HAMLIN SPEEDWAY NEWS
ByHamlin, PA -Hamlin Speedway Halted By Heavy Storm After Four Features
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
The Hamlin Speedway was rolling along with time to spare on Saturday night when a quick hitting over the top storm converged on the speedway with four laps remaining in the Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600 Sprint main. The cars were quickly taken off of the track for safety purposes just as the skies above the speedway opened up. The feature was declared official and the remaining three divisions were postponed until a later date. The racing was spectacular until the rains came and a nice crowd was on hand to witness the action on the speedway. Hamlin Speedway Promoter Randy Smith had the 1/5th mile clay oval in impeccable condition and once again took some breaks to keep the facility top notch and racy from top to bottom.
The All Star Slingshot feature event found Scott Neary hitting on all cylinders as he overcame an early lead by Tyler Banks to go on and become the first Slingshot driver to capture two feature events in 2018. "The Electric Man" Colin White only led the final few feet last week to record his first win but this week he put an exclamation point on all that as he grabbed the lead on the first turn and led the rest of the way to score his second win of the season in the Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600 Sprint headliner. Aidan Donaldson was truly a happy camper in the RLE Towing and Recovery Victory Lane as he earned his first career win at Hamlin with a wire to wire triumph in the exciting Junior Slingshot feature. The JPA Masonry Rookie 600 Sprint division was introduced trackside to the crowd for the first time and they proceeded to show their appreciation with a top notch feature show that found Noah Zielinski sailing to his fourth win of the season.
New Yorker Tyler Banks grabbed the lead at the start of the All Star Slingshot feature event and he would set a torrid pace through the first seven laps of the event. Neary started from the fourth slot and used a variety of spots on the race track to make his passes and move into the runner-up slot. Reeling off a 13.8 second lap, Neary slipped past Banks and began to step away from the field. Banks gave way to Jared Silfee and the returning Taylor Mills and both drivers were able to close the distance but it would be Neary capturing his second win of the season. Silfee, Mills, Banks and Adam Buchel completed the top five. Heading up the second five was the returning John Kendall and he was followed by Paul Ennes, Dale Kober, Mike Fogler and Tanner Jones.
The Junior Slingshot feature found Aidan Donaldson grabbing up the lead in turn one. Donaldson, in his rookie season at Hamlin, found his marks early and was consistent with his lap times. Austin Homan raced into second place with Shelby McLaughlin in third. A couple of skirmished slowed the pace a bit but Donaldson remained determined with each restart. Late in the race, McLaughlin got by Homan and chased Donaldson down with some quick laps of her own but Donaldson drove under Russ Furry's checkered flag to earn his first ever Hamlin Speedway victory. McLaughlin was second with Austin Homan, James Benz and Joey Kalafut completing the top five. The second five found Jacob Taylor, Brian Smith, Ashton DeWitt, Kasey Hufcut and JJ Rice following.
After introductions and rousing send off from the fans, Noah Zielinski put on a show as he blitzed the speedway with some 12.3 second times in the JPA Masonry Rookie 600 Wingless Sprint event. Tyler Lindsay remained close throughout the event but the night belonged to Zielinski as he overcame an upside down situation from a week ago. With the race car repaired and faster than ever, Zielinski earned his fourth win of the season at Hamlin. Lindsay was second and he too overcame a scary moment when his primary car was knocked out of commission during hot laps. Undaunted, Lindsay ran well for a second place finish while Tony Parlanti, Dennis Chamberlain and Zack Weisenfluh completed the top five. Ryan Lacoe, Aidan Borden, Rich Maguire, Ryan Stangle and Cory Zielinski completed the top ten.
Colin White took the lead at the start of the headliner Chad Wheeler Excavating 600 Sprint event. White immediately ripped off some 12.3 second laps to make everyone aware he was on his a-game. A sixth lap scuffle slowed the paced and eliminated contenders Damon Paul and Cody Smith. On the restart, White rocketed away from the field but behind him the drivers were working each other with professional courtesy and quick to speed. Mick D'Agostino was coming off a Friday night win at the Accord Speedway in the sprint cars and he quickly found his mark whether utilizing the top of the raceway or driving to the baseline. D'Agostino started tenth but by mid-point was second and he began reeling in White. The duo was nose to tail when the rains came and the race was declared official with White picking up win number two for the season. D'Agostino was second with the returning Robbie Hocker third, Chad Sandt fourth and Duane White completing the top five. Paul Richards Jr headed up the second five with Zack Bealer, Joe Nemeth, Mack Brink and Geordan Marrero rounding out the top ten.
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 for track maintenance. The expected rain came early than anticipated but the rain is definitely needed in our area and the speedway will catch up on the remaining three events at a later time.
The speedway again apologizes for the problems with the PA System but promises to iron then out quickly.
The Junior Slingshot heats were won by James Benz and JJ Rice. Noah Zielinski and Tyler Lindsay captured heat wins in JPA Masonry Rookie Wingless 600 Sprints. Roger Collins captured the Super Slinger Slingshot heat event. The 600 Sprints ran off two heats with Damon Paul and Chad Sandt the two winners. Stage One Modified heats were claimed by John Comandini and Joel Price. Glenn Macomber captured the 270 Sprint heat. John Kendall and Jared Silfee captured heat wins in the All Star Slingshots.
Newcomers and returnees who made their way to the speedway last night included Taylor Mills, John Kendall, Mike Fogler and CJ Fritz in the All Star Slingshots. Mackenzie and Micah Adams made their first Junior Slingshot starts. Jeff Ball made his second appearance at the speedway in the 600 Sprints. Robbie Hocker, Justin Mills, Damon Paul and Joey Amantea all returned to action in the 600 Sprints. Jacob Eby was a newcomer for the 270 Sprints.
Jasper Ziegafuse has taken over the John Bachetti Sr ride in the Stage One Modifieds. and looked real good in his first outing. Jack Hanna is now competing in the Rookie 600 Sprints in a car formerly owned by Hamlin regular Shelby Harper.
Current Hamlin drivers Mick D'Agostino and Anthony Recchio scored Friday night wins at the Accord Speedway, D'Agostino his fifth win and Recchio his second win. Former regular Cole Stangle picked up his third Accord Speedway win on Friday Night. The top six drivers in the Sportsman finish at Accord on Friday night were all former graduates of the Slingshot division at Hamlin. Anthony Recchio, Kyle Rohner, Alex VanPelt, Leo Fotopoulos,Tyler Johnston and Cole Hentschel finished first through sixth in the 25-lap feature. Congratulations to each driver and Hamlin Speedway is extremely proud of your accomplishments. Keep up the good work!
RESULTS:
All Star Slingshots: Jared Silfee, Austin Silfee, Scott Neary, Dale Kober, Tanner Jones, Jasper Ziegafuse, Tyler Banks, Emily Fleming, Andrew Turpin, John DeWitt, Paul Ennes, Troy Langendoerfer, Wes Hearn, Tess Horvath, Adam Buchel, Mike Taylor, Rachel Dickinson, Ashley Kober, Tanner VanDoren
Winged 270cc Sprints: Postponed until a later date
Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600cc Sprints: Colin White, Mick D'Agostino, Robbie Hocker, Chad Sandt, Duane White, Paul Richards Jr, Zack Bealer, Joe Nemeth, Mack Brink, Geordan Marrero, Justin Mills, Joel Smith, Joseph Smith, Aidan Borden, Joey Amantea, Cody Smith, Damon Paul, Tyler Lindsay, Jeff Ball
Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Postponed until a later date
Junior Slingshots: Aidan Donaldson, Shelby McLaughlin, Austin Homan, James Benz, Joey Kalafut, Jacob Taylor, Brian Smith, Ashton DeWitt, Kasey Hufcut, JJ Rice, Mikey Johannes, James Hendricks, Mackenzie Adams, Micah Adams, Mason Trautschold, Charlene Benz
Super Slingshots: Postponed until a later date
JPA Masonry Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: Noah Zielinski, Tyler Lindsay, Tony Parlanti, Dennis Chamberlain, Zack Weisenfluh, Ryan Lacoe, Aidan Borden, Rich Maguire, Ryan Stangle, Cory Zielinski, Brandon Nicholas, Carmen Leggio Sr, Richie Maguire, Matt Zielinski, Earl Rice, Jeff Ball, Dennis Stawinsky, Jack Hanna, Earl Rice, Cody Powell
Racing action returns every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for July 21st when all Divisions will be in action on the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval when seven divisions resume their weekly battles. Great racing, great food and lots of fun.
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/
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
