Eight Time and Counting??
By: Colton Sutley
Published on 4/24/25
*All Stats used from Sprint Car Ratings and all time wins list information from Penn Ohio Racing
Nine total track championships are what Lou Blaney and Bob Wearing each had at Lernerville Speedway both having won multiple in two different divisions. Blaney had 6 sprint car championships and 3 modified championships, while Wearing had 5 in late models and 4 in modifieds tying them for most total track championships at the Western Pennsylvania speedway. Brian Swartzlander on the other hand dominated in one division, that being the modified division, winning 8 total track championships which is a record for most championships in a single division. This year one driver has a chance to tie Blaney and Wearing, and a chance to beat Swartzlander, and that driver is AJ Flick. In the past five years AJ Flick has been the track champion at Lernerville Speedway while averaging a 6.26 finish with those 5 championships adding to his 3 from 2015, 2017, and 2018. Flick has also had 24 of his 41 career victories at the track in the past five seasons with his 41 wins ranking 6th all time at Lernerville in the sprint division. Within those five seasons Flick has had 53 top 5s and 60 top 10s in 75 races, which shows how consistent he has been. Will Flick continue his dominance and keep counting past 8 this season, or will someone knock the reigning champion off? There are some veterans and some young guns who will make it a competitive season, and I will go over who some of those are.
8x Champion AJ Flick in the Indy Race Parts 71
One veteran who will most likely compete weekly at Lernerville is 2 time track champion Carl Bowser. Bowser is tied 8th all time on the wins list with 30 career victories, with four of them coming in the past five seasons. The Butler driver has had an average finish of 10.5, while this past season he had 7 top 5s and 11 top 10s in 16 races. The former track champion will be a highly competitive threat for the championship this season. Another veteran racer who is expected to be full time weekly at Lernerville is Dan Kuriger. Kuriger finished last season with an average finish of 9.7 with 3 top 5s and 10 top 10s in 13 races. The veteran racer ranks tied for 37th on the wins list with 6 career victories at the track, and is always a threat to win each night.
2x Champion Carl Bowser
Dan Kuriger
On the other hand of the spectrum of experience is a trio of drivers. The first one is high schooler Jacob Begenwald, who had 1 top 5 and 2 top 10s in 15 races in only his first full season in a 410 sprint car. Begenwald has already raced 3 races this season at other tracks, and has already matched those totals in those races, he will look to continue to improve and should be one driver to keep an eye on. Another driver who showed plenty of speed at times last season is John Jerich. Entering his 2nd full season in a 410, Jerich has raced 6 times this season having even finished 17th at Attica Raceway Park during his first ever visit to the Ohio track. He looks to improve on his 3 top 10s in 15 races at Lernerville this year, and if he is able to continue to have the speed he flashed last year will be a contender for wins early and often. The last less experienced driver expected to race full time is David Kalb Jr. In just 9 races at Lernerville last season, Kalb had 4 top 5s and 5 top 10s with an average finish of 14.2. Kalb Jr already has one victory at the speedway and will be looking to continue to add to that total this season.
Jacob Begenwald
John Jerich
David Kalb Jr
Some other drivers who may end up racing at the speedway often and compete for wins include some regional touring series full timers. The first one to mention is the 2013 track champion and All Star regular, Brandon Spithaler. Spithaler ranks tied for 32nd on the wins list with 7 victories, with three of them coming just last year. In only 10 races at the track last season, he averaged a 7.7 finish with 6 top 5s and 8 top 10s to go along with his 3 wins. Another All Star regular who is expected to make appearances at Lernerville is Cody Bova. Along with getting his first career victory at the historic Western Pennsylvania speedway, Bova averaged a 12.3 finish with 2 top 5s and 4 top 10s in 10 races. Bova also made all three High Limit features at the track last season, being the only local who did it in his own equipment with AJ Flick also making all three but with two of those being when he was in the Indy Race Parts 71. A FAST on Dirt Series regular who will make some appearances at the track and contend for wins is Michael Bauer. Bauer has one career victory at the track, and last season averaged a 11.1 finish with 6 top 5s and 8 top 10s in 14 races. Bauer always shows speed, and with traveling this year may pick up a few things from other tracks to put him back in victory lane at Lernerville.
2013 Champion Brandon Spithaler
Cody Bova
Michael Bauer
Some other drivers with the possibility to show up and compete for wins include the father and son duo of Brent and Brandon Matus, with the two combining for 12 total victories at the speedway. A driver who has shown speed, but has yet to pick up a victory is Will Fleming, who had a top 5 and 4 top 10s last season. Some invaders include Central Pa driver Mark Smith who had 2 wins in only three races at the track last season, meanwhile New Yorker Matt Farnham continues to chase his first victory at the speedway. Some expected Tri-City Raceway Park full timers who may race occasionally at Lernerville include Bob Felmlee and Jack Sodeman Jr, with Felmlee tied for 8th with 30 career wins and the 1995 track champion while Sodeman Jr ranks 12th with 24 career victories and has two track championships from the 2016 and 2019 seasons.
Brandon Matus
Brent Matus
Mark Smith
1995 Champion Bob Felmlee
The story line for this season at Lernerville in the 410 ranks will be who will stop AJ Flick from repeating as champion. As you can see there are quality drivers who are capable of doing it from veterans to young up and comers. The chase for the championship is scheduled to start Friday April 25th with racing starting at 7 pm. Get to the track and watch the racing bring the championship down to the wire!