Hamlin, PA - McLaughlin & LaBagh Score Slingshot Wins; Joel Smith Doubles In Hamlin Speedway's Nine Feature Race Spectacular
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media

Warm and humid weather in the Poconos greeted a standing room only crowd on Saturday evening as Hamlin Speedway put another successful event into the history books. A stellar field of talented race car drivers with 129 entrants signed in for battle topped by an outstanding 39 All Star Slingshots as Hamlin Speedway Promoters Denise and Randy Smith hosted the National Tour event for the All Star Slingshot division with them vying for the $1,000.00 prize posted for the event. S&S Speedways, located in Snydersville, Pennsylvania, sponsored the great night of entertainment. One more event remains on the 2106 Hamlin Speedway schedule and is slated for Saturday night, September 17th. The spectacular spectacle of speed was completed at 11 PM.

When the final checkered flag fell on the evening of racing it was "The Nickel Man" Joel Smith doubling down as he posted solid wins in the 600 Sprints and the Stage One Modified events. "The 38 Special" Jared LaBagh returned to the speedway where he began his racing career and showed he has the right stuff walking away with the win and the gold in a stout wire to wire performance in the 50-Lap Slingshot Tour headliner. "Magic Shoes" Mike McLaughlin opened the evening of features by capturing the postponed Speed Weeks event from August 13th. In other racing action, Jared Silfee captured his sixth win of the season in the Junior Slingshot feature with a last lap pass of Cole Stangle at the start/finish line. "The Ambassador" Wes Hearn captured the Super Slinger headliner for his eleventh win of the season. Paul Richards Jr continued his winning ways as he took over the lead with a mid-race pass in the 270 Sprints to record his ninth win of the season. The winners of the two Rookie 600 Sprint main events were Jakson Ring who drove to his second win of the season and "The Wild Child" Geordan Marrero who garnered on his fifth win of the 2016 racing season.

Joel Smith was lightning quick as he jumped out in front of the field at the start of the Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified feature and led all laps to record his fourth win of the season. A great battle behind Smith had Chloe Andreas and Damon Paul side by side and then nose to tail throughout the twenty lapper with Paul prevailing in the runner-up slot and Andreas in third. "The Baron" Aaron Henneforth got back into his mount on Saturday and finished fourth in his return to racing. Newcomer Jasper Ziegafuse had the Smith Fabrications Rental humming and finished fifth with with John Lakatos completing the field.

The Super Slinger feature found Wes Hearn and Dale Kober continuing their epic battles and Hearn wasted no time in grabbing the lead and fought off Kober for much of the race before clicking off some laps in the 13.5 second range to slowly walk away with his eleventh feature event win of the season. Kober was second with Mike Taylor third, Tom Van Pelt fourth and Steve Pirone completing the top five.

The "stars of tomorrow" in the Junior Slingshot division put on another great show. JJ Rice took off at the start of the twenty lapper and quickly opened up some daylight on the rest of the field. A skirmish involving multiple cars slowed the action but on the restart again it would be Rice leading with Cole Stangle now chasing him around the arena. As Rice got into slower traffic he went wide to get around the car but would get into the Jersey Barriers and would take a wild ride down the backstretch. The action stopped immediately for the ERT's to assist Rice and he climbed out of the car after catching his breath. On the restart, Stangle would lead the way with Jared Silfee moving in behind him and mirroring his moves around the raceway. Just when it appeared Stangle would hold on for the win, Silfee moved under Stangle and as the pair raced across the finish line it would Silfee nipping Stangle for the win, "The Hurricane" Hunter Lapp raced from 17th starting position to finish third in one of the great drives if the evening. Jake Mason enjoyed a great run in fourth and Adam Buchel continues to impress with another top five finish. Tanner Van Doren, Shelby McLaughlin, Austin Homan, Emily Fleming and Ty Kelly completed the top ten.

Jenna Schostkewitz and Paul Richards Jr made up the front row and it would be Schostkewitz grabbing the lead took at the drop of the green flag in the run for the 270 Sprint main event win. Schostkewitz had her race car humming with the lead for the first twelve laps until Richards found the needed room to make a clean pass. Richards opened up a substantial lead and would race to his ninth win of the season with Schostkewitz in second, Glenn Macomber third, Kyle Ferrucci fourth and Stephen Weirich fifth.

The first Rookie 600 Sprint main event saw Scott Slater Sr lead the first three laps until Aaron Casterlin would get by him. Casterlin had a fast hot rod and would open up a bit of daylight on the field but each time Jacob Balliet and Mack Brink would close back in. As the race drew to a close Balliet made a move to grab the lead only to find Brink the johnny on the spot as an inside move by Brink would be successful and he moved past Balliet into the runner-up role. Casterlin would get the win with Brink and Balliet following. Newcomer Sheldon Smith was fourth and Tyler Kehs enjoyed his best finish with a fifth place outing. Joe Nemeth, Noah Zielinski, Jared Lilly, Brett Altemose and Scott Slater completed the top ten.

The second Rookie 600 Sprint feature found Jakson Ring in command right from the start but quickly moving into contention was Geordan Marrero. The two drivers separated from the field with Marrero matching each one of Ring's moves. With the laps clicking down, Marrero mounted a final challenge as he got underneath Ring heading towards the checkered flag and would win the event by the narrowest of margins. Ring, Paul Richards Jr, Mikey Smith and Tony Parlanti completed the top five. Scott Meyers, the returning Kevin Weiand, Cody Powell and JR Williams completed the running order of the event.

The make-up Speed Weeks All Star Slingshot event found Mike McLaughlin having the hot ticket as the veteran campaigner utilized his front row to his advantage as he jumped into the lead at the start of the event and would hold off all challengers lap after lap to go and capture his third feature triumph of the season. Alan Selemba kept pace throughout and would finish second with Brett Bieber a close third, Dale Kober fourth and Austin Silfee rounding out the top five. The second five included Wes Hearn, Chris Kurtz, Alex Yankowski, Justin Mills and Henry Anderson.

The headliner for the All Star Slingshots saw a field of 39 Slingshots sign in for battle. The fastest 27 Slingshot drivers in the country would duke it out on the Hamlin Speedway real estate. The early going found Jared LaBagh winning the drag race into turn one to establish the pace of the event. Tyler Peet and Chris Kurtz would stay close but Kurtz was nursing a badly smoking hot rod and would give up the ghost on lap seven. Brett Bieber filled in the gap along with Austin Silfee and Mike McLaughlin. Dylan Hoch began to make his presence known and would peck away at those in front of him. LaBagh was in the zone and would clock off some of the fastest laps of season as he was consistently in the 13.2/13.3 second range with his fastest lap at 13.136.

Hot pockets of action took place throughout the field as real estate purchases were definitely at a premium. LaBagh continued his assault at clean air but in front of him slower cars loomed ahead of him. Knowing the field was breathing down his neck, LaBagh played it cool and made the passes at the safest places on the speedway. The drivers behind did not falter either as they negotiated through the traffic just as cleanly, although a few bumps and bops were seen. LaBagh would race back into daylight and could smell victory and the large pay day that went with it and the young hotshoe raced under Flagger Russ Furry's checkered flag to claim the winning prize of $1,000.00. Tyler Peet was the runner-up with Dylan Hoch, Austin Silfee and Brett Bieber completing the top five. The second five were Mike McLaughlin, Seth Spayd, Wes Hearn, Joe Toth, and Henry Anderson. Eleventh through fifteenth included Anthony Recchio, Cody Kline, Tyler Pirone, Nick Vinciguerra and Dale Kober. Nineteen cars completed all fifty laps of the hotly contested feature main.

The Wingless 600 Sprint 20-lap main event proved to be another over the top showstopper. The hard driving veteran talent Joel Smith seized command at the start of the event by out dueling Joseph Smith into turn one. The go for the gold event quickly turned into a high speed chess match as the entire field was matching moves with each turn of the wheel. Smith was able to fight off all advances but Brandon Azzalina threw everything he had at Smith and would get close but just could not complete his drive past Smith. Joel Smith was able to hold all of the competition at bay to capture his first win of the season in the 600 Sprints. Brandon Azzalina was second and Zac Azzalina raced hard for a great third place finish. The returning Shelby Harper and Pat Bealer completed the top five. The second five were Chad Sandt, Colin White, Zack Bealer, Joseph Smith and Eddie Strada.

PEARL JAMS:

The speedway was in great condition and held up well through a long night of preliminary and feature events. A tip of the Fedora goes out to Randy Smith and Crew.

Time trials found Wes Hearn just nipping Dale Kober in the Super Slingers with a 13.937 time for Hearn and a 13.938 time for Kober. The Stage One Modifieds also timed and Joel Smith was the quick timer with a 12.923 time over Chloe Andreas who posted a 13.102 time.

The Tour dual heat format was used to set the field for the All Star Slingshots. Capturing heat wins were Seth Spayd, Jared LaBagh, Wes Hearn and Tyler Peet in Round One while Mike Taylor, Brett Bieber, Mike McLaughlin and Henry Anderson prevailed in Round Two. Rookie 600 Sprint heats were claimed by Paul Richards Jr, Mack Brink and Geordan Marrero. Junior Slingshot heat winners were Tanner Van Doren and Jake Mason. The lone 270 Sprint heat was captured by Jenna Schostkewitz. Three heats were run for the Wingless 600 Sprints and capturing the wins were Eddie Strada, Zac Azzalina and Brandon Azzalina. In the first heat, Adam Huff, in his second appearance at the speedway, got upside down on the backstretch and did a series of snap rolls. He was unhurt in the incident. Huff recently purchased the race car from car owner Gary Phillips and the car is the current track record holder for 600 Sprints when Kyle Rohner was steering the car and stopped the clocks at 11.4 seconds on May 18th, 2013.

With 39 All Star Slingshots on hand, making the final cut would prove to be difficult. The Hamlin Speedway management thanks all drivers who made the effort to try qualify for the event. Those not making the cut included, Alan Selemba, Ryan Neiger, Taylor Mills, Alan Kober, Samantha Muller, Alex Van Pelt, Ryan Davey, Dakota Kohler, Sarah Bohlin, Steve Pirone, Ashley Kober and Russell Benke.

New faces at the speedway included Jasper Ziegafuse in the Stage One Modifieds. Mikey Johannes made his first appearance in the Junior Slingshots. Kevin Weiand returned to action in the Rookie 600 Sprints and Ryan Raidline and Sheldon Smith made their first 2016 starts at the speedway. The Slingshot Tour event brought out Tour regulars Dylan Hoch, Joe Toth, Seth Spayd, Anthony Raisner, Henry Anderson, Cody Kline, Bill Weaver, Matt Massone and Alex Yankowski. Jared LaBagh was a surprise entry but has dabbled in the Slingshots this year and is coming off a win last week at a New York facility. Shelby Harper and Doug Snyder were returnees to Hamlin in the 600 Sprints.

The Hamlin Speedway would also like to thank everyone who helped out on the "Iceman" Lottery to assist longtime Slingshot racer Marc Daniels who recently had major surgery. Winning lottery ticket holders included: DDD racing Dan Morgiewicz ($100.00), Mark BVC ($100.00), Alex Yankowski ($200.00), Billy Van Inwegen ($100.00), Dean Carter ($300.00), Jane Peet ($100.00), M.Fuar ($400.00), Ryan Buskirk ($100.00), Julie Skrapits ($500.00), Darlene Halloran ($100.00), Keith Lacoe ($1,000.00). Congratulations to all of the winners.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to Stacy McLaughlin.

Speedway Videographer Barry Boyd made his first appearance of the season last evening and many well wishers stopped by to spend some time with him. Barry has had some ongoing health issues recently but it was great to see him back at Hamlin.

RESULTS:

All Star Slingshots: (Speed Weeks Event From August 13th) Mike McLaughlin, Alan Selemba, Brett Bieber, Dale Kober, Austin Silfee, Wes Hearn, Chris Kurtz, Alex Yankowski, Justin Mills, Henry Anderson, Anthony Raisner, Tyler Peet, Nick Vinciguerra, Mike Taylor, Anthony Recchio, Taylor Mills, Samantha Muller, Russell Benke, Tess Horvath, Josh Marcus, Steve Pirone, Ashley Kober, Joe Toth, Tyler Pirone, Sarah Bohlin, Dylan Hoch

All Star Slingshots: (National Tour) Jared LaBagh, Tyler Peet, Dylan Hoch, Austin Silfee, Brett Bieber, Mike McLaughlin, Seth Spayd, Wes Hearn, Joe Toth, Henry Anderson, Anthony Recchio, Cody Kline, Tyler Pirone, Nick Vinciguerra, Dale Kober, Anthony Raisner, Mike Taylor, Bill Weaver, Josh Marcus, Amanda Buchel, Alex Yankowski, Tess Horvath, Matt Henneforth, Justin Mills, Damon Paul, Matt Massone, Chris Kurtz

270cc Sprints: Paul Richards Jr, Jenna Schostkewitz, Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci, Stephen Weirich

600cc Wingless Sprints: Joel Smith, Brandon Azzalina, Zac Azzalina, Shelby Harper, Pat Bealer, Chad Sandt, Colin White, Zack Bealer, Joseph Smith, Eddie Strada, Johnny Smith, Ryan Quackenbush, Mick D'Agostino, Sam Kravitsky, Tim Bauer, JD Casazza, Steven Gully, Scott Slater Jr, Ryan Neil, Mike Myers, Jason Van Doren, Mike Van Pelt, Doug Snyder, Carmen Leggio Jr, Adam Huff (DNS)

Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Joel Smith, Damon Paul, Chloe Andreas, Aaron Henneforth, Jasper Ziegafuse, John Lakatos, Bill Dianella, Cole Stangle, Janell Geary

Junior Slingshots: Jared Silfee, Cole Stangle, Jared Silfee, Hunter Lapp, Jake Mason, Adam Buchel, Tanner Van Doren, Shelby McLaughlin, Austin Homan, Emily Fleming, Ty Kelly, Tommy Stillo, James Costlow, CJ Fritz, Mikey Johannes, JJ Rice, James Hendricks, Colton Geary

Super Slingshots: Wes Hearn, Dale Kober, Mike Taylor, Tom Van Pelt, Steve Pirone, Ryan Lacoe

Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (1) Geordan Marrero, Jakson Ring, Paul Richards Jr, Mikey Smith, Tony Parlanti, Scott Meyers, Kevin Weiand, Cody Powell, JR Williams, Scott Rupp, Ryan Raidline, Scott Slater Jr

Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (2) Aaron Casterlin, Mack Brink, Jacob Balliet, Sheldon Smith, Tyler Kehs, Joe Nemeth, Noah Zielinski, Jared Lilly, Brett Altemose, Scott Slater Sr, Tyler Galatro, Carmen Leggio Sr, Savannah Leggio, David Trego

Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for September 17th when all Divisions will be in action on the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval for the final event of the 2016 racing season. Make sure to check the Hamlin Speedway website for 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

Upcoming events for the speedway will be the Hamlin Speedway Awards Party to be held on November 19th at the S&S Speedway Indoor Go Karts located on Business Route 209 in Snydersville, Pennsylvania.

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, logon to their well documented website at: http://www.hamlinspeed.com or call the speedway hotline at: 570 420 5500.

The Hamlin Speedway Is The "Pearl" In The Poconos