 and 2022). He also has a victory at Selinsgrove, winning a Race of Champions Dirt Modified Tour Feature in 2010.
Sheppard enters Pennsylvania fourth in the Series standings, 23 points behind Yankowski.
Stewart Friesen is also chasing a milestone in the “Keystone State” after winning the Heroes Remembered 100 at Weedsport Speedway. The Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON driver will reach 50 Series victories with his next triumph, a feat only accomplished by five other drivers.
Friesen has never won at Selinsgrove but has two victories at Big Diamond. That includes last year’s Anthracite Assault, where he passed Perrego for the win.
Tight-Points Battle: Entering Tuesday’s race a Big Diamond, the top five in the standings are within 27 points of Yankowski.
Rudolph is the closest to overtaking Yankowski for the top spot after driving from 19th to third at Thunder Mountain. The Ransomville, NY driver has made nine starts at Big Diamond, with a win in 2015, four top fives, and seven top 10s.
While he’s had success at Big Diamond, he’s only made one start at Selinsgrove, finishing 12th in a Short Track Super Series event in 2021.
Big Diamond and Selinsgrove are two tracks that defending Series champion Mat Williamson has yet to win at. While he hasn’t won at Big Diamond, he has been consistent with three top fives and four top 10s in five starts. The St. Catharines, ON driver finished fourth in last year’s Anthracite Assault.
Like Rudolph, he’s made one start at Selinsgrove, finishing fourth in 2021.
Mike Mahaney, who enters Big Diamond fifth in the standings has also made five starts at the 3/8-mile track. However, he has one top five and two top 10s in those starts, including a fourth in the 2023 Anthracite Assault.
At Selinsgrove, the Elizabethtown, NY driver hasn’t finished outside the top 10. He’s earned finishes of 10th, ninth, and seventh at the 1/2-mile track.
A Guaranteed Spot: Wednesday’s Snyder County Showdown at Selinsgrove will be the first of 11 Super DIRT Week (Oct. 6-11) Qualifiers on the 2025 schedule and the first of three in June. That means one driver will leave Pennsylvania with a guaranteed starting spot in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200.
2025 Super DIRT Week Qualifiers:
–Selinsgrove Speedway (June 4)
-Lebanon Valley Speedway (June 19 and Aug. 28)
-Cornwall Motor Speedway (June 29)
-Weedsport Speedway (July 26 and Sept. 6)
-Autodrome Drummond (July 28 and July 29)
-Sharon Speedway (Aug. 11)
-Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Sept. 20)
-Georgetown Speedway (PPD)
A Chance to Shine: The two-night Pennsylvania swing is a chance for home-state drivers to try and keep the Super DIRTcar Series stars out of Victory Lane.
That includes 16-year-old Logan Watt, who’s finished in the top 10 in all three of his Series starts in 2025. The Boyertown, PA driver races at Big Diamond weekly and sits seventh in the track’s point standings.
Joining him in the two-night swing is four-time Super DIRTcar Series winner Rick Laubach, who’s also the most recent winner at Big Diamond. Laubach, from Quakertown, PA, already has a top five this season with the Series, finishing fifth in the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals finale at Volusia Speedway Park.
Big Diamond points leader Louden Reimert is also expected to race in both events next week. The reigning Money in the Mountains winner from Oley, PA, has seven Modified victories at the track and finished sixth in last year’s Anthracite Assault.
Former Big Diamond track champion Duane Howard will be in action at Big Diamond on Tuesday, searching for his 88th win at the track. The Oley, PA driver has earned his lone Super DIRTcar Series win at the track in 2009.
WHEN AND WHERE
Big Diamond Speedway (3/8-Mile) in Pottsville, PA on Tuesday, June 3
Selinsgrove Speedway (1/2-mile) in Selinsgrove, PA on Wednesday, June 4
ONLINE
Big Diamond Speedway: www.bigdspeedway.net
Selinsgrove Speedway: www.raceselinsgrove.com
TRACK RECORD
Big Diamond Speedway: 17.450 by Erick Rudolph on June 4, 2024
Selinsgrove Speedway: TBD
FEATURE WINNERS: (6 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins
- Stewart Friesen, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON-2
- Matt Sheppard, Waterloo, NY-2
- Alex Yankowski, Covington Township, PA-1
Peter Britten, Brisbane, QLD-1
Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY-1
L.J. Lombardo, Danbury, CT-1
HEAT RACE WINNERS (18 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins
- Mat Williamson, St. Catharines, ON-5
- Mike Mahaney, Elizabethtown, NY-4
- Alex Yankowski, Covington Township, PA-3
Stewart Friesen, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON-3
Peter Britten, Brisbane, QLD-3
Matt Sheppard, Waterloo, NY-3 - Justin Haers, Phelps, NY-2
Jimmy Phelps, Baldwinsville, NY-2
Tim Sears Jr., Hastings, NY-2 - Billy Pauch Jr., Frenchtown, NJ-1
Alex Payne, Hopewell, NY-1
Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY-1
Larry Wight, Phoenix, NY-1
Tanner Van Doren, Schnecksville, PA-1
L.J. Lombardo, Danbury, CT-1
Marc Johnson, Guilderland, NY-1
Jordan McCreadie, Watertown, NY-1
Brett Tonkin, Carbondale, PA
LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (11 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins
- Chris Curtis, East Canaan, CT-3
- Danny Creeden, Wurtsboro, NY-2
Anthony Perrego, Montgomery, NY-2 - Larry Wight, Phoenix, NY-1
Zach Payne, Stanley, NY-1
Jimmy Phelps, Baldwinsville, NY-1
Ronnie Johnson, Duanesburg, NY-1
Mat Williamson, St. Catharines, ON-1
Jack Lehner, Saratoga Springs, NY-1
Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY-1
Ronnie Davis III, Memphis, NY-1
PODIUM FINISHES (10 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Podiums
- Alex Yankowski, Covington Township, PA-4
Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY-4 - Mat Williamson, St. Catharines, ON-3
Matt Sheppard, Waterloo, NY-3 - Stewart Friesen, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON-2
Peter Britten, Brisbane, QLD-2 - Justin Haers, Phelps, NY-1
Alex Payne, Hopewell, NY-1
Logan Watt, Boyertown, PA-1
L.J. Lombardo, Danbury, CT-1
Tim Sears Jr., Hastings, NY-1
Mike Mahaney, Elizabethtown, NY-1
HARD CHARGER (7 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – H.C.
- Anthony Perrego, Montgomery, NY-2
- H.J. Bunting, Milford, DE-1
Amy Holland, Fulton, NY-1
Alex Payne, Hopewell, NY-1
Louden Reimert, Oley, PA-1
Mat Williamson, St. Catharines, ON-1
Felix Roy, Napierville, QC-1
BILLY WHITTAKER CARS AND TRUX QUICK TIMES (6 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – QTs
- Mat Williamson, St. Catharines, ON-2
Mike Mahaney, Elizabethtown, NY-2 - Billy Pauch Jr., Frenchtown, NJ-1
Alex Payne, Hopewell, NY-1
Stewart Friesen, Niagara-On-The-Lake, ON-1
Tim Sears Jr., Hastings, NY-1
JAM Performance Fastest Hot Lap Award (6 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – QTs
- Justin Haers, Phelps, NY-2
Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY-1
Justin Stone, Middlebury, VT-1
Danny Creeden, Wurtsboro, NY-1
Mike Mahaney, Elizabethtown, NY-1
Stewart Friesen, Niagara-On-the-Lake, ON-1
Super DIRTcar Series Lap Leaders (10 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Laps Led
- Matt Sheppard, Waterloo, NY-107
- Stewart Friesen, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON-90
- Alex Yankowski, Covington Township, PA-61
- Alex Payne, Hopewell, NY-40
- L.J. Lombardo, Danbury, CT-29
- Peter Britten, Brisbane, QLD-28
- Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY-26
- Felix Roy, Napierville, QC-24
- Mat Williamson, St. Catharines, ON-23
- Larry Wight, Phoenix, NY-24
2025 Super DIRTcar Series Schedule and Winners
- Wednesday, Feb. 12/Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL/Matt Sheppard*
- Thursday, Feb. 13/Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL/Alex Yankowski
- Friday, Feb. 14/Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL/Peter Britten*
- Saturday, Feb. 15/Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL/Erick Rudolph*
- Saturday, March 29/New Egypt Speedway/New Egypt, NJ/Stewart Friesen
- Friday, April 18/Albany-Saratoga Speedway/Malta, NY/L.J. Lombardo
- Sunday, May 25/Weedsport Speedway/Weedsport, NY/Stewart Friesen (2)
- Monday, May 26/Thunder Mountain Speedway/Center Lisle, NY/Matt Sheppard (2)
*: Denotes Non-Points Paying Victory
