By Kasey Kreider
(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Ryan Snyder/ReflexX Photography)
Another loaded night of racing action awaited both competitors and race fans Saturday night at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. A doubleheader for the Border Magic 270s along with a regular show for the other four weekly divisions saw six different drivers make the trip to Brubacher Victory Lane on the eve of Father’s Day.
Border Magic 270
The Border Magic 270 division was left to contest the final makeup feature from May 18. York native Chris Dolan inherited the pole position for the start of the race, and never looked back on his way to becoming the first repeat winner in 270 competition this season.
Dolan broke away to the lead each time through a sequence of early caution flags. The battling was mainly for the second position, as Dan Boyer, Anthony Yerger, and eventually John Maurer all took turns running in that spot. But nobody could contest the Border Magic No. 7D, as Dolan kept his car planted around the bottom and crossed the finish line 1.638 seconds in front of his nearest challenger to grab his second win of the season.
“This thing’s so good off the bottom of the corner,” Dolan said. “When I saw [Austin] Graby wasn’t here and we got the pole, our only really concern was blowing the motor. So it was nice to just check out like that.”
Maurer finished in second for his best 270 result, while Yerger completed the podium in third. Billy Logeman and Nick Skias rounded out the top five.
Chris Dolan got his second Border Magic 270 win of the season in the makeup feature on Saturday night. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
When feature number two rolled around at the end of the night, it was Isaac Graby starting from pole position with Logeman on his outside. The quick mover early in the race was defending champion Jason Swavely, as the No. 92 cut from fourth to second over the first couple of circuits.
But Swavely’s streak of bad luck continued, as Graby broke right in front of him, causing the No. 92 to spin out from second for the second-straight week. The unfortunate sequence for the top two put Logeman out in front, and with one of the fastest cars on track out in clean air, there was little doubt what the end result would be. The Mike Rutherford-owned No. 27o that Logeman had piloted to wins at Linda’s and BAPS earlier in the year added the Clyde to the list on Saturday, as the Reinholds native dominated the remainder of the race.
“This thing was on rails the whole feature,” Logeman said. “I could basically do anything I wanted and it was just so locked down.”
Brandon Heist came out on top of a fun battle for second, while Nick Skias finished third to keep a slim points lead. Corey Schmuck, Jr. and the makeup winner Dolan rounded out the top five.
Makeup Results:
1. 7D-Chris Dolan[2]; 2. 82-John Maurer[7]; 3. 5A-Anthony Yerger[3]; 4. 27O-Billy Logeman[8]; 5. 3S-Nick Skias[11]; 6. 5R-Brandon Heist Sr[17]; 7. 76B-Brent Shearer[9]; 8. 96W-Chase Walker[18]; 9. 6-Danial Boyer[4]; 10. 54-William Mohring[19]; 11. 8S-Mike Skias[21]; 12. 4-Dylan Pence[14]; 13. 19-Matt Fernsler[10]; 14. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[13]; 15. 21D-Dave Williams[20]; 16. 34-Christi Sweigart[24]; 17. 21J-Josh Weiant[22]; 18. 11R-Tommy Rinck[6]; 19. (DNS) 1A-Austin Graby; 20. (DNS) 41-Mike Boyer; 21. (DNS) 1L-Dave Labe; 22. (DNS) 14D-Daniel Wright Jr; 23. (DNS) 3-Josh Stoyer; 24. (DNS) 88-Nolan Higgins
Results:
1. 27O-Billy Logeman[2]; 2. 5R-Brandon Heist Sr[6]; 3. 3S-Nick Skias[7]; 4. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[8]; 5. 7D-Chris Dolan[10]; 6. 5-Bret Cronrath[17]; 7. 92-Jason Swavely[4]; 8. 48-Jonah Meck[9]; 9. 82-John Maurer[15]; 10. 11R-Tommy Rinck[18]; 11. 54-William Mohring[16]; 12. 96W-Chase Walker[5]; 13. 4-Dylan Pence[20]; 14. 28S-Brian Sholley[22]; 15. 34-Christi Sweigart[21]; 16. 6-Danial Boyer[19]; 17. 21D-Dave Williams[23]; 18. 21J-Josh Weiant[13]; 19. 47X-Ernest Newmaster III[24]; 20. 5A-Anthony Yerger[11]; 21. 8S-Mike Skias[14]; 22. 19-Matt Fernsler[12]; 23. 76B-Brent Shearer[3]; 24. 08-Issac Graby[1]
Points (Top 5) (After 6 of 15 Races):
1. 3S-Nick Skias[525]; 2. 5R-Brandon Heist Sr[-9]; 3. 7D-Chris Dolan[-60]; 4. 82-John Maurer[-130]; 5. 8S-Mike Skias[-131]
Billy Logeman took the checkers in Saturday night’s regularly scheduled Border Magic 270 A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Ryan Snyder/ReflexX Photography)
EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600
On the eve of Father’s Day, it was a fitting battle for the win between Randy and Cody West in the EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 A-Main. The race between father and son went to the younger member of the West family, as Cody West provided a great Father’s Day present by parking the white No. 117 in Brubacher Victory Lane.
Randy West was the polesitter, and led the first 10 laps of the feature before Cody West was able to make his bid for the lead. A slider in turns 3 and 4 gave Cody the preferred line entering the next set of corners, and he completed the pass by squeezing around Randy off the exit of turn 2.
Things went awry for Randy West on a late restart, as he and points leader Billy Logeman got together fighting for second. But despite that, Cody West was still able to pull away on the final run to the checkers, becoming the sixth different winner in as many points races in Winged 600 competition this year.
“Father’s Day’s not until tomorrow, so he’s not getting his gift a day early,” West said – with a chuckle – in victory lane. “He was cheating the corner a little bit on entry. So I kinda just entered a little bit higher and stalked him till I got to his bumper, and was able to pull a slider.”
“It’s really cool to be able to race with your dad and race that close in cars that we build. So I’m really happy about that.”
Logeman finished in second and extended his points lead to 51 over third-place finisher Bradley Brown. Holden Eckman and Brent Shearer made up the rest of the top five.
Results:
1. 117-Cody West[3]; 2. 97-Billy Logeman[2]; 3. 23-Bradley Brown[4]; 4. 11H-Holden Eckman[8]; 5. 29-Brent Shearer[6]; 6. 17-Brent Ely[9]; 7. 66A-Marvin Albright[11]; 8. 0K-Pat Kelly[13]; 9. 51-Chris Gerhart[5]; 10. 75-Mark Yoder[12]; 11. 15P-Christopher Panczner[7]; 12. 117X-Randy West[1]; 13. 58-Andrew Rothermel[10]
Points (Top 5) (After 6 of 15 Races):
1. 97-Billy Logeman[550]; 2. 23-Bradley Brown[-51]; 3. 29-Brent Shearer[-74]; 4. 11H-Holden Eckman[-118]; 5. 14-Jason Swavely[-132]
Cody West (right) beat his dad Randy (left) and the rest of the competition in Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Offroad Motorsports 125/4 Stroke
Despite being docked for an early-race jumped start, Fleetwood’s John Maurer would not be denied in search for his first Lanco win of 2024, as the No. 82 used a great restart to get back around Chris Dolan and take the checkered flag first in the Offroad Motorsports 125/4 Strokes.
Maurer paced the field for the first five laps of the race, but was called for leaving early and jumping the start on a lap 6 restart, docking him two positions. Maurer’s penalty put Dolan in the lead, as the No. 75 was looking for back-to-back wins and Dolan was looking for his second triumph of the day.
But Maurer quickly reclaimed second, and then pulled an over-under move on a lap 11 restart to take the lead coming off of turn 4. Dolan tried to fight back to the inside as the leaders charged back into turn 3, but contact with Maurer’s left-rear tire sent Dolan for a spin, dashing his hopes of victory.
With his main challenger back in the pack, Maurer cruised to the win over the race’s second half, as he finished nearly three and a half seconds in front of runner-up Mike Coen.
“I noticed that on that long run where [Dolan] was in front of me that he wasn’t really pulling away,” Maurer said. “I knew I had the speed to catch him. I just knew I needed to do something in order to pass him, ‘cause it’s not always easy here.”
Behind Maurer and Coen, Dave Schroeder completed the podium, while Dan Lane, Jr. and Seth Gregory – from last – made up the rest of the top five. Points leader Chris Dolan wound up finishing in 10th.
Results:
1. 82-John Maurer[1]; 2. 26C-Michael Coen[5]; 3. X-Dave Schroeder[2]; 4. 16-Daniel Lane Jr[19]; 5. 14-Seth Gregory[18]; 6. 15H-Don Hess[10]; 7. 73-Andrew Rothermel[4]; 8. 81-Dylan Holmes[13]; 9. 15-Alyssa Holmes[9]; 10. 75-Chris Dolan[7]; 11. 44S-Trevor Waegel[14]; 12. 04-Sam Borger[11]; 13. 19-Matt Fernsler[8]; 14. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[16]; 15. 4W-Brandon Worthington[3]; 16. 112-Dylan Yeingst[6]; 17. 78C-Sara Borror[12]; 18. 21S-Samuel Davenport[15]; 19. 8-Michael Spadafora[17]
Points (Top 5) (After 6 of 15 Races):
1. 75-Chris Dolan[511]; 2. 16-Daniel Lane Jr[-37]; 3. 26C-Michael Coen[-43]; 4. 14-Seth Gregory[-48]; 5. 15H-Don Hess[-101]
John Maurer got the lead back on a lap 11 restart and drove away with the victory in the Offroad Motorsports 125/4 Stroke feature. (Photo Courtesy of Ryan Snyder/ReflexX Photography)
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
Another wild battle for the win highlighted Saturday night’s Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main. After fighting for the top spot for the first half of the race, it was Alex Ruppert finally breaking away from the fray to grab his first win since August of 2022 at the Clyde.
Through the first portion of the race, it was Ruppert along with pole sitter Fred Heinly and former champion Bradley Brown who were fighting for the lead. Heinly ran the top with Brown hugging the bottom, and Ruppert went for sliders early and often to try and clear both cars for good.
Contact between Brown and Marty Brian took both of those front-runners out of contention, and opened the door for Zack Bealer to insert himself into the fight for the win, while Ruppert and Heinly continued to trade sliders and crossovers. In the ferocious battle, Ruppert finally threw a slider that stuck just as the race approached halfway, and he drove away to the checkered flag while the hot and heavy battle continued for the runner-up spot.
Alex Ruppert (No. 5), Zack Bealer (No. 2s), and Fred Heinly (No. 22H) fought for the win of Saturday night’s Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
“I knew we had a really fast race car, just at the beginning I think we got a little bit too trigger happy with the sliders,” Ruppert said. “Once we got there man, it was just setting sail. This thing was a rocket tonight.”
As the slicing and dicing continued far in Ruppert’s rearview mirror, it was Bealer who came out with a runner-up result. Heinly appeared set for a podium result, but lost a wheel coming off the final corner, allowing Dominic Schmidt to grab the spot instead. Holden Eckman and Ryan Groff were the remainder of the top five. Despite a DNF due to an engine issue, Dallas Damask was still able to hold on to a slim points lead.
Results:
1. 5R-Alex Ruppert[2]; 2. 2SZ-Zachery Bealer[4]; 3. 08-Dominic Schmidt[10]; 4. 11H-Holden Eckman[7]; 5. 03-Ryan Groff[16]; 6. 98-Matthew Warner[20]; 7. 17-Cole Perez[11]; 8. 18-Jared Lilly[13]; 9. 25X-Dan Lane Jr[17]; 10. 3-Jesse Maurer[23]; 11. 21-Mason Beinhower[15]; 12. 23-Bradley Brown[5]; 13. 16-Marty Brian[6]; 14. 57C-Cooper Fritz[22]; 15. 21G-Geoff Federspiel[21]; 16. 90-PJ Reid[19]; 17. 2-Jakob Stitzel[14]; 18. 2L-Luke Hess[24]; 19. 22H-Fred Heinly[1]; 20. 3L-Nolen Layser[9]; 21. 7L-Chase Layser[8]; 22. 1F-James Fries[12]; 23. 3Y-Zachary Young[18]; 24. 3B-Dallas Damask[3]
Points (Top 5) (After 6 of 15 Races):
1. 3B-Dallas Damask[444]; 2. 03-Ryan Groff[-6]; 3. 16-Marty Brian[-9]; 4. 23-Bradley Brown[-28]; 5. 98-Matthew Warner[-90]
Alex Ruppert (right) made the trip to Brubacher Victory Lane after coming out on top of a fierce battle for the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 feature win. (Photo Courtesy of Dawson Hess Photography)
Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman
In his first full season of racing at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, Brandon Heist kept up his winning ways in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman class by picking up his third win of the season in a thoroughly dominant fashion.
Heist started second, but grabbed the lead from the outside of turns 1 and 2 on the opening lap and simply never looked back from there. While second place changed hands a few times, the Jonestown native pulled away on each green flag run from the challengers behind him and put the No. 99 into cruise control en route to the finish line.
“This is pretty much the same setup we run weekly, and it just loves this type of track,” Heist said. “It’s hard to get grip most times. A lot of people struggle with that, and I feel like that’s just one thing that we capitalize on, is just keeping that grip when the track gets like this.”
For the fifth Sportsman race in a row, Toby Blumenshine finished on the podium but outside of the winner’s circle, as the No. 21 came home second to keep Heist’s points lead at just 25 entering next weekend. Corey Schmuck, Jr. rebounded from a first-lap spin to finish in third, while Max Fasnacht and pole sitter Kyle Lindsey were the rest of the top five.
Results:
1. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[2]; 2. 21-Toby Blumenshine[6]; 3. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[3]; 4. 20-Max Fasnacht[5]; 5. 28-Kyle Lindsey[1]; 6. 16P-Patrick Kirn[9]; 7. 27-Dylan Pennypacker[12]; 8. 8-Michael Spadafora[11]; 9. 21D-Dave Williams[10]; 10. 23K-Courtney Kupp[15]; 11. 77-Michael Kreiser[18]; 12. 19-Wes Fasnacht[14]; 13. 15-Josh Stoyer[13]; 14. 77J-Jade Smith[19]; 15. 30-Ryan Heckman[20]; 16. 31-Tyler Martin[16]; 17. 22J-Jonathan Hellinger[17]; 18. 17-Masen Stapleton[4]; 19. 54-Lisa Warren[21]; 20. 1J-Justin Harrington[8]; 21. 21V-David Ravel[7]
Points (Top 5) (After 6 of 15 Races):
1. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[570]; 2. 21-Toby Blumenshine[-25]; 3. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[-88]; 4. 1J-Justin Harrington[-126]; 5. 20-Max Fasnacht[-131]
Brandon Heist put on a clinic to take the win in Saturday night’s Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman feature. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
The Clyde returns to action next Saturday, June 22 with another regular points show to continue a summer full of intense racing action. All five weekly divisions will be in action, with gates opening at 4:30 p.m. and warmups kicking off the racing competition at 6 p.m. Be sure to beat the heat next Saturday night by coming out to LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!