Racing and landscaping might seem like two different worlds, but they're more alike than you'd think!

For Jarrett Rosencrance, both require patience, precision, and a love for the outdoors. And hey, a little touch of green never hurt anyone!

Butler’s Jarrett Rosencrance is a 305-Racesaver dirt Sprint driver on the weekends. During his high school days, he developed a business, Rosencrance Lawn Care, to help pay for college. After graduating from Knoch High School, he went to Butler County Community College to get prerequisites for Mechanical Engineering. His company became so successful that Rosencrance dropped out of college after one semester, making it his full-time job for seven years now.

“I take pride in my business,” he said.

In racing circles, the color green has long been associated with bad luck. From the days of yore, when green cars were rumored to be cursed on the track, to modern times where even mentioning the color can send shivers down the spine of the superstitious, green is often viewed as an omen of misfortune. Yet, 26-year-old Rosencrance, undeterred by such beliefs, proudly wears something green to the track each week without fail!

On the spur of the moment in 2020, Rosencrance bought a Sprint from Will Flemming and started racing.

“I always wanted to do it. I never wanted to race Go-Karts,” he said. “I always liked sprints after watching them at Lernerville. Ed Lynch Jr was my favorite driver.”

Rosencrance earned the 2020 IMCA Rookie of the year and also Walt Wimer’s Western PA Rookie of the Year. He was the Mercer Raceway Track Champion in 2021, winning his first feature. Last season, he finished third in the Allegheny Sprint tour.

Week after week, as he revs up his engine and prepares to tear through the dirt, Rosencrance sports a touch of green on the frame of his car. His pit crew is a family affair with grandfather Tom Rosencrance, dad, Dave Rosencrance, (who raced pro Stocks in 1997) mom, Colleen Rosencrance, and girlfriend Teresa Donaldson.

Jarrett’s goal is to have a 410 Sprint in a couple of years. These days he watches the 410 Sprint feature to get pointers from Carl Bowser, A J Flick and Sye Lynch on where to race.

As the engines roar and the dirt flies, one thing is for certain: Jarrett Rosencrance is a force to be reckoned with, proving that talent and determination eclipse superstition. His fans may wonder just how far his green streak will take him!

Like father, like son

Recently, Karston King, son of Rex “Cooter” King Jr raced the No. 165 RUSH Sportsman Modified for the first time. It was one of his dad’s old cars. The 13-year-old competed at PA Motor Speedway, finishing ninth. He had been racing Go-Karts for four years.

Looking at drivers with the most experience, Davey Jones has been racing Sprints for 50 years, having started in 1975. This is Modified driver Dave Murdick’s 45th season.

Retired driver Chas Wolbert has changed his mind and unretired! He is back on the racing circuit, competing with a Big Block Modified and a RUSH Sportsman Modified. He will be at both Sharon and Lernerville. His son is starting to compete in the Go-Kart class. Chas has changed his car’s color scheme from red to blue. He said, “blue makes the car go faster.” Ironically last week’s Modified victor, Garrett Krummert and second place Rex King Jr., both were driving blue race cars.

Late Model driver Tyler Dietz is proving that he is a force to be reckoned with! He put the Dan Huston No. 77 into victory lane by defeating Colton Flinner last week. This was his career third at Lernerville.

Jean Lynch Classic

Friday at Lernerville, racing includes the “Fab Four” divisions featuring Western PA Speedweeks for the Sprint class. The tour began Wednesday at Mercer, Thursday at PA Motor Speedway, Friday-Lernerville, Saturday-Sharon, and concludes Sunday at Tri-City Speedway. The Sprint race at Lernerville is a called the Jean Lynch Classic!

The late Jean Lynch was introduced to rac ing in 1957. Her husband, Ed, had a friend who was in the jalopy division at a track close to where she lived, called Hyde Park. Jean attended one of the races with Ed when he went to work the pits.

In those days, women and children were not allowed in the pits, so Jean sat in the stands with her young son. From that day, Jean and Ed became fans of the sport of racing. They began making the trip to Langhorne to see the big race.

After about a year, flagman Jack Freeman, who was a part of the Langhorne track crowd, approached Jean one day and expressed his interest in ob­taining the Latrobe track, and asked if she would be interested in helping with the operation.

She agreed to the proposal and on race night sold tickets to the specta­tors, then signed all the cars in, lined up all the cars, scored all the cars, then she did pay off and went home, wrote the stories, did the points and composed the release for the next week. She became a "woman of many hats". Eventually Jean became the Publicity Director at Lernerville and has been inducted into several Hall of Fames!

Carol Gamble is a racing columnist for the Butler Eagle