YORK COUNTY, Pa. — One of the fiercest rivalries in dirt track racing was front and center this week with the World of Outlaws back in Pennsylvania Posse country.
The Outlaws made three stops this week, with one of them at BAPS Motor Speedway for their Bricker's Bash. Before last year, The Outlaws had not been in York County in over 30 years and had appeared at BAPS just four times in their history.
"It just feels good to be here. With BAPS not being on the schedule for a long time, I think it's exciting to be back here again after last year being a success," said Carson Macedo, World of Outlaws and No. 41 driver for Jason Johnson Racing.
It’s a return the BAPS management team has been working hard for, knowing the significance of an Outlaws’ appearance on the dirt.
"It is the best rivalry in sprint car racing; the Pennsylvania Posse versus the World of Outlaws," said Scott Gobrecht, one of the owners of BAPS Motor Speedway. "There's not many places they can go to throughout the country and get beat, and that happens here in Central Pa."
The Gobrecht family owns the racetrack and has a special relationship with The Outlaws. The late Kevin Gobrecht, a prominent local driver and former Outlaw, died in a sprint car accident in 1999. In his honor, the Outlaws dedicated their Rookie of the Year award in his name. The return to BAPS is a chance to show their appreciation to one of their own and his family.
"When they came knocking at the door, it just meant so much," said Gobrecht. "The thing we did last year, where we had all the previous Rookies of the Years present my mom with a rose meant a lot, and [to] see the twinkle in my mom's eyes [as they] honor her baby. It just means a lot."
It's a partnership that aims to get stronger while highlighting the best of racing, both on and off the track.
"They're one big happy family that permeates the sprint car racing everywhere in Central Pa.," said Gobrecht. "We have a great fraternity here. We want to give them a reason to come back when [we] put the biggest stage in the country on display. if we do our job right [then we hope] they come back for some of our other races."