WILLIAMS GROVE >> The Royersford Rocket Steve Buckwalter won a thrilling and hotly-contested sprint car event at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night, holding off the furious challenges of Brian Montieth, Danny Dietrich and Greg Hodnett to pick up the victory.
Elsewhere, the kickoff of the 2016 Nouse Signs and Graphics 358 Sprint Summer Series saw the $1,000 victory go to female racer Brie Hershey of Enola.
With five laps to go, the front four cars were under a blanket with no more than one car length between each of them as they sliced and diced high and low for the win. Brian Montieth threw down a major slide job in the second turn of the 21st lap only to see Buckwalter vault back out in front as the pair shot onto the backstretch and all the while both Danny Dietrich and Greg Hodnett were waiting to pounce. Two laps later, Montieth layed down another huge slider in the second corner to gain command and again Buckwalter retook the top spot however this time as Montieth slid sideways Dietrich bit fast on the bottom and drove up off of the low groove into second as both he and Buckwalter overtook Montieth. Dietrich then made his attempts for the win with Buckwalter on the high cushion however the Gettysburg driver came up just short at the finish with Buckwalter scoring the payday by a scant .164-second margin.
It was Buckwalter’s seventh career victory at the oval. Montieth was third followed by Hodnett and Freddie Rahmer. Sixth through 10th went to Aaron Ott, Cory Haas, Alan Krimes, Doug Esh and Brock Zearfoss.
Hershey would end up leading all 25 laps of the 358 sprint main. However, to say she cruised to the win would be incorrect. For most of the race she had the lead well in hand but a late challenge developed from 12th starter Doug Hammaker. Hammaker rode home second followed by Nyle Berkes, Kevin Nouse and Kyle Denmyer. Sixth through 10th went to Tim Wagaman, Matt Findley, Todd Rittenouse Jr., Glenndon Forsythe and David Holbrook.
410 sprints, 25 laps: 1. Steve Buckwalter, 2. Danny Dietrich, 3. Brian Montieth, 4. Greg Hodnett, 5. Freddie Rahmer, 6. Aaron Ott, 7. Cory Haas, 8. Alan Krimes, 9. Doug Esh, 10. Brock Zearfoss, 11. Austin Hogue, 12. Rodney Westhafer, 13. Brent Marks, 14. Matt Campbell, 15. Frankie Herr, 16. Daryl Stimeling, 17. Troy Fraker, 18. Jim Shuster, 19. Zach Eucalano, 20. Rick Lafferty, 21. Todd Allen, 22. Todd Berkheimer, 23. Lucas Wolfe, 24. Chad Trout
GRANDVIEW >> When Paul “The Dude” Kline finally wins a NASCAR Sportsman feature at Grandview Speedway, he picks a big payday since it was the Summer Splash 40-lap feature sponsored by Bashore Trucking/BFP Specialty that was worth $1,500 plus $100 from T.P. Trailers, Limerick.
Kline, the eighth different winner in the division, started his season late and it wasn’t easy since he experienced carburetor problems and other issues and since the crew just consists of himself and his wife Jenifer, that makes it even more challenging. He inherited the lead when race leader Kenny Bock spun between turns three and four which brought out the red for a blocked track since several other cars tangled behind him on lap four.
Since numerous restarts were needed in the early stages, after six laps all restarts went single-file. Kline held off numerous challenges with current point leader Jordan Henn all over him with five laps remaining. Kline hung on to capture the victory.
Jeff Strunk, a ten-time Modified point champion, who reunited with former owner Glenn Hyneman and the No. 126 team, finished second two weeks in a row and he decided it was time to change the status. After a seven lap battle with Mike Kellner he finally got even enough and was able to move underneath Kellner off four with five laps to go and made the move stick as he was now first. Strunk continued the momentum and went on to score his first win of the season in the T.P. Trailers NASCAR 358 Modified All-American Racing Series 30-Lap
Defending Late Model point champion Chuck Schutz has had his share of ups and downs since the season began and he finally got a break and pulled the Ty Zeigler-owned/PPB No. ONE into victory lane for the second time in the 25-lap BRC NASCAR Late Model feature.
The TSRS 305 Sprint cars will headline the racing action on Saturday, June 25th, when Bechtelsville Car Wash presents a tripleheader show of racing action that will also include the TP Trailers NASCAR 358 Modifieds and Sportsman stock cars. Admission for this special event is just $18 for adults. Spectator gates open at 5:30 p.m. with racing getting underway at 7:30 p.m.
Feature (40 Laps): 1. Paul Kline, 2. Jordan Henn, 3. Craig Whitmoyer, 4. Brad Arnold, 5. Brian Hirthler, 6. Mike Lisowski, 7. Derrick Smith, 8. Dylan Swinehart, 9. Brian Papiez, 10. Ryan Lilick, 11. Chad Kohler, 12. Nathan Mohr, 13. Ryan Shupp, 14. Jack Butler, 15. Rich Jones, 16. Steve Searock, 17. Kenny Bock, 18. Chris Jenkins, 19. Brett Gilmore, 20. Mike Stringer, 21. Kenny Gilmore, 22. Jim Housworth, 23. Dean Bachman, 24. Jesse Landis, 25. Kyle Lilick, 26. Tommy Scheetz III. DNQ: Mike Koffel, Jeff Sechrist, Andrew Kreis, B.J. Joly, John McGovern, Mark Kemmerer, Ken Eckert Jr.
Modified Feature (30 Laps): 1. Jeff Strunk, 2. Mike Kellner, 3. Ray Swinehart, 4. Craig Von Dohren, 56. Kyle Weiss, 6. Duane Howard, 7. Steve Swinehart, 8. Tim Buckwalter, 9. Danny Erb, 10. Jared Umbenhauer, 11. John Willman, 12. Ryan Watt, 13. Doug Manmiller, 14. Mike Gular, 15. Kyle Borror, 16. Don Norris Jr., 17. Brian Houseknecht, 18. Ryan Grim, 19. Eric Biehn, 20. Brett Kressley, 21, Ron Haring Jr., 22. Justin Grim, 23. Carroll Hine III, 24. Bobby Gunther-Walsh, 25. Frank Cozze, 26. Kory Fleming, 27. Ron Seltmann Jr., 28. Kevin Hirthler. DNQ: Blaine Bracelin Jr. and Chris Gambler.
Late Model Feature (25 Laps): 1. Chuck Schutz, 2. Bill Henning, 3. Wayne Pfeil, 4. Lou Egrie, 5. Cory Merkel, 6. Randy Stoudt, 7. Dave Ogin, 8. Brian Shuey, 9. Dan Green, 10. Drew Weisser, 11. Joe Fanelli, 12. Chris Wojnar, 13. Shawn Horning, 14. Dirk Rimrott, 15. Steve Todorow, 16. Eric Hoch, 17. Bryon Sipe, 18. Devin Frey, 19. George Irwin. DNS: Ron Kline
LINCOLN >> Dover’s Austin Hogue caught race-long leader Tyler Ross as the two leaders were crossing under the white flag to score his first win of the year in the 25-lap 410 sprint car feature at Lincoln Speedway Saturday night. A disappointed Ross finished second, with Gerard McIntyre, ninth-starting Brian Montieth, and points leader Alan Krimes rounding out the top five. Sixth through tenth were Cory Haas, Jim Siegel, 14th-starting Chad Trout, Mike Bittinger, and Brandon Rahmer. Adrian Shaffer came from eighth starting spot to score his first Lincoln win of the year in the 20-lap 358 sprint car feature. Shaffer was already in the top five by the end of the first lap and was running third by the end of lap three. He passed Tyler Esh for second on lap 11 and drove around Brie Hershey for the race lead on lap 15. Tenth-starting Matt Campbell came on late to pressure Shaffer for the lead in lapped traffic over the final four laps of the non-stop event, timed at 5 minutes, 44.6 seconds. He settled for second, with Hershey, Doug Hammaker, and 12th-starting Jeff Halligan rounding out the top five. Mike Enders caught race-long leader Chad Criswell on lap 17 and drove away to his third career Lincoln win in the 25-lap super sportsman feature event. Criswell crossed second .62 seconds behind the winner, with polesitter Scott Dellinger, Paul Miller, and Timmie Barrick completing the top five.
PORT ROYAL >> Greg Hodnett started eighth and drove through the field to win the 25-lap 410-sprint car feature at Port Royal Speedway on Saturday night to record his sixth oval checkers of the season, worth $3,200. Lucus Wolfe tried to close in on the distance between himself and the leader but couldn’t muster a challenge, instead crossing the finish line 1.763 seconds behind at the finish. Aaron Ott rode home third followed by Brent Marks and Mike Wagner. Sixth through 10th went to Ryan Taylor, Blane Heimbach, Brock Zearfoss, Curt Stroup and Dylan Cisney.
In the 22-lap super late model feature, a wild and thrilling finish accentuated the suspenseful event with Chad Hollenbeck stealing the victory at the finish line over Dylan Yoder
The spectacle that was the super late model main went non-stop with polesitter Dylan Yoder leading all but the final few yards. Hollenbeck’s nose got across the finish line first and he then pulled his smoke-laden machine into the winner’s circle to claim his second oval win of the year by a shocking .137 margin that left the fans and officials speechless. Yoder was a disappointed second followed by Tim Smith Jr., Jeff Miller and Hamburg’s Andy Haus. Sixth through 10th went to Tim Wilson, Mike Lupfer, Matt Parks, Billy Wampler and Kyle Hardy. Heats went to Trent Brenneman, Scott Flickinger and Haus.
410 sprints, 25 laps: 1. Greg Hodnett, 2. Lucas Wolfe, 3. Aaron Ott, 4. Brent Marks, 5. Mike Wagner, 6. Ryan Taylor, 7. Blane Heimbach, 8. Brock Zearfoss, 9. Curt Stroup, 10. Dylan Cisney, 11. Mike Erdley, 12. Cale Grubb, 13. Daryl Stimeling, 14. Logan Wagner, 15. Kody Lehman, 16. Trenton Sheaffer, 17. Mike Wagner II., 18. Karl Baker, 19. Scott Wilson, 20. Joey Hershey, 21. Anthony Fiore, 22. Doug Esh, 23. Todd Berkheimer, 24. Tyler Bear
Super late models, 22 laps: 1. Chad Hollenbeck, 2. Dylan Yoder, 3. Tim Smith Jr., 4. Jeff Miller, 5. Andy Haus, 6. Tim Wilson, 7. Mike Lupfer, 8. Matt Parks, 9. Billy Wampler, 10. Kyle Hardy, 11. Dan Stone, 12. Scott Flickinger, 13. Trent Brenneman, 14. Patrick Bryner, 15. Andrew Yoder, 16. Dave Brouse Jr., 17. Ryan Walls, 18. Steve Bailor, 19. Cody Robbins, 20. Jason Davis, 21. Jeff Johnson, 22. Kody Lyter, 23. Vern Zerby
SELINGSGROVE >> Selinsgrove Speedway has been the Achilles heel for Davie Franek in 2016. He has been strong on the United Racing Club 360 sprint car tour all season but ironically it took a Patriot Sprint Tour event for him to really shine at the Snyder County half-mile oval Saturday night. Franek, of Wantage, N.J., showed the way early on in the Newville Family of Companies 360 sprint car Joe Whitcomb Memorial with the night’s quick timer and most recent feature winner Ryan Kissinger in chase. Kissinger made a move in lap traffic to pull even with Franek, but it was to no avail as Franek pulled away to the victory. It was Franek’s first win of the year at Selinsgrove Speedway but the tenth of his career. Jason Shultz ran by Kissinger on the closing laps to take the runner up spot. He never had a chance at the race lead though as the laps wound down. Mark Smith and Eric Tomecek finished out the top five starters.
Patriot Sprint Tour point leader Jared Zimbardi finished in sixth followed by Cody Keller, Derek Locke, Curt Michael, and Dane Lorenc. Danny Snyder showed the way in the Super Late Model feature
SUSQUEHANNA >> Tyler Reeser continued his great season by picking up the win in Saturday night’s 20-lap PASS/IMCA 305 Sprint car feature at Susquehanna Speedway. Reeser, of Orwigsburg, has been the dominant driver this season on the 305 Sprint car tour and he added another track to his season stats with his latest win at Susquehanna.
