By Kasey Kreider
Adaptability is key in dirt-track racing. The ability to adapt to changing track conditions, the ability to adapt to different lines on the track in order to find more speed or maneuver through traffic, and, in some cases, the ability to adapt to different types of cars are all crucial parts of the sport. That last point in particular is an area where specifically T. J. Greve and Nick Skias have been able to thrive so far in this young 2021 season. Greve picked up the victory Saturday night in the Hyper Racing 600s, marking his third victory in as many weekends and in as many different classes. Skias, meanwhile, followed up his victory in the 600s a weekend ago with a triumph in the 270s. Elsewhere, Brent Shearer held off a hard-charging Justin Harrington by half-a-car-length to take home victory in the 125/4 Stroke class. Dave Carraghan left no doubt after a dominating performance to win in the All Star Slingshots’ 2021 debut. In the final feature of Yuri’s/World Space Party Night, Toby Blumenshine continued his dominant start to 2021 with a riveting 11th-to-1st drive in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman division.
Jarid Kunkle, Mike Rutherford, and Jason Swavely would take home the three heat race victories for the Hyper Racing 600s. However, an inversion pill of 12, coupled with the handicap requiring that the top 3 finishers from the previous week’s feature start 10th, 11th, and 12th, would turn the lineup for the feature upside down. In the process, it put a familiar face on pole. T. J. Greve would start from the point, looking to back up victories in the wingless 125/4 Stroke race and from last week in the 270s. Chris Panczner would join him on the front row, with heat race winners Swavely and Rutherford, the latter of whom was also the quick-timer in hot laps, starting 8th and 9th, respectively, and the top three finishers from last week, Nick Skias, Kunkle, and Ryan Groff, rounding out the top dozen in the inverse of that order.
Greve would get away quickly off the start, but the driver to watch quickly became Swavely, as he made a big move on the initial start from the outside line, only to watch his work get evaporated by a four-car incident in turn 3, which started when Aaron Espenshade and Mike Rutherford got together, and ended with Brian Kramer’s car going upside down. Swavely would be on the inside of row four for the ensuing restart and went to work picking off cars as Greve built a sizeable cushion. A lap 12 caution for the stalled machine of Logan Rumsey regrouped the field, with Greve and Panczner still 1-2, Chris Gerhart in third, and Swavely up to fourth. The restart saw Gerhart get past Panczner for second, but it wasn’t long before Swavely passed both drivers, continuing to use the high side to his advantage.
Still, it seemed as though it would be smooth sailing for Greve out in front. He had built a 2.836-second advantage, but an issue for Holden Eckman with five laps to go brought out the caution and erased that gap. Swavely would line up right on the tail of Greve for the single-file restart that was to come. Greve was able to fire off quickly, and although Swavely made the top side work to near-perfection, Greve was able to run just as well on the bottom. The pink panther was on the prowl and closed the gap to two car lengths at the white flag. Swavely would send it in on the high side of turn 3, but Greve made the bottom stick, giving him the momentum he needed to hang on and beat Swavely back to the line as the two ran nose-to-tail under the checkered flag.
The final margin of victory for the Hartly, DE native came in at 0.148 seconds. Greve, who led 25 laps en route to the win, also turned the race’s fastest lap with a time of 10.671 seconds. Behind Swavely would come Gerhart and Panczner, with Kunkle rallying from his 11th starting position to finish fifth. The other two handicap drivers, Groff and Skias, would come across in that order just outside of the top five.
T. J. Greve held off Jason Swavely on the final restart to pick up the victory in the Hyper Racing 600s. (Brandon Worthington/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
The 125/4 Stroke division would contest the next feature of the night. Holden Eckman was quickest in hot laps and backed up that performance with a heat race win. Matt Fernsler and Sam Borger took home wins in the other two heat races, and the inversion pill of 2 meant that Fernsler would be the one starting on pole. Brent Shearer would complete the front two rows, with last week’s top two, Justin Harrington and Alex Lukacs, starting next to each other on row 6.
It was Fernsler who got away to the point early over Eckman, as Shearer worked up to third and Harrington, Lukacs, T. J. Greve, and Chase Layser all made advances through the pack. Shearer would work past Eckman on a lap 5 restart and began pressuring Fernsler for the lead prior to another caution on lap 9. It was on this restart that Shearer made his move for the lead, taking over the top spot as Eckman worked past Fernsler to get back to second. His time there would be short lived, however, as Eckman’s car fell out of the race with mechanical issues on lap 13. That gave second back to Fernsler, but his new challenger would come in the form of Justin Harrington, who had methodically made his way from 12th starting position up to third. Harrington would get past Fernsler for the runner-up spot with seven laps to go, but had roughly a two-second deficit to erase in order to catch the sister car that Shearer was piloting. Lapped traffic, however, would prove to be crucial, as Harrington took large chunks out of Shearer’s lead as the two were working through the gaggle of cars. Harrington was within striking distance as the leaders took the white flag and continued to close back to turn 3. He diamonded off the corner to get a straight shot and momentum off of turn 4. Harrington was able to get alongside of Shearer off the corner, but Shearer, from Manheim, PA, was able to hold on by half-a-car-length, which equated to a 0.083-second margin of victory, to pick up the win.
Behind Shearer and Harrington came Lukacs, who rallied from 11th to round out the podium. Greve, making a moonlight appearance behind the wheel of the No. 1st machine, came home fourth, with Layser completing the top five. Fernsler, who led the first eight laps and came home sixth, also turned the fastest lap of the race at 11.870 seconds.
Brent Shearer beat Justin Harrington by half-a-car-length to win the feature in the 125/4 Stroke division. (Brandon Worthington/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
An even dozen All Star Slingshots made their first appearance of 2021 at the Clyde on Saturday night. Nolen Layser turned the quick time in hot laps, but it would be veterans Brett Bieber and Dave Carraghan taking victories in the heat races. An inversion pill of 5 put Ryan Raidline on the pole, with Brett Spitler to his outside. Andrew Turpin would round out the top three with Carraghan and Bieber following in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Carraghan nearly got spun around on the initial start of the race as he attempted to work his way up to the front. A spin by Cooper Schoenly on the opening lap gave Carraghan a do-over, and it only took until lap 5 for Carraghan to work his way inside of Raidline and make the pass for the lead. Bieber was able to move into second and had one opportunity to pounce on a lap 12 restart, but Carraghan was able to pull away easily from the No. 32. The race ran green for the final 14 laps, and Carraghan was able to pull away to a 2.253-second margin of victory over Bieber to complete the dominant performance. Carraghan also turned the race’s fastest lap with a time of 12.860 seconds. Turpin, Raidline, and Faith Turnbaugh completed the top five.
Dave Carraghan led 21 of 25 laps in a dominant performance to win the feature for the All Star Slingshots. (Brandon Worthington/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
An inversion pill of 2 put heat race winner Anthony Yerger on pole for the 270 feature, with Corey Schmuck, Jr. lining up to his outside. Mike Rutherford, the quick-timer in hot laps, would start inside of row two, with Nick Skias alongside. The handicap put three quick cars in positions 10 through 12. Jason Swavely, who had won his heat race, would start 10th, with Heath Hehnly 11th and T. J. Greve, who had also won his heat race, starting in 12th.
Anthony Yerger got away to the point on the initial start, but it would be Nick Skias coming to challenge him early. Skias would bypass Yerger on lap 4 to take over the race lead, and it would be his father, Pete Skias, who had picked up another dramatic victory at Linda’s on Friday night, moving into the second position. The battle between the two would come to a head on a lap 14 restart, where Pete tried to squeeze inside of Nick at the entrance to turn 1. The hole closed, and the two made contact, sending Pete’s car sideways. Although he was able to save the car and continue, the incident started a chain reaction that saw Bradley Brown get turned sideways, collecting Ben Layser and sending Layser’s car upside down.
Son and father would remain 1-2 until six laps to go, when Mike Rutherford was able to drive past Pete Skias after running on the high side. Skias drove deep into the next set of corners and lost control, sliding to a stop in turn 4 as Chase Walker popped the outside wall trying to get past. Rutherford would have an opportunity to start alongside Nick Skias for the ensuing restart, but couldn’t get past, and an incident between Walker and Chase Layser put the field back under caution and set up a single-file restart attempt. Skias was able to pull away on the final restart as Rutherford appeared to be struggling with a left-rear tire that was going flat. That gave Skias the cushion he needed, and he didn’t look back all the way to the twin checkers.
Skias, of Wernersville, PA, set the race’s fastest lap with a time of 11.161 seconds, and came across 1.638 seconds in front of Swavely, who rallied to finish second once again. Hehnly would come home in the third position, while Greve came across in fourth following a last-corner pass of Rutherford, who nursed his car home to complete the top five.
Nick Skias took home a checkered flag for the second consecutive weekend, winning the feature in the 270 division. (Brandon Worthington/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
The night would finish with the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman division, and for the second week in a row, the inversion pill was 9. This also meant that for the second week in a row, Clinton Hauser and Max Fasnacht would start on the front row, although this time it would be Fasnacht on pole with Hauser to his outside. Dave Williams and heat race winners Bret Cronrath and Charles Hellinger would complete the top five, with Toby Blumenshine, the quick-timer in hot laps and winner of the first heat race, starting 12th due to the handicap. An issue for ninth-place starter Shannon Slaughter prior to the green flag meant that Blumenshine would begin his charge to the front from 11th.
It would be Hauser taking the early lead from the outside of the front row, and he would lead the opening laps just as he had the week prior. Cronrath would move into second, but it would be Blumenshine making the big moves to the front. Over the first five laps, he had worked his way from 11th to 4th, and a caution on lap 6 gave Blumenshine an opportunity to regroup closer to the front. From there, it seemed as if it was only a matter of time. Blumenshine was able to motor through to second in the opening couple of laps after the restart and on lap 11, made the move to the inside of Hauser to take over the lead. From there, the Reinholds, PA native would build a nearly three-second advantage over the next ten laps, before a caution with five laps to go for a mechanical issue for Williams, and an incident which saw Corey Schmuck, Jr. go upside down as the field was slowing for the caution, erased the lead.
However, killer late-race restarts have been the early-season theme for Blumenshine, and that proved to once again be the case on the final restart, as Blumenshine turned in the fastest lap of the race, 11.207 seconds, on the first lap after the green flag flew. That gave Hauser no opportunity to capitalize and allowed Blumenshine to set sail and start the season with three victories and go two-for-two in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman class. His final margin of victory was 2.254 seconds over Hauser, with Cronrath coming across in third. Mike Kreiser rebounded from starting ninth due to the handicap in order to finish fourth, and Josh Stoyer came from 15th starting position to round out the top five.
Toby Blumenshine won the feature event for the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman division for the second straight week. (Brandon Worthington/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Next Saturday, April 24th will be College Night at the Clyde. We encourage all to wear a t-shirt, sweatshirt, or hoodie with your favorite college or alma mater to the racetrack. Grandstand admission for all college students with a valid ID will be $5. The gates will open at 4:30, with warm ups and racing beginning at 6:00. With both the weather and the season beginning to heat up, there’s never been a better time to come out and LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!
Results:
Hyper Racing 600 A-Main (25 Laps):
1) 24t-T. J. Greve
2) 14-Jason Swavely
3) 51-Chris Gerhart
4) 15p-Chris Panczner
5) 75k-Jarid Kunkle
6) 03-Ryan Groff
7) 7-Nick Skias
8) 42u-Tyler Ulrich
9) 1-Will Urkuski
10) 17-Brent Ely
11) 11z-Zach Light
12) 21s-Steven Snyder, Jr.
13) 5-Heath Hehnly
14) 2s-Mike Rutherford
15) 44-Rodney Westhafer
16) 10m-Preston Lattomus
17) 75-Mark Yoder
18) 9-Pete Skias
19) 23-Bradley Brown (DNF)
20) 11h-Holden Eckman (DNF)
21) 41-Logan Rumsey (DNF)
22) 17m-Christian Bruno (DNF)
23) 1e-Aaron Espenshade (DNF)
24) 71-Brian Kramer (DNF)
125/4 Stroke A-Main (25 Laps):
1) 76b-Brent Shearer
2) 76-Justin Harrington
3) 44x-Alex Lukacs
4) 1st-T. J. Greve
5) 7L-Chase Layser
6) 19-Matt Fernsler
7) 82-John Maurer
8) 32-Michael Hoffmaster
9) 28-Kyle Lindsey
10) 78-Jarrid Hellinger
11) 26-Tyler Martin
12) 04-Sam Borger
13) 112-Dylan Yeingst
14) 81-Dylan Holmes
15) 78c-Sara Borror (-1L)
16) 15-Alyssa Holmes (-1L)
17) 29-Brandon Shearer (-1L)
18) 57k-Blaire Schoenly (-1L)
19) 3h-Corey Harting (-2L)
20) 53n-Ben Newmaster (-2L)
21) 11h-Holden Eckman (DNF)
22) 17-Masen Stapleton (DNF)
23) 7d-Chris Dolan (DNS)
All Star Slingshots A-Main (25 Laps):
1) 3-Dave Carraghan
2) 32-Brett Bieber
3) 56-Andrew Turpin
4) 00-Ryan Raidline
5) 15-Faith Turnbaugh
6) 55a-Amanda Angstadt
7) 3s-Brett Spitler
8) 21w-Chuck Whary
9) 21j-Josh Weiant
10) 3L-Nolen Layser
11) 73-Cooper Schoenly (DNF)
12) 76-Chase Bixler (DNF)
270 A-Main (25 Laps):
1) 3s-Nick Skias
2) 92-Jason Swavely
3) 82-Heath Hehnly
4) 52T-T. J. Greve
5) 27o-Mike Rutherford
6) 8s-Mike Skias
7) 34-Christi Sweigart
8) 26-Corey Schmuck, Jr.
9) 5a-Anthony Yerger
10) 11-Mike Uhrich
11) 27-Darren Schott
12) 3-Pete Skias
13) 22j-Josh Ohlinger
14) 96w-Chase Walker
15) 4L-Ben Layser
16) 91-Jack Redcay
17) 7L-Chase Layser (DNF)
18) 55x-Jimmy Wampole (DNF)
19) 23-Bradley Brown (DNF)
20) 21d-Dave Williams (DNF)
21) 21-Toby Blumenshine (DNF)
22) 48-Jonah Meck (DNF)
23) 1L-Dave Labe (DNF)
Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman A-Main (25 Laps):
1) 21-Toby Blumenshine
2) 22-Clinton Hauser
3) 5-Bret Cronrath
4) 77-Mike Kreiser
5) 3s-Josh Stoyer
6) 16-Brianne Cronrath-Witmer
7) 20-Max Fasnacht
8) 9g-Jamie Flickinger
9) 15-Robert Shanaman
10) 16p-Patrick Kirn
11) 8-Michael Spadafora
12) 11m-Jessica Moore
13) 30-Ryan Heckman (-1L)
14) 13b-Matt Yoh, II (-1L)
15) 36s-Steve Smith, Sr. (-1L)
16) 22s-Brett Sculley (-1L)
17) 53-Rod St. John (-1L)
18) 4-Broc Emery (-2L)
19) 26b-Corey Schmuck, Jr. (DNF)
20) 21d-Dave Williams (DNF)
21) 14m-Chelsey Moore (DNF)
22) 13s-Charles Hellinger (DNF)
23) 23k-Courtney Kupp (DNF)
24) 53s-Shannon Slaughter (DNF)