By Kasey Kreider
For so many racers, it was their fathers who ingrained them into the sport of racing and helped them develop into the men and women that they are today. The Father’s Day Eve Special at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway gives us an opportunity to spend time with and thank our dads for everything they have done for us, and it gave each driver in the field a little extra motivation to bring home a checkered flag.
In the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s, Bradley Brown took home a $750 payday courtesy of an extra $500 being put up by East Coast Transponders, as he picked up the victory over Bobby Butler. Corey Schmuck, Jr. returned to the winner’s circle in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsmans for the third time in 2022 after driving from 12th to the win. Chris Dolan continued his hot streak in 125/4 Stroke competition, picking up his second-career Lanco win in as many weeks. And Jason Swavely rebounded from a tough past couple of weeks in a big way, passing Pete Skias for the win late in the 270 feature, and holding off a final corner challenge by Jesse Maurer to take the win of the Hyper Racing Winged 600 A-Main.
With East Coast Transponders putting up an extra $500 to win, there was all the more reason for the wingless warriors of the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s to leave it all on the table to pick up a victory. Two of the division’s top drivers found themselves starting on the front row for the feature, with Bradley Brown drawing the pole and Bobby Butler lining up alongside.
It only took until the first corner of the race for Butler to throw his first slide job at Brown for the lead, but Brown was able to quickly counter and hang onto the top spot. The two would trade sliders a few times over the first couple of laps, with Brown prevailing each time and eventually pulling away by a few car lengths. Ryan Groff threw his hat into the ring, trading sliders of his own with Butler before an early caution flew on lap 5.
On the restart, Butler tried his patented move of running right up against the guardrail through turns 3 and 4 to build a massive run for a turn 1 slide-job attempt. Butler got the run he needed to make the move and took the opportunity, but once again was unable to hold onto the spot, as Brown rocketed back by down the backstretch. Butler continued in his pursuit of the leader, and eventually the two had company in the form of Christian Bruno, who got past Groff for third and had his eyes on the top two. Butler tried a few more times to get to the lead, but soon, his efforts would leave him vulnerable to Bruno, and as those two got to battling, Brown began to pull away.
Butler eventually staved off the challenge from Bruno and built up a nice gap between the two, but he could never get closer than about four car lengths away from Brown for the rest of the race. After coming close to beating his wingless mentor a few times, the student finally got the best of the teacher on this occasion.
Brown picked up the victory with Butler coming home second and Bruno completing the podium. Groff would finish fourth, with Brian Kramer rounding out the top five.
Bruno picked up the heat race win earlier in the evening.
Bradley Brown held off Bobby Butler and Christian Bruno to take the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 victory. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)
Robert Shanaman and Michael Spadafora were the front-row sitters for the evening’s Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman feature. Unlike last week, where Spadafora led the first few laps before giving way to Shanaman, the roles would be reversed. Shanaman led the race’s first two circuits before Spadafora got past on lap 3. Shannon Slaughter climbed up to second and began to track down the leader, but then spun going into turn 1, collecting Courtney Kupp and putting both drivers at the back of the field.
Spadafora led Kyle Lindsey and Shanaman on the restart that followed, but three fast cars in Anthony Yerger, Corey Schmuck, Jr., and Bret Cronrath were all coming behind them. Schmuck, Jr. had a huge restart, flying past Yerger, Shanaman, and Lindsey in just a few corners. He then set his sights on Spadafora and on lap 9, made his move to the inside for the lead. Cronrath and Yerger made their way up to second and third shortly thereafter, and battled for that position before the caution flew again on lap 15.
Throughout the final run to the checkers, the three leaders all ran distinct lines around the speedway. Schmuck, Jr. was on the bottom, Yerger was on the top, and Cronrath was somewhere in between, trying to find any way possible to make a move. Cronrath’s last shot was lapped traffic, which the leaders hit with just under five laps to go. Cronrath was able to close in slightly while Schmuck, Jr. got tied behind some of the lappers, but he never got close enough to make a challenge for the win.
Schmuck, Jr.’s impressive drive from 12th gave him his third win of the season in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman class and allowed him to retake the points lead, while Cronrath wound up second and Yerger followed up his win last weekend with a third-place result. Spadafora and Lindsey held on to complete the five.
Heat races were won by Cronrath and Spadafora.
Corey Schmuck, Jr. rocketed to the front and never looked back en route to winning his third Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman feature of the year. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)
Coming straight from his win in the Sportsmans, Corey Schmuck, Jr. would roll off on the outside pole for the 270 A-Main. The pole sitter though would be Pete Skias, as he was looking to finally turn weeks of speed into a victory.
Skias led the opening laps of the race as chaos took place behind him. Fifth-place starter Jonah Meck went for a spin on the opening lap, with everybody able to avoid him. Third-place starter Brian Sholley was not as lucky, as he then spun on lap 2 and collected Dave Williams, Mike Skias, Dylan Pence, and Courtney Kupp in a turn 2 pileup, with Nick Skias and Bradley Brown also getting part of the damage.
The restart that followed saw Pete Skias once again break away to the lead, but Jason Swavely got past Schmuck, Jr. for second and tried to chase down Pete for the top spot, running the bottom of the track through the corners while Skias stayed up top.
Following a restart on lap 13, Skias began to pull away and stretch his gap over the No. 92, and it seemed as if the win might be in hand. But as the laps wound down, Swavely began to close the gap back in, as it seemed as if the handling on Skias’ car may have started to go away. With four laps to go, Swavely was right back on Skias’ tail tank as the two drivers narrowly avoided the stopping car of Chase Walker, who brought out the caution.
On the restart, Swavely made his move, diving to the inside in turns 3 and 4 and completing the pass off the corner. Skias tried a last-ditch effort to reclaim the spot into turn 1, sliding up but leaving Swavely just enough room to squeak by on the outside. At that point, the battle was over, and the win was in Swavely’s hands.
Swavely became the sixth different driver to win in six points-paying events for the 270s, as he beat Brown, who passed Skias in the closing laps for second. Behind Pete then came the brothers Mike and Nick Skias to complete the top five, with Nick still holding on to a slim points advantage.
Heat races were won by Swavely and Brown.
Jason Swavely made the winning pass on Pete Skias with four laps to go to take the victory in the 270 feature. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)
The 125/4 Stroke feature was led to green by Cooper Schoenly and Dylan Yeingst, with Schoenly looking to turn the great track position into a great run and Yeingst looking to back up his great performance from the week prior.
Schoenly led the first six laps, but soon found himself battling with one of the hottest drivers in 125/4 Stroke competition. Chris Dolan was coming off his first Lanco win last Saturday, and had also picked up a win in wingless competition on Wednesday at Shellhammer Dirt Track. Now, he had ripped the fence to drive from sixth to second, and on lap 7, dove down to the inside of turn 1 to make the pass for the lead.
Despite the bottom of the racetrack seeming like the quicker line, Dolan had used the top to his advantage to work through traffic and stayed up there upon getting the lead. That decision nearly cost him the top spot though, as Mike Coen was able to make good time on the bottom and squeezed by momentarily to take over the lead. Dolan was able to retake the position, and after a caution flew on lap 14, made some adjustments to get his car more suited for running the bottom.
Dolan pulled away on the restart, but then had to endure another one just a few laps later, with Billy Logeman and Chase Layser having climbed their way into the top three. Layser had finished second to Dolan the week before, and was determined not to do the same this time, as he took second from Logeman on the restart and began to go after the leader, staying committed to the top while everyone else ran the bottom.
Unable to make up ground, Layser moved to the bottom over the closing few laps in an effort to try and close in. But it ultimately wouldn’t be enough, and after waiting so long to get win number one at the Clyde, win number two came just seven short days later, and Dolan made it his third win in as many races dating back to last Saturday.
Dolan, Layser, and Logeman were the podium finishers, as Logeman kept his hefty points lead intact. Matt Fernsler turned in another solid performance in fourth, while Toby Blumenshine, driving the No. 78c tonight, completed the top five.
Heat races were won by Michael Hoffmaster and Justin Harrington.
Chris Dolan made it back-to-back wins as he dominated the 125/4 Stroke feature after driving up from the sixth starting spot. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)
The Hyper Racing Winged 600s contested the final feature of the night, and Jason Swavely had thoughts of making it a two-win night, as he started on the pole for the A-Main with Anthony Yerger outside. Swavely led early in the going and built up his advantage to well over two seconds as the front runners ripped the top side around the speedway.
But it only took roughly seven laps for the leaders to hit lapped traffic, and as had been the case the week before, lapped traffic would be the factor that decided the race. Jesse Maurer, who was coming off a Friday night win at Linda’s, got around Yerger in the lapped traffic for second and began to set his sights on the leader, who was a long way out in front. But a fast field and a fast track meant that lapped traffic would be tough to deal with, and as lapped cars got racing side-by-side in front, Swavely’s gap quickly evaporated.
Before long, the lead was down to anywhere from two to four car lengths, and that gap remained through much of the second half of the race. Swavely had extended the gap just far enough to the point where it looked as if he would be able to hang on for the last few laps. But Maurer began inching closer for one final shot at victory. About three car lengths separated the leaders as they flashed under the white flag, and a great exit by Maurer off of turn 2 gave him one chance to throw a haymaker at Swavely for the win.
Maurer dove to the inside and was able to nose slightly ahead through the center of the corner. He then used every inch of the racetrack inside the No. 14 to try to open up his exit, sliding all the way up alongside the Fleetwood, PA driver. The two drivers were wheel-to-wheel as they exited turn 4, but Swavely had far more momentum coming from the high side, and scampered away over the final 100 feet while Maurer slid to the stripe in second.
Swavely scored his second win of the night and second win of the year in the Hyper Racing Winged 600 class, beating Maurer and points leader Bradley Brown to the finish line. Cody West came home in the fourth spot, with Jarid Kunkle completing the top five.
Heat races were won by Kunkle and Zach Light.
Jason Swavely held off a final corner challenge from Jesse Maurer to win a clean and green Hyper Racing Winged 600 A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)
Next Saturday, June 25th will be Race Chasing Night at the Clyde. In honor of this being the final season of race director Mike Knappenberger’s Race Chasing Award Fund, Knappenberger will provide a $50 bonus to each feature winner in all five divisions, provided they have the Race Chasing stickers on their car, courtesy of the Race Chasing Award Program. In addition, Ms. Motorsports, Morgan Rochelle-Bealer will be in attendance and will be available for photos and selfies. She will be selling posters and will have give away items, while also presenting the $50 bonus to all feature winners. Additionally, the Stage 1 Modifieds will be given the opportunity to have a few warmup sessions throughout the evening in preparation for their three races later in the season. The evening will be a regular points night for all five weekly classes, with gates opening at 4:30 and warmups beginning at 6:00. Come out next Saturday night to support the Race Chasing Award Program and to LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!
Results:
Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 23-Bradley Brown[1]; 2. 5B-Bobby Butler[2]; 3. 5-Christian Bruno[5]; 4. 03-Ryan Groff[4]; 5. 71-Brian Kramer[6]; 6. 3D-Shjon Dove[8]; 7. 29-PJ Williams[7]; 8. 2K-Nathan Miller[10]; 9. 1F-James Fries[3]; 10. 79-Tyler Bowman[9]
Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[12]; 2. 5-Bret Cronrath[9]; 3. 5A-Anthony Yerger[10]; 4. 8-Michael Spadafora[2]; 5. 28-Kyle Lindsey[4]; 6. 53S-Shannon Slaughter[6]; 7. 22-Clinton Hauser[7]; 8. 31-Tyler Martin[8]; 9. 14-Ryan Heckman[3]; 10. 20-Max Fasnacht[11]; 11. 15-Robert Shannaman[1]; 12. 21D-Dave Williams[18]; 13. 23K-Courtney Kupp[5]; 14. 53-Jared St John[14]; 15. 11S-Drew Swinehart[13]; 16. 11-Dustin Geib[15]; 17. 21-Toby Blumenshine[17]; 18. 9W-Lisa Warren[16]
270 A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 92-Jason Swavely[8]; 2. 82-Bradley Brown[7]; 3. 3-Pete Skias[1]; 4. 8S-Mike Skias[15]; 5. 3S-Nick Skias[9]; 6. 28S-Brian Sholley[3]; 7. 48-Jonah Meck[5]; 8. 34-Christi Sweigart[12]; 9. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[2]; 10. 96W-Chase Walker[11]; 11. 21D-Dave Williams[4]; 12. 23K-Courtney Kupp[6]; 13. 4-Dylan Pence[10]; 14. 27-Darren Schott[16]; 15. 39A-Austin Mieczkowski[13]; 16. (DNS) 52T-TJ Greve
125/4 Stroke A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 7D-Chris Dolan[6]; 2. 7L-Chase Layser[8]; 3. 76B-Billy Logeman[11]; 4. 19-Matt Fernsler[9]; 5. 78C-Toby Blumenshine[22]; 6. 17-Masen Stapleton[18]; 7. 26C-Michael Coen[5]; 8. 76-Justin Harrington[10]; 9. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[4]; 10. 16-Steve Simmons[7]; 11. 15H-Don Hess[12]; 12. 20J-Jarrid Hellinger[17]; 13. 44-Riley Simmons[16]; 14. 67-Cooper Schoenly[1]; 15. 04-Sam Borger[3]; 16. 15-Alyssa Holmes[13]; 17. 14-Seth Gregory[20]; 18. 112-Dylan Yeingst[2]; 19. 6X-Chance Thomas[14]; 20. 8C-Luke Zimmerman[15]; 21. 9M-Noah Martin[21]; 22. 81-Dylan Holmes[19]
Hyper Racing Winged 600 A-Main (25 Laps):
1. 14-Jason Swavely[1]; 2. 3-Jesse Maurer[3]; 3. 23-Bradley Brown[6]; 4. 117-Cody West[7]; 5. 75K-Jarid Kunkle[5]; 6. 11H-Holden Eckman[4]; 7. 5-Christian Bruno[12]; 8. 71-Brian Kramer[8]; 9. 7-Nick Skias[10]; 10. 51-Chris Gerhart[15]; 11. 17-Brent Ely[11]; 12. 2SM-Mikey Smith[14]; 13. 2K-Nathan Miller[13]; 14. 15J-Joshua Bortz[16]; 15. 11Z-Zachary Light[9]; 16. 75-Mark Yoder[17]; 17. 5A-Anthony Yerger[2]; 18. 1-Will Urkuski[18]; 19. (DNS) 15P-Christopher Panczner; 20. (DNS) 52T-Thomas Greve Jr