ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. – Before Pennsylvania Sprint Car Speedweek began, Freddie Rahmer made a bold self-assessment.
“Mentally, I feel like the best I’ve ever been going into this week,” the 25-year-old said prior to night one of 10 at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday.
Now, with four races down in the 10-race mini series, Rahmer is going to need to put himself to the test during the remaining six events if he wants to stick around in the PA Speedweek championship picture. An engine failure Monday night at Lincoln Speedway booted him from second in the series race, 101 points behind Brent Marks, to sixth, now 138 out of the hunt.
Tuesday, Rahmer will try to regain lost ground at his hometrack, Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., which is 15 minutes from his native Salfordville. Last year, Rahmer was on his way to the PA Speedweek win at Grandview, then Kyle Larson stole the show in the final two laps.
Rahmer rolls around the small, tight-quartered track nicely, but he will need to position himself if he wants to be in contention. Through four races, Rahmer has yet to start in the top 10, forcing him to swim upstream in the PA Speedweek title race.
“There aren’t going to be good nights every night, or go smooth every night, so if we don’t time well or whatever, we just have to keep fighting,” Rahmer said. “I know we’re capable.”
He has shown mental fortitude in these opening four races, though, and it’s kept him in the realm of contention. On Friday at Williams Grove, Rahmer went 11th to fourth before going 15th to third at Lincoln on Saturday.
“It sucks … well it doesn’t suck, we’ve just been good enough to win,” Rahmer said. “We just have to position ourselves, you know? We will, though.”
On Sunday at BAPS Motor Speedway, Rahmer finished ninth from 11th. On Monday, Rahmer started 19th, started working his way through the field, only to have an engine expire on lap 17.
Rahmer has had better years to this point, but he’s remained steady and hasn’t allowed himself to let bad races pile up. That alone fits into the mold of his self-assessment.
“[I’m] getting older and realizing what matters,” Rahmer said. “I’m just going to run hard. I ain’t going to think much. Just make smooth, good laps. It’s going to be what it’s going to be.”
Rahmer has at least one win in each month since March, too. Beyond Grandview, the remaining tracks, other than one, have suited Rahmer well. Port Royal Speedway is the only track on the PA Speedweek schedule Rahmer hasn’t won at recently.
All the others – Hagerstown, Williams Grove, and Selinsgrove – Rahmer traditionally is a contender for the win.
“I’m just going to keep my head down, and not worry anybody else,” Rahmer said