April 4, 2026 (Spring Run, PA)-Race announcers have often referred to Scott Houdeshell as the “Richard Petty” of the David H. Martin Excavating, Inc. East Coast Legend Series (formerly Central PA Legends Series). In other words, never count out Scott Houdeshell.

      Houdeshell broke through Saturday night to win the East Coast race during Path Valley Speedway’s Claybreaker event. For Houdeshell, however, it didn’t come easy as he had to chase down the race leaders in a hard-fought battle throughout the 20-lap event.

       Ohio’s Steven Partin grabbed the early lead, and early in the going it appeared that the Ohio Valley Legend Series promoter might take one at the Little Track with Big Action. Unfortunately, as he worked to the inside of Jeremy Ott, Partin’s car made contact with the inside tire barrier in turn one, suffering damage to his car, and he was finished for the night.

        Ott then held the lead, but a hard-charging Logan Jones, hungry for his first victory, battled Ott tooth and nail, even grabbing the lead for one lap with eight to go. Ott moved back ahead of Jones, but the side-by-side battle ensued. Then with three to go, Jones’s car made contact with the Ott machine in turn two. This disrupted both cars, moving them out the bottom lane, and it allowed Houdeshell to scamper to the inside and grab the lead headed down the backstretch.

        Houdeshell then held the lead with Jones pressed against his rear bumper. Ott’s car received spindle arm damage from the contact, and he fell back a couple spots. For the remaining three  laps, Jones stayed glued to Houdeshell’s bumper, but Jones could not mount a challenge for the lead on the multi-year veteran.

        Houdeshell maintained the point, not being denied, and crossed the stripe first to claim his first victory of the season. Jones finished in the runner-up spot just .427 seconds behind Houdeshell. Kelby Friese ran a strong race all night to take the third and final podium spot. Former Series champion, Bill Diehl in a brand-new car for 2026, finished fourth. Ott was relegated to fifth as he limped his damaged car to the checkers.

     Scott Musselman ran an impressive race to take sixth. Hunter McElroy recovered from an early-race incident to take seventh. Scott Montgomery had a good run to take eighth. Cameron Sutton continued to turn heads as he took ninth. Rick Hartwig was solid as he rounded out the top-10.

     Ott, Partin, Tyler Kaylor and Kirk Martin were the heat race winners. Rookie contender, William Crook, won the B-Main. Thirty-six (36) drivers/cars entered the event. 

 

Atta Boys and Notables: After a season-ending hard crash at BAPS Motor Speedway in 2025, Connor Tracy finished a solid 11th at Path Valley in his first race of the 2026 season; Shjon Dove was the highest-finishing rookie with a 16-place effort. 

 

The Series returns to action this coming Saturday at BAPS. Special thanks to David H. Martin Excavating, Rita’s Italian Ice and Frozen Custard, Fairfield Auto Service, NAPA Auto Parts Taneytown and Dr. Zach Crouse, promoter of Path Valley, for the great support and sponsorship of East Coast racing at Path Valley.

 

Full field rundown: 1. Scott Houdeshell, 2. Logan Jones, 3. Kelby Friese, 4. Bill Diehl, 5. Jeremy Ott, 6. Scott Musselman, 7. Hunter McElroy, 8. Scott Motgomery, 9. Cameron Sutton, 10. Rich Hartwig, 11. Connor Tracy, 12. Moses Goetz, 13. Donald Stoudt, 14. Brad Kelley, 15. Ben Morrow, 16. Shjon Dove, 17. Ryan Walls, Jr., 18. Kirk Martin, 19. William Crook, 20. Blake Nalley, 21. Justin Wagaman, 22. Brock Doyle, 23. Tyler Kaylor, 24. Steven Partin

 

Did Not Qualify: Eric Moats, Jayden Powell, Owen Wagaman, Dave Benner, KJ Massey, Matthew Parks, Mason Tracy, Devin Smith, Jacob Wiles, Richie Dobson, Jimmy Eicher and Tyler Rampmeyer