When your home track reduces its schedule, you take the show on the road, as Jared LaBagh can attest to. This led to a bit of searching for a new place to race on Saturdays. LaBagh may have found it, though, winning this past weekend at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania.
LaBagh regularly raced at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York. There, he made 13 trips to victory lane. After the storied track reduced its schedule, he tried Fonda Speedway.
“Fonda Speedway did not suit my driving style,” LaBagh, of Middletown, New York, said. “I was racing for second against Payton Talbot when my left rear went flat. My car turned into the inside barrier and wrecked the front end badly.”
After that, LaBagh’s friend, Tim Hindley, another OCFS driver, told him about Grandview Speedway.
“I took his suggestion — it was a track to try out,” said LaBagh. “I was told it would be an adjustment from what I was used to. Fonda Speedway was a two-hour tow, Grandview would be an extra half hour, so what the heck?”
Orange County Fair Speedway is a 5/8-mile dirt oval. Fonda, a ½-mile. Grandview Speedway is just a 1/3-mile.
“I found racing to be a lot closer, and more intense,” LaBagh said. “There is a lot more backing off. OCFS is a big 5/8-mile that gave you more time to set up your passes.”
His first few weeks consisted of overheating and minor wrecks. LaBagh’s first glimmer of hope came when he finished second to Brian Hirthler in the B-main.
“I was told he was the most winning sportsman driver there — and not to be too ashamed that he beat you,” said LaBagh. “There are about 40 sportsman cars trying to make the main event every week.”
Then, he challenged Firecracker 40 winner Jesse Landis for the lead until nearly the race’s conclusion.
“I let the lead slip away on that final one-lap restart,” LaBagh said. “I found my rear Panhard bar broke on that last lap, and I hung on for third. That finish gave me the confidence I needed to win this week. I knew what groove to pick. I made a couple chassis adjustments before the feature because the track looked like it would be slick.”
Grandview Speedway will remain LaBagh’s Saturday-night go-to track. He places his focus, however, on Friday nights at the ¼-mile Accord Speedway in New York. Nevertheless, Jared LaBagh enjoys racing Grandview Speedway.
“At Grandview Speedway a win really means something,” said LaBagh. “There are so many good drivers competing for a spot in the feature, let alone a win. The fact that I won there makes me feel good, despite the five hours on the road after racing on Friday night.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
