By Kasey Kreider

With Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek and the Clyde Martin Memorial races in the rearview mirror, the “months of money” continued at the Newmanstown oval as the calendar flipped to August. And now, it was time for the 270 teams and competitors to have their moment in the spotlight, courtesy of the first-ever T. J.’s Guns and Ammo 270 Showcase. 33 of the division’s best came to the speedway with one common goal, but only one driver would be able to take home the inaugural victory of the event, plus the $1,270 payday that came with it.

In addition to the 270s, the 125/4 Stroke competitors had their second wingless race of the season, and it was Chris Dolan who found his way back to victory lane following a great battle with Billy Logeman and Chase Layser. The All Star Slingshots also made their only appearance of the season at the Clyde, and it would be Dave Carraghan who dominated throughout the night and took home the bragging rights as the feature winner. And when it came time for the 270 Showcase, it was Jason Swavely who proved himself to be the class of the field, as he won everything there was to win throughout the evening and led wire-to-wire to pick up the Showcase win.

The second of three wingless exhibitions for the 125/4 Stroke saw current point leader Billy Logeman start from pole position, with wingless regular John Maurer starting from the outside. A pair of three-time winners in 2022 shared the second row as Chris Dolan and Chase Layser rolled off there, and it became clear early on that those two drivers would be the ones battling Logeman for the win all the way to the finish.

Logeman led the way through the long green-flag run to start the event, running on the bottom of the speedway with Layser about a second behind running in the same line. On the high side though came Dolan, who ran side-by-side with Layser for most of the first half of the feature before eventually getting clear. Both drivers still had a deficit of over a second to make up, and it looked like Logeman might have been able to drive to victory in a nonstop feature.

But that all changed on lap 17 when Cooper Schoenly went for a flip in turn 1, right in front of Dolan and Layser who each swerved to avoid. The caution made it a brand new race with nine laps to go, and a three-way battle for the win would take the event just about the rest of the way. With Logeman struggling a bit after the restart, Dolan and Layser were each able to keep pace and renewed their side-by-side battle while running just behind the leader.

With just a few laps to go, Dolan finally got the run off the top side that he’d been looking for the whole race, and pulled a slide job that worked momentarily before Logeman was able to cross back over. But Dolan then got a big run coming off of turn 2, and was able to blast past Logeman for the lead on the backstretch, fending off a slide job attempt from the Reinholds, PA driver in turns 3 and 4 to take over the lead for good. Logeman moved up to try and run down Dolan, but it seemed as if the Clyde Martin Memorial winner was on his way to win number four of the season.

But as Dolan rounded turn 4 to see the checkered flag, he saw the caution flag instead, as a spin in turn 2 by Maurer set up a one-lap dash to decide the winner. A great restart from Dolan was imperative toward fending off any last-ditch effort from Logeman or Layser, and that’s exactly what he got, as neither driver would get close enough to make a move over the final circuit, and Dolan hung on for the victory.

Dolan’s breakout season continued with the triumph, while Logeman hung on for second and Layser’s bid for his third-straight wingless win ended up in third. Steve Simmons finished fourth, with rookie Connor Fetrow rounding out the top five.

Heat races were won by Dolan and Logeman.

Chris Dolan picked up his fourth win of the season at the Clyde, this time in Wingless 125/4 Stroke action. (Photo Courtesy of Brandon Worthington Photos)

Brothers Chase and Evan Bixler shared the front row for the 25-lap All Star Slingshot feature, but it didn’t take long for Dave Carraghan, who won his heat race and started the feature in third, to take away the top spot. Carraghan got the drive off the bottom of turn 2 during the race’s opening lap and bypassed both Bixlers to take the lead at the end of lap 1.

Carraghan had the dominant car, but Tyler Ulsh became the driver to watch throughout much of the feature, as he rebounded from two first-lap incidents to quickly jump back into second. Ulsh was a few seconds behind Carraghan on track, but once the leader hit lapped traffic, Ulsh began to close back in. A freight train of lapped cars is what Carraghan had to deal with over the last ten laps, and a lead that had once been around three seconds dwindled to as little as a few car lengths as both drivers negotiated their way through the traffic.

But Carraghan used his veteran experience to perfection, and never gave Ulsh an opportunity to get close enough, hanging on and leading all 25 laps to follow up his victory from last April’s Slingshot event with another checkered flag. Carraghan beat Ulsh and Brian Smith to the line, as those drivers shared the podium in victory lane. Chase Bixler held on to finish fourth, and Blaire Schoenly rounded out the top five.

The heat races were won by Carraghan and Smith.

Dave Carraghan dominated to take the victory in the only appearance of 2022 for the All Star Slingshots. (Photo Courtesy of Brandon Worthington Photos)

After those two features, it was time for the 40-lap T. J.’s Guns and Ammo 270 Showcase, but it took several preliminary events to determine the 26-car starting lineup for the A-Main. Warmup times determined which drivers would be in Group A and which would be in Group B, and Jason Swavely turned the fastest lap of anybody during the hot lap sessions. Four heat races then provided locked-in births to the Showcase for each of the winners, with Swavely, Matt Thompson, Alex Swift, and Richie Hartman picking up victories in those events.

The heat races set the lineup for two 20-lap qualifying features, with the top 12 in each group being inverted. The first “twin 20” saw Tommy Rinck and Ben Layser on the front row, while heat race winners Swavely and Thompson had to come from 11th and 12th, respectively. Finishing and passing points accrued during the qualifiers would determine who transferred through to the Showcase, and who would have to run a B-Main.

The early lead of the first qualifier went to Mackenzie Hixon, with Matt Fernsler running in second and Swavely quickly charging up from 11th to third in the running order. Swavely’s car continued to look like the most dominant, as he passed Fernsler prior to a lap 9 restart, and then made a bold pass on Hixon with roughly five laps to go to seal the deal in the first $300-to-win qualifier.

Coming from 11th, Jason Swavely picked up the victory in the first 270 qualifying feature. (Photo Courtesy of Brandon Worthington Photos)

The second qualifier would be the more chaotic of the two, as outside polesitter Brian Sholley took the lead from Dave Williams as other drivers tried to move through the field. Heat race winner Alex Swift was a big early mover, getting up to fourth before a chain came off, forcing him to retire from the qualifier and fall back on a provisional from his heat race win to qualify for the Showcase. Nick Skias, Pete Skias, and Nick Walton all took turns battling for second through a few restarts until the elder Skias and Walton got together, sending Walton spinning and Pete to the back of the field.

After that, the wackiest moment of the night occurred, when just after the single-file restart with seven laps to go, most of the lights around the speedway suddenly went out, leaving drivers with very little visibility around the track. After a delay of roughly 15 minutes, the lights were back up and running, and action resumed with Sholley still leading the way. As his closest challenger in Nick Skias pulled to the infield with a problem, Sholley was able to pull away to take the win of the second qualifier, putting himself safely into the Showcase A-Main.

Brian Sholley picked up $300 for winning the second 20-lap qualifying feature for the T. J.’s Guns and Ammo 270 Showcase. (Photo Courtesy of Brandon Worthington Photos)

The B-Main would then fill out the final eight spots in the 26-car starting field, and Dave Williams took the checkered for that event, while Ben Layser beat Zachary Young for the final transfer spot to round out the starting lineup for the feature, which was set to pay the winner $1,270 thanks to T. J.’s Guns and Ammo and The Cushion.

As the high-point man from Group A, Swavely would start the 40-lap Showcase from the pole, with the high-point scorer from Group B, Hartman, joining him on the front row. The inside lane got a great start, as Swavely, third-place starter Billy Logeman, and fifth-place starter Lee Reinhardt all moved inside the top three on the first lap.

Cautions came early and often, as 26 fast cars all tried to jockey their way through the pack around the tight confines and close quarters of the speedway. As a result, restarts are where spots would be made and lost. Matt Fernsler picked off two cars to move to fourth on one restart. On the next, Reinhardt made the move past Logeman on the inside to get to second. Thompson’s night came to an abrupt end, as he was charging through the field from the 17th-starting spot when he went for a wild flip in turn 4 on a restart.

Each short spurt in the race saw Swavely go unchallenged, and most of the frontrunners made their time around the bottom. One driver had thoughts of changing that, however, as Andrew Dietrich began to work his way into the picture running on the high side. The 14th-place starter had moved well inside the top 10, and used the high side to crack the top five just past halfway. Dietrich made his way past Logeman for fourth following a lap 24 restart, and then made the pass for third on a resurgent Hartman as the race ticked inside ten laps to go.

The high number of caution laps led to a necessary fuel stop when the caution waved with nine laps remaining. Teams had just a few minutes to refuel and make small adjustments before returning to track for the run to the finish. Swavely and Reinhardt had looked untouchable running in the top two, but the time that Dietrich had made on the high side begged the question of whether either driver would make a move to the top over the closing run.

The restart saw Swavely break away once more, while Dietrich kept Reinhardt within his grasp for second as the two competitors ran opposite lines. Although Dietrich seemed to be as fast as Reinhardt on the top, he wasn’t able to get the little bit extra he needed to make the move for second.

And ultimately, no one in the field was as fast as Swavely on this night. Swavely survived the final restart of the race with seven to go, and put Bill Schenck’s No. 92 on cruise control the rest of the way to cap off an utterly dominating performance. Swavely had won, literally, everything there was to win throughout the evening, and capped it off by leading all 40 laps to become the first 270 Showcase winner. It was a dream performance, and one that came against many of the best 270 drivers from all over the northeast.

Behind Swavely came Reinhardt, who was fast as always but once again had to settle for being the bridesmaid. Dietrich finished his drive through the field in third, while Hartman and Fernsler brought home the rest of the top five.

Jason Swavely led all 40 laps to win the inaugural T. J.’s Guns and Ammo 270 Showcase and complete a dominant night. (Photo Courtesy of Brandon Worthington Photos)

Next Saturday, August 13th will be the Donna Geib and Gary Miller Memorial at the Clyde, presented by Gold Rush Trailer Sales. The event, which was rescheduled from July 16th, will honor our two former Lanco board members who passed away in the past year. In memory of Donna and Gary, Gold Rush Trailer Sales had added $150 to the purse for all five weekly divisions, which will return to the Clyde for a points-paying show. Gates will open at 4:30, with warmups and racing beginning at 6:00. As we begin the stretch run of the season, the time is now to come out and LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!

Results:

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

1. 7D-Chris Dolan[3]; 2. 76B-Billy Logeman[1]; 3. 7L-Chase Layser[4]; 4. 16-Steve Simmons[7]; 5. 11-Connor Fetrow[5]; 6. 73-Andrew Rothermel[10]; 7. 67-Cooper Schoenly[11]; 8. 82-John Maurer[2]; 9. 78C-Toby Blumenshine[6]; 10. 3H-Corey Harting[9]; 11. 13S-Blaire Shoenly[12]; 12. 6X-Chance Thomas[13]; 13. 9M-Justin Harrington[8]; 14. 8C-Luke Zimmerman[14]

All Star Slingshot A-Main (25 Laps):

1. 3-David Carraghan[3]; 2. 1-Tyler Ulsh[7]; 3. 12-Brian Smith[4]; 4. 33-Chase Bixler[1]; 5. 13-Blaire Schoenly[10]; 6. 21K-Kayla Clark[6]; 7. 14-Brent Schantz[5]; 8. 8-John Schantz[11]; 9. 31C-Brycen Clark[13]; 10. 55-Cole Armstrong[9]; 11. 12JR-Haley Thurnberg[8]; 12. R1-Evan Bixler[2]; 13. 15-Faith Turnbaugh[12]; 14. 3L-Nolen Layser[14]

270 A-Main (40 Laps):

1. 92-Jason Swavely[1]; 2. 4R-Lee Reinhardt[5]; 3. 88D-Andrew Dietrich[14]; 4. 88-Richie Hartman[2]; 5. 19-Matt Fernsler[7]; 6. 15-Alex Swift[18]; 7. 76-Billy Logeman[3]; 8. 21-Toby Blumenshine[4]; 9. 2-Mike Rutherford[9]; 10. 5A-Anthony Yerger[25]; 11. 29-Jeff Haefke[6]; 12. 16-Brianne Cronrath Wittmer[23]; 13. 4L-Ben Layser[26]; 14. 49W-Johnny West[22]; 15. 28S-Brian Sholley[8]; 16. 53S-Shannon Slaughter[12]; 17. 48-Jonah Meck[24]; 18. 3-Pete Skias[20]; 19. 11R-Tommy Rinck[15]; 20. 31-Tyler Martin[13]; 21. 21D-Dave Williams[19]; 22. 16T-Nick Walton[10]; 23. 46T-Matt Thompson[17]; 24. 3S-Nick Skias[21]; 25. 65H-Mackenzie Hixon[11]; 26. 30-Ryan Heckman[16]