Krista Yoder

Middleburg, Pa., Super Late Model racer Andrew Yoder’s race trailer was destroyed in a roadside fire following Saturday afternoon’s event at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway. While everything inside the trailer was a total loss, Yoder and family escaped unharmed.

“We didn’t lose everything, but we lost enough stuff that takes us to the racetrack,” Yoder said. “We have the shop stuff, like all our tools going to the races — like all the impacts — and all our good stuff was in the trailer.

“We’ve been offered countless things from anybody I’ve ever raced against. It’s been unreal: how many phone calls and texts and messages I’ve been getting,” Yoder added. “Everybody’s doing a whole bunch of stuff for us. Even if they don’t like me, they’re still trying to help me. … I think the racing community is the best ever. You can hate each other and still get as much love as if its your own family.”

Yoder, who started 14th and finished ninth in Saturday’s 25-lap feature, was alerted when a bystander along Pennsylvania Route 35 “came running out waving his arms trying to get us to stop.

“We thought there was just an accident right there in front of us around the corner. They said our trailer was on fire and it had smoke rolling out the back,” Yoder said. “So, me and dad (Gene) rolled out, grabbed our kid, and ran back to the trailer; saw all the smoke and it kind of went from there … ripped the car out of the trailer.”

The 28-year-old salvaged his 2020 Swartz Race Car with cosmetic damage to body panels and vinyl stickers.

“Other than that, the car is good to go, other than putting a new body back on it,” Yoder said.

Yoder also salvaged his 2004 Chevrolet Silverado, which also suffered cosmetic damage.

“It was kind of perfect timing, I guess, because when we found out (the trailer was on fire) it wasn’t fully engulfed yet,” Yoder said. “It was fight or flight, and we fought.”

“Basically, the fire department got there right before the truck was ready to take off (in flames), I think,” Yoder added.

Yoder, who plans to compete Friday in his Limited Late Model at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway and return to Super competition soon after, isn’t certain how the fire started, but suspects something electrical.

“We don’t know with something like that,” Yoder said. “(Sunday) afternoon we’ve been going through it to see if we can find anything. Everything is about burnt the same.”