9/3/2025
Kubota High Limit Racing
WHAT’S ON THE TABLE: 58th Edition of Tuscarora 50 Takes Center Stage at Port Royal Speedway This Weekend
PORT ROYAL, PENN. (September 3, 2025) – For the third-straight week, one of Sprint Car Racing’s major events is the focal point for Kubota High Limit Racing – going from California’s Gold Cup Race of Champions to Washington’s Skagit Nationals and now Pennsylvania’s Tuscarora 50.
Simply known as “The Tusky,” the 58th running of Port Royal Speedway’s crown jewel race offers a $58,000-to-win payout with the High Rollers, PA Posse stars, and invaders alike all converging on “The Speed Palace” this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, September 4-6.
Between an all-time great championship chase, the parity in Central Pennsylvania, and history on the line – plus all those rides and that fair food – there’s a lot to look forward to as the Juniata County Fair rolls on.
Let's look at what's on the table entering the Tuscarora 50:
THE PARITY PALACE: Port Royal Speedway has been as unpredictable as ever during the 2025 season – offering 14 different winners through 18 races. Dillsburg, PA’s Anthony Macri in his family-owned No. 39M, York, PA’s Chase Dietz in the Stehman No. 23, and Kunkletown, PA’s Ryan Smith in the Kreitz No. 69K are the only multi-time winners entering the Tuscarora 50.
A heap of 11 other drivers have visited victory lane at the famed half-mile this year including in order Michael Walter II of Selinsgrove, PA, Brent Marks of Myerstown, PA, Aaron Reutzel of Clute, TX, Logan Wagner of Harrisonville, PA, Mike Wagner of Harrisonville, PA, Lance Dewease of Fayetteville, PA, Troy Wagaman Jr. of Hanover, PA, Justin Whittall of Vincentown, NJ, Jonathan Preston of Geneva, NY, Dylan Cisney of Port Royal, PA, and Brock Zearfoss of Jonestown, PA.
In the chase for the track championship, Justin Whittall currently leads Logan Wagner (-135), Brock Zearfoss (-320), Michael Walter (-670), and Gerard McIntyre Jr. (-910) with a crucial weekend for points ahead.
TUSKY TITLES: With five and half decades of history to its name, the Tuscarora 50 is the crown jewel of Port Royal Speedway – an event that aspiring racers dream of winning, especially those who grow up in the heart of Central Pennsylvania. Entering the 58th running this week, 29 different drivers can claim a Tusky title.
Over the last seven years, we’ve seen seven different champions from the event between Rico Abreu (’24), Brian Brown (’23), Anthony Macri (’22), Logan Wagner (’21), Lance Dewease (’20), Aaron Reutzel (’19), and Donny Schatz (’18). For everyone in that group besides Dewease, it was their first and remains their only title to this point.
Speaking of Dewease, nobody has ruled the Tuscarora 50 quite like the 59-year-old native of Fayetteville, PA. His seven scores are easily the most and they’ve came with five different car owners including the Walt Dyer No. 461 in 1994, the Joe Harz No. 88 in 2001, the Al Hamilton No. 77 in 2002, the Pete Postupack No. 25 in 2006, and the Kreitz Racing No. 69K in 2016, 2017 & 2020. He’s now in the Barry Shearer No. 12 and finished podium both nights of the Bob Weikert Memorial with Kubota High Limit Racing in May.
The 12 remaining drivers to have won multiple Tuscarora 50 titles includes legends like Doug Wolfgang (4), Fred Rahmer (4), Greg Hodnett (4), Mitch Smith (3), Lynn Paxton (3), Todd Shaffer (3), Don Kreitz Jr. (3), Smokey Snellbaker (2), Keith Kauffman (2), Bobby Allen (2), Stevie Smith (2), and Doug Esh (2).
DÉJÀ VU FOR RICO: This cross-country trip from Alger, Washington to Port Royal, Pennsylvania is starting to feel all too familiar to what occurred last year during the same stretch with Kubota High Limit Racing.
In 2024, Rico Abreu left the Skagit Nationals with the richest payday of his career and used that momentum to help score his first-career Tuscarora 50 title – and first-career Port Royal Speedway victory – the following week. In 2025, Abreu once again left Skagit with a new mark for richest payday of his career ($126,000) and is dead set on a $58,000 repeat at “The Speed Palace” this weekend.
The #24 pilot is arguably at the peak of his career, fresh off a weekend sweep that propelled him to 16 wins entering September and gave him the Kubota High Limit Racing championship lead for the first time in his career.
Another score this week would put Rico in elite company alongside Mitch Smith (1968-70), Doug Wolfgang (1984-87), Todd Shaffer (1990-91), Fred Rahmer (1996-97), and Lance Dewease (2001-02 & 2016-17) as the sixth man to go back-to-back at the Tuscarora 50.
HALF-MILE HISTORY: August 2025 was a month that Ryan Timms will remember for the rest of his life. The 19-year-old Oklahoma City, OK native dominated the Knoxville Nationals and then charged to a Huset’s Speedway track title. To kick off September, he’s bringing the Shane Liebig owned No. 10 to Port Royal Speedway – where he’s made 11 previous appearances with a career-best of P8 in 2022.
Timms won the Knoxville Nationals in his third attempt after missing the A-Main in his first two tries. This week, the numbers are eerily similar. He’ll attempt his third Tuscarora 50 after missing the A-Main in his first two tries.
If he could pull off the $58,000 win over the High Roller and PA Posse stars alike, Timms’ double would mark the fourth occurrence in history of a Knoxville Nationals champ taking the Tuscarora 50 only weeks later. Ironically enough, the previous three times it happened all came under the ownership of the late, great Bob Weikert – namesake of May’s major event for Kubota High Limit Racing at Port Royal. Weikert experienced such history first with Kenny Weld in 1973 and then in back-to-back years during his iconic stretch with Doug Wolfgang in 1984-85.
CHAMPIONSHIP CHAOS: With 15 races left, including three point races this weekend at Port Royal, all eyes are on what appears to be an all-time great championship battle with Kubota High Limit Racing. Entering September, five teams are within a hundred points of the top spot and we’re fresh off a weekend where three different teams led across three nights at Skagit.
The Rico Abreu Racing No. 24 is the championship leader for the first time, using a weekend sweep to go from down 75-points to up 10-points. Rico returns to Port Royal as the defending Tuscarora 50 champion with hopes of building his point lead.
The Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87 sits second in the standings, -10 points behind the RAR No. 24. The biggest news out of the RSR camp is full-time pilot Aaron Reutzel is back from injury this week after Californian Justin Sanders was a superb sub in August. A-Aron is a former Tuscarora 50 champion in 2019 and made $100,000 at the Bob Weikert Memorial in his last trip to Port Royal.
The Kasey Kahne Racing No. 49 was relegated to third in the championship, -35 points from the top. It was a weekend to forget for Brad Sweet with three-straight finishes outside the top-10 sending his NAPA Auto Parts ride to the biggest points deficit he’s ever faced with Kubota High Limit Racing. To win a seventh-straight national title, “The Big Cat” needs a big weekend at the Tusky to turn his momentum around.
The Clauson-Marshall Racing No. 7BC is down to fourth in the title hunt, -60 points from the lead. Jake Argo and crew have excelled at Port Royal with Tyler Courtney in the car – beating the All Stars, the World of Outlaws, and nearly winning the 2024 Bob Weikert Memorial together. They’ve now got Giovanni Scelzi in the seat, who’s twice ran podium during Tuscarora 50 prelims in the past.
The Murray-Marks Motorsports No. 19 remains fifth on the charts, on the climb to -99 points back. It’s a home race for Brent Marks and his Myerstown, Pennsylvania based organization at one of his best tracks on tour – where he won the 2015 Tuscarora 50 title. This could be a turning point for them to make this five-way title fight even closer than it already is.
Article Credit: Brian Walker
