By Kasey Kreider

With just two points races left in the 2022 season at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, the pressure was on for several drivers in the points battle entering First Responders Night presented by T. J.’s Guns and Ammo. A fast-paced night of racing saw five exciting features and brought the points pictures into closer focus, with one driver locking up a championship and two more taking big steps in the right direction entering Championship Night next Saturday.

While not in the 270 points chase, Jason Swavely kept his late-season momentum rolling as he picked up a victory in that feature event. Swavely then followed it up with a second win roughly a half-hour later, this time in the Hyper Racing Winged 600s, and a win which helped him close in on his first 600 points title at the Clyde. Chase Layser turned numerous close calls into a return trip to the winner’s circle, taking home the 125/4 Stroke feature after also winning the Cash Dash earlier in the night. Second place went to Billy Logeman, and with that result, he was able to mathematically clinch the 125/4 Stroke championship prior to next Saturday’s action. Corey Schmuck, Jr. charged to the front and beat Bret Cronrath to the stripe for his seventh win in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsmans, bringing that battle down to wire at the top of the standings. And after all but clinching the 270 championship with a second place finish earlier in the night, Bradley Brown capped off his evening by scoring an exciting win in a division where he was already set to become a champion, the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s.

The 270s kicked off the night of feature racing, and a stacked lineup at the front led by points leader Bradley Brown and Jason Swavely brought the field down to the green flag. Those two drivers ran first and second in that order for the first eight laps, but Swavely was right in Brown’s tire tracks the whole way.

Although passing Brown in clean track would be difficult, lapped traffic would provide an opportunity, and Swavely took full advantage. Coming out of turn 4 and down the frontstretch, Swavely got under Brown and used a lapped car as a pick to perfection to grab the lead entering the next corner.

Swavely then pulled away out in front, with his Bill Schenck-owned No. 92 proving to be a rocketship once again. But Brown was still comfortably in second and looked poised to open up a decent-sized lead on points challenger Mike Skias entering the finale. The lead grew even larger with four laps to go, as Skias, who was running in sixth, went for a spin entering turn 3 and was collected by Courtney Kupp, causing too much damage for Skias to continue and relegating him to a 16th-place result.

The restart gave an opportunity for Brown to close in on Swavely at the front, but it only prolonged the inevitable, as Swavely checked out on two more restarts to claim his third points-paying win of the year in the 270 class. Brown would finish in second, and open up an 81-point lead on Skias entering the points finale. In essence, all Brown would have to do next weekend is show up, and the title would belong to him. Pete Skias completed the podium in third, while a last-corner spin for Nick Skias moved Dylan Pence up to a career-best fourth, and Courtney Kupp completed the top five.

Heat races were won by Pete Skias and Kupp.

Jason Swavely picked up his third win of the season in points-paying action in the 270 feature. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

The 125/4 Strokes competed in the evening’s Cash Dash presented by the Race Chasing Award Fund, as Sara Borror, Riley Simmons, Billy Logeman, John Maurer, Steve Simmons, and Chase Layser qualified for the six-lap event after their finishes in the heat races. As the last driver to pick his starting spot in the redraw, Layser was left with the pole position, and led the entirety of the event to pick up the $100 bonus from race director Mike Knappenberger.

Chase Layser took home the $100 bonus from race director Mike Knappenberger for picking up the victory in the 125/4 Stroke Cash Dash. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

When it came time for the feature, Layser would roll off eighth, while Borror and Seth Gregory made up the front row. After a complete restart, third-place starter Maurer was the one who found himself grabbing the early lead, as he looked to make it two points-paying wins a row after picking up his first two weeks prior.

Chaos throughout the middle of the pack punctuated the first few laps, as Layser had moved his way up the running order while Logeman, who needed a finish of third or better to clinch the championship, got shuffled back from his original 12th starting position.

Layser got his opportunity to catch the top three with a caution on lap 6, and took full advantage on the restart. Quickly able to get past Gregory and Borror, Layser set his sights on the No. 82 out in the wind, and made the pass for the lead down the frontstretch just a few laps later. After his early setback, Logeman had moved inside the top five, and looked to be the only car that could potentially challenge Layser for the win in clear racetrack.

But the magic number was three, and Logeman got to that spot following a restart with 10 laps remaining. Eventually, he was able to pick off Maurer for second, and although he wouldn’t be able to challenge Layser for the win on the last restart, the war had been won.

Layser turned weeks of podiums into his first win since May, as he capped off a dominant night in victory lane. Logeman drove through the field to second, and the 2007 Sportsman champion at the Clyde would finally add title number two to the trophy case with his effort. Finishing third was Logeman’s closest championship challenger Matt Fernsler, while Maurer and last year’s champ Justin Harrington completed the top five.

Heat races were won by Borror and Maurer.

After winning the Cash Dash, Chase Layser drove from eighth to score the victory in the 125/4 Stroke feature. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

Billy Logeman, here posing with a Race Chasing Award following the Cash Dash, picked up a second place finish in the 25-lap feature, allowing him to clinch the 125/4 Stroke championship. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

It was hot and heavy at the front of the Hyper Racing Winged 600 feature, with Holden Eckman leading championship contenders Jason Swavely and Bradley Brown right from the start. Eckman led the way over the first six laps, but Swavely looked to be faster as the lane moved up, and took the lead with a smooth slider in turn 4.

A lap 15 restart allowed Brown to move into second, as Eckman then fell off the pace and pulled to the infield. But a few laps later is when disaster would strike, as a hub failure on Brown’s machine sent it up into the turn 2 wall, collecting third-place runner and the heat race winner Billy Logeman in the process. While Logeman was able to continue, Brown could not, and Swavely’s dominant performance at the front seemed as if it could be a potential title clincher.

But Swavely still had to hold off the Groff Motorsports teammates Jesse Maurer and Nick Skias over the final eight laps, something that would be no easy task if prior battles throughout the season were any indication. But on the restart, Maurer’s car didn’t take off properly, allowing Swavely to pull away and pick a line entering the first set of corners. From that point, the race for the win had been sealed.

For the second straight year, Swavely took home the victory of the second-to-last points race of the season. But where last year’s win had only tied him atop the standings with Heath Hehnly, this win gave him a 69-point advantage over Brown, who was credited with an eighth-place finish. A finish of 21st or better in next weekend’s championship finale would give Swavely his first Hyper Racing Winged 600 title. Maurer led Skias across the line to complete the podium, while Brent Ely and Will Urkuski brought home the top five.

Jason Swavely scored a big victory in the Hyper Racing Winged 600 feature to extend his points lead over Bradley Brown entering Championship Night. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

The closest points battle remaining belonged to the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsmans, as Bret Cronrath entered the feature with a 48-point lead on Corey Schmuck, Jr. But after an issue in his heat race, Cronrath would roll off last, 17th, on the grid, while Schmuck, Jr. would go from 11th. On the front row were Dustin Geib and Michael Spadafora, but the two didn’t stay there long, as they got together coming out of turn 4 and slid up to the outside wall, collecting fourth-place starter Masen Stapleton in the process.

Robert Shanaman was on point for the next go-round and led the way through the opening laps as some of the usual suspects worked up toward the front. The first lead change came on lap 11, as Anthony Yerger took away the top spot in search of his second win of the season. But Schmuck, Jr. and Cronrath both were picking their way through the field, and had made their way up inside the top five by halfway.

Cronrath had actually passed Schmuck, Jr. during the race’s opening stages, but Schmuck, Jr. had been able to retake the spot and was the first to catch Yerger as the laps wound down. It soon became apparent that Yerger had an issue, as he lost big chunks of his lead before falling off the pace completely and falling out of the race. His stopped vehicle brought out the caution with five to go, and set the stage for a battle between the two title contenders as they had worked their way into the top two spots.

But despite looking like the faster car in the early laps of the race, Cronrath was unable to challenge Schmuck, Jr. over the final run to the finish, and the driver of the No. 26 pulled away to claim his seventh win of the season. With Schmuck, Jr. winning and Cronrath finishing second, the gap would sit at 43 points prior to next weekend’s points finale. Kyle Lindsey came home with an impressive third-place result, leading the way over Shanaman and Courtney Kupp as they completed the top five.

Heat races were won by Yerger and Dustin Geib.

Corey Schmuck, Jr. picked up his seventh win of the season in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsmans, keeping him in the points chase entering next Saturday’s finale. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

The night’s final feature belonged to the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s, and saw Nathan Miller and Jesse Maurer share the front row. However, both drivers ran into issues on consecutive starts. First, Miller spun on the bottom of turn 2, collecting third-place starter Zach Jurcik. Then on the second start, Maurer lost the lead to Bradley Brown before going for a spin in turn 3.

The third attempt at the start had Shjon Dove sharing the front row with Brown, and Brown was able to get to the lead once more. While Brown led the way and began to pull away from the pack, the driver to watch quickly became young hot shoe Gunnar Pio, who threw some bigger sliders battling with Dove for second before clearing to take over the spot.

Once Pio had gotten around Dove, he had roughly a 2.5-second gap separating himself from the leader. But the gap started closing in a hurry, as Pio thrillingly ripped the fence the entire way around the speedway, running laps that were anywhere from three tenths to half a second quicker than the rest of the field. In seemingly no time, Pio was there, and the battle was on at the front between the 600 champ and the 600 rookie.

Although Pio had the quicker car, Brown made him work for every slider that he threw, as he would cross back over each time to keep the lead. Coming into turn 3 with less than 10 laps remaining, Pio sent it just a little too hard into the corner, pounding the wall with the right rear and likely bending something on the car. From that point, Pio simply had to try and limp it home, and was unable to challenge Brown, even after a restart with four laps to go.

The 2022 Hyper Racing Wingless 600 champion scored his fourth win of the season in wingless competition, outlasting Pio and the rest of the field to the checkered flag. Pio’s head-turning drive finished with a second-place result, and an outstanding night for Jurcik put him on the bottom step of the podium, even after his lap 1 incident. Dove and James Fries were the drivers who completed the top five.

Heat races were won by Brown and Maurer.

Bradley Brown outdueled Gunnar Pio to score his fourth victory of the year in Hyper Racing Wingless 600 action. (Photo Courtesy of Keegan Simmons Photos)

Next Saturday, September 17th will be Championship Night at the Clyde. All five weekly divisions will compete in the final points-paying race of the season, with all five champions officially being crowned at the end of the night. If necessary, a rain date for Championship Night will be on Saturday, September 24th, as that will otherwise be a non-points event. Gates will open at 4:30, with warmups and racing set to begin at 6:00. As a thrilling points battle comes down to the final race of the season, don’t miss your opportunity to come out and LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!

Results:

270 A-Main (25 Laps):

1. 92-Jason Swavely[2]; 2. 82-Bradley Brown[1]; 3. 3-Pete Skias[4]; 4. 4-Dylan Pence[7]; 5. 23K-Courtney Kupp[5]; 6. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[10]; 7. 48-Jonah Meck[6]; 8. 74F-Cody West[17]; 9. 11-Mike Uhrich[15]; 10. 52T-Alex Lukacs[14]; 11. 91-Jack Redcay[8]; 12. 21D-Dave Williams[12]; 13. 34-Christi Sweigart[16]; 14. 47X-Ernie Newmaster III[13]; 15. (DNF) 3S-Nick Skias[3]; 16. (DNF) 8S-Mike Skias[9]; 17. (DNF) 27O-Mike Rutherford[18]; 18. (DNF) 11M-Zakery Vickers[11]

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

1. 7L-Chase Layser[8]; 2. 76B-Billy Logeman[12]; 3. 19-Matt Fernsler[11]; 4. 82-John Maurer[3]; 5. 76-Justin Harrington[9]; 6. 16-Steve Simmons[6]; 7. 44-Riley Simmons[4]; 8. 26C-Michael Coen[10]; 9. 7D-Chris Dolan[16]; 10. 15H-Don Hess[5]; 11. 20J-Dave Labe[15]; 12. 14-Seth Gregory[2]; 13. 112-Dylan Yeingst[14]; 14. 78C-Sara Borror[1]; 15. 15-Alyssa Holmes[13]; 16. 81-Dylan Holmes[18]; 17. 17-Masen Stapleton[17]; 18. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[7]; 19. 7-Michael Spadafora[19]

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

1. 14-Jason Swavely[2]; 2. 3-Jesse Maurer[8]; 3. 7-Nick Skias[6]; 4. 17-Brent Ely[9]; 5. 1-Will Urkuski[10]; 6. 75-Mark Yoder[11]; 7. 15P-Christopher Panczner[7]; 8. 23-Bradley Brown[3]; 9. 97-Billy Logeman[5]; 10. 11H-Holden Eckman[1]; 11. (DNS) 117-Cody West

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

1. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[11]; 2. 5-Bret Cronrath[17]; 3. 28-Kyle Lindsey[5]; 4. 15-Robert Shannaman[3]; 5. 23K-Courtney Kupp[7]; 6. 16P-Patrick Kirn[9]; 7. 31-Tyler Martin[6]; 8. 21V-David Ravel[16]; 9. 3S-Masen Stapleton[4]; 10. 21D-Dave Williams[14]; 11. 53-Jared St John[13]; 12. 11-Dustin Geib[1]; 13. 14M-Chelsey Moore[12]; 14. 53S-Shannon Slaughter[8]; 15. 22S-Bret Sculley[15]; 16. 5A-Anthony Yerger[10]; 17. 8-Michael Spadafora[2]

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

1. 23-Bradley Brown[5]; 2. 28-Gunnar Pio[7]; 3. 96-Zach Jurcik[3]; 4. 3D-Shjon Dove[4]; 5. 1F-James Fries[9]; 6. 2K-Nathan Miller[1]; 7. 42-Chase Layser[6]; 8. 15B-John Barnett Jr[11]; 9. 16P-Patrick Kirn[10]; 10. 16X-Noah Smith[8]; 11. 1-Jesse Maurer[2]; 12. 39T-Olivia Thayer[12]

Point Standings (1 Race Remaining):

270 Point Standings (Top 5):

1. 82-Bradley Brown[1,110]; 2. 8S-Mike Skias[-81]; 3. 3S-Nick Skias[-110]; 4. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[-141]; 5. 34-Christi Sweigart[-188]

125/4 Stroke Point Standings (Top 5):

1. 76B-Billy Logeman[1,492]; 2. 19-Matt Fernsler[-139]; 3. 7D-Chris Dolan[-212]; 4. 76-Justin Harrington[-233]; 5. 7L-Chase Layser[-240]

Hyper Racing Winged 600 Point Standings (Top 5):

1. 14-Jason Swavely[1,169]; 2. 23-Bradley Brown[-69]; 3. 11H-Holden Eckman[-142]; 4. 3-Jesse Maurer[-233]; 5. 7-Nick Skias[-306]

Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman Point Standings (Top 5):

1. 5-Bret Cronrath[1,405]; 2. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[-43]; 3. 53S-Shannon Slaughter[-285]; 4. 21-Toby Blumenshine[-309]; 5. 21D-Dave Williams[-309]

Hyper Racing Wingless 600 Point Standings (Top 5):

1. 23-Bradley Brown[1,280]; 2. 1F-James Fries[-426]; 3. 16-Marty Brian[-633]; 4. 5-Christian Bruno[-639]; 5. 3D-Shjon Dove[-671]