8/31/2025
Selinsgrove Speedway
Robinson and Snook Grab Paul Long Memorial, Jackson Gets Sportsman Win
Written by Bert Wojcik
A Labor Day tradition returned to the Selinsgrove Speedway: Sunday night Late Model racing. After last year's event was canceled, the Long family made sure that the 2025 running of the Paul Long Memorial was going to be something special and it was nothing short of being a premier event in the 2025 season. With the help of the Benner Family from Selinsgrove Ford, who owned Paul’s #63 late model, the restored Selinsgrove Motor’s Ford Torino Cobra made laps around the track with Paul’s granddaughter Jenna at the controls for the Selinsgrove Ford Super Late Models presented by Latshaw’s Athletic Landscaping as well as the Creekside Auto Sales Limited Late Models presented by Viper Risk Management, now a part of King Risk Partners.
It was racing that sure would have made Paul proud as a first time winner would get the biggest win of his career when Georgetown, DE’s Ross Robinson would claim his first ever Selinsgrove Ford Super Late Model presented by Latshaw’s Athletic Landscaping win at Selinsgrove. Meanwhile it was the same story as most of the season with the Creekside Auto Sales Limited Late Models presented by Viper Risk Management as Port Royal’s Lane Snook would take home his fourth win of 2025 at Selinsgrove. The Hess Iron’s Wingless Super Sportsman tour was not to be out done as Tony Jackson of Newville, PA would hold off a late charge to take home his first Selinsgrove win presented by Chad Baker Drain Cleaning, Plumbing, & HVAC.
A season high 30 Selinsgrove Ford Super Late Models would sign in for action. With an open tire rule race, a good combination of both Hoosier’s and American Racer Tires would grace the Snyder County half mile for the 7th running of the Paul Long Memorial. Beavertown’s Hayes Mattern and Robinson would be on the front row as Paul’s wife Twila waved the green to start the 35 lap main event. Mattern would get the jump. Mattern and Robinson would be side by side for the entire first lap with Mattern leading lap one by inches. In turn two, Robinson would use the extremely wide track to his advantage and take the lead from Mattern on the high side. Chalk Hill, PA’s Mason Zeigler would look underneath Mattern for the second spot and would claim it off of turn four. The caution would come out for the 211 of Jason Schmidt slowing in turn four. He would rejoin following the yellow that would come out immediately on the restart when several cars would check up causing Spike Moore, Coleby Frye, Andrew Yoder, and Jim Yoder to get caught up. The red was thrown to allow crews to clear the track. Moore and Andrew Yoder would end their nights while Frye and Jim Yoder would continue.
Single file restart would ensue with Robinson getting the jump on Zeigler. Robinson would finally get in the lap traffic after getting out to a 1.5 second lead. Zeigler would come to a stop with a flat right front tire that looked to cause some other damage and would end Zeigler's hopes of going back to back at Selinsgrove on lap 13.
Green would come back out with Robinson getting some pressure from Mattern after getting around Danville's Jeff Rine. Rine would battle with current Selinsgrove Ford Super Late Model Points Leader, New Oxford’s Rick Eckert. Rine held the charge from Eckert to hold on to 5th when Matt Cochran's right rear tire exploded bringing out the caution right before halfway. On the restart, Mattern and Rine would make contact off of turn four. Rine would spin across the front straightaway making contact with the inside wall. Rine would be done for the night on lap 17.
The restart would start the second half of the Paul Long Memorial with a three wide battle between Ridgley, WV’s Matt Cosner, Shermandale’s Shaun Jones, and Indiana, PA’s Gregg Satterlee, with Satterlee and Cosner getting around Jones for fourth and fifth. Cosner would close in on Eckert for the third spot. Jones would get around Satterlee and all four would start a fight for the third spot. Satterlee would get around Jones to crack the top five. Cosner and Eckert would still be fighting for the third spot, Eckert would pull away from Cosner with 10 laps remaining. Up front, Robinson was starting to close on lap traffic with 5 laps remaining. Robinson would do a masterful job in lap traffic. Mattern would wash up the track trying to find anything on the final lap in turn two and that would seal the deal as Ross Robinson wins the $10,063 Paul Long Memorial for his first Selinsgrove Ford Super Late Model win and his second win of the week as he won the Camp Barnes Tribute at Georgetown on Tuesday night. Mattern, Eckert, Cosner, and Satterlee rounded out the top five.
“I never won two in one week. This is badass,” Robinson said in High Caliber Cranes Victory Lane. “You feel like Superman on these big tracks until you get behind someone. Once we got in the lap traffic, I was just like please end this. But it is unreal to get the biggest win of my career here tonight.”
“I don’t know what happened with Rine. I felt like I held my line but not sure what happened,” Mattern said. “ One and two were good. I could run the middle but once I found the top. We started to catch Ross but we just needed some more time.”
“I was on jack stands early,” Eckert said. “The track kept a cushion on the top. But they need to get a little more clay in three and four and we can have three lanes all around this place.”
24 Creekside Auto Sales Limited Late Models were on hand for the 25 lap Paul Long Memorial. Snook and Middleburg’s Andrew Yoder would bring the field to green. Yoder would trail Snook as Snook would lead lap one, but Meade Hahn would spin in turn 2 to bring out the caution. Hahn would continue.
On the restart, Yoder would be challenged by Mifflin, PA’s Austin Berry and Dover, PA’s Coleby Frye. Yoder would win that battle to take the second spot back. Frye would get around Berry and Tower City’s Shaun Miller would fight with Berry for the fourth spot. Mechanicsburg's Daulton Bigler would be ripping the fence down trying to join in the fight for the top five. Just then, Hahn would blow a right rear tire to bring out the caution once again with 5 laps complete.
The restart would see Frye get around Yoder and Miller would get around Berry for second and fourth, respectively. Miller and Yoder would battle side by side for the third spot. Yoder would take third momentarily. Yoder would get a little too high and Miller would take third for himself from Yoder. Yoder would not be done yet. As he got himself back together, Yoder would get the nose out front for the moment but Miller had third at the line as they both closed in on Frye for second while crossed flags came out for halfway. Frye would get held up by the lap car of Wayne Shaffer. Yoder would go high to get a two-for-one, getting around Miller and Frye to get the second spot. Frye would throw a slider on Yoder as Yoder turned it back and would return the favor sliding Frye. Frye would check up and Miller would get around for the third spot. Meanwhile out front, it was all Lane Snook all the time. Yoder would take some out of the lead but not enough as “Juice Box” Lane Snook would win the Creekside Auto Sale’s Limited Late Models Paul Long Memorial for his fourth win of the season at Selinsgrove and the $2,563 payday. Yoder, Miller, Frye and Bigler would be the top five.
“We had a pretty solid car there,” Snook said in High Caliber Cranes Victory Lane. “They gave me a pretty wide signal there. A wide track helps a lot. We could run all over it. We could go where they ain’t.”
“That was one hell of a race with Miller,” Yoder said. “That was kinda wide open. He was better in three and four and I was better in one and two. I found a little bit on the bottom of three and four to get around them. When Frye slid me, I had enough bite to get back down the hill and slide Frye”
“There’s not too many people I can run side by side like that with like Yoder,” Miller said. “I thought I was pretty much done racing. But it’s fun to get back in the swing of things.”
The Wingless Super Sportsman Presented by Chad Baker Drain Cleaning, Plumbing, & HVAC capped off the night for their second trip to Selinsgrove Speedway in 2025. 13 cars signed in for the feature event. Reading, PA’s Andy Burkhart and Tony Jackson would share the front row. Jackson wasted little to no time to get around Burkhart for the lead. Jackson would go and set sail, pulling away from the field in quick fashion. Burkhart would be challenged by Mr. Wingless Super Sportsman himself, Mechanicsburg’s Steve Wilbur. Wilbur would get around Burkhart for the second spot and then the charge was on. Wilbur had to chase down a 4.8 second lead with only 10 laps remaining. Wilbur would start chipping tenth after tenth off, closing the gap on Jackson. Wilbur had cut almost a second off in 5 laps with 5 remaining. Jackson was running the fence with Wilbur catfishing the bottom. Wilbur would take a half a second off with 3 laps remaining. Wilbur’s time would run out as Tony Jackson would get his first Wingless Super Sportsman win at Selinsgrove. Jackson also put up an extra $200 from his business, Jackson Lawn Care, for the feature winner, ultimately winning his money back. Wilbur would be second, Stoystown, PA’s Brett Perigo, Burkhart, and McAlisterville’s Dexter Ehrenzeller completed the top five.
“I’ve raced at a lot of tracks in Central PA.This is one of the few tracks I’ve never won at and raced very few times. I wanted to knock this off this year,” Jackson said in High Caliber Cranes Victory Lane. I like when there is a top side. You can lean on it. I figured Steve was rolling at the bottom. I got a little relaxed there the last 7 laps. But I just wanted to keep hitting my marks. “
“I could see him getting bigger and bigger,” Wilbur said. “I knew with only 13 cars we probably weren't going to get a caution. So I was trying to run the hell out of it. Catching Tony and passing him are two different things. I had to keep catfishing the bottom. Too old to be running the top and tearing things up.”
“I was really hoping for a caution,” Perigo said. “I couldn't figure out where I was on the track with my marks on a big track like this. But we could put the car anywhere we wanted to and hats off to the Selinsgrove track crew for giving us this track here tonight.”
Selinsgrove Speedway will be off next weekend for The Tuscarora 50 at Port Royal Speedway. We will be back in action for a two day weekend coming up September 13th and 14th. September 13th is The Sand Hill Thrill paying $10,000 to win for the Selinsgrove Ford Super Late Models. This will be an open tire event for both Hoosier and American Racer Tires and will be the 2025 Super Late Model National Open. The Keller’s Auto Body PA Sprint Series 305 Sprint Cars and Superior Homes Street Stocks round out the racing card.
Then on September 14th, it’s the 41st running of the Jim Nace National Open for the High Caliber Cranes 410 Sprint Cars Paying $12,626 to win. The winner of the Tuscarora 50 is a guaranteed starter for the event. The Creekside Auto Sales Limited Late Models will round out the night.
Log onto www.raceselinsgrove.com for all updated news and points, as well as results.
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Submitted By: Jenna Mowery
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