Hanover, PA (July 5, 2023) – The toughest most grueling stretch of racing in Central PA is Speedweek. Despite the blood, sweat and tears put into fielding a sprint car for 10 nights of racing, Dylan Norris and the Gobrecht Motorsports Team set out to compete in the full slate of races for the second year in a row.
Mother Nature put a damper on the week from the start and took night #1 at Williams Grove. That meant things kicked off at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday night. Norris started off the week with a high pill draw, but still went out and timed fourteenth quickest out of thirty-seven cars. Dylan’s qualifying lap lined up him up third for his heat race and he would finish fourth, putting him the feature. Norris started the Kevin Gobrecht Memorial feature from sixteenth and would run most of the feature in fourteenth. In a late race push, Norris crossed the line eleventh to kick off Speedweek.
A high pill draw plagued the team again at BAPS on Sunday but Norris put down the eleventh quickest lap in time trials setting him up for a second place starting spot in his heat race. Dylan finished second in the heat, one spot shy of making the redraw. Norris lined up ninth for the feature and would cross the line eighth, scoring his first top 10 finish of the week.
Speedweek was interrupted by Mother Nature two nights in a row, meaning that both Lincoln and Grandview were lost to rain. Speedweek then moved to Maryland for a race at Hagerstown Speedway on Wednesday night. The pill draw went slightly better to kick things off, and Norris went eighteenth quickest in time trials. Dylan started and finished sixth in the heat race, qualifying him for the feature. Norris started eighteenth in the main event and drove up to finish twelfth.
Monday’s race at Lincoln was rescheduled for Thursday night. Dylan kicked things off with the tenth quickest lap in time trials which put him second for the start of his heat race. A false start was called on the front row, which sent Dylan back to the second row for the start of the heat. Despite the set-back Norris finished second in the heat. From his ninth place starting spot Norris ran tenth until two late race cautions set him up to move up and he crossed the line eighth, scoring another top ten finish.
The crown jewel of Speedweek, the $20,000 to win Mitch Smith Memorial, was held at Williams Grove on Friday night. The night started with teams relocating to the back pits due to muddy conditions in the front pits. Once the team was settled in Dylan went out and timed eighth quickest overall. Norris started second in his heat race and that is where he would finish. Dylan lined up seventh for the $20,000 feature and would run most of the race inside the top five. Norris crossed the line fifth for his best finish of the week.
After a solid showing at the premier event of the week, three nights of driving to the track mostly just to watch the rain fall followed. Utilizing another rain date, Port Royal hosted the Speedweek finale on Tuesday, July 4. Norris timed twenty-fourth quickest to start things off. Dylan started sixth in his heat race and finished fifth, qualifying him for the $15,000 to win feature. Norris lined up twentieth for the finale and finished the week with a thirteenth place finish. In a random draw after the feature, Dylan earned the “Warrior Award” which was an extra $1,000 for Norris and the team.
When it was all said and done, Dylan finished sixth in the final PA Speedweek point standings, which is an improvement from his eleventh place finish in 2022. Norris was one of fourteen drivers to compete in all six races, earning him a payout from the point fund.
UP NEXT:
Williams Grove Speedway, Friday, July 7 at 7:30PM; Lincoln Speedway, Saturday, July 8 at 7PM; Selinsgrove Speedway (Speedweek make-up/non-Speedweek points), Sunday, July 9 at 7:30PM
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STATS:
BAPS Motor Speedway: 5 starts
Top 10: 3
Lincoln Speedway: 15 starts
Wins: 1
Top 5: 4
Top 10: 8
Port Royal Speedway: 2 starts
Williams Grove Speedway: 8 starts
Top 5: 1
Top 10: 4
Hagerstown Speedway: 1 start