Hamlin, PA - Justin Mills Simply Magnificent In Dominating Win In VetStock Firecracker 100 At Hamlin Speedway
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media

The Fourth of July weekend found the Hamlin Speedway swinging back into racing action after being dark and silent for a week of rest and relaxation. The hard working promotional team of Denise and Randy Smith was ready for the onslaught of 118 race cars and the standing room only crowd that arrived at the speedway. The management and staff at the Hamlin Speedway put forth a superlative effort and produced another great evening of racing in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. The eight feature card was sponsored by Hollywood Towing from Middletown, New York and the S&S Speedways located in Snydersville, Pennsylvania. The results were spectacular and the fans and drivers put forth a great effort to raise money for the VetStock Veterans Group in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The standing room only crowd witnessed an eight feature event card with the VetStock Firecracker 100 lap feature for the All Star Slingshots being the showcased event of the evening. Bloomingburg, New York resident "The High Side Hustler" Justin Mills was at the top of his game as he dominated the Hollywood Towing & Auto and S&S Speedways sponsored VetStock Firecracker 100 event by leading every lap to capture the more than $1,200.00 in prize money plus contingencies. "Bad" Chad Sandt was flawless in performance as he worked the speedway cushion to perfection in recording his first win of the 2016 season in the Wingless 600 Sprint finale. Jared Silfee made a profound statement as he drove through the field to capture his third win of the season in the Junior Slingshot feature attraction. Former track champion Nunzi Allegrucci returned to Hamlin for the first time in 2016 was all business as he wired the field and roared away to his first win of the season. "The Ambassador" Wes Hearn was in top form as he wired the field on his way to his eighth consecutive win in the Super Slinger feature. "The Wild Child" Geordan Marrero became the first driver in the Rookie 600 Sprints to capture his second win of the season and the second Rookie 600 Sprint feature was captured by first time competitor Lavar Scott as the Carney Point, New Jersey racer led all of the way to claim his first ever Hamlin triumph. "The Nickel Man" Joel Smith was on rails in the last portion of the Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified feature attraction as he overcame the lead of the "Sunshine Gypsy" Charlie Bodine to score his first win of the season. When the racing action was completed, the highs and lows of victory and defeat came to light but for all of the competitors, each and everyone of them should be applauded for their fine efforts on an evening where giving back meant as much as the thrill of victory. The VetStock event headed up by S&S Speedways, Hollywood Towing & Auto, Hamlin Speedway and the Rode Racing, put forth a solid effort that saw a good sum of dollars raised for the locally based charitable organization

Fast timers Justin Mills and Tyler Peet brought the 33-car starting field down for the start of the VetStock Firecracker 100 event. Mills had the hot ticket and was quick and showed it early on by racing out front with a gaggle of hot rodders chasing him down for real estate. Early skirmishes slowed the pace a bit but once the racers found their grooves the results were more than worth the price of an admission ticket as the racing throughout the field was incredible. Mills led through the first fifty laps when a break was taken for the racers to recharge and replenish their race cars. At the end of the first fifty laps it was Mills, Wes Hearn, Brett Bieber, Dale Kober and Chris Kurtz being shown as the top five.

As the race restarted for the second fifty, it was Mills again racing out front with Hearn faltering a bit and Brett Bieber making his bid to win the event. Samantha Muller, who was running ninth, had some problems under the hood of her racer ending her fine efforts for the evening. The jockeying for position behind Mills was incredible but each time a burst of speedway from Mills allowed him to remain at the top of the heap. Mills got very close to a track record as he clicked off a 13.076 lap to challenge closely the one lap mark of 13.024 set two years ago by Trevor LaBagh. Mills was in the zone as he was consistent with his strong lap times that ranged from his fast time of 13.076 to the 13.250 mark. Bieber and Kober also turned up the wick as they were turning laps in the 13.2 to 13.4 range.

There was no stopping Mills in this great run for the roses as he raced to a sweet and rewarding win over Brett Bieber, Dale Kober, Tyler Pirone and Mike McLaughlin. Sixth through tenth were Wes Hearn, Russell Benke, Chris Kurtz, Kyle Herve and Josh Marcus. David Burns, Nick Vinciguerra, Tyler Peet, Ryan Neiger and Roger Collins completed the top fifteen.
Seventeen drivers completed all 100 laps of the event.

In 270 Sprint action, the returning Nunzi Allegrucci grabbed the lead at the opening bell and led all of the way to capture his first victory at Hamlin in quite some time.through the first seven laps. Brittany Erlsten found a fast seam on the raceway to record her own great run for runner-up honors. Paul Richards Jr, Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci, Tyler Galatro and the returning Don Schmidt completed the field.

Chad Sandt powered into the lead at the start of the 600 Sprint main just as quickly had Joel Smith and Louie Horvath breathing down his tailpipes. The trio raced away from the field for a few laps but attrition would bring the field back together for restarts. Sandt was spectacular racing to the top of the cushion while Smith and Horvath were glued to the baseline of the speedway. A restart on lap-18 for the spinning Chad VanHorn brought the field together for one last restart. Sandt raced to the top of the raceway while Smith pulled even in turn one but got into the turn a bit hot and spun out. The restart found Sandt racing the final two laps while holding off a determined Sam Kravitsky to capture his first win of the season at Hamlin. Kravitsky was second in the Thornton owned race car followed by Danny Buccafusca, Joseph Smith and JD Casazza. The second five found the returning Steven Gully, newcomer Wayne Scott Jr, newcomer Taylor Troxel, Joel Smith and Carmen Leggio Jr completing the top ten.

JJ Rice won a drag race over Hunter Lapp at the start of the Junior Slingshot finale to hustle into the lead. Rice was quick as he led through the first half of the feature. From sixth starting place, Jared Silfee was on the move as he one by one slipped past his competition into the runner-up slot. Silfee used an inside move to pull even and then drive by Rice who seemingly had slowed a bit off of the pace. Silfee was in command the remainder of the way to pick up his third win of the season. Cole Stangle used a late charge to wind up as the runner-up with Hunter Lapp third, Rice fourth and Shelby McLaughlin doing a great job for fifth. Tanner VanDoren, Tyler Banks, Ty Kelly, Adam Buchel and Jake Mason completed the top ten.

The Super Slingers racing action found Wes Hearn hustling out to a comfortable lead early in the event with early pressure coming from Dale Kober. After the midway point of the event, Hearn stretched his lead with 13.384 second laps and drove away to his eighth consecutive win in the division. Dale Kober was second with Roger Collins, Steve Pirone and Ryan Lacoe following.

Geordan Marrero took the lead on the first lap of the first of two Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint main events and led all of the way but had to hold off a determined effort by Mack Brink to become the first rookie driver to secure his second win of the season. Brink was second with Kyle Exley doing great work in third place, the returning Tim Bauer Fourth, and newcomer Brevan Rothermal rounding out the top five. Rothermal was a first time competitor at the speedway who got upside down in hot laps and made repairs to come back for a good finish in an extremely up and down night for the teenager from Blandon, Pennsylvania. Carmen Leggio Sr was sixth with Ron Bosga, and newcomer Savannah Leggio following.

Lavar Scott, who is a regular at Airport Speedway, gave the Hamlin Speedway a try and the results were fantastic as he grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag and reeled off some 12.262 second laps to distance himself form the field and go on to capture his first ever win at Hamlin. Local star Noah Zielinski kept pace for runner-up honors with Mikey Smith, Jacob Balliet and Kevin Weiand completing the top five. Jakson Ring, JR Williams, Cody Powell and the returning Mark Berkenstock complete the field.

Charlie Bodine returned to Hamlin from his Florida residence and picked up a ride in the Smith Fabrication rental machine for the night of racing. Bodine showed he had not skipped a beat as he raced out to an early lead. Joel Smith broke free into the runner-up role and began trying to figure out a way around the high flying Bodine. On lap seventeen, Smith made his bid off of the baseline to pull even with Bodine and eventually slip past him and go on for his first win of the 2016 racing season. Bodine was the solid runner-up with Bill Dianella, Chloe Andreas and Damon Paul completing the top five. Cole Stangle, Will Casazza, Troy Langendoerfer, Janell Geary, Caitlin Henneforth, the returning John Lakatos and Evan Civick completed the list of finishers.

Pearl Jams:

Randy Smith had the speedway in impeccable condition as the multi-channeled facility was very racy throughout the evening and the Smith Crew can be proud of their efforts in keeping the speedway in top form and producing a great show for the fans.

The time trials for the 33 All Star Slingshots on hand found Justin Mills stopping the clocks at 14.115 seconds to lead all racers in the All Star Slingshots as he nipped Tyler Peet who timed at 14.183 seconds and Wes Hearn who timed at 14.192 seconds. Paul Richards Jr was top timer for the 270 Sprints with a 11.567 second time.

The heat racing action produced some great side by side battles with heat winners being Joel Smith, Chad Sandt and Louie Horvath in the 600 Sprints, Wes Hearn in the Super Slingers, Damon Paul and Joel Smith in the Stage One Modifieds. Cole Stangle, Shelby McLaughlin and Hunter Lapp recorded wins in the Junior Slingshots. Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint heat wins were claimed by Lavar Scott, Mack Brink and Jakson Ring.

Newcomers and returning drivers to the speedway included the racing Scott Family, Wayne Sr and Jr and Lavar, Mark Berkenstock, Nathan Smith, Brevan Rothermal, Taylor Troxel, Will Butler, Chad VanHorn, Steven Gully, and Tim Bauer in the 600 Sprints. Charlie Bodine and John Lakatos were new additions to the Stage One Modifieds. Nunzi Allegrucci and Don Schmidt were new additions to the 270 Sprints. The All Star Slingshot ranks swelled with big money on the line and the event brought back former regulars Corey Cormier, John Bockhorn, Daniel Morgiewicz, David Burns and Kyle Herve to the roster. Sarah Bohlin made her first ever appearance at the speedway and Marty Kelly rolled in from Vermont to do battle.

Once again the generous support from the racers and fans created the wonderful family atmosphere that exists at the Hamlin Speedway and this event proved to be another solid promotional effort for the VetStock Organization. A tip of the fedora goes out to Hollywood Towing & Auto, Hamlin Speedway, S&S Speedways, Allesson Rode and GA Motorsports Media in unison to market this great event and the racers and fan support was overwhelming and a huge thank you to everyone for their gracious support of the event including all of the sponsors who put up some hard earned dollars to sponsor every lap of the century long run.

Clock Drawing Raffle winners included Old Mill Pub ($100.00), Mary Lyn Williams ($100.00), Jessica Benke ($200.00), Olivia Mease ($100.00), Tim Krysiuk ($300.00), Pina Bennicoff ($100.00), Allison Stettler ($400.00), Glenn Spahr ($100.00), Kelsey Horvath ($500.00), Doreingos Oliveilla ($100.00), and Erin Burd ($1,000.00)

Some great prizes were offered up in the Chinese Auction and many happy fans walked home with some great gifts. A 50/50 auction from VetStock found John Madsen walking out of the speedway with $405.00.

The hard-charger award went to the returning "Big D" Daniel Morgiewicz as he made his first start of the season and passed thirteen cars on his way to 16th position after starting 29th. The $50.00 prize was sponsored by Vogel Designs. The hard-luck award went to Samantha Muller as she was sitting in a solid ninth place when her racer encountered some mechanical gremlins after the halfway mark that forced her to the sidelines. The award was sponsored by Ryan Smith Racing.

Ruth Hadley sang a stirring rendition of the National Anthem after a flag donated by the Rode Family was raised in the memory of Lester Marsh by members of the VetStock contingent headed up by Tommy Ryan.

The great evening of racing was brought to a bombastic conclusion with some rocking fireworks for the packed crowd on hand. The well-noted concession stand was kept extremely busy throughout the evening.

RESULTS:

All Star Slingshots: (VetStock Firecracker 100) Justin Mills, Brett Bieber, Dale Kober, Tyler Pirone, Mike McLaughlin, Wes Hearn, Russell Benke III, Chris Kurtz, Kyle Herve, Joshua Marcus, David Burns, Nick Vinciguerra, Tyler Peet, Ryan Neiger, Roger Collins, Daniel Morgiewicz, John Bockhorn, Sarah Bohlin, Samantha Muller, Vern McLaughlin, Steve Pirone, Austin Silfee, Tess Horvath, Anthony Recchio, Charlie Lawrence, Ashley Kober, Marty Kelly, Amanda Buchel, Corey Cormier, Alan Selemba, Taylor Mills, Alex Van Pelt, Ryan Davey

270cc Sprints: Nunzi Allegrucci, Brittany Erlsten, Paul Richards Jr, Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci, Tyler Galatro, Don Schmidt

600cc Wingless Sprints: Chad Sandt, Sam Kravitsky, Danny Buccafusca, Joseph Smith, JD Casazza, Steven Gully, Wayne Scott Jr, Taylor Troxel, Joel Smith, Carmen Leggio Jr, Dylan Martin, Colin White, Will Butler, Louie Horvath, Mick D'Agostino, Paul Richards Sr, Chad Van Horn, Chris Kurtz, Wayne Scott, Rick Calvert, Ryan Quackenbush

Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Joel Smith, Charlie Bodine, Bill Dianella, Chloe Andreas, Damon Paul, Cole Stangle, Will Casazza, Troy Langendoerfer, Janell Geary, Caitlin Henneforth, John Lakatos, Evan Civick

Junior Slingshots: Jared Silfee, Cole Stangle, Hunter Lapp, JJ Rice, Shelby McLaughlin, Tanner VanDoren, Tyler Banks, Ty Kelly, Adam Buchel, Jake Mason, Emily Fleming, Jack Clancy, Tommy Stillo, James Costlow, John Velde, James Hendricks, Nathen Marold

Super Slingshots: Wes Hearn, Dale Kober, Roger Collins, Stevve Pirone, Ryan Lacoe

Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (1) Geordan Marrero, Mack Brink, Kyle Exley, Tim Bauer, Brevan Rothermel, Carmen Leggio Sr, Ron Bosga, Savannah Leggio, Aaron Casterlin, Joe Howey, Tyler Galatro

Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (2) Lavar Scott, Noah Zielinski, Mikey Smith, Jacob Balliet, Kevin Weiand, Jakson Ring, JR Williams, Cody Powell, Mark Berkenstock, Tony Parlanti, Nathen Smith

Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for July 9th when all Divisions will be in action 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