By Kasey Kreider
(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Dawson Hess Photography)
A six-month gauntlet of racing at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway came to a thrilling conclusion on Saturday evening. With Championship Night providing the opportunity for the track’s newest title-holders to be crowned, Bradley Brown, Ryan Groff, Nick Skias, Brandon Heist, and Chris Dolan engraved their names into the history books as Lanco’s 2024 track champions.
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
The Hyper Racing Wingless 600s were first up on Saturday night. In the third season of full-time competition, the Wingless 600 class also had the tightest points battle entering the evening, with just 11 points separating points leader Ryan Groff from defending champion Marty Brian.
When the dust settled, it was King of Prussia’s Dylan Kontra fighting back to take his second Lanco win, while Groff finished in front of Brian in the 25-lap finale to win the championship.
Brian’s night had gotten off to a rough start, as a crash in the heat race relegated the driver of the No. 16 into the B-Main. A fourth-place finish in that event kept Brian alive in the points fight, but meant that he had to start 22nd in the feature. Groff, meanwhile, rolled off ninth in the season finale.
At the front of the field, it was Danny Buccafusca who originally started on the pole. But after a jump start, Justin Burr and Dylan Kontra inherited the front row. Kontra took the lead and paced the opening few laps, while Buccafusca’s feature quickly went from bad to worse, as he crashed on lap 6 and tore down a portion of the catch-fence in the process, necessitating an open-red period.
After fence repairs and a quick sprinkle on the speedway, the race resumed nearly 20 minutes later. On the restart, Gunnar Pio found his way to the front with an outside move on lap 9, and appeared as if he could be on his way to his class-leading fifth win of the year.
But as lapped traffic crashed in front of Pio with 10 laps remaining, Pio was unable to escape the incident without making contact with one of the lapped cars. That contact led to damage on Pio’s mount that forced him out of the race just a couple laps after the restart. After falling back to as low as fourth, Kontra was there to take advantage over the final dash to the finish, and sped off to the win.
Burr finished in second, with Mason Beinhower rounding out the podium. Chase Rodgers and Jasper Zeigafuse were the rest of the top five.
“I feel like I gave away way too many wins this year, I got like nine seconds,” Kontra said. “I almost tore the whole car up by myself, and had to calm myself back down… as soon as I got around [Pio], I knew I had to be right on that wall and just don’t lift, no matter what.”
Meanwhile, despite Brian’s best efforts and a drive from 22nd to ninth, it was Groff who prevailed in the points fight thanks to his sixth-place finish. As a long-time Lanco competitor, Groff finally claimed his first track championship.
“Anybody that knows like ‘hey, we’re gonna pack up on a Saturday and go to the Clyde,’ you don’t know what to expect,” Groff said. “It’s super hard to come out here and not only compete, but to be up front. To make it on the frontstretch, that’s saying something… I just can’t thank everybody behind me enough.”
Results:
1. 12-Dylan Kontra[3]; 2. 32-Justin Burr[2]; 3. 21-Mason Beinhower[5]; 4. 5X-Chase Rodgers[11]; 5. 19-Jasper Zeigafuse[13]; 6. 03-Ryan Groff[9]; 7. 17-Cole Perez[4]; 8. 08-Dominic Schmidt[15]; 9. 16-Marty Brian[22]; 10. 98-Matthew Warner[12]; 11. 10L-Lukas Kostic[16]; 12. 22H-Fred Heinly[14]; 13. 18-Jared Lilly[23]; 14. 2J-Jace Marshall[17]; 15. 1F-James Fries[21]; 16. 09-Vincent Gueci[7]; 17. 11-Connor Fetrow[19]; 18. 8-Kyle Gisleson[24]; 19. 28P-Gunnar Pio[6]; 20. 3L-Nolen Layser[18]; 21. 23-Bradley Brown[8]; 22. 64-Ronnie Dawson[10]; 23. 3X-Danny Buccafusca[1]; 24. 9W-Weston Doklan[20]
DNQ: 33C-Matthew Chowns; 2-Jakob Stitzel; 3Y-Zachary Young; 3-Jesse Maurer; 90-Trent Warner
Points (Top 5) (FINAL):
1. 03-Ryan Groff[1043]; 2. 16-Marty Brian[-23]; 3. 23-Bradley Brown[-109]; 4. 08-Dominic Schmidt[-216]; 5. 3-Jesse Maurer[-258]
Dylan Kontra grabbed his first Hyper Racing Wingless 600 win of the season on Saturday night at the Clyde. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Ryan Groff claimed his first Lanco championship in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 division. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Offroad Motorsports 125/4 Stroke
In Offroad Motorsports 125/4 Stroke action, Corey Schmuck, Jr. – making a one-off appearance behind the wheel of the Borror-owned No. 78c – went to victory lane with a dramatic late-race pass on Dylan Yeingst. Behind those two, Chris Dolan came home in the third position, a result that was more than enough to clinch his first track championship in his final full-time year of micro sprint competition.
The final feature of the year for the 125/4 Strokes was only slowed by one caution flag, and it seemed like it finally could’ve been Yeingst’s night to break through for that first win. As the laps wound down, however, Yeingst found himself in heavy lapped traffic, and Schmuck, Jr. quickly reeled him in from over a second back.
With Yeingst unable to get past the lapped cars, Schmuck, Jr. carved to the inside of the No. 112 coming to the white flag and completed the pass for the win, giving the Borror family their first wins as car owners after coming close earlier in the season with Sara Borror behind the wheel.
“As soon as I seen the lapped traffic and him catching it, I was like, ‘alright, I just gotta stay patient, keep hitting my marks, and I should be able to get him,’” Schmuck, Jr. said. “He kind of left the door open there and I was able to sneak by him.”
In the championship fight, Dolan entered the feature with a 36-point lead on Mike Coen, but faced a bit of a daunting challenge having to start 12th in the feature. With a methodical and mature drive, Dolan worked his way through the field and was able to pass Coen around the halfway mark of the feature, giving him a clear path toward the title.
“I always said that you only get one screw-up at Lanco to win a championship, but I proved myself wrong,” Dolan said. “There at the end of the season, we just got something lit under our rear ends.”
Dolan completed the podium in front of his championship rival Coen, while Kiptyn Stratton rounded out the top five.
Results:
1. 78C-Corey Schmuck Jr[4]; 2. 112-Dylan Yeingst[1]; 3. 75-Chris Dolan[12]; 4. 26C-Michael Coen[2]; 5. 3-Kiptyn Stratton[5]; 6. 76-Brent Shearer[13]; 7. 44S-Trevor Waegel[17]; 8. X-Dave Schroeder[14]; 9. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[8]; 10. 14-Seth Gregory[9]; 11. 16-Daniel Lane Jr[18]; 12. 15H-Don Hess[10]; 13. 3H-Corey Harting[15]; 14. 4W-Brandon Worthington[11]; 15. 81-Dylan Holmes[3]; 16. 15-Alyssa Holmes[7]; 17. 82-John Maurer[6]; 18. 73-Andrew Rothermel[16]; 19. 5-Keegan Stratton[19]
Points (Top 5) (FINAL):
1. 75-Chris Dolan[1160]; 2. 26C-Michael Coen[-41]; 3. 14-Seth Gregory[-96]; 4. X-Dave Schroeder[-153]; 5. 16-Daniel Lane Jr[-172]
Corey Schmuck, Jr. made the race-winning pass coming to the white flag in the Offroad Motorsports 125/4 Stroke feature. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Driving the Harrington Motorsports No. 75, Chris Dolan picked up his first championship in the Offroad Motorsports 125/4 Stroke division. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Border Magic 270
It wouldn’t have taken much entering the evening for Nick Skias to become a three-time Border Magic 270 champion at the Clyde, as all he needed was a 21st-place finish to secure the title. The Wernersville native left no doubt, however, as he capped off an emotional season with his first 270 win at the Clyde since the start of 2022, and scored the victory and the championship in Randy and Tina Schaefer’s final race as car owners.
Skias was forced to battle Josh Stoyer for the win after Stoyer had taken the early lead away from Christi Sweigart. After stalking the No. 3 Viper Chassis for a few laps, Skias made his move to the inside on lap 12, completed the pass, and never looked back from there on his way to a long-awaited triumph to cap off a special season.
“We were beginning to think we were possibly gonna leave here a champion without winning a race this season,” Skias said. “As the race went on and I seen two cars hit the infield and I knew we pretty much had it locked at that point, and I could hit the go button, I felt like I had a really good race car… we were racing for a bigger purpose all season, and not only that, but today as well. This one’s for you, dad.”
Skias won the final race of the year over Richie Hartman and Chris Dolan, as those two drivers joined Skias to make up the podium. Brandon Heist finished fourth, and Stoyer rounded out the top five.
Results:
1. 3S-Nick Skias[3]; 2. 747-Richie Hartman[7]; 3. 7D-Chris Dolan[5]; 4. 5R-Brandon Heist Sr[9]; 5. 3-Josh Stoyer[2]; 6. 34-Christi Sweigart[1]; 7. 11R-Tommy Rinck[8]; 8. 8S-Mike Skias[10]; 9. 11-Mike Uhrich[21]; 10. 48-Jonah Meck[4]; 11. 21D-Dave Williams[18]; 12. 21J-Josh Weiant[16]; 13. 82-John Maurer[11]; 14. 96D-Dakota Deemer[19]; 15. 2-Kiptyn Stratton[20]; 16. 91-Jack Redcay[12]; 17. 14C-Darren Schott[13]; 18. 21-Toby Blumenshine[22]; 19. 4-Dylan Pence[17]; 20. 28-Kyle Lindsey[6]; 21. 94-Dallas Sanders[15]; 22. 5A-Anthony Yerger[14]; 23. 2T-Doug Pearson[23]
Points (Top 5) (FINAL):
1. 3S-Nick Skias[1170]; 2. 5R-Brandon Heist Sr[-84]; 3. 8S-Mike Skias[-104]; 4. 7D-Chris Dolan[-143]; 5. 11R-Tommy Rinck[-326]
In Randy and Tina Schaefer’s final season as car owners, Nick Skias brought home his third Border Magic 270 championship. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman
Brandon Heist knew that just by showing up on Saturday night that he would become a first-time Lanco champion in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman division. With a flair for the dramatic, Heist picked up his sixth win of the season as well, executing a last-lap pass on Corey Schmuck, Jr. to take the win.
It looked for a lot of the race like Schmuck, Jr. was going to grab his second win of the night, as Heist spent over half of the race looking high and low for a way past Schmuck, Jr., and was unsuccessful in doing so.
But coming to the white flag, Heist finally got his shot and capitalized on it. When Schmuck, Jr. washed off the bottom ever so slightly coming off of turn 4, Heist was able to carry a run all the way down the frontstretch and got inside. Schmuck, Jr. tried to defend going into the corner, but there was nothing the No. 26 could do, as Heist was able to complete the pass and then held on through the final turns to claim his sixth Sportsman win of the year.
“We were leading early on in the points, and we lost it,” Heist said. “We just kept plugging away and just kept doing what we could, and I was just aiming for more wins… it kinda just all panned out great, and now we’re here where we are, and it’s a phenomenal feeling.”
Behind Heist and Schmuck, Jr., Toby Blumenshine rounded out the podium for the final Sportsman race of the year. Max Fasnacht and Dave Ravel completed the top five.
Results:
1. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[6]; 2. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[1]; 3. 21-Toby Blumenshine[9]; 4. 20-Max Fasnacht[2]; 5. 21V-David Ravel[7]; 6. 15-Josh Stoyer[8]; 7. 77-Michael Kreiser[10]; 8. 53S-Shannon Slaughter[12]; 9. 23K-Courtney Kupp[19]; 10. 30-Ryan Heckman[14]; 11. 19-Wes Fasnacht[17]; 12. 21D-Dave Williams[13]; 13. 54-Lisa Warren[18]; 14. 31-Tyler Martin[4]; 15. 2T-Doug Pearson[20]; 16. 22J-Jonathan Hellinger[16]; 17. 17-Masen Stapleton[5]; 18. 28-Kyle Lindsey[11]; 19. 44X-Tommy Rinck[3]; 20. 77J-Jade Smith[15]
Points (Top 5) (FINAL):
1. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[1298]; 2. 21-Toby Blumenshine[-89]; 3. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[-91]; 4. 15-Josh Stoyer[-426]; 5. 77-Michael Kreiser[-438]
A six-win season propelled Brandon Heist to his first Lanco championship in the Skeet Craft Collision Sportsman class. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600
Bradley Brown had already wrapped up his first EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 championship following last weekend’s feature event. But in case the Ephrata native left any doubt, he put the No. 23 in the win column one final time in the 2024, in what was the final feature race of the year at the Clyde.
Brian Kramer broke away to the early lead and paced the field through a slew of early caution flags. Once the feature broke into a green-flag rhythm, though, is when Brown began to close. With a slider on lap 10, “The Highsider” took the top spot away, and never looked back. Even Jason Swavely’s charge from 22nd to the runner-up spot wouldn’t affect Brown’s pursuit of victory, as he held on unchallenged through a green-white-checkered finish.
“It’s unbelievable how we just came in so strong, right off the bat,” Brown said. “Still learning, even. Every night, we’re still learning and trying different things, and it seems to be getting better and better.”
Kramer held on for third, while Brent Shearer and Rodney Westhafer rounded out the top five.
Results:
1. 23-Bradley Brown[6]; 2. 14-Jason Swavely[22]; 3. 71-Brian Kramer[2]; 4. 29-Brent Shearer[24]; 5. 44-Rodney Westhafer[5]; 6. 20S-Nick Skias[14]; 7. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[17]; 8. 46-BJ Antonio[19]; 9. 39-Austin Mieczkowski[12]; 10. 9C-Sean Case[15]; 11. 12S-Brianna Snyder[4]; 12. 22-Shawn Rumbaugh[23]; 13. L13-Bob Potter[21]; 14. 22RW-Michael Rankin[18]; 15. 55-Bob Rankin[16]; 16. 13-Jayden Wolf[8]; 17. 17-Brent Ely[3]; 18. 1T-Cole Thompson[10]; 19. 15P-Christopher Panczner[9]; 20. 49-Brandon Fidler[20]; 21. 11H-Holden Eckman[11]; 22. 5A-Anthony Yerger[1]; 23. 51-Amanda Onimus[7]; 24. 75-Andrew Rothermel[13]
Points (Top 5) (FINAL):
1. 23-Bradley Brown[1254]; 2. 14-Jason Swavely[-151]; 3. 29-Brent Shearer[-178]; 4. 97-Billy Logeman[-201]; 5. 11H-Holden Eckman[-465]
After winning the Wingless 600 and 270 championships two years ago, Bradley Brown added an EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 championship to his collection in 2024. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
All Star Slingshot
For the first time in two years, the All Star Slingshots invaded the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway for a 20-lap exhibition race. In the main event, it was Lebanon’s Chase Schott leading wire-to-wire to pick up the win.
Schott started on pole position, but faced some pressure through the first half of the race in the form of Tyler Hoch. The No. 50 was all over Schott’s back bumper, but when Hoch suffered a mechanical issue with five laps to go, that opened the door for Schott to speed off to the win by over seven seconds in front of the rest of the field.
“I started first, and hoped it was going to be a non-stop race with no cautions,” Schott said. “And it successfully was that.”
Behind Schott, Aubrey Romig came home in second, with Haley Thunberg completing the podium. Dan Lane, Jr. and Lilly Barrett made up the rest of the top five.
Results:
1. 10S-Chase Schott[1]; 2. 35A-Aubrey Romig[2]; 3. 12JR-Haley Thurnberg[4]; 4. 12SR-Dan Lane Jr[8]; 5. 4L-Lilly Barrett[3]; 6. 52M-collon Carptenter[10]; 7. 721-Troy Kline[6]; 8. 4X-Nathan Abrahims[11]; 9. 55W-Ryan Wells[5]; 10. 41-Trent Bohr[9]; 11. 50-Tyler Hoch[7]; 12. 21K-Kayla Clark[14]; 13. 3-David Carraghan[12]; 14. 07PJ-PJ Bozowski[13]
Chase Schott picked up the win in the All Star Slingshots’ return to the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
The Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway would like to thank all drivers, teams, and fans for helping to make this another memorable season of racing. The 68th season of racing under the Lanco Micro Midget Club banner will kick off on April 5, 2025, with the return of the No Wing Spring Fling. We wish everyone a safe and happy offseason and holidays, but we can’t wait to see everyone back in 2025 to once again LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!