PORT ROYAL
 It might have been the best race of the season Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway.

 Greg Hodnett and Chad Layton weaved their way in and out of very heavy lapped traffic throughout much of the 25-lap 410 Sprint car feature before Hodnett came out on top of the thrilling final lap for the checkered flag.

 Just as it appeared Hodnett had the race in the bag, he had some trouble with a lapped car on the final circuit to allow Layton to get around him in turn two for the lead.

 And as Layton and Hodnett headed into the third turn on the final lap, six lapped cars were in their view as Hodnett blew around the outside of Layton and the slower cars for the win.

 “Ah, that’s the least you could say,” expressed Hodnett when track announcer Craig Rutherford said “traffic was brutal.”

 “I got conservative there in traffic because I didn’t want to crash the car but there on that last lap, a car just stopped in turn one and I lost all my momentum and Chad was able to get by me. He was dealing with the same issues and it was a great race.”

 Hodnett started 10th in the field and wasted little time in moving the Jim and Sandy Kline owned Macri Concrete, Eastern Air Balance Maxim to the front as Craig Robinson led the first four laps before Layton, who started seventh, took the lead.

 Layton led until lap seven when Hodnett drove around him for the top spot.

 Layton remained close to the Thomasville driver as the final 24 laps of the event went non-stop.

 Traffic was a major issue during the entire event with several cars down two and three laps to the leaders and well off the pace, which left for plenty of excitement for the battle for the lead.

 “Chad got up there early and he got messed up,” Hodnett said after his fourth Port Royal win of the season and 15th career track win. “The track has plenty of clay on it right now and actually it’s pretty brutal.  It makes for great characteristics of the race track. I know everyone wants to see these cars go faster but it’s just brutal. It makes for faster lap times and if that’s what they want, then they are doing a good job.”

 As Hodnett took the white flag, he made contact with a slower car in turn one, which left the door open for Layton. But Hodnett was not to be denied the win and the $3,000 paycheck for his seventh overall win of the 2009 season.

 Harrisburg’s Layton was second ahead of Dave Ely, of Sinking Spring, Fort Loudon’s Robinson and Elizabethville’s Mike Erdley.

 With his sixth place finish, Todd Shaffer clinched the 2009 track champion as Mike Wagner, Lance Dewease, Daryn Pittman and Joey Hershey completed the top 10.

 Heats for the 26 cars went to Wagner, Michael Heckman and TJ Winegardner, who took a hard flip on the first lap of the feature.

 Port Royal has several more events remaining on their 2009 schedule including next week’s final points races then the Juniata County Fair races kicking off with the Labor Day Classic.