Kutztown >> A Night at the Races with Weaknecht Archery and Moonshine Camo provided the fans with opportunities to shoot a crossbow, win prizes, and possibly catch one of many, many T-shirts that were tossed into the stands on Wednesday, June 22, at the JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA on the Kutztown Fairgrounds. “FUN” was the operative word, and a good time was had by all.
On the track, the night could be described “a bit bizarre” as the exciting competition mixed in with a fence-ripping tumble, a four-wide battle for second as cars crossed the finish line in the Junior Slingshot main, and a declaration of Co-Winners in another class.
Steve Drevicki, the two-time ARDC Midget Champion who is now dividing his focus between USAC All Pro SpeedSTRs and 358 Sprint Cars, finally shook off the hard luck that has plagued him on Wednesday nights to win the 30-lap SpeedSTR feature.
Dylan Hoch captured his third triumph of the season in the NAPA Auto Parts Mid-Atlantic Silver Tour event for the All Star Slingshots. On Thursday, Bobby Butler and Jesse Maurer were declared Co-Winners of the Hyper Racing 600 Sprint feature. And Fleetwood, Pa. racer Kyle Smith won the Junior Slingshot main.
The JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA is now on its summer break – there will not be any racing at the speedway until Wednesday, July 13, as the annual Folk Festival takes over the Kutztown Fairgrounds. When the intensely competitive racing programs return on the 13th, the Hyper Racing 600 Sprints will be in the spotlight as they battle in the Tri-Track Challenge, a three race series that includes Linda’s Speedway and Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. The Action Track USA winner will go home with $1,000, provided he or she takes the Gambler’s Challenge. Joining the 600 Sprints on AEI Equipment/ Checkered Flag Fan Club Night will be the USAC All Pro SpeedSTRs and the NAPA Auto Parts All Star Slingshots.
Wednesday’s 30-lapper for the SpeedSTRs saw James Morris leap from the pole to lead the first couple laps on the progressively banked oval. Reading’s Steve Drevicki slipped under Tim Iulg in turn one to grab the runner-up position on the opening trip around the clay. Drevicki powered around the No. 13 of Morris to snare the top spot on lap three. Four caution periods in the first ten circuits allowed Morris to stay close to the leader as Kenny Brightbill and Iulg swapped the third position back and forth right behind the top two.
Drevicki chose the high lane for each double-file restart, and his Roadrunner Race Fuel/ VP Racing Fuel No. 19s launched off the top of the banking to remain in front every time the green reappeared. On a lap 18 restart, Iulg went to the high groove and blasted by Morris for the runner-up slot. Shortly after losing second place, Morris suffered mechanical ills and dropped out. Brightbill and Tim Buckwalter fought for third and were joined by 20th starter Matt Janisch, whose No. 48 was working extremely well in the lowest possible line through the corners. Janisch drove under Buckwalter and Brightbill with less than ten to go to claim third.
Drevicki maintained a slim but steady lead, taking the checkered flag by a half-second over Iulg. Janisch, in a borrowed car after a wild flip the week prior severely damaged his car, finished a strong third over K. Brightbill and T. Buckwalter.
“We finally shook the bad luck we’ve been having,” noted Drevicki in victory lane. “And it’s a great night to win because it’s my car owner, Jeff’s, birthday. The track was good and my car was best on the top. I wasn’t coming down, and it worked out tonight.”
The 20-lap Mid-Atlantic Silver Tour race for the NAPA Auto Parts All Star Slingshots turned into Dylan Hoch’s third victory of the season, and the second time this year that he held off Travis Bieber to record the win.
Hoch and Austin Silfee ran side by side for the first two circuits, with Silfee edging ahead on the straightaways to lead both laps by a half car-length. On a restart with two complete, Hoch charged back in front, clearing Silfee’s x10 and immediately opening some daylight over his competitors. Silfee fell out of the race on lap six, putting Austin Stufflet in the runner-up spot.
Just after the halfway point, Travis Bieber slipped under Stufflet for second but Hoch had checked out by that time. Even a couple of late race yellow flags could not prevent Hoch from registering the victory as he crossed the stripe 0.667-seconds in front of T. Bieber. Stufflet held off Seth Spayd for third and Chris Kurtz earned the fifth place payout. Spayd started 13th and Kurtz took the original green in 15th.
The 25-lap Hyper Racing 600 Sprint main was a very good race that had a very unique result. Bobby Butler, from Alpha, NJ, zipped past early leader Molly Chambers on the fifth revolution when her No. 51 got loose in turns three and four. The Mount Joy Outlaw, Jesse Maurer, moved into second at the same time and it wasn’t long before Butler and Maurer were joined by Jay Hartman and Kenny Miller III, who was making his Action Track USA 600 Sprint debut. Miller started 13th and sliced his way to fourth by the time lap seven was scored. Not to be outdone, Kyle Spence, in a brand new Hyper prototype, throttled his way from 25th on the starting grid to run sixth when the yellow appeared with seven tours complete.
While Hartman, Miller, Billy Pauch Jr., and Spence tussled for third through sixth positions, Butler and Maurer were throwing slide jobs on one another for the race lead. Maurer was barely ahead when the caution flag waved with nine laps down. The battle resumed on the restart as the duo traded the top spot until Butler nosed in front as the yellow flew again with 12 circuits in the books. On the restart, Spence joined the fun, making it a three-car tango for the lead before Butler squeezed ahead, leaving Maurer to deal with Spence in a battle for second.
At the finish, it was Butler who apparently scored his first Action Track USA triumph in 600 Sprint competition. Maurer survived a side-by-side battle with Spence to finish second with Spence, Eddie Strada, and Jay Hartman making up the top five.
During post race inspection a rule infraction was found on the winning car of Butler. The infraction was reviewed overnight by track owners Rich Tobias and Doug Rose, who issued a statement on Thursday afternoon that clarified the situation and the order of finish. “We have looked at this situation from both sides,” said the statement. “Bobby did have an infraction, but at the same time we also failed because the rules were not clearly posted on our website regarding this matter. At the same time Jesse Mauer did have everything in order as he was supposed to so, at this time, both drivers will be declared the winner and all rules regarding this matter are now clearly posted and available on our website at www.actiontrackusa.com. We feel, given the circumstances, that this is the fairest way to handle this rare and unique situation, even though it is still the racers’ responsibility to know and abide by the rules for any track where they choose to compete.”
Rose also revealed that both Butler and Maurer will be paid the full winner’s share, both will be credited with a 600 Sprint feature win, and both will receive the points awarded to the feature winner.
A special Cash Dash was held for the 600 Sprint heat race winners, and Eddie Strada scored the $550 victory, courtesy of Innerloc Out There TV Show and Arctic Blue. Strada beat Jay Hartman, Billy Pauch Jr., and Jason Swavely to the checkered in the five lap Dash.
The Junior Slingshots made their second appearance of the season at Action Track USA on Wednesday, and the Stars of the Future raced like Stars of the Present by producing a non-stop, 15-lap feature that took slightly more than three and one-half minutes.
Kyle Smith grabbed the early lead and ran away from the 15 drivers who wanted to pass him. While Smith cruised to the victory, the battle for runner-up honors was fast and furious between Reece Nowatarski, Cole Stangle, and Tyler Banks. On the final trip around the oval, the trio encountered a lapped car as they tussled for second. Fanning out across the wide homestretch, Nowatarski went as low as possible while Stangle, Banks, and the lapped car made it a high speed, four-wide scramble as they crossed the finish line side-by-side-by-side-by-side with Nowatarski’s nose slightly ahead to score runner-up cash over Stangle and Banks. Nico Flammer wound up fifth.
Action Track Sidebites
Weaknecht Archery/ Moonshine Camo Night produced another packed grandstand and terrific car counts, as 30 of the USAC All Pro SpeedSTRs signed in for competition, along with 45 of the Hyper Racing 600 Sprints, 33 of the NAPA Auto Parts All Star Slingshots, and 16 Junior Slingshots. The grand total was 124 race teams taking part in the action filled program.
Eric Whitby, from Emmaus, climbed from his mangled 600 Sprint after a heat race flip in which his No. 12E launched over another car’s rear wheel and tumbled into the catch fence just past the flagstand. Whitby, thankfully, was unhurt in the wild incident.
Billy Pauch Sr., Kenny Brightbill, Tim Iulg, Tim Buckwalter, and Steve Drevicki made up the Fast Five in group time trials for the SpeedSTRs. James Morris, Iulg, and Drevicki prevailed in the qualifying heats while Jeff Hartman and Matt Janisch captured B-Main victories.
Dan Schumaker won the 600 Sprint Mad Scramble, transferring directly to the main event and picking up a cash bonus from Hosensack Poker Club. Heat race winners included Eddie Strada, Jason Swavely, Jay Hartman, and Billy Pauch Jr. The C-Main wins went to Kyle Spence and John Vreeland, with Colin White netting the victory in the B-Main.
The All Star Slingshots ran against the clock in group time trials with Dylan Hoch and Dave Carraghan recording the fastest laps. Jordan Knepp and Nick Vincigura won the B-Mains.
Junior Slingshot heat race victories were notched by Cole Stangle and Tyler Ulsh.
The Race Chasing for Fans Facebook Page, along with several other businesses and groups including Timmy Shock Labs, BDB Graphics, and The Over the Hill Gang in Turn Four, offered cash bonuses to drivers on Wednesday night. Shelby Harper picked up the BDB Graphics Hard Luck cash for being the first 600 Sprint to fall out of the feature. Billy Pauch Jr. (SpeedSTR), Dylan Hoch (All Star Slingshots), and Reece Nowatarski (Junior Slingshots) received cash bonuses as the highest finisher in their respective features whose cars displayed a Race Chasing decal.
RESULTSUSAC All Pro SpeedSTR Feature, 30 laps: 1.Steve Drevicki, 2.Tim Iulg, 3.Matt Janisch, 4.Kenny Brightbill, 5.Tim Buckwalter, 6.Billy Pauch Jr., 7.Andy Haus, 8.Tom Mayberry, 9.John Bockhorn, 10.Jeff Hartman, 11.Billy Pauch Sr., 12.Louden Reimert, 13.Dylan Hoch, 14.Jay Hartman, 15.Steve Nederostek, 16.Jason Miller, 17.Ray Nemeth, 18.TJ Mayberry, 19.Doug Manmiller, 20.Damon Paul, 21.Mike Bednar, 22.Phil Meisner, 23.Brad Brightbill, 24.James Morris, 25.Steve Buckwalter, 26.Briggs Danner, 27.Frank Yankowski. DNS: Earl Paules, Joe Vaccaro, Chuck Bowers.
Hyper Racing 600 Sprint Feature, 25 laps: 1.Bobby Butler, Jesse Maurer (Declared Co-Winners), 3.Kyle Spence, 4.Eddie Strada, 5.Jay Hartman, 6.Billy Pauch Jr., 7.Nate Brinker, 8.Jacob Severn, 9.Molly Chambers, 10.Robbie Hocker, 11. Colin White, 12. Tommy Kunsman, 13. Jason Swavely, 14.Alex Bright, 15.Tim Buckwalter, 16.Eric Heydenreich, 17.Jarid Kunkle, 18.Doug Snyder, 19.Joey Jarowicz, 20.Eric Bodine, 21.Kenny Miller III, 22.Dan Schumaker, 23.Austin Quick, 24.Will Butler, 25.Joe Plunkett, 26.Wayne Scott, 27.Sam Kravitsky, 28.Shelby Harper, 29.Jordyn Mohr, 30.Ryan Quackenbush, 31. James Morris. DNQ: Brooklyn Gable, Danny Buccafusca, Devin Gundrum, Nate Schumaker, John Vreeland, Scott Slater, Tyler Brehm, Shane Linderman, Dan Leaper, Joe Kay, Lou Cicconi, Eric Whitby, Chris Stockham, Mike Meyers.
Mid-Atlantic Silver Tour Race for NAPA Auto Parts All Star Slingshots, 20 laps: 1.Dylan Hoch, 2.Travis Bieber, 3.Austin Stufflet, 4.Seth Spayd, 5.Chris Kurtz, 6.Justin Mills, 7.Matt Miller (16m), 8.Tyler Mills, 9.Erik Jones, 10.Dakota Kohler, 11.Blaire Schoenly, 12.Dale Kober, 13.Dave Carraghan, 14.Joe Nemeth, 15.Alex Yankowski, 16.Joe Toth, 17.Dave Burns, 18.Jeff Kemp, 19.Matt Miller (57), 20.Natasha Henn, 21.Nick Vincigura, 22.Austin Silfee, 23.Nick Delcampo, 24.Brett Bieber, 25.Jordan Knepp, 26.Henry Anderson, 27.Anthony Raisner. DNQ: Ryan Davey, Zac Kistler, Steve Svanda, Bridget Conti, John Arms, Brianna James.
Junior Slingshot Feature, 15 laps: 1.Kyle Smith, 2.Reece Nowatarski, 3.Cole Stangle, 4.Tyler Banks, 5.Nico Flammer, 6.Gavin Santee, 7.Jared Silfee, 8.Joey Vaccaro, 9.Tyler Ulsh, 10.Emily Flemming, 11.Josh Allen, 12.Tanner VanDoren, 13.Logan Bauman, 14.Austin Homan, 15.Tommy Stillo, 16.James Hendriks.
PPB/ HTMA 600 Sprint Mad Scramble, 8 laps: 1.Dan Schumaker (Transfers to Feature), 2.Joe Kay (RR Hoosier Tire), 3.Devin Gundrum (Vahlco Wheel), 4.Molly Chambers (10 Gallons Fuel), 5.Brooklyn Gable (RTS Gift Certificate), 6.Ryan Quackenbush (TSL Shocks Gift Certificate), 7.Wayne Scott (Krietz Gift Certificate), 8.Eric Bodine (4 FK Rod Ends), 9.Jordyn Mohr (Saldana Gift Certificate), 10.Tyler Brehm (Free Registration), 11.Kenny Miller III (Pyrotect Gift Certificate), 12.Eric Whitby 13.Scott Slater, 14.Nate Schumaker, 15.Eric Heydenreich, 16.John Vreeland, 17.Lou Cicconi, 18.Mike Meyers.
