Norris Claims ULMS Opening Night In Pittsburgh Over LOLMDS Regulars

The Saxonburg, PA resident Michael Norris took home $4,000.00 for his “Pot of Gold – 75” victory at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway.  Starting from the pole position, Norris lost the lead early to LOLMDS regular Max Blair, battling back and forth where he would finally slide Blair and take command from lap six right to Close Racing Supply Victory Lane for his first Jay’s Automotive United Late Model Series win of 2024.

The daytime show at Pittsburgh proved to be beneficial for their efforts with a total of 110 cars in the pits, 29 of those being the Jay’s Automotive United Late Models.  One of the first daytime shows the speedway has seen in recent years which highlighted the Jay’s Automotive United Late Model Series, Fast on Dirt 410 Sprint Cars, and the SCDRA Northeast Sport Compacts.  

Out of 29 cars, the United Late Model Series utilized group qualifying. Lindemuth Laser Etching Qualifying saw Max Blair take the top spot overall with a 18.732 in Group B. Nearly eight-tenths faster than the competition.  The “Crusher Kid” Michael claimed Rocket Chassis heat race number one.  LOLMDS regular, “The Kid” Drake Troutman took home Keizer Racing Wheels heat race number two. Max Blair continued to show the speed from qualifying, walking away with Swift Springs heat race number three.  Lindemuth Laser Etching Elite Driver Michael Lake claimed Beyea Headers heat race number four.  Two United Construction & Pressure Washing (UCPW) B-Mains saw Zackery Kane and Tony White cross the finish line first.  Dave Stamm and Dylan Fenton would utilize series provisionals for positions 23 and 24.

With an extended intermission to conduct track prep, the Jay’s Automotive United Late Model Series took the green flag for the first time in 2024.  Michael’s filled the front row with Michael Norris and Michael Lake, followed by Troutman, Blair, Ferree, and Musolino.  Series regular and outside pole-sitter Michael Lake exited the speedway on the lap one caution in efforts to reattach his driver side door panel missing the green, however a second caution would come about before the lap was completed allowing him to tag the field. A red flag the following restart saw several cars exit the race and left two series regulars Ryan Montgomery and Logan Zarin needing to be checked out by EMS in the ambulance.  Both driver’s were examined and released. Through the hectic start to the event, Blair found himself in a familiar spot leading the race up till a lap six yellow.  From there it would be Norris who would capitalize on a slide job to reclaim the lead and continue on to Close Racing Supply Victory Lane over Max Blair and Drake Troutman.

The Jay’s Automotive United Late Model Series thanks everyone that came out in support of the “Pot of Gold – 75” event.  Even with unfortunate circumstances due to weather, the first daytime race at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in years as well as the return of the United Late Model Series to the speedway for the first time since 2017 showed promise.  The three sanctioning bodies in attendance all worked in conjunction with one another and closely with the staff at the PPMS.  New owners of PPMS Blair Kress Jr and Tabetha Coppola have made noticeable changes to the speedway and as it seems will continue too in efforts of improving the speedway for all involved.

Next up for the Jay’s Automotive United Late Model Series is Williams Grove Speedway located in Mechanicsburg, PA on Friday March 22, 2024.  Then the tour returns to West Virginia to kick off a huge month of May with topless events at both Ohio Valley Speedway, and Tyler County alongside the notable event memorial day weekend for the “Return of Pennsboro”.  Other stops include Latrobe Speedway and then Lernerville Speedway for the “Willie & Conda McConnell Memorial”, which has now become a staple for the series in recent years showing large car counts with 39 just last year bringing in both the top regional and some national touring drivers.

Official Results:

United Late Model Series

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway

29 Entries

Lindemuth Laser Etching Qualifying:

Group A: 1.] 48 – Colton Flinner 19.516, 2.] 7 – Drake Troutman 19.725, 3.] 02 – Michael Norris 20.096, 4.] 24 – Tyler Wyant 20.129, 5.] 12 – Ryan Montgomery 20.133, 6.] 1c – Alex Ferree 20.141, 7.] 10 – Zachary Kane 20.336, 8.] 44 – Dylan Lewis 20.435, 9.] 72 – Tyler Emory 20.452, 10.] 1z – Logan Zarin 20.636, 11.] 55 – Chuck Kimble 20.880, 12.] 9 – Levi Yetter 21.227. 13.] 184 – Cole Petrelle 21.348, 14.] 4Jr – Jacob Billyk Jr 21.813, 15.] 28D – Del Rougeux 22.736

Group B: 1.] 111 – Max Blair 18.732, 2.] 27 – Michael Lake 19.625, 3.] 01 – Daryl Charlier 19.771, 4.] 8s – Tommy Schirnhofer Jr 20.301, 5.] 24 – Dylan Yoder 20.326, 6.] 60 – Brian Huchko 20.330, 7.] 36 – Tony Musonlino 20.432, 8.] 10 – John Garvin 20.452, 9.] 75 – RJ Dallape 20.491, 10.] 5L – Jon Lee 20.556, 11.] 27T – Tony White 21.373, 12.] 10s – Dave Stamm 21.548 13.] T2 – Tanner Hauger 21.561 14.] 56 – Dylan Fenton 23.287

Rocket Chassis – Heat One: 1.] 02 – Michael Norris, 2.] 48 – Colton Flinner, 3.] 72 – Tyler Emory, 4.] 12 – Ryan Montgomery, 5.] 10 – Zachary Kane, 6] 184 – Cole Petrelle, 7.] 55 – Chuck Kimble, 8.] 28D – Del Rougeux

Keizer Racing Wheels – Heat Two: 1.] 7 – Drake Troutman, 2.] 1c – Alex Ferree, 3.] 24 – Tyler Wyant, 4.] 1z – Logan Zarin, 5.] 9 – Levi Yetter, 6.] 44 – Dylan Lewis, 7.] 4Jr – Jacob Billyk Jr

Swift Springs – Heat Three: 1.] 111 – Max Blair, 2.] 36 – Tony Musolino, 3.] 24 – Dylan Yoder, 4.] 01 – Daryl Charlier, 5.] 27T – Tony White, 6.] 75 – RJ Dallape, 7.] T2 – Tanner Hauger

Beyea Headers – Heat Four: 1.] 27 – Michael Lake, 2.] 10 – John Garvin Jr, 3.] 5L – Jon Lee, 4.] 60 – Brian Huchko, 5.] 10s – Dave Stamm, 6.] 8s – Tommy Schirnhofer Jr, 7.] 56 – Dylan Fenton

United Construction & Pressure Washing – B Main One: 1.] 10 – Zachary Kane, 2.] 184 – Cole Petrelle, 3.] 28D – Del Rougeux, 4.] 55 – Chuck Kimble, 5.] 9 – Levi Yetter, 6.] 4Jr – Jacob Billyk Jr

United Construction & Pressure Washing – B Main Two: 1.] 27T – Tony White, 2.] 75 – RJ Dallape, 3.] T2 – Tanner Hauger, 4.] 56 – Dylan Fenton, 5.] 10s – Dave Stamm

Jay’s Automotive – A Main: 1.] 02 – Michael Norris, 2.] 111 – Max Blair, 3.] 7 – Drake Troutman,  4.] 36 – Tony Musolino, 5.] 24 – Dylan Yoder, 6.] 48 – Colton Flinner, 7.] 27 – Michael Lake, 8.] 5L – Jon Lee, 9.] 72 – Tyler Emory, 10.] 75 – RJ Dallape, 11.] 60 – Brian Huchko, 12.] 184 – Cole Petrelle, 13.] 10s – Dave Stamm, 14.] 27T – Tony White, 15.] 10 – John Garvin Jr, 16.] 56 – Dylan Fenton, 17.] 1c – Alec Ferree, 18.] 12 – Ryan Montgomery, 19.] 1z – Logan Zarin, 20.] 01 – Daryl Charlier, 21.] 10 – Zachary Kane, 22.] T2 – Tanner Hauger, 23.] 28D – Del Rougeux, 24.] 24 – Tyler Wyant

Hoosier Racing Tire Hard Charger: 10s – Dave Stamm (+10)

The United Late Model Series is Supported By:

United E-Mod Series, Jay’s Automotive & Used Cars LLC, Lindemuth Laser Etching (LLE), Close Racing Supply (CRS), Chew on This – Jerky, Keizer Racing Wheels, Swift Springs, Beyea Headers, Integra Racing Shocks, Rocket Chassis, Hoosier Racing Tire, Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic (HTMA), American Racer Tire, Lias Tire Racing Division, Three Rivers Karting and Entertainment Park, Velocita-USA, Hot Shoe Racewear, Cousins Designs, The Garage Crawl, Zarin Truck & Automotive, Montgomery Homes, United Construction & Pressure Washing (UCPW), & Neff Landscaping LLC.

About The Author