5/20/2025
BAPS Motor Speedway
Troy Wagaman Jr wins a late last charge by Deitrich
YORK HAVEN, Pa.: It’s been a while since Troy Wagaman Jr. has punched his ticket to Victory Lane on the central Pennsylvania Sprint Car scene.
Try almost a year. Despite being quick at times and running near the front, the last time Wagaman enjoyed the thrill of winning was June 1st of 2024. That’s a long time to wait, and the young driver was feeling the pressure.
It was released Sunday night at BAPS Motor Speedway, although there were some anxious moments. Wagaman fought off Anthony Macri early and Danny Dietrich late to secure the $6,000 win in the 30-Lap main event on CH Recovery Night presented by UMPC.
“I feel like I forgot how to do that,” Wagaman said of winning a main event. “We put ourselves in position, but I didn’t know where to be. Danny came along there, and I’m just lucky he wasn’t able to get us.”
Wagaman got the jump on fellow front-row starter Anthony Macri, but he couldn’t shake him. Macri got another good shot at the leader on a Lap 3 restart when Aaron Reutzel got upside down in the second corner.
Macri tried the outside a few times in Turn 2 on the restart. Wagaman had all of the answers and started to pull away from the field by the time the event hit the halfway point.
Danny Dietrich, who started fourth on the grid, slipped past Macri on Lap 18, but he was over two seconds back with no caution in sight. What was in play was lapped traffic, and Dietrich started to close in a hurry.
With three laps left, Dietrich was all over Wagaman. He was a car-length or two behind at the white flag and made contact on the backstretch with half a lap left. Dietrich bounced into the outside fence, and Wagaman was able to dive to the bottom in three and four and take the win by a mere .372 seconds.
“The car was good, but [Daison] Pursley was setting a good pace, and that’s where I wanted to be,” Wagaman said. “I hadn’t tried the bottom in like 10 laps, and I heard Danny there. I didn’t want to shove him into the fence. I didn’t see him, but we got the W.
“The last 100 feet was the longest of my life. It’s been since June of last year since we’ve won. They all called me third-place Troy last year, and now they call me seventh-place Troy. So, it was nice to get the team a win.”
Macri settled for third, with Chase Dietz charging from eighth to fourth. Freddie Rahmer completed the top five.
In the PASS 305 Sprint Car main event, Landon Price started 11th on the grid and carved his way through the field to claim the victory.
Dustin Young took the lead at the start and held it for the first 17 laps. Price methodically made his way through the field, cracking the top five on Lap five and was second by the 13th circuit.
Price chased down Young and made the pass for the lead on Lap 18. He led the final two laps and claimed the win by 1.896 seconds. Young, Kruz Kepner, Danny Buccafusca, and Jeff Weaver completed the top five.
Submitted By: Kolten Gouse
