PORT ROYAL, Pa. (June 10) — Gregg Satterlee’s developed a stronger track record than most at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway in recent years. Heck, he even won a pair of preliminary events in both the Dream and World 100 two years ago.

This year, however, the Indiana, Pa., driver skipped Dirt Late Model racing’s richest single-paying event of the year, Dream XXIX, in favor of Appalachian Mountain Speedweek. Why? He had a clever response.

“Gotta have my signal stick guy,” Satterlee said through a grin as he stared at his cornerstone crewman, Drew Walters, making a crack about Eldora’s ban of stick signals at this year’s Dream event.

Satterlee, the 2013 champion of the Pennsylvania-based Late Model Speedweek returning for the first time since ’17, is committed to all eight miniseries races over its 10-day running. The decision caught some by surprise when Satterlee announced he’d forgo his puncher’s chance at $129,000 and, at minimum, the race's $5,029 start money.

But Satterlee enjoys racing closer to home so much — and respects the efforts of Jim Bernheisel to revive the miniseries so greatly — that bypassing an Eldora trip made the most sense.

“Initially, we had planned to go Eldora and come back Sunday (to run Hagerstown),” Satterlee said. “We got to talking, and said, 'Let’s just do them all.' We’ll go to Eldora in the fall (for the World 100). It’ll still be there.

“It’s not like the (Appalachian Mountain Speedweek) point fund is astronomical where it’s a no-brainer ($5,000 awaits the champion). You could to Eldora and make a lot more money. This is more how we’ve been racing. We’ve gone to Eldora for the Dream for probably 15 years now. … We decided Bernheisel has been working hard putting purses together and bonuses, and the point fund. Port Royal is one of my favorite places to go race. … So, why not?”

Starting 14th and finishing 10th way off his usual front-running pace, Saturday actually turned out being Satterlee’s worst night at Port Royal in a long while.

“I can’t remember the last time I was this bad here,” said Satterlee, typically an automatic top-five finisher at the half-mile whenever he unloads.

But Satterlee was wayward Saturday. He wasn’t the only driver left in disarray. Friday’s opening night winner Jason Covert of York Haven, Pa., didn’t even qualify for the second-round main event. For greater context on how cutthroat Dirt Late Model racing is, three-time reigning Dream champion Brandon Overton didn’t even qualify for the 29th running of the event he’s been unstoppable in since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Reminded he’s not alone in those temporary valleys, Satterlee shrugged his shoulders and said he’s onto tonight’s third-round event at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway. Satterlee’s been quiet these first two races to begin Speedweek. He did finish second to Covert on Friday at Clinton County, but he had to do it from ninth and never had a credible shot at winning.

Satterlee did label Friday as “a blast” and “a really fun race” at the third-mile oval that hadn’t seen Super Late Model action two years. The revived Late Model Speedweek features Northeast Dirt Late Model fixtures in Port Royal, Hagerstown, Bedford (Pa.) Speedway and Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway, but also offbeat facilities such as Clinton County, Path Valley (Pa.) Speedway and Lincoln (Pa.) Speedway.

More known for his half-mile prowess, Satterlee is just as good on the smaller tracks like at Path Valley, a place he won at in 2019 and ’20 with the disbanded Ultimate Northeast Series. He won last October’s Laser Late Model Clash promoted by Bernheisel at Lincoln last fall, too.

While there, he gained a greater appreciation how Bernheisel runs a race program, thus giving him the confidence the miniseries return is conducive to success.

“We went to Lincoln last fall, and the way (Bernheisel) managed the show, he just did it really efficiently,” Satterlee said. “He’s raced for longer than I even know. He knows the deal. He knows what we want as a format for drivers. I’m sure he’s put a lot of work and a lot of time and effort into getting it to where it is right now. Hats off to him. We’re here to support what he’s worked on for the last … whenever they’ve announced they were going to do this. Hopefully his hard work pays off … and continue to build it up.”

Satterlee’s 2013 miniseries title was a steppingstone in the Pennsylvanian’s road to becoming a national touring driver, emphasizing the accomplishment “was big for me then.”

“I hadn’t raced tons against good cars (at the time),” Satterlee said. “Mostly, it was against our regional groups of cars that we raced against. It’s big. It’d like to win it again. It’s fun to win. It’s fun to win anything.

Satterlee’s in an entire different, more mellow place now than that of 2013. He’s not trying to grind his way to the top, so to speak, like his formative years. Despite the clunky start to the miniseries through two races — third in the standings, 47 points behind leader Tyler Emory — the main reason he’s home from Eldora isn’t to win another Speedweek title, but be closer to his family.

“In the back of my head, I was thinking, I’d like to go to Eldora,” Satterlee said. “This is just as much fun, racing closer to home. We have family here. That’s what we decided to go.”