Jacob Begenwald faced a dilemma Friday night: race or attend graduation.

The 18-year-old 410 Sprint car driver from Sarver decided to do both.

It wasn’t just another race night at Lernerville Speedway. It was also graduation night at Lenape Technical School. Determined not to miss either milestone, Begenwald spent the week carefully planning how to balance the two events. The schedule would require military-style timing and coordination from family and crew members.

The plan called for his race car to head to the track early, with another driver possibly handling the heat races. Meanwhile, a car would be standing by at the graduation ceremony so Begenwald could make a quick dash to the speedway after receiving his diploma.

But Mother Nature stepped in with a different plan. Rain forced the cancellation of the races, allowing Begenwald to fully enjoy graduation night with his classmates — creating a memorable evening he will never forget.

Beganwald will start a two-year apprenticeship with Local 66 Operating Engineers as a heavy equipment operator. His goal is to get into the union, so he will keep his racing local.

Although he has earned a feature win at Blanket Hill Speedway, the third-year driver wants to score a main event at the prestigious Lernerville Speedway.

“I feel like I am cursed when I pull the No. 1 pill for starting position in the feature,” he said. “It’s like a black cloud following me, and I never win. A few weeks ago, I did it again and finished second.”

High Limit Sprint professional Hank Davis, from Oklahoma, made his first visit to Lernerville and scooped up the victory from him in an awesome race. Davis was in the Michael Dutcher Motorsports 17GP formally driven by Tim Shaffer.

Beganwald’s sister, Bella, races a 305 Sprint. She just graduated from Butler Community College with a two-year business degree and is checking out four-year colleges.

Their parents, Melanie and Rich Beganwald, are driven and supportive of Jacob and Bella’s racing activities. Rich is a retired Pittsburgh policeman who served on the force for 26 years and is the president of Fairhope Holdings LLC, real estate investors with residential and commercial holdings.

The family is looking forward to the special Sprint car events scheduled this week. Western PA Sprint Car Speedweek kicked off Wednesday, May 27, at Mercer Raceway. It continues with races Thursday at Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, Friday at the Lernerville Speedway, Saturday at Sharon Speedway and the finale Sunday at Tri-City Speedway.

Western PA Speedweek also supports a point fund for the five-race event.

World of Outlaws Late Model rookie of the year candidate Logan Zarin won the first of two Showdowns at Marion Center recently, collecting $6,000. The second Showdown was checkered by Jared Miley, from Pittsburgh. Miley also earned $6,000 for his victory. Both drivers are strong local competitors.

Lura Flick usually posts weekly information about her son A.J.’s Sprint results, but this one was about her husband, Mark, a 1994 V-8 Modified Champion. He drove in a Vintage Modified feature at Lernerville Speedway and captured the win even though his steering wheel self-adjusted and mashed his fingers.

“He didn’t stop racing, just figured out how to steer it differently when it is up against the dashboard!” Flick said. “What fun times! He had a blast! This dude just keeps finding cars to drive!”

Recently, Chris Schnieder ran the Late Model feature at Marion Center, then made a mad dash to Lernerville to race in the Pro Stocks. The heat races were completed, so he tagged on to the back of the 20-car feature and raced his way to the front to score the win.

Super Late Model driver Tyler Dietz now has a 2024 Bicknell Modified with an Iron Block 448 small block motor. Rex King Jr. purchased a new V-8 Modified with a 427 small block motor. Both are fierce competitors.

Friday at Lernerville, the Super Lates, V-8 Modifieds and Pro Stocks will be on the racing card in addition to the Western PA Sprints.

Carol Gamble is a racing columnist for the Butler Eagle