Diesel Pickup Bracket 1:
Dennis Harnish Jr., Quarryville, PA, ’06 GMC Sierra, .123, 11.809 E.T. on an 11.63 dial-in, 107.17 mph def. Seth Peters, Felton, PA, ’04 Ford F250, .362, 15.123 E.T. on a 15.55 dial-in, 89.57 mph.
Diesel Pickup Bracket 2:
Raymond Delany, Macungie, PA, ’18 Ford F250, .795, 18.604 E.T. on an 18.85 dial-in, 70.61 mph def. Travis Roth, Pennsburg, PA, ’18 Ram 2500, .317, 17.174 E.T. on a 17.50 dial-in, 61.79 mph.
Diesel Big Rig Bracket 1:
TJ Buck, Williamsport, PA, ’59 Mack B-61, .114, 13.412 E.T. on a 13.30 dial-in, 105.46 mph def. Bradley Owens, Lexington Park, MD, ’09 KW W900L, .254, 15.832 E.T. on a 15.85 dial-in, 90.44 mph.
Diesel Big Rig Bracket 2:
Alfred Fee, Banger, PA, ’55 GMC, .014, 18.675 E.T. on an 18.31 dial-in, 65.72 mph def. Tyler Priece, Warrington, PA, .037, 25.480 E.T. on a 24.20 dial-in, 60.04 mph.
Big Rig Heads Up:
Jordan Butler, Doylestown, PA, .472, 13.162 E.T., 105.82 mph def. Kenny Koretsky Jr., -.499, 14.977 E.T., 102.88 mph.
King of the Hill:
Dennis Harnish Jr., Quarryville PA, .015, 11.915 E.T. on an 11.68 dial-in, 102.95 mph def. TJ Buck, Williamsport, PA, .006, 13.793 E.T. on a 13.40 dial-in, 104.81 mph.
Keystone Trucking Nationals Chutes Out Recap Edition: Harnish picks up fourth win in two years; Fee, Delany, Buck and Butler shine in victory lane.
By: Billy Kleinspehn
One of the greatest things about Maple Groves’s rich history is that the track offers a unique diverse series of events set aside for a certain demographic.
For Chevy Fans there is the Super Chevy Showdown and for VW racers there is the June Bug Classic. But if you’re a fan of diesel power drag racing Maple Grove sets aside one day a year for the famed Keystone Trucking Nationals.
After being rescheduled last season to November due to rain, the 2024 edition returned to a mid-September date to a huge crowd of fans, truck show participants and racing entries.
The racing portion of the event featured four bracket classes; two for Diesel pick ups and two for big rigs. When the sun went down on Saturday evening several familiar names returned to victory lane for a second straight year.
In Diesel Pick Up Bracket One, which was opened to trucks running faster the 17.50 seconds in the quarter mile, Dennis Harnish Jr picked up his second straight win. This year he defended his 2023 victory by defeating Seth T Peters in the final.
In Diesel Pick Up Bracket Two, which was open to trucks running slower than 17.50 seconds, Raymond Delany defeated Travis Roth in the final.
For Big Rig Bracket One, which was open to big rigs running faster than 17.50 seconds in the quarter mile, TJ Buck got the win over Bradley Owens.
For the second straight year in the Big Rigs Bracket Two class Alfred Fee would make it back to winners circle over Tyler Priece.
Also joining in on the fun was the always popular heads up class in a good old fashion first to the finish line wins race down the famed Maple Grove quarter mile. In the final round it was Kenny Korestky Jr. who came up just one round short for the second straight year in the final. This year it was Jordan Butler who picked up the win for the Heads Up class.
The night finished with the final match up in the all so popular class, King of the Hill. Also known as the winner of the bragging rights for the year. Each of the race class winners in Pickup and Big Rig Brackets race against each other until only one lone racer remains. That racer then walks home with a special trophy, bragging rights and of course $5,000 cash. The first match up was TJ Buck (Big Rig Bracket 1 Winner) and Raymond Delany (Pickup Bracket 2 Winner). It was TJ Buck who advanced to the next round. The next match up was Dennis Harnish (Pickup Bracket 1 Winner) and Jordan Butler (Big Rig Heads Up Winner). It was Harnish Jr. who won and advanced to the next round. Alfred Fee (Big Rig Bracket 2 Winner) received the bye in the first round and automatically advanced into the next round. Round 2 match ups consisted of TJ Buck who got the win over Alfred Fee with Dennis Harnish receiving the bye. That made the final round match up be Dennis Harnish Jr. facing off against TJ Buck. Ultimately it was Harnish Jr. who came out the King of the Hill winner. That victory marks, four wins for him in 2 straight years at the Grove. He won Pickup Bracket 1 and King of the Hill in 2023 at the Keystone Truckin’ Nationals.
For the first time at an event held at Maple Grove, we were thrilled to have Diesels of USA host a 2 round Burnout Competition. This was open to diesel vehicles only, which we saw both pickups and big rigs take their turn to put on a show. The winner of the competition took home $1,000. This feature quickly became a crowd favorite as the pit area became engulfed in tire smoke from all the wicked competition.
No specialty race at Maple Grove is complete without an appearance by fire breathing 300 mph jet cars. The 2024 event was no exception as Maple Grove fan favorites, Dawn Purde in the Wicked Sensation and Neil Esposito in the Jersey Attitude closed out the show with an awesome blast down the quarter mile. Fans and racers closed out the evening with an incredible fireworks display.
Join in on congratulating your winners from this past weekend!
