Plenty of Storylines as Action Track USA Gears Up for 2024 Opener on May 5

Kutztown, PA— As Foley Cat Action Track USA prepares for its 12th season opener this Sunday, May 5, there are plenty of juicy storylines to be followed throughout the campaign, in addition to the tantalizing, ultra-exciting competition on the progressively banked oval.
At the top of the list is the track’s name…the new naming rights sponsor is Foley Cat of Lehigh County. The Foley name has been a certified Caterpillar dealer for many years, and their new facility in nearby Breinigsville, PA, has been open for a few months and the Foley staff want to introduce Action Track USA racers and fans to their new site and the products and services they offer. The Breinigsville facility sells and services all types and sizes of Caterpillar equipment while placing a big focus on rentals of small but mighty excavating machines for home owners.
Since Rich Tobias and Doug Rose took command of the Berks County speedway located on the Kutztown, PA Fairgrounds, the All Pro SpeedSTRs have been the headline division. This season will be the first in which the class created by Tobias will feature something other than a 2.4 liter Chrysler Neon engine, although the Mopar power plants will still exist in several competitor’s cars.
Because the Neon parts and entire engines are on the “hard to get” list, Tobias had to find another horsepower producing component for his SpeedSTRs. He found the answer in an already race-tested engine, the Honda 2.0 liter turbocharged K20C1 crate motor. This will be the first time a turbocharged engine is used in oval dirt track racing (it has been utilized previously on asphalt tracks). The engine is capable of producing 306 horsepower, 296 lb.-ft. of torque, and runs on 93 octane fuel. It is ECU-controlled and will reportedly deliver power to its drivetrain for 8,000 laps before it needs a rebuild (the rebuild cost is approximately $3,500).
SpeedSTRs with the Honda K20C1 bolted into their chassis have been successfully tested in recent weeks at Bridgeport Motorsports Park. To keep the Mopar engines competitive, the Honda-powered cars will have to add 60 lbs. of weight and run a rear gear that is 90 points taller than the cars that run the Neon power plant.
The third storyline for 2024 is the suddenly very close contest for the top spot in all-time SpeedSTR feature wins at Foley Cat Action Track USA.
Billy Pauch Jr. has held the number one position in career SpeedSTR victories for several years, but Tim Buckwalter, coming off a four-win season in ‘23 while Pauch was shut out of the winner’s circle, is now just a pair of feature triumphs behind the driver from Frenchtown, NJ.
Pauch is expected to be back in the SpeedSTR field, along with his father, Billy Sr., but the younger Pauch was mulling over thoughts of trading his helmet for a set of wrenches this year at Berks County’s baddest bullring. He said he would rather help his son, Billy III, continue to develop his racing career as BP3 competes in the Junior Slingshot division.
Pauch Jr. has 24 SpeedSTR victories at Action Track USA, with Buckwalter now the owner of 22 feature wins. Billy Pauch Sr., by the way, is third on the all-time win list with 12 triumphs (two of them coming last season).
The Hyper Racing 600 Sprints, always a crowd favorite at the speedway located across the street from Kutztown University, are set to return with defending (and two-time) champion Christian Bruno, Steven Snyder Jr., Tim Buckwalter, and Colin White resuming their scintillating battles on a weekly basis. Joining them, and perhaps ready to challenge for 600 supremacy are young chargers such as Zach Weisenfluh, Gunnar Pio, Connor Gross, and Alex Ruppert.
Sunday’s opener will feature an afternoon matinee, as the winged 270 Micro Sprints and Xcel Modifieds take center stage. Pit and grandstand gates will open at 11 a.m. and cars will be on track at 1:00 p.m. Grandstand admission is free for the afternoon program.
The pits will be cleared after the matinee main events, then reopen at 4:00 for the evening portion of the season opener. Grandstand gates open again at 5 p.m. and evening warm-ups begin at 6:00. The nighttime portion is highlighted by qualifying and feature races for the SpeedSTRs, 600 Sprints, All Star and Junior Slingshots.
Adult general admission for the evening program is $16, with Seniors receiving a discounted price of $14 per ticket. Youth between the ages of 6-12 are just $5.00, and children aged five and under are free.
The region’s most exciting speedway returns to clay-spraying, throttle-mashing activity this Sunday, May 5, as Foley Cat Action Track USA goes green! Be there to see how the storylines play out and catch all the motorsports mayhem and outstanding competition!
For those who cannot attend in person, all Action Track USA events are streamed live at DirtTrackDigest.tv.