Back To School Night at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway saw five divisions taking to the racetrack, with the 2020 All-Star Slingshot Tour running their season opener. Dave Carraghan and Mason Pittinger would lead the field to the green. Carraghan took the early lead, while Cody Kline made a big charge in the opening laps to claim second by lap four. The first caution flew on lap four, with Dave Morrell and Carter Weiant coming together in turn two. Kline was a bit too aggressive on the restart and was called for the false-start. Kline would move to fourth after the penalty, promoting Pittinger back to the front row. Kline had an issue coming up to speed and stopped in turn two. Blaire Schoenly also came to a stop in the corner. Schoenly and Kline would see their night end as a result of the incidents. A single-file restart was in the cards after the successive yellows. Bieber and Pittinger battled for several laps, with contact leading to Bieber spinning in turn three. Only ten laps were completed when this third caution flew over the field. Bieber was able to get restarted but would restart in the twelfth position. Andrew Turpin was able to get around Pittinger for second on the restart; but contact deep in the field brought out thee yellow after one lap was completed. Just a handful of laps into the restart, Bieber had already climbed back to the seventh position. Carter Weiant stopped on the backstretch just past halfway bringing out another yellow flag. The restart saw heavy contact throughout the field, apart from race leader Carraghan. Mason Pittinger would be on the short end of the contact and his night would be over. Inside of ten laps to go, Bieber got around Andrew Turpin for third. Carraghan would claim the flag-to-flag win, and with a margin of victory over four seconds.

The Sportsman would take to the speedway for the night’s second feature. After an eight-car inversion pill was drawn, Nate Gibble and Robert Shannaman would pace the field. Last week’s winner Jason Swavely rolled off in the fifth position, putting him in a prime position to battle for the race win. Billy Logeman made a nice getaway from third position to claim second by the time they were off turn four. Corey Schmuck Jr started 15th, and was inside the top ten just three laps in. Two laps later, Swavely took the lead with an inside pass in turns one and two. The first caution flew ten laps in for the broken motor of Steve Smith Sr. Logeman was also an early retirement, seeing his night end two laps earlier due to mechanical trouble. Swavely and Gibble would restart on the front row, but the story was much the same as one week ago. Swavely disappeared from the front and opened a two second gap before Toby Blumenshine suffered a mechanical issue on the backstretch and came to a stop. On the restart, Patrick Kirn and Chase Layser battled for the fourth position when Kirn went around and was nearly tagged by Schmuck. The restart saw Bret Cronrath make heavy contact with Noah Merkey, nearly driving across the air cleaner of Noah Merkey. Cronrath was able to continue. At the halfway point, Swavely would restart as the leader, with Gibble to his outside. One lap was scored before the Brandon Gibble was tagged and spun in turn four. Jessica Moore and Matt Yoh were also involved. Yoh would be out of the race, while Moore and Gibble would continue. The final single file restart would see Swavely again get the jump, but Nate Gibble would be able to keep up a bit closer this time. Brandon Gibble would spin in turn two setting up the single file restart. Swavely held the lead, when Jesse Maurer made contact with Nate Gibble. Maurer would continue without a yellow but lost several spots. Jessica Moore stopped on the track with two laps to go, giving Schmuck one last shot at the race leader. The effort would come up short as Jason Swavely took his second straight win over Schmuck and Gibble.

The Hyper Racing 600’s would take to the racetrack as the middle feature of the night, with micro-sprint rookie Nico Flammer and Jesse Maurer on the front row. Flammer would hold off the veteran Maurer for the first five laps until Joe Kepple spun in turn four. Nash Ely, Holden Eckman, Heath Hehnly and Chris Gerhart would trade haymakers in a battle for the middle of the top ten. The front row would remain the same as the initial start, while Brent and Nash Ely would make up row two. One lap was scored by the field before Johnny Smith spun in turn two. Nash Ely made a quick pass for third on the restart. Flammer would continue to hold off Maurer for the lead as Brian Kramer spun in turn three. Ten laps in the duel at the front would resume. Maurer was able to get around Flammer on the restart and set sail, while Hehnly would battle with Flammer for second. With eight to go Hehnly would clear Flammer down the front stretch and try to chase down Maurer for the lead. Two laps later Hehnly would get the break he needed as Kepple spun again in turn four. Maurer and Hehnly would restart up front while Flammer and Brent Ely made up row two. Several drivers made their way forward, lead by TJ Greve who started in 19th and ran ninth at the restart. As the front pair danced at each end of the speedway, Olivia Thayer, Jarid Kunkle, and Aaron Espenshade would crash in turn three. With six laps to go the final double wide restart saw the lead battle resume while Flammer and Nash Ely would comprise the second row. Maurer restarted on the outside, and it proved to be the pivotal moment in the race as Hehnly was able to make the pass cleanly and claim the lead with four to go. Aaron Espenshade flipped in turn three, while TJ Greve did the same in turn one bringing out the caution flag again. Hehnly would pull away on the restart and claim the win over Maurer and Flammer.

The 125/4 Stroke division was up next, with Zach Hollinger and Matt Fernsler on the front row. One night after getting his first career win in the 270’s, Fernsler hoped to continue the strong start to his season. Frensler would drop back on the start as Holden Eckman and Brent Shearer would make quick work of getting into the top three. Cliff and Marty Brian would duel with Fernsler for the fourth position. Shearer was able to get around Eckman with 18 laps to go. Hollinger and Shearer would fight through lap traffic and swap the lead just past the halfway point. Cliff Brian Jr was able to get around Eckman for third and rapidly caught the leaders who were stuck behind the lapped car of Zach Young. With four laps to go, Mike Glass and Ron Young made contact, which saw Young flip on the front stretch. With a single file restart upcoming, Hollinger would lead over Shearer, Cliff Brian Jr, Eckman and Fernsler. Justin Harrington started 18th but would make this restart in sixth. Hollinger showed a little bit of a gap to Shearer but slammed the door just as quick. The top three got away cleanly, but Isaac Graby and Mike Glass made contact and stopped in turn four. Hollinger made a very quick getaway and opened a three car length lead over Shearer. The race would finish just that way, with Hollinger claiming the win over Shearer and Cliff Brian Jr.

The 270’s would round out the night with a four position invert. Tommy Rinck and Alex Swift would lead the field, with Toby Blumenshine and Mike Rutherford just behind. A pair of 2020 race winners in TJ Greve and Nick Skias started in the third row. Rinck got the good start he needed and was able to fend off Swift and Blumenshine who went to work battling for second. Matt Fernsler made contact with the outside wall in turn three bringing out the first caution. Swift made the pass for the lead look easy off turn four, and Blumenshine tried to pass Rinck down the backstretch as Chase Walker spun on the front stretch. Swift and Rinck would restart cleanly, as the battle for fourth intensified. Blumenshine contacted Rutherford which spun that car. Blumenshine would be sent to the rear for the contact. The third caution was on the speedway with only seven laps on the scoreboard. The restart was a bit jumbled towards the back and Dave Williams spun as a result of the contact. On the restart, Rutherford and Swavely got around the third place running Rinck as the leaders opened a gap to third. Anthony Yerger crashed off of turn four with 10 laps on the board bringing out the fifth caution and giving the final opportunity for a double-wide restart. Swift was once again untouchable on the restart getting out to a five car length advantage. Rutherford was able to clear Skias in turns three and four, claiming the second position. One lap later Pete Skias and Austin Graby crashed in turn two bringing out the sixth caution. With the race at halfway, Swavely came quickly round Skias but couldn’t gain any ground on Rutherford for second. Dan Lane Jr moved up from his 20th starting position to run in the sixth position. Skias passed back Swavely for third as Rutherford caught Swift for the lead. Getting stuck behind the lapped car of Trent Eberhart, Swift had to grab the brakes hard in turn four, leading Rutherford to make contact and spin. Rutherford would be done for the night. The final chance for Skias and Swavely came on the restart with three laps to go. Skias made his first move inside of turn three with two laps to go, and it proved to be his only attempt at the pass. Swift would claim the win by nearly one second over Skias and Swavely.

Coming up next week is the annual members-only Clyde Martin Memorial Race. Instead of running for double points, this one is for big money. $750 awaits the victors, with $500 to second and $300 to third place; and the full field will see increased payouts across all four divisions. Special 35 lap features are on order as well. Gates open for spectators at 4:30, with hot laps at 6:00 and racing to immediately follow. Full information on the entry rules and payouts are available on the web at ClydeMartinSpeedway.com. As always, a free live stream is available on thee track Facebook page as well as on the National Racing Network Facebook and YouTube channels. Now more than ever, it’s never been a better time to experience the excitement that is Lanco!

125/4 Stroke Results:

1. 3h Zack Hollinger; 2. 647 Brent Shearer; 3. 99 Cliff Brian Jr; 4. 76 Justin Harrington; 5. 11h Holden Eckman; 6. 16 Marty Brian; 7. 26c Michael Coen; 8. 6 Mike Glass; 9. 19 Matt Fernsler; 10. 7L Chase Layser; 11. 62 Eddie Nocera; 12. 3y Zachary Young; 13. 26 Tyler Martin; 14. 3x Kenny Bushey; 15. 24 Logan Rhoad; 16. LR62 Corey Schmuck Jr;17. 78 Sara Borror; 18. 28 Kyle Lindsey; 19. 04 Sam Borger; 20. 18 Ron Young; 21. 22 Jared St. John; 22. 77g Isaac Graby; 23. 25w Nate Weidman; 24. 44 Riley Simmons

270 Results:

1. 02 Alex Swift; 2. 3s Nick Skias; 3. 92 Jason Swavely; 4. 3 TJ Greve; 5. 29j Dan Lane Jr; 6. 55 Pete Skias; 7. 11r Tommy Rinck; 8. 21d Dave Williams; 9. 17j Jarrett Imler; 10. 21 Toby Blumenshine; 11. 4k Trent Eberhart; 12. 63 Tajae Adams; 13. 96w Chase Walker; 14. 8z Nate Gibble; 15. 5k Mike Rutherford; 16. 34 Christi Sweigart; 17. 87 Austin Graby; 18. 82 Heath Hehnly; 19. 5a Anthony Yerger; 20. 20 Corey Schmuck Jr; 21. 22j Josh Ohlinger; 22. 19 Matt Fernsler; 23. 48x Billy Logeman

Hyper Racing 600 Results:

1. 5 Heath Hehnly; 2. 3 Jesse Maurer; 3. 41 Nico Flammer; 4. 22 Nash Ely; 5. 51 Chris Gerhart; 6. 77 Jason Swavely; 7. 17 Brent Ely; 8. 03 Ryan Groff; 9. 2s Mike Rutherford; 10. 75 Mark Yoder; 11. 11z Zach Light; 12. 21 Toby Blumenshine; 13. 75k Jarid Kunkle; 14. 16s Brianne Witmer-Cronrath; 15. 3g Jesse Snyder; 16.. 4s John Smith; 17. 11h Holden Eckman; 18. 9 Joe Kepple; 19. 24t TJ Greve; 20. 1e Aaron Espenshade; 21. 39 Olivia Thayer; 22. 71 Brian Kramer; DNS 1 William Urkuski

Sportsman Results:

1. 14 Jason Swavely; 2. 26 Corey Schmuck; 3. N8 Nate Gibble; 4. 88 Jesse Maurer; 5. 77 Mike Kreiser; 6. 16p Patrick Kirn; 7. 7L Chase Layser; 8. 13s Charles Hellinger; 9. 22 Clinton Hauser; 10. 11g Brandon Gibble; 11. 15 Robert Shannaman; 12. 53s Shannon Slaughter; 13. 18 Noah Merkey; 14. 9g Jamie Flickinger; 15. 23k Courtney Kupp; 16. 19m Max Fasnacht; 17. 11m Jessica Moore; 18. 13b Matt Yoh II; 19. 5 Bret Cronrath; 20. 21 Toby Blumenshine; 21. 36s Steve Smith Sr; 22. 48 Billy Logeman

All-Star Slingshot Results:

1. 3 Dave Carraghan; 2. 16t Thomas Nettleship; 3. 32 Brett Bieber; 4. 7a Josh Patterson; 5. 56 Andrew Turpin; 6. 1 Tyler Ulsh; 7. 21w Chuck Whary; 8. 3s Brett Spitler; 9. 21j Josh Weiant; 10. 42 Mason Pittenger; 11. 14c Carter Weiant; 12. 47z Zach Steffey; 13. 112 Cody Kline; 14. 13 Blaire Schoenly; 15. 28m Dave Morrell