By Kasey Kreider
It was a night of racing at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway which saw drivers be forced to race more than just their competitors, as inclement weather threatened the area for most of the early evening. But not even Mother Nature could move as fast as Jason Swavely, as he led the Hyper Racing 600 drivers across the finish line in a riveting 25-lapper that would conclude just before the skies opened up, ending the evening prematurely. The feature races for the 125/4 Strokes, 270s, and Skeet Craft Collision Sportsmans would be washed out, with those races slated to be made up at a to-be-determined date in the future.
The Hyper Racing 600 main event would feature 17 drivers, with a mixture of full-time drivers racing for points and those who were simply looking for another place to race, with most other local tracks calling off their events for the evening. After Chris Panczner took the victory in the first heat, the second heat appeared that it would be decided between the top two in the championship entering the evening, with Heath Hehnly leading Jason Swavely. However, Hehnly’s car suffered an issue with just a few laps remaining, forcing him out of the race and giving the win to Swavely. More importantly, it meant that Hehnly would have to come all the way from the rear of the feature, while Swavely would start from fifth after the inversion pill draw. Nick Skias would start from pole position with Quinn Roberts on his outside. Panczner would start from tenth due to the handicap rule, while Mason Peters, who was quickest in warmups, would roll off from eighth.
The feature event would be the first following the debut of two significant changes, which were rolled out and had been seen in action during the evening’s heats. First, the track had undergone a reconfiguration process during the week, with the bottom of the track becoming flatter and the banking becoming more progressive up toward the outside wall. The change would be made to encourage more multi-groove racing, while also making the track easier to pass on. Second, the restart zone on the backstretch would be no more. Instead, restarts would now take place off of turn 4, with one single line serving as the start line for the leader or the front row to take off at. This was done with the hope of eliminating some of the restart “games,” while also taking away some of the disadvantage for those starting on the outside lane. As it turned out, both changes would have a clear impact on the main event that would take place.
Skias and Roberts would hold their places at the front of the field on the initial start, while Swavely would get past both Will Urkuski and Marty Brian to move up into the third position. Early issues would befall Panczner, who entered the evening third in points but would see his car come to a stop in turn 4, bringing out the race’s first caution early. After a few quick cautions, the race would get into a rhythm, and the battle for the lead would be waged between Skias and Swavely.
Skias’ all-black Groff Motorsports ride would lead Swavely’s pink and white Nick Rapak-owned machine as the two drivers would run a car length or two apart before hitting lapped traffic. Things would get begin to get dicey there, as Swavely would use the lapped car of Kenny Beinhower as a pick, allowing him to make the move on Skias for the lead. However, Skias would not go away quietly, as he would stay within striking distance over the next few laps. As the two leaders entered turn 3 on lap 15, Skias was close enough to try a move, and he would throw it off into the corner looking to make a slide job pass for the lead. However, Skias would carry too much momentum off into the turn, as he slid past Swavely and then slid into the guardrail in turn 4. The contact with the wall would tip Skias’ car onto its side and bring out the caution, taking him out of the battle for the win.
The stage would be set with 11 laps remaining, and Swavely and Roberts would start from the front row. However, the restart would see a wild moment for Swavely, as he stood on the throttle and saw the car go into a wheelie, causing him to lose control and have to let off the throttle for a brief moment in order to settle the front end of the car back down. Swavely would fall back to third after the excursion, which seemed to be a direct consequence of the new turn 4 start line. He would regroup behind Roberts, who would lead laps in his one-off appearance at Lanco, and Bradley Brown, who had methodically worked up to second. However, it wouldn’t take long for Swavely to make up for his error. He would quickly take back the second spot from Brown, and after just a few laps, make the move past Roberts back to the lead. From there, Swavely would set sail at a blistering pace, and by 3.857 seconds, the Fleetwood, PA driver would come under the checkered flag to score his second winged 600 victory of the season. He would turn the fastest lap for good measure, with a time of 10.794 seconds.
Jason Swavely (No. 14) rallied from a restart miscue to make the pass for the win on Quinn Roberts (No. 12) with nine laps to go. (Photo Courtesy of Brandon Worthington/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
However, the points lead for Swavely only grew slightly thanks to an outstanding rally through the field by Hehnly. After taking the initial green flag in 15th, Hehnly would pick his way through the pack throughout the race, taking advantage of the reconfigured track, and completed his rally by passing Roberts for the runner-up position in the final corner. Hehnly’s drive meant that Swavely was only able to stretch his advantage by five points over the driver of car No. 5, and that he will now take an even 60-point advantage into the Clyde Martin Memorial in two weeks. Roberts would hold on to finish in third, with Brown and Urkuski completing the top five finishers.
Jason Swavely checked out after taking the lead on the final green flag run to take home his second points-paying Hyper Racing 600 victory of the season. (Photo Courtesy of Brandon Worthington/Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Unfortunately, the rain came as the 125/4 Stroke division was taking to the track for their feature, bringing an end to the evening. Alex Lukacs, who was fastest in warmups, was slated to start from pole position with Brandon Shearer on his outside. John Maurer and Chase Layser won the heat races and were slated to go off fifth and tenth, respectively.
The 270 heat races were won by Pete Skias and Brent Shearer, but an inversion pill of 3 put Jason Swavely, who was fastest in warmups, on pole for the feature. The Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman heat races were won by Bret Cronrath and Anthony Yerger. Max Fasnacht and Jamie Flickinger would be put on the front row for the feature, with Yerger starting third and Cronrath starting 11th. Mike Kreiser, who was quickest in warmups, was slated to start eighth. All three features that were not run will be made up at a later date. Since the evening was classified as a complete show, the wristbands from the evening will not serve as rain checks for a future event.
Next Friday and Saturday, July 23rd-24th, Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek will conclude with the Rodota Trucking and Excavating Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek Finale at the Clyde. The action will begin on Friday with the $2,000-to-win Keizer Wheels Preliminary Night, and conclude on Saturday with the $10,000-to-win Rodota Trucking and Excavating Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek Finale. General admission will be $10.00 per day, while pit admission will be $35.00 per day. Two-day pit passes are available for purchase on the first day for $60.00, and the wristband given on day one must also be used for entry on day two. Pit admission for veterans will be $25.00 per day, or $50.00 for a two-day pass. Admission sales for Friday will begin at 4:30, with warmups and racing scheduled to start at 6:30. On Saturday, admission sales will begin at 3:30, with warmups and racing starting at 5:30. After an exciting week of Hyper Racing Wingless 600 action, be sure to cap it off by bringing everyone you know out to LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!
Results:
Hyper Racing 600 A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 14-Jason Swavely
2. 5-Heath Hehnly
3. 12-Quinn Roberts
4. 23-Bradley Brown
5. 1-Will Urkuski
6. 21c-Dustin Roberts
7. 15-Marty Brian
8. 21-Mason Beinhower
9. 11h-Holden Eckman
10. 71-Brian Kramer
11. 2s-Garyt Smith
12. 7-Nick Skias
13. 98x-Mason Peters
14. 5j-Jason Sechrist (-1L)
15. 25-Kenny Beinhower (-1L)
16. 32-Jayden Remensnyder (DNF)
17. 15p-Chris Panczner (DNF)
Point Standings (UNOFFICIAL):
Hyper Racing 600 Point Standings (Top 10):
1. 14-Jason Swavely (796)
2. 5-Heath Hehnly (-60)
3. 23-Bradley Brown (-141)
4. 15p-Chris Panczner (-145)
5. 7-Nick Skias (-164)
6. 75k-Jarid Kunkle (-213)
T7. 3-Jesse Maurer (-259)
T7. 71-Brian Kramer (-259)
9. 11z-Zach Light (-271)
10. 2s-Mike Rutherford (-283)