Kunsman and Rutherford Score Big Wins On Thursday Night Thunder

Independence Day weekend kicked off in a big way at Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway as the Newmanstown, PA facility hosted its first Thursday Night Thunder event. A night of fireworks was in store for the fans as the winged 270’s and wingless Hyper Racing 600’s took to the high-banked bullring.

The Hyper Racing 600’s were the first on the speedway for features, and the fireworks didn’t stop with the four-wide wave lap. In a modified preview of the format to be used during PA 600 Speedweek, time trials set the lineups for heat races; and the results of those heats set the lineup for the feature in a heads-up format. A lot of heavy iron was at the front of the field, with Billy Koch and Jason Swavely making up the front row. An intense first two laps saw slide job city take over the racetrack; before a multiple car crash took out several contenders. Bradley Brown and Jimmy Glenn both flipped, with Glenn emerging from his race car quickly. Brown was shaken, but ok. He would return for the 270 feature. Joey Jarowicz also was involved along with Shaun Brandel and Nash Ely. For the restart, the front row would remain the same, while Tommy Kunsman and Steven Snyder, Jr made up row two. Nick Skias and Billy Pauch, Jr started to charge towards the front, and brought Mike Rutherford with them. Caution number two flew with 19 laps remaining for the stopped cars of Billy Pauch, Jr. and Ryan Kunkle. Pauch would be done for the night. After a great outside restart the last time around, Koch elected to resume from the inside. Tommy Kunsman tried to go from third to first in turn one with a huge slider, but came up just short of the race lead. Two laps later, Brian Kramer spun in turn four bringing out another caution flag. The restart saw Tommy Kunsman take the lead off the bottom, while Koch was in a dogfight with Swavely and Eddie Strada. A multi-car pileup saw several cars crash in turn four. Nick Skias went for a series of tumbles, and Brandel, Koch, Kyle Spence, Mike Thompson, and Brian Kramer all were collected. Skias was uninjured, but his car was done for the night. Kramer and Spence would be out of the race as well. At the halfway point, only 14 of the 24 starters remained in the running. Kunsman would restart as the leader, but Jason Swavely threw a big slider to take the race lead. Strada was up to third and dueling with Ryan Groff when Mike Thompson spun in turn one. The highlight moment of the race occurred on the restart, as Swavely and Kunsman made heavy contact off of turn four and Kunsman put two tires on the catch fence and made heavy contact but never lifted. The chaos at the front allowed Strada to take the race lead, while Kunsman and Swavely made heavy side to side contact again on the back stretch. Kunsman continued forward, while Swavely fell back to mid-pack. As the field played bumper cars into turns three and four, Joey Amantea clipped an infield tire and spun. With that being caution number six, all restarts would be single file. Strada was the race leader as he was the only car to complete the lap before the caution flew. Swavely would return to second, Kunsman to third, Ryan Groff ran fourth, and Bobby Butler would complete the top five. Strada fended off a challenge from Swavely in turn one and set sail opening up a five car length lead with five laps to go. Zach Light had the hardest hit of the night when he hopped the cushion in turn three and went nose first into the catch fence. Multiple hard impacts with the ground followed before the car came to rest on its side. Light was sore, but uninjured. On the restart with four laps to go, Strada was the leader. Kunsman made a clean pass inside and went to hide from the duel between Strada and Swavely behind him. Kunsman claimed his second win of the season by more than a second. Strada and Swavely would finish second and third, while Ryan Groff and Jacob Severn would complete the top five. Severn started 20th, and methodically worked his way up through the field. Kunsman picked up $1,000 for the win; plus a $100 bonus from Groff Trucking as part of the Race Chasing Awards program.

The night was rounded out with the winged 270’s running for a $750 winners purse. Richie Hartman and Anthony Yerger started on the front row. From the inside of row two, Mason Peters made a fantastic getaway to take the lead into turn one, but the initial race start was called back for a false start on Ross Perchak in 17th. The second start was not nearly as kind to Peters who would up dueling with Hartman as Yerger checked out. Mike Rutherford charged from his starting spot deep in the top ten to battle for the runner-up spot as well. Three laps were in the books when Pete Skias spun off of turn two and brought out the second caution flag of the race. Skias would restart in the 23rd and final running position. Skias has shown tremendous speed all season long, and he would put it to good use in the remainder of this feature. The front row would remain the same from the initial start, with Peters and Billy Logeman in row two. Rutherford got around Peters and turned his attention to Logeman for third. That battle would run down Hartman as the leaders caught lapped traffic. Rutherford moved around Hartman to claim second, and one lap later the caution flew again. Jonah Meck spun in turn two, collecting TJ Greve and Chase Layser. Greve was done for the night. A solid run of green flag racing before the yellow allowed Skias to storm up to 12th. Nick Skias also was on the charge and restarted in fifth. Nick would go from fifth to third on the jump and began to chase down Rutherford. Four laps of green flag running saw Pete Skias pick up seven more positions to get back into the top five. As race leader Yerger ran the high line, Rutherford catfished the bottom. Yerger had a mechanical problem going into turn one which would end his night with nine laps remaining. Rutherford and Nick Skias would restart on the front row, while Pete Skias and Richie Hartman made up row two. Pete quickly dispatched Nick, but was unable to make any ground on the leader. While Nick was ripping the lip at both ends of the race track, Pete catfished the bottom to perfection. A multiple car crash in turn two saw the field bunched back up with two laps remaining. Clinton Hauser, Chase Layser, Tajae Adams, and Nate Gibble were all involved. The Skias family would have one final shot at the eight-time defending track champion but it proved to be an exercise in futility. Rutherford stormed away on the restart to claim the win.

Next week, Lanco returns to action with the annual Kids Night festivities. All four regular classes will be in action, including the Hyper Racing 600’s, 270’s, Sportsman, and 125/4 Stroke division. Members of the Lanco Kid’s Club will present the colors prior to the National Anthem and wave green flags during hot laps. There will be a meet and greet with drivers before the races as well for all kids in attendance. As always, the Not Your Mamma’s Kitchen concession stand and Kim’s Kreations Photo and Novelty stand will be open. There will be an infield candy and photo scramble courtesy of Mike Knappenberger photos, where all kids in attendance will have a chance to get on the track and collect some free goodies. Coming up on July 23 will be the Clyde Martin Memorial races, which are a members-only event paying $750 to win in all four classes. On August 8, the cars and stars of the USAC NOS Energy National Midget Tour make their annual appearance at the Clyde, which will also serve as the finale to Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek. The 600’s will pay $5,000 to win, and the weeks points champion will pocket $2,000 that night. Now more than ever, it’s a perfect time to live the excitement that is Lanco!

Hyper Racing 600 Results:

1. 21k Tommy Kunsman Jr; 2. 1ex Eddie Strada; 3. 7x Jason Swavely; 4. 03 Ryan Groff; 5. 50 Jacob Severn; 6. 21s Steven Snyder; 7. 11t Mike Thompson; 8. 5b Bobby Butler; 9. 66 Billy Koch; 10. 2s Mike Rutherford; 11. 25 Shaun Brandel; 12. 21z Zach Curtis; 13. 99 Brandon Heist;  14. 11z Zach Light; 15. 88j Joey Amantea; 16. 88 Nick Skias; 17. 59 Kyle Spence; 18. 71 Brian Kramer; 19. 91s Billy Pauch Jr; 20. 61 Ryan Kunkle; 21. 22 Nash Ely; 22. 23 Bradley Brown; 23. 18 Joey Jarkiewicz; 24. 33 Jimmy Glenn

270 Results:

1. 5k Mike Rutherford; 2. 3s Nick Skias; 3. 55 Pete Skias; 4. 02 Alex Swift; 5. 53s Billy Logeman; 6. 92 Jason Swavely; 7. 19a Bradley Brown; 8. 14 Richie Hartman; 9. 20 Corey Schmuck Jr; 10. 4 Ross Perchak; 11. 19 Matt Fernsler; 12. 25 Tom Landwher; 13. 22 Clinton Hauser; 14. 4k Trent Eberhart; 15. 8z Nate Gibble; 16. 77s Ben Stolz; 17. 26 Tyler Martin; 18. 63 Tajae Adams; 19. 7L Chase Layser; 20. 5a Anthony Yerger; 21. 98 Mason Peters; 22. 3 TJ Greve; 23. 48 Jonah Meck; 24. 21 Toby Blumenshine; DNS 5r Bobby Butler

Alex Swift, Toby Blumenshine, Heath Hehnly and Cliff Brian, Jr Claim Lanco Triumphs

The trend of thrills, spills, and wild racing action continued at Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway this week. A fierce night of racing was in store for the fans in attendance for only the second time this season. The 270’s kicked-off the action; with Ben Layser and Alex Swift on the front row. Swift had not been the beneficiary of the inversion redraw all season long, with a very fast car often starting near mid-pack. Layser was making his first pole position start of the season. As Layser got away from Swift on the start, Nick Skias and Toby Blumenshine started to charge forward from their starting positions outside of the top ten. Caution flew early for the stopped car of Corey Schmuck, Jr on thee back stretch. At the yellow, Layser and Swift were only a quarter of a second apart but had already put a full second on third place Jesse Maurer. The restart with 21 laps remaining saw Layser hold the lead by less than a car length over Swift as caution flew again one lap later for Richie Hartman who spun in turn four. A short green flag run saw no change at the front of the field, but the action was outstanding behind the two leaders. Mike Kreiser went hard into turn three attempting to pass Pete Skias but misjudged the corner entry and both cars came to a stop mid-corner. On the ensuing restart, Swift got a great run inside of Layser and took the lead on lap 16. As Swift tried to get away, Nick Skias was quickly tracking down the race leader. As Swift came around the car of Tom Landwehr, the newly lapped car suffered a mechanical issue and caused another caution. With only four laps to go, Swift would benefit from the single-file restart and hold the lead, but the gap proved to be short-lived as Johnny West and Anthony Yerger crashed with three laps to go and forcing another restart. Skias never got close enough to attempt the pass, and Alex Swift claimed his first career win at Lanco.

The 125/4 Stroke Division was second on the racecourse, with Darrin Miller and last week’s winner Justin Harrington making up the front row. Miller got the early jump, but Cliff Brian, Jr was even quicker gaining two spots into turn one. The race’s first caution flag flew on lap six, as the car of Kim Minzer stopped inside of turn one. Brian had opened a lead over one second at the yellow, but that gap was erased by the caution. Austin Graby moved up to fourth by the caution, and the car continued its early season run of good speed. The inside line proved fortuitous again as Harrington got by Miller on the start and Graby came right with him. Matt Fernsler had a half spin in turn two which brought out a caution which was ruled to be an inadvertent yellow, so Fernsler was able to keep his position just inside the top ten. With seventeen laps remaining the green would fly again with Cliff Brian Jr and Harrington this time comprising the front row. Brian made a fantastic restart and had three car lengths by the time the field got to turn one. Austin Graby went to work on Harrington and those two battled for several laps. With eight laps remaining, Miller had trouble and ended up against the outside wall in turn two, while Fernsler completed his earlier spin. Alex Lukacs made hard contact with the outside wall splitting between the two stopped cars. On the restart sever cars crashed in turn two, including Riley Simmons, Sara Borror, and Matt Fernsler. No laps were scored before the crash, making the ensuing restart single-file. Chase Layser attempted to get inside of Austin Graby on the restart and clipped an infield tire sending the car into a wild series of barrel rolls. Layser was uninjured, but the same could not be said for the car which was finished for the night. The restart was all Cliff Brian, Jr; but Austin Graby was able to get by Harrington. Kim Minzer spun in turn four bringing out the races final caution. Graby made a good restart, but Brian’s was even better. Cliff Brian, Jr claimed his second win of the season by a half second over Graby.

The Hyper Racing 600’s were third on the docket. Heath Hehnly and Aaron Espenshade made up the front row. The initial race start was waved off for a false start by Ryan Groff, who was called for being out of alignment. Groff would lose two spots from fourth, advancing Bradley Brown to the outside of the second row. Chris Gerhart made a nice getaway to claim second. Nick Skias was hard on the charge rapidly advancing to third. Five laps in, Joe Kepple crashed and turned over on his side in turn two bringing out the second caution flag of the race. Kepple was able to refire and tagged in at the back of the field. On the restart, Espenshade and Bradley Brown made contact and came to a stop inside of turn three. A single file restart again saw trouble as Zach Light spun in turn four. During the green flag run, Jarid Kunkle threw a slider which ended in the door of Ryan Groff sending Groff into a big set of flips and tumbles. Trying to avoid crashing 03 car, Jesse Maurer also flipped. Mike Rutherford and Kyler Heiney also stopped as a result of the crash. All the drivers involved were uninjured. Kunkle, who was the winner one week ago, was penalized to the rear of the field for his role in the incident. Hehnly got out to a three car length lead on the restart, while Skias and Gerhart battled for second. Kunkle gained six spots on the restart and was quickly back into the top ten. Skias was able to close the gap as Hehnly caught lapped traffic. There would be no late heroics however, as Hehnly claimed a win of one second over Skias.

The Sportsman division closed out the night’s racing with defending class champion Michael Kreiser and Noah Merkey on the front row. On lap one, Merkey bounced off the outside wall and bottled up the rest of the field. A multi-car crash occurred in turn one, with Jessica Moore, Matt Yoh, Chelsea Moore, Brian Sholley, Chase Layser, and Jesse Maurer were all involved. With several of the leading cars involved, the restart had a new look at the front. Kreiser remained in the race lead, with Patrick Kirn, Corey Schmuck, Jr, and Clinton Hauser lined up in positions two through four. Toby Blumenshine charged from his mid-pack starting position to restart in the eighth position. In the first lap after the restart, Blumenshine went rim riding in turns one and two to pass three cars, then inside of Schmuck to claim third. Five laps in, Jeremy Eisenhauer spun in turn three and Chase Layser slid to a stop to avoid the stopped car. Just before the crash, Blumenshine got past Kirn at the line to claim second. On the restart, Blumenshine was unstoppable inside of Kreiser going into turn one. David Ravel battled with Schmuck and Kirn for the third through fifth positions. With nine laps remaining Matt Yoh and Chelsea Moore crashed in turn two bringing out the yellow and erasing a nearly three second lead for Blumenshine. The restart was clean all the way around, with Blumenshine opening up his lead again, while Kreiser and Kirn battled for second. Kreiser held the spot when Ravel came to a stop against the outside wall in turn two with three laps remaining. Blumenshine checked out on the restart and had seen the white flag when Schmuck spun to the inside of turn two. On the restart Blumenshine once again got away cleanly and claimed his first win of the season.

Sportsman Results:

1. 21 Toby Blumenshine; 2. 77 Mike Kreiser; 3. 16p Patrick  Kirn; 4. 22 Clinton Hauser; 5. N8 Nate Gibble; 6. 7L Chase Layser; 7. 15 Robert Shannaman; 8. 18 Noah Merkey; 9. 26 Corey Schmuck; 10. 10z Brian Sholley; 11. 9g Jamie Flickenger; 12. 53s Shannon Slaughter; 13. 14m Chelsey Moore; 14. 11m Jessica Moore; 15. 23k Courtney Kupp; 16. 21V Dave Ravel; 17. 99k Chad Kreiser; 18. 13b Matt Yoh II; 19. 3s Jeremy Eisenhauer; 20. 88 Jesse Maurer; 21. 11g Brandon Gibble; 22. 8 Michael Spadafora; DNS 36s Steve Smith Sr

Hyper Racing 600 Results:

1. 5 Heath Hehnly; 2. 88 Nick Skias; 3. 51 Chris Gerhart; 4. 22 Nash Ely; 5. 17 Brent Ely; 6. 71 Brian Kramer; 7. 3g Jesse  Snyder; 8. 11h Holden Eckman; 9. 11z Zach Light; 10. 1 William Urkuski; 11. 22x Kyler Heiney; 12. 9 Joe Kepple; 13. 21 Toby Blumenshine; 14. 22a Adrianna Delliponti; 15. 39 Olivia Thayer; 16. 75k Jarid Kunkle; 17. 99 Dallas Sanders; 18. 3 Ryan Groff; 19. 3 Jesse Maurer; 20. 2s Mike Rutherford; 21. 1e Aaron Espenshade; 22. 23 Bradley Brown; DNS 24t TJ Greve

270 Results:

1. 15 Alex Swift; 2. 3s Nick Skias; 3. 87 Austin Graby; 4. 5k Mike Rutherford; 5. 4L Ben Layser; 6. 21 Toby Blumenshine; 7. 5r Jesse Maurer; 8. 19a Bradley Brown; 9. 29j Dan Lane Jr; 10. 39 Richie Hartman; 11. 8z Nate Gibble; 12. 88d Andrew Dietrich; 13. 55 Pete Skias; 14. 19 Matt Fernsler; 15. 63 Tajae Adams; 16. 53 Mike Kreiser; 17. 22 Clinton Hauser; 18. 5a Anthony Yerger; 19. 34 Christi Sweigart; 20. 49w Johnny West; 21. 25 Tom Landwehr; 22. 82 Heath Hehnly; 23. 31 Kelsey Heiney; 24. 20 Corey Schmuck Jr

125/4 Stroke Results:

1. 99 Cliff Brian Jr; 2. 46 Austin Graby; 3. 76 Justin Harrington; 4. 16 Marty Brian; 5. 6 Mike Glass; 6. 11h Holden Eckman; 7. 44x Alex Lukacs; 8. 26 Tyler Martin; 9. 24 Logan Rhoad; 10. 3y Zachary Young; 11. 19 Matt Fernsler; 12. 77g Isaac Graby; 13. 62 Eddie Nocera; 14. 112 Dylan Yeingst; 15. 28 Kyle Lindsey; 16. 22 Jared St. John; 17. 18 Ron Young; 18. 26LR Kim Minzer; 19. 7L Chase Layser; 20. 44 Riley Simmons; 21. 21 Darren Miller; 22. 78 Sara Borror; 23. 25w Nate Weidman; 24. 3x Kenny Bushey

Skias Doubles Up, Hoch, Kunkle, and Harrington Claim Wins At Lanco

On a night whee fans were back in the stands for the first time this season, the cars and stars of Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway put on a fantastic show from beginning to end. In addition to the four regular divisions, the All-Star Slingshots made their first appearance this season at the 1/8 mile bullring.

The Sportsman Division opened the festivities, with a nine-car invert holding the promise of plenty of passing. Clinton Hauser and Nate Gibble lead the field to the green, and a host of very quick cars in tow. Early trouble for Jeremy Eisenhouer saw a complete restart with no laps complete. The pilot of the 3s was able to tag the back of the field and continue. Clinton Hauser took the early lead and had a lead over a second and a half at the race’s second caution. Toby Blumenshine and Nick Skias were moving quickly towards the front at the caution caused when Noah Merkey came to a stop on the front stretch. Patrick Kirn was also strong, continuing a start to the season which has showed significant speed. On the restart, Clinton Hauser bogged down allowing several cars to come past and bottling up the field towards the back. Eisenhauer spun in turn four, and Toby Blumenshine went for a wild ride off turn two as not every car reacted the caution. Blumenshine lost his top wing in the process and was black flagged for having only a wing tree on the car without the wing, ending his race. Due to the yellow, Hauser was placed back at the front of the field for the ensuing single file restart. Behind the leader, Nate Gibble continued his strong run followed by Kirn, Nick Skias, and Billy Logeman. Skias went two for one getting past both Kirn and Gibble. Kirn spun off turn two and collected Billy Logeman. Logeman sat stalled on the racetrack with the driver’s side exposed to the racing line and the remainder of the field bearing down on him, but the big hit never came.  Since the field got the lap in, the race would have another chance at a double file restart. Hauser’s restart woes continued, with Skias powering around the outside of turns three and four, claiming the race lead by the time the field reached the line. Anthony Yerger and Patrick Kirn continued their charge towards the front as the caution flew with fourteen laps remaining for a four car incident in turn two. After a wild first half, the remainder of the race was comparatively sedate. With the lead growing by a wider and wider margin each lap, Skias was untouchable once he got to the front, picking up his first Sportsman victory of the season. Skias won in the same car that has carried Jesse Maurer to two victories so far this season.

Next on tap was the All-Star Slingshot feature, which saw only two cars invert for the initial race start after the random draw. With thirteen cars in attendance, the field was a bit thinner than normal; but this was a case of quality over quantity. Dylan Hoch took the lead from the pole as Tyler Hoch began a charge towards the front. After issues during his heat race, Brett Bieber started towards the back of the top ten. In one of the most uncharacteristic Slingshot races this track has seen, the race went clean and green from start to finish. Dylan Hoch had put a handful of cars a lap down by the halfway point. Andrew Turpin started second ad ran there the entire race, holding a full second gap over Dave Carraghan for most of the race. At the checkered flag, Dylan Hoch claimed a 5.9 second win over Turpin, Carraghan, Tyler Hoch and Josh Patterson. The rest of the field was at least one lap down in a feature that took only five and a half minutes to complete.

The Hyper Racing 600’s were third on the card and saw the same two car invert as the slingshots, leaving a significant amount of heavy iron at the front of the field. Zach Light and Bradley Brown made up the front row; showing some of their best speed in this season. Jason Swavely went high wide and handsome on the opening circuit to claim the lead from third and set sail as the battle raged for third place between Brown, Chris Gerhart, Mike Rutherford, and Chris Panczner. Passing was plentiful throughout the field as well, with Kyler Heiney making a notable charge towards the front. Just five laps in, Swavely had opened the gap to over one second ahead of Light as the race’s first caution came out for the spinning Brent Ely in turn four. Jarid Kunkle made his presence known on the restart throwing sliders at Light at both ends of the racetrack. As the fight between Light and Kunkle simmered; Gerhart and Brown traded haymakers for several laps. Swavely disappeared into lap traffic during the long green flag run; while Light and Kunkle dueled amongst the same lappers the leader hit several of laps earlier. With four laps to go, Swavely lead by over five seconds and was well on his way to victory when Austin Quick, Brian Kramer, and Jason Sechrist crashed in turn three. Swavely was right behind the incident and had nowhere to go, contacting the stopped car of Kramer and ending his night. What looked like a runaway turned into a shootout between Kunkle, Gerhart, and Light. Kunkle let it rip on the restart and checked out with Gerhart falling in a second back. Brown, Light and Rutherford battled for third; finishing in that order. This was Kunkle’s first win of the season.

In the 125 and Four Stroke division, Isaac Graby and Justin Harrington would lead the field to the green. Back-to-back race winner Cliff Brian, Jr. started in fifth. Graby lead from the drop of the green, but Harrington was all over his tail tank. Alex Lukacs and Marty Brian went to battle and charged towards the front. Caution number one flew just four laps in for the spin of Tyler Martin in turn four. On the restart, Harrington made a fantastic getaway and took the lead with an outside pass in turn three and four. On the restart, Kenney Bushey, Kyle Lindsey, Jared St John, and Austin Graby crashed in turn two bringing out the race’s second caution. Without a lap completed, a single file restart ensued, and Harrington flipped the script diving inside of Isaac Graby in turn one to claim the lead. Brian went to work on Graby and took second just as Alex Lukacs spun after contact in turn four. Lukacs would continue but had to restart from the rear. On the restart, Graby couldn’t get up to speed and a multiple car crash ensued. Ron Crossley almost went over after launching off the left rear of Graby. The field got a lap in under green, meaning another double file restart was in order. Harrington and Cliff Brian Jr made up the front row on the restart, while Holden Eckman and Mike Glass restarted in row two. Riley Simmons started towards the rear of the field and worked her way up to eighth on the restart in a fantastic showing. After his early race troubles, Lukacs had already made it back to the twelfth position as the green flew. Harrington was able to hold on to the lead, when Tyler Martin had his second spin of the race in turn four. The race was only to the halfway point at the restart when calamity corner struck again, this time claiming Glass, Chase Layser, Simmons, Dylan Yeingst, Crossley, and Ron Wechter. This time the restart was single file and Harrington pulled away as the Brian brothers went to battle with each other. Marty tried inside, he tried outside, but there was no getting around his older brother. The caution flew again as three cars all had separate issues at different points on the racetrack. Dylan Yeingst pulled off into the infield with mechanical trouble, while Shane Davis stopped outside of turn three, and Tyler Martin had a half-spin into the inside of turn four. The final restart saw Harrington pull away easily; but the battle wasn’t over yet. Cliff Brian, Jr. came back to attack on the final two laps, finishing jut eight tenths of a second back of the race winner Justin Harrington. Marty Brian, Chase Layser, and Austin Graby rounded out the top five.

The 270’s took to the speedway next to complete the night’s racing events. Nick Skias and Mike Kreiser made up the front row. Skias was long gone on the restart, while Richie Hartman picked up the second position. Jason Swavely was the man on a mission, flying around his trademark high live the Rocketman from Fleetwood was up to third by the second circuit. The race was clean and green to the halfway point; and the quickest on the track behind the race leader was Alex Swift who charged seventh at the halfway point. Toby Blumenshine was very quick as well, running up to a solid fifth place before the first caution of the race flew with two laps to go. Skias had worked well in traffic the entire race; but was very quick running the bottom of the racetrack. On the restart, Skias went down low, and Swavely went high. It looked like the result was sealed, but Alex Swift spun in turn two bringing out the caution flag. With Swavely known for running the high side and potentially tipping his hand on the last restart, Skias had a choice to make: go with what worked the entire race or try and cutoff Swavely’s preferred line. Skias chose to stay at the bottom, and the outcome was sealed when Swavely went low as well. Skias claimed his second win of the night by only fifteen one-hundredths of a second at the line. Swavely came home second, Hartman third, Toby Blumenshine fourth, and Heath Hehnly completed the top five.

Racing action returns to Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway next weekend, with another night of action-packed micro-sprint racing. The Newmanstown oval will see two race nights in five days in advance of the Independence Day holiday. June 27 will see the regular four divisions take to the track; while The Clyde kick’s off the weekend on Thursday night with Thursday Night Thunder for the wingless 600’s and winged 270’s. Fans are welcome at the track, with adult tickets only $10 and everyone under 13 is always free at The Clyde. Now more than ever, it’s a perfect time to live the excitement that is Lanco!

Rutherford, Swavely, Brian, Jr., and Maurer Dominant On Wild Night At Lanco

Race night number three for Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway saw a bit of everything on the Newmanstown high-banks, with repeat winners, fresh faces in Victory Lane, and several torn up cars following wild crashes. The batting order for the night saw the 270 class in the lead-off position.

Corey Schmuck Jr and Jason Swavely lead the field to the green, with last week’s winner TJ Greve a surprising DNQ after mechanical issues plagued the car all night. Lap two had the first yellow flag fly for the stopped car of Jarrett Imler in turn one. Imler was able to push off and rejoin the field. After a first lap bobble dropped Schmuck to fourth, Mike Miller went to work from second on the restart. An ill-timed slider by Miller bottled up Swavely, bringing Schmuck, Alex Swift, Nick Skias, and Graby into a tight battle for the lead. As Swavely caught traffic, the gaps began to grow throughout the top five. While Swavely was leading throughout, the challenges were frequent and intense from Graby and Schmuck. Caution number two flew with three laps to go, for contact between Trent Eberhart and Chase Walker. A single file-restart ensued which saw Swavely take the win convincingly over Schmuck, Skias, Swift, and Miller.

The 125 and 4 Stroke Division rolled out onto the Speedway next, with last week’s winner Cliff Brian, Jr. starting on the pole, while Shane Davis lined up outside of row one. Week one’s winner Austin Graby lined up in the fourth position. Davis fell back to sixth on the start, as Brian checked out from the drop of the green. Five laps in, the lead was already over one second back to second place running Justin Harrington. The race went clean and green to halfway, with the lead growing every lap. Tyler Martin suffered a mechanical issue bringing his car to a stop in turn two, and erased a nearly three second lead for Brian. Martin was unable to continue. The restart saw Brian and Graby on the front row, with Harrington and Marty Brian in row two. While the result mirrored the opening start, the lead for Brian didn’t grow nearly as quickly. A handful of green flag laps passed before the car of Zach Young spun in turn four, setting up a single file restart with five to go. A wild crash on the restart saw Zach Young, Mike Coen and Nate Weidman all make contact and Weidman flipped. All drivers were uninjured.  Shane Davis and Holden Eckman crashed on the restart, with both drivers uninjured and able to continue. Brian would be untouched on the succeeding restart and complete the flag-to-flag win over Graby, Harrington, Marty Brian, and Alex Lukacs.

The Hyper Racing 600’s were third on the bullring, with Bradley Brown and Mike Rutherford on the front row. Another stacked field saw a solid mix of Lanco regulars and outside invaders, with row two seeing Nash Ely and Tim Buckwalter lined up behind the local standouts. Last week’s winner Kyle Spence lined up in fifth. Rutherford was long gone by the first caution for the spinning Holden Eckman in turn three. While the multi-time class champion was checking out, the battles for the rest of the top five were intense. On the restart a huge crash took out several cars on the entry to corner number one. Heath Hehnly, Jeremy Harshman, Bret Cronrath, Brian Kramer, Ryan Groff, Jesse Maurer, Aaron Espenshade, and Will Urkuski all were collected. The night was over early for Urkuski, Groff, Harshman, and Espenshade. Hehnly retired two laps later. By the halfway point, all of the leaders were running the high line and The Clyde turned in to Slide Job City. Bret Cronrath spun in turn two at lap 12, bringing out the caution. Rutherford got away cleanly on the restart, while Spence threw slider after slider at Ely. That battle continued until there were eight laps to go when the caution flew for Jim Radney who suffered a mechanical issue in turn two. With four laps remaining, the night’s biggest crash saw three cars flip wildly in turn three. Tyler Ulrich, Bret Cronrath, and Phil Meisner all went over, and each required the flatbed to tow off the racecourse. Race Control displayed the red flag and sent all cars to the work area while the crash was cleaned up. Rutherford controlled the restart and became the second wire-to-wire winner on the night.

The evening’s festivities were rounded out by the Sportsman division, which had Anthony Yerger and Ryan Heckman on the front row. Jamie Flickinger and Toby Blumenshine made up row two, while David Ravel and Jesse Maurer were lined up in the third row. Maurer and Yerger both had won already this season and looked to establish their early season dominance. Heckman, meanwhile, is a team car to the winning 270 of Jason Swavely.  Blumenshine showed his experience as a prior track champion getting around Heckman for second early. Corey Schmuck, Jr was on the charge, benefitting from Flickinger getting loose off turn four and bottling up the field. Schmuck gained five spots down the front stretch but over-cooked the entry to turn one and spun bringing out the first caution flag of the race. On thee restart, Yerger skunked Blumenshine and allowed Maurer to battle for second; claiming the spot at the line as caution flew for the spinning Charles Hellinger. With only four laps in the books, it was still anyone’s race. Before one lap was completed, the car of Matt Yoh spun in turn two while Mike Kreiser had ignition trouble and came to a stop in the infield. As the race approached the halfway point, Yerger got caught behind lap traffic, and Maurer took full advantage. Blumenshine was all over Maurer for the lead as Robert Shannaman spun in turn four and brought out another caution. Chase Layser had mechanical trouble and pulled off under thee caution while running fourth. Throughout the short green flag runs, Patrick Kirn and Kane Rogers made strong moves toward the front and would restart inside the top five after staring mid-pack. Yerger and Rogers fought for third allowing thee leaders to get away. With two laps to go, Blumenshine rode the guardrail through turns one and two sealing the win for Maurer.

After three weeks of spectatorless shows, the gates will open next weekend for the first time in 2020. Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway will offer a special promotion for all Mom’s and Dad’s offering half price admission. It will also be a Dollar Dog Night presented by Not Your Momma’s Kitchen, the new food and beverage concessionaire. For the first time this season, all fans can come out and truly Live the Excitement that is LANCO!

Hyper Racing 600 Class Results

1. Mike Rutherford, 2. Kyle Spence, 3. Nash Ely, 4. Jarid Kunkle, 5. Bradley Brown, 6. Austin Quick, 7. BJ Antonio, 8. Jesse Maurer, 9. Tim Buckwalter, 10. Chris Gerhart, 11. Jesse Snyder, 12. Zack Light, 13. Brian Kramer, 14. Chris Panczner, 15. Phil Meisner, 16. Tyler Ulrich, 17. Bret Cronrath, 18. Jim Radney, 19. Holden Eckman, 20. Heath Hehnly, 21. William Urkuski, 22. Ryan Groff, 23. Jeremy Harshman, 24. Aaron Espenshade, DNQ Dan Lane Jr, DNQ Toby Blumenshine, DNQ Mark Yoder, DNQ Joe Kepple, DNQ Olivia Thayer, DNQ Brianne Witmer-Cronrath

270 Class Results

1. Jason Swavely, 2. Corey Schmuck Jr, 3. Nick Skias, 4. Alex Swift, 5. Mike Miller, 6. Mike Rutherford, 7. Bradley Brown, 8. Andrew Dietrich, 9. Heath Hehnly, 10. Austin Graby, 11. Dan Lane Jr, 12. Toby Blumenshine, 13. Mike Skias, 14. Pete Skias, 15. Trent Eberhart, 16. Jarrett Imler, 17. Jonah Meck, 18. Christi Sweigart, 19. Clinton Hauser, 20. Matt Fernsler, 21. Zack Hollinger, 22. Chase Walker, 23. Richie Hartman, 24. Anthony Yerger, DNQ Kayla Fetter, DNQ TJ Greve, DNQ Jesse Maurer, DNQ Tajae Adams, DNQ Jimmy Wampole, DNQ Josh Ohlinger

Sportsman Results

1. Jesse Maurer, 2. Toby Blumenshine, 3. Anthony Yerger, 4. Patrick Kirn, 5. Kane Rogers, 6. Corey Schmuck, 7. Jeremy Eisenhauer, 8. Noah Merkey, 9. Chad Kreiser, 10. Jamie Flickenger, 11. Ryan Heckman, 12. Brian Sholley, 13. Charles Hellinger, 14. Raymond Ohlinger, 15. Robert Shannaman, 16. Courtney Kupp, 17. Brett Sculley, 18. Matt Yoh II, 19. Michael Spadafora, 20. Chase Layser, 21. Dave Ravel, 22. Mike Kreiser, 23. Bret Conrath, 24. Shannon Slaughter, DNQ                Max Fasnacht, DNQ Mike Stoppard Jr, DNQ Steve Smith Sr

125/4 Stroke Class Results

1. Cliff Brian Jr, 2. Austin Graby, 3. Justin Harrington, 4. Marty Brian, 5. Alex Lukacs, 6. Ron Crossley, 7. Mike Glass, 8. Matt Fernsler, 9. Chase Layser, 10. Dylan Yeingst, 11. Holden Eckman, 12. Michael Coen, 13. Zachary Young, 14. Shane Davis, 15. Eddie Nocera, 16. Sam Borger, 17. Terry Ellex, 18. Nate Weidman, 19. Ron Young, 20. Kyle Lindsey, 21. Tyler Martin, 22. Mike Miller, 23. Ron Wechter, DNS AJ Gerhart, DNS Darren Miller, DNQ Riley Simmons, DNQ Dick Huzzard, DNQ Isaac Graby, DNQ Logan Rhoad, DNQ Sara Borror, DNQ Jared St John, DNQ Kenny Bushey, DNQ Drayson Layser

Speedy Night of Racing Sees Spence, Greve, Yerger, and Brian Claim Wins

Kyle Spence took his first Lanco win. Photo Credit: Mike Knappenberger

On an early summer day built for racing, the stars and cars of Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway put on a fantastic show for a growing live-stream audience. With fans still unable to attend due to COVID-19 restrictions, the audience numbers for the track’s free live stream was outstanding. Those fans were treated to an exciting night of racing, with duels throughout the field.

In the Sportsman division, Mike Rutherford lead early from the pole, but the big mover was Anthony Yerger. Trouble for Fran Hine saw the yellow fly early, but Rutherford also had a mechanical failure which ended his night on lap five. Jesse Maurer and Anthony Yerger traded the lead throughout the middle part of the race, especially once battling lap traffic. After a caution on lap 18, Yerger checked out on the field while Maurer fought Patrick Kirn for third. Maurer claimed the position, with Kirn finishing in the third position. Jeremy Eisenhouer and Chase Layser completed the top five.

The 270’s rolled off next, with Heath Hehnly and Billy Logeman. After a dominating performance was derailed one week ago, TJ Greve returned to avenge the defeat and was on the charge from the drop of the green flag. Tommy Kunsman battled Logeman for third, and Bradley Brown was right there in fourth as well. Brown made heavy contact with the outside retaining wall on lap 12, eventually flattening his right rear tire. Mechanical gremlins caught up with Hehnly on lap ten, forcing him out and giving the lead to Greve. Caution flew with five laps to go, meaning a single file restart. Jason Swavely and Tommy Kunsman benefitted from the issues facing the other front runners to line up second and third on the restart. With one to go, Anthony Yerger had a wild flip down the front stretch bringing out the final caution of the race. Yerger was uninjured. A one lap shootout decided the results, with Greve holding on for the win over Swavely, Alex Swift, Corey Schmuck, Jr., and Billy Logeman

TJ Greve in Victory Lane. Photo Credit: Mike Knappenberger

The Hyper Racing 600’s took to the speedway for the night’s third feature, with Ryan Groff and Austin Quick leading the field to the green. A lap two crash between Bobby Butler and Chris Panczner stunted Quick’s early efforts to run away from Groff. Will Urkuski showed early speed, continuing his upward trends. The field never completed a lap before caution flew again. On the ensuing single file restart, Groff and Quick were still out front followed by Urkuski, Toby Blumenshine, Jarid Kunkle and Kyle Spence. Quick checked out on the green, leading by over one second just a handful of laps in. Heath Hehnly showed again why he is the eight-time class champion, advancing to seventh before the caution flew again on lap 11 for several cars with mechanical issues, including Blumenshine. After leading every lap one week ago, TJ Greve started mid-pack and fought up to eighth before the yellow. The race had a bit of yellow fever as the five caution mark was surpassed at the halfway point. Urkuski and Tommy Kunsman made contact off of turn two bringing out that fifth caution on Lap 13. Kyle Spence was consistently moving forward, picking off one car at a time during each brief green flag sting until he was on the tail tank of race leader Austin Quick. The restart saw the leaders split the racetrack, Quick down low, Spence running his trademark high line. Two laps into the green flag run, Spence carried a ton of speed off turn two, passing Quick before the cars reached turn three. The handling on Quick’s car went away towards the finish, with Maurer coming around the Hyper Racing machine with five laps to go. The race would finish that way with Kyle Spence picking up his first Lanco win on the season, while Maurer, Quick, Kunkle, and Hehnly completing the top five.

Cliff Brian Jr wins in the 125/4 Stroke Division. Photo Credit: Mike Knappenberger

The 125 and Four Stroke division closed out the night, in a race that had Matt Fernsler and Mike Coen on the front row. Justin Harrington got around both cars from his third starting spot and was long gone early. Coen, Mike Glass, and Fernsler fought a spirited battle for second before caution flew on lap seven for Tyler Martin’s spin in turn four. The man on the move early was Cliff Brian Jr, making both racing lanes work and advancing all the way up to fifth by a caution period on lap 14. Alex Lukacs was on the short end of the stick as AJ Gerhart and Mike Coen made contact battling for ninth position, forcing Crossley to take evasive action and pushing Lukacs into the infield tires. The restart had Harrington alongside Mike Miller on the front row, Holden Eckman and Glass in row two, and Brian and Coen in row three. Brian made a big move to advance to second on the restart. With the leaders catching lap traffic with five to go. Brian used the lap car of Ron Wechter as a pick to perfection, cycling around Harrington and leading the rest of the way to claim his first win of the season.

Two, three, and sometimes four wide action was the norm all night. Photo Credit: Mike Knappenberger

Racing resumes on Saturday night, with four divisions of action coming up. With racing every weekend, there has never been a better time to come live the excitement that is Lanco!