HAMLIN SPEEDWAY NEWS
ByHamlin, PA - Eight Features Highlight Superb Racing Action At Hamlin Speedway
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
The warm summer weather has now locked into the Poconos region even though it took an extra long time in getting here. Hamlin Speedway and the Smith Family and Staff presented a superb eight feature race card on Saturday evening even with a threat of rain in the forecast. Hamlin Speedway Promoter Randy Smith had the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval "fit as a fiddle" and as smooth as silk and a full field of race entries signed in for the evening. Once onto the speedway they used every inch of the raceway to carve out a wonderful night of entertainment for the appreciative crowd on hand. The Smith Family orchestrated the eight feature event program by 10:51 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 in the RLE Towing and Recovery Victory Lane.
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 in mastering the Hamlin short track. Bragging rights in the NASCAR garage area always exemplifies which crew member was at the top of his game on this particular evening.
The All Star Slingshot feature headliner was captured by Scott Neary, who showed the very competitive field the quick way around the Hamlin clay. Local ace Noah Zielinski captured his first ever win at Hamlin in the JPA Masonry sponsored Wingless Rookie 600 main event. Alex Reinsmith was an absolute flash as he took command of the lead at the start and checked out on the field to capture his initial win of the season in Winged 270 Sprint action. "The Ambassador" Wes Hearn only led a half a lap during the event but all laps count as he captured his second win of the season in the Super Slinger encounter. Kasey Hufcut has arrived from New York in 2018 and the Circleville, New York driving talent captured his consecutive win in a row at Hamlin. "TVD" Tanner VanDoren led all of the way to claim his first ever win in the Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modifieds and in doing so defeated one of the best in the business in "The Nickel Man" Joel Smith. "The Travelin' Man" Mick D'Agostino, the 2017 track champion at Hamlin, flashed his winning form with a wire to wire triumph in the Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600 Sprint finale, in an event that had the fans on their feet through the entire event. 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 David Cropps and Mike Williams in the NASCAR Crew Challenge.
Tess Horvath grabbed the lead at the start of the All Star Slingshot feature event and led the first two laps until she lost the handle and spun out. On the restart, New Yorker Tyler Banks took over the lead and would lead for two laps until a caution halted the action. Two faulty restarts by Banks would have Banks sent to the rear and Scott Neary inherited the lead. Neary took command of the event and then some as he led the rest of the way to garner in his first win of the season. Wes Hearn was solid throughout and scored a runner-up finish. The returning Taylor Mills, Dale Kober and John Kendall completed the top five. A great comeback from Tess Horvath found her heading up the second five with Tyler Banks, Tanner Jones, Tanner VanDoren and Jasper Ziegafuse following. Fourteen cars finished on the lead lap.
The Super Slingers main event found Dale Kober with the hot hand as he blasted out of the starting gate at the drop of the green flag and would lead most of the way with Wes Hearn dogging him all of the way. Coming down the backstretch with two turns to go, Kober got tangled with a slower car and shot across the race track in front of Hearn. Heads-up driving from Kober prevented a catastrophe as he was quick to turn his car allowing Hearn to get by but preventing damage to any of the cars involved. Hearn would get the win with Dale Kober, Drew Blickensderfer, James Edwards, the returning Paul Ennes and David Guest following.
Alex Reinsmith gobbled up the existing real estate early on and would lead all of the way to claim his first win of the season at Hamlin. Track champion Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci and Don Schmidt completed the field.
The starting car field for the Junior Slingshots has displayed some amazing talent thus far in 2018 and "the stars of tomorrow" have been great, show after show early on this season. Connecticut's Talon Prinz led the initial lap only to find opening night winner James Benz taking over on lap two. Benz would lead until lap six when Kasey Hufcut dove low in turn three and won the battle off turn four to take command of the event. Once in front, Hufcut was able to step away from the field to gain his third win of the season. James Benz would finish second and a strong charge from the rear of the field netted Shelby McLaughlin a fine third place finish. JJ Rice also came from the rear of the field to finish fourth while Austin Homan started 15th and would complete the top five. James Hendricks came from 13th to head up the second five while Talon Prinz, Brian Smith, Ashton DeWitt and first time performer in 2018 Evan Van Valkenburg would complete the top ten.
The start of the JPA Masonry Rookie 600 Wingless Sprint event found the returning "Ry-Guy" Ryan Stangle charging out front at the start and he would lead the first lap before a wreck on the backstretch found Cody Powell upside down. Powell was unhurt in the incident. On the restart Stangle was hustling hard and behind him came a high-flying Noah Zielinski. The pair broke away with Dennis Stawinsky and Zach Weisenfluh providing the opposition. Zielinski mustered up a full head of steam and slipped past Stangle on lap twelve as he attacked the cushion and came away as the leader. A caution slowed the action on lap-16 and Stangle abruptly retired to the pit area. On the restart Zielinski would receive more competition as Zack Weisenfluh came a calling. Zielinski held on and captured his first ever Hamlin win with Weisenfluh second, Dennis Stawinsky third, Ryan Lacoe fourth and Joey Amantea fifth. Aidan Borden headed up the second five with Brandon Nicholas, newcomer Josh Diehl, Earl Rice and Tony Parlanti completing the top ten.
Mick D'Agostino led the way in the Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600 Sprint feature. He worked the baseline of the speedway to perfection with a tremendous field of talent behind him. Tons of passing took place throughout the event but the action was hot and heavy up front. D'Agostino actually lost the lead on lap seven to Colin White but a caution occurred without completing a lap and D'Agostino returned to the top spot. He did not make a mistake again as White would come to a halt on lap-13. The change placed the hard charging Damon Paul in the runner-up slot as he began the event in tenth place. Joel Smith, Cody Smith, Chad Sandt and Jacob Balliet were making their moves as the laps dwindled down. Paul made a couple of bids for the lead but D'Agostino was rock solid in collecting his first win of the season at Hamlin. Joel Smith nipped Damon Paul for second at the finish line with Paul in third, Cody Smith fourth and Chad Sandt fifth. Jacob Balliet headed up the second five with Joseph Smith, Mack Brink, Duane White and Joey Amantea following.
The Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified event found Tanner VanDoren grabbing the lead at the start and just as quickly had Joel Smith racing with him for the lead. The youngster VanDoren was cool, calm and collected as he stayed in the 13 second time bracket and Smith just a tick or two behind. VanDoren would race on to his first career win in the division with Joel Smith in the runner-up slot. Amanda and Adam Buchel were next in line with Joel Price completing the top five. Evan Civick, John Bachetti Jr, Cody Motto and Jeff Hineline 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 David Cropps, Mike Williams, Brad Tunny, Chris Delgreco, Jason Sopczak, Drew Blickesderfer and James Edwards finishing in that order.
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 again provided the entrants a great track for an exciting evening of racing.
Newcomers to the speedway included Paul Ennes as the former track champion returned to action after a few years hiatus. He was competing in a race car formally owned by Bill Darcy. "The J-Man" Jasper Ziegafuse transitioned into the All Star Slingshots and performed well in his initial outing. Evan Van Valkenburg made his initial start of the season in the Junior Slingshots. Brock Pinkerous made his first appearance in the Junior Slingshots in his Northeast Paving and Sealcoat machine. Another new name was Pauly Hartwig III, also in the Junior Slingshot division. Josh Diehl was a new entry for the Rookie 600 Sprints. It was good to have Geordan Marrero return to action in the 600 Sprints and John Bachetti Jr in the Stage One Modifieds.
Heat race wins went to Kasey Hufcut and Mikey Johannes in the Junior Slingshots. In the 600 Sprints, Chad Sandt and Colin White captured heat race wins. Kyle Ferrucci captured the heat race win for the 270 Sprints. Adam Buchel was victorious in the Stage One Modified heat. Jason Edison
captured the Super Slinger heat.
The Rookie 600 Sprints did time trials with the top time going to Ryan Stangle at 12.392 Seconds. The All Star Slingshots also times and Jared Silfee timed quickest at 14.321 Seconds.
"The Big Show" Joey Amantea had an interesting evening albeit also a frustrating one. When his primary car began having issues, the Team left the speedway and headed back to the shop and returned with a back-up so Joey could continue racing for the evening. That is dedication!
RESULTS:
All Star Slingshots: Scott Neary, Wes Hearn, Taylor Mills, Dale Kober, John Kendall, Tess Horvath, Tyler Banks, Tanner Jones, Tanner VanDoren, Jasper Ziegafuse, Adam Buchel, Mike Fogler, Rachel Dickinson, Ashley Kober, Paul Ennes, Jared Silfee, Nick Vinciguerra, Jason Edison, Austin Silfee
Winged 270cc Sprints: Alex Reinsmith, Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci, Don Schmidt
Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600cc Sprints: Mick D'Agostino, Joel Smith, Damon Paul, Cody Smith, Chad Sandt, Jacob Balliet, Joseph Smith, Mack Brink, Duane White, Joey Amantea, Geordan Marrero, Tony Parlanti, Earl Rice, Tyler Lindsay, Justin Mills, Colin White, Ryan Lacoe, Ryan Neil, Joe Nemeth, Paul Richards Jr
Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Tanner VanDoren, Joel Smith, Admanda Buchel, Adam Buchel, Joel Price, Evan Civick, John Bachetti Jr, Cody Motto, Jeff Hineline
Junior Slingshots: Kasey Hufcut, James Benz, Shelby McLaughlin, JJ Rice, Austin Homan, James Hendricks, Talon Prinz, Brian Smith, Ashton DeWitt, Evan Van Valkenburg, Brock Pinkerous, Charlene Benz, Aiden Donaldson, Joey Kalafut, Abby Yates, Mikey Johannes, Pauly Hartwig III
Super Slingshots: Wes Hearn, Dale Kober, Drew Blickensderfer, James Edwards, Paul Ennes, David Guest, Mark Exeter, Jason Edison
JPA Masonry Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: Noah Zielinski, Zack Weisenfluh, Dennis Stawinsky, Ryan Lacoe, Joey Amantea, Aidan Borden, Brandon Nicholas, Josh Diehl, Earl Rice, Dennis Chamberlain, Matt Zielinski, Carmen Leggio Sr, Ryan Stangle, Richie Maguire, Rich Maguire, Cody Powell
NASCAR Crew Challenge #1: (June) Jason Edison, David Croops, Mike "Bama" Williams, Brad Tunney, Chris Delgreco, Jason Sopczak, Drew Blickensderfer, James Edwards
Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for June 9th when all Divisions will be in action on the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval and the speedway will host the second special event for the Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600 Sprints with $750.00 on the line for a 30 car entry field plis dual heats for the division
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
