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Rich Tobias promoted “Thrills in the Hills” show takes place Sunday afternoon, August 23
(Butler Township, Pa. 8-17-26) Rich Tobias, the mastermind behind the popular SpeedSTRs and Slingshot race cars and promoter extraordinaire of Action Track USA at the Kutztown Fairgrounds which sits on the grounds of Kutztown University and the Speedway at Pagoda in Birdsboro, will be bringing his band of dirt track racers to the paved 1/3-mile Evergreen Raceway on Sunday afternoon, August 23 as part of the “Thrills in the Hills” Presented by Foley Action Track USA.
It will be a very filling day of pavement racing too with All Pro SpeedSTRs and Evergreen’s 602 Crate Modifieds running in twin features.
Also hitting the track will be the Harry’s U-Pull-It Street Stocks, Himmer Graphics Four Cylinders, the traveling East Coast TQ Midgets and Slingshots.
Tobias has lined up a number of his SpeedSTR stars including open wheel specialist Briggs Danner of Allentown, who last year won with the class at Evergreen and marked his very first victory on asphalt. This season Briggs has been traversing across the country with the United States Auto Club and doing quite well too.
He’s scored a career victory on July 1 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Moter Speedway with USAC National Midgets in the prestigious BC39. He’s already won four times this season on the USAC National Sprint Car Series tour and also picked up his first victory in USAC Silver Crown competition coming on the high banks of Winchester Speedway. Danner also has a pair of wins this year with USAC East Coast Sprints.
Nazareth’s Matt Janisch will be part of the SpeedSTR line-up and a heavy favorite too. He won twice here last year. Aside from his Evergreen SpeedSTR scores Janish has also collected TQ Midget victories at Butler Township paved oval.
Ryan Graver of Lehighton, who is the current Sportsman Modified point leader and a four time winner this year at Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, will be making his Evergreen debut behind the wheel of a second Earl Paules owned SpeedSTR car.
And speaking of Paules, who hails from Palmerton, there may not be a more experienced driver with Evergreen ties that will be racing Sunday. “The Hurricane” knows his way around the 1/3-mile oval as good as anyone. 24 Modified wins, 9 Sport Mod wins, 3 Late Model victories plus the Modified championship in 2010 and he sits third on the all-time Eastern Pennsylvania asphalt winners list with 92 career victories.
Other top SpeedSTR racers taking part in Sunday’s action include Steven Drevicki, Bobby Butler, Mike Butler, Jase Smith and more.
The SpeedSTR twin feature will run a distance of 15 laps each while Evergreen’s 602 Crate Modifieds will go 20 laps for their double.
With the Modifieds entering Sunday amid an extremely tight points battle, the twin features are sure to keep the pressure at a peak.
Micah Adams of Lake Ariel has won twice this season and sits atop the standings by a mere two points over Sandy Valley’s Brian Sones. Sones has not finished lower than third all season, although victory has eluded him thus far.
Keeping things tight in the points is two-time and defending champion Steve Shultz of Drums who has one win this year and sits only 22 markers behind leader Adams.
Veteran racer Bobby Jones of Palmerton was the most recent winner at Evergreen, which marked his 67th overall career victory. Marty Noll is fifth in 602 Crate Modified points and has been running strong.
Likewise, Evergreen’s Street Stocks and Four Cylinders have been ultra-competitive this year. Freeland’s Mike Pollack, who is a three-time champion, is coming off his 21st division win on July 25 and leads the points over two-time 2026 winner Scott Adams of Lake Ariel. Adams has 42 Evergreen wins and is fifth on the track’s all-time winners list. Defending class champ Gordie Buchman of Drums is ranked third.
Aside from the aforementioned trio, there are a host of other top competitors in the Street Stocks with the likes of Paul Frantz, Payton Arthofer, Mallory Kutz, Brandon Oltra and Geary Rinehimer Jr. to name a few.
Weatherly’s Jared Frye and Freeland’s Robert McNulty are locked even in the Four Cylinder division points. Frye claimed his first Evergreen win on May 3 while McNulty has been beating down the door for his career first verdict and hopes to bust through come Sunday.
This division is loaded with talent and never ceases to disappoint. Proof comes in the fact that TJ Kapish of Mountain Top is the only repeat winner this season.
With the Slingshots and TQ Midgets joining the program, “Thrills in the Hills” promises a full, action-packed day of pavement racing.
Adult grandstand admission is only $15. Kids 12 and under are free. Pits are $40 per person. Racing starts at 2:00 pm.
Evergreen Raceway is located at 183 Mill Mountain Road, St. Johns, Pa. News and information can be found on the official Evergreen Raceway website at https://www.evergreenracewaypark.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/evergreenraceway
