HAMLIN SPEEDWAY NEWS
ByHamlin, PA - Hamlin Speedway Sizzles With Action In Exciting Seven Feature Race Card
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
The Northeastern area of Pennsylvania has run the gamut for some very unpredictable weather in 2016 and this past week was no exception to the rule. Hot muggy weather that reached into the nineties truly tested the hearts and souls of the racers and the loyal fan bases who live for the spectacle of speed and support the speedway. Promoter Randy Smith and crew had the Hamlin Speedway racing surface whipped into impeccable condition and another spectacular racing program was presented to a good sized crowd who brave the heat to witness the best of the best in small car division racing perform at the top level of competition. The stars and cars of the speedway produced their own kind of heat through close side by side racing, slide-jobs and dicing through the pack to provide for a great evening of racing excitement. The final checkered flag waved at 9:27 PM. The evening of speed was presented by S&S speedways Indoor Go Karts located in Snydersville, Pennsylvania.
Some familiar faces were all smiles back in the Hamlin victory circle. "The A-Team" Brandon Azzalina found his way back into victory lane with a wire to wire triumph that saw him earn his third win of the season in the 600 Sprint finale. "The Bloomingburg Bullet" Taylor Mills was a bullet from the word go as he raced to his first win in the All Star Slingshot finale. Tim Bauer used "Bauer Power" to hustle to his second consecutive win in the Rookie 600 Sprint headliner. Paul Richards Jr was spot on as he claimed his sixth win of the season in the Wingless 270 Sprint feature attraction. Cole Stangle captured his fourth win of the season in the Junior Slingshot feature and second in succession. "The Ambassador" Wes Hearn captured his ninth win of the season in the Super Slingers. "The Nickel Man" Joel Smith utilized a fast hot rod race to win his second feature event of the season in the Hampton RV And Trailers Sales Stage One Modified main.
The evening of feature main events once saw an exciting Junior Slingshot twenty lap headliner that found Cole Stangle take off from his outside pole start and quickly found Hunter Lapp, Jared Silfee and Shelby McLaughlin applying the early pressure. Stangle was able to dial in some fast laps to move out to a four car length lead with second place up in the air until the end of the event. A banzai move late in the race from JJ Rice shuffled the deck as he made contact with Hunter Lapp and it shook Lapp loose and Lapp did a great job of holding on to the race car but lost valuable real estate in the process. Cole Stangle raced to the win with Silfee in second, McLaughlin in third, Rice in fourth and Adam Buchel completing the top five. Lapp recovered nicely to finish sixth with Ty Kelly, Tanner VanDoren, newcomer Tanner Jones, Emily Fleming and James Hendricks completing the field.
The 20-lap headliner for the All Star Slingshot racers found intense racing throughout the field and as always the event proved to be another classic run in the pages of the Hamlin Speedway history book. Taylor Mills utilized his pole start to his advantage for at the drop of the green flag he blasted into the lead and was banging out consistent 13.5 second laps to open up a small advantage over the field. "Magic Shoes" Mike McLaughlin was second for a good portion of the event but gave way to Russell Benke and Wes Hearn. As the laps clicked off, Mills was more than up to the task as he never waivered and went on to claim his first career victory in the All Star Slingshots. Benke was second with Hearn in third, Brett Bieber fourth and Chris Kurtz in fifth after starting in 12th position. McLaughlin headed up the second five with Alan Selemba, Tyler Peet, Dale Kober and Austin Silfee completing the top ten. 17 of the 21 starters completed all of the laps in the fast paced event.
Brandon Azzalina grabbed the lead at the start of the Wingless 600 Sprint main with Ryan Quackenbush, Danny Buccafusca and Sam Kravitsky applying the pressure. A small skirmish had Quackenbush getting turned around by Kravitsky and both cars went to the back of the bus for the restart. From seventh starting spot came "Bad" Chad Sandt as Sandt took the road less traveled as he heaved his racer to the to outer reaches of the speedway and began his assault to the front of the field. Sandt moved his racer into second place and began to close quickly on Azzalina who was working the baseline to perfection. Another caution slowed the pace and on the restart Azzalina made the move to work his magic at the top of the raceway and turned some fast 12.173 times to step away from the field and go on capture his third win of the season. Sandt was masterful in a fine runner-up drive with Buccafusca third, Joel Smith fourth and Joseph Smith completing the top five. Sam Kravitsky made a great recovery to race back to sixth with Rick Calvert, JD Casazza, newcomer Mike Myers and Mick D'Agostino completing the top ten.
Louden Reimert was quick to establish command of the point in the early going of the Wingless 270 Sprint encounter. Paul Richards Jr dogged him early and remained close and a bobble by Reimert out of turn four on lap nine was the move Richards was seeking as he moved his racer underneath Reimert to seize the lead. Once in front, Richards raced away to his sixth win of the season. Reimert enjoyed a great run for second with newcomer Jonathan Swift third, Randy Gombert fourth and Stephen Weirich and Glenn Macomber completing the field.
The Super Slinger shootout was another superb run for Wes Hearn as he blistered the speedway with consistent 13.2 second laps to step away from the field and go on to claim his ninth win of the season. Dale Kober was a strong runner-up with Steve Pirone, Ryan Lacoe and Jimmy Conroy completing the field.
Joel Smith controlled the Hampton RV & Trailer Sales Stage One Modified encounter at the start of the event and he enjoyed a non-contested run to the checkered flag to claim his second win of the season. Damon Paul raced to a fine second place finish with Chloe Andreas third, Charlie Bodine fourth, Michael Samony fifth and Bill Dianella sixth.
Jacob Balliet grabbed the lead in the Rookie 600 Sprint main and led the first nine laps until problems sidelined him from the event. Jakson Ring inherited the lead but before another lap could be scored Tim Bauer overtook him and Bauer would hustle away from the field to go on and claim his second consecutive win at the speedway. Ring was second with Geordan Marrero third, Mack Brink fourth and Joe Howey completing the top five. Newcomer Mike Myers headed up the second five followed by Noah Zielinski, Tony Parlanti, Kyle Exley and Brett Altemose.
PEARL JAMS:
Randy Smith kept pace with the speedway all night long as some short intermission sessions were needed to add some moisture into the speedway surface. The great track conditions created some excellent short track racing competition at its finest and the drivers were negotiating the racing channels of the Hamlin Speedway in two and three wide fashion for much of the evening.
A series of time trials were held for Wingless 600 Sprints and Sam Kravitsky posted the top time with a 12.366 second lap nipping Danny Buccafusca who times 12.396. The Junior Slingshots also timed and Jared Silfee posted the top time with a 14.182 clocking just ahead of the 14.343 second lap of Hunter Lapp.
A series heat events were in place for the All Star Slingshots and heat wins were recorded by Russell Benke, Wes Hearn and Mike McLaughlin. The 270 Sprint heat found Louden Reimert in victory lane. Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint heats were captured by Jacob Balliet and Jakson Ring. Wes Hearn captured the lone Super Slinger heat. Cole Stangle was victorious in the Stage One Modified heat event.
Some newcomers tested the Hamlin facility with Junior Slingshot driver Tanner Jones making his first start. Mike Myers and Matthew Swift were new additions to the 600 Sprints. Jonathan Swift made his first 2016 Hamlin start in the 270 Sprints. Scott Myers was a new addition to the Rookie 600 Sprints.
"The Sandman" Troy Langendoerfer was walking the grounds looking for a ride. He is hoping to return to action very shortly.
Announcer Steve Pados introduced his brother Ed to the crowd and engaged in a short interview with him regarding the upcoming Slingshot Speed weeks that will end at Hamlin with many stops in between including the Reading Nostalgia Nationals at the new Reading Fairgrounds. Ed Pados and his brother Steve have collected sponsors for the event going on twelve years now and are hoping some new sponsors can come on board for the next upcoming event. Any interested parties who want to get involved can contact Ed at: 610-739-0391. The event was Ed's first look at the Hamlin facility and he and his Son-In-Law John Hershey gave the speedway and the management staff the highest of ratings for a well run show. In the interview, Ed thanked for the Smith Family for their hospitality and for their long support of the Reading event.
Longtime friend "The Other" Billy Decker took in the show and is another who holds the Hamlin Speedway in high regards.
Young racer Alex Yankowski tried his hand at announcing at Hamlin and did a good job considering it was his first event to do so. Alex admitted it was much harder than it seems but he is looking forward to his next outing at the speedway.
Upcoming events on the Hamlin racing calendar include a regular show on July 30th which will include the NASCAR Crew Challenge. The first event was rained out so the Crew Guys will be looking to put on a good show as the winner will be seeking bragging rights in the NASCAR Garage area. WE never know who just might show up so for the fans, make plans to be here.
RESULTS:
All Star Slingshots: Taylor Mills, Russell Benke III, Wes Hearn, Brett Bieber, Chris Kurtz, Mike McLaughlin, Alan Selemba, Tyler Peet, Dale Kober, Austin Silfee, Tyler Pirone, Justin Mills, Ryan Neiger, Ashley Kober, Steve Pirone, Nick Vinciguerra, Clayton Davey, Amanda Buchel, Josh Marcus, Anthony Recchio, Tess Horvath
270cc Sprints: (Wingless) Paul Richards Jr, Louden Reimert, Jonathan Swift, Randy Gombert, Stephen Weirich, Glenn Macomber
600cc Wingless Sprints: Brandon Azzalina, Chad Sandt, Danny Buccafusca, Joel Smith, Joseph Smith, Sam Kravitsky, Rick Calvert, JD Casazza, Mike Myers, Mick D'Agostino, Ryan Quackenbush, Matthew Swift, Dylan Martin, Louie Horvath, Zac Azzalina, Ryan Neil
Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Joel Smith, Damon Paul, Chloe Andreas, Charlie Bodine, Michael Samony, Bill Dianella, Cole Stangle
Junior Slingshots: Cole Stangle, Jared Silfee, Shelby McLaughlin, JJ Rice, Adam Buchel, Hunter Lapp, Ty Kelly, Tanner VanDoren, Tanner Jones, Emily Fleming, James Hendricks
Super Slingshots: Wes Hearn, Dale Kober, Steve Pirone, Ryan Lacoe, Jim Conroy
Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: Tim Bauer, Jakson Ring, Geordan Marrero, Mack Brink, Joe Howey, Mike Myers, Noah Zielinski, Tony Parlanti, Kyle Exley, Brett Altemose, Scott Myers, Justin Hartz, Savannah Leggio, Jacob Balliet, JR Williams, Carmen Leggio Sr, Paul Richards Jr
Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for July 30th when all Divisions will be in action plus the return of the NASCAR Crew Challenge on the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval. Make sure to check the Hamlin Speedway website for 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, Yankowski Enterprises, Triple Cities Mack, Dickie Keiper Speed Supplies, Ron Brown Hauling, Classic Cycles, Kim's Kreations, RockAuto.com, Howe's Comfort Inn and Santarelli And Sons Oil Company are all part of the advertising family at the speedway and we graciously thank them for their support.
For further updates and information regarding all of the news and additions to the Hamlin Speedway, logon to their well documented website at: http://www.hamlinspeed.com or call the speedway hotline at: 570 420 5500.
The Hamlin Speedway Is The "Pearl" In The Poconos
