By Kasey Kreider
After suffering an apparent mechanical issue on lap 2 of Thursday night’s preliminary night of the KKM Challenge, it appeared as if Steven Snyder, Jr. had lost his opportunity at an opening night victory, and severely hindered his chances at Saturday’s $10,000 prize.
But the native of Rising Sun, MD accepted the challenge, returning to the track from the work area as a man on a mission. In the span of 12 laps, Snyder, Jr. carved through the pack from a restart position of 21st up to the top spot, turning in one of the most scintillating drives in recent memory to pick up an improbable – bordering on impossible – victory.
Non-Wing Outlaw 600
The night for Snyder, Jr. started about as perfect as it could’ve for the pilot of the No. 21s Hyper Chassis. Snyder, Jr. lapped quickest of the 30 entries for the first preliminary night in qualifying. He then came from fourth in his heat race to score the victory, joining Tommy Kunsman, Zak Gorski, and Gunnar Pio as the evening’s heat race winners.
It was a case of same song, second verse in the qualifier, as Snyder, Jr. once again charged from fourth to front, locking himself in as the high-point man and keeping him a perfect three-for-three on the night. Snyder, Jr. joined Kunsman and Neal Allison as winners of the three qualifier events.
When feature time rolled around, Snyder, Jr. – the winner of the opening KKM Challenge race of the season at Plaza Park in California – entered as the prohibitive favorite. But the second lap of the race is when disaster struck, as Snyder, Jr.’s machine lost power in front of the field off of turn 2 with an issue that baffled Snyder, Jr., even when later talking about it in victory lane.
“I don’t know what happened – like everything just shut off down the backstretch,” Snyder, Jr. said to Scotty Cook in victory lane. “So the work’s not finished. Now we gotta figure out what that is.”
Regardless of what gremlins were haunting the No. 21s machine, Jim Radney and the Hyper crew were able to find at least a temporary fix in the work area, allowing Snyder, Jr. to quickly rejoin the field, but forcing him to start at the back of the pack.
While Snyder, Jr. began his charge, Kunsman paced the way in front of Allison and Kole Kirkman, as the driver of the No. 21K looked to finally capture some success in a big show at the Clyde.
But Snyder, Jr. was coming, and in a hurry. By a lap 5 caution which flew for an incident involving front-runner Briggs Danner, Snyder, Jr. had worked his way up to 14th. With the choose cone in effect, Snyder, Jr. restarted in 10th, and like a hot knife through butter, sliced his way through the pack and quickly into the fight for the lead.
Kyle Spence emerged from an epic battle for the runner-up spot, with Snyder, Jr. settling in the third position. But Spence’s machine then lost an engine and pulled to the infield, and the caution flew on lap 13, setting up the fight for the win.
Snyder, Jr. was able to grab the lead on the restart with one big slider through turns 3 and 4, and once he got back to the front, there would be no stopping the No. 21s on its seemingly destined course for a prelim night victory.
“I knew we had a very comfortable car,” Snyder, Jr. said. “But everything was just playing in my favor and I was able to run where other drivers weren’t able to run. When the car’s set up like that, I’m able to take advantage of where other drivers aren’t able to. I’m just shocked, just like you guys.”
It was a strong first night for Hyper Racing, as behind Snyder, Jr., James Roselli wheeled one of the other Jim Radney-prepared entries on a ride from 10th to second. Hyper Chassis ended up taking each of the first eight finishing positions in the feature, including the other two lock-in spots into Saturday night’s finale, which went to Kunsman and Brent Shearer. Kirkman was the first car outside of a lock-in spot, as he rounded out the top five.
Results:
1. 21S-Steven Snyder Jr[1]; 2. 95B-James Roselli[10]; 3. 21K-Thomas Kunsman Jr[2]; 4. 29-Brent Shearer[16]; 5. 22K-Kole Kirkman[3]; 6. 15N-Neal Allison[5]; 7. 28P-Gunnar Pio[4]; 8. 5A-Alex Ruppert[19]; 9. 12-Jeffrey Newell[21]; 10. 11Z-Kyle Lick[13]; 11. 2D-Cole Dewease[20]; 12. 71B-Brian Kramer[15]; 13. 3B-Dallas Damask[12]; 14. 24W-Zack Weisenfluh[22]; 15. 8-TJ Stark[11]; 16. 15D-Matthew Donley[18]; 17. 12J-Brecken Reese[6]; 18. 25K-Kyle Spence[9]; 19. 99B-Robbie Smith[17]; 20. 99-Briggs Danner[7]; 21. 21-Mason Beinhower[14]; 22. 78-Zak Gorski[8]
Steven Snyder, Jr. locked himself into Saturday night’s finale with a thrilling drive through the field en route to a prelim night win. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
U6SA Winged 600
The strong night for the Hyper Racing stable of cars also included the U6SA Winged 600 feature event, as “Big Money” Brian Carber held off a hard-charging Kyle Spence in the final laps to claim the victory in the 20-lap A-Main.
The story of the race surrounded Carber’s ability to make time wrapping around the bottom of the speedway versus Spence’s ability to close in while ripping around the fence. Although the No. 23B was hooked up on the inside line, Spence made the native of Pipersville, PA sweat a bit over the closing laps.
A five-lap dash to the finish decided the race, and even though Carber opened up a lead of a few car lengths on the restart, Spence quickly started reeling him back in. The Rodota Trucking and Excavating No. R7 was just about to the tail tank of Carber’s machine crossing under the white flag, but Spence’s bid to take the lead seemed to fall a lap short, as the Bridgeton, NJ driver didn’t have time to attempt a pass after running down the Carber Racing entry.
“Five, six [laps] to go, I started missing my mark off of [turn] 4 and I started skating across,” Carber said. “I’m still figuring my ins and outs on this car. So two more nights, I think me and Kyle are gonna put on a hell of a show for everyone at home.”
Mason Peters rounded out the podium with a third-place finish, while Briggs Danner and Jesse Maurer completed the top five.
Results:
1. 23B-Brian Carber[1]; 2. R7-Kyle Spence[5]; 3. 10-Mason Peters[3]; 4. 99-Briggs Danner[2]; 5. 3-Jesse Maurer[8]; 6. 5-Christian Bruno[13]; 7. 23-Bradley Brown[7]; 8. 71B-Brian Kramer[6]; 9. 5A-Anthony Yerger[11]; 10. 29S-Sophya Papp[17]; 11. 27-Jace Smith[4]; 12. 3B-Dallas Damask[16]; 13. 1-Trevor Gach[9]; 14. 14H-Haelee Nardelli[10]; 15. 46-Blayne Mabry[12]; 16. 44-Brent Shearer[19]; 17. 32H-Trenton Rivera[15]; 18. 5J-Braden Jones[14]; 19. (DNS) 16X-Marty Brian
Brian Carber held off Kyle Spence in the run to the checkers to win the U6SA Winged 600 A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Junior Sprints
In his first-ever trip to the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, Brexton Busch looked like a seasoned pro around the Newmanstown bullring, as he picked up the victory of the first Junior Sprint A-Main of the week.
Busch’s No. 18B was dominant in the heat race, establishing himself as the high-point man entering the 15-lap feature. The Mooresville, NC driver then put on a clinical drive in the A-Main, as he led every lap and won the race by more than a straightaway over his closest competitor.
“It’s fun to race these cars,” Busch said post-race. “That’s four in a row for me now.”
With Busch continuing his winning streak, it was Gage Pio finishing second, as the Kunkletown, PA native turned in a nice drive to the runner-up spot after starting the feature in fifth. Ashen Glazier completed the podium with a third-place finish. Braylon Morris and Jase Smith rounded out the top five.
Results:
1. 18B-Brexton Busch[1]; 2. 5G-Gage Pio[5]; 3. 15G-Ashen Glazier[4]; 4. 15-Braylon Morris[3]; 5. 52-Jase Smith[2]; 6. 36-Brantley Floczak[6]; 7. 65J-Landon Snyder[7]
Brexton Busch made his first trip to the Clyde a winning one as he claimed victory in the Junior Sprints division. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
The KKM Challenge continues Friday, May 31 with Preliminary Night Two for the Non-Wing Outlaw 600s. The other half of the field will compete in a full slate of racing action, with the top-four finishers once again locking into Saturday’s $10,000-to-win A-Main. The U6SA Winged 600s and Junior Sprints will also return for another full night of racing action. The grandstands will open at 5 p.m., with warmups and racing beginning at 6:30 p.m. After all the thrills of opening night, you won’t want to miss out on the chance to see what happens next and to LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!