HAMLIN SPEEDWAY NEWS
ByHamlin, PA - Seven Great Features As Hamlin Speedway Gets Back On Track
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
The 2018 racing season at the Hamlin Speedway has been struggling to get their schedule up to snuff as the whims of Mother Nature have been causing havoc with the Northeast. Three rainouts already this season have made for a crawling start but this past Saturday evening found the weather superb and the racing far greater as the racing drivers put on a whale of a show for their loyal fans. The Smith Family offered another fabulous racing show in the Poconos Mountains on Memorial Day weekend. Promoter Randy Smith had the 1/5th mile clay cushioned facility in impeccable condition and all divisions put on a great show for the great crowd on hand to witness the exciting side by side and nose to tail racing action. The sizzling racing action went of without a hitch and was completed at 10:30 PM. The evening of speed was sponsored by S&S Speedways indoor go karts located in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
When the heart stopping racing action was completed, Austin Silfee captured the 20-lap finale for the All Star Slingshots. Kasey Hufcut raced to his second win of the season in the Junior Slingshots feature attraction. "Bad" Chad Sandt was all business as he wired the field for his second win of the season in the hotly contested Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600 Sprint headliner. "Deuce" Glenn Macomber raced to his first win of the season in the 270 Winged Sprint main event. "The Nickel Man" Joel Smith dominated the action from start to finish as he led all laps to capture his third win of the season in the Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified feature tour event. "The Ambassador" Wes Hearn raced to his first win in the Super Slingers headliner after a lead swap fest with Dale Kober. Joe Nemeth captured his second win in the JPA Masonry Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint headliner.
After being introduced trackside to the fans, the Junior Slingshots rolled away for their scheduled 20-lap feature excursion. Abby Yates grabbed the lead at the start and would lead the first eleven laps of the event with pressure coming from opening night winner James Benz. Kasey Hufcut slipped past Benz on lap nine with aspirations for the lead. Yates got out of turn four too wide and Hufcut made the most of it as he took over control of the point. Once in front, Hufcut was able to drive away from the field with a comfortable margin to record his second straight win at the speedway. JJ Rice ran a great race for third while track champion Shelby McLaughlin was fourth and Abby Yates would finish fifth. The second five found Brain Smith, Aidan Donaldson, Jasper Ziegafuse, James Hendricks and Talon Prinz following.
The 270 Sprint main event found "The Deuce" Glenn Macomber setting a torrid pace. Macomber handled lots of pressure from Kyle Ferrucci early on but Macomber was consistent in the 12.1 second lap times and slowly pulled away and drive to his first win of the season. Ferrucci would finish second with JJ Uliana third and Alex Reinsmith fourth.
The JPA Masonry Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint main saw Joe Nemeth lead the first two laps of the finale that came to a quick halt when Jackson, New Jersey's Aidan Borden barrel-rolled in turned two. Borden escaped injury in the crash. On the restart it would be Nemeth back in command but getting some hard pressure from Dennis Stawinsky. Tyler Lindsay would soon join the leaders and a three car breakaway ensued. A twist, a turn, a wrinkle and a jingle or two slowed the action in the mid stages of the event but Nemeth was in the zone and up to the task as he kept the field behind him and would race to his second win of the season. Stawinsky was the runner-up with Tyler LIndsay, Noah Zielinski and Zack Weisenfluh completing the top five. Brandon Nicholas headed up the second five with Carmen Leggio Jr, Cody Powell, Joey Amantea and Earl Rice completing the top ten.
The Super Slinger feature found the division top two stars Wes Hearn and Dale Kober duking it out from start to finish. An event that produced at least fifteen lead changes would eventually go to Wes Hearn for his first win of the season. Kober would finish second with newcomer Mark Exeter finishing third.
The Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600 Sprint main was top-notch from the drop of the green flag as Chad Sandt found the top of the raceway much to his liking and he blasted out in front of the highly competitive field. Colin White would stay close from his inside perch and track champion Mick D'Agostino would make it a three car battle by lap four. By the midway point of the action as many as eight cars were matching wits and real estate positions. The drivers attacked each other from all angles and reached the top of the cushion and drove to the baseline in an attempt to move forward. In one of the most competitive events ever held at the speedway, it would be Sandt capturing the win with White settling for runner-up honors. Joseph Smith and Joel Smith would race to third and fourth with D'Agostino settling for fifth. Joe Nemeth headed up the second five with Tyler Lindsay, Joey Amantea, Zack Bealer and Mack Brink completing the top ten.
The Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified tour event feature found Joel Smith controlling the event from start to finish as he led all thirty laps to claim the victory. Smith hit his marks flawlessly and ran consistent 13.2 second laps to leave the field in his wake. Adam Buchel raced hard and finished in the runner-up slot and worked hard to hold off a hard charging John Comandini, who would finish third. Tanner VanDoren, Jeff Hineline, Evan Civick, Amanda Buchel and Cody Motto would complete the field.
Austin Silfee would secure the lead at the start of the All Star Slingshot main attraction and that would be all that was needed as he would hold off the attempts of his teammate Scott Neary to race to his first win of the season. Ashley Kober was third with Wes Hearn and Dale Kober nailing down top five finishes. Heading up the second six were Tyler Banks, Jared Silfee, Adam Buchel, Tanner VanDoren, John Kendall and Rachel Dickinson.
Pearl Jams:
Kudos go out to Randy Smith and his staff for preparing an excellent racing surface for the night of racing battles. With all of the rain that fell during the past few weeks and losing back to back shows, it was nothing short of a miracle the racing could take place at all. The show was able to move along swiftly even with Smith and company taking some breaks to constantly manicure the racing surface and gibe all of the competitors an equal track to race on. Rain did fall during intermission but did nothing to halt the festivities this time around.
Glenn Macomber was fast timer for the 270 Sprints with a 12.251 second time. The Junior Slingshots timed and Ashton DeWitt, in his first season at Hamlin, was quick man with a 15.019 time.
Heat race wins were captured by Noah Zielinski and Tyler Lindsay in the JPA Masonry Wingless Rookie 600 Sprint heats. Joel Price and Joel Smith captured heat wins for the Stage One Modifieds. Heat winners for the All Star Slingshots were Dale Kober and Austin Silfee. Colin White and Chad Sandt were the heat winners for the Chad Wheeler Excavating 600 Sprints. Wes Hearn captured the lone Super Slinger heat.
New faces continue to emerge at Hamlin as new competitors included for the Junior Slingshot racers was Talon Prinz. Mark Exeter and Derek DeSilva were new Super Slinger competitors. Robert Burakowski, Matt and Cody Zielinski were new additions to the JPA Masonry Rookie 600 Sprint racers.
A special treat for the Memorial Day fans was Junior Slingshot racer Joey Kalafut providing the playing of the National Anthem with his guitar. He did an excellent job and this may be the start of something big for the aspiring racer from Jessup, Pennsylvania.
The third show of the season is now history!
Results:
All Star Slingshots: Austin Silfee, Scott Neary, Ashley Kober, Wes Hearn, Dale Kober, Tyler Banks, Jared Silfee, Adam Buchel, Tanner VanDoren, John Kendall, Rachel Dickinson
Winged 270cc Sprints: Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci, JJ Uliana, Alex Reinsmith
Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600cc Sprints: Chad Sandt, Colin White, Joseph Smith, Joel Smith, Mick D'Agostino, Joe Nemeth, Tyler Lindsay, Joey Amantea, Zack Bealer, Mack Brink, Duane White, Paul Richards Jr, Jacob Balliet, Cody Smith
Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: (Tour Event) Joel Smith, Adam Buchel, John Comandini, Tanner VanDoren, Jeff Hineline, Evan Civick, Amanda Buchel, Cody Motto
Junior Slingshots: Kasey Hufcut, James Benz, JJ Rice, Shelby McLaughlin, Abby Yates, Brian Smith, Aiden Donaldson, Jasper Ziegafuse, James Hendricks, Talon Prinz, Ashton DeWitt, Joey Kalafut, Mikey Johannes, Charlene Benz, James Costlow
Super Slingshots: Wes Hearn, Dale Kober, Mark Exeter
JPA Masonry Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: Joe Nemeth, Dennis Stawinsky, Tyler Lindsay, Noah Zielinski, Zack Weisenfluh, Brandon Nicholas, Carmen Leggio Jr, Cody Powell, Joey Amantea, Earl Rice, Carmen Leggio Sr, Dennis Chamberlain, Robert Burakowski, Matt Zielinski, Cory Zielinski, Ryan Lacoe, Aidan Borden
Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for June 2nd when all Divisions will be in action on the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval and the speedway will host the first appearance of the NASCAR Crew Challenge.
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, Chad Wheeler Excavating, RLE Towing and Recovery, 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 2018 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: http://www.hamlinspeed.com/ or on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/HamlinSpeed/ or
https://www.facebook.com/SSSpeedways/ and http://ssspeedways.com/
For photos of the great racing action at Hamlin Speedway, contact Tim Krysiuk at: https://strictlydirtphotography.smugmug.com or https://www.facebook.com/tim.krysiuk
Visit us often for a great night of racing action as.........................
The Hamlin Speedway Is The "Pearl" Of The Poconos
