Tyler Ritchey, a 33-year-old from Woodbury, Pa., who beat the odds to become a winning Dirt Late Model driver at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway after suffering a paralyzing injury at the age of 18, died Monday night at a hospital in Johnstown, Pa., from health complications that struck him last week.

The Pittsburgher 100 weekend couldn’t come quick enough for Jonathan Davenport. Not with the foul mood he was plunged into following an utterly forgettable start to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series’s Big River Steel Chase for the Championship one week ago.

The hours have been long. The work has been grueling. The miles have been countless. The struggle has been real.

All the anticipation and excitement of Josh Richards’s return to Dirt Late Model competition Aug. 29 at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., lasted … exactly six heat-race laps.

SARVER, Pa. (Aug. 29) — So many things went sideways in recent weeks for Garrett Alberson, a course correction to more positive results seemed inevitable.

PORT ROYAL, Pa. (Aug. 23) — Ricky Thornton Jr. put his race car where nobody dared going in Saturday’s 50-lap Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature at Port Royal Speedway.

PORT ROYAL, Pa. (Aug. 23) — Chris Madden wasn’t happy, but he wasn’t irate as many observers thought he might be. A bit perturbed, perhaps.

PORT ROYAL, Pa. (Aug. 23) — Because Port Royal Speedway is the final half-mile on the national touring schedule before Sept. 4-6’s World 100 at Eldora Speedway, many drivers are using this weekend’s Rumble by the River event as a tuneup for the Rossburg, Ohio, crown jewel.

PORT ROYAL, Pa. (Aug. 22) — Getting to Port Royal Speedway on Friday for the two-day Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series weekend was a victory of its own for Jonathan Davenport and his Double L Motorsports team.

SARVER, Pa. (June 21) — A third-place finish in Saturday's Firecracker 100 at Lernerville Speedway pleased Max Blair. But as strong as he had performed in advancing from the eighth starting spot in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series crown jewel event, he certainly wasn’t satisfied.

What qualifies a Dirt Late Model race as a true crown jewel event?

Throughout the years, we’ve seen Dale Earnhardt Jr. fill a variety of roles. First there was “Race Car Driver Dale,” then “Team Owner Dale.” Heck, we even got to see “Watercooler Dale” at one point. But now, we’re finally going to see “Crew Chief Dale.”

A $50,000 top prize will be on the line this weekend when the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series visits Lernerville Speedway for the Firecracker 100. The event will feature three nights of racing beginning Thursday night, June 19 and ending with the main event on Saturday, June 21.

Selinsgrove Ford Appalachian Mountain Speedweek is perhaps the most crucial stretch of races American Racer has prepared for as a tire brand in Dirt Late Model racing.

PORT ROYAL, Pa. (June 7) — Jason Covert had a shot at his best finish at Port Royal Speedway in three years during Saturday’s Selinsgrove Ford Appalachian Mountain Speedweek opener — until the sixth lap.