Hamlin, PA : Hamlin Speedway Completes 2016 Season In Spectacular Fashion
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media

Hamlin Speedway opened their gates on Saturday evening for seven divisions of racing on the final evening of the 2016 racing season at the speedway. Great weather was in the forecast for the local area and the weatherman was spot on for this particular evening. Another stellar field of talented race car drivers and a standing room only crowd saw 128 entrants sign in for battle for the eight feature event card. Promoters Denise and Randy Smith had the speedway rarin' to go as they have now completed their eleventh season promoting Hamlin. S&S Speedways Indoor Go Karts, located in Snydersville, Pennsylvania sponsored the evening of speed.

When the final checkered flag fell, a group of happy faces flashed their smiles for the camera in Victory Circle. "The Nickel Man" Joel Smith had the hot ticket in the Hampton RV and Trailer Stage One Modified event as he raced to his fifth win of the season. Garden State racer Cole Stangle overpowered the field to capture his seventh win at Hamlin Speedway in the Junior Slingshot finale. "The Ambassador" Wes Hearn made a brilliant move at the finish to just nip Greg Zellman at the line for his 12th win of the season in the Super Slinger headliner. The Rookie 600 Sprints were split into two main events with 28 entries and Scott Slater Jr and "The Mack Attack" Mack Brink captured the feature runs. "The A-Team" Brandon Azzalina scored his fourth win of the season in the Wingless 600 Sprint main event. "The Icon" Pat Bealer had a fast hot rod under him as he raced to his fourth win of the season in the 270 Sprint main for the winged warriors. "The Oxford Express" Dale Kober saved the best for last as he captured his first All Star Slingshot feature win of the season.

The Hampton RV and Trailer Stage One Modified feature found Joel Smith hustling to the front at the drop of the green flag. Chloe Andreas fell in behind Smith and would keep pace until mechanical gremlins would once again force her from the event. On the restart, Smith remained in command but now had Damon Paul breathing down his tailpipe. Paul would stay close until he began to feel pressure from the returning "Branchburg Bandit" John Comandini as he was at the controls of the Smith Fabrications Rental car. In the blink of an eye Smith stepped away from the field and would go on to capture the win. Paul would finish second with Comandini third, Bill Dianella fourth and Cole Stangle fifth. Will Casazza, John Lakatos, Michael Samony and Evan Civick would complete the field.

The "stars of tomorrow" in the Junior Slingshot division were 21 drivers strong as they saw the green flag wave. Cole Stangle took the lead into turn one but as the cars shuffled out of turn two things got ugly quickly as Hunter Lapp got hit from behind and turned into the Jersey Barriers where he executed a series flips before landing upside down. Lapp was unhurt in the scary incident that also eliminated newcomer Kyle Swart. On the restart Stangle took off again and would be followed by the returning Gavin Santee. Santee matched Stangle for moves but could not make a run for the lead position. In the meantime, Jared Silfee burst through the pack and settled into third place. After the midway point, Silfee finally slipped past Santee but coming back through the pack was JJ Rice who went to the rear after the first lap incident. Rice scooted by Santee for third and a few laps later would get by Silfee for the runner-up spot. Stangle would go on to win while Rice was second, Silfee third, New Yorker Michael Corbin fourth, and Shelby McLaughlin fifth. Rounding out the top ten were Tanner Van Doren, Tommy Stillo, Adam Buchel, Emily Fleming and CJ Fritz.

Pat Bealer grabbed the lead took at the drop of the green flag in the finale for the 270 Sprints and made it look pretty easy as he broke away from the field right from the start and hustled around the speedway in rapid motion clicking off some 11.2 second laps along the way. Bealer would go uncontested for the win while Paul Richards Jr was second and Glen Macomber was third. Kyle Ferrucci would finish fourth with Alex Reinsmith, newcomers Troy Hoffman and Ken Weirich and Randy Gombert completing the field.

The Super Slinger feature found Alan Kober leading through the first three laps until yielding to the returning Greg Zellman. Zellman kept his car center lined through the next sixteen and three quarter laps as the leader. Wes Hearn who had started from tenth position was coming on strong and had dogged Zellman for a few laps. Coming out of the turn four with the checkered flag in the air, Wes Hearn dove down to the bottom and would beat Zellman to the line. Behind Hearn and Zellman were Alan Kober, Dale Kober, Jim Conroy, John Mirabelli, Mike Taylor, Jeff Haduck and Steve Pirone.

The first Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint found the returning Kyle Exley with a fast hot rod throughout the run as he grabbed the lead at the start and he would fight off advances from numerous drivers to lead through lap seventeen. Scott Slater Jr stayed close and made a couple of attempts to slip past Exley early on. Slater made his move on lap-18 as he made a good move off of turn two to pull even and then slip past Exley for the lead. Slater would lead the remaining laps to capture his second win of the season. Mikey Smith, rim-riding Noah Zielinski, Jakson Ring and Scott Rupp completed the top five. The returning Morgan Rochelle, Jared Lilly, Cody Powell, Dakota Bartlet, Tony Parlanti and Kyle Exley completed the field.

The second Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint feature found Justin Mills leading the first three laps before Mack Brink was able to slip underneath him and take the lead. Once out front, Brink was silky smooth in carving out a small lead with Scott Slater Sr and Geordan Marrero duking it out for runner-up honors. Brink would race to the checkered flag for his third win of the season with Slater Sr in second and Marrero in third. Joe Nemeth enjoyed a great run for fourth and Sheldon Smith completed the top five. Ryan Raidline, who had a smoking gun during the heat action, resolved his issues and came back to finish sixth while, Damon Paul, Jacob Balliet, Carmen Leggio Sr and Justin Mills completed the top ten.

The headliner for the All Star Slingshots found Dale Kober taking the early lead with Wes Hearn and Justin Mills following. The early going found Hearn making a couple of attempts at Kober but with Mills in the catbird seat waiting to strike, the drivers settled into formation. The action was great as a full field of fast cars really keeps the action going as driver after driver tried to gain a foothold that would propel him forward.

Kober was able to put some excellent laps together all in the 13.5 to 13.6 range and he would go on to claim his first All Star win of the season. Wes Hearn would finish second with Justin Mills third, Russell Benke fourth and Nick Vinciguerra rounding out the top five. Heading up the second five were Tyler Peet from 11th, Brett Bieber, Alan Selemba, Tyler Pirone from 16th, and Taylor Mills from 19th.

The Wingless 600 Sprint 20-lap main event proved to be one of the most free-wheeling, fast and furious events ever at the speedway. Brandon Azzalina grabbed the lead at the start and after testing the cushion for a few laps dropped his racer to the baseline as he controlled the event. The contenders were deep in talent and with a flair for speed in this event as they worked on three particular racing channels, the baseline, centerline or pushing the cushion at the top of the raceway. Sam Kravitsky raced hard with Johnny Smith and Joel Smith and by the midway point, Chad Sandt entered the picture.

There was no stopping Azzalina on this evening as he knocked off some laps in the 12.143 second range. The later laps would see slower traffic come into play but also showing the skill level of the talented field for if you blinked your eyes you definitely were going to miss something spectacular. Azzalina would earn his fourth win of the season with Sam Kravitsky in second, Chad Sandt racing to third, Johnny Smith fourth and Joel Smith rounding out the top five. Jason Van Doren headed up the second five followed by Mick D'Agostino, Colin White, Zac Azzalina and Ryan Quackenbush.

PEARL JAMS:

Promoter Randy Smith had the 1/5th clay cushioned oval in tip-top form as always. The drivers could work the speedway from the baseline to the top of the cushion and many of them did making for a fabulous show throughout the evening.

The evening was an all heat format for the evening and made for many of the heat events to look like mini features. All Star Slingshot heats were captured by Dale Kober, Wes Hearn and Justin Mills. Three heats were needed for the Junior Slingshots and Hunter Lapp, Gavin Santee and JJ Rice were the winners. The 600 Sprint heats were claimed by Brandon Azzalina and Sam Kravitsky. The 270 Sprint heat was claimed by Pat Bealer. Chloe Andreas captured the lone heat for the Stage One Modifieds. Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint heats found Geordan Marrero, Scott Slater Sr and Scott Slater Jr victorious. Roger Collins captured the Super Slinger preliminary.

New faces at the speedway were abundant with John Comandini taking a ride in one of Richie Smith's Stage One Modified hot rods. New Junior drivers included Ashton Dewitt, who is an Accord regular. Kyle Swart and Alyssa Newman were also new entries in the division. Troy Hoffman and Ken Weirich were new additions to the 270 Sprints. Morgan Rochelle and Dakota Bartlet were first timers in the Rookie 600 Sprints. Nick Delcampo, and Natasha Henn were new entries for the All Star Slingshots. Steve Bull made his first start but ran into problems during his heat event and scratched for the evening.

A top of the fedora to the Balliet Crew as Jacob got upside down after his heat event and the crew went to work and did a great job to get Jacob back onto the speedway for the feature where he finished eighth.

Many thanks to Debbie Smith and Linda Macomber for helping out in the tower on a night when the staff was a bit shorthanded. Debbie works at Bridgeport Speedway and made the trip up with her brother Dave. Thanks go out as well to Marc Daniels for his assistance on the speedway.

Congratulations go out to "The Kunkletown Kid" Ryan Smith for earning his first career win at the famed Williams Grove Speedway on Friday evening.
We know there are a lot more wins coming in the future.

The event closes out the season at Hamlin and it was another great season for all involved. The speedway is eleven seasons strong under the Smith Family promotional reigns and plans are already in the works for the November 2017 racing season. Special thanks to the loyal Hamlin Speedway fans who follow their stars to the speedway each and every week of the season.

RESULTS:

All Star Slingshots: Dale Kober, Wes Hearn, Justin Mills, Russell Benke, Nick Vinciguerra, Tyler Peet, Brett Bieber, Alan Selemba, Tyler Pirone, Taylor Mills, Anthony Recchio, Josh Marcus, Greg Zellman, Ryan Neiger, Nick Delcampo, Steve Pirone, Chris Kurtz, Mike Taylor, Amanda Buchel, Samantha Muller, Tess Horvath, Jim Conroy, Ashley Kober, Clayton Davey, Austin Silfee, Mike McLaughlin, Natasha Henn (DNS)

270cc Sprints: Pat Bealer, Paul Richards Jr, Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci, Alex Reinsmith, Troy Hoffman, Ken Weirich, Randy Gombert

600cc Wingless Sprints: Brandon Azzalina, Sam Kravitsky, Chad Sandt, Johnny Smith, Joel Smith, Jason Van Doren, Mick D'Agostino, Colin White, Zac Azzalina, Ryan Quackenbush, Joseph Smith, JD Casazza, Mike Van Pelt, Pat Bealer, Zack Bealer, Scott Slater Jr, Ryan Neil, Brett Altemose, Tim Bauer, Jared Lilly, Carmen Leggio Jr

Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Joel Smith, Damon Paul, John Comandini, Bill Dianella, Cole Stangle, Will Casazza, John Lakatos, Michael Samony, Evan Civick, Chloe Andreas

Junior Slingshots: Cole Stangle, JJ Rice, Jared Silfee, Michael Corbin, Shelby McLaughlin, Tanner Van Doren, Tommy Stillo, Adam Buchel, Emily Fleming, CJ Fritz, Gavin Santee, Colton Geary, Ashton Dewitt, Alyssa Newman, James Costlow, Ty Kelly, James Hendricks, Hunter Lapp, Kyle Swart, Mikey Johannes, Jake Mason

Super Slingshots: Wes Hearn, Greg Zellman, Alan Kober, Dale Kober, Jim Conroy, John Mirabelli, Mike Taylor, Jeff Haduck, Steve Pirone, Roger Collins, Ryan Lacoe (DNS)

Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (1) Scott Slater Jr, Mikey Smith, Noah Zielinski, Jakson Ring, Scott Rupp, Morgan Rochelle, Jared Lilly, Cody Powell, Dakota Bartlet, Tony Parlanti, Kyle Exley, Brett Altemose, Tyler Galatro, Tyler Kehs

Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (2) Mack Brink, Scott Slater Sr, Geordan Marrero, Joe Nemeth, Sheldon Smith, Ryan Raidline, Damon Paul, Jacob Balliet, Carmen Leggio Sr, Justin Mills, JR Williams, David Trego, Savannah Leggio, Paul Richards Jr

Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The 2016 racing season in now complete at the Hamlin Speedway. 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.

A special thank you from the Hamlin Speedway Management team and staff to all of the Drivers, Owners, Crews and our loyal band of great racing fans for another successful season at the speedway.

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