By Kasey Kreider
With East Coast Transponders putting up an extra $2,000 spread across all five divisions – as well as random prize giveaways to drivers in each class – there was a little extra “oomph” to the final regular points show in four weeks at the speedway. Another hot and humid night saw fast and frenetic action throughout the evening. And five drivers found their way to the winner’s circle in the last tune-ups before Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek and the Clyde Martin Memorial.
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
Close, but no cigar had been the mantra for Christian Bruno throughout the course of the 2023 Hyper Racing Wingless 600 campaign at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. But in the final race before next Saturday’s Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek finale, the 2021 champion finally broke the ice, getting past Steven Snyder, Jr. on the race’s final restart to claim his second win of the week and put his East Coast Transponders-sponsored machine in victory lane.
Snyder, Jr. led from pole position for most of the race and held a two-second lead working through lapped traffic before the caution lights came on for P. J. Reutimann’s spin with seven laps to go. The yellow flag regrouped the field, with Bruno restarting in the third spot. A frantic restart saw the Deptford, NJ native get under Jarid Kunkle for second, and the caution waved again one lap later when Fred Heinly’s car got upside down.
The two leaders hit the Boyer’s Tavern Starting Line just about even, with Bruno edging ahead into turn 3. Bruno maintained his position outside of Snyder, Jr. through the corner and rocketed past on the high side of turns 1 and 2 to claim the lead for good.
“I knew that was gonna have to be one of the best restarts of my career,” Bruno said. “I knew if I could get around him that it was so tough to slide… [the track] was so fast.”
“I was glad I was able to get a good start, and timed it right and was able to get around him. Yeah, I’ll take it.”
Bruno continued the streak of different Wingless 600 winners in 2023, a streak that now sits at 10. The victory was Bruno’s second of the week, following up a triumph Wednesday night at Kutztown. And despite prior open show victories, Bruno’s win was his first in a Wingless 600 points-paying event at the Clyde.
Snyder, Jr., the defending Speedweek champion, settled for second, while Marty Brian finished in third as the points lead once again changed hands. Kunkle held on for fourth and Florida’s Bubba Rains got his early start on Speedweek with an impressive fifth-place showing.
Bruno, Snyder, Jr., and Brian all received $250, $100, and $50 bonuses, respectively, for their finishes. In addition, East Coast Transponders gave away three prizes to random finishing positions throughout all five features. In the Wingless 600s, 11th-place finisher Chase Layser received a TR2 Go Transponder. 14th-place finisher Matt Donley received new jack stands complimentary of East Coast Transponders. And 12th-place finisher Dominic Foster received an East Coast Transponders gift certificate.
Results:
1. 5-Christian Bruno[7]; 2. 21S-Steven Snyder Jr[1]; 3. 16-Marty Brian[2]; 4. 75K-Jarid Kunkle[3]; 5. 07R-Bubba Rains[4]; 6. 23-Bradley Brown[5]; 7. 71-Brian Kramer[10]; 8. 08-Dominic Schmidt[17]; 9. 101E-Easton Lebo[6]; 10. 03-Ryan Groff[12]; 11. 7L-Chase Layser[8]; 12. $30-Dominic Foster[13]; 13. 11H-Holden Eckman[14]; 14. 15D-Matthew Donley[11]; 15. 2J-Jace Marshall[9]; 16. 95-PJ Reutimann[22]; 17. 39T-Olivia Thayer[20]; 18. 75-Andrew Rothermel[21]; 19. 90-PJ Reid[18]; 20. 22H-Fred Heinly[16]; 21. 99X-Brandon Heist Sr[15]; 22. (DNS) 3Y-Zachary Young
Points (Top 5) (After 9 of 15 Races):
1. 16-Marty Brian[636]; 2. 08-Dominic Schmidt[-18]; 3. 03-Ryan Groff[-19]; 4. 23-Bradley Brown[-33]; 5. 5-Christian Bruno[-134]
Christian Bruno passed Steven Snyder, Jr. on the final restart to claim the win in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
125/4 Stroke
As the defending winner of the Clyde Martin Memorial and the Wingless Labor Day Shootout, it’s no surprise to see Chris Dolan show up when there’s a little extra money and prestige on the line. Dolan thoroughly dominated Saturday night’s 125/4 Stroke program to become the first three-time winner in the division in 2023.
Dolan started fourth, but caught a break when second and third-place starters Andrew Rothermel and Don Hess got tangled up on the start. On the restart, Dolan made his way past pole sitter Sam Borger and put his No. 7D out into the wind.
Dolan was never seriously challenged for the remainder of the race, as he built up large advantages on each green-flag run and picked precisely through lapped traffic to maintain his lead. At the checkers, Dolan grabbed the victory by nearly two and a half seconds.
“I knew looking at the starting lineup we’d have a good chance at it,” Dolan said. “Sam saw me start to overdrive turn 1, so I just chucked it to the bottom.”
Dolan got the $250 winner’s bonus from East Coast Transponders, while John Maurer climbed from 10th to second to score the $100 bonus. Matt Fernsler got an extra $50 for third and closed to within five points of fourth-place finisher Justin Harrington in the standings. Steve Simmons rounded out the top five.
Despite failing to finish, Dylan Holmes was credited with 14th and received the TR2 Go Transponder. Seventh-place finisher Mike Coen received the free jack stands, and sixth-place finisher Michael Hoffmaster got the gift certificate.
Results:
1. 7D-Chris Dolan[4]; 2. 82-John Maurer[10]; 3. 19-Matt Fernsler[7]; 4. 75-Justin Harrington[9]; 5. 16-Steve Simmons[12]; 6. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[14]; 7. 26C-Michael Coen[8]; 8. 14-Seth Gregory[5]; 9. 8-Michael Spadafora[11]; 10. 04-Sam Borger[1]; 11. 21S-Samuel Davenport[17]; 12. 112-Dylan Yeingst[13]; 13. 78C-Sara Borror[15]; 14. 81-Dylan Holmes[6]; 15. 15-Alyssa Holmes[16]; 16. 73-Andrew Rothermel[2]; 17. 15H-Don Hess[3]
Points (Top 5) (After 9 of 15 Races):
1. 75-Justin Harrington[755]; 2. 19-Matt Fernsler[-5]; 3. 16-Steve Simmons[-67]; 4. 82-John Maurer[-70]; 5. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[-72]
Chris Dolan dominated the evening for his third win of the year in the 125/4 Stroke class. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
270
For a brief moment Saturday night, it looked as if Jason Swavely may not have a 270 ride for the evening, after Swavely’s car owner Bill Schenck ran into issues en route to the speedway and was unable to get the No. 92 to the track. Swavely’s longtime friend and teammate Anthony Yerger gave up his 270 seat – perhaps paving the way for some good karma that would come back around later in the night – and Swavely went back to victory lane for the fifth time in the 270 class in 2023.
Swavely was originally slated to start second, but issues for Dave Ravel prior to the green flag moved the No. 5A to pole position. With nothing but clean racetrack in front of him, the Rocketman from Fleetwood ran like the wind and took Yerger’s car to victory lane for the second time this season after the car’s usual pilot had done so back in May.
“Bill called me when I was pulling in on Sunnyside Road at 4:30 and told me he broke down on the turnpike and had to get the truck towed,” Swavely said. “I gotta thank Anthony for letting me jump in his car to continue to try to win a points championship in the 270… hats off to him for letting me get in and take this thing to victory lane.”
Swavely picked up the $250 winner’s bonus from East Coast Transponders and extended his points lead – albeit slightly – over Tommy Rinck, who finished second for the third time in 2023 and brought home the $100 bonus as a result. Mike Skias got the extra $50 for third, while Chris Dolan and Billy Logeman rounded out the top five.
The TR2 Go Transponder went to seventh-place finisher Corey Schmuck, Jr. The jack stands went to 15th-place finisher Jack Redcay. And the East Coast Transponders gift certificate went to 12th-place finisher Alex Lukacs.
Results:
1. 5A-Jason Swavely[2]; 2. 11R-Tommy Rinck[3]; 3. 8S-Mike Skias[6]; 4. 9M-Chris Dolan[11]; 5. 27O-Billy Logeman[10]; 6. 1L-Dave Labe[5]; 7. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[14]; 8. 54-Darren Schott[9]; 9. 4-Dylan Pence[7]; 10. 30-Ryan Heckman[16]; 11. 34-Christi Sweigart[15]; 12. 32-Alex Lukacs[12]; 13. 21D-Dave Williams[18]; 14. 17-Kyle Lindsey[21]; 15. 91-Jack Redcay[17]; 16. 94-Dallas Sanders[20]; 17. 47X-Ernie Newmaster III[19]; 18. 3S-Nick Skias[8]; 19. 48B-Brandon Bomberger[13]; 20. 74F-David Ravel[1]; 21. 3-Josh Stoyer[4]
Points (Top 5) (After 9 of 15 Races):
1. 5A-Jason Swavely[752]; 2. 11R-Tommy Rinck[-52]; 3. 17-Kyle Lindsey[-104]; 4. 8S-Mike Skias[-183]; 5. 34-Christi Sweigart[-216]
Jason Swavely scored his fifth win of the year in the 270 division at the Clyde. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman
After winning a combined 10 races in 2021, plus the 270 points championship, you would have a hard time believing that it had been since opening night of 2022 when Nick Skias last won in any division at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. But a good partner can help you through just about anything in life, and as Nick hopped behind the wheel of wife Megan’s No. 88 in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman division, things finally came together for the Wernersville native to break the year and a half winless streak.
Skias was fastest in hot laps, won his heat race and started on the pole for the A-Main. The stage was set for a victory, but Skias still had to execute through a few early restarts and then a long green-flag run to end the race. A charging Brandon Heist did his best to keep Skias hard at work through the lapped cars, but the two-time Labor Day Shootout winner could never get close enough to pose a real threat to the two-time 270 division champion.
“It’s been a long year and a half, two years, and man this car was good,” Skias said. “I couldn’t let Ava [Bellinger] or Richie [Hartman] show me up. I was beginning to think every time I got in this car, I wrecked it – I was a bad omen… it feels good to finally have a good run, and hey, we’re back.”
Joining Bellinger and Hartman, Skias became the third different driver to win a race in the No. 88 this season, and picked up the extra $250 prize. Heist came home second and scored the extra $100, and Corey Schmuck, Jr. picked up an extra $50 to go with his transponder for finishing third. Courtney Kupp finished fourth and points leader Bret Cronrath rounded out the top five, as Cronrath held off sixth-place finisher Josh Stoyer to keep his points lead intact.
For his sixth-place effort, Stoyer received the jack stands courtesy of East Coast Transponders. Ninth-place finisher Dave Ravel received the TR2 Go Transponder, and 12th-place finisher Patrick Kirn got the gift certificate.
Results:
1. 88-Nick Skias[1]; 2. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[8]; 3. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[10]; 4. 23K-Courtney Kupp[2]; 5. 5-Bret Cronrath[6]; 6. 15-Josh Stoyer[11]; 7. 1J-Justin Harrington[4]; 8. 31-Tyler Martin[14]; 9. 21V-David Ravel[3]; 10. 28-Kyle Lindsey[5]; 11. 53S-Shannon Slaughter[7]; 12. 16P-Patrick Kirn[12]; 13. 30-Ryan Heckman[13]; 14. 77-Michael Kreiser[15]; 15. 23-Billy Gray[23]; 16. 20-Max Fasnacht[17]; 17. 21D-Dave Williams[20]; 18. 77J-Jade Smith[16]; 19. 53-Jared St John[21]; 20. 2T-Doug Pearson[19]; 21. 8-Michael Spadafora[24]; 22. 21-Alex Lukacs[18]; 23. 4W-Brandon Worthington[22]; 24. 19-Wes Fasnacht[9]
Points (Top 5) (After 9 of 15 Races):
1. 5-Bret Cronrath[794]; 2. 15-Josh Stoyer[-49]; 3. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[-109]; 4. 1J-Justin Harrington[-200]; 5. 25X-Dan Lane Jr[-209]
Nick Skias broke a winless streak of a year and a half with his victory in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman class. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
Hyper Racing Winged 600
After giving up his 270 seat to Jason Swavely for the evening, Anthony Yerger only had one crack at the speedway once feature time rolled around, competing in the ultra-competitive Hyper Racing Winged 600 division. But Yerger made it a night to remember, as he held off challenges from both Christian Bruno and Bradley Brown to claim his first ever win in Winged 600 action.
Yerger won his heat race and drew pole position for the night’s final feature. Right away, Yerger would have to contend with second-place starter Christian Bruno, who was looking to become only the second driver to sweep Winged and Wingless 600 A-Mains since the beginning of last season.
After being unable to make a slider stick on an early restart, Bruno dogged the No. 5A machine around the upper groove of the speedway, trying to get close enough to make a move as the race ran green during its mid-stages.
But Yerger made no missteps on the top side, a line he’s always been known for running at the Clyde regardless of the car or class. That high-side experience paid off as he kept Bruno in check before a pivotal caution flag flew with eight laps to go when Brent Ely’s engine expired.
As Bruno tried to time the restart – as he had done to perfection in the wingless race – he went a little too early, and was called for a jump. Bruno was penalized two positions, moving Chris Panczner to the outside of the front row for the next restart attempt.
But a hard charging Bradley Brown made the pass for second on the restart, and tried to track down Yerger as the caution flew once more with four laps to go. A single-file restart would be the deciding moment of the race, and as Yerger put together a monster lap after the restart, that was all the Fleetwood native needed to pick up the victory.
“I don’t know what to say, we’ve been fighting problems with this [car] all year so far,” Yerger said. “We just changed everything this morning hoping it was gonna work, and it did.”
Yerger followed up his first 270 win in May with the big victory on East Coast Transponders Night, which gave him the extra $250 as a result. Brown charged from seventh to second and got $100 for the effort, and Bruno settled for third and the $50 bonus, putting Chris Snyder’s No. 5 on the podium for the fifth-straight race.
Panczner finished fourth and received the jack stands courtesy of East Coast Transponders, while fifth-place finisher Nick Skias took the TR2 Go Transponder. Ninth-place Billy Logeman received the East Coast Transponders gift certificate.
Despite a relatively quiet night, seventh-place finisher Jason Swavely maintained an 88-point lead over Brown entering the Clyde Martin Memorial in two weeks.
Results:
1. 5A-Anthony Yerger[1]; 2. 23-Bradley Brown[7]; 3. 5-Christian Bruno[2]; 4. 15P-Christopher Panczner[3]; 5. 88-Nick Skias[6]; 6. 3-Jesse Maurer[12]; 7. 14-Jason Swavely[10]; 8. 11H-Holden Eckman[5]; 9. 97-Billy Logeman[9]; 10. 32-Josh Smith[8]; 11. 66A-Marvin Albright[11]; 12. L13-Robert Potter[13]; 13. 17-Brent Ely[4]; 14. 51-Brad Gerhart[14]
Points (Top 5) (After 9 of 15 Races):
1. 14-Jason Swavely[789]; 2. 23-Bradley Brown[-88]; 3. 5-Christian Bruno[-159]; 4. 88-Nick Skias[-173]; 5. 97-Billy Logeman[-223]
Anthony Yerger held off Bradley Brown over the final four-lap run to claim his first win in the Hyper Racing Winged 600s. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
Next Saturday, July 22nd is the $10,000-to-win Dirt2Media Finale of Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek presented by Performance Electronics. The best 600 micro sprint competitors from all over the country will converge at the Clyde for the richest micro sprint race to win in the northeast and one of the richest in the country. The event caps off the six-race Speedweek series, which begins Monday at Greenwood Valley before heading to Clinton County, Action Track USA, Airport, and Linda’s before the epic conclusion at Lanco. In addition to the 600s, the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsmans will have their only wingless race of the 2023 season as the supporting division. Grandstand admission opens at 4:30, with warmups beginning at 6:00. For those who cannot attend, live streaming will be available exclusively on The Cushion. As the best of the best from all over do battle for $10,000, you better not miss your chance to come out and LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!