AHS Students Race to Success in Local AWRCS Series

AWRCS is an offroad race series based out of Kittanning, Pennsylvania. The series travels from western Pennsylvania to eastern Ohio where they hold their races. The race series has a multitude of different divisions with a Peewee (4-10), Youth (10-15) and Adult (no age limits) for both quad and dirtbike along with UTV, Pitbike and Pitquad. Being that the series is located in Kittanning, it's not a surprise that students from AHS participate in the racing. 

Tommy Luffey

Tommy Luffey, a sophomore at AHS, has been racing AWRCS since he was 6 years old. “I started racing AWRCS and also tried motocross. Now I only focus on woods racing,” Tommy said.

Tommy rides a Honda 250 Hybrid with a Honda Trx 450 frame. The difference between a hybrid quad and a normal quad is that a hybrid is the body of a quad with a dirt bike engine. Due to the amount of modified parts on the quad, it needs to be meticulously maintained. 

Even though Tommy races the Hybrid class, the majority of his competition comes from 300A. With time adjustment, a rider from the second row can win the overall without physically grabbing the checkered flag first. Time adjustment makes sure that all racers start at the same time no matter what row they are on. “One of my biggest competitors starts in the second row. He can beat me, but finish behind me.” This motivates Tommy to do his best even if he’s in the lead.

This year, Tommy was able to win the overall championship in the Youth Quad Division. This isn't the first time Tommy has won an overall championship, though. “I won the Peewee Quad Championship in 2018. That year I got eight first places and two second places. I had the championship won by round eight that year,” Tommy said.

That was not the case for this year though. Tommy’s championship came down to the last race this year. The last round — Rock Run — is worth double points, which can either hurt or help a racer depending on how they finish in the race. “When the championship comes down to the last race, it’s stressful knowing it counts as two races. I was sure to do everything I could to make sure everything seemed perfect with my quad,” Tommy said. 

Tommy does not plan on defending his championship next year. “I will be racing as an adult next year. My goal will be to finish well in the schoolboy class. Doing well in youth makes me feel confident that I can be competitive in that class.”

Cole Smith

Cole Smith, a freshman at AHS, began racing the local AWRCS series consistently in 2022. “I began racing because all of my friends do it,” Cole said.

Cole rides a big wheel 2022 KTM 85 sx with a 105 big bore kit in the Supermini A class in the youth division. Supermini A is the most competitive class in the youth division with riders coming from Pennsylvania and the surrounding states to compete. “The top guys are really fast and make it a challenge to keep up with them,” Cole said.

Cole managed to pull off a seventh place finish in class, and ninth overall for year-end standings. “I missed the first race due to a broken thumb, and later in the season I had a wrist injury that made the season pretty hard and I struggled to keep the bike up. Overall, I am still pretty happy with how I finished,” Cole said in regards to his placement.

At the season finale at Rock Run, Cole finished sixth overall; his best finish of the year. “I think the mud helped me” he said. 

Cole is 5 feet 11 inches tall, which is relatively tall to be on an 85, even with his bike being a big wheel. Over the summer, Cole got a 2024 KTM 250 xc and has been riding it since the first day he got it. “I’m definitely faster on it,” Cole said.

For the 2024 season, Cole is planning to move up to XC-1B, a highly competitive class in the adult division. The biggest change with moving up to adult from youth is the competition and the fact that the race is an hour longer. “My goal is to be in the top thirty overall in most races next year,” Cole said.

Max Stull

Max Stull, also a freshmen, races both Pitbike and Youth Bike at AWRCS. Max finished seventh overall in the pitbike and fifth in his class of Pit Bike Open. Pit Bike Open is considered the “pro class of pit bikes” at the series. In Pit Bike, Max races a Honda Crf 110 with a big bore kit. “All the adults buy modded pit bikes and you also have pros racing it which makes it harder to place well.” Max said. Due to mechanical problems, Max is unsure if he will continue racing pit bikes for the 2024 race season.

In youth, Max races Supermini A along with Cole. For youth bikes, Max rides a 2023 Kawasaki 112 that is all stock. “I think the bike performs better when it is stock,” Max said. 

Max finished twenty-three overall and fourteenth in Supermini A for the 2023 season.“I feel like I did pretty good for myself this year. I definitely self-improved, which is the goal. I want to try for the podium next year.”

In regards to racing youth bikes, Max said, “I like youth a lot because there are a lot of people that I can try to stay with and they push me.” 

Rock Run, the series’ season finale, was a muddy mess. It rained all of Saturday and half of the day Sunday during October 14th and 15th.. This weather did not play to Max’s preference. “I prefer to race in dusty races rather than mud, because I think mud makes you tired quicker.”

Tommy, Cole, and Max are all a part of a friend group in which they all race. Most of the friends attend AHS, while some of them now go to Lenape Technical School. “Racing with my friends is fun because you can talk about the race together and it also pushes me to want to beat them,” Max said. 

Next year will be a new season for all of the boys, and hopefully it will lead to them accomplishing their goals.