ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. – After finishing 16th in last Saturday’s Ice Breaker at Lincoln Speedway, a day when he won his heat, Dylan Norris packed up shop disappointed.
This year, Norris moves to the 410 full-time in Scott Gobrecht’s No. 44, having graduated from the 358 division. At 17 years old, it’s hard to set fair expectations. But considering how quickly he’s progressed through everything else, he expects to simply do better.
As Norris cleaned up his belongings after the first race of the year, he looked to the team parked to his left and recounted Anthony Macri’s path.
“That’s what you have to look at,” said Norris, pointing to Macri’s car. “He’s doing really good right now, but he wasn’t at first. … It all takes time. It’s tough to stay patient. You want to be at that level.”
Macri, now 21 years old, is in his sixth full season in a 410. It wasn’t until last year he established himself on a weekly basis in central Pennsylvania and beyond, having gone through growing pains the first four years.
Through growing pains of his own, Norris looks at fellow racers like Macri who aren’t that much older, and knows there’s a way. Norris has five wins at the 358 level in two full seasons, so he knows he can get around central Pennsylvania tracks in a sprint car.
The difference is more horsepower – roughly 250 more – and some of the stiffest local competition in the country.
“It’s really tough racing against these guys, being this young,” Norris said. “People don’t expect it, but I’ve expected to win by now. It’s a high expectation but the way I’ve progressed through everything through everything else, I’m kind of to the point where I wish I would be winning. Everybody wishes to win, but I feel like I should be. I’m not there.
“I have a really good car and a really good team. Really it’s just me catching up, trying to drive a little better.”
In 2019 and ‘20, Norris competed part-time in a 410, racing 47 times in that span. Of his five 358 wins, three have come at Trail Way Speedway with respective victories at Williams Grove Speedway and Lincoln Speedway.
As he navigates his first full 410 season, he’ll lean on the guidance around him, like car owner Scott Gobrecht.
“You just try to remember the people who got you to this point,” Norris said. “We’ll keep working on it. I’m excited about this year, to truly run a 410 schedule. We have a lot of help from Scott Gobrecht and from other partners that came on and came back.”
– Warmer weather is ahead after frigid temperatures forced Port Royal Speedway to cancel its opener on Sunday and kept many home for Lincoln Speedway’s second race of the year.
Here’s the expected forecast for races this weekend, courtesy of weather.com:
Lincoln Speedway, Saturday at 2 p.m.: 51 degrees, 17 percent chance of precipitation
Port Royal Speedway, Saturday at 4 p.m.: 49 degrees, 6 percent chance of precipitation
Williams Grove Speedway, Sunday at 2 p.m.: 44 degrees, 19 percent chance of precipitation
– Port Royal and Williams Grove Speedways are set to open this weekend. Logan Wagner is the reigning two-time Port Royal track champion, while 2020 Williams Grove champion Freddie Rahmer will go for his third track title in five years.
– Lance Dewease’s quest for win No. 100 at Williams Grove Speedway continues this weekend.
The National Sprint Car Hall of Famer won just once at Williams Grove last year, going the final seven races winless at the track.
– Tim Shaffer now has three wins in 10 races for his new team, Heffner Racing Enterprises, this year: two in a 360 at Florida tracks Southern Raceway and East Bay Raceway Park and one in a 410 at Lincoln Speedway this past weekend.
– Lucas Wolfe is expected to make his debut in the Mark Coldren No. 07 this weekend.
Wolfe, who will race with the All Star Circuit of Champions this year, will run at Port Royal Speedway on Saturday and Williams Grove on Sunday.
– Kyle Moody is the lone central Pennsylvania driver to start the season with back-to-back top fives. He finished second at Lincoln Speedway’s Ice Breaker on Feb. 27 and then fifth this past weekend at the three-eighths mile track.
– Danny Dietrich earned hard charger honors last Saturday at Lincoln Speedway, charging to sixth from 15th.
– Kerry Madsen finished 11th in his debut in the Michael Barshinger No. 24 last weekend at Lincoln Speedway and did so with a broken right rear w-link.
– Steve Buckwalter has had a rough start to the 2021 season, flipping two weeks in a row at Lincoln Speedway. He’s walked away OK from both accidents.
– Last week’s Lincoln Speedway winner Tim Wagaman had to race his way into Saturday’s 30-lap feature at the three-eighths mile track through the B-Main. Wagaman finished 15th from 21st.
2021 Central PA sprint car points through two of 111 races
1 99M Kyle Moody 55 points
T2 5E Tim Wagaman -5
T2 72 Tim Shaffer -5
4 69 Tim Glatfelter -13
5 55 Hunter Schuerenberg -20
6 8 Billy Dietrich -25
7 87 Alan Krimes -30
8 2W Glenndon Forsythe -30
9 21 Matt Campbell -35
T10 39M Anthony Macri -37
T10 48 Danny Dietrich -37
Lincoln Speedway points through two of 30 races
1 99M Kyle Moody 500 points
2 72 Tim Shaffer -40
3 69 Tim Glatfelter -60
4 5E Tim Wagaman -65
5 8 Billy Dietrich -110
6 21 Matt Campbell -120
7 39M Anthony Macri -140
T8 87 Alan Krimes -160
T8 75 Tyler Ross -160
T8 2W Glenndon Forsythe -160