HAMLIN SPEEDWAY NEWS
ByHamlin, PA - Eight Features Highlight Superb Racing Action At Hamlin Speedway
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
Finally! The warm summer weather took an extra long time in getting here and it was a welcome addition to the Pocono Mountains for the nice crowd who came out to the Hamlin Speedway as the Smith Family and Staff presented a superb eight feature race card on Saturday evening. Hamlin Speedway Promoter Randy Smith had the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval "fit as a fiddle" and the 114 entries signed in for the evening used every inch of the raceway to carve out a wonderful night of entertainment for the appreciative crowd. The Smith Family orchestrated the eight feature event program by 10:20 PM in the evening as some of the top stars at the speedway strutted their stuff while some new faces also found out it feels very good to be sitting at the top of the racing podium.
The first edition of the NASCAR Crew Challenge was on tap for the evening and the guys from the traveling race series take great pride into mastering the short track. Bragging rights in the NASCAR garage area always exemplifies which crew member was at the top of his game on the speedway.
The All Star Slingshot feature headliner was captured by "The Sandman" Troy Langendoerfer, who showed the 26-car field the quick way around the Hamlin clay. "The Big Show" Joey Amantea captured his second win of the season in the JPA Masonry sponsored Wingless Rookie 600 main event. Jenna Schostkewitz took command of the lead after the halfway mark to score her fourth win of the season in Wingless 270 Sprint action. Mike Taylor found the speedway much to his liking as he carved out his first win of the season in the Super Slinger encounter. Tyler Banks had the best weekend of his young lifetime as he won the National Tour event at Accord on Friday night and towed to Hamlin for the Saturday action and came away with his first ever win at Hamlin in a wire to wire run in the Junior Slingshot finale. "The Jersey Force" Anthony Recchio led all of the way to claim his win of the season in the Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modifieds. "The Electric Man" Colin White, even though a track champion in the past, captured his first ever win at Hamlin with a last lap pass of JD Casazza as they drove for the finish line in the Wingless 600 Sprint finale. captured win number in his sponsored speed wagon. Lowell, North Carolina resident Jason "Spanky" Edison found his car choice to be a sound one as he raced the Gilroy Motorsports hot rod to a solid win over Kevin White in the NASCAR Crew Challenge.
Troy Langendoerfer grabbed the lead at the start of the All Star Slingshot feature event. Tess Horvath and Josh Marcus fell in behind him with Cody Kline quickly hustling into fourth place. The field remained tightly bunched as the two and three wide and sometimes four wide racing action was spectacular with drivers pulling out the stops to gain a position or two. Langendoerfer was in the zone and separated himself from the rest of the field while the rest of the field continuously waged a war for position. Langendoerfer proved to be the man of the hour as he captured his first All Star win of the season after beginning the season with a series of misfortunes. Tess Horvath, Josh Marcus, Cody Kline and Tyler Peet completing the top five. The second five were Jared Silfee, Mike McLaughlin, Austin Silfee, Nick Delcampo and Cole Stangle. Twenty one cars finished on the lead lap.
The Super Slingers main event found Mike Taylor with the hot hand as he blasted out of the starting gate at the drop of the green flag and led all of the way to capture his first win of the season in a tough battle over Dale Kober, Jason Edison, Jeff Haduck, Roger Collins and Kevin White.
Kyle Ferrucci led through the first twelve laps of the Wingless 270 Sprint main but Jenna Schostkewitz put on a whale of a show as she overcame Ferrucci's lead and slipped past him on lap thirteen. Once in front, Schostkewitz raced away to a comfortable win, her fourth of the season. Ferrucci was second in an outstanding drive with Glenn Macomber, Paul Richards Jr, the returning Tony Iudicello, Don Schmidt, Alex Reinsmith and Randy Gombert.
The starting car field for the Junior Slingshots has displayed some amazing talent thus far in 2017 and "the stars of tomorrow" have been great show after show this season. Colton Geary was turned around on the initial start, allowing Tyler Banks to start alongside of James Benz on the restart. Banks grabbed the lead in turn one with Benz in tow. Seventh starting Jake Mason began to make moves as did sixth starting Austin Homan. Homan got into the runner-up slot and put pressure on Banks but Banks fought off the advances lap after lap. Homan would eventually get into turn three too hot and spun around causing a restart. When racing resumed it would be Banks now be fighting off advances from Jake Mason but it would Tyler Banks racing to victory for his second win in two nights. Mason had a great run in second with Shelby McLaughlin, Adam Buchel and James Benz completing the top five. Colton Geary recovered from his first lap spin and came back strong for sixth place with invader Nicho Flammer, Abby Yates, Austin Homan and Tommy Stillo completing the top ten.
The start of the Rookie 600 Wingless Sprint event found Joey Amantea charging out front at the start and he would quickly separate himself from the rest of the field. A Tyler Lindsey spin after the halfway point brought the field together with track champion Jakson Ring now on Amantea's tailpipe. Ring would try high and low to unseat Amantea but the first year driver kept his cool and raced to his second victory of the season. Ring was second in his return to action after a few weeks away. Tony Parlanti was third with Carmen Leggio Sr and Joe Nemeth completing the top five.
JD Casazza led the way in the Wingless 600 Sprint feature. A tremendous amount of passing took place in the early laps as the drivers worked hard to find their fast spot on the speedway. Damon Paul, Joel Smith, Colin White and Mick D'Agostino all found the channel they liked but it was Casazza out front and looking stronger as the event wore on. Paul and Smith would get together, sending both to the rear of the field. Colin White was now in the runner-up slot. White would make overtures for the lead but Casazza was a tough customer and kept the lead. Casazza led on the white flag lap but gave ground between turns three and four and White took a run high and dove back down to the bottom to nip Casazza at the line to claim his first ever 600 Sprint win at the speedway. Casazza was a disappointed second with D'Agostino, Pat Bealer and Ryan Neil completing the top five. Danny Buccafusca headed up the second five with the returning Steven Gully, Chad Sandt, Jacob Balliet and Geordan Marrero completing the top ten.
The Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified event found Anthony Recchio grabbing the lead at the start and just as quickly had Taylor Mills and Joel Smith racing with him for the lead. Recchio was cool and collected as he stayed in the 13.1 second time bracket and slowly pulled away from the field with contenders Zach Marquardt and Joel Smith falling to the wayside with problems. Recchio would race to his third win with his teammate Taylor Mills in the runner-up slot making it a 1-2 finish for the Hampton RV & Trailer Sales Race Team. Cole Stangle was third in a great run with Michael Samony and John Mirabelli completing the top five. Cody Motto, Janell Geary and newcomer Mark Corna completed the field.
The NASCAR Crew Challenge is always competitive as each driver yearns for the opportunity to head back to the NASCAR Garage to boast about how he whipped the rest of the field on his way to victory. Jason Edison led all of the way to claim the win with Kevin White, Garrett Peterson, Hayden Reeves, Brad Tunny and Jason Sopczak finishing in that order. "The Minute Man" Eric Penza executed a rollover during the feature but was unhurt in the incident.
PEARL JAMS:
The hotly contested evening of racing entertainment began on time and the staff kept moving the program along swiftly with a couple of breaks taken to put the moisture machine on the track surface and to keep the race track racy throughout the evening. Promoter Randy Smith returned to the speedway after ligament surgery to his hand and it was great to have him back on board.
Newcomers to the speedway included Adam Minzer and Tony Iudicello in the Wingless 270 Sprints. Nicho Flammer, Mikey Johannes and Evan VanValkenburg made their first appearances in the Junior Slingshots, although all have raced at Hamlin in the past. Steven Gully returned to action for the first time in 2017 and did a great job in his return to the speedway.
Heat race wins went to Tyler Banks and Austin Homan in the Junior Slingshots while Justin Mills and Duane White won heats in the 600 Sprints. Kyle Ferrucci captured the heat race win for the Wingless 270 Sprints. Anthony Recchio was victorious in the Stage One Modified heat.
Rookie 6600 Sprint heats went to Carmen Leggio Sr and Joey Amantea.
Super Slingers did time trials with Jeff Haduck the top dog with a 14.346 second clocking. Mike McLaughlin was fast timer for the All Star Slingshots with a 14.285 time.
The speedway held a moment of silence for NASCAR Crewman JR Weller, who lost his battle with cancer on June 5th. JR was 51 years old and from the Pottstown area and was good friends with the Rode's Family.
Announcer Steve Pados interviewed with Jennifer Amantea from JPA Masonry at intermission. Jennifer spoke about her son being involved with racing and how much they love the atmosphere at Hamlin with the many families they have met or have made the transition to Hamlin with them from the Quarter Midget ranks. Jennifer also informed the crowd of the many different offerings from JPA Masonry and she will soon be opening a Real Estate Office on Route 611.
RESULTS:
All Star Slingshots: Troy Langendoerfer, Tess Horvath, Josh Marcus, Cody Kline, Tyler Peet, Jared Silfee, Mike McLaughlin, Austin Silfee, Nick Delcampo, Cole Stangle, Mike Taylor, Ashley Kober, CJ Fritz, Dale Kober, Amanda Buchel, Tanner VanDoren, Matt Miller, Russell Benke, Samantha Muller, Jason Edison, Corey Zielinski, Nick Vinciguerra, Taylor Mills, Clayton Davey, Emily Fleming
Wingless 270cc Sprints: Jenna Schostkewitz, Kyle Ferrucci, Glenn Macomber, Paul Richards Jr, Tony Iudicello, Don Schmidt, Alex Reinsmith, Randy Gombert, Adam Minzer
Wingless 600cc Sprints: Colin White, JD Casazza, Mick D'Agostino, Pat Bealer, Ryan Neil, Danny Buccafusca, Steven Gully, Chad Sandt, Jacob Balliet, Geordan Marrero, Cody Smith, Adam Huff, Joseph Smith, Damon Paul, Joel Smith, Jared Lilly, Tyler Kehs, Mack Brink, Duane White, Justin Mills
Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Anthony Recchio, Taylor Mills, Cole Stangle, Michael Samony, John Mirabelli, Cody Motto, Janell Geary, Mark Corna, Joel Smith, Zach Marquardt
Junior Slingshots: Tyler Banks, Jake Mason, Shelby McLaughlin, Adam Buchel, James Benz, Colton Geary, Nicho Flammer, Abby Yates, Austin Homan, Tommy Stillo, James Hendricks, Mikey Johannes, Evan VanValkenburg, Rachel Dickinson, Joey Kalafut, John Kendall, JJ Rice, Tanner VanDoren
Super Slingshots: Mike Taylor, Dale Kober, Jason Edison, Jeff Haduck, Roger Collins, Kevin White
JPA Masonry Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: Joey Amantea, Jakson Ring, Tony Parlanti, Carmen Leggio Sr, Joe Nemeth, Paul Richards Jr, Ryan Lacoe, Jake Roberts, Tyler Lindsey, Tyler Kehs, Zack Weisenfluh
NASCAR Crew Challenge 1st Edition: Jason Edison, Kevin White, Garrett Peterson, Hayden Reeves, Brad Tunny, Jason Sopczak, Josh Heidkamp, Bama Williams, Eric Penza
Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next events on the Hamlin Speedway schedule are set for June 16th and 17th when all Divisions will be in action for two days on the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval as the tenth edition of the "Spring Into Summer Sizzler" comes to the speedway featuring 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 night.
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
