By Kasey Kreider
Sometimes all it takes is one night to serve as a reminder that the old guard is still capable of getting the job done. For multiple-time track champions Mike Miller and Heath Hehnly in particular, it would be this night that they would find themselves back to a place they were more than familiar with. Miller followed up his third-place effort in the 125/4 Strokes two weekends prior with a riveting drive from fourth to the win in the 270 feature. Hehnly, meanwhile, would bypass Holden Eckman on a restart to take home his first win of the season in the Hyper Racing 600s. The Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman feature also saw a new winner in 2021, as Anthony Yerger finally turned weeks of consistent runs into a victory, taking advantage of a late issue for then-race-leader Charles Hellinger. In the 125/4 Stroke division, it would be Matt Fernsler getting his second victory of the season in dominating fashion.
The 270 feature would be first on the docket for County Fair Night at the Clyde. Mike Uhrich and Nick Skias would start on the front row for the main event following an inversion pill of 11. Heat race winners Mike Rutherford, Matt Fernsler, and Mike Skias would start seventh, eighth, and 11th, respectively, while point leader and most recent winner Jason Swavely would roll off 12th. T. J. Greve was quickest of anybody in warmups, but would start 14th after struggling to work his way from the back in his heat race.
Uhrich’s time on pole would be short-lived, however, as his car broke and pulled into the infield coming to the one to go signal. That would move Nick Skias to the pole position, with Chase Walker on his outside. Heath Hehnly and Mike Miller would now complete the first two rows. The initial start of the race is when Miller would make his first big move, rocketing past Hehnly and Walker on the outside of turns 1 and 2, and closing to the back bumper of Skias by the time the leaders got to turn 3. Miller would run about a lane higher than Skias over the first few laps, trying to find a way around before the caution flew. It would then be on the ensuing restart where Miller would make his move for the lead, once again making the pass on the outside and clearing Skias as the leaders came back to turn 3.
The battle would be far from over, however, as Skias would then adapt to the line that Miller had been able to make work throughout the race’s early stages. Skias would run a lane higher through the corners, while Miller would wrap the bottom in clean air. Even through multiple restarts, Skias would hound the back of the black, white, and gold No. 2 machine, looking for any opportunity to stick a nose to the outside. Skias nearly did poke to the outside on a couple of occasions, but Miller would close the door off the corner each time, leaving Skias inches away from the wall as he looked for room to race. The final eight-lap run to the checkered flag would see this nose-to-tail battle continue, but Miller would stay flawless all the way to the finish line, hanging on for his first win of the season.
The Reading, PA driver would come across just 0.221 seconds in front of the runner-up Skias, who did turn the race’s fastest lap at 10.958 seconds. It would be Pete Skias following Nick across the line for third, finally getting a good result after a season plagued by bad luck. After taking the green flag in 13th, Greve would rally for a fourth-place finish, while Swavely came from 11th to round out the top five. Swavely extended his points lead to 89 over Nick Skias as Mike Rutherford, who entered the evening 67 points behind Swavely, fell out of the race with an issue and was credited with a 16th-place finish.
Mike Miller held off Nick Skias to pick up his first Lanco win of 2021 in the 270 division. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
The Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman division would be up next for their feature event. Jamie Flickinger would line up on pole with Charles Hellinger, the fastest driver in warmups, starting alongside. Max Fasnacht and heat race winner Anthony Yerger would go from row 2, while the other heat race winners, Bret Cronrath and Corey Schmuck, Jr., would start tenth and 12th, respectively, due to the handicap.
Like Mike Uhrich in the race prior, Flickinger would have issues after starting from the pole, although his would not become apparent until after the green flag dropped. Flickinger’s car dropped like a rock through the field on the start as his car was not up to full song. While Flickinger would pull off after three laps, his misfortune would allow Hellinger to take the lead from the outside pole. It also allowed Toby Blumenshine to work his way from sixth starting position up to second, while Yerger and Cronrath would engage in a fierce battle for third. Hellinger would pull out to the advantage early, but Blumenshine would begin to close the gap in lapped traffic as the first 12 laps of the race ran green. That run would come to an end right as Blumenshine was beginning his challenge for the lead, as Dave Williams, Clinton Hauser, and Nate Gibble all tangled in turn 4.
The yellow flag would set off a chaotic series of events over the next few moments of the race. It would start on the restart, when race officials called Blumenshine for jumping the restart. The infraction meant that he would have to go back one row for the ensuing restart, but he would not get the chance to after an issue with his No. 21 machine saw him pull to infield and out of the race for what would go down as his first DNF of the season. His misfortune moved Yerger to the outside of the front row, and he would make the pass for the lead on the outside. However, an issue for Broc Emery would bring the caution out once again, negating Yerger’s move to the front. The single-file restart that followed would see Hellinger pull away just slightly while Yerger and Cronrath continued their scrap for second. Hellinger would hold on to the lead until the caution flew for Michael Spadafora’s flip on the frontstretch with eight laps to go. Under the caution period, Hellinger’s car would lose power and come agonizingly to a stop in turn 2, spelling the end of his race and giving the lead to Yerger.
The battle that had been waged all race between Yerger and Cronrath appeared destined to become the battle for the win, but a new player would enter his name into the hat on the restart. Jason Swavely, keeping the seat warm in the No. 30 usually piloted by Ryan Heckman, had driven from 14th starting spot up to third. On the restart, he would move past Cronrath and into the second position. Cronrath’s car showed plenty of speed, however, and he would get back by Swavely and work to reel in Yerger before the final caution flew with three laps to go. The restart would be single file and would see Cronrath, who seemed to be a little bit quicker than Yerger, line up right behind the race leader. However, the restart would again prove to be costly for Cronrath, as Swavely jumped to the inside in turn 3 and once again took over the runner-up spot. The two would battle for second, allowing Yerger, from Fleetwood, PA, to scamper away and take home the win for the first time this season.
Swavely would hold off Cronrath for second in his moonlight appearance and would come across 0.684 seconds behind Yerger. Patrick Kirn made another strong rally, this time from 13th to finish in fourth. Schmuck, Jr. followed up his win two weekends ago with a fifth-place finish. Hellinger, after leading the race’s first 17 laps and setting the fastest lap of the race at 11.247 seconds, would be credited with a 15th-place finish. Blumenshine would be credited with an 18th-place finish and saw his points lead chopped nearly in half, from 106 down to 54 over Cronrath.
Anthony Yerger (middle) kept Jason Swavely (left) and Bret Cronrath (right) behind him on a late restart to win the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman feature. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Holden Eckman and Brent Ely would lead an 18-car field for the Hyper Racing 600 feature. Will Urkuski was quickest of anyone during hot laps and won his heat race, but would have to start ninth. Chris Panczner, the other heat race winner, would start 11th alongside of most recent winner Jason Swavely.
Ely would be called for jumping the initial start of the race, putting him back to fourth and moving Keith Blumenstein, Jr. to the outside of the front row, with Heath Hehnly moving to third. Eckman would break away to the point and build up a comfortable lead over Hehnly over the race’s early laps. The race would run clean and green until Blumenstein, Jr. and Aaron Espenshade tangled in turn 4, knocking Blumenstein, Jr. out of the race. The restart would see Eckman and Hehnly on the front row, and in a battle of youth vs. experience, restarts would be the difference maker. Hehnly was able to hang alongside of Eckman coming off of turn 4 and took over the lead on the high side of turns 1 and 2. However, a wild ride for Panczner in turn 3 that also collected Jarid Kunkle put the field back under caution before the lap could be completed. Eckman would re-inherit the lead and keep it on the single-file restart, but a quick caution just a few laps later would give Hehnly another chance on the outside. Hehnly was able to make the same move as before, and this time the race stayed green, allowing him to keep the lead.
Hehnly would pull away over what would become a 13-lap green flag run to the checkered flag. Only as Hehnly caught lapped traffic with a few laps to go was Eckman able to close the gap and potentially mount a challenge. But when Eckman slipped off of turn 2 on the final lap, that gave Hehnly all the breathing room he needed to preserve the victory. Hehnly would come across with a final margin of victory of 0.537 seconds over Eckman, while also turning the race’s fastest lap of 10.462 seconds. Jesse Maurer made a slide job pass on Eckman in the final corner for second, but Eckman was able to cross back over off of turn 4, relegating Maurer to third position. Nick Skias and Bradley Brown completed the top five, while Swavely came home seventh, maintaining his points lead but having it dwindled to 51 over Hehnly, who had entered the night 79 points back in fifth.
Heath Hehnly took the lead on a lap 13 restart and led the remainder of the race to pick up his first victory of the season in the Hyper Racing 600 feature. (Photo Courtesy of Brandon Worthington/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
The 125/4 Stroke division would contest the final feature of the evening, and it would be rookie Michael Hoffmaster starting from the pole after winning his heat race. Matt Fernsler won his heat as well and would start second, while Alex Lukacs was quickest in warmups, won the first heat, and would start third.
Hoffmaster would jump to the lead on the race’s initial start, but Fernsler would not let the young driver get away by much before the caution fell on lap 4. The ensuing restart would prove to be the moment of the race, as Fernsler would fall in behind Hoffmaster in turn 3 before ducking to the bottom off of turn 4 and taking over the lead. From there, Fernsler would check out to a sizeable advantage, at one point more than four seconds, over the battle for second between Hoffmaster, Lukacs, and Chase Layser. Fernsler would have to pick his way carefully through the lappers throughout most of the race, but did so masterfully to cruise home to his second 125/4 Stroke victory of the season.
Fernsler’s margin of victory was closed to 1.697 seconds at the checkered flag over Lukacs, who won the battle for second and also turned the race’s fastest lap with a time of 11.789 seconds. Layser would bypass Hoffmaster in the closing laps to finish in third, while Hoffmaster capped off his best night of the season with a fourth-place finish. Justin Harrington would complete the top five and see his points lead chopped to 19 over Lukacs.
Matt Fernsler turned in a dominating performance to take his second victory of the season in the 125/4 Stroke division. (Photo Courtesy of Brandon Worthington/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
While there is no racing on Saturday, July 3rd, next Sunday, July 4th at the Clyde will be the Sunday Funday/4th of July Spectacular featuring the wingless 600s, winged 270s, wingless 125/4 Strokes, and the All Star Slingshots. Gates will once again open at 4:30, with warmups and racing slated to begin at 6:00. As we move into the second half of the racing season here at the Clyde, come out to see the fireworks on and off the racetrack and LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!
Results:
270 A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 2-Mike Miller
2. 3s-Nick Skias
3. 3-Pete Skias
4. 52T-T. J. Greve
5. 92-Jason Swavely
6. 82-Heath Hehnly
7. 88d-Andrew Dietrich
8. 96w-Chase Walker
9. 8s-Mike Skias
10. 23-Bradley Brown
11. 77-Isaac Graby
12. 4k-Trent Eberhart
13. 19-Matt Fernsler
14. 34-Christi Sweigart
15. 11m-Chelsey Moore
16. 27o-Mike Rutherford (DNF)
17. 18-Noah Merkey (DNF)
18. 1L-Dave Labe (DNF)
19. 21d-Dave Williams (DNF)
20. 97-Billy Logeman (DNF)
21. 14-Anthony Yerger (DNF)
22. 29-Brandon Shearer (DNF)
23. 11-Mike Uhrich (DNF)
24. 59j-Jimmy Wampole (DNF)
Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 5a-Anthony Yerger
2. 30-Jason Swavely
3. 5-Bret Cronrath
4. 16p-Patrick Kirn
5. 26-Corey Schmuck, Jr.
6. 21-David Ravel
7. 53-T. J. Greve
8. 20-Max Fasnacht
9. 11g-Nate Gibble
10. 23k-Courtney Kupp
11. 99k-Chad Kreiser
12. 53s-Shannon Slaughter
13. 13b-Matt Yoh, II (-1L)
14. 3s-Josh Stoyer (DNF)
15. 13s-Charles Hellinger (DNF)
16. 15-Robert Shanaman (DNF)
17. 8-Michael Spadafora (DNF)
18. 21-Toby Blumenshine (DNF)
19. 77-Mike Kreiser (DNF)
20. 4-Broc Emery (DNF)
21. 21d-Dave Williams (DNF)
22. 22-Clinton Hauser (DNF)
23. 9g-Jamie Flickinger (DNF)
24. 36s-Steve Smith, Sr. (DNF)
Hyper Racing 600 A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 5-Heath Hehnly
2. 11h-Holden Eckman
3. 3-Jesse Maurer
4. 7-Nick Skias
5. 23-Bradley Brown
6. 17-Brent Ely
7. 14-Jason Swavely
8. 51-Chris Gerhart
9. 1-Will Urkuski
10. 16t-Joe Timmins
11. 11z-Zach Light
12. 39-Olivia Thayer
13. 1e-Aaron Espenshade
14. 24-Logan Rhoad
15. 2s-Mike Rutherford (DNF)
16. 15p-Chris Panczner (DNF)
17. 75k-Jarid Kunkle (DNF)
18. 98-Keith Blumenstein, Jr. (DNF)
DNS: 89s-Brett Greenlee
125/4 Stroke A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 19-Matt Fernsler
2. 44x-Alex Lukacs
3. 7L-Chase Layser
4. 32-Michael Hoffmaster
5. 76-Justin Harrington
6. 11h-Holden Eckman
7. 81-Dylan Holmes
8. 28-Kyle Lindsey
9. 7d-Chris Dolan
10. 16c-Don Hess
11. 1st-Steve Simmons
12. 44-Riley Simmons
13. 26-Tyler Martin
14. 78-Brandon Shearer
15. 78c-Jarrid Hellinger
16. 15-Alyssa Holmes (-1L)
17. 57k-Blaire Schoenly (-1L)
18. 04-Sam Borger (-1L)
19. 7a-Noah Martin (-3L)
20. 17-Masen Stapleton (DNF)
21. 3-Mike Miller (DNF)
22. 112-Dylan Yeingst (DNF)
DNS: 76b-Billy Logeman
DNS: 5-Terry Ellex
Point Standings:
270 Point Standings (Top 10):
1. 92-Jason Swavely (715)
2. 3s-Nick Skias (-89)
3. 27o-Mike Rutherford (-105)
4. 82-Heath Hehnly (-132)
5. 8s-Mike Skias (-170)
6. 23-Bradley Brown (-199)
7. 3-Pete Skias (-271)
T8. 21d-Dave Williams (-279)
T8. 52T-T. J. Greve (-279)
10. 14-Anthony Yerger (-290)
Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman Point Standings (Top 10):
1. 21-Toby Blumenshine (693)
2. 5-Bret Cronrath (-54)
3. 26-Corey Schmuck, Jr. (-145)
4. 3s-Josh Stoyer (-152)
5. 22-Clinton Hauser (-188)
6. 9g-Jamie Flickinger (-204)
7. 77-Mike Kreiser (-214)
8. 21d-Dave Williams (-221)
9. 15-Robert Shanaman (-226)
10. 99k-Chad Kreiser (-272)
Hyper Racing 600 Point Standings (Top 10):
1. 14-Jason Swavely (616)
2. 5-Heath Hehnly (-51)
3. 7-Nick Skias (-92)
4. 15p-Chris Panczner (-95)
5. 75k-Jarid Kunkle (-97)
6. 2s-Mike Rutherford (-103)
7. 17-Brent Ely (-107)
8. 23-Bradley Brown (-114)
9. 3-Jesse Maurer (-139)
10. 11z-Zach Light (-176)
125/4 Stroke A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 76-Justin Harrington (711)
2. 44x-Alex Lukacs (-19)
3. 19-Matt Fernsler (-106)
4. 7L-Chase Layser (-154)
5. 11h-Holden Eckman (-207)
6. 26-Tyler Martin (-278)
7. 32-Michael Hoffmaster (-300)
8. 78-Brandon Shearer (-310)
9. 28-Kyle Lindsey (-314)
10. 81-Dylan Holmes (-335)