Hamlin, PA - Hamlin Speedway's Sensational Two Day Sizzler Showcases New Winners and New Records
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media

The "Pearl in the Poconos" Hamlin Speedway ushered in their annual two-day "Spring Into Summer Sizzler" spectacular over the weekend and beautiful warm summer weather benchmarked the Tenth Annual two day affair. Both days of competition were filled with exceptional runs by the talented roster of individuals and the standing room only crowds on both days thoroughly enjoyed the close wheel to wheel driving exploits from a great roster of driving talent that ranges from the ages of 7 to 69. The Hamlin Speedway was in top form under the watchful eye of the Smith Family as the two day spectacular produced the great racing memories that will be talked about for some time to come. 222 entries took part in the two day event sponsored by S&S Speedways Indoor Go Karts located in Snydersville, Pennsylvania,

The Friday night action saw some new winners take center stage and a special event for the "Stars of Tomorrow" as the National Tour was part of the evening's festivities and found outside invader Kyle Smith from Kutztown, Pennsylvania upsetting a stellar field of young driving talent. The win was Smith's first career win at Hamlin. Austin Silfee captured his second win of the season in overcoming a strong run by Dale Kober to notch the victory in the All Star Slingshots. "The A-Team" Brandon Azzalina captured the Wingless 600 sprint win after a torrid battle with Joel Smith, Eddie Strada, Danny Buccafusca and Robbie Hocker. "The Sandman" Troy Langendoerfer returned to action with the borrowed car of Mike Marold and had the hot hand as he raced to the feature win in the Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modified excursion. "The Ambassador" Wes Hearn is on a roll at the speedway and added another win in the Super Slinger finale. "The Wild Child" Geordan Marrero captured his first win in the Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint main event. "The Aviator" Robbie Watson returned to action and captured his first win in the 270 Sprint main.

Geordan Marrero put all of the pieces together and his Friday win had him at the top of his game as won the Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint main event. Scott Slater Jr, Brett Altemose, Mikey Smith and Mack Brink completed the top five. Noah Zielinski from nearby Mount Cobb headed up the second five the returning JR Segar, Scott Slater Sr, Joe Howey and Jakson Ring completing the top ten.

It was business as usual for Troy Langendoerfer as he jumped back into a race car after sitting on the sidelines for some time while attending college. Langendoerfer drove the Mike Marold Stage One Modified to a win and it was far from easy as he had Joel Smith nipping away at him throughout the event. Smith was second with Damon Paul third, Stephen Darling fourth and Chloe Andreas rounding out the top five. Caitlin Henneforth, Bill Dianella, Michael Samony, Tyler Peet and Cole Stangle completed the top ten.

Super Slinger action had Wes Hearn rocketing into the lead at the start of the event and he would lead all twenty laps to capture his sixth win of the season. Dale Kober kept the pressure on and would finish in the runner-up slot. John Mirabelli had his best finish of the season with a third place run with Jeff Haduck, Ryan Lacoe, Steve Pirone and Tom Van Pelt completing the field.

Kyle Smith had the hot hand as the best of the best Junior Slingshot driving stars converged at Hamlin for the National Tour event. With an elite 18-car starting field, the action was fast and furious from start to finish as the "Stars of Tomorrow" put on a great show for the fans and can be quite proud of their accomplishments in their budding racing careers. Smith, who is the grandson to racing legend Charley Gilmore, led all of the way to secure the win but tons of pressure came his way as Cole Stangle, Jared Silfee, Hunter Lapp and Michael Corbin were nose to tail for most of the event. Gavin Santee, headed up the second five with Tanner Jones, TY Kelly, JJ Rice and Emily Fleming completing the top ten. Fourteen cars completed the event on the same lap showing just how tough the competition is for the youngsters in racing.

The Wingless 600 Sprint finale was a barnburner from the drop of the green flag. Brandon Azzalina won the race into turn one and it set up a cat and mouse game throughout the entire distance as Eddie Strada, Joel Smith, Danny Buccafusca and Robbie Hocker put on a whale of a show trading slide-jobs and each driver trying to out-power and out-wit his competition. Brandon Azzalina prevailed with his second win of the season while Strada, Smith, Buccafusca and Hocker would complete the top five. Chad Sandt, Colin White, Zac Azzalina, JD Casazza and Joseph Smith finished out the top ten.

Austin Silfee was on rails as he led all of the way to claim second All Star Slingshot win at the speedway in 2016. It wasn't easy by any means as Dale Kober, Wes Hearn Brett Bieber and Mike McLaughlin followed Silfee to the line. Anthony Recchio, Alan Selemba, Taylor Mills, Russell Benke and Tyler Peet completed the top ten.

Robbie Watson led all of the way to claim the win in the 270 Sprint main with Paul Richards Jr, Glenn Macomber and Kyle Ferrucci following Watson to the finish. Watson later asked his girlfriend for her hand in marriage in victory lane, a fitting end for a great night for "The Aviator." By the way, she said YES!

DAY 2:

The Saturday night racing action was fast and furious as Promoters Denise and Randy Smith moved the show along quickly and precisely as the track was in tip-top condition for the racing ahead. With eight features on tap, the evening of speed was checkered flagged with the final event at 10:57 PM.

Stephen Darling captured his first Stage One Modified main event at the speedway and in doing so had to defeat a solid band of marauders who pursued him. from the previous evening. Russell Benke punched his winning ticket for the first time in 2016 as he captured his first win at Hamlin in All Star Slingshot competition. Paul Richards Jr captured the Wingless 270 Sprint main. "The Hurricane" Hunter Lapp took advantage of the prime real estate offered to him and he drove to his second win of the season in the Junior Slingshot main event. "The Ambassador" Wes Hearn is seemingly unstoppable as he notched his seven consecutive win of the season in the Super Slinger headliner and in doing so broke his own one lap track record by stopping the clocks at 13.156 seconds, breaking his old mark of 13.311 seconds he set in 2015. "Radioactive" Robbie Hocker returned to the speedway in recent weeks and drove a flawless race to score his first win at the speedway in some time in the Wingless 600 Sprint main. With an influx of 24 Rookie 600 Sprint entries, the field was split into two features and "The Young Rustler" Jacob Balliet scored his first career win at the speedway with a nifty display of smooth driving. The second Rookie 600 Sprint main was captured by a former All Star Slingshot champion at the speedway, "The Mack Attack" Mack Brink as the Jefferson Township star secured his first career win in his new division.

Paul Richards Jr blasted out front at the start of the Wingless 270 Sprint main and raced out to an early lead while Louden Reimert, a former track regular, came through the field twice to challenge. Richards captured the win with Reimert in second, Jacob Hendershot third, Glenn Macomber fourth and Kyle Ferrucci rounding out the top five.

Wes Hearn started from the pole in the Super Slinger finale but would receive a stiff challenge from Dale Kober throughout the event. Hearn turned up the wick and broke the track record on lap four and in the twenty lap event broke the existing track record at least fifteen times to score his seventh win of the season. Kober was solid in second place with the returning Joe Bodenschatz third, Jeff Cosgrove fourth and Steve Pirone fifth just nipping Ryan Lacoe.

Mike McLaughlin out-gunned Russell Benke at the start of the All Star Slingshot feature and quickly attempted to run to daylight away from the field. The competition would not allow that to happen and Russell Benke in particular as he stayed glued to McLaughlin's bumper for five laps until he baselined his racer off of turn two to pull even and then ahead of McLaughlin in turn three. Benke was able to stay ahead of the crowd vying for his spot and in doing so cranked off some 13.291 second laps to remain at the head of the pack. Benke would go on to win the event with Kober grabbing up runner-up honors. Brett Bieber was third with McLaughlin fourth and Wes Hearn fifth. The entire field remained in close quarters throughout the event and the second five were Alan Selemba, Chris Kurtz, Anthony Recchio, and Justin and Taylor Mills.

Justin Hartz was a rocket at the start of the Rookie 600 Sprint main as grabbed the lead and led the way for the first six laps until recent winner Joe Howey slipped past him. Just as quickly a skirmish occurred and Howey got caught up in it. Jacob Balliet, who had a quick racer all night long, found himself at the head of the pack for the restart and the youngster made the most of it by leading the remaining laps to secure his first ever win at the Hamlin Speedway. JR Segar was second with Joe Howey recovering nicely to race to third, Scott Slater Sr was fourth and Tyler Galatro rounded out the top five. Newcomer Tyler Kehs was sixth and recent addition to the speedway Cody Powell was seventh.

The second Rookie 600 Sprint main found Brett Altemose with the hot hand early on as he led the first 14-laps of the event. Altemose bobbled off of turn two and Mack Brink seized the opportunity to pull event and then take command of the event in turn three. Brink would go on to win his first ever 600 Sprint feature at Hamlin while the hard riding Nate Brinker was the runner-up. Geordan Marrero was third with Altemose recovering for fourth and Aaron Casterlin recovering from an early spin to race back to fifth place. Jesse James Bartleson, Noah Zielinski and Kyle Exley completed the field.

Cole Stangle led the first two laps of the Junior Slingshot main but gave way to the slick running Jared Silfee. Silfee would lead until lap nine when Cole Stangle forged ahead but as the racers came upon slower traffic Stangle found himself off course in the mad scramble that occurred. On the restart, Silfee bobbled a bit and Hunter Lapp took command of the event. Lapp would lead the remainder of the event to secure his second win of the season at Hamlin. "Junior Excitement" JJ Rice would hustle in for second place with Silfee third, "TVD" Tanner Van Doren fourth and Ty Kelly rounding out the top five. The second five were headed up Emily Fleming, John Kendall, Tyler Banks, Jack Clancy and Evan Van Valkenburg.

Stephen Darling seized command of the Hampton RV and Trailer Stage One Modified feature at the drop of the green flag and led all of the way to win his first career feature win at Hamlin. It would be no cakewalk for Darling as Joel Smith dogged him every inch of the way and pulled even on occasion but Darling had enough in the tank to go for the win. Smith was second with Damon Paul, Bill Dianella and Cole Stangle completing the top five. Troy Langendoerfer was sixth while Michael Samony, Janell Geary, Will Casazza and newcomer Jim Hartz completed the field of racers.

The Wingless 600 Sprint main found Robbie Hocker with a fast hot rod as he led the field around the race track. Throughout the course of the event, Hocker was able to be the only racer to dip into the 13 second bracket for a lap. Sam Kravitsky put up a formidable challenge in the Thornton owned racer to finish second with Chad Sandt, Joel Smith and Chris Kurtz completing the top five. The second five found Louie Horvath shaking off his early season bad luck to nail down sixth place and JD Casazza, Danny Buccafusca, Ryan Quackenbush and Grady Johnston completing the top ten.

PEARL JAMS:

Promoters Denise and Randy Smith had the grounds in pristine condition for the two-day weekend and many of the crowd stayed over for both days of the fabulous racing action. Randy Smith continues to work his magic on the race track and it was a fast 1/5th raceway all weekend long with lots of passing throughout both nights of competition. Another tip of the hat goes out to the Smith Family for another great weekend of racing.

The traveling band of young racers was in full force on Friday evening with the Junior Slingshot National Tour event. The contingent included Kyle Smith, Nicholas Flammer, Gavin Santee, Tyler Banks and Tanner Jones. New drivers on hand included Vern McLaughlin, Amanda Conroy, Carl Bittenbender, Joe Bodenschatz, Blaire Schoenly and Alex Van Pelt in the All Star Slingshots. Austin Homan was a new Junior Slingshot entry on Saturday night. Jim Hartz was in control of the Smith Fabrications Rental car for the evening. Tyler Kehs, Savannah Leggio and Carmen Leggio Jr were new 600 Sprint entries. Kevin Pritchard returned to action in the 270 Sprints.

Time trials on Saturday evening were for the Junior Slingshot division and Hunter Lapp clocked off the fast time with a 13.925 second lap. Dale Kober was quick timer in the Super Slingers with a 13.741 time.

Heat wins went to Joel Smith, Jacob Severn and Louie Horvath in the 600 Sprints while All Star Slingshot heats were claimed by Dale Kober, Anthony Recchio, Russell Benke III and Mike McLaughlin. Paul Richards Jr was victorious in the 270 Sprint heat while Cole Stangle and Joel Smith win the Stage One Modified heats. Rookie 600 Sprint heats were won by Brett Altemose, Jacob Balliet and Justin Hartz. A B-Main was needed for the All Star Slingshots and Alex Van Pelt captured the 12-lap event

Special thanks to Rick Ryder, the announcer at Bethel Speedway, who filled in for regular announcer Steve Pados, who had another engagement to announce at.

The Matriarch of the Smith Family, Evelyn Smith has been on hand at the races for the past two weeks and still very much enjoys the great racing action Hamlin provides.

Something I forgot to add in last week's Press Release was that Jason Marold was married to his new wife Lexi two Fridays ago and they spent their first day of wedded bliss at the Hamlin Speedway. What troopers they are! They followed up on Sunday by going on their honeymoon in Atlantic City.

Dan Galatro is selling his 2009 RTS 270 Sprint. He is asking $8,000.00 for everything he has for a 270 and that includes two motors and a shopful of related parts. Reach him at: 609-743-3451 by phone or: dgalatro@gmail.com through email.

The Hamlin Speedway will be dark next week to give the racers and their families a much needed vacation break from the rigors of racing and allow everyone to re-charge their batteries for the start of the second half of the Hamlin season that will kick-off with the running of the VetStock Firecracker 100 event that will roll out at the speedway on July 2nd. A whopping $1,500.00 plus contingencies will greet the winner in victory lane should the 35-car entry list be met for the event. Thirty cars will start the main event and will showcase the best Slingshot drivers in the country with the running of this premier event. Lap Sponsorships are still available and needed and speedway management assures all sponsors that all lap sponsors will be announced prior to the running of the grueling century long spectacular.

The VetStock Firecracker 100 (Hamlin Hundred) event on July 2nd is just two weeks away and anyone who would like to get involved with this great promotion for this event should contact the S&S Speedways at: 570 420 5500. Everyone can also check out the VetStock website at: www.VetStockUSA.com

Whether it be a prize or cash donation for this event, all donations are accepted graciously and all will be announced leading up to the event as well as at the speedway and tickets are being distributed for an over the top Raffle which will offer money prizes each half hour of the scheduled show ranging from $100.00 to $1,000.00. The tickets are $10.00 each with a limit of one thousand tickets to be sold.

Lap Sponsorship is also being sold at $10.00 per lap and offers an opportune time to pump up your sponsors for this great cause and all lap sponsors will be announced prior to the running of the 100-lap event.

RESULTS:
June 17th Results:

All Star Slingshots: Austin Silfee, Dale Kober, Wes Hearn, Brett Bieber, Mike McLaughlin, Anthony Recchio, Alan Selemba, Taylor Mills, Russell Benke III, Tyler Peet, Carl Bittenbender, Damon Paul, Justin Mills, Matt Henneforth, Steve Pirone, Ryan Neiger, Ashley Kober, Tyler Pirone, Josh Marcus, Alex Van Pelt, Vern McLaughlin, Chris Kurtz, Tess Horvath

270cc Sprints: Robbie Watson, Paul Richards Jr, Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci

600cc Wingless Sprints: Brandon Azzalina, Eddie Strada, Joel Smith, Danny Buccafusca, Robbie Hocker, Chad Sandt, Colin White, Zac Azzalina, JD Casazza, Joseph Smith, Chris Kurtz, Sam Kravitsky, Mick D'Agostino, Paul Richards Sr, Johnny Smith, Dylan Martin, Ryan Quackenbush, Rick Calvert, Mike Van Pelt

Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Troy Langendoerfer, Joel Smith, Damon Paul, Stephen Darling, Chloe Andreas, Caitlin Henneforth, Bill Dianella, Michael Samony, Tyler Peet, Cole Stangle, Janell Geary, Evan Civick

Junior Slingshots: (National Tour) Kyle Smith, Cole Stangle, Jared Silfee, Hunter Lapp, Michael Corbin, Gavin Santee, Tanner Jones, Ty Kelly, JJ Rice, Emily Fleming, Tanner VanDoren, Shelby McLaughlin, Tyler Banks, Evan Van Valkenburg, Adam Buchel, Nathen Marold, Nicholas Flammer, Colton Geary

Super Slingshots: Wes Hearn, Dale Kober, John Mirabelli, Jeff Haduck, Ryan Lacoe, Steve Pirone, Tom Van Pelt

Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: Geordan Marrero, Scott Slater Jr, Brett Altemose, Mikey Smith, Mack Brink, Noah Zielinski, Jr Segar, Scott Slater Sr, Joe Howey, Jakson Ring, Justin Hartz, Tyler Galatro, Cody Powell, Jacob Balliet

June 18th Results:

All Star Slingshots: Russell Benke, Dale Kober, Brett Bieber, Mike McLaughlin, Wes Hearn, Alan Selemba, Chris Kurtz, Anthony Recchio, Justin Mills, Taylor Mills, Austin Silfee, Tyler Pirone, Amanda Conroy, Josh Marcus, Ryan Neiger, Tyler Peet, Alex Van Pelt, Damon Paul, Nick Vinciquerra, Vern McLaughlin, Jeff Cosgrove, Blaire Schoenly, Matt Henneforth, Joe Bodenschatz

Wingless 270cc Sprints: Paul Richards Jr, Louden Reimert, Jacob Hendershot, Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci, Kevin Pritchard

600cc Wingless Sprints: Robbie Hocker, Sam Kravitsky, Chad Sandt, Joel Smith, Chris Kurtz, Louie Horvath, JD Casazza, Danny Buccafusca, Ryan Quackenbush, Grady Johnston, Nate Brinker, Mick D'Agostino, Jesse James Bartleson, Rick Calvert, Jacob Severn, Colin White, Carmen Leggio Jr, Joseph Smith, Paul Richards Sr, Dylan Martin, Ryan Neil

Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Stephen Darling, Joel Smith, Damon Paul, Bill Dianella, Cole Stangle, Troy Langendoerfer, Michael Samony, Janell Geary, Will Casazza, Jim Hartz, Chloe Andreas, Caitlin Henneforth

Junior Slingshots: Hunter Lapp, JJ Rice, Jared Silfee, Tanner Van Doren, Ty Kelly, Emily Fleming, John Kendall, Tyler Banks, Jack Clancy, Evan Van Valkenburg, Austin Homan, Adam Buchel, Tommy Stillo, Michael Corbin, James Hendricks, Colton Geary, James Costlow, Gavin McClure, Shelby McLaughlin, Cole Stangle, Nathen Marold (DNS)

Super Slingshots: Wes Hearn, Dale Kober, Joe Bodenschatz, Jeff Cosgrove, Steven Pirone, Ryan Lacoe, Jim Conroy, Mike Jablonka, Ryan Neiger

Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (1) Jacob Balliet, JR Segar, Joe Howey, Scott Slater Sr, Tyler Galatro, Tyler Kehs, Cody Powell, Justin Hartz, Steve Van Valkenburg, Jakson Ring, Scott Slater Jr, Carmen Leggio Sr

Rookie Wingless 600 Sprints: (2) Mack Brink, Nate Brinker, Geordan Marrero, Brett Altemose, Aaron Casterlin, Jesse James Bartleson, Noah Zielinski, Kyle Exley, Ron Bosga, Tony Parlanti, Scott Rupp, Savannah Leggio

Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. Hamlin Speedway will be dark on June 25th to allow racing families time off to enjoy some quality summer vacation time. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for July 2nd when all Divisions will be in action on the 1/5th mile clay cushioned oval and the special VetStock Firecracker 100 for the All Star Slingshot division will highlight the racing action. $1,500.00 will greet the winner of the event should 35 or more cars be entered into this premier event. Raffle tickets are being sold to raise money for VetStock, a Not for Profit 501c3 organization. A Chinese Auction and many additional fun things are on tap for this very special evening at the Hamlin Speedway. To learn more about VetStock, go to their website at: www.VetStockUSA.com

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, 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, log on to their well documented website at: http://hamlinspeed.com or call the speedway hotline at: 570 420 5500. Visit us often for a great night of racing action as............................................

The Hamlin Speedway Is The "Pearl" In The Poconos