The many fans who came out to DBR Industrial Services night at Big Diamond Speedway on Friday evening for the “Prelude to the Coalcracker” witnessed outstanding races in each division.
And not only was the action close throughout each main, but the same goes for the finishes as all four races were decided by a second or less, elevating the thrills even higher.
Craig Von Dohren of Oley added to his legacy of wins by holding off long-time rivals Duane Howard and Jeff Strunk in the 50-lap Quandel Concrete 358 Modifieds and staked claim to the cool $10,000 that went along with it.
In the USS Achey Inc., 602 Crate Sportsman feature McKenzi Smith from Kresgeville captured her first win with the class in a barnburner over Nate Brinker. Likewise the Red White and Blue Autos Inc., Roadrunners 20-lapper also came down to the wire as title contenders Alex Schoffstall of Llewellyn nipped Chuck Fayash for his third victory of the season and in the Big Creek Concrete Rookie 602 Crate Sportsman feature Pottsville’s Payton Renninger held off a hard-charging Mason Harakel en route to her second win of 2025.
In the Modified feature pole sitter Cliff Quinn took command of the opening circuit but the action was halted immediately afterwards when second running Corey Renninger got out of shape coming out of the second corner and veered off track then bounced off the back straight tire barriers which caused his car to flip. Renninger was shaken but otherwise okay.
On the restart Mike Burrows sprang past Quinn for the lead and brought Kevin Olenick with him. One lap later Von Dohren and Howard locked horns in what would soon become the main fight of the race.
Olenick’s night came to an end when his car went up in smoke following a lap nine restart that also caused several cars to get jumbled.
With the field reset Von Dohren was up to second and used the ensuing restart to take over the top spot. For Howard he would need the next seven laps to get by Burrows, who was making him work hard in his effort to get by, but once he did it was now a one-two battle the rest of the way between the two iconic racers.
Howard tried all he could to get past Von Dohren, from getting directly behind and looking for the opportunity to catapult by, to using lapped traffic as his strike method as well as several restarts but it was to no avail as Von Dohren never so much as flickered.
And within the final laps point leader Strunk had motored up to third, which now represented the top three leading featuring winners of all-time at Big Diamond, but of that iconic trio Von Dohren had the upper hand and would win for the second time in the last three races, giving him an unparalleled 106 track victories.
Louden Reimert put on a great run through the field, coming from 19th to fourth while Burrows remained strong in rounding out the top five.
McKenzi Smith’s results don’t reflect her strong performances this season. Despite her best finish being third and only top-five result to date, she has consistently led races and contended for wins, but bad luck had hindered her outcomes.
However, on this night all of her past misfortunes were put to rest as Smith, who at only 14-years of age, showed great maturity in her driving skills right from the start by overtaking pole sitter Kevin Brady and then the real challenge took place after Brinker stormed his way to second and began a torrid battle for the lead and eventually the hard-earned victory.
Brinker tried and almost succeeded a few times on restarts to surpass Smith, but the talented young racer remained resolute and never backed down. Despite the constant onslaught by Brinker, including an all-out effort on the final lap, Smith stayed in control and raced to the popular verdict.
Not only did Smith add her name to the list to the 602 Crate Sportsman winners but in doing so continued a streak of no repeat winners throughout 2025, making in nine in a row.
Kevin Smith and point leader Jordon Henn fought closing for third while Matt Martino completed the top five.
The battle for this year’s Roadrunners championship appears to be coming down to a two driver fight between Schoffstall and Fayash as it seems no matter the driver racing for the win, always lucking closely behind is that duo which has also enabled them to snag the brunt of weekly points in the process.
This time out it would be both taking up the lead fight. After Schoffstall assumed command of the front spot on lap three from Jesse Krasnitsky, he would have Fayash tag along. Joe Bassininsky was also part of the action, hovering close behind in third.
Bassininsky was, for a stint, able to take over second following an early race restart, but Fayash regained the position with eight laps remaining. Once Fayash got back the runner-up spot, he persistently applied heavy pressure on Schoffstall.
But no matter how hard he attempted to make a pass, Schoffstall stood his ground and narrowly edged Fayash for the win and collected the all-important points as well with only two regular season races remaining.
Friday was the final event of the year for the Rookie 602 Crate Sportsman class and for Dawcin Davis, it was a chance for him to exit the year as a winner, something he has come oh-so-close to all season.
Taking the lead at the outset, his chances seemed in his favor too until an ill-fated restart on lap three ended his hopes.
On the restart lap, Renninger took the lead, maintained a consistent pace, and held off Harakel on the final lap to secure her second win and end the year with a visit to Victory Lane.