When it comes to USAC racing history in Pennsylvania, Williams Grove Speedway is second to none.

The Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, dirt oval held a prominent presence on the series schedule in USAC's inaugural 1956 season, with victories turned in by Johnny Thomson and 1955 Indianapolis 500 victor Pat Flaherty, and it remains a fixture on the racing landscape to this day.

This Friday night, that fixture returns to the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship fold for the 34th time overall, and for the first time since 2018, for USAC Eastern Storm Round 4.

A pair of drivers have found their Williams Grove success in other types of racing machinery but plan to etch their first "W" with the USAC National Sprint cars Friday night.

Four-time USAC National Sprint Car champion Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma) notched a USAC Eastern Midget victory in 2017, as well as USAC Silver Crown score there in 2019. In two USAC Sprint Car appearances at The Grove, he has recorded two top-5s - second in 2018 and fifth in 2017.

Shane Cockrum (Benton, Illinois) delivered a USAC Silver Crown victory at Williams Grove in 2021 and will make his first foray to the half-mile dirt oval for Sprint Car action this weekend.

Chase Stockon (Fort Branch, Indiana) has been a solid citizen in his only two USAC Sprint Car feature starts at Williams Grove, taking a runner-up finish in 2017, followed by a seventh-place effort in 2018. 

Two-time Eastern Storm champ Robert Ballou (Rocklin, California) corralled a third-place finish in 2018. Justin Grant (Ione, California) notched a fourth in 2017 and a ninth in 2018, while also collecting a Silver Crown quick time award in 2019. 

Local hot shoe Timmy Buckwalter (Douglassville, Pennsylvania) achieved his best USAC National Sprint Car result of fifth in 2018.

The USAC East Coast contingent is strong, and the three most successful drivers in its history all have been winners at Williams Grove. All three will be shooting for their first USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victories Friday night. 

Three-time USAC East Coast champion Steven Drevicki (Reading, Pennsylvania) won there once in 2020 and again in 2021. Reigning USAC EC champ Alex Bright (Collegeville, Pennsylvania) won at The Grove less than two weeks ago, while current point leader, Briggs Danner (Allentown, Pennsylvania) won there in April.

Shane Cottle (Kansas, Illinois) ran second with the Silver Crown car at Williams Grove in 2021. Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, California) earned seventh- and 11th-place results during Eastern Storm at Williams Grove in 2017 and 2018, respectively. C.J. Leary (Greenfield, Indiana), the 2019 Eastern Storm titlist, finished 10th during Eastern Storm in 2018 and was the Silver Crown fast qualifier in 2016.

Carmen Perigo (Stoystown, Pennsylvania) put together top-10 performances at Williams Grove in both a USAC National Sprint Car and Silver Crown car in his career, finishing 10th during Eastern Storm's sprint car feature in 2017 and seventh with the Silver Crown series in 2021. Fellow Keystone stater Mark Smith (Sunbury, Pennsylvania) has, likewise, performed in both at the track, taking sixth with Silver Crown in 2016 and 18th with the USAC Sprints in 2017.

The USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Champion of 2018, Logan Seavey (Sutter, California), notched a 20th-place finish in his Silver Crown performance at Williams Grove, which was not indicative of his performance, after he led 22 laps in the first half of the event and was leading when mechanical trouble befell his ride.

Pennsylvanian USAC East Coast Sprint Car pilots Joey Amantea (Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania) was sixth with the series this past April, while Kenny Miller III (Morgantown, Pennsylvania) finished eighth. 

Dallas Hewitt (Troy, Ohio) made his initial Williams Grove run with the Silver Crown series in 2019, finishing 14th, BOSS Sprint titlist Matt Westfall (Pleasant Hill, Ohio) was a 17th-place runner in 2018 and 2018 USAC Southwest Sprint Car champ Charles Davis Jr. (Buckeye, Arizona) made a Silver Crown start in 2021, finishing 21st.

Looking to make their initial stamps at Williams Grove are two-time 2022 USAC National Sprint Car winner Emerson Axsom (Franklin, Indiana), 2021 USAC National Most Improved Driver Jake Swanson (Anaheim, California), 2020 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year Jadon Rogers (Worthington, Indiana), 2020 USAC National Most Improved Driver Brandon Mattox (Terre Haute, Indiana), USAC National Sprint Car Rookie Alex Banales (Lafayette, Indiana), Korbyn Hayslett (Troy, Ohio) and late model/modified standout Brian Ruhlman (Clarklake, Michigan)

Friday's Eastern Storm event at Williams Grove will feature the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship and Winged 410 c.i. Sprint Cars. 

Pits will open at 4:30 p.m. Eastern, with grandstands opening at 5:30 p.m. The drivers' meeting will be at 6 p.m., and hot laps will begin at 6:30 p.m. 

Adult admission tickets are $30, ages 13-20 are $10 and kids age 12 and under are free.

All Eastern Storm events will be streamed live on FloRacing. Watch here.