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What was planned to be a full-throttle Memorial Day weekend of racing for Tony Jackson and the Scott Hess Racing team turned into a test of patience and perseverance, as Mother Nature once again played a role in reshaping the schedule. Despite a rainout on Friday at Williams Grove Speedway, Jackson salvaged the weekend with a pair of strong performances—highlighted by a runner-up finish Sunday during the prestigious Bob Weikert Memorial at Port Royal Speedway.

“I swear Williams Grove has just had the worst luck all season, and I’m starting to wonder if we’ll ever get a show in there,” Jackson said. “Otherwise, it was a decent weekend and something we can keep building on as a team.”

Saturday’s event at BAPS Motor Speedway saw Jackson battle in Winged Sportsman competition, where the No. 88 machine advanced three positions in a heat race to finish second. He then started 12th and passed four cars in the A-main, bringing the car home in eighth place—not the result they were hoping for, but still a solid night. 

“We had a mechanical issue on Saturday, but made the best of it,” he said. “The car was laying over really badly as a result, so we kind of just made do with what we could out there.”

On Sunday, Jackson and the team shifted back to wingless competition for one of the biggest shows of the year at Port Royal Speedway. Lining up against a stout field of 32 cars as part of the card for the Bob Weikert Memorial, Jackson proved once again why he’s been a force all season. He won a heat race from the sixth starting position before picking off seven positions from ninth in the A-main to secure a second-place finish, just shy of grabbing his fifth win of the year.

“We had a really good car on Sunday, but we needed a yellow to see if we really had anything for the leader,” said Jackson. “Port Royal is a really good track for us, and our speed showed. Unfortunately, we just came up one spot short.”

With four wins already under his belt and 50 career victories now to his name, Jackson continues to be one of the most consistent and competitive drivers in the region in both winged and wingless Sportsman action.

The team will compete in a solo night of racing this weekend as they’ll head to Path Valley Speedway Park on Saturday to run wingless in the sportsman.

“It’s a bit of a bigger race for Path Valley, and there is some extra money on the line, so I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “We’ve obviously won there a lot in the past, and our most recent win was there, so if weather cooperates, I think we’ve got a good shot to pick up another checkered flag.”

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When Tony Jackson announced late last season that 2025 would be his final year behind the wheel, he set two clear goals: to have fun and to win races—most importantly, to reach the 50-win milestone in Sportsman competition. This past Saturday night at Path Valley Speedway Park, Jackson checked off that historic box in spectacular fashion, earning his fourth win of the season and the 50th of his illustrious Sportsman career.

“I got my first sportsman win at Path Valley and my 50th win there too, so that’s a pretty cool deal,” said Jackson. “We had a goal to get to 50 at the beginning of the season, and now it’s time to see how many more we can get.”

Jackson’s weekend kicked off at Path Valley, where he advanced three positions in a heat race, going from fifth to second. As a result of a favorable redraw, he then secured the pole for the A-main. From there, the Scott Hess Racing No. 88 was untouchable. Jackson led all 20 laps in front of a strong field of 20 wingless Sportsman, sealing the coveted career milestone with a dominant performance.

“When the cards work out, they work out,” he said. “The way the redraw worked from the heats, we ended up on the pole, and when you get a chance to start up front with a fast racecar, you’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity.”

The celebration didn’t stop there. Jackson followed up the emotional win with another strong outing Sunday night at Bedford Speedway. After winning his heat race, he started the A-main in fourth with high hopes of back-to-back victories. Ultimately, he brought the car home second—a result that, while just shy of the top step, was still a proud moment on a night that featured the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and a packed crowd of new fans.

“It was disappointing to finish in second, but it was just a cool experience being part of a show like that,” he said. “We started fourth and got to second pretty early in the race, but once the track took rubber on the bottom, we couldn’t really pass. We just needed to get to the front faster.” 

Next up, Jackson and Scott Hess Racing return to action with a Memorial Day weekend tripleheader. First on the docket will be a trip to Williams Grove Speedway on Friday for a makeup wingless sportsman show, and then the No. 88 will take on Winged Sportsman action at BAPS Motor Speedway on Saturday. Jackson will pull double-duty at BAPS as he’ll be competing for Mike Callahan as well with the 358-winged sprint cars. He’ll close out the weekend in Wingless competition Sunday at Port Royal Speedway. With momentum along for the ride, Jackson is eager to keep the good times rolling.

“We’ve got a really busy weekend, so this will really be a test for us,” said Jackson. “When you’re rolling good, you’ve got to strike while the iron is hot. Our guys really like to go racing, and I’m looking forward to hopefully another great weekend at the track.” 

Follow Tony Jackson and Scott Hess Racing on social media for weekend updates, photos, and more as they continue their farewell tour with style.

The consistent roll continues for Tony Jackson and Scott Hess Racing as the No. 88 machine secured a solid fifth-place finish in Winged Sportsman competition this past Friday at Bedford Speedway. The result extends Jackson’s impressive run of consecutive top-five performances across both winged and wingless events.

Racing activities were canceled on Saturday at Path Valley Speedway Park as a result of inclement weather.

“The results will show a top five, but the rain really did a number on the track and made it tough to pass,” said Jackson. “Mother Nature just seems to be messing with us whether we’re racing or not, so we’re just kind of rolling with the punches and making the best of things.”

Jackson kicked off the night by participating in a pre-race radio show sponsored by Middleswarth Potato Chips and a late-afternoon storm briefly delayed the night’s racing schedule. However, once the track was ready, Jackson wasted no time getting down to business.

He finished where he started – fourth – in a heat race and as a result earned the seventh starting position for the A-main. Struggling to make up for difficult track conditions, he was able to persevere forward two spots to take the checkered flag in fifth.

“It was one of those nights where you kind of were at the mercy of where you started and hoping for some help,” he said. “Ultimately, we passed two cars, which was about as good as it got considering all the rain they got, so I guess there’s nothing to hang our heads about.”

With two wins already this season and a string of podiums and top-five finishes, Jackson and the Scott Hess Racing team are riding high with confidence and momentum.

Next up, the team will turn their attention back to winged action with a single night of racing this Saturday at the BAPS Motor Speedway. However, as an added bonus through a combined effort with team owner Mike Callahan, Jackson will pull double duty and compete with the USAC East Coast cars as well.

“I’m a little excited, honestly. We tagged onto the field the other week at Port Royal and ran well lap time-wise with the series when we were running our Sportsman motor,” said Jackson. “We’ll have a little better 358 motor this time out that lines up better with the series, so it should be a lot of fun to see where we can stack up against some good cars. More track time is always better, and I’m confident we’ll be able to really hold our own and compete for a win.”

For updates, photos, and behind-the-scenes content, follow Tony Jackson and Scott Hess Racing on social media.

Tony Jackson and Scott Hess Racing added another trophy to the case this past weekend, as Jackson piloted the No. 88 machine to his second Wingless Sportsman victory of the season Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway.

The team’s weekend plans initially called for a doubleheader, but Friday’s Winged Sportsman event at Linda’s Speedway was canceled due to impending weather. That left all the focus on Port Royal—and Jackson delivered in a big way.

“We wanted to do Linda’s, but it just wasn’t in the cards for Mother Nature to cooperate,” said Jackson. “But Port Royal more than made up for the rainy Friday and we’re just excited to be running this good early in the season.”

Jackson kicked off the night by charging from fifth to second in his heat race, earning him the fourth starting spot for the A-main event. He quickly moved into a podium position in the early laps and by lap five had powered into second. Jackson then stalked the leader for more than 10 circuits, patiently waiting for his opportunity.

That opportunity came with five laps to go, as Jackson used a strong outside move through turns three and four to wrestle away the top spot. He led the remainder of the race, securing his second career Port Royal Speedway victory and his 48th career triumph in the Sportsman division.

With car counts lower for the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars, Jackson and Hess also took advantage of the opportunity to run with the wingless 360 Sprint Cars for the night. He finished seventh in a heat race and 18th in the A-main. The ability to get the extra laps on track is something Jackson said paid dividends not only financially, but set up wise as well.

“Honestly, we credit a lot of us winning that race in being able to run with the USAC East Coast guys for the night,” he said. “We got some valuable track time and made a few extra dollars. But overall we found a few things out and had the car better prepared for our feature and obviously it paid off as we found victory lane.”

Next up for Jackson and Scott Hess Racing is another busy weekend, as the team is slated to compete in Winged Sportsman action Friday at Bedford Speedway before removing the wing again for Saturday’s event at Path Valley Speedway Park. Jackson hopes to keep the recent hot streak alive and continue his run of front-running performances.

As an added bonus, Tony is slated to appear on a Middleswarth pre-race radio show prior to Friday’s action at Bedford Speedway, which will be simulcast via 103.1 FM and can be listened to via radio in the surrounding areas of the track and the Bedford Speedway loudspeaker 30 minutes prior to the night’s warmups.

“Bedford is a place I’ve only ran there a handful of times, but I’ve never lost in wingless competition there. Hopefully that success and knowledge can roll over to the winged Sportsman,” he said. “We’re only two away from 50 wins and honestly as good as we are running, I think we have a chance to achieve that goal in one weekend. I’m excited to get back to the track and keep having fun.”

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