RACE RECAP (4/23/2022): Skias, Logeman, Snyder, Jr., Schmuck, Jr., and Butler Pocket Victories on Opening Points Night

By Kasey Kreider

It took three tries to get the opening points race of the 2022 Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway racing season in the books. But the wait proved to be well worth it, as thrilling action was plentiful in all five divisions, with the last race of the evening ending on a last corner pass.

Defending champion Nick Skias survived a topsy-turvy 270 feature to pick up an opening night victory. Billy Logeman charged from 10th to grab victory in the 125/4 Stroke opener. Steven Snyder, Jr. outdueled Holden Eckman in an enthralling finish for the Hyper Racing Winged 600s. Corey Schmuck, Jr. led all 25 laps en route to a dominating victory in the first Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman race of the season. The final feature saw the points night debut of the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s, where Marty Brian led 24 and three-quarters laps before Bobby Butler rocketed by in turn 4 to take the victory.

The 270s are rarely ever short on drama and excitement at the Clyde, and the opening points night of 2022 would be no different. Jason Swavely and defending opening night winner T. J. Greve rolled off from the front row and ran one-two for more than half the race. Swavely would lead the first eight laps before contact in lapped traffic allowed Greve to get past for the lead, a position he then held for the next eight circuits.

But the race got flipped upside down on lap 17 when Greve and Swavely both crashed in turn 3 while seemingly in position to battle for the win amongst themselves. Greve’s car would roll upside down and suffer heavy right front damage, while Swavely would also suffer too much damage to continue.

Their misfortune handed the lead over to Nick Skias, with Mike Skias and Corey Schmuck, Jr. behind him. The younger of the Skias brothers would hold control over the race from there, but the drama and battling was hot and heavy behind him. Jonah Meck’s issues on the final lap brought out the caution, and set up battles for the final spots on the podium.

A charging Bret Cronrath had worked his way up to third for the green-checkered restart, but his dive to the inside of Mike Skias as the cars came up to speed led to contact, sending Skias around and Cronrath up and over. Their entanglement moved Christi Sweigart up to second after she had rebounded from an early spin, with Schmuck, Jr., Courtney Kupp, and Mike Miller all ready to battle for third. Kupp would drive deep into turn 3 while battling for third on the final lap, causing her to spin and bringing out the caution after the leader Nick Skias had taken the checkered flag.

Skias would combine his fast car with a little bit of luck to take another opening points night win, this time in the 270s. The rest of the finishing order would revert to the previous completed lap, since they had not taken the checkered flag prior to the caution flying. Sweigart would be second, with Schmuck, Jr. coming home third and Miller charging from his 21st starting spot to a fourth-place result. Last season’s 270 rookie of the year Jack Redcay opened 2022 with his career-best finish, completing the top five.

Heat races were won by Nick Skias, Swavely, and Darren Schott.

Nick Skias kicked off his 270 title defense with a feature win on the opening points night of the season. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

Sam Borger started on pole for the 125/4 Stroke main event, but it would be outside pole sitter Mike Miller leading the race in the early going. Matt Fernsler applied pressure to Miller for the race’s first few circuits before Miller’s car would break and come to a stop in turn 2 on the race’s fifth lap, allowing Fernsler to inherit the lead.

From there, the Annville, PA driver would lead for the next several laps, but Billy Logeman began to close in, methodically picking his way through the pack from the 10th starting spot. The battle for the lead would heat up in the lapped traffic, with Logeman taking the top spot away on lap 14. Fernsler made a big move splitting past a lapped car to retake the top spot, but the caution would fly before the lap could be completed, putting Logeman back in the lead.

Logeman wouldn’t relinquish the top spot the rest of the way, as he pulled away on the restart and took the checkers by more than two and a half seconds over Fernsler. Justin Harrington began his title defense with a solid third-place showing, while Riley Simmons and Steve Simmons completed the top five.

Heat race wins went to Logeman, Harrington, and Mike Coen, who finished the feature in sixth.

Billy Logeman led the final 12 laps of the 125/4 Stroke A-Main to pick up the victory. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

The Hyper Racing Winged 600s would kick off their 2022 campaign, no longer as the only 600 division in town. The field would continue to be strong though, with several drivers pulling double duty amongst both classes. That included outside pole sitter Steven Snyder, Jr., who was one of several drivers gunning for the $100 bonus put up by race director Mike Knappenberger to any driver who could win both 600 features in the same night.

But the pole sitter, Holden Eckman, would make Snyder, Jr. have to earn it. A dry-slick surface turned Newmanstown into slide job city, and Snyder, Jr. would go right to work in the early laps. Each time though, Eckman had a counter, turning the car back down the hill and powering back by before they reached the next corner.

The battle would continue with Eckman retaining the lead until the leaders hit lapped traffic with nine laps to go. Snyder, Jr. pulled the trigger once again in turn 1, and this time, Eckman would over-rotate, hurting his momentum off the corner and allowing Synder, Jr. to hold the lead.

Snyder, Jr. would pull away by a few car lengths in lapped traffic, but Eckman began to close back in over the final few laps. If the feature had been 26 laps, Eckman may have been close enough to make a move, but he would be just out of striking distance for a slide job attempt in the final corner, allowing Snyder, Jr. to hang on for the win, his first at Lanco with the wing on.

Behind Snyder, Jr. and Eckman came Jesse Maurer, while Jason Swavely and Chris Gerhart completed the top five.

Bradley Brown won one of the twin heat races and finished seventh, while Nick Skias won the other but was forced to scratch prior to the feature after having issues in the wingless preliminary races.

Steven Snyder, Jr. outdueled Holden Eckman to take home the season opener for the Hyper Racing Winged 600s. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

The first Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman feature of the year saw Jamie Flickinger and Corey Schmuck, Jr. on the front row. Flickinger was the fastest car in warmups and seemed as if he could contend for his second-career win. But Schmuck, Jr. had his car hooked up on the high side, and would take the lead right away off the start. Flickinger started to close back in, but the rally wouldn’t last long, as he would fall out of the race with a problem on lap 8.

Schmuck, Jr. would have to fend off challenges over the next few restarts, first from Tyler Martin and then from former champion Mike Kreiser. Schmuck, Jr. held off those challenges, but it looked as if he would have another one coming in the form of Toby Blumenshine, who had moved up from 19th to fifth. However, Blumenshine’s demise would be a flat left rear tire, and he would fail to finish.

David Ravel would move into the picture in the race’s closing laps, moving up to third before the final restart and getting past Martin for the second spot shortly thereafter. But the No. 26 was hooked up on the high side all night long, and Ravel would never get anywhere close to being able to challenge him.

Schmuck, Jr. picked up the win by more than three seconds, with Ravel and Martin completing the top three. Anthony Yerger and Patrick Kirn rounded out the top five.

Schmuck, Jr., Ravel, and Kreiser picked up 24 points apiece for winning the heats, while Blumenshine won the consi after having problems in his heat race.

Corey Schmuck, Jr. led wire-to-wire to win the first Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman race of 2022. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

The Hyper Racing Wingless 600s would see their points night debut as the final feature of the evening. Marty Brian would be the polesitter with Billy Logeman, looking for his second win of the night, on the outside. The race started off with a bang in a bad way for Marty’s brother, Cliff Brian, Jr., who went for a nasty flip on the frontstretch at the green flag. Cliff would be okay, but a short red flag was necessitated to get the battered and beaten No. 99 off the speedway.

Once the race got back underway, Brian pulled away to a good advantage over Logeman and third-place runner Kyle Spence, who was applying heavy pressure to the Reinholds, PA native for the runner-up spot. The batting would be wild from about fifth on back, where Garyt Smith, Connor Gross, Bobby Butler, and Steven Snyder, Jr. all traded sliders on each other in an effort to move up the pecking order. Things came to a head though on lap 10, when contact sent Smith’s car upside down in the middle of 1 and 2, clogging up the high side and leaving nowhere for Snyder, Jr. or Mason Beinhower to go. All three drivers would be done for the night, ending Snyder, Jr.’s bid for the $100 bonus.

Issues continued for the front runners, as Gross would clip a tire and spin on the next restart, and then Spence, who had moved into second, broke coming out of turn 4, taking him out of the running for the win. Brian once again gapped the rest of the field over the next long green-flag run, but Butler began to creep into the picture, just as he had three weeks prior, moving from sixth to third before a caution with seven to go.

Butler would get past Logeman for second in short order and then set his sights on the young Ephrata hot shoe for the race win. A caution with two laps to go allowed Butler to close in completely, and the battle would be on.

Butler would take a swing at Brian in turn 3 coming to the white flag, but Brian would power back under. Butler tried the same move in 1 and 2 the next time around, with Brian able to counter once again. But the final corner would be the crucial one, as Brian ran the middle of the track, guarding against a slide job attempt from Butler that never came. Butler wasn’t close enough for the slider, but instead blasted around the top side, and by the time Brian realized what had happened, it was too late.

Butler powered to the checkers to make it two-for-two in wingless 600 races to start the season, with Brian forced to settle for a heartbreaking second. James Morris had a strong showing in his return to Lanco, finishing on the bottom step of the podium, as Logeman and Bradley Brown completed the top five.

Heat races were won by Spence, Snyder, Jr., and Brown, while the consi was won by Alex Ruppert, who battled back for a sixth-place finish.

Bobby Butler passed Marty Brian in the final corner to score the victory in the first ever Hyper Racing Wingless 600 points race at the Clyde. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

With the points season finally underway, we’ll keep the good times rolling next Saturday, April 30th, with our second points race of the season at the Clyde. All five divisions will be back in action for a regular show. Gates will open at 4:30, with warmups starting at 6:00 and racing following shortly thereafter. With plenty of action to watch on a nightly basis in 2022, there’s never a better time than next week to come out and LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!

Results:

270 A-Main (25 Laps):

1. 3S-Nick Skias[4]; 2. 34-Christi Sweigart[13]; 3. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[3]; 4. 2-Mike Miller[22]; 5. 91-Jack Redcay[15]; 6. 11R-Tommy Rinck[14]; 7. 28S-Brian Sholley[23]; 8. 4-Dylan Pence[17]; 9. 23K-Courtney Kupp[16]; 10. 53N-Ben Newmaster[18]; 11. 8S-Mike Skias[11]; 12. 14-Bret Cronrath[19]; 13. 48-Jonah Meck[12]; 14. 52T-TJ Greve[2]; 15. 92-Jason Swavely[1]; 16. 39X-Richie Hartman[5]; 17. 77M-William Manotti V[21]; 18. 21D-Dave Williams[8]; 19. 39A-Austin Mieczkowski[24]; 20. 82-Bradley Brown[10]; 21. 1L-Dave Labe[6]; 22. 3-Pete Skias[20]; 23. 5A-Anthony Yerger[7]; 24. 27-Darren Schott[9]

125/4 Stroke A-Main (25 Laps):

1. 76B-Billy Logeman[10]; 2. 19-Matt Fernsler[4]; 3. 76-Justin Harrington[11]; 4. 44-Riley Simmons[5]; 5. 16-Steve Simmons[3]; 6. 26C-Michael Coen[7]; 7. 20J-Jarrid Hellinger[6]; 8. 9M-Noah Martin[17]; 9. 17-Masen Stapleton[19]; 10. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[8]; 11. 15H-Don Hess[9]; 12. 04-Sam Borger[1]; 13. 67-Cooper Schoenly[21]; 14. 77M-William Manotti V[12]; 15. 112-Dylan Yeingst[20]; 16. 78C-Sara Borror[23]; 17. 7L-Chase Layser[16]; 18. 7D-Chris Dolan[22]; 19. 14-Seth Gregory[24]; 20. 81-Dylan Holmes[18]; 21. 15-Alyssa Holmes[15]; 22. 8C-Luke Zimmerman[13]; 23. 5-Terry Ellex[14]; 24. (DQ) 3-Mike Miller[2]

Hyper Racing Winged 600 A-Main (25 Laps):

1. 21S-Steven Snyder Jr[2]; 2. 11H-Holden Eckman[1]; 3. 3-Jesse Maurer[3]; 4. 14-Jason Swavely[9]; 5. 51-Chris Gerhart[11]; 6. 71-Brian Kramer[6]; 7. 23-Bradley Brown[7]; 8. 75X-James Morris[10]; 9. 44-Rodney Westhafer[5]; 10. 117-Cody West[13]; 11. 3D-Shjon Dove[15]; 12. 46-BJ Antonio[12]; 13. 75-Mark Yoder[4]; 14. 5B-Brianna Lawson[17]; 15. 4B-Bobby Butler[16]; 16. 1-Will Urkuski[19]; 17. (DNS) 7-Nick Skias; 18. (DNS) 2S-Michael Rutherford; 19. (DNS) 2K-Nathan Miller

Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman A-Main (25 Laps):

1. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[2]; 2. 21V-David Ravel[9]; 3. 31-Tyler Martin[3]; 4. 5A-Anthony Yerger[11]; 5. 16P-Patrick Kirn[4]; 6. 77-Michael Kreiser[5]; 7. 20-Max Fasnacht[16]; 8. 3S-Jeremy Eisenhour[13]; 9. 5-Bret Cronrath[7]; 10. 13S-Charles Hellinger[10]; 11. 21D-Dave Williams[6]; 12. 16-Brianne Cronrath Wittmer[17]; 13. 53-Jared St John[12]; 14. 30-Ryan Heckman[15]; 15. 13B-Matthew Yoh[20]; 16. 11S-Drew Swinehart[18]; 17. 19-Wes Fasnacht[23]; 18. 21-Toby Blumenshine[19]; 19. 28-Kyle Lindsey[8]; 20. 23K-Courtney Kupp[14]; 21. 53S-Shannon Slaughter[22]; 22. 22S-Bret Sculley[21]; 23. 9G-Jamie Flickinger[1]; 24. 15-Robert Shannaman[24]

Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main (25 Laps):

1. 5B-Bobby Butler[5]; 2. 16-Marty Brian[1]; 3. 75X-James Morris[9]; 4. 97-Billy Logeman[2]; 5. 23-Bradley Brown[11]; 6. 5A-Alex Ruppert[19]; 7. 66-Billy Koch[13]; 8. 14G-Connor Gross[8]; 9. 19J-Jackson White[18]; 10. 39-Richie Hartman[10]; 11. 33-Dylan Martin[17]; 12. 75K-Jarid Kunkle[14]; 13. 1-Patrick Chilmonik[16]; 14. 50J-Jack Koponen[24]; 15. 75-Gunnar Pio[21]; 16. 42U-Tyler Ulrich[6]; 17. 25-Kenneth Beinhower III[23]; 18. 68-Brenden Hires[15]; 19. 89-Kyle Spence[4]; 20. 2SX-Garyt Smith[3]; 21. 21S-Steven Snyder Jr[7]; 22. 21-Mason Beinhower[12]; 23. 16T-Joseph Timmins[22]; 24. 99-Cliff Brian Jr[20]