RACE RECAP (4/30/2022): Schmuck, Jr., Snyder, Jr., and Logeman Go Back to Victory Lane with Swavely and Miller Also Picking Up Wins

By Kasey Kreider

To finish first, you must first finish. That’s how the old racing saying goes, and it applied particularly well for the majority of the features that took place Saturday night at the Clyde. Issues for some of the front runners led to some surprising and dramatic victories among drivers who may not have been expecting them.

When the dust settled, literally and figuratively, Jason Swavely found the winner’s circle in the Hyper Racing Winged 600 feature. Corey Schmuck, Jr. made it back-to-back wins in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsmans, while Billy Logeman did the same in the 125/4 Strokes. Steven Snyder, Jr. backed up his Winged 600 victory a week ago with a win in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 division. And the night concluded with Mike Miller surviving chaos and rallying from 20th to take the win in the 270s.

Brian Kramer started on pole for the Hyper Racing Winged 600 A-Main and led the race’s first nine laps, but heavy lapped traffic allowed Cody West to and Chris Gerhart to each close back in, with West finding his way around on lap 10. The front runners would continue to try and weave their way through the traffic, and Gerhart would find trouble on lap 13, as he clipped a tire while trying to pass a lapper and went for a spin at the exit of turn 2, putting the race under its first caution.

Under the yellow flag, West pulled to the infield with a problem, taking him out of the running and giving the lead back to Kramer, who would have Christian Bruno on his outside for the ensuing restart. Kramer and Bruno traded sliders at the front of the field, while Jason Swavely bided his time in third before making his move.

Swavely got past Bruno for second and set his sights on the leader as the race continued to run green. As Swavely closed in, Kramer would make a mistake, getting up and into the wall with seven laps to go, allowing Swavely to take over the lead and Bruno to get back to second.

Gunnar Pio’s spin with five laps to go set up one final chance for Bruno to try and take away the win, but Swavely got an excellent restart and pulled away before Bruno even had an opportunity to make a move.

Swavely, who didn’t win his first points race last year until June, was able to hang on and take home the checkers in the second points race of 2022, with Bruno and Kramer completing the podium. Bradley Brown and James Morris rounded out the top five.

In addition to winning the feature, Swavely picked up a heat race win earlier in the evening, with Nick Skias winning the other. However, Skias would have to scratch from the Winged 600 class for the second week in a row after issues in wingless competition.

Jason Swavely passed Brian Kramer with seven laps to go and held on to win the Hyper Racing Winged 600 feature. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

Shannon Slaughter started on pole for the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman feature, but had last week’s winner Corey Schmuck, Jr. on her outside for the start. After leading all 25 laps a week ago, Schmuck, Jr. took the lead right away on the start and put the first lap in the books.

Several cautions would fly over the next few laps, though, with a few of the incidents involving front runners. Bret Cronrath, Anthony Yerger, and Charles Hellinger would crash on the backstretch while battling for the fourth spot, ending the night for all three drivers. A few laps later, Slaughter and Mike Kreiser made contact and got hooked together on a restart while running third and fourth.

But on restart after restart, no one seemed to have anything to be able to challenge the No. 26 out in front. Toby Blumenshine looked to be the only car that may have even been in the same zip code, but his woes would continue when both he and fellow front-runner Tyler Martin pulled to the infield and dropped out on the same lap.

The early cautions made way for a ten-lap stretch of green-flag racing to end the feature, and over those ten laps, Schmuck, Jr. built up nearly a six-second lead as he led every lap to win for the second week in a row. Dave Williams came home second, with Max Fasnacht flexing his early-season muscle again for a third-place result. Kreiser rallied from his earlier incident to finish fourth, while Jeremy Eisenhour also came back from being involved in an earlier caution to finish fifth.

For the second straight week, Corey Schmuck, Jr. led all 25 laps en route to winning the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

The Hyper Racing Wingless 600s were next on the docket, as Bradley Brown shared the front row with Marty Brian, who had come so close to victory the week before, for the start. Brown pulled away in the early laps, while Connor Gross, Steven Snyder, Jr., and Bobby Butler all moved their way through the field. Brown’s lead would grow to more than a second at one point, but once Gross and Snyder, Jr. got to second and third, they began to chase him down.

Snyder, Jr. wouldn’t be content in third, though, as he would pull the trigger on a slider on Gross, completing the move and setting his sights on Brown as Butler would close back in to make it a four-car battle for the lead when the leaders hit lapped traffic. It was in traffic that Snyder, Jr. closed the gap completely, and he wasted no time making a move once he got to Brown’s bumper, pulling the slider for the lead in turn 3 and taking over the top spot.

A caution came as Patrick Chilmonik went for a spin right in front of the leaders just a few moments later, setting up another ten-lap dash to close things out. Brown tried to build a run off the top on the restart, but couldn’t get close enough to make a move into turn 1.

From there, Snyder, Jr. checked out, while the battle for second raged on between Brown, Gross, and Butler. Butler climbed past both drivers and into the runner-up spot, but wouldn’t get an opportunity to close the gap to Snyder, Jr. before the checkered flag flew. Snyder, Jr. took the win by just over three seconds in front of Butler, Brown, Gross, and Brian.

Snyder, Jr. and Butler also picked up the two heat race wins on the evening.

Steven Snyder, Jr. found victory lane at the Clyde for the second straight week, this time in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

A pair of second-year drivers made up the front row for the 125/4 Stroke feature, with Masen Stapleton on pole and Chris Dolan to his outside. Dolan had an incident in warmups, but was able to get the car repaired and would take the lead off the start. Justin Harrington moved to second, but Stapleton took the spot back on the next restart. After another caution a few laps later, Harrington would retake the runner-up spot, with Stapleton getting shuffled back before going for a spin on lap 10.

A series of restarts would pepper the next several moments of the race, and Billy Logeman would move past his teammate to take over second after starting the race in eighth. Logeman wouldn’t be able to get past Dolan, though, who seemed to be in control and on his way to his first Lanco win.

But with less than ten laps left, Dolan seemed to lose the handle on the No. 7D, as he got loose in turn 4 and opened the door for Logeman to drive by on the bottom. Mike Miller got past as well, and Dolan would move to the high side in an effort to try and get back to the front. Coming out of turn 2, Dolan tried to squeeze back to the outside of Miller, but the hole closed, sending Dolan flipping down the backstretch and out of the race.

Cautions would continue to fly as the race neared its 30-minute time limit. A caution with two laps remaining set up the final restart, with the next flag to end the race. Logeman held on for the final two laps to win, but the car stumbled and began to run out of fuel coming to the checkered. Harrington would have the same issue and not be as fortunate, falling from second to sixth in the final few yards.

Behind Logeman was Matt Fernsler, marking the second straight week that those drivers would finish 1-2. Miller came home third, with Jarrid Hellinger and Stapleton rallying to complete the top five.

Fernsler won his heat race earlier in the evening, along with Mike Coen and Michael Hoffmaster.

Billy Logeman passed Chris Dolan in the late stages to make it back-to-back wins in the 125/4 Stroke division. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

The 270 feature was last on the evening, with Bradley Brown and Jonah Meck starting from the front row. Brown led off the start, while Jason Swavely, who had one of the fastest cars throughout the night, would break out of turn 4 while trying to rally up from the eighth starting spot.

Swavely wasn’t the only fast car to have problems early on, as Nick Skias, who had to start 21st, lost a left rear wheel on the frontstretch, taking the defending champ out of the running for back-to-back wins.

Andrew Dietrich worked his way up to second and attempted to pressure Brown for the lead, but Brown would pull away and continue to lead, even through heavy lapped traffic. Brown would hold off Dietrich on another restart before the No. 88D blew up entering turn 1, setting up a restart with nine laps to go.

No Wing Spring Fling winner Mike Rutherford, who battled and beat Brown for that win, would move to the outside of the front row, with Mike Miller in third after methodically moving his way up from the 20th starting spot. On the restart, Rutherford and Miller would make contact, with Rutherford getting the short end of the stick and falling outside of the top five. That contact allowed Brown to pull away, and it appeared that a Lanco winless streak dating back to September 2020 was about to come to an end.

But with two laps to go, disaster struck, as Brown’s car would blow up coming under the flagstand, and he pulled to the infield in turn 1 after building up a large lead. The top spot was then inherited by Miller, with Corey Schmuck, Jr. and Mike Skias in hot pursuit. On the final lap, Skias got into the outside wall and ripped the right front wheel off the car, sending him spinning and setting up a one-lap dash to the finish.

Miller would get an excellent restart, pulling away from Schmuck, Jr. and the others to complete another outstanding drive through the field, with this one ending in victory lane. Miller wasn’t the only one with an impressive drive through the field, though, as the top three finishers all started outside the top 15. Pete Skias got past Schmuck, Jr. on the final lap, giving him second with Schmuck, Jr. completing the podium. Rutherford and Meck would come home in fourth and fifth.

Brown, Dietrich, and Swavely won the heat races earlier in the night.

Mike Miller inherited the lead when Bradley Brown broke with two laps to go and held on to win the 270 feature after starting in 20th. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

Next Saturday, May 7th will be the Mother’s Day Eve Special at the Clyde, with grandstand admission for all mothers in attendance being reduced to just $5. All five weekly divisions will be back in action for a regular points show, with gates opening at 4:30 and warmups beginning at 6:00. Enjoy your Mother’s Day weekend with your mom and loved ones by coming out to LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!

Results:

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

1. 14-Jason Swavely[8]; 2. 5-Christian Bruno[3]; 3. 71-Brian Kramer[1]; 4. 23-Bradley Brown[6]; 5. 75-James Morris[10]; 6. 3-Jesse Maurer[5]; 7. 11H-Holden Eckman[11]; 8. 2S-Michael Rutherford[18]; 9. 4B-Bobby Butler[19]; 10. 51-Chris Gerhart[2]; 11. 17-Brent Ely[16]; 12. 12-Quinn Roberts[15]; 13. 1-Will Urkuski[20]; 14. 3D-Shjon Dove[9]; 15. 11Z-Zachary Light[7]; 16. 75X-Gunnar Pio[13]; 17. 117-Cody West[4]; 18. 15J-Joshua Bortz[12]; 19. 32-Josh Smith[17]; 20. (DNS) 2K-Nathan Miller; 21. (DNS) 7-Nick Skias

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

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

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

1. 21S-Steven Snyder Jr[5]; 2. 5B-Bobby Butler[6]; 3. 23-Bradley Brown[1]; 4. 14G-Connor Gross[3]; 5. 16-Marty Brian[2]; 6. 5-Christian Bruno[15]; 7. 19J-Jackson White[9]; 8. 75-James Morris[8]; 9. 42U-Tyler Ulrich[14]; 10. 3D-Shjon Dove[11]; 11. 22H-Fred Heinly[13]; 12. 1F-James Fries[12]; 13. 37-Zak Keyser[16]; 14. 1-Patrick Chilmonik[4]; 15. 75X-Gunnar Pio[10]; 16. 9-Brett Conkling[7]; 17. (DNS) 7-Nick Skias

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

1. 76B-Billy Logeman[8]; 2. 19-Matt Fernsler[5]; 3. 3-Mike Miller[6]; 4. 20J-Jarrid Hellinger[4]; 5. 17-Masen Stapleton[1]; 6. 76-Justin Harrington[3]; 7. 14-Seth Gregory[20]; 8. 16-Steve Simmons[9]; 9. 15H-Don Hess[14]; 10. 78C-Sara Borror[21]; 11. 82-Jesse Maurer[17]; 12. 15-Alyssa Holmes[15]; 13. 81-Dylan Holmes[16]; 14. 8C-Luke Zimmerman[22]; 15. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[7]; 16. 44-Riley Simmons[13]; 17. 112-Dylan Yeingst[10]; 18. 7D-Chris Dolan[2]; 19. 26C-Michael Coen[11]; 20. 9M-Noah Martin[12]; 21. 5-Terry Ellex[18]; 22. 7L-Chase Layser[23]; 23. 67-Cooper Schoenly[19]

270 A-Main (25 Laps):

1. 2-Mike Miller[20]; 2. 3-Pete Skias[16]; 3. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[18]; 4. 27O-Mike Rutherford[11]; 5. 48-Jonah Meck[2]; 6. 23K-Courtney Kupp[15]; 7. 1L-Dave Labe[22]; 8. 39A-Austin Mieczkowski[7]; 9. 21D-Dave Williams[10]; 10. 11-Mike Uhrich[17]; 11. 91-Jack Redcay[13]; 12. 16-Brianne Cronrath Wittmer[4]; 13. 34-Christi Sweigart[14]; 14. 4-Dylan Pence[24]; 15. 8S-Mike Skias[12];16. 82-Bradley Brown[1]; 17. 88D-Andrew Dietrich[5]; 18. 21-Toby Blumenshine[6]; 19. 28S-Brian Sholley[9]; 20. 3S-Nick Skias[21]; 21. 5A-Anthony Yerger[3]; 22. 14-Jason Swavely[8]; 23. 96W-Chase Walker[19]; 24. 54-William Mohring[23]