MECHANICSBURG
 It seems Brian Leppo sits up in the seat a little more when Williams Grove Speedway offers a bigger payoff for Friday night sprint car racing.

 Leppo backed up his Tommy Classic win a few weeks ago with an impressive win in Friday night’s 30-lap Keystone Cup Sprint Series event at the track.

 The win was worth $5,000 to the Floyd and Joyce Swope owned team, based in East Berlin. Leppo’s win in the Tommy Classic paid $6,000.

 After taking the top spot from Cody Darrah on lap eighth, the New Oxford racer worked through traffic and was able to bring home his fourth career feature win at the Monroe Township track.

 “Hats off to my crew and to Barry Jackson,” Leppo said about his crew chief, who has been turning the wrenches on the Swope No. 71 sprinter for the last several months. “He’s doing one hell of a job and he’s turned this deal around. The car felt great tonight and I hope we can get back here a few more times this year.”

 Leppo became the first repeat winner at the Grove this season through the first eight races of the year.

 Don Kreitz, Jr. led lap one before Darrah got into Kreitz and Steve Buckwalter on lap two, resulting in Buckwalter hitting the second turn wall.

 Darrah drove under Kreitz for the lead on lap three as Leppo, who started fourth, moved into second place with five laps complete.

 Leppo tracked down the Red Lion High School senior and drove around him off turn two to lead the eighth lap.

 Leppo entered lapped traffic on lap 13 allowing Darrah to close back in but Leppo was able to work his way through and open up some distance over the young driver, who recently won two features in one night at Lincoln Speedway.

 “We’re getting better but I was kinda feeling like we were slowing down there towards the end tonight,” Leppo stated. “Under that yellow, I thought I was really hanging coming off the corner. I saw Barry and he told me move the wing back so I just kinda kept it up above the curb and kept it underneath me so I could drive off there. But I felt like I was going to lose it a few times. It feels good to win tonight.”

 Following a lap 21 caution for Mark Smith, Leppo drove away from Darrah and was never challenged in his second win of the season in the Swope Salvage and Recycling, H & H Contractors, Eastern Caisson, CJ Miller Excavating, Heather’s Nails and Tanning JEI Chassis.

 Darrah, of Red Lion, held off seventh starting Jeff Shepard for the runner-up spot with Etters driver Pat Cannon driving the Zane and Vicki Highlands owned sprinter from 10th to fourth ahead of Thomasville’s Greg Hodnett.

 Track points leader Fred Rahmer crossed in sixth over Craig Keel, Kreitz, Todd Shaffer and Alan Krimes.

 Krimes set fast time over the 35-car field with a lap of 16.570 seconds.

 Heat races were won by Sean Michael, Rahmer, Stevie Smith and Keel while Krimes topped the B-Main.

 The Keystone Cup Series heads to Lincoln Speedway tonight with a 7pm start and then heads to Selinsgrove Speedway on Sunday and concludes Monday at Port Royal Speedway.