By Kasey Kreider
Prior to the final five feature events of the 2022 season at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, the champions, top 15 in points, and special award winners were honored following the conclusion of the speedway’s points-paying season. All awards were handed out by Lanco President Jim Harrington before the drivers strapped in one final time for the Pink Out Night A-Mains.
The retirement of Heath Hehnly and the part-time season contested by Mike Rutherford assured that for the first time since 2010, the Hyper Racing Winged 600 division would crown a champion other than those two drivers. While a strong early-season run put Holden Eckman in good position early on, the title battle mostly would be waged by two veterans of the speedway who were looking for their first 600 titles at the track. Bradley Brown picked up two early wins and controlled the points battle throughout most of the summer. The turning point was the Clyde Martin Memorial, where Brown crashed after suffering a mechanical failure and finished 11th, opening the door for his closest challenger in Jason Swavely, who won the event, to grab a points lead he wouldn’t relinquish. The Clyde Martin Memorial race victory started a stretch of four wins in the final six points-paying events for Swavely, allowing him to cruise toward the championship that he had been so close to grabbing one year prior. Swavely, a three-time Sportsman division champion at the speedway, was quick to dedicate the title to RTS Chassis matriarch Theresa Schaeffer, who had passed away earlier in the season. In total, the Fleetwood, PA driver picked up six victories in 14 points-paying races, and won the championship by a final margin of 93 points over Brown.
In addition to Swavely’s championship, the annual special awards were given out to a select few drivers as well. Rookie of the Year honors belonged to Nathan Miller, who grabbed a best finish of fifth while competing throughout the season in both winged and wingless action. The Most Improved Driver Award went to Holden Eckman, who did just about everything shy of winning and finished the season third in the final points. Sportsman of the Year honors belonged to Will Urkuski in his final year of racing. And the Best Appearing Car Award was given to Christian Bruno as the pilot of the No. 5 Hyper Racing EVO+ Injection machine for Chris Snyder.
A six-win season helped give Jason Swavely his first championship in the Hyper Racing Winged 600 division. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)
The inaugural season of Hyper Racing Wingless 600 weekly competition did not disappoint in terms of on-track action, with jaw-dropping moves and moments taking place amongst great battles each and every weekend. Despite coming up one spot short in Winged 600 competition, it was Bradley Brown who etched his name in the record books as the division’s first-ever champion. Brown was virtually unchallenged in the points fight, but was battled on a weekly basis for race wins by a host of different competitors. The New Providence, PA native won five points-paying events and six total wingless races in 2022, including July’s Clyde Martin Memorial race. To close out the wingless season, Brown notched three straight victories, including the Pink Out Night win, with the final two coming via a last-lap pass.
With this being the first year of the division, no Most Improved Driver Award was given. However, Rookie of the Year honors went to 13-year old James Fries, who was eligible to compete throughout the season thanks to an offseason rule change and finished second in the points standings while grabbing three top-five and eight top-10 results. Sportsman of the Year honors belonged to young driver Marty Brian, who also finished third in points while competing throughout most of the season. The Best Appearing Car Award belonged to Brian Kramer and his Hyper Racing-sponsored family-owned No. 71.
Bradley Brown scored five points-paying victories during the 2022 season to become the inaugural champion in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 class. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)
It wasn’t just in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s where Bradley Brown reigned supreme though, as he also scored the championship in the 270 division while competing for late-car owner Gary Miller and the Gold Rush Racing Team. Brown replaced Heath Hehnly as the team’s driver for the 2022 season and instantly showed speed out of the gate, speed which didn’t initially always translate into results. After Gary’s passing, Denny Miller and Craig DeSantis continued fielding the car throughout the remainder of the season, and picked up two wins, one of which being in the Gary Miller and Donna Geib Memorial Race in August. The victories and impressive newfound consistency throughout the summer months allowed Brown to claim the title by a wide margin and send the Gold Rush Racing Team off as champions.
Rookie of the Year honors in the 270 class went to Dylan Pence, who ended the season on a strong note by picking up a Cash Dash victory and a second-place finish in the Pink Out Night feature. Jonah Meck, a third-place finisher in that same event, gathered two of the special awards in the division, taking home the honors as both the Most Improved Driver and the Sportsman of the Year. And it may have only been fitting for the Best Appearing Car Award to go to none other than the Gold Rush Trailer Sales No. 82 with Brown behind the wheel in its final ride.
An ultra-consistent second half of the season helped Bradley Brown pick up the championship in the 270 class while driving for the Gold Rush Racing Team. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)
The closest points battle entering Championship Night belonged to the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsmans. For the second straight year, Bret Cronrath had been one of the two most dominant drivers in the class. But whereas his championship challenger last year was Toby Blumenshine, this year it came in the form of the Lititz, PA driver Corey Schmuck, Jr., who enjoyed a breakout season. Schmuck, Jr. tried to whittle away at the gap between the two drivers after a rough Clyde Martin Memorial race event put him in a triple-digit points hole. But Cronrath’s consistency proved to be king, as he backed up two victories with 10 finishes inside the top five. The Blandon, PA driver was able to claim back-to-back Sportsman division titles by a final margin of 42 points.
Rookie of the Year honors went to Dustin Geib, as he showed speed throughout the year and claimed a best finish of ninth in the tough class. Most Improved Driver honors went to Shannon Slaughter, who picked up her first podium in the inaugural Wingless Sportsman race on July 4th weekend and prevailed in the tight battle for third in the points off the heels of 11 top-10 finishes. Sportsman of the Year honors was awarded to Sportsman division veteran Anthony Yerger. And the Best Appearing Car Award went to the A&R Tire Sales & Recycling/E-Z Service No. 53 piloted by Jared St. John.
Bret Cronrath battled Corey Schmuck, Jr. all season and came out on top to win back-to-back Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman championships. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)
The 125/4 Stroke class saw a mixture of veterans and first-timers finding the winner’s circle. While five drivers in total picked up their first Lanco wins in the division in 2022, it was veteran Billy Logeman who came out on top in the title fight. Logeman, running the full season originally in a second car for Jim and Justin Harrington, kicked off the season with back-to-back points-paying wins before eventually switching over to the newer car in full pursuit of the championship. Although he only scored one more win the rest of the season, Logeman kept his hefty points lead intact by only finishing outside the top five twice, and only finishing outside the top 10 once the entire season. The Reinholds, PA driver picked up his second-career Lanco championship, with the first one coming in 2007 in the Sportsman class.
Garnering the Rookie of the Year Award was Seth Gregory, who likely saved his best races for the end of the season and wound up scoring two top 10s over the course of the year. Chris Dolan took home the Most Improved Driver Award by virtue of his class-leading six total victories, including wins in the Clyde Martin Memorial race and the Wingless Night of the Labor Day Shootout. Sportsman of the Year honors belonged to one of Newmanstown’s own in Chase Layser. And the Best Appearing Car honors were bestowed to Don Hess behind the wheel of his own No. 15H machine.
Billy Logeman started off the season with back-to-back wins and didn’t look back from there en route to winning the 125/4 Stroke championship. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)
One more year of racing at the Clyde is now into the record books, and the countdown has already begun to April 1st, 2023, and the No Wing Spring Fling to kick off the 66th season of racing under the Lanco Micro Midget Club. We can’t wait to welcome the fans and competitors alike back to help write the newest chapter of racing action and to collectively LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!