Lancaster Dragway
LANCASTER READY FOR ACTION PACKED WEEKEND AUGUST 14 & 15
“Pro-Mod-A-Palooza” & Tommy Druar/Tony Jankowiak Memorial 110 on tap
LANCASTER, NY – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway is set to host a pair of huge events the weekend of 
August 14 & 15. These two races will bring competitors from across New York state as well as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and Canada to the Western New York racing facility.
On Friday, August 14 it’s “Pro Mod-a-Palooza” for the Franco’s Pizza Friday Night IHRA Drag Racing program, headlined by some of the top Pro Modifieds teams in the Northeast. This event was added to the schedule after the success of our Pro Mod Shootout on June 2 that drew an impressive field of 13 cars and an amazing turn out of fans.
The $5,000-to-win “Pro Mod-a-Palooza” will be even bigger as the field of Pro Mods will be nearly doubled based on the list of drivers that have already committed to the show. All drivers will have to be on their game to survive qualifying and make the eight-car ladder for eliminations.
WALCZAK, WEBB, WARD, BEAVEN, MARTINA & RAISER SCORE “SUNDAY NOSTALGIA” WINS AT LANCASTER
LANCASTER, NY – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway’s “Sunday Nostalgia” reunion weekend culminated on 
Sunday with a sun-splashed day of racing action. Fans were treated to six classes of classic race cars and a Clutch Artists of Buffalo car show on the infield of the stock car oval.
The highlight of the day was the Nite Cappe Steak and Seafood Restaurant and Bar Top Eliminator class presented by Grainy’s Automotive and Lackawanna Products. Top Eliminator featured the eight fastest cars on property, running heads up on a pro tree. The field was paired down to the 1932 Bantam of Steve Walczak of Rochester and the 1933 Willys of Frank Malvaso. Malvaso got off the line quicker in the finals, but Walczak was able to drive by him to score the win with an elapsed time of 4.60 seconds at 156.29 mph. Walczak took home the $1,500 top prize for his efforts
WIESERNER, CARLSON, CRANE & KAROSIK TAKE SATURDAY WINS DURING LANCASTER’S NOSTALGIA WEEKEND
Inaugural Lancaster Dragway Wall of Fame class inducted
LANCASTER, NY – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway hosted the second day of its “Sunday Nostalgia” Drags 
and Reunion weekend on Saturday with the Gasser Racing Series (GRS) taking center stage.
GRS hosted two classes of racing with a Gassers only class for cars produced before 1967 and a Mod Eliminator class. In the GRS Gassers, Steve Wieserner of Hamburg, NY took the victory in his 1948 Austin Healey over Rod Pontlitz. Jim Carlson of Clarence, NY picked up the win in GRS Mod ET after Chris Plennert triggered a red light in the final round.
In other Saturday action, veteran Joe Karosik of Depew, NY earned the win Competition Eliminator. Karosik piloted his 1972 Chevy Nova to victory after Greg Kerl broke out in his final run. Paul Crane was victorious in Little Eliminator over Lyndsy Payne.
KERL, SOBCZYNSKI, RICKETSON, SALEMI & MORRISSEY WIN AT LANCASTER
BIKES & SLEDS GET FIRST REPEAT WINNER
LANCASTER, NY – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway kicked off “Sunday Nostalgia” Weekend on Friday 
night with its regular Franco’s Pizza Friday Night IHRA Drag Racing program.
In the spirit of the weekend a special Nostalgia Eliminator class was added to the show for cars from 1980 or earlier. Clay Ricketson of Marilla, NY topped the field of retro racers as he picked up his fourth win of the season overall in his 1974 Dodge Dart. Ricketson defeated Mark Santucci in the finals
The Ricketson family, however, was denied in Mod ET as Reid Ricketson lost to Jeff Kerl of Cheektowaga, NY in the final round. Ricketson broke out by .001 seconds to hand the win to Kerl, who ran a 6.577 on a 6.57 dial-in. The Ricketsons have won six out of the nine races in Mod ET this year.
LANCASTER TO HOST “SUNDAY NOSTALGIA” DRAGS REUNION THIS WEEKEND
LANCASTER, NY – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway is geared up to host one of their signature events this 
weekend, the Sunday Nostalgia Drag Racing Reunion. This event is one of the biggest of its kind and features three days of drag racing, a classic car show and reliving a memorable time in Western New York drag racing history.
The action starts Friday, July 31 with Lancaster’s weekly Franco’s Pizza Friday Night IHRA Drag Racing program. A special Nostalgia Eliminator class has been added for this Friday for cars from 1980 or earlier.
Saturday’s show will feature the Great Lakes Nostalgia Funny Cars and the Gasser Racing Series plus two additional classes of racing for cars from 1980 or earlier. Following the racing program fans and racers are invited to stick around for the induction ceremony of the inaugural class of the Lancaster National Dragway Wall of Fame.
FERSTL, BALSER JR., RICKETSON, AMALFI & RAISER EARN WINS AT LANCASTER
LANCASTER, NY – The Hebeler’s Bikes & Sleds class took center stage this past Friday night at Lancaster Speedway 
& Dragway for Bike Night presented by Stylin’ Tattoo with an increased purse on the line.
Frank Amalfi of Webster, NY became the eighth different winner of the year in Bikes & Sleds as he took the victory and the winner’s share of the boosted purse. Amalfi took the win aboard his 1998 Yamaha after Alan Fletcher tripped the red light on the starting line.
Uncle Bob’s Self Storage Quick 16 made its monthly appearance at Lancaster. Steve Ferstl of Burlington, Ontario captured his second Quick 16 win of the season. In the final round, Dave Cleveland left the starting line .007 seconds too soon to red light the race away to Ferstl.
LANCASTER PREPARES FOR SECOND ROUND OF PAVEMENT REPAIRS
Repairs to be made to drag strip shutdown area and staging lanes
LANCASTER, NY – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway has approved a second round of pavement repairs for 
the facility as part of its three-year capital improvement plan.
The paving work will be concentrated on parts of the drag strip as well as main concourse area. Thomann Asphalt of Lancaster has been contracted to do the project following their exemplary work on the first set of pavement repairs.
The areas of the drag strip that will be improved upon are the shutdown area, return road and the staging lanes. Thomann will repair any potholes in these areas of the facility to provide a smoother ride for our competitors. The portion of the inner-oval that is used as a pit area for drag racers will also be patched.
JASON VITEZ CAPTURES TNT HOT ROD SERIES EVENT AT LANCASTER
Cleveland, Ricketson, Nearhoof & Raiser take Nitro Night of Fire wins
LANCASTER, NY – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway thundered to life on Friday night with the annual Nitro 
Night of Fire. Three pairs of nitro-powered racers went head-to-head with the highlight of the night being a match race between the Top Fuel Dragsters of Bobby Lagana, Jr. and Todd Paton.
Lagana took the first round as he blistered the 1/8-mile with a 3.60-second elapsed time at an average speed of 177 mph. Paton got revenge in the second pass as he beat Lagana with a 3.73 run at 196 mph. Lagana and Paton both made full passes on their runs as they brought the fans to their feet each time they took to the track.
HARVIE, RICKETSON, BABIAK & ANASIEWCZ WN AT LANCASTER
Erin Moran tops in Buffalo Street Outlaws
LANCASTER, NY – It was a nice change of pace at Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway on Friday as Mother 
Nature had a 0% chance of spoiling the fun for the Franco’s Pizza Friday Night IHRA Drag Racing program.
The RJ’s Pro Fab/MacKenzie’s Automotive Buffalo Street Outlaws made their monthly visit to Lancaster’s 1/8-mile drag strip. In the final round, Erin Moran of Buffalo defeated Donald Turner of Greenville, PA in his Ford Mustang to top the field of Outlaws.
Mark Harvie of Newmarket, Ontario took top honors in McGard Top ET in his 1980 Chevrolet Malibu station wagon after beating Ernie Masullo in the finals. Harvie drives 2 ½ hours from his home in Newmarket, which is about an hour north of Toronto, to race at Lancaster.
COONLY, RICKETSON, BURDICK & ZYGAJ CAPTURE 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND WINS AT LANCASTER
Chris Zgoda tops in Alcohol Funny Car match race
LANCASTER, NY – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway kicked off Fourth of July weekend in Western New 
York on Friday night with a celebration of American horsepower. The weekly Franco’s Pizza Friday Night IHRA Drag Racing program was capped off by an Alcohol Funny Car match race between Chris Zgoda and Vince Rastelli.
Zgoda defeated Rastelli on both runs as Rastelli was forced to lift when his funny car overpowered the track. Zgoda posted an elapsed time of 4.52 seconds at 155.12 mph on his first run, and then ran a 4.80 at 152.37 mph to back it up on the second pass.
In regular weekly IHRA drag racing, Tom Coonly of Blasdell, NY picked up the win in McGard Top ET. Coonly triggered the win light after Tony Galuzzi broke out in the final round.
