Mechanicsburg – While Lance Dewease has no plans to defend his 2021 Williams Grove Speedway track title, the seventh of his oval career, the Fayetteville driver will make frequent visits to the track during this season, including for this Sunday’s season opener.
Gates for the March 13 Opening Day event will open at noon with the sprint cars racing for a $5,500 payday in a 25-lap main event.
Also on the card will be the wingless super sportsman.
“We’ll be at the Grove opener just because it’s opening day,” Dewease said in a media release with a note of reverence for the big East Coast lidlifter that he’s won twice during his career. “And it’s a day show, and to get some laps.”
With the absence of his No. 69K at several shows during the upcoming season already a foregone conclusion, Dewease points to Freddie Rahmer as the top contender to step into the title of Williams Grove champion.
“The main contender’s gonna’ be little Freddie,” Dewease said. “Just because the other guys that are capable of winning and putting themselves in position to win the championship are probably not gonna’ race there every week.”
“He (Rahmer) will more than likely be there every week. So to me he’s gonna’ be the one you’re gonna’ have to beat. Other guys like Anthony (Macri) and Danny (Dietrich) are gonna’ be tough to beat, but they’ll travel more so that’ll put them behind more and likely not in the title chase.”
Dewease said while his 2021 Williams Grove title may have been a bit of a surprise to some, it didn’t shock him or his team.
“We’re pretty fast every time we show up at any race track and the Grove, I’m pretty good at,” Dewease said. “So it’s not a shocker. We were fortunate enough to be able to race up through some of the heats and when we weren’t fortunate enough, we at least made it to the top three or four so we could get just close enough for the feature.”
Dewease is a fan of the formatting and rules changes announced by the speedway for the year ahead.
The track will implement timed warm-ups for a handful of shows in 2022 and the long-standing two-week penalty for any driver who competes elsewhere, against the oval has been dropped.
“I think that’s a good thing,” Dewease said of doing away with the penalty box. “I always thought that kinda’ was a dumb rule per say because you take a local guy for instance that goes to Knoxville and wants to win – the only thing that it does is help the local racing if they go out and win.”
“The amount of recognition that the local area would get would be unbelievable, but you’re gonna’ penalize them?”
And of timed warm-ups for a few shows?
“I think it’ll be a better format, a positive thing,” the perennial champion said.
The 2022 season will be the seventh of its kind for Dewease, his car owner Don Kreitz Jr. and mechanic Davey Brown Sr. They like what they have planned for the new season.
“Just for us it’s just easier to stay prepared and pick and choose and don’t overdo it,” Dewease said of the team’s plotted schedule.
Adult general admission for Sunday’s season opener is set at $20 with youth ages 13-20 admitted for just $10 while kids ages 12 and under are always admitted for FREE at Williams Grove Speedway.