Bachetti wins the Dirtcar 358 modified race at Lebanon Valley
Andy Bachetti ran down pole sitter Chris Raabe and took the lead on lap 18 Saturday night. From there, he was able to open up a comfortable lead and hold on to win the first 358 Modified feature of 2026 both for Lebanon Valley Speedway and the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series. He also took home a check for $5,000.
Bachetti won by 7.338 seconds over Raabe. Mike Mahaney was third, then Kyle Sheldon and Alex Payne.
By virtue of a redraw, Raabe ended up with the pole. When the green came out, he had Bachetti right alongside. He ran hard to keep the multi-time champion at bay.
The first yellow flew after five laps when Brett Haas and Andrew Buff collided in turn 4, resulting in Haas sliding into the pits with damage. Both drivers would continue after repairs in the pits.
Early on, Raabe and Bachetti’s closest rival was Chris Curtis, who was able to hang with the duo in third. However, a mechanical problem saw him stall on lap 12, bringing out the second and final yellow.
Once the race restarted, Raabe and Bachetti opened up a gap on the pack and settled things amongst themselves. Bachetti worked over Raabe for multiple laps, but he was finally able to get a run entering turn 3 on lap 18 to take the lead.
Bachetti then pulled out to a two-second lead as they got into lapped traffic. The margin more or less held steady here for about 20 laps.
Further back, Jeff Watson was in third, but had a battle pack right behind him. Mahaney was able to get into third on lap 28, but was already multiple seconds behind Raabe. Sheldon and Payne followed a few laps later.
Bachetti maintained a lead of two to three seconds until the final few laps before driving off into the distance to win.
The Sportsman feature was scheduled for 30 laps as part of the DIRTcar Sportsman East Region Series. Tim Hartman Jr. had other ideas.
He started seventh and immediately went to the outside and drove all the way up to second on the first lap behind pole sitter AJ Albreada. He worked on the sophomore driver for multiple laps before Cody Cordova spun out in turn 2 to bring out what turned out to be the only caution.
On the restart, Hartman was able to sweep past Albreada and take the lead. Owen Lewis followed into second.
Hartman then pulled out to a two second lead. That advantage was steady until he ran into lapped traffic and had some issues making passes. That allowed Lewis and Chris Crane Jr. to move back in on him.
A 26-lap green flag run in a Sportsman race is very rare at Lebanon Valley. Hartman went with a softer right rear tire and saw that tire start to go off late. That allowed Crane to close in late, but Hartman held on for his second win in a row.
The margin of victory was .578 seconds over Crane. Lewis was third, then Albreada and Craig Wholey.
Limited Sportsman saw a clean 15-lap feature. Kyle Burl started from the pole and fended off Ray Royals for the entire race to take his second career win. Doug Sterling was third, then Dalton Gamache and Braxton Martin.
Pro Stock saw Dave Stickles start from pole and lead early. Meanwhile, Chris Stalker’s night ended early when he slowed at the end of the second lap.
Early on, Shawn Perez put the pressure on Stickles, then Rick Duzlak came to the front. A number of yellows for minor spins involving Shaine Dowd-Smith, Frank Twing Jr. kept the field close.
With seven laps to go, opening night winner Jason Casey came into the picture. He was able to take second away from Tom Dean on lap 15, then quickly made the move on Stickles to take the lead.
From there, Casey was able to pull away to take his second straight win and 21st of his career. He was 1.777 seconds ahead of Stickles at the finish. Frank Twing was third, then Dean and Duzlak.
The Street Stock feature took a while to get going. Julius Pepin started from pole, then spun in turn 2 on the original start, collecting Dave Streibel, David Shepard and others. A restart saw Keri VanDenburg spin in turn 1 after contact from Jeff Meltz Sr., for which Meltz was sent to the rear.
Once the race got going, Anthony King ended up in the lead. For much of the race, his competition was Gary O’Brien.
O’Brien took the lead briefly on lap 7, but King was able to immediately take it back. From there, he held on for the win. O’Brien was second, then Chris Stalker, Dave Streibel Jr. and Bob Sleight.
In 4-Cylinders, Dawson Thompson took the lead on the first lap from Stephen Burka and held on for the victory.
DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Feature (50 laps): 1) Andy Bachetti, 2) Chris Raabe, 3) Mike Mahaney, 4) Kyle Sheldon, 5) Alex Payne, 6) Lance Willix, 7) Jeff Watson, 8) Joey Coppola, 9) Neil Stratton, 10) Cedric Gauvreau, 11) Brady Cordova, 12) Brian Berger, 13) Andrew Buff, 14) Brett Haas, 15) Brad Rouse, 16) Donny Travaglin, 17) Garrett Poland, 18) Jack Butler, 19) Guy Sheldon, 20) Ray Hall Jr., 21) CG Morey, 22) Angelo DiCarlo, 23) Steve Lewis Jr., 24) Brendan Gibbons, 25) CJ Castelletti, 26) Payton Talbot, 27) Chris Curtis, 28) Peter Britten, 29) Mat Williamson, 30) Montgomery Tremont. DNQ: Harold Robitaille, Kim LaVoy, Nick Perez, Joey Bonetti, Mike Engwer*, Brian Whittemore, Dale Gray, Alan Houghtaling, Joe Pravia
*- Mat Williamson had engine problems during hot laps. He ultimately borrowed Mike Engwer’s car to get points in the feature.
DIRTcar Sportsman East Region Feature (30 laps): 1) Tim Hartman Jr., 2) Chris Crane Jr., 3) Owen Lewis, 4) AJ Albreada, 5) Craig Wholey, 6) Taylor Wason, 7) Joey Scarborough, 8) Nick Brundige, 9) Bryan Preville, 10) Connor Prokop, 11) Michael Ballestero, 12) Anthony Maxon, 13) Bodie Marks, 14) Max Dolliver, 15) Joshua Jock, 16) Todd Buckwold, 17) Karl Barnes, 18) Ed Dachenhausen, 19) Dylan Holmes, 20) Cam Van Zandt, 21) Katrina Leclaire, 22) John Agor, 23) Cody Cordova, 24) Keith Johannessen, 25) Andrew Martell, 26) Nick Giardini, 27) Jeremy Huntoon, 28) Tim Deffer (DNS: Engine)
Limited Sportsman Feature Results (15 laps): 1) Kyle Burl, 2) Ray Royals, 3) Doug Sterling, 4) Dalton Gamache, 5) Braxton Martin, 6) Garrett Biagiarelli, 7) Brian Walsh, 8) Matt Humes, 9) John Santolin, 10) Dustin Bowen, 11) Fred Kelly, 12) Dan Odell, 13) Dereck Allard, 14) Nora Bosco (DNS: Crash)
Pro Stock Feature Results (20 laps): 1) Jason Casey, 2) Dave Stickles, 3) Frank Twing, 4) Tom Dean, 5) Rick Duzlak, 6) Jay Casey, 7) Shawn Perez, 8) Shawn Perez Jr., 9) Richard Spencer, 10) Frank Twing Jr., 11) Shaine Dowd-Smith, 12) Chris Stalker
Street Stock Feature Results (15 laps): 1) Anthony King, 2) Gary O’Brien, 3) Chris Stalker, 4) Dave Streibel Jr., 5) Bob Sleight, 6) Jeff Meltz Sr., 7) Dave Streibel, 8) Chris Streeter, 9) Peter Huntoon, 10) Franklin Smith, 11) Rocco Szemplisnski, 12) David Shepard, 13) Dylan Quintero, 14) Henry Morris, 15) Julius Pepin, 16) Jason Barrett, 17) Keri VanDenburg, 18) Bryan Rennell (DNS)
Claverack Well & Pump Services 4-Cylinder Feature (10 laps): 1) Dawson Thompson, 2) Jason Peck, 3) Stephen Burka, 4) Prudence Petersen, 5) Morgan Houghtaling
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