Archive for category: Tyler Ross

Ross Racing driver Tyler Ross says the team has identified key reasons results have been inconsistent over the past several weeks, and the immediate focus is on returning the racecar to its “happy” place.

Moving Target

Ross explained that the recent stretch included multiple challenges that went beyond typical race-to-race adjustments. The problems started after a June 20th incident at Lincoln Speedway, when Ross got upside down. The team made the decision to skip Path Valley Speedway on June 21st so they could focus on necessary repairs and prepare for Speedweek. During Speedweek, Ross was involved in another incident at Grandview Speedway, and the cumulative effect of those events ultimately changed how the car responded to setup adjustments.

“When the chassis flexes in an incident, it can change things more than most people realize,” Ross said. “It’s still straight, but we are finding we do have to do some things a little different with it to make it happy. A happy car means a fast car.”

Setup, Components, Confidence

Ross noted the team tore the car down after the incidents and had it checked to ensure everything critical was true. While the chassis remained straight, the team found that the flex the frame had experienced was going to require them to make setup adjustments.

During the tear down and rebuild, the team found component-specific issues such as a bent torque tube, and they have continued to work to eliminate possible weaknesses, including freshening up their shock program.

Another Variable Added

When the team went back to racing with the car, Ross said there was an additional variable to manage: the World of Outlaws events at BAPS Motor Speedway (July 29th) and Williams Grove Speedway (July 31st) were the first times at those tracks with the current motor program. 

While Ross didn’t elaborate on exactly what differences his new motor brings to the table, we can generally explain the impact a motor can have on setup.  Numerous performance ‘behaviors’ of a motor, such as whether it emphasizes low-end speed, which helps acceleration off the corner, or top-end speed for the end of the straightaway, cause the chassis and suspension to react differently. This requires specific setup adjustments to optimize handling for the new power characteristics.

Bright Spots Along the Way

Despite the recent challenges, Ross highlighted key moments that validated the team’s ongoing development. A strong 20th-to-7th run at Lincoln Speedway on June 22nd served as a testament to the team’s ability to overcome obstacles, while a 15th-place finish at BAPS Motor Speedway against the World of Outlaws on June 29th underscored their competitiveness in high-level fields. These performances provided both data for the team’s technical notes and a morale boost for everyone involved.

“Runs like that remind us that our team is capable, and we just need to keep battling,” Ross said. “Even if things don’t go right early in the night, it’s possible to bounce back and finish the night strong.”

Mindset Forward

Despite the ups and downs, Ross highlighted that the team is continuing to build momentum and keep Tyler sharp behind the wheel. Following the Speedweek stretch, Ross and the team returned to action at Lincoln Speedway on July 11th and July 22nd.

Additionally, Tyler gained valuable seat time and a boost in confidence through strong runs in the McGough No. 669 URC 360 sprint car at Port Royal Speedway (July 1st) and Selinsgrove Speedway (July 10th).

While confidence has taken a hit during the inconsistent stretch, Ross emphasized the team’s mindset remains firmly forward.

“Confidence is down, but determination isn’t,” Ross said. “We are rebuilding and going over the car again before Lincoln on August 8th. There’s a lot of racing left, and we will bounce back.”

Fans Invited: Upcoming Pabst Light Appearance

Ross Racing is also excited to welcome fans to an upcoming promotional appearance featuring new partner Pabst Light and Ace Distributing. Tyler Ross and the Ross Racing No. 5 car will be at Valley Green Beverage, located in Newberry Commons in Etters, PA, on August 15th from 11:00 AM–2:00 PM. Tyler will have hero cards to hand out and will be happy to greet fans for autographs and photos.

Tyler Ross and Ross Racing will head into Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Speedweek with momentum and a clear goal to turn consistent speed into strong results after a stretch of up-and-down nights. Despite a few recent challenges, Ross has maintained an impressive pace in 2026, recording 11 top-ten finishes in 17 410 sprint car races so far this season.

Ross has kept his momentum moving forward whenever the opportunity presented itself, including a standout rebound performance at Lincoln Speedway and a trip to victory lane in the 360 ranks.

The veteran driver battled through a tough outing at Lincoln Speedway on May 30th, where he elected to pull in and save his equipment after starting 19th in the A-main. He bounced back on June 13th at the same track, turning in a strong performance by advancing four spots in his heat race and climbing from 8th to 2nd in the A-main to secure a runner-up finish in the Bush Auto Group, Fastrak Express Inc., Stateline Truck and Trailer, Stoltzfus Farm Service, Betts Garage Ross Racing No.5.

Success followed on June 17th at Bridgeport Motorsports Park, where Ross captured the United Racing Club (URC) 360 sprint car feature win aboard the McGough No. 669.

Most recently, at Lincoln Speedway on June 20th, Ross qualified 13th and finished 5th in his heat race. He started 13th in the A-main and was racing in 9th when a crash with three laps remaining ended his night. Tyler noted that he simply overdrove turn three and caught the cushion, a mistake he is eager to learn from as the team prepares for the upcoming schedule.

Ross Racing is now locked in for four consecutive nights of Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Speedweek action. The team will compete at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday, June 27th, followed by BAPS Motor Speedway on Sunday, June 28th, a return to Lincoln Speedway on Monday, June 29th, and at Grandview Speedway on Tuesday, June 30th.

During Speedweek, Tyler will also race with the United Racing Club (URC) 360 sprint cars, piloting the McGough No. 669 at Port Royal Speedway on Wednesday, July 1st. Ross’s schedule beyond July 1st is still to be determined.

As Ross Racing heads into Speedweek, the focus remains on consistent execution—qualifying well, maintaining composure, and converting top-ten speed into podium finishes as the team enters the most demanding stretch of the season.

Fans should follow “Ross Racing 5” on Facebook for schedule updates and news throughout Tyler’s season.

Tyler Ross looks like he has found his groove.  He has delivered two top-tens, including a podium finish in his most recent outing at Lincoln Speedway.

IN A RHYTHM

At BAPS Motor Speedway on April 12th, Ross qualified 5th in his group but then, after heat race issues, had to battle back from the 19th starting spot in the 30-lap A-main.  He charged forward 11 spots to earn an 8th-place finish.

“We started well, but put ourselves behind in the heat. My guys kept my head up, and we battled back to a top ten.  Nights like that give us a lot of confidence in each other,” Ross said.

One week later, Ross turned in an even better performance at Lincoln Speedway.  After qualifying 2nd quickest in his group, he raced from 4th to a runner-up finish in his heat race, then backed it up by advancing from 6th to 3rd in the feature event.

“We went out late for our time in our group and laid down a solid lap. Just had to execute the rest of the night,” Ross commented.

“I am very happy with the consistency. The car is stable and maneuverable. The team is working well together. We just have to keep grinding.”

“It comes down to time trials, and as I said, it lets us put it in our own hands. We seem to be timing well, and I’m happy about that with these big races coming up.”

Ross has six top-ten finishes in nine races this season, including two podium performances.  In those six main events, he has passed a total of 28 cars.  That kind of speed and consistency will eventually deliver wins.

“Being happy with our speed and consistency, we’re just looking at one race at a time and doing the best we can. We’re having fun right now, and that’s making everything else fall into place,” Ross shared.

“We know tough times will come; it’s just going to be about how we navigate those nights.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Ross’s plans to compete at Bridgeport Motorsports Park last weekend were washed away by rain, so he has now turned his attention to some big races on the horizon.

The Lincoln University, PA-based team will be at Lincoln Speedway and BAPS Motorspeedway this weekend to open the month of May.  Their third race in five days will come against the World of Outlaws at Lincoln Speedway, and the team may add May 8th at Williams Grove Speedway with the Outlaws to their plans as well.

Tyler is also slated to race the McGough No.669 360 sprint car with the United Racing Club (URC) at Port Royal Speedway on May 16th.  The following night, May 17th, he plans to be back in his own No.5 at BAPS Motor Speedway.  

The next stop during the busy month of May for Ross will take him to Grandview Speedway to compete with High Limit Racing in his own Bush Auto Group, Fastrak Express Inc., Stateline Truck and Trailer, Stoltzfus Farm Service, Betts Garage No.5.

Fans should follow “Ross Racing 5” on Facebook to keep up with schedule updates and news throughout Tyler’s season!

Following some opening day challenges at Lincoln Speedway’s Ice Breaker last month, Tyler Ross has rebounded for three consecutive solid runs of 7th, 3rd, and 5th in A-main competition to kick off the Central Pennsylvania sprint car season.

The opening weeks of Ross’s season continue the strong momentum he built in the closing month of the 2025 campaign.

A GOOD SIGN

Ross got right down to business Saturday afternoon at Lincoln Speedway by racing from his 3rd starting spot to a runner-up finish in his heat race to earn a spot in the redraw.

That effort paid off when he drew the pole for the 30-lap A-main.  Ross took command at the drop of the green and held a comfortable lead throughout the first half of the race.  Meanwhile, Freddie Rahmer was working his way into position to take a shot at the top spot.

Rahmer finally made his move for the lead in traffic on lap 16.  Ross attempted to turn back under the No.51 but couldn’t get back by.

“I knew he (Rahmer) was coming.  When you are leading, you don’t know where to run.  I was making laps, trying to take the air off him or break his momentum, but he was just a little bit better than us late in the race.” Ross explained.

“It feels good to run well early in the season.  Traditionally, we are slow starters.  Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come.”

“The first week at the Ice Breaker, we just weren’t sharp.  It took all of us a week to get back in a rhythm and shake off the rust.  The last few races we have been on point and having fun.”  

STAYING STRONG

Ross continued to show speed the next day at BAPS Motor Speedway’s 410 sprint car opener, leading every lap and topping Lance Dewease and Anthony Macri to take the win from the pole of his heat race.

From the 5th starting spot in the 30-lap A-main, Ross was racey again, climbing to 3rd by lap 14.  He held a firm grip on the podium spot until late in the race.  He slipped back two spots in the final four laps but was able to bring home a top-five finish.

“The car went away a little late in the race, but with some fine-tuning, we will be ok.” Ross shared.

“We are happy to be up front running with the teams we know we are capable of running with.  We are a small, family-owned team, and we are right there with the guys who do this for a living.  We are going to keep digging and putting ourselves in position to win, and the wins will come.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Ross’s 2026 season schedule will likely mirror last year’s, with a primary focus on Lincoln Speedway and BAPS Motor Speedway, while also venturing to Grandview, Bridgeport, and Port Royal on occasion.

Fans should follow “Ross Racing 5” on Facebook to keep up with schedule updates and news throughout Tyler’s season!

Tyler Ross has finished in the top ten in nearly fifty percent of the races he has entered in 2025, a statistic that many teams would be happy to own. 

For Ross, though, there is unfinished business.  He has yet to crack victory lane this year, something he knows his team is capable of.  They have proven it multiple times in recent years.

No matter how good your team is, winning is never guaranteed in 410 sprint car racing, but Ross and his team have been working hard all season to overcome hurdles that they are confident are standing between Ross Racing and their next checkered flag.

CUT SHORT IN JERSEY

To close out the month of September, Ross made the trip to Bridgeport Motorsports Park in Swedesboro, NJ, to take on the High Limit Racing series.  The one-hour tow was the shortest of the season for the Lincoln University, PA, driver who is accustomed to traveling anywhere from ninety minutes to nearly three hours to race.

“We have always been pretty solid at Bridgeport,” Ross commented.

“We brought our white car here for one final shakedown before the National Open at Williams Grove.  That’s really the event we have been preparing this car for all along.  We’ve been battling a brake issue with this car since we first rolled it out of the shop this year, so we want to get that resolved.”

The car was brand new from chassis to engine earlier this year and has shown promise in limited action, but the team has been working to resolve a brake issue on the car.  They have replaced the master brake cylinder, calipers, and other components, with no luck thus far. 

“People wonder how it can so long to resolve an issue like we’re having with the brakes.  There’s a lot of trial and error involved.  These systems are expensive, so you can’t just toss them aside and buy a new one.  You can come up with ideas and make changes in the shop, but troubleshooting really only happens when you are on the track.  If you figure three laps for hot laps, a couple laps for qualifying, ten more for a heat, and a 25-lap feature, our max for a night is about 40 laps…and those are almost all competitive laps.  Something is at stake every time we are trying to figure out the issue,” Ross explained.

Ross turned in a decent performance at Bridgeport, but was still dealing with some brake issues throughout the night.  He qualified 11th overall, finished 4th in his heat, and started 12th in the A-main.  A top-ten finish was certainly within reach.

The brake issue worked against Ross at the start of the A-main, and he fell to 15th in traffic.  Before he could rebound and regain the spots, the rains came and stopped the race after just ten laps.

CAN’T CATCH A ‘BRAKE’

To add to their challenges, upon returning to their shop and performing maintenance on the car to prepare for the coming weekend at Williams Grove, the team discovered a broken valve spring in the engine.  Likely another reason for the slow start in Bridgeport’s finale.

Fortunately, the engine builder was able to make the repairs quickly.  Ross and his team had the powerplant back in the car Thursday night, less than twenty-four hours before the National Open kicked off.

While that was good news, Ross was still fighting brake issues.  The team went over the entire system again and made some changes in hopes of finally eliminating the issue.

Friday night at Williams Grove, Ross timed 9th in his flight and started 5th in his heat.  The top five finishers would transfer directly to the A-main; however, the brake issue hindered Ross, and he slipped to an 8th-place finish.

Ross started on the pole of the B-main and only needed to maintain a top-four spot to advance to the feature, but the struggles continued.  He faded to a 6th-place finish.

“After the heat race, we went back to work on the brakes, but unfortunately, what we did made it worse.  I basically had no brakes at all in the B-main.  It may sound odd, but you can’t get around this place fast without brakes,” Ross explained.

“I knew the car was good, though.  It has a lot of speed in it.  I told my team if we got the brakes figured out, this thing (the white car) was going to be really, really good.”

UNEXPECTED FAVOR

“Leaving the track Friday night, Tyler Esh stopped me.  He recognized that we were having brake issues, so he told me he was going home and taking his Smith Titanium system off of his car to bring to our shop Saturday morning for us to put on our car,” Ross shared.

“I told him I appreciated that a ton.  We had tried everything and just couldn’t figure out the issue with our system.”

The brake system change was completed Saturday, along with the usual maintenance and race day prep, then it was back on the road to Williams Grove once again.

The loaned brake system did the trick.

Ross timed 5th quickest in a stacked flight that included names like Gravel, Kofoid, Dewease, Macedo, Wagaman, Dietrich, Rahmer, Dietz, Scelzi, Pursley, Peck, and more.  He went on to transfer through his heat race and earn the 13th starting spot in the National Open main event.

With 56 quality race teams on hand Saturday, it was no small accomplishment just to make the show, but he held his ground and brought the Bush Auto Group, Fastrak Express Inc., Stateline Truck and Trailer, Stoltzfus Farm Service No.5 home 13th at the end of the 40-lap event.

“Saturday was huge for us.  We haven’t been great at Williams Grove this year.  We put it in the show and had a shot at a top ten finish against this field.  I’m feeling pretty good about what our team accomplished,” a very happy Ross said.

“With the brake issues resolved, I was kinda learning the car all over again in the heat.  Obviously, it has had speed all along, but I can drive it differently with brakes, so we had to make some adjustments after the heat.” 

“I can’t thank Tyler Esh enough for loaning us his Smith Titanium brake system.  It solved our problem and gave us a chance tonight.”

“Rick Ciarrocchi bought this new motor for us this year, specifically because he had a goal of making the National Open.  I’m proud that we checked off that goal for him.”

It was especially satisfying for Ross and his team, not only because of overcoming the brake issue, but because they have been through so much other adversity in 2025 as well.

The team struggled early in the season and made the decision to change shocks mid-season.  They have also had multiple truck issues, making it a challenge to find a way to get to the track at times.

“Everything combined to put a lot of pressure on me and the entire team.  Moral has been down.  Honestly, it was affecting the team to the point we weren’t sure what we were going to do in 2026,” Ross admitted.

“When we thank all the people who support us, it’s not just words.  We are talking about people like Tyler (Esh), Rick (Ciarrocchi), and all the other people who contribute to our program.  If they don’t do what they do for us, we literally would not be here.”

“Saturday night took a huge weight off everyone’s shoulders.  I can’t tell you how much that run meant to all of us.”

One race really can make all the difference.

Fans can follow Ross Racing on Facebook for the latest schedule updates and other news.

RECENT RESULTS: (starting position in parentheses)

• Date/Location:  September 27, 2025 / Bridgeport Motorsports Park, Swedesboro, NJ
  • Event:  High Limit Racing
  • Results:  Qualifying 11th, Heat 4th (3), A-main 15th (12)

• ---

  Date/Location:  October 3, 2025 / Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA

  • Event:  National Open Prelim / World of Outlaws
  • Results:  Group Qualifying 9th, Heat 8th (5), B-main 6th (1)

• ---

  Date/Location:  October 4, 2025 / Williams Grove Speedway, Abbottstown, PA

  • Event: National Open Finale / World of Outlaws
  • Results:  Group Qualifying 5th, Heat 4th (3), A-main 13th (13)