A contract to purchase Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway was signed Sunday night. The parties involved are expected to close the deal within two weeks.

There were five offers for the 221-acre property in North Fayette that was listed at $1.9 million. The sale includes the half-mile dirt oval that opened in 1979 after more than a decade of planning and building by Nick Garin and Emma Webster, companions for more than 50 years. Garin died in 1990 and, when Webster died in April, her heirs put the track up for sale.

Dale Bish and Donald Carns are the prospective buyers. Carns owned a scrapyard in Burgettstown. Bish is the track electrician and had been friends with Garin and Webster since the speedway was built.

"It's not finalized yet, but we're trying," Bish said yesterday. "I think it probably will be settled next week. The realtors and the attorneys are fighting it out. It's turned out to be a bigger deal than I thought.

"The papers have already been signed, all we got to do is ... put the financing together."

One of the five parties to place a bid on the facility was Red Miley, president of Miley Motorsports, which has run the track since 1988 under a series of lease agreements. Miley, who owns Motordrome Speedway, has a lease to operate PPMS through the end of this year. He said his bid to buy the track was turned down.

Moon-based realtor Mark Selzer, who brokered the deal, said the buyers' intentions are to keep the facility as a racetrack. There were concerns from many racers and fans that the property, off the Noblestown exit on Route 22, would draw developers looking to build homes and shops in a process reminiscent of what happened to Heidelberg Speedway, which gave way to urban sprawl in the early 1970s.

Garin purchased and moved many of the components to PPMS from Heidelberg, site of Lee Petty's first NASCAR victory in 1949 and where Garin raced in the 1940s and '50s.

Challenger results stand

Officials of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series reviewed a videotape of the July 5 feature at Challenger Raceway and reaffirmed a decision by the flagman to wave the caution on Dale McDowell and David Scott, which incited a controversy that resulted in Scott dropping out of the feature and also leaving the track.

McDowell was leading on lap 23, when his car slowed. Scott, who was close behind, spun. The officials said Scott spun to avoid McDowell and had to restart at the rear of the field.

Martin Willis, the Outlaws' technical director, said a driver who spins by himself under caution is not required to go to the rear, but in Scott's case the spin was a result of swerving to avoid McDowell.

Scott didn't help himself, either, when, according to the officials, an attempt by the competition director to speak with him was met with verbal abuse. Davey Johnson of Greensburg was the eventual winner.

Silver Cup approaches

The racers in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series will have Ed Lynch Jr. of Apollo in their sights Tuesday at Lernerville Speedway during the 12th running of the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup race, which was canceled because of rain last year. In 2002, Lynch, who won his 71st career sprint feature Friday at the Sarver oval, became the first local driver to win the event, which paid $35,000.

This year, it will pay $30,000 to the winner with more money spread through the field than in previous years.

Lugnuts

The BRP Modified Tour will be featured tomorrow at Lernerville in a makeup race from June 11. ... Motordrome is featuring two 50-lap races tomorrow for its NASCAR-sanctioned late models. Former Northeast Region champion Richard Mitchell is expected to compete for the first time this season. Motordrome is gearing up for an IPOWER Dash Series race July 24. ... Mitchell also will race Saturday at Jennerstown, where Kyle Martel earned his first super late model victory last week. ... Jim Zarin will be looking for his second win in a row Saturday at PPMS after he was credited with a victory last week in the Penn National 50 when Mark Banal failed the post-race inspection. ...Pittsburgh Raceway Park will feature Subcompact Madness tomorrow and the Diesel Hot Rod Association Saturday.