During his long and storied racing career, Rahmer has always looked forward. The win just scored wasn't the one that counted the most. The next win was the one he wanted the most.
But Saturday evening's win at Lincoln Speedway is the one race that might matter the most in Rahmer's career.
Rahmer's win against the All-Star Circuit of Champion sprint cars Saturday was his 151st sprint-car win at Lincoln Speedway. It was the win that broke a record most felt could never be broken. It was a win that left Rahmer very emotional in victory lane.
For more than a decade Steve Smith held the title as Lincoln's winningest sprint-car driver with 150. Ironically, Smith's 150th Lincoln win came in an All-Star race back in May of 1996.
Earlier this season, Rahmer tied that mark. Saturday evening he broke it.
Over the years, Rahmer has been the career win leader at a number of tracks. When he left the small-block-modified ranks to race sprint cars in 1986, Rahmer was the career win leader at all three of his regular stops: Big Diamond, Grandview and Penn National. A few years ago he took over the title as career win leader at Williams Grove.
But, for several reasons, the record at Lincoln is very special to the man they call Fast Freddie. Perhaps most important is the respect he has for the man he surpassed. Rahmer always refers to Steve Smith as Mr. Smith, and has always been
The other reason has to be the sheer number of wins involved. It's almost impossible to imagine one driver winning 150 feature races at one track. For two drivers to reach that mark might be a first in the sport.
For one night last Saturday, Rahmer allowed himself to look back, to remember all those who helped him on his way to a record that folks will again say can never be broken. It's hard to imagine that it could be topped. Can anyone imagine three drivers reaching 150 wins at a single speedway?
The closest active driver at Lincoln is Cris Eash, and he has 38 wins there and has already retired once. Lance Dewease with 30 Lincoln wins is next among active drivers.
PIT STOPS
ALL-STAR NOTES: The All-Stars brought 10 drivers with them for last weekend's three-race visit.
The best finish by an All-Star regular was Greg Wilson's fourth-place run at Port Royal Thursday. Dale Blaney, brother of NASCAR racer Dave Blaney, was the only All-Star with two top-10 runs during the week.
Two amazing things happened during the All-Star swing. One was that two of the features went non-stop, without any caution or red flags. Both the Williams Grove and Lincoln races went green to checkered without interruptions.
The other happened in Saturday's All-Star dash at Lincoln. The All-Star dash has no bearing on that evening's program, but does allow All-Star drivers to score additional points towards the All-Star point title. The race is open to the fastest six All-Star members who qualify in their heat races. Saturday at Lincoln, that group included Rahmer.
Rahmer started last in the six-lap dash and quickly charged through the field, catching leader Kenny Jacobs on the final turn. The cars crossed the finish line in a dead heat. A tie!
There have been ties in this area before, but not for a while. This is the first time I've seen a tie at a track that was using an electronic scoring system. That's right, it wasn't just a call by officials, and their eyesight. The electronic scoring system showed the exact same time crossing the line, and declared a tie. Amazing!
WEEKEND SCHEDULE: The weekend racing schedule is another busy one, with action starting on Wednesday evening.
Port Royal has a special show lined up for that evening, as the World of Outlaws late models visit for the first time. Joining the nation's top late-model stars will be the local limited-late models. The Port is back in action Saturday with a regular show of sprints, late models, pro stocks and enduros.
Williams Grove has sprints and 358 sprints on Friday, then returns Saturday with super sportsmen, limited-late models, street stocks and mini stocks.
Don't forget the Kasey Kahne Foundation Benefit Race is coming up next Wednesday, June 27. Kahne and Dave Blaney will join in the 358/360 sprint challenge racing action. Look for several 410 sprint drivers to compete as well. At last word, Fred Rahmer, Lucas Wolfe and Chad Layton plan to be part of the field.
As usual, Trailway also has a two-race weekend planned. Friday, it's 358 sprints, thundercars and street stocks, while Saturday the micro sprints headline.
Saturday at Lincoln, the busy month of June continues with the Sal Scarpitta Memorial for the sprint cars. The 30-lap feature will pay $5,900 to win. Scarpitta's cars wore No. 59. The 358 sprints and thundercars are also part of the program.
Susquehanna hosts the limited-late models and street stocks Saturday, while Hagerstown has a regular show of late models, late-model sportsmen and pure stocks.
Selinsgrove's Saturday show features the Salem RV Firecracker 30 for the 358 sprints, plus late models, pro stocks, roadrunners and fireworks.
LATIMORE VALLEY FAIR: The Latimore Valley Fair will be held this weekend at the Latimore Valley Fairgrounds.
The 23rd annual Latimore Valley Fair runs Friday through Sunday at the restored fairgrounds and is billed as a country festival and antique race car exhibit. Restored race cars will take to the track from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
OVAL TRACK DAY: Don't forget the Oval Track Day at the state capitol on Tuesday. More than 70 oval-track race cars from Pennsylvania will be displayed on the capitol grounds from 9-4 Tuesday.
Bryan Householder writes about dirt-track racing for The York Dispatch. He can be reached at sports@yorkdis patch.com.
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