YOUNKER SURVIVES WILD MARK NAFTZINGER DANIEL BOONE 153 FOR FIRST EVENT WIN
By Michael Batz
KUTZTOWN, PA (August 8, 2026) – On most nights, when the checkered flag falls on the Enduro at the Kutztown Fair, the sound of race cars quickly gives way to the rides, games and voices of the midway.
But on Saturday August 8, the fair had to wait. For the loudest sound on the fairgrounds belonged to the crowd at Action Track USA.
A capacity crowd at Action Track USA erupted as Eric Younker completed one of the most improbable runs in the history of the Mark Naftzinger/Daniel Boone 153, surviving a loose left rear wheel, a trip to the pits and a late race brush with disaster to score his first victory in the event.
The Daniel Boone name pays tribute to the famed race once held at Reading Fairgrounds. After Mark Naftzinger, a former winner of Action Track’s version of the event, passed away, three laps were added to the 150-lap distance in honor of his No. 3 and the race became the Mark Naftzinger Daniel Boone 153.
And on Saturday night, those extra three laps mattered.
Mark’s son, Jamie Naftzinger, started from the pole and paced the early portion of the race before an overheating issue forced him into a pit stop. Younker inherited the lead, with defending race winner Carl Davis moving into second.
Around lap 60, Younker’s No. 68 began noticeably hopping through the corners. Soon the reason became clear. The entire left-rear wheel had worked loose and was being held against the rear of the car.
For roughly 30 laps, Younker simply kept racing. Then, around lap 100, the wheel shifted beneath the rear of the car and began acting almost like a skate.
Somehow, the result was more speed! Over the next three circuits, Younker turned his three fastest laps of the race, which at the time were also the fastest laps anyone had recorded all night.
Eventually the wheel shifted again and Younker began losing ground. A red flag timed perfectly for Younker provided his crew with an opportunity to look over the car, but the stop cost him the lead.
The lead now belonged to Davis.
Younker returned to the speedway just after the green flag came back out, still on the same lap as the two cars now battling at the front. He quickly worked his way back into second, but Davis had opened nearly a full-track advantage.
Then Davis developed trouble of his own.
The right-front tire had gone flat but he continued despite losing one of the drive tires on his front-wheel-drive car. His advantage began to disappear as Younker closed rapidly.
As the drama built, so did the crowd around the speedway. The Daniel Boone 153 annually attracts one of Action Track USA’s largest audiences as part of the Kutztown Fair, and Saturday’s race unfolded before packed grandstands. As the laps clicked away, more spectators gathered in the standing areas surrounding the track.
The stage was set perfectly with only a few laps remaining, Younker caught Davis. A lapped car sat directly ahead of the leaders as the three swept past the flagstand three-wide and Younker and Davis waged war into turn one.
Moments later, it appeared Younker’s night might finally be over. Contact with another car on the backstretch sent the No. 68 toward the outside wall. Younker stayed in the throttle, gathered the car back up and continued his charge to completed all 153 circuits to earn his first victory in the Mark Naftzinger/ Daniel Boone 153.
In an event where the winning margin can often be measured in laps, Davis finished on the same lap as Younker. Bee Luckerbill and Mike Allar completed 152 laps to finish third and fourth, while Jason Birch rounded out the top five with 151.
The rest of the top ten consisted of Adam Kratzer, Jason Trumbo, Grayson Haegle, James Price and Jamie Naftzinger.
EVENT NOTES
Saturday’s Mark Naftzinger Daniel Boone 153 brought a weather-plagued 2026 Kutztown Fair Week racing schedule to a close. Tuesday and Saturday’s events were completed, while Wednesday and Friday were lost to rain.
Phil Levering, a two-time winner of the event and perennial contender, suffered mechanical trouble in the opening laps and completed just one lap.
Defending winner Carl Davis and Levering were the only previous winners in Saturday’s field.
Mark Naftzinger / Daniel Boone Winners:
2016 – Mark Naftzinger
2017 – Pat Hires
2018 – Kevan Schaeffer
2019 – Justin Rowlands
2020 – Phil Levering
2021 – Shawn Naftzinger
2022 – Brian Miller
2023 – Phil Levering
2024 – Cody Young
2025 – Carl Davis
2026 – Eric Younker
RESULTS
Mark Naftzinger Daniel Boone 153 (153 Laps)
1. Eric Younker; 2. Carl Davis; 3. Bee Luckerbill; 4. Mike Allar; 5. Jason Birch; 6. Adam Kratzer; 7. Jason Trumbo; 8. Grayson Haegle; 9. James Price; 10. Jamie Naftzinger; 11. Austin Shane; 12. Michael Bullins; 13. Michael Bentley; 14. Frederick Krajic; 15. Stu Smith; 16. Mark Fegley; 17. Kendall Fletcher; 18. Adam Miller; 19. Brian Kunkle; 20. Trevor Rump; 21. Dakota Oppenheim; 22. Kelly Frantz; 23. Eric Blakey; 24. Ben Arthofer; 25. Phil Levering; 26. Donnie Rogers.
