HAMLIN SPEEDWAY NEWS
ByHamlin, PA - Powerful Storm Halts Hamlin Speedway Action After Five Feature Events
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
The splendid warm rays of the summer sunshine continued to latch onto the scenic Pocono Mountain landscape for most of Saturday but the weather quickly reared its ugly head after five features had been completed and turned the Hamlin Speedway grounds into a sea of mud. Promoters Denise and Randy Smith ushered in another fabulous edition of the 2017 racing season at Hamlin and with it another exciting night of racing entertainment. The large crowd on hand was treated to another all-out display of daredevil, seeking out the cushion activity from the more than one hundred racers that came to do battle on Saturday evening. The last event was checkered at 18-laps when the skies opened up and had everyone seeking shelter from the storm that followed. The five feature card was once again presented by JPA Masonry located in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania and S&S Speedways Indoor Go Karts located in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The remaining two feature events for the All Star Slingshots and the Hampton RV & Trailer Sales Stage One Modifieds will be added to next week's show making the evening a nine feature event spectacular.
When the final scorecards were tallied it was Mike Taylor racing to his fourth win of the season in the Super Slinger finale. Also claiming wins in the star studded events included "The Travelin Man" Mick D'Agostino as he ruled the roost from every angle around the speedway to capture his second win of the season in the JPA Masonry Wingless 600 Sprint main. "The Fearless One" Kyle Ferrucci added another notch to his gun belt with his fourth win of the season in the Wingless 270 Sprint main. "Junior Excitement" JJ Rice scored his second win of the season at Hamlin in the Junior Slingshot finale in an event where the final laps resembled a small car demolition derby. Paul Richards Jr was spot on as he sped to his third victory of the season in the JPA Masonry Rookie Wingless 600 feature event.
The five feature events were exciting to say the least and the "stars of tomorrow" Junior Slingshot division began well with Abby Yates having the quick right foot as she jumped into the lead at the drop of the green flag and attacked the race track as she quickly sped away from the rest of the field. A couple of cautions slowed the pace but each time Yates was able to hold the field at bay with some 14.7 second lap times. With two laps to go, Yates was spun out by Mikey Johannes causing a caution and ending Yates bid for her second win at the speedway. On the restart JJ Rice was the leader but was bumped by John Kendall. Kendall was the leader on lap-19 but Rice came storming back and additional contact caused more commotion and Rice was able to keep his momentum going and scored the win. Austin Homan, Joey Kalafut, Rachel Dickinson and John Kendall completed the top five. Adam Buchel headed up the remainder of the finishers followed by Abby Yates, Mikey Johannes, James Hendricks and James Benz.
The JPA Masonry Rookie 600 Sprints found pole sitter Tyler Lindsey out dragging Tony Parlanti into turn one. Lindsey would lead for four laps before yielding to the baseline hugging Paul Richards Jr. Richards owned the bottom of the speedway on this night and would go on to capture his third feature win despite solid performances by Tyler Lindsey in second and Joey Amantea finishing third in a new ride for him. Noah Zielinski was fourth and last week's winner Ryan Stangle rounded out the top five. Ryan Lacoe, the returning Scott Rupp, Jack Hanna and newcomer Dennis Chamberlain completed the field.
The Wingless 270 Sprint headliner found Alex Reinsmith getting the jump on Glenn Macomber when the green flag came out. The event settled into a high speed chase as third starting Kyle Ferrucci was on the move and slipped past Macomber and set sail for Reinsmith. Lap seven proved to be the winning move for Ferrucci as he drove by Reinsmith to take over the point. Ferrucci would lead the remaining laps to go and score his fourth win of the season. Reinsmith, Macomber and newcomer Nathanial Krotzer completed the field.
Super Slinger action found Mike Taylor getting the jump on the field at the start of the event. Taylor would build up a huge lead while Dale Kober and Jeff Haduck were lodged in a great battle for the runner-up role. This night was taylor-made as Mike Taylor would go on to score his fourth win of the season. Kober had more than enough power to land in the runner-up role with Jeff Haduck third in a great run, Wes Hearn fourth, the returning Roger Collins fifth and Jimmy Conroy sixth. and fifth.
The JPA Masonry Wingless 600 Sprint main found Mick D'Agostino grabbing the lead going into turn one as he outhustled Jacob Balliet for the point. While securing the lead, D'Agostino was put to work with Balliet, Joel Smith, Damon Paul and Colin White working every angle to try to make something big happen. D'Agostino worked his lane to perfection and turned in consistent laps of 12.3 seconds to drive to his second win of the season for the Massachusetts based speedster. Balliet was excellent in a strong runner-up performance. Joel Smith and Damon Paul put on an excellent show of racing and sportsmanship on the speedway for third and fourth place while Colin White completed the top five. The second five were close as well with Chad Sandt, Duane White, Mack Brink, Ryan Neil and Cody Smith completing the top ten.
PEARL JAMS:
Heat racing action at Hamlin continued to fuel the fires that make Hamlin Speedway the place to be on Saturday nights as Joey Amantea and Paul Richards Jr were victorious in the Rookie 600 Sprint heat events. Two heats were required for the Stage One Modifieds with Cody Motto and John Comandini securing wins. Mike Taylor captured the heat win for the Super Slingers. Damon Paul and Jacob Balliet enjoyed great nights all around as they captured heat wins in the Wingless 600 Sprints and had great finishes in the feature headliner. Glenn Macomber captured the heat win in the 270 Sprints. The All Star Slingshots ran two heats with Taylor Mills and CJ Fritz capturing the wins. The Junior Slingshots ran one heat with JJ Rice securing the win.
Newcomers or returning racers to the Hamlin Speedway for the Saturday night racing action included Ryan Neil and Adam Huff in the 600 Sprints. Roger Collins returned to action for the Super Slingers. Scott Rupp and Rich Maguire were first timers for the Rookie 600 Sprints with Maguire steering the former Jerry Rutledge racer. Meredith Howell put the Smith Fabrications Stage One Rental car through its paces for the evening.
Joey Amantea had a wreck at another speedway and returned to Hamlin on Saturday evening in another racer they recently purchased. Savannah Leggio expired a motor in her 600 Sprint.
With the heavy amount of precipitation that has fallen recently, another yeoman's effort was turned in by Randy Smith and Staff as they kept pace with the speedway all evening long until the storms rolled into the speedway.
Some big events will be coming to Hamlin in the last few weeks of the season. The added two postponed features will be run next week with the JPA Masonry Wingless 600 Sprint special taking place. A dual heat format along with a hefty payday should bring out a nice field of race cars to the Poconos for the event.
The Roy Smith Memorial for the Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modifieds will welcome in Labor Day weekend at the speedway. A dual heat format and a 30-lap feature will honor one of the pioneers of Modified racing on the East Coast.
RESULTS:
All Star Slingshots: (Postponed until August 26th) Starting Lineup: Taylor Mills, CJ Fritz, Josh Marcus, Austin Silfee, Tess Horvath, Cole Stangle, Mike Taylor, Cody Kline, Wes Hearn, Dale Kober, Tyler Peet, Amanda Buchel, Samantha Muller, Troy Langendoerfer, Alan Kober, Ashley Kober, Corey Zielinski, Jared Silfee
Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: (Postponed until August 26th) Starting Lineup: Cody Motto, John Comandini, Anthony Recchio, Pat VanVarick, Joel Smith, Cole Stangle, Andrew Vreeland, Michael Samony, Mike Jablonka, Meredith Howell, Evan Civick, Mark Corna
Wingless 270cc Sprints: Kyle Ferrucci, Alex Reinsmith, Glenn Macomber, Nathanial Krotzer
JPA Masonry Wingless 600cc Sprints: Mick D'Agostino, Jacob Balliet, Joel Smith, Damon Paul, Colin White, Chad Sandt, Duane White, Mack Brink, Ryan Neil, Cody Smith, Joseph Smith, Tyler Lindsey, JD Casazza, Danny Buccafusca, Adam Huff
Junior Slingshots: JJ Rice, Austin Homan, Joey Kalafut, Rachel Dickinson, John Kendall, Adam Buchel, Abby Yates, Mikey Johannes, James Hendricks, James Benz
Super Slingshots: Mike Taylor, Dale Kober, Jeff Haduck, Wes Hearn, Roger Collins, Jim Conroy
JPA Masonry Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: Paul Richards Jr, Tyler Lindsey, Joey Amantea, Noah Zielinski, Ryan Stangle, Ryan Lacoe, Scott Rupp, Jack Hanna, Dennis Chamberlain, Savannah Leggio, Dennis Stawinski Jr, Rich Maguire, Zack Weisenfluh, Ron Bosga, Macy Litchauer, Tony Parlanti, Carmen Leggio Sr
Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for August 26th when all regular divisions will be in action and highlighted by the JPA Masonry Wingless 600 Sprints rocking the house with $750.00 going to the winner based on a 24-car starting field. The 600 Sprints event will follow a dual heat format.
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
For photos of the great racing action at Hamlin, please contact Tim Krysiuk at: https://strictlydirtphotography.smugmug.com/
Visit us often for a great night of racing action as.........................
The Hamlin Speedway Is The "Pearl" Of The Poconos
