By Kasey Kreider

Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway kicked off its 2022 campaign in style on Saturday night with the sixth annual running of the No Wing Spring Fling. The annual season-opening event never fails to provide a fair share of thrills and spills, with this year providing a large amount in both categories. But Bobby Butler, Chase Layser, and Mike Rutherford were able to survive the chaos and outlast their competition to open their 2022 seasons with a checkered flag.

37 Hyper Racing Wingless 600 entries descended upon the Clyde for the season-opening event, with 26 starting in the 30-lap A-Main. Kyle Lick and Bobby Butler would roll off from the front row, and it would be those two drivers trading slide jobs in the early laps before the Milford, NJ native eventually prevailed.

However, it wouldn’t take long for one of the pre-race favorites in Steven Snyder, Jr. to work his way up from the 12th starting position to the front of the pack. Snyder, Jr. would dive past both drivers to take the lead on the race’s sixth lap, before front-runner Alex Ruppert went for the first wild tumble of the night a lap later, putting the race under the red flag. Thankfully, Ruppert was able to walk away unharmed.

When action resumed, Snyder, Jr. and Lick would have a momentary battle for the top spot before the Rising Sun, MD driver began to pull away and assert himself as the driver to beat. It quickly began to look like Snyder, Jr. would be well on his way to a third straight wingless 600 victory at the Clyde.

But at the halfway mark, the complexion of the race changed, as Snyder, Jr.’s car would suddenly lose power exiting turn 4 after a restart, stacking up the cars behind him in the process. Snyder, Jr.’s misfortune would allow Shjon Dove to inherit the race lead, and the accordion effect that followed on the bottom line allowed Kyle Spence, who was, unsurprisingly, on the fence, to rocket past into second.

Dove would make it a challenge for one of the most accomplished micro sprint drivers in the northeast to get past, though, and it began to look as if he was on the way to the biggest win of his young career. Fate would have it otherwise, though, as with nine laps to go, Dove would catch a rut in turn 1 while running against the cushion, causing him to go for a violent flip while Nick Skias also tumbled behind him. Spence, who practically drove under Dove’s car as it was in mid-air, would take over the lead.

Spence and Jarid Kunkle would be the two front-runners and would migrate down and stay loyal to bottom over the closing laps. The one driver who wasn’t afraid to let it all hang out on the cushion was Butler, who had fallen all the way back to the back-half of the top ten before methodically working his way back into contention.

With five laps to go, Butler made the pass on Kunkle for second and began to track down Spence for the lead. Butler would inch closer off the exit of each corner, and exiting turn 2 on the second-to-last lap, he finally got the opening to blast by for what would turn out to be the race-winning move.

Kyle Spence (No. 25K) and Bobby Butler (No. 5B) battled for the win in the closing laps, with Butler coming out on top. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons/Keegan Simmons Photos)

Butler would make it two wins in two races for the new No. 5B, as he also picked up a win in the car’s debut in the Airport Speedway 100-lapper last November. Spence and Kunkle would hang on to complete the podium, while Christian Bruno would complete his first race driving for Chris Snyder and Groff Motorsports with a fourth-place result, and B-Main winner Tyler Ulrich would round out the top five.

Snyder, Jr., Dakota Barlet, Richie Hartman, and Kunkle won the night’s four heat races, while Ulrich and Skias won the twin B-Mains.

Bobby Butler made the pass on Kyle Spence with two laps to go to take the No Wing Spring Fling victory in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons/Keegan Simmons Photos)

The 17-car field for the Wingless 125/4 Stroke A-Main would be headed by Chris Dolan and Sam Borger. However, the dominant car on the night belonged to Newmanstown’s own Chase Layser, as he would quickly work his way up from the sixth-starting spot in the feature. Dolan would lead the first three circuits before Layser made the move on a lap 4 restart, grabbing the lead from the outside of the front row.

From there, Layser would be virtually unchallenged for the rest of the night, but the battles would be hot and heavy behind him. Dolan and defending champion Justin Harrington would go at it for the runner-up position, with Harrington throwing a big slider in turns 3 and 4 to complete the pass. Dolan’s night would go from bad to worse when he pounded the turn 2 wall on lap 20, forcing the 2021 rookie of the year to retire.

For Layser, though, his wingless dominance in the 125/4 Stroke class would continue as he would pull away to take the win by 2.383 seconds at the checkered flag. Harrington would finish second, with teammate Billy Logeman completing the podium and Noah Martin and Steve Simmons rounding out the top five.

Martin and Harrington brought home victories in the heat races earlier in the evening.

Chase Layser dominated the No Wing Spring Fling en route to his second straight Wingless 125/4 Stroke win at the Clyde. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons/Keegan Simmons Photos)

21 drivers would start the final feature of the evening in the Wingless 270 division, and Richie Hartman and Anthony Yerger would be the ones leading the field to green. Yerger would take away the top spot initially, but wouldn’t stay there long, as defending Labor Day Shootout winner Dakota Barlet would dive past both the front row starters to take the lead on lap 2. As Barlet led, the chaos would begin behind him, with Dylan Kuronya and Josh Stoyer both going for wild flips in the first few laps of the race.

Trouble would then begin to find more of the heavy hitters, as Jason Swavely would crash in turn 1, ending his night. Nick Skias began to challenge Barlet for the lead around the race’s halfway mark, but he would jump the cushion and crash as well, collecting defending race winner Toby Blumenshine and ending both of their nights. T. J. Greve’s run to the front would then end after he slapped the turn 2 wall, breaking the right rear of his car and sending it into a wild spin down the backstretch. Yerger would clip an infield tire on a restart a few laps later, sending his car for a massive tumble in turn 4.

All this happened as Barlet continued to lead, but bad luck would find him on this evening as well. Mike Rutherford would pass Barlet for the lead on the inside, and a few laps later, Barlet would lose power completely and drop out of the race.

The race looked to be comfortably in the hands of Rutherford, who was back behind the wheel for the first time since July and seemed poised to make his return a memorable one. But he would have to withstand one final challenge, coming in the form of Bradley Brown. Brown was making time on the high side while Rutherford stayed committed to the bottom.

With a few laps to go, Brown finally saw his opportunity to pounce, sticking his nose to the outside of Rutherford down the backstretch. Rutherford, not knowing he was there, tried to close the door, and the two made contact. Both drivers were able to save their cars, but Brown would slide into the turn 3 wall, losing all of his momentum and any opportunity at the win.

Rutherford would hang on to win the grueling and attrition-filled race, as only six of the 21 starters would see the checkered flag. Brown would hold on for second, while Matt Hoffman would complete the podium. Patrick Kirn, Jarrett Imler, and Dallas Sanders would be the remaining cars left running at the conclusion of a wild 30 laps.

The two heat races on the night were won by Barlet and Blumenshine.

After being out of the driver’s seat for more than eight months, Mike Rutherford got back behind the wheel and back to victory lane by winning the No Wing Spring Fling in the Wingless 270s. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons/Keegan Simmons Photos)

Next Saturday, April 9th will be the opening points night of the 2022 season at the Clyde. As a reminder, this event will be a members only race, and in order to compete, the car must have been inspected, or a $75 waiver fee will need to be paid to have the car inspected the night of the event. The night will also see the debut of the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s as a weekly, points-paying division. Gates will open at 4:30, with warmups and racing slated to begin at 5:30. With a jam-packed season and five weekly divisions, there’s never been a better time to come out and LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!

Results:

Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main (30 Laps):

1. 5B-Bobby Butler

2. 25K-Kyle Spence

3. 75K-Jarid Kunkle

4. 5-Christian Bruno

5. 42u-Tyler Ulrich

6. 19J-Jackson White

7. 39-Richie Hartman

8. 29-P. J. Williams

9. 2sx-Garyt Smith

10. 7-Nick Skias

11. 11z-Kyle Lick

12. 22h-Fred Heinly

13. 3D-Shjon Dove (DNF)

14. 42-Jeff Sechrist (DNF)

15. 61-Ryan Kunkle (DNF)

16. 16-Marty Brian (DNF)

17. 21s-Steven Snyder, Jr. (DNF)

18. $30-Dominic Foster (DNF)

19. 23H-Brittany Haldeman (DNF)

20. 2s-Mike Rutherford (DNF)

21. 5a-Alex Ruppert (DNF)

22. 99-Cliff Brian, Jr. (DNF)

23. 54-Dakota Barlet (DNF)

24. 11H-Holden Eckman (DNF)

25. 14-Jason Swavely (DNF)

26. 23-Bradley Brown (DNF)

DNQ: 1F-James Fries, 9-Brett Conkling, 14g-Connor Gross, 21-Mason Beinhower, 21m-Mia Koponen, 25-Kenny Beinhower, 31-Brandon Shearer, 32-Josh Smith, 41-Logan Rumsey, 50J-Jack Koponen, 71-Brian Kramer

Wingless 125/4 Stroke A-Main (30 Laps):

1. 7L-Chase Layser

2. 76-Justin Harrington

3. 76B-Billy Logeman

4. 9M-Noah Martin

5. 16-Steve Simmons

6. 15H-Don Hess

7. 04-Sam Borger

8. 34-Dominic Schlager

9. 3H-Corey Harting

10. 112-Dylan Yeingst

11. 20J-Jarrid Hellinger (-1L)

12. 78c-Sara Borror (-2L)

13. 7D-Chris Dolan (DNF)

14. 32-Michael Hoffmaster (DNF)

15. 82-John Maurer (DNF)

16. 44-Riley Simmons (DNF)

17. 17-Masen Stapleton (DNF)

Wingless 270 A-Main (30 Laps):

1. 45o-Mike Rutherford

2. 82-Bradley Brown

3. 21H-Matt Hoffman

4. 16P-Patrick Kirn

5. 17J-Jarrett Imler

6. 99-Dallas Sanders

7. 54x-Dakota Barlet (DNF)

8. 28-Kyle Lindsey (DNF)

9. 3y-Zachary Young (DNF)

10. 5a-Anthony Yerger (DNF)

11. 5-Richie Hartman (DNF)

12. 39A-Austin Mieczkowski (DNF)

13. 54-William Mohring (DNF)

14. 3s-Nick Skias (DNF)

15. 21-Toby Blumenshine (DNF)

16. 14-Jason Swavely (DNF)

17. 52T-T. J. Greve (DNF)

18. 30-Ryan Heckman (DNF)

19. 8s-Josh Stoyer (DNF)

20. 23K-Courtney Kupp (DNF)

21. 53-Dylan Kuronya (DNF)

DNS: 88D-Andrew Dietrich