HAMLIN SPEEDWAY NEWS
ByHamlin, PA - The Bealer Family Runs First And Second In Sensational 600 Sprint Feature At Hamlin Speedway
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
Hamlin Speedway keeps the Pocono Mountains humming and on Saturday night and in traditional fashion Promoters Randy and Denise Smith hosted a packed with excitement event on Saturday evening as a standing room only crowd on hand witnessed a spectacular seven feature race card. All cylinders were clicking to perfection as the fifth week of the 2017 racing season produced a well executed spectacle of speed in the Pocono Mountains. With superb weather acting as the backdrop early on that dipped quickly when the sun went down, the top stars at Hamlin duked it out on the well conditioned 1/5 mile clay cushioned raceway. The show proved to be a blessing as all of the preliminary events and the seven features were completed in orderly fashion although there were some bumps and brusies along the way. More than one hundred racers converged at the speedway to battle in their quest to find their way into the coveted Hamlin Victory Circle. The event was sponsored by S&S Speedways Indoor Go Karts located in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
Capturing wins during the evening were "The Oxford Express" Dale Kober as he continues to flourish at Hamlin with his fourth win of the season in the Super Slinger finale. New Yorker Nick Delcampo hopped aboard one of the Muller Family hot rods and it was the hot ticket in the All Star Slingshot main as he captured his first ever win at Hamlin. "The Nickel Man" Joel Smith was scary fast as he racked up his second win of the season in the exciting Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified main event. Zach and Pat Bealer showed the competition the short way around Hamlin as the father/son duo baselined their way to a very popular win and second place finish in the headline 30 lap feature for the Wingless 600 Sprints.. Jenna Schostkewitz had the field covered as she raced to her third win of the season in the Wingless 270 Sprint headliner. Hunter Metzger was spot on as he gassed his way to his first career win at Hamlin in the Rookie 600 Sprint twenty lapper. The Junior Slingshot feature was captured by "TVD" Tanner VanDoren as he earned his second win of the season over a tough field of competition.
The "Stars of Tomorrow" from the Junior Slingshot division have been sensational all season long and Saturday was no exception as Tanner VanDoren wasted no time in seizing the lead at the start of the event with pressure coming from Tyler Banks and Jake Mason. Jumping into the picture a couple of laps later was sixth place starting Austin Homan and with one move after another found himself in the runner-up position. The top seven cars were close together in speed and action and a few skirmishes along the way slowed the event down at times. VanDoren would prevail with a stellar performance to capture his second win of the season. Austin Homan enjoyed his best run to date with a great finish in second place while Jake Mason, Tyler Banks and Shelby McLaughlin completed the top five. Not far behind was the second five with John Kendall, Adam Buchel, Joey Kalafut, James Benz and Rachel Dickinson following.
The stars of the over-35 Super Slinger division found Dale Kober at his best as he sailed around the speedway getting faster as the event wore on. Kober turned a fast time of 13.496 seconds to lead every lap but Mike Taylor remained close with some 13.609 second times. Kober would go on to capture his fourth win of the season while Taylor was second, the returning Greg Zellman third, Roger Collins fourth and Wes Hearn, who borrowed Tyler Peet's entry to keep up his points in the division. It was great to have Roger Collins back at the speedway in his first appearance of the season.
The Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint main found Hunter Metzger going to the top of the raceway to grab the lead at the start of the twenty lap main event. That would prove to be the winning move as Metzger strutted his stuff for twenty laps to capture his first ever win at the speedway. Dakota Bartlet has been steady all season long and had another great drive for runner-up honors. Paul Richards Jr had a fast hot rod and raced to third place while turning the fastest lap of the event at 12.360 seconds. Steady Ryan Lacoe was fourth and first time racer in a 600 Sprint Dylan Hoch rounded out the top five. Jake Roberts, Joey Amantea, Joe Nemeth, Carmen Leggio Sr and Tyler Kehs completed the top ten.
The Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified found Joel Smith grabbing the lead at the start of the event and went clear sailing through twenty laps to claim his second win of the season. Anthony Recchio provided plenty of opposition and settled for second place while Jasper Ziegafuse, Michael Samony, Taylor Mills, John Mirabelli, Cody Motto and Janell Geary completed the field.
The Wingless 270 Sprint main found Glenn Macomber leading the first three laps before yielding to Jenna Schostkewitz. Once in front, Jenna reeled off some 12.422 second laps to drive away to a big advantage. got off to a slow start as broke before the event went green. The field slowed on lap-17 as "The Fearless One" Kyle Ferrucci hopped a wheel and got upside down on turn two. Ferrucci was unhurt in the incident. As the field went to green, Schostkewitz would lead the final three laps to claim her third win of the season. Glenn Macomber finished second with Paul Richards Jr, Mike Kalman and Alex Reinsmith following.
Ashley Kober and Nick Delcampo brought the star studded All Star Slingshot field to the starting line for the start of their 20-lap headliner. Delcampo won the drag race into turn one and kept the momentum going as he quickly tried to step away from the field. Ashley Kober had a solid run going and was the runner-up for many laps but this was a night when some behavioral issues had some tempers boiling over. Austin Silfee moved through the field from ninth position and at the midway point was working on slipping past Kober, Josh Marcus and Mike McLaughlin. At that point, more hits than misses kept the racing interesting.
The event was checkered at nineteen laps as the time for the event had passed with Delcampo a clear winner, Silfee second, Josh Marcus third in a great effort, Mike Mclaughlin and Wes Hearn (from 13th position) completing the top five. The second five found Tanner VanDoren, Ashley Kober, Alan Kober, Tyler Peet and Amanda Buchel following.
The headliner of the evening with $750.00 on the line found Zack Bealer grabbing up the initial lead with his Dad, Pat Bealer falling in behind him. Despite being father and son, they traded a bit of paint early on with Zack continuing to lead. The racing became a game of chess moves as the field stayed close and the battle for the baseline became more apparent with each passing lap. Former two time track champion Eddie Strada tried to move topside for a few laps but eventually moved back down to the bottom as Mick D'Agostino had thoughts of his own as he pulled close to Strada on occasion. Youngster Jacob Balliet was as cool as a kid could be as he duked it out with some of the best in the business.
As the event hit the two thirds mark, a check-up in turn three found Balliet turning around and his great run quickly went down the drain. On the restart, Colin White was able to duck underneath D'Agostino and the race would end with Zack Bealer in for the win with Pat Bealer second, Eddie Strada third, Colin White fourth and Mick D'Agostino fifth. The second five found Joel Smith, Damon Paul, Justin Mills, the returning Shelby Harper and steady Ryan Neil completing the top ten.
PEARL JAMS:
Get well wishes go out to Promoter Randy Smith as he suffered torn ligaments in his hand during the week and is in the Saint Likes Hospital. In his absence, the track crew headed up by Modified star Kevin Bates, did their due diligence and offered a very racy track to the drivers. A tip of the fedora to Denise and the entire crew for their hard work and dedication in going on with the show.
The Wingless 600 Sprints ran in a dual heat format with heat race wins going to Zack Bealer, Bobby Butler and Pat Bealer in the first set and Damon Paul, Eddie Strada and Jacob Balliet in the second set. Mike Taylor captured the heat win in the Super Slingers. Three heats were run for the All Star Slingshots with Ashley Kober, Josh Marcus and Nick Delcampo emerging victorious. Tyler Banks and Austin Homan captured the heat wins in the Junior Slingshots. Mike Kalman won the lone heat for the Wingless 270 Sprints.
Time trials were run for the Rookie Wingless 600 Sprints and Dylan Hoch stopped the clocks at 12.678 seconds to nip Ryan Lacoe who turned 12.800. Joel Smith was the top timer in the Stage One Modifieds with a 13.006 second time.
New and returning faces were abundant in the pit area as Roger Collins made his first start of the season in the Super Slingers. Dylan Hoch did a great job in the Rookie 600 Sprint class as he stepped aboard the Amber Oraschin racer and was impressive in the ride. Tyler Lindsey returned to action in the Rookie 600 Sprints. Zack Weisenfluh, who had the misfortune of getting upside down a week ago, was back in action. Jasper Ziegafuse returned to Smith Fabrications Rental car and was solid in the ride and AJ Hobbs returned to action in the division as well. Dillon Emmons made his first appearance at the speedway in some time. Returning to action included CJ Fritz and Matt Miller in the All Star Slingshots. Zack Bealer, Eddie Strada, Bobby Butler, Shelby Harper, Justin Grosz, Larry Hoagland and Mike Linderman were some of the returning faces for the 600 Sprints.
Fans, mark the dates on the calendar so you don't forget as in two weeks there will be two nights of racing at Hamlin next week on June 16th and 17th as Hamlin Speedways hosts the tenth annual "spring into summer sizzler" with a great weekend card of racing enjoyment; two great shows and two great payouts. The Friday evening event will headline the Junior Slingshot National Tour. The Saturday portion will include the Picnic and the rained out MA Gold Tour event for the All Star Slingshots.
The VetStock Firecracker 100 (Hamlin Hundred) event on July 1st is just a few weeks away and anyone who would like to get involved with this great promotion for this event should contact the S&S Speedways at: 570 420 5500. Whether it be a prize or cash donation for this event, all donations are accepted graciously and all will be announced leading up to the event as well as at the speedway. Check out the VetStock website at: www.VetStockUSA.com for additional information.
Lap Sponsorship is also being sold at $10.00 per lap so it is a good time to pump up your sponsors for this great cause. All lap sponsors will be named before the event goes green.
RESULTS:
All Star Slingshots: Nick Delcampo, Austin Silfee, JosAll All All Star Slingshots: Nick Delcampo, Austin Silfee, Josh Marcus, Mike McLaughlin, Wes Hearn, Tanner VanDoren, Ashley Kober, Alan Kober, Tyler Peet, Amanda Buchel, Tess Horvath, Jared Silfee, RJ Smykla, Mike Taylor, Samantha Muller, Dale Kober, Dillon Emmons, Emily Fleming, CJ Fritz, Cody Kline, Clayton Davey, Greg Zellman, Taylor Mills, Matt Miller, Troy Langendoerfer
Wingless 270cc Sprints: Jenna Schostkewitz Glenn Macomber, Paul Richards Jr, Mike Kalman, Alex Reinsmith, Kyle Ferrucci
Wingless 600cc Sprints: Zack Bealer, Pat Bealer, Eddie Strada, Colin White, Mick D'Agostino, Joel Smith, Damon Paul, Justin Mills, Shelby Harper, Ryan Neil, Bobby Butler, Duane White, Justin Grosz, Geordan Marrero, Jacob Balliet, Sam Kravitsky, Cody Smith, Larry Hoagland, Tyler Kehs, Brett Altemose, Zac Azzalina, Joseph Smith, Jared Lilly, Mike Linderman, JD Casazza, Mack Brink, Tyler Ulrich
Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Joel Smith, Anthony Recchio, Jasper Ziegafuse, Michael Samony, Taylor Mills, John Mirabelli, Cody Motto, Janell Geary, AJ Hobbs
Junior Slingshots: Tanner VanDoren, Austin Homan, Jake Mason, Tyler Banks, Shelby McLaughlin, John Kendall, Adam Buchel, Joey Kalafut, James Benz, Rachel Dickinson, Tommy Stillo, Colton Geary, Kyle Swart, James Hendricks, Aiden Donaldson, Abby Yates
Super Slingshots: Dale Kober, Mike Taylor, Greg Zellman, Roger Collins, Wes Hearn
JPA Masonry Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: Hunter Metzger, Dakota Bartlet, Paul Richards Jr, Ryan Lacoe, Dylan Hoch, Jake Roberts, Joey Amantea, Joe Nemeth, Carmen Leggio Sr, Tyler Kehs, Tyler Lindsey, Cody Powell, Zack Weisenfluh, Mikey Smith (DQ)
Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for June 10th when all Divisions will be in action on the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval and the first edition of the popular NASCAR Crew Challenge.
Hamlin Speedway has many special events scheduled throughout the season and on June 16th and 17th will be the tenth edition of the two day "Spring Into Summer Sizzler" at the speedway that will feature the National Tour event for the Junior Slingshot drivers on the Friday evening portion of the event and the Picnic and an MA Gold Tour event for the All Star Slingshots on Saturday.
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, Ron Brown Hauling, JPA Masonry, RockAuto.com, S&S Speedways and Yankowski Enterprises are all part of the advertising family at the speedway and we graciously thank them for their support.
Hamlin Speedway is seeking additional marketing sponsors to join the speedway team for the 2017 racing season. For more information, contact Steve Pados at: 484-784-7756 or through email at: steveswp@ptd.net or Denise Smith at S&S Speedways at: 570-420-5500 or at: www.SSSpeedways.com or on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SSSpeedways/ or www.HamlinSpeed.com or facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/HamlinSpeed
Visit us often for a great night of racing action as.........................
The Hamlin Speedway Is The "Pearl" Of The Poconos
