Fair Week Races Are Upon Us At Port Royal

By rscaife
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Updated: August 29, 2018

By Drew Pellman

PORT ROYAL — It’s hard to believe that we’re already approaching September. And for race fans in Juniata County that can only mean one thing — four big fair events on the big half-mile racing surface at Port Royal Speedway.

Kicking things off will be the 164th Juniata County Fair Opener on Saturday. In addition to the 410 sprints, Port Royal’s super late model division will be competing in the prestigious Butch Renninger Memorial. The 15th annual event will pay $4,033 to win. Last year, Jeff Rine won the event for the second time. The 355 ecoco late models and xtreme stocks are also scheduled. Last year,

From there, the speedway returns to action on Monday afternoon for the 67th annual Labor Day Classic for the 410 sprints cars. Danny Dietrich has won this event two years in a row, as well as three of the past four years. Todd Shaffer has the most victories in the Labor Day Classic with six. Racing, which also includes the 355 econo late models and four cylinder pure stocks begins at 1 p.m.

That brings us to an enormous weekend of on-track action September 7th and 8th as Port Royal once again presents the prestigious Tuscarora 50 weekend. Both races, which are sanctioned by Tony Stewart’s All-Star Circuit of Champions, begin at 7 p.m.

Friday’s event — the Night Before the 50 — has been run since 1998. Three drivers — Lance Dewease, Greg Hodnett and Stevie Smith — have each won the preliminary night three times. Dewease is the defending race winner, and the sprints will be joined by the super late models in the pit area.

Saturday’s Tuscarora 50 will award the winner $51,000, topping the 2017 championship purse of $50,000 for the largest in the track’s history. This will be the 51st running of the event, with Dewease leading the way with six wins. That includes last year when he followed Friday’s victory by sweeping the weekend. On this night, the 355 econo late models will also be in action.

In what always proves to be one of the better weeks of each racing calendar, you’ll be sure to find plenty of food, pageantry and dirt track racing over the next 10 days at the 2018 Juniata County Fair.