DRUMS, Pa. – Selinsgrove Speedway celebrates its 77th anniversary this year and the historic speed facility in central Pennsylvania is under new management once again.
The last group to operate the facility was there for seven years. A big change the old group made was moving the pit area from infield to outside of turn four. That worked out well because the curves are no longer blocked by the tractors.
The new promoter is the ESR Promotion Group, which has leased the track for 10 years.
Stephanie Baker and her two sons, Ethan and Reece Stutts, form the ESR Promotion Group while the track remains in the hands of racers. The last group to manage the facility consisted of racers and local businessmen.
Winged 410 sprint car action at Selinsgrove Speedway during the 2022 campaign. (Photo by Paul Arch)
Selinsgrove Speedway has struggled since officials removed the 410 sprint cars from Saturday night’s weekly competition more than a decade ago. Back then, Lincoln Speedway, Port Royal Speedway and Selinsgrove Speedway each ran 410 sprint cars on Saturday nights, and all three had enough cars each night. That’s not possible anymore.
Selinsgrove has seven 410 shows on the calendar this year. All take place on Sunday evenings with the exception of the Jim Nace Memorial which is scheduled for Saturday September 16th.
The ESR Promotion Group has also scheduled numerous PASS 305 and 360 sprint car shows on Saturday nights throughout the season. A visit to the All Star Circuit of Champions sprint cars is also planned for August 20th.
On April 23rd Selinsgrove Speedway hosted the first 410 race of the season, with a decent crowd and a full field of sprint cars on a difficult weather day. I actually drove through the rain on I-80 on the way to the racetrack.
The course looked good with new paint all around and a fast, very slick racing surface. The wind and sun from the day’s races got the track dusty in the heats, but after the apex was watered for the feature, the fast line was right on the fence. Winner Danny Dietrich even hit the fence at turn one while chasing Dylan Cisney, who was also in the lead.
I noticed that they didn’t allow fans to cross the front stretch to the infield as they kept the gate locked all night. Also, they moved the victory celebration back to the front stretch of the track. It sat at the top of the infield tower for years, but I like it much better on the track.
The fans get a better view of the winner and the team. I still remember how Bob Weikert and Doug Wolfgang stood out on this track with the famous Weikert Livestock sprinter #29. For some titles, the feature winner is too far removed from the fans. The closer the victory lane is to the fans, the better.
There is a plan to remove the infield gate tower and move operations to the turn-one suites, but the tower was still there and operational for the April show.
There was no live coverage of the race but I believe there will be in the future as many people have been asking about it. Streaming is a different story and I expect there will be more changes in this area over the next few years as deals expire on routes across the country.
A notable change at Selinsgrove is that longtime announcer Steve Inch has been replaced by John Krall. Inch has been the voice of the title through many different promoters for 35 years.
The Sunday show ran efficiently and without much downtime. There was a second league whose main game was played last.
The new promotion team is trying very hard and is just getting started. I hope the fans and teams will show their support for Sunday night’s 410 Sprint Car Shows to be successful at Selinsgrove Speedway.
This story appeared in the May 24, 2023 issue of SPEED SPORT Insiders.
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