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Forestville PA – The sweet sound of race car motors bellowing through the mountains of Cass Township returned on Sunday afternoon at Big Diamond Speedway. The annual preseason tune-up for drivers and teams, practice day, was presented in front of a decent crowd of excited auto racing enthusiasts.
Despite a cool day combined with clouds and a slight breeze, a good field of cars turned out for the afternoon’s sessions. Over fifty-five machines were pit side, and Diamond’s regular four division classes were each well represented.
Nineteen of the track’s premier division, the Quandel Concrete (Minersville) 358 Modifieds graced the 3/8th mile clay surfaced facility. During each practice session, Boyertown’s Logan Watt enjoyed quick time driving his family fielded car. The second generation talent is just sixteen years old and he has already won a pair of Sportsman point titles at Bechtelsville’s Grandview Speedway. 2025 will be his sophomore season in a Modified at Big Diamond and he is certainly one of the favorites to win the crown this year. Along with setting quick time, Logan also had some spirited duels alongside of his father, eight time feature winner Ryan Watt.
Former feature winners at the track, Lauden Reimert, Kevin Beach, Mike Lisowski, Shawn Fitzpatrick and Tim Fitzpatrick were also in attendance for Modified hot laps along with: Doug Smith, Brian Malcolm, Matt Yoder, Jack Butler, Joel Smith, Kevin Olenick, Tyler Dippel, Craig Whitmoyer, Wayne Witmer, Jax Yohn, Kenny Hildebrandt, and Michael Burrows.
The U.S.S. Achey Inc. (Schuylkill Haven) 602 Crate Sportsman and the Big Creek Concrete (Kunkletown) Rookie Crate Sportsman both brought a stellar field of cars through the pit gates on Sunday.
Three 602 Crate competitors who finished within the top ten in points last season were nailing down some quick laps including: Matt Martino (who set fastest time in one of the sessions), Brennan Chapman and Tyler Vidal. Meanwhile young Riece Widger, a former multi-time winning quarter midget star, looked sharp in the rookie class.
Other drivers taking part in the 602 Crate practice included: Hunter Bowers, Austyn Myers, Brandon Firestine, Ed Mrochko, Glenn Rowan, Kevin Smith, Christopher Buffalino, Troy Bollinger, McKenzie Smith, Trevor Bixler, Darryl Dissinger, Miles Green, Dylan Cappel and Zack Moyer.
The Red, White, and Blue Autos(Ashland) Roadrunners likewise brought a strong contingent of contenders to the track on Sunday, including three former point champions. 2020 and 2022 champ Alex Schoffstall tried his luck in a pair of 77 Nova bodied cars. ‘23 point title holder Chuck Fayash steered the family tradition-157 along with 2012 champion Joey Brennan, who returned after several years away from the sport.
Other Big D Roadrunners in the field included: Jarod Bassinitsky, Eric Buchinski, Ryan Murphy, Kevin Martin, Kris Ney, Matt Ney, and Elijah Reed. A couple of Roadrunner/Extreme Stocks that compete at Selinsgrove Speedway and Baps Motor Speedway also took advantage of the testing which included: Ian Whitcomb, Hunter Whitcomb, Tom Underwood, and a former champion at Big Diamond, Kody Sites.
The well prepared track surface, which was smooth all afternoon long, allowed drivers to reach maximum performance with their machinery throughout the day. After several hours of practice, teams will now focus on the season’s first race which takes place this upcoming Friday night.
The fifty-third anniversary season of competition at Big Diamond Speedway commences this Friday April 4 with the annual Thaw Brawl. The 358 Modified feature pays $4053 to win while the Crate 602 Sportsman main event is worth $1053 to the winning driver and the Roadrunners will battle for a $453 top prize. The Crate Sportsman Rookies are also on the card.
Pit gates this Friday open at 5:00PM and grandstand gates swing open at 5:30PM. On track hot laps begin promptly at 7:15PM with qualifying and features to follow. Adult General Admission to the grandstands for this event is just $20. Kids under the age of 16 years are free. Pit admissions are non member: $45, member: $35. In less than two weeks, Friday April 11, Big Diamond will honor its co builder and co founder Fritz Roehrig in a $10,000 to win 358 Modified main event. Racing continues on Friday nights throughout the Spring and Summer seasons.
