Archive for category: 410

After the 2025 edition of Pennsylvania Speedweek wrapped up for Tyler Ross and team, the speed they found at the end of the series continued into the second half of the month. Running only a few more races to round out the month, Ross showed good speed and proof that what they were chasing with the new race car during Speedweek, was starting to come around.

For kinks still being worked out on the brand new car, the 5 team had a good end to the month of July. Picking back up at Williams Grove Speedway on July 18th, Tyler was able to add another top 10 finish to the 2025 resume, finishing in the 10th position. Not only was this a good result, it showed the team had found something at the Mechanicsburg ½ mile, as it was the first top 10 at Williams Grove all season.

The next night shifted over to the Lincoln Speedway. Again, Tyler and the 5 car showed speed and the ability to run up towards the front. With a strong 6th-3rd run in his heat, followed up by a 9th-5th run in the feature, Ross was happy with how the car was performing. “We’re still figuring out the new car and motor program, but we’re not far off at all.” This finish would mark Tyler’s 3rd top 5 finish of the season and his third top 10 in a row. Consistency was starting to find the Lincoln University driver, and his team. “The team is just working really hard to find speed and I see it paying off,” stated Ross. He went on to mention that “just racing more is always a big help.” This was his 25th race of the season and he seemed to be finding his stride and a little more confidence in his equipment.

A big test would come just a few days later, as the World of Outlaws came to the BAPS Motor Speedway. The beginning of the night went well for the team, as Tyler was able to post a strong qualifying effort and put himself on the pole of his heat. A slight miscalculation on the start of the heat dropped Ross back a row, as he got called for a jump. “That’s on me,” said Tyler, “I didn’t realize they moved the line further off turn four, and I went where we usually do.” Even with some adversity, he was able to secure a transfer spot in the heat and would roll off 19th in the feature. At the end of the 30-lap feature, Ross would end up 18th.

When asked about something that was brought up by a fellow competitor on the broadcast in regards to restarts, Ross was in agreement that there were some games being played. “I think the Outlaws could be a little more consistent with their jump calls throughout the night,” mentioned Ross. “Being in the mid-pack on restarts, it was pretty wild back there. I think it caught all us locals off on restarts because it’s not something we’re used to.” Many drivers were either making moves before the green came out and jumping rows, or losing spots due to being moved out of the way. “I told my guys, I felt like I passed 20 cars in the race and only improved one spot.”

All in all, still a successful night to be able to compete and show speed against some of the toughest competition in the country. “The whole pace of a race is different with those guys, and it doesn’t matter if you’re up front or in the back, you gotta go.” Even though the streak of top tens had come to an end, this did mark the first World of Outlaws show Ross had qualified for in 2025. A great improvement from previous efforts and proof that the car and driver had found something.

The team would take the weekend off and not compete at the Williams Grove Summer Nationals, due to a prior commitment for the driver. Future race plans are still to be determined, but wherever the 5 car unloads next, it seems that they will be in contention for good results and maybe even the checkered flag.

RECENT RESULTS: (starting position in parenthesis)

• Date/Location:  July 4, 2025 / Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
• Results:  Qualifying 11th, Heat 4th (4), A-main 10th (11)

• Date/Location:  June 28, 2025 / Lincoln Speedway, Abbottstown, PA
• Results:  Heat 3rd (6), A-main 5th (9th)

• Date/Location:  July 23, 2025 / BAPS Motor Speedway, York Haven, PA
• Event:  World of Outlaws Bricker’s Bash
• Results:  Group Qualifying 2nd, Heat 5th (1), A-main 18th (19)

While rolling a fresh car out of the trailer at the beginning of the year is a normality for most, some like Tyler Ross and the 5 team, choose to roll out a fresh piece for Speedweek. 

After having a strong couple of weeks leading up to PA Speedweek, confidence was high as Tyler’s last three starts resulted in top 10 finishes. The challenge of duplicating the current performance with a new car was something that the Lincoln University native showed the capability to do over the course of Speedweek, even with some up-and-down results.

To start out the team’s campaign, they ventured to the BAPS Motor Speedway. Having seen rain ruin the first two nights of the 10-day series, the driver and team were eager to get on track, and for good reason. 

“We took a brand new car and motor package to BAPS,” and speed showed immediately. After being quickest in warmups and 5th quickest in group time trials, Ross was able to qualify for the feature through his 2nd-place heat finish. Tyler would roll off 7th and finish just outside the top 10 in 11th, after running inside the top 10 for the first half of the race. 

“We missed the setup a little bit in the feature, but we knew where we missed it.” Even with a small setback in the feature, Ross didn’t seem too disappointed, stating that it was “understandable with having an all-new piece.”

The next night, the team headed to the Lincoln Speedway with the new car. However, Ross indicated that it might not have been the best move. 

“We as a team made a mistake by not taking the car we just ran second with (6/21 at Lincoln).” The new car was able to time in 11th and make a run into the transfer spot in the heat. Unfortunately, luck ran out halfway through the heat, when Ross and Jordan Thomas made contact down the front stretch, sending both cars spinning and nearly upside down. Luckily, minus a few fixable parts and the wing, the car was okay. 

“Having the wreck racing for a qualifying spot in the heat is what cost us our night.” Rolling off deep in the B Main, Ross was able to show speed, making moves and advancing up to 10th, but still falling short of making the show.

A few nights rest and regrouping, followed by the team returning to the Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, after Grandview rained out on Tuesday. 

“We went to see how the new car and motor ran again,” stated Tyler. With a similar qualifying effort to that of their last race, Ross would make a 6th to 6th run in the heat and showed dominating speed in the B Main, winning that event and transferring to the main event. Ross decided to start and run a few laps to feel out the car in feature action, but would pull in after seven laps, “just to save equipment.”

The 5 team would then attend the finale of PA Speedweek at the Path Valley Speedway. A stark outlier on the schedule, being one of the smallest tracks in the region. Even with it having been over 3 years since 410 sprint cars had raced at the Spring Run, PA track, it looked as though Ross never missed a beat. 

“We had good speed all night.” Tyler was able to time in 2nd quick in group B and made the redraw with a 4th place heat finish. Drawing the 3rd position, Ross would battle in the fast-paced feature and ultimately come home 8th. Garnering his eleventh top 10 finish of the year, but the driver felt it could have been better. 

“I just felt like I cost us a better finish as a driver, not putting myself in the right positions on the track and losing spots quickly in the race.” With such a fast pace and lap cars coming into play almost immediately, it certainly proved to be a tricky track to know where to be and when.

Wrapping up what felt like a short Speedweek with all the rain, Ross went on to mention that he and the team “have something to work with, even though the results might not be what we wanted, but we learned what we need to do better.” Having to battle with making the new car behave how he wanted and also manage the new bugs with it, Ross noted how the team’s Speedweek schedule worked in their favor. 

“We do Lincoln through Grandview, then take a few days off and regroup both with equipment and ourselves. Most, if not all of us on the team, still work during the week, so we don’t want to wear our guys out.”

Having a little extra time to work on the car and recharge helped the team to maintain speed throughout the week. And those recharges help as the team moves into the rest of the month of July, with some bigger shows coming up throughout the next few weeks and months. 

As of now, plans for the next few nights are to be determined, but the team can show up to whatever race may come, with confidence in their equipment and ability to make speed on a wide variety of tracks as they did during Speedweek.

RECENT RESULTS: (starting position in parenthesis)

• Date/Location:  June 28, 2025 / Lincoln Speedway, Abbottstown, PA
• Results:  Rain

• Date/Location:  June 29, 2025 / BAPS Motor Speedway, York Haven, PA
• Results:  Group Qualifying 5th, Heat 2nd (2), A-main 11th (7)

• Date/Location:  June 30, 2025 / Lincoln Speedway, Abbottstown, PA
• Results:  Group Qualifying 11th, Heat 10th (6), B-Main 10th (18)

• Date/Location:  July 1, 2025 / Grandview Speedway, Bechtelsville, PA
• Results:  Rain

• Date/Location:  July 4, 2025 / Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
• Results:  Group Qualifying 11th, Heat 6th (6), B-main 1st (1), A-main 24th DNF (21)

• Date/Location:  July 5, 2025 / Path Valley Speedway, Spring Run, PA
• Results:  Group Qualifying 2nd, Heat 4th (4), A-main 8th (3)

Tyler Ross has had good speed all season long, but hasn’t been able to put a full night together and show the results his team is capable of.

Most race nights this season have followed one of two paths.  He has been good early, then stumbled late.  He has struggled early, then shone late.

Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway’s Steve Smith Tribute and Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek tune-up, Ross forged a new path.  He and his team were good from qualifying through the final checkered flag.

QUICK RESULTS:

• Date/Location:  June 21, 2025 / Lincoln Speedway, Abbottstown, PA
• Event:  Steve Smith Tribute
• Stats:  Qualifying 5th, Heat 3rd (1), A-main 2nd (8)

MINOR HICCUP

Ross hit the track about halfway through the qualifying order and laid down a lap that was good enough for 4th quickest at the time, and it held up pretty well.  He ended up 5th quickest overall.

The only hiccup for Ross Saturday night was finishing 3rd in his heat race after starting on the pole.

“We just missed it a little bit, and I wasn’t able to get the start I needed.”, Ross explained.

“Fortunately, I was able to at least battle back to 3rd and keep us in a decent position for the feature.”

CONFIDENCE BOOSTER

Ross started 8th in the 35-lap main event that honored Steve Smith, winner of 150 sprint car races and nine track championships at Lincoln Speedway, including six consecutive titles in the 1970s at Lincoln Speedway.

As he has done often this season, Ross went forward.  He quickly cracked the top five on lap three.

Ross hung around 4th and 5th for the bulk of the race until a late-race restart with ten laps remaining provided a great opportunity to get more.  He charged from 4th into the runner-up spot in one corner and went on to hold off numerous challenges from Ryan Newton.

Ross tried to chase down leader Troy Wagaman Jr., but the gap was too much to close under green flag conditions.  He went on to secure the 2nd-place finish, his first podium of the season.

“I wish we had not missed it in the heat.  Feel like if we could have started a row or two better in the feature, we might have had something for Troy.”, Ross shared.

“We’ll certainly take a second, though.  We’ve had speed all year, but we had not been able to put a full night together and reach the podium until tonight.  Feels good to see all the hard work my team has put in paying off.”

“It’s going to be a busy week coming up.  I’m really happy to have some type of confidence going into it.”

Ross now sits 5th in Lincoln Speedway’s 2025 championship points standings.

UP NEXT

Ross has firmed up plans for at least four PA Sprint Speedweek races.  He will enter races two through five of the ten-race series:  Lincoln Speedway (6/28 & 6/30), BAPS Motor Speedway (6/29), and Grandview Speedway (7/1).

The team is still evaluating its options for the second half of the series.  They will share those plans when the decision is finalized.

For those wishing to stay informed about Ross’s season, results, and schedule, updates can be found on Addicted2DirtPR.com. Additionally, followers can track Ross Racing’s activities via their Facebook page.