Sometimes the stars align and you witness a race you’ll never forget; that’s what happened on Wednesday when PA Speedweek rolled into Hagerstown Speedway.

Front row starters Anthony Macri and Brent Marks, who have been the two hottest Pennsylvanians in recent memory, swapped the lead on 11 occasions during the 30-lap, third round of PA Speedweek – which made an annual stop across the border in Maryland.

Macri, who was trying to become the third man in the 33-year history of Speedweek to win three consecutive races, looked like the man to beat after he topped time trials and won his heat race from fourth.

That was before Marks threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at the No. 39M in the Feature.

Of five official lead changes, Macri led the opening five rounds before Marks slid by on Lap 6, but “The Concrete Kid” quickly took it back on Lap 7 and controlled it with ease until the final caution with 13 laps to go set up an epic finish.

Exchanging slider after slider on the high-speed, high-reward half-mile, Macri and Marks brought the fans to their feet over the final laps as they criss-crossed through each corner and drag-raced wheel-to-wheel down the straightaways without touching once.

Ultimately, the 11th and final pass for the lead came entering the final corner of the final lap when Marks built a big run off the top of turn two and dove to the inside of Macri down the backstretch and flew by as they shot into turn three. As they crossed under the checkered flag, Marks officially beat Macri by a mere 0.219-seconds for the $8,000 win – his second-straight at Hagerstown.

“Anthony and I race each other hard,” Marks told SprintCarUnlimited.com afterwards. “We’re two aggressive drivers and we seem to find each other up front battling for wins often. You know, we race one another 80 or so times a year, we run essentially the same schedule. We both can’t be perfect all the time and we’re bound to get into each and get mad at each other. That’s just how racing is, it’s how life is. At the end of the day, though, I have the utmost respect for Anthony and I know he does for me too. I think that was something the fans will remember for a long time.”

The victory brought Marks to 10 career PA Speedweek wins, making him the seventh driver in event history to reach double digits. He joins an iconic group including Lance Dewease (31), Fred Rahmer (30), Greg Hodnett (26), Danny Dietrich (12), Stevie Smith (11), and Kyle Larson (10).

Although Macri’s shot at a hat trick was denied, he did extend his PA Speedweek championship lead to a whopping 107-points with another five nights of racing remaining. The Dillsburg, PA native has arguably been the hottest driver in the country (w/ Rico Abreu or David Gravel) as he owns five wins, 20 top-five finishes and 21 top-10 runs in his last 23 starts.

Lance Dewease slow-rolled the bottom aboard the Kreitz Racing No. 69K to a third-place finish, extending his record for most PA Speedweek podium finishes in history with his 79th top-three effort – now 10 more than Fred Rahmer behind him and 47 more than the next active driver (Dietrich, 32).

PA Speedweek Hagerstown Feature Results (30 Laps) 

1. Brent Marks; 2. Anthony Macri; 3. Lance Dewease; 4. Freddie Rahmer; 5. Danny Dietrich; 6. Justin Peck; 7. Kyle Reinhardt; 8. Devon Borden; 9. Tanner Thorson; 10. Lucas Wolfe; 11. Dylan Cisney; 12. Dylan Norris; 13. Mike Wagner; 14. Cameron Smith; 15. TJ Stutts; 16. Ryan Smith; 17. Billy Dietrich; 18. Austin Bishop; 19. Derek Hauck; 20. Alan Krimes; 21. Mike Walter; 22. Chad Trout; 23. Jake Swanson; 24. Tyler Reeser

PA Speedweek Point Standings (3/8 Races)

1. Anthony Macri (511); 2. Justin Peck (404); 3. Danny Dietrich (393); 4. Tanner Thorson (380); 5. Freddie Rahmer (372); 6. Brent Marks (366); 7. Lucas Wolfe (275); 7. Lance Dewease (275); 9. Dylan Norris (273); 10. Devon Borden (227).