ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. — It takes an army to race the grueling 10-day stretch of Pennsylvania Speedweek.
Some teams and drivers use their paid leave away from work – not for a vacation, but to race during one of the richest weeks in Central Pa.
“It’s our vacation, it’s not really a vacation but we love doing it,” said Freddie Rahmer, driver No. 8 Eichelberger Racing.
Central Pa. teams trade the white sand beaches for the Pennsylvania red clay.
“It’s the most fun week of the year. You can get better as a driver and work on your race car. Some of it is grueling,” said Rahmer.
With the increased payouts, it’s all worth it if you finish well and don’t fall behind by having to fix a silly mistake. This week was designed 33 years ago to get the best drivers in the area together and reward them as they put on a show for the best fans in the country.
“If we were really smart, we’d race all of speedweek, then take the next two weekends off,” joked TJ Stutts, driver of the No. 11 TJ Stutts Racing. “Financially, just because these pay so much better. If you have a couple of good nights, it pays for it. This is all I’ve always wanted to do."
"Get up in the morning, go to work. The days you get to race, you go and race. I’m fortunate [to] work for a company [where] one of my stipulations is, on race days, I don’t work," he continued.
It's even easier for some who have the perks of owning their own business.
“There’s unlimited PTO when you’re your own boss. It’s hard balancing out racing and work. I’m always busy on both ends. It’s nice when I can just take off whenever I want,” said Brandon Rahmer, driver of the No. 5E Esh Motorsports
However, it can’t be a one-person wrecking crew, it's an entire team with the same vision.
“My guys, whether it’s this week or year-round. We race 70 to 80 races a year. So, for them to dedicate time away from their families, to come and race. Let alone a week like this is definitely grueling on everyone,” said Kyle Moody, driver of the No. 99 Moody Motorsports.
The 2023 Pennsylvania Speedweek lasts until Monday, July 3, weather permitting.
7th night of racing at Lincoln Speedway
It was once again luck of the draw, here at Lincoln Speedway with the fast timer starting on the pole.
Fast, Freddie Rahmer picked the pole and led the field to green.
We stay green until three laps left, battling for second, Tanner Thorson can’t catch a break at this track. He pulled up in turn four with a flat tire
They complete one more lap until Danny Dietrich backed it into the wall.
On the final restart, Rahmer is able to create enough space for the feature win.
“I saw my dad come down under that last yellow and told me to change up my restart, to try to get a better launch into one and I think that gave us a little more gap into one with the last two to go," said Rahmer.
With the win, Rahmer jumped to second in points behind Anthony Macri.