Forty-one years later, Keith Kauffman still gets excited about strapping into the seat of a sprint car.

 And in his 41st season, the Man from Mifflintown will be debuting with new car owners Gary and Linda Heckman and the Heckman Tree Farm Racing team at the upcoming season opener at Port Royal Speedway.

 Kauffman’s return to Port Royal Speedway fulltime in 2011 has the Juniata County area on the brink of excitement and his new team is eagerly excited to give Juniata County’s favorite son a quality race car with hopes of returning Kauffman to victory lane and getting the Heckman team its first 410 sprint car feature win.

 “Keith is a perfect fit for our operation due to the fact that he and I are from the same generation and share many of the same values,” Gary Heckman said of his new driver, who replaces his son Michael behind the wheel of the HTF No. 8H sprinter. “I have been a fan for his for 35 years or so and I admire the dedication and professionalism he has displayed all through his career. That is the kind of man I want driving my equipment and by the way, he is damn good at wheeling a sprint car. I still see fire in his eyes when he’s talking about getting ready for the season.”

 Kauffman and the Heckman owned team will be gunning for the 2011 Port Royal Speedway track championship, something Kauffman has won 13 times during his career, most recently in 2007.

 “We will race at all of the Port Royal shows and contend for the championship,” Heckman said. “We have the equipment and the driver to get the job done.”
 Kauffman, who owns a track record 129 career feature wins is equally pumped about his new ride.

 “I’m really looking forward to getting back to Port Royal and they take a lot of pride in their race team and it shows with their meticulous equipment,” said Kauffman. “I’ve wanted to cut back to just racing one night a week along with some special shows and this is the perfect opportunity to do so. It should be a fun year.”

  The cars will be based at the HTF race shop in Chambersburg and will be maintained by Michael and Gary Heckman and crew chief Tim Mellott along with crew members Logan Cessna, Jeremiah Greenland and Jim Walters. Jim Stenger’s “The Toyer Shop” will provide the horsepower under the hood.

 Aside from the Port Royal shows, the team has tentative shows scheduled at Williams Grove Speedway’s World of Outlaws events, the PA Speedweek race at Bedford Speedway and the Selinsgrove National Open. The team will debut on Saturday March 19th at Port Royal.