May
29

HAMLIN SPEEDWAY NEWS

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Hamlin, PA - Silfee Brothers Share Victories In Sensational Hamlin Speedway Racing Action
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media

Hamlin Speedway and the Smith Family got back on track on Saturday evening with a spectacular racing show that saw seven tremendous feature events presented as the speedway got back on schedule after suffering two consecutive rainouts in the previous weeks. A few of the features went to the wire with the outcome decided in the final moments of the heated racing action. Promoter Randy Smith presented a meticulously groomed race track in place for the more than one hundred entries that would do battle during the evening. After all was said and done, the seven feature race card was completed at 10:15 PM in the evening and the great crowd on hand enjoyed another monumental night of short-track racing excitement, Hamlin style! S&S Speedways was the sponsor for the evening of speed.

The Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified Tour was the headline attraction on this evening and Bill Dianella scored a wire to wire triumph in the initial tour event for the series. Austin Silfee found himself in the winners circle with his first win of the season in a hard fought All Star Slingshot main event over a stellar roster of driving talent. The high flying "G-Man" Grady Johnston captured his second win of the season in the exciting 600 Sprint finale. Paul Richards Jr jumped into the lead and put his hot rod on cruise control to capture the twenty lap spectacular for the non-winged warriors of the 270 Sprints. Jared Silfee outlasted a fine group of young chargers to nail down another victory in the Junior Slingshot finale. Jakson Ring rang his own bell as he was magical grabbing up his first win of the season and the division in the Rookie 600 Sprint main event. "The Ambassador" Wes Hearn was on point as he wired the field in the Super Slinger headliner to win his fourth consecutive win in the division.

The Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified feature saw Bill
Dianella take the lead at the drop of the green flag and race to his second win of the season to kick off his pursuit of the tour title. The win didn't come easy as defending track champion Joel Smith placed plenty of pressure on Dianella's back bumper in brand new Wentz Auto Body Auto Care sponsored hot rod. Smith tried time and time again to unseat Dianella from the top spot but Dianella would hold on to score the series win over a determined Smith. Caitlin Henneforth made her first start of the season aboard the family Stage One chariot and was solid with a third place finish over 69 years young Will Casazza, who was aboard the Smith Fabrication Rental machine for the evening. Damon Paul completed the top five. Young Michael Samony headed up the second five and captured the hard charger award put up by Gasoline Alley Motorsports Media. Behind him were Cole Stangle, Chloe Andreas, Janell Geary and Mike Marold Jr.

The All Star Slingshot main found Chris Kurtz and Austin Silfee battling hard for the number one spot in turn one with Silfee out-hustling Kurtz out of turn two on the initial lap to secure the point. Just as quickly, Wes Hearn would become a player in the battle and one lap later Justin Mills would join the action to make it a four car challenge for the point. As the laps clicked off, Silfee held his line and his ground and would cross under Russ Furry's checkered flag to secure the victory at the speedway. Kurtz was the runner-up with Hearn third, Mills fourth and Brett Bieber working hard to complete the top five. Mike McLaughlin headed up the second five with Russell Benke III, Dale Kober, Alan Selemba and Anthony Recchio completing the top ten.

Chris Kurtz and Grady Johnston made up the front row for the Wingless 600 Sprint feature attraction and while the entry numbers were down on this particular evening, the excitement level of 600 racing was through the roof and the driving roster didn't let the fans down. Johnston grabbed the lead at the start and would lead trade slide jobs with Kurtz early on while the remainder of the field for the most part were doing the same. Real estate was at a premium with the lead cars having their choice of property. Johnston was able to fend off the challenges of Kurtz as Brandon Azzalina became a player from his fifth place starting point. The trio of racers broke into the clear from the rest of the pack and ran nose to tail until the checkered flag with Johnston winning a close decision over Kurtz and Azzalina. JD Casazza shook off his early season woes to claim a hard fought fourth place and Chad Sandt completed the top five. The second five was a tightly knit pack with Sam Kravitsky, Colin White, Danny Buccafusca, Ryan Neil and Joel Smith finishing in that order.

The Rookie 600 Sprint event found Tony Parlanti taking advantage of the high side of the raceway to vault into the lead but he spun in front of the pack to bring out a caution. On the restart, Jakson Ring inherited the lead and made it pay off as he held off all challenges from a hard charging Joe Howey to claim his first win at the speedway with Howey a close second. Scott Slater Jr raced from 13th position to finish third with Mikey Smith fourth and Aaron Casterlin nailing down fifth. The second raced close together throughout the event with Brett Altemose in sixth followed by Scott Slater Sr, Scott Rupp, Tyler Galatro and Mack Brink.

Newcomer to the speedway Bryan Hess seized the lead at the start of the Wingless 270 Sprint main and would lead through four laps until a spill by Kyle Ferrucci brought the race to a halt. On the restart, Paul Richards Jr appeared to be shot from a cannon as he pulled even and then sped past Hess to take command of the race. Richards became quicker as the race progressed turning some fast laps in the 12.280 second bracket to win the event with Bryan Hess impressing everyone with a runner-up finish in his first appearance. Former track regular Louden Reimert showed he didn't forget the fast way around the speedway as he recovered from an early spin to race back through the field for third place. Jenna Schostkewitz, Glenn Macomber, Paul Richards Sr, Tyler Galatro and newcomers Matt and Troy Hoffman completed the top ten.

Wes Hearn grabbed the lead at the start of the Super Slinger feature and fended off the early challenges of Roger Collins early on in the event. Hearn was in a league of his own as he flirted with his own track record through the mid-portion of the race and went on to claim his fourth consecutive win in the new season at Hamlin. Collins, making his first start of the new season, was solid with a runner-up showing and Dale Kober raced to third. Donny Hockman made his first start a good one as well with a fourth place run and John Gilroy made his first start a good one with a top five finish. Ryan Lacoe, Jim Conroy, Steve Pirone and newcomer Jan Gensits completed the field.

The Junior Slingshot event took center stage as Announcer Steve Pados went trackside to introduce the "stars of tomorrow" to the standing room only crowd on hand for the event. After a resounding send-off, Adam Buchel led for the first lap but gave way to the high flying Jared Silfee who took command of the event. On lap seven, fifth place starting Cole Stangle found a burst of speed and drove past Silfee to lead the event. Stangle led through lap twelve when he was trapped momentarily behind a slower car and Silfee was johnny on the spot and reclaimed the lead. As the laps clicked off, Silfee, Stangle and "Junior Excitement" JJ Rice stepped away from the field only to get back into slower traffic with Stangle becoming a victim from contact and bouncing into the inside apron in turn three. The restart found Silfee leading Rice until another restart was needed for a Colton Geary mishap. On the restart the exuberant Rice jumped the start and would cross the line first only to be penalized two spots for the infraction and handing the win to Silfee, his second of the season. Ty Kelly shook off his early season woes to claim a runner-up finish with Rice in third, John Kendall Fourth and Shelby McLaughlin fifth. The second five was headed up by Emily Fleming with Nathen Marold, James Costlow, Colton Geary and Cole Stangle following.

PEARL JAMS:

Despite all of the rain that has been hitting the area of late, the speedway was in excellent condition for the evening of speed and Randy Smith and crew kept at it throughout the evening and gave the great roster of driving talent a superb track to compete on.

The time trialed sessions found Jared Silfee lay down the fast time for the Junior Slingshots at 14.179 seconds just nipping Cole Stangle who clocked a 14.184 time. Time trials for the Rookie Wingless 600 Sprints found AJ Hobbs knocking off a quick time of 12.428 seconds with Mack Brink second with a 12.536 time.

Wes Hearn nailed a heat win the Super Slingers while Colin White and Chad Sandt claimed heat wins in the Wingless 600 Sprints. All Star Slingshot heats were claimed by Wes Hearn, Justin Mills and Austin Silfee. 270 Sprint heats went to Paul Richards Jr and Louden Reimert. The Stage One Modifieds utilized the dual heat format to establish the starting lineup and the first round saw Bill Dianella and Stephen Darling claiming wins while the second round winners were Damon Paul and Joel Smith.

The heat was oppressive throughout the day with the temperature hitting 90 degrees and it was still 76 degrees when the racing ended for the evening.

With this being the fourth entry into the record books for the 2016 season, many of the speedway newcomers are becoming familiar with finding the fast way around the speedway. Impressive showings of the veteran talent had them finding at least three grooves to work their magic from.

Making their first starts of the season on Saturday night included Caitlin Henneforth in the Stage One Modifieds while the veteran campaigner Will Casazza took his first start in the Smith Fabrications rental racer. Ryan Neiger was on hand with his sharp looking Hollywood Towing hot rod. A surprise entry came from former track champion "The 38 Special" Jared LaBagh, but LaBagh retired early from the event with problems under the bonnet. "Thrillin" Dylan Martin made his initial start in a brand new creation. Cody Powell made his initial start aboard a sharp looking number 17. Matt and Troy Hoffman and Bryan Hess were new additions to the 270 Sprint ranks. Part-time campaigner in 2016, Shawna Winters continues to have her problems with her race car as the car suffered from problems through out the evening. Roger Collins, Donny Hockman and Jen Gensits were new additions to the Super Slinger ranks. Regular Accord Speedway performer John Kendall made his first 2016 Hamlin start and did well in his initial outing. Kendall is sponsored by former Modified hot shoe, Billy Eggars.

Former Modified talent Everett Haubrich was taking in the show and thoroughly enjoyed the action on the speedway. "The Sandman" Troy Langendoerfer was in the house and informed Announcer Steve Pados he was in the process of readying his racer for a return to Hamlin shortly.

The Hamlin Hundred scheduled for July 2 will be raising money for Vet Stock that is headed up by Tom Ryan. VetStock coordinates and promotes fundraising efforts for Veteran organizations in Pike and Monroe Counties in the Northeast region of the state. All race teams, fans and sponsors are encouraged to assist in this annual event.

RESULTS:

All Star Slingshots: Austin Silfee, Chris Kurtz, Wes Hearn, Justin Mills, Brett Bieber, Mike McLaughlin, Russell Benke III, Dale Kober, Alan Selemba, Anthony Recchio, Tyler Pirone, Ryan Neiger, Nick Vinciguerra, Steve Pirone, Matt Henneforth, Ashley Kober, Tess Horvath, Amanda Buchel, Taylor Mills, Jared LaBagh, Jeff Cosgrove, Josh Marcus, Tyler Peet

270cc Sprints: (Wingless) Paul Richards Jr, Bryan Hess, Louden Reimert, Jenna Schostkewitz, Glenn Macomber, Paul Richards Sr, Tyler Galatro, Matt Hoffman, Troy Hoffman, Mike Kalman, Kyle Ferrucci, Shawna Winters

600cc Wingless Sprints: Grady Johnston, Chris Kurtz, Brandon Azzalina, JD Casazza, Chad Sandt, Sam Kravitsky, Colin White, Danny Buccafusca, Ryan Neil, Joel Smith, Ryan Quackenbush, Dylan Martin, Rick Calvert, Joseph Smith, Zac Azzalina, Mick D'Agostino

Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: (Tour Event)Bill Dianella, Joel Smith, Caitlin Henneforth, Will Casazza, Damon Paul, Michael Samony, Cole Stangle, Chloe Andreas, Janell Geary, Mike Marold, Steve Darling, Michael Burns, Jack Van Varick

Junior Slingshots: Jared Silfee, Ty Kelly, JJ Rice, John Kendall, Shelby McLaughlin, Emily Fleming, Nathen Marold, James Costlow, Colton Geary, Cole Stangle, James Hendricks, Adam Buchel, John Velde

Super Slingshots: Wes Hearn, Roger Collins, Dale Kober, Donny Hockman, John Gilroy, Ryan Lacoe, Jim Conroy, Steven Pirone, Jan Gensits

Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: Jakson Ring, Joe Howey, Scott Slater Jr, Mikey Smith, Aaron Casterlin, Brett Altemose, Scott Slater Sr, Scott Rupp, Tyler Galatro, Mack Brink, Noah Zielinski, Jacob Balliet, JR Williams, Chad Connor, Tony Parlanti, Cody Powell, AJ Hobbs, Geordan Marrero, Kevin Weiand, Justin Hartz

Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for June 4th when all Divisions will be in action on the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval highlighted by the first edition of the NASCAR Crew Challenge as the crew members trade their wrenches for the steering wheel of a Slingshot racer for the evening at the speedway. Make sure to check the Hamlin Speedway website or Facebook page for any additional information. Pit Gates open at the speedway at 3 PM; Drivers Meeting at 5:45; Hot Laps are at 6:00 and the racing begins at 7 PM sharp. Admission Prices for regular shows are: Adults $10.00; Senior Citizens $5.00 Children under 6 are Free

Please support the many great sponsors who assist in working and sponsoring the season long events at the speedway. Tilcon, Yankowski Enterprises, Triple Cities Mack, Dickie Keiper Speed Supplies, Ron Brown Hauling, Classic Cycles, Kim's Kreations, RockAuto.com, Howe's Comfort Inn and Santarelli And Sons Oil Company are all part of the advertising family at the speedway and we graciously thank them for their support.

For further updates and information regarding all of the news and additions to the Hamlin Speedway, log on to their well documented website at: http://hamlinspeed.com or call the speedway hotline at: 570 420 5500. Visit us often for a great night of racing action as............................................

The Hamlin Speedway Is The "Pearl" In The Poconos

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