PORT ROYAL, Pa. — For the third straight year, Anthony Macri finished on the podium in the Tuscarora 50 sprint car race at Port Royal Speedway.
The 22-year-old pieced together a third-place run in the 54th running of the event. Unlike previous seasons, it was a steady performance, something he takes consolation in.
Macri had more convincing race cars the past two tries in the event. The Dillsburg, Pa., driver finished second to Aaron Reutzel in 2019 and was runner-up to Lance Dewease in ‘20, dueling with both for the victory.
This year, he never had an opportunity to take the lead.
“This year I feel like I did a better job at pacing myself the first 25 laps and saving my stuff,” Macri said.
Last year, nerves visibly disrupted Macri’s performance in the Tuscarora 50. He ran too hard, too soon, and didn’t properly manage slower traffic when trying to run down Dewease.
When he needed to make something happen down the stretch, his tires were shot.
Instead of disregarding his nerves, he acknowledged them. It became part of the process it took to handle the instant spotlight that came with last year’s breakout summer.
“I knew everyone was watching me,” Macri said. “I wanted to perform well.”
Macri won 11 sprint car races last season and has already picked up 10 victories this season.
He passed eventual winner Logan Wagner for second with 15 laps remaining, but before a lap was completed a yellow flag for Zeb Wise negated the move.
“I don’t know, the first 25 laps I definitely thought we had a car to win,” said Macri who thought he’d have had a better shot at winning if his move to second hadn’t been negated.
When racing resume, Macri was chasing Wagner and Dewease.
“I just tried to pace myself the second 25 [laps], but got a little ahead of the game and used up my tires more than I should have,” Macri said.“If I tried to take something away from this, it’d probably to be a little more calm a little longer.
“I just didn’t have the car there at the end,” he added. “I say we were a third-place car. We’ll take what we can get.”
Macri raced with a new car for the first time in nearly two months over the weekend. He trashed his primary car, the one he enjoyed success with in August, during the Labor Day Classic at Port Royal.
Next comes a three-race weekend that lies ahead at BAPS Motor Speedway in York Haven, Pa., on Thursday, Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., on Friday, and Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa., on Saturday.
“Hopefully, we can get this [car] dialed in like the last one,” Macri said. “We’ll take our notes and try to come back and win the Tuscarora 50 next year.”