By Kasey Kreider
The month of August at the Clyde came to a close with another busy racing program, as the final two makeup features were contested prior to a full show of regular racing. There were plenty of fresh faces who found their way into the winner’s circle by night’s end. Some drivers even claimed their very first wins in any division at the speedway. And as points battles continued throughout some of the classes, one driver put not one, but two championships to rest as he accumulated enough points to wrap both of them up before Labor Day Weekend.
Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman
The top three starters in Saturday evening’s first feature for the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsmans all had one thing in common. None of the three drivers had ever been to victory lane at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway before. But after a few podium finishes over the past couple of years, Max Fasnacht capitalized on the opportunity and put all the pieces together for his first win.
Fasnacht first had to hold off Ryan Heckman, who had picked up his first-ever micro win at Shellhammer’s a few weeks before and was looking to carry good momentum over to the Clyde. Heckman stayed within a few car lengths of the Fasnacht machine before he broke and pulled to the infield just before halfway.
The runner-up spot then belonged to Shannon Slaughter, who likewise kept Fasnacht within striking distance but was unable to mount a charge. A caution with three laps to go provided a brief opportunity for the rest of the field, but Fasnacht kept his No. 20 tidy on the bottom line of a dry-slick racetrack and held on all the way to the checkered flag. Max joined his dad Wes, who had been a feature winner back in 2005, as a winner at the Clyde.
Slaughter held off Brandon Heist on the final restart to claim her best-career finish in second. Heist completed the podium in front of Josh Stoyer and Mike Skias, who rounded out the top five.
Max Fasnacht claimed his first-ever win in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman makeup feature. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
Stoyer led the field to the green flag for the night’s regularly scheduled A-Main event. After the race took four attempts to get started, it quickly settled into a rhythm, as the first 22 laps all ran without a yellow once the race finally got underway.
Stoyer led Skias for most of the A-Main before a hard-charging Heist inserted himself into the picture with just a few laps to go. Heist got around Skias for the runner-up position and drew in on the tail tank of the No. 15 Viper Chassis before the yellows waved with three laps to go – again – in the race.
Heist got oh-so-close to Stoyer’s car over the course of that final three-lap run, but couldn’t pull alongside of him at any point to be able to make a pass for the win. Stoyer held on for his second win of the season, and inched to within 61 points of the championship leader Bret Cronrath with the victory.
“I knew we were pretty good,” Stoyer said. “Every lap around I started to get a little freer and freer and I was just dialing it in a little tight… but it all worked out. We finally figured out what we needed.”
Heist finished one spot better than the makeup but still came one position shy of a win, while Skias finished in third to complete the podium. Cronrath and Justin Harrington rounded out the top five.
Makeup Results:
1. 20-Max Fasnacht[1]; 2. 53S-Shannon Slaughter[3]; 3. 5R-Brandon Heist Sr[7]; 4. 15-Josh Stoyer[9]; 5. 88-Mike Skias[11]; 6. 5-Bret Cronrath[6]; 7. 21-Alex Lukacs[4]; 8. 21D-Dave Williams[5]; 9. 77-Michael Kreiser[13]; 10. 23K-Courtney Kupp[10]; 11. 8-Michael Spadafora[21]; 12. 31-Tyler Martin[15]; 13. 1J-Justin Harrington[17]; 14. 21V-David Ravel[12]; 15. 19-Wes Fasnacht[19]; 16. 54-Lisa Warren[18]; 17. 2T-Doug Pearson[16]; 18. 25X-Dan Lane Jr[8]; 19. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[22]; 20. 53-Jared St John[24]; 21. 30-Ryan Heckman[2]; 22. 4W-Brandon Worthington[23]; 23. 77J-Jade Smith[20]; 24. 7C-Curtis Miller[14]
Results:
1. 15-Josh Stoyer[1]; 2. 5R-Brandon Heist Sr[9]; 3. 88-Mike Skias[4]; 4. 5-Bret Cronrath[10]; 5. 1J-Justin Harrington[5]; 6. 25X-Dan Lane Jr[7]; 7. 28-Kyle Lindsey[12]; 8. 31-Tyler Martin[2]; 9. 21-Alex Lukacs[8]; 10. 21V-David Ravel[6]; 11. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[22]; 12. 30-Ryan Heckman[15]; 13. 77-Michael Kreiser[14]; 14. 23K-Courtney Kupp[16]; 15. 19-Wes Fasnacht[3]; 16. 77J-Jade Smith[18]; 17. 20-Max Fasnacht[21]; 18. 4W-Brandon Worthington[20]; 19. 21D-Dave Williams[13]; 20. 2T-Jamie Flickinger[17]; 21. 54-Lisa Warren[19]; 22. 8-Michael Spadafora[11]; 23. (DNS) 53-Jared St John
Points (Top 5) (After 13 of 15 Races):
1. 5-Bret Cronrath[1212]; 2. 15-Josh Stoyer[-61]; 3. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[-214]; 4. 1J-Justin Harrington[-242]; 5. 25X-Dan Lane Jr[-253]
Josh Stoyer held off Brandon Heist on a late restart to grab his second Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman win of the year. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
Double features were also on the docket for the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s, as Trent Warner and Zach Jurcik led the field to the green flag for the makeup feature. But neither driver led the opening circuit, as it was instead Chase Layser who stuck his No. 7L around the bottom and led the race’s first two laps. Great battling took place among the top six positions for the first several laps, as Marty Brian found his way inside of Layser and took the top spot away.
But Brian’s time at the front was short-lived. While he and Dylan Kontra ran around the bottom, Christian Bruno banged the boards around the top side of the speedway and used his momentum to motor by the leaders and take over the position at the front of the pack.
But Brian had one charge left in him once he found the top. The pilot of car No. 16 closed in through some lap traffic and beat Bruno to the bottom of turn 1, as the two drivers made contact but kept their mounts pointed in the right direction. Bruno beat Brian back around the top of turns 3 and 4 and kept the lead with eight laps to go, holding off what would be his last real challenge for the win.
After the race started with two cautions on the opening lap, it ran clean and green for 25 straight circuits, and Bruno picked up his fourth Wingless 600 win of the year, steering his No. 5 Hyper Chassis to the win. Brian held off Jurcik in a fierce battle for second as those drivers completed the podium. Kontra and Layser made up the rest of the top five.
Christian Bruno thundered to his fourth Hyper Racing Wingless 600 victory at the Clyde since the beginning of July in the makeup feature. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
The regular show saw Jarid Kunkle lead the field to the green flag. But Kunkle led for all of about a straightaway before third-place starter Nick Skias took the top spot away wrapping right next to the tires in turns 1 and 2.
Skias never left the bottom for the entirety of the race, and the line worked for him, as he held off challenges from Gunnar Pio and Brian as they ran the top. Brian got to battling with Bruno and Kontra for the runner-up position in the race’s late stages, which allowed Skias to scoot away with what looked to be the win.
But after crossing the line first, Skias’ car did not pass the post-race technical inspection. That meant the second-place finisher would inherit the win, and that driver was King of Prussia’s Dylan Kontra, who got under both Brian and Bruno as those drivers battled for position and led them to the flag by two car lengths.
Kontra – who finished runner-up on 4th of July weekend – claimed his first-ever 600 micro sprint win, while Brian and Bruno came home second and third in that order. Kunkle finished in fourth, and Mason Beinhower completed the top five.
With two second-place finishes coupled with two DNFs for Dominic Schmidt, Brian opened up a big advantage in the points battle, as his lead ballooned from three points entering the evening to now 108 with two points races still left to run.
Makeup Results:
1. 5-Christian Bruno[7]; 2. 16-Marty Brian[4]; 3. 96-Zach Jurcik[2]; 4. 12-Dylan Kontra[12]; 5. 7L-Chase Layser[3]; 6. 1F-James Fries[18]; 7. 90-Trent Warner[1]; 8. 33-John Barnett Jr[19]; 9. 17-Cole Perez[5]; 10. 00-Justin Yohn[11]; 11. 39X-Olivia Thayer[13]; 12. 3Y-Zachary Young[15]; 13. 08-Dominic Schmidt[8]; 14. 03-Ryan Groff[9]; 15. 9C-Jadan Bowling[6]; 16. 3B-Dallas Damask[10]; 17. 94-Hayden Wise[14]; 18. 98W-Matt Warner[16]; 19. 33C-Matthew Chowns[17]; 20. 73-Andrew Rothermel[20]
Results:
1. 12-Dylan Kontra[4]; 2. 16-Marty Brian[6]; 3. 5-Christian Bruno[5]; 4. 75K-Jarid Kunkle[1]; 5. 21-Mason Beinhower[10]; 6. 71-Brian Kramer[16]; 7. 03-Ryan Groff[13]; 8. 11H-Holden Eckman[12]; 9. 00-Justin Yohn[11]; 10. 7L-Chase Layser[9]; 11. 33-John Barnett Jr[19]; 12. 117-Randy West[18]; 13. 90-Trent Warner[23]; 14. 22H-Fred Heinly[8]; 15. 61-Jordan Nonnemacher[17]; 16. 10L-Lukas Kostic[14]; 17. 17-Cole Perez[15]; 18. 90X-PJ Reid[21]; 19. 28-Gunnar Pio[2]; 20. 08-Dominic Schmidt[7]; 21. 39T-Olivia Thayer[20]; 22. 1F-James Fries[22]; 23. 96-Zach Jurcik[24]; 24. (DQ) 20S-Nick Skias[3]
Points (Top 5) (After 13 of 15 Races):
1. 16-Marty Brian[1086]; 2. 08-Dominic Schmidt[-108]; 3. 03-Ryan Groff[-159]; 4. 5-Christian Bruno[-171]; 5. 7L-Chase Layser[-264]
Dylan Kontra got his first-career Hyper Racing Wingless 600 win in Saturday night’s regularly scheduled A-Main event. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
270
As a former 125/4 Stroke winner and a former winner with the Mason Dixon 270 Racing Series, Strasburg’s Alex Lukacs was still striving for his first win of 2023 in his return to full-time action at the Clyde. Lukacs found himself starting on the pole of the 270 main event, and although he technically led all 25 laps en route to his first Lanco win in the division, he had to fight with and fend off some of the best to pick up the win.
Lukacs’ first challenger was Richie Hartman, behind the wheel of Dennis McKeon’s No. 747. Lukacs kept Hartman at bay over the first run of the race, but a restart on lap 7 gave Hartman a chance to briefly grab the lead away entering turn 1. Lukacs crossed the move back over down the backstretch and reclaimed the top spot.
Shortly after, Pete Skias moved into the runner-up spot and went to work trying to catch the No. 32 out in front. Lukacs pulled away through a few mid-race restarts, but on the last restart of the race, Skias looked to pounce. On consecutive laps, Skias drove his No. 3 deep into turn 1, but Lukacs countered the move both times and was able to pull away afterwards to a long-awaited 270 triumph.
“It feels pretty good,” Lukacs said. “We blew a motor last week, and I thought we were done. And then two or three days later Ron [Kreider] texts me and my dad and is like ‘we put a new motor in.’ He said it was quick and man, it sure was.”
Lukacs got the win while Jason Swavely charged from the back of the pack after getting caught up in an early-race incident to claim a runner-up result. That finish – coupled with the results of some of his competitors – mathematically clinched Swavely’s first 270 championship at the Clyde. Pete Skias came home third, with Hartman and Nick Skias completing the top five.
Results:
1. 32-Alex Lukacs[1]; 2. 14-Jason Swavely[17]; 3. 3-Pete Skias[6]; 4. 747-Richie Hartman[2]; 5. 3S-Nick Skias[13]; 6. 88D-Andrew Dietrich[7]; 7. 4-Dylan Pence[3]; 8. 17-Kyle Lindsey[8]; 9. 34-Christi Sweigart[9]; 10. 8S-Mike Skias[10]; 11. 5A-Anthony Yerger[18]; 12. 21D-Dave Williams[16]; 13. 91-Jack Redcay[19]; 14. 47X-Ernie Newmaster III[21]; 15. 14D-Daniel Wright Jr[20]; 16. 21X-Rob Swavely[22]; 17. 14C-Carter Weiant[23]; 18. 74F-David Ravel[4]; 19. 22-Clinton Hauser[14]; 20. 21J-Josh Weiant[5]; 21. 11R-Tommy Rinck[11]; 22. 23K-Courtney Kupp[15]; 23. 128P-Paige Hornberger[24]; 24. 27O-Billy Logeman[12]
Points (Top 5) (After 13 of 15 Races):
1. 14-Jason Swavely[1232]; 2. 17-Kyle Lindsey[-204]; 3. 11R-Tommy Rinck[-215]; 4. 8S-Mike Skias[-317]; 5. 34-Christi Sweigart[-360]
Alex Lukacs came out on top of the 270 A-Main after battling with Richie Hartman and Pete Skias. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
125/4 Stroke
To this point in the season, Justin Harrington’s campaign had been a near-mirror image to the one that he claimed the 125/4 Stroke championship in back in 2021. Early season victories coupled with consistency all throughout the year proved to be key. But after not being back to victory lane since the first two races of the season, Harrington picked up a third triumph on Saturday night to further pad his points lead in pursuit of a second title.
The theme for the night was a lot of green-flag racing, and the 125/4 Strokes were no different. The race only saw one caution, on the opening lap, before the race then went 25 laps straight green-to-checkered. Harrington was on pole for the A-Main and quickly jumped away to a sizable lead over second-place running Seth Gregory.
Harrington had a gap of multiple seconds throughout most of the race, which was only jeopardized briefly by lapped traffic. Once Harrington got clear of the lapped cars though, he was able to pull back away from the fights for second and third and found himself heading for the checkered flag once again.
“It’s been tough, man. I mean we’re consistent, it’s just we can’t get any track position,” Harrington said. “My dad said it many many many years ago that it’s actually harder to start on the pole because my crew expects me to win. And I tell you what, that wasn’t easy.”
Harrington’s win extended his points lead to 96 over Michael Hoffmaster, who ended up finishing in fifth. Gregory got his best-career finish at the Clyde with a second-place result. Brandon Heist came from 10th to third and Don Hess wound up in the fourth position.
Results:
1. 75-Justin Harrington[1]; 2. 14-Seth Gregory[2]; 3. 76-Brandon Heist Sr[10]; 4. 15H-Don Hess[3]; 5. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[5]; 6. 20J-Darren Schott[11]; 7. 7D-Chris Dolan[12]; 8. 16-Steve Simmons[9]; 9. 19-Matt Fernsler[17]; 10. 112-Dylan Yeingst[15]; 11. 78C-Sara Borror[7]; 12. 44-Riley Simmons[4]; 13. 26C-Michael Coen[8]; 14. 15-Alyssa Holmes[16]; 15. 81-Dylan Holmes[13]; 16. 22J-Jon Hellinger[22]; 17. 3H-Corey Harting[6]; 18. 00-Steve Lehman[18]; 19. 04-Sam Borger[14]; 20. 96-Blayne Bainbridge[20]; 21. 8-Michael Spadafora[21]; 22. (DNS) 21S-Samuel Davenport
Points (Top 5) (After 13 of 15 Races):
1. 75-Justin Harrington[1210]; 2. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[-96]; 3. 7D-Chris Dolan[-121]; 4. 19-Matt Fernsler[-122]; 5. 16-Steve Simmons[-162]
Justin Harrington padded his points lead in the 125/4 Strokes with his third win of the season. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
Hyper Racing Winged 600
The themes of first-time winners and green-flag racing both were evident in the Hyper Racing Winged 600 A-Main. At the conclusion of 25 laps – which took just four minutes and 48 seconds to complete – Lititz’s Brian Kramer found himself in the winner’s circle for the first time in Winged 600 competition at the Clyde.
The box score would indicate that Kramer started on pole, led all 25 laps, and won the race. But there was much more challenging Kramer than what even initially met the eye. Kramer had to hold off a hard-charging Jesse Maurer, who quickly advanced from seventh to second and closed in on the No. 71 Hyper Chassis through lapped traffic.
Kramer continued to rip the lip around the top, however, and neither Maurer nor a late-charging Randy West could get close enough to him. Once West and Maurer got to battling with just a few laps to go, Kramer was able to set sail toward the win, albeit with a motor that was severely overheating and just barely made it to the checkered flag.
“You don’t even think about pulling off, you just run it till it blows when you’re leading,” Kramer said. “It was just hammer down all the way and just try to hit my marks and slide [the lapped cars] smartly without losing too much momentum.”
Kenny Beinhower was able to sneak past both Maurer and West as they fought for position and claimed the runner-up spot for his best-ever finish in a regular Winged 600 race at the Clyde. Maurer led West and Christian Bruno to the stripe to round out the top five.
Jason Swavely finished the A-Main in the 10th position, and despite the uncharacteristic run, the result was good enough for Swavely to also mathematically clinch his second-straight Hyper Racing Winged 600 championship, in addition to the 270 crown he had wrapped up earlier in the night.
Results:
1. 71-Brian Kramer[1]; 2. 25-Kenneth Beinhower III[5]; 3. 3-Jesse Maurer[7]; 4. 117X-Randy West[2]; 5. 5-Christian Bruno[6]; 6. 5A-Anthony Yerger[3]; 7. 17-Brent Ely[8]; 8. 88-Nick Skias[12]; 9. 97-Billy Logeman[11]; 10. 14-Jason Swavely[10]; 11. 15P-Christopher Panczner[16]; 12. 11H-Holden Eckman[14]; 13. 11Z-Zachary Light[4]; 14. 53S-Shannon Slaughter[18]; 15. 23-Brittany Haldeman[9]; 16. 51-Amanda Onimus[21]; 17. 22-Nate Prazenica[15]; 18. 0K-Pat Kelly[17]; 19. 24T-Taylor Troxel[13]; 20. 15-Joshua Bortz[19]; 21. (DNS) 213-Tyler Pagel
Points (Top 5) (After 13 of 15 Races):
1. 14-Jason Swavely[1225]; 2. 5-Christian Bruno[-225]; 3. 97-Billy Logeman[-250]; 4. 88-Nick Skias[-309]; 5. 5A-Anthony Yerger[-329]
Brian Kramer led all 25 laps of a green-to-checkered A-Main event in the Hyper Racing Winged 600s. (Photo Courtesy of Amy Williams/Amy’s Photos)
Next Saturday and Sunday, September 2nd and 3rd, will be the biggest racing weekend of the year at the Clyde, the Labor Day Shootout. The annual cornhole tournament kicks off the festivities on Friday, September 1st. The on-track action then begins on Saturday with the Winged Night of the Shootout presented by Germania Band Club. The Winged Night will feature the Hyper Racing Winged 600s, 270s, Skeet Craft Collision Sportsmans, and 125/4 Strokes. The Wingless Night of the Shootout then takes place on Sunday, featuring the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s, Wingless 270s, Wingless 125/4 Strokes, and the Stage 1 Modifieds all in action. On both nights, gates will open at 3:00 with warmups and racing beginning at 5:00. There is simply no better way to spend your Labor Day Weekend than by coming out to LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!