HAMLIN SPEEDWAY NEWS
ByHamlin, PA - Cole Stangle Scores Big With Two Victories In Exciting Hamlin Speedway Racing Action
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
The beautiful warm summer weather of the Pocono Mountains was the perfect backdrop for an evening of speed presented by Hamlin Speedway Promoters Randy and Denise Smith. Getting back on track after suffering the fourth rainout of the season a week ago, the speedway was primed and in impeccable condition for the stars of the speedway to ignite the standing room only crowd. The evening ran off in machine gun like fashion and the last feature was completed by 10:30. More than one hundred talented race car drivers came to Hamlin on Saturday to ply their trade and when the final curtain came down it would be some newcomers plus some familiar names at the speedway rising to the top of the heap in the coveted Victory Circle.
One of the up and coming young stars in motorsports, Cole Stangle earned two wins on Saturday night as he captured the Hampton RV And Trailer Sales Stage One Modified win and then backed that up with a win in the Junior Slingshot division. "The Oxford Express" Dale Kober scored his first win of the season in the Super Slinger finale topping Wes Hearn who came into the event with eight straight victories in the division. "Kid Wicked" Tyler Pirone enjoyed a solid win in the All Star Slingshot main event narrowly defeating Chris Kurtz. "Bad" Chad Sandt made it two consecutive wins in the 600 Sprint main with a close win over Joel Smith. Paul Richards Jr added his fifth win of the season in the 270 Sprint main. "The Young Rustler" Jacob Balliet earned his second win of the season in one of the Rookie 600 Sprint mains and Allentown's Tim Bauer was spot on in winning his first Rookie 600 Sprint feature event.
The parade of eight feature runs for the evening began with the Stage One Modifieds. Cole Stangle grabbed the lead at the drop of the green flag and that move proved to be the hot ticket as he led all twenty laps to capture his first Stage One Modified feature win. Damon Paul put tons of pressure on early in the event and then faced a stiff challenge from Joel Smith but managed to hold off Smith for runner-up honors while Smith settled for third. Bill Dianella was fourth and Chloe Andreas rounded out the top five. Will Casazza, Caitlin Henneforth, Charlie Bodine, Janell Geary and Michael Samony completed the field.
Dale Kober left nothing to chance as he jumped out front at the start of the Super Slinger feature, held off a stiff challenge from Wes Hearn early on and then cruised away to his first win of the season. Hearn was runner-up with the returning Greg Zellman finishing third, Steve Pirone fourth and John Mirabelli completing the top five. Ryan Lacoe, Mike Jablonka, Jim Conroy and Jeff Haduck completed the field.
The winged warriors of the 270 Sprint division moved onto the speedway for their feature attraction. Paul Richards Jr has owned the division in 2016 and he took off at the drop of the green flag and would lead all of the way in claiming his fifth win of the season. Glenn Macomber enjoyed a solid run to earn runner-up honors with Kyle Ferrucci third and newcomers Randy Gombert and Steve Weirich completing the field.
The "stars of tomorrow" in the Junior Slingshot division continued to put on another great show as "TVD" Tanner Van Doren led the first two laps before yielding to "The Hurricane" Hunter Lapp who would lead for two more. Cole Stangle made his first bid count as he seized command of the lead on lap five and would go on to win his third Junior Slingshot feature of the season. Lapp finished second with Jared Silfee third, the returning Reese Nowotarski fourth and VanDoren completing the top five. Shelby McLaughlin headed up the second five with Ty Kelly, JJ Rice, Emily Fleming and Jake Mason following.
The first Rookie 600 Sprint main event found Tim Bauer blasting into the lead at the start of the event and he showed his tailpipes to everyone as he cruised the speedway with consistent 12.3 second laps to claim his first ever main event at Hamlin. Jakson Ring kept pace but settled for second place. Kyle Exley made a great charge to finish third with Scott Slater fourth and Jesse James Bartleson completing the top five. "The Highside Hustler" Justin Mills shook down his new ride and finished sixth in the recently completed hot rod. Justin Hartz, Savannah Leggio and Ron Bosga completed the field.
The second Rookie 600 Sprint feature found Jacob Balliet in command from the start. Geordan Marrero kept the pressure on Balliet and took over the lead on lap thirteen but just as quickly came into contact with the slower car of newcomer Cody Powell and Powell went upside down in the incident with the officials placing Marrero to the rear of the field on the restart. Powell was uninjured in the incident. On the restart Balliet took off and raced to his second win of the season. Brett Altemose was second with Joe Howey racing from the rear to grab up third place. Tony Parlanti was fourth and Marrero fought back to complete the top five. Garden State Modified talent Clay Butler made a rare appearance and was sixth in his brother's hot rod. Carmen Leggio Sr was seventh.
The headliner for the All Star Slingshots found the best Slingshot drivers in the country duking it out on the Hamlin Speedway real estate in the MA Gold Tour event. The early going found Tyler Pirone blasting out of the starting blocks to lead the event but knocking on his door came "The Midge" Chris Kurtz as he found a racing channel he liked to pull behind Pirone and the chase was on. The two driving stars dominated the event as they hit slower traffic and Pirone lost the lead momentarily but a caution flag and a revert back to the previous lap put Pirone back up front. Pirone made no more errors as he executed a perfect game plan to remain in front as he scored his first Hamlin win of the season. Kurtz had a great drive for second with the returning Alex Yankowski in third, Dale Kober fourth and Tyler Peet fifth. Mike McLaughlin headed up the second five with Wes Hearn, Matt Henneforth, Austin Silfee and Russell Benke completing the top ten. Brett Bieber, Alan Selemba, Nick Vinciguerra, Josh Marcus and Henry Anderson completed the top fifteen and 19-cars finished all 30-laps of the main event.
Chad Sandt seized command at the start of the 600 Sprint main headliner and zipped off some 12.3 second laps to lead the way but a persistent and hard charging "Nickel Man" Joel Smith kept pace to make it a close fought contest. Sandt would score his second consecutive win with Smith close behind in second. Ryan Quackenbush was smooth as silk to run third with "The Rockaway Rocket" Danny Buccafusca fourth and "The Travelin Man" Mick D'Agostino completing the top five. "The Conductor" Bobby Butler rim rode the speedway for sixth place while JD Casazza, Colin White, Joseph Smith and Ryan Neil completed the top ten.
PEARL JAMS:
Randy Smith had the speedway in great shape and the kept pace with the speedway surface throughout the evening and his hard work made all of the feature events classic stuff in racing channels. A short rain shower halted the racing action for a few minutes and the staff hustled the Junior Slingshots off of the speedway to wait it out. Once the rain ceased about five minutes later the 270 Sprints ran their feature before bringing the youngsters back out to complete their event.
Dale Kober knows the short way around the Hamlin facility and posted the top time in the Super Slingshots with a 14.081 second lap just nipping Roger Collins who went 14.131 seconds. Joel Smith was the quick timer in the Stage One Modifieds with a 12.956 second time.
Two rounds of heat races were needed for the Tour event for the All Star Slingshots and winners of the heats included, Tyler Pirone, Alex Yankowski and Russell Benke in the first round and Tyler Peet, Wes Hearn and Austin Silfee earning victories in the second round. Jacob Balliet, Tim Bauer and Justin Hartz were victorious in the Rookie 600 Sprint heats. The 600 Sprints ran two heats with Joel Smith and Chad Sandt claiming victories. Paul Richards Jr emerged victorious in the 270 Sprint heat event. Junior Slingshot heats were won by Reese Nowotarski and Jared Silfee.
Roger Collins escaped injury when he was pinched into the outside Jersey barrier and executed a series of barrel rolls down the backstretch. Collins was shaken but climbed out of his wounded race car with a wave to the fans.
Some new names were added to the Hamlin roster list last evening with Randy Gombert and Steve Weirich in the 270 Sprints, Clayton Davey, Tom Arntz, Alan Kober, Alex Yankowski and Joe Toth in the All Star Slingshots. Slingers. The Butler Boys, Bobby and Clay, made rare appearances with both performing extremely well. Bobby is a former track champion at Hamlin and it is always great to see him return. Happy birthday wishes go out to Clay Butler as he turns 30 this week. Clay was accompanied to the speedway by his girlfriend former Miss Accord Speedway Loralyn Brinster. The crewchief for Clay Butler is former Lake Mocatek Speedway modified racer Bernie Kelly. Jake Fox was a new addition to the 600 ranks and the veteran Don Colaluce and "The Big Dogg" Steve Reynolds was back in action but Reynolds was slowed by a balky race car.
Matriarch Evelyn Smith was on hand to enjoy the racing action.
RESULTS:
All Star Slingshots: (MA Gold Tour) Tyler Pirone, Chris Kurtz, Alex Yankowski, Dale Kober, Tyler Peet, Mike McLaughlin, Wes Hearn, Matt Henneforth, Austin Silfee, Russell Benke III, Brett Bieber, Alan Selemba, Nick Vinciguerra, Josh Marcus, Henry Anderson, Taylor Mills, Tommy Arntz, Tess Horvath, Joe Toth, Ashley Kober, Amanda Buchel, Steve Pirone, Anthony Recchio, Justin Mills, Alan Kober, Clayton Davey, Roger Collins (DNS), Ryan Neiger (DNS)
270cc Sprints: Paul Richards Jr, Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci, Randy Gombert, Stephen Weirich, Don Schmidt
600cc Wingless Sprints: Chad Sandt, Joel Smith, Ryan Quackenbush, Danny Buccafusca, Mick D'Agostino, Bobby Butler, JD Casazza, Colin White, Joseph Smith, Ryan Neil, Carmen Leggio Jr, Rick Calvert, Mike Van Pelt, Don Colaluce, Brandon Azzalina, Dylan Martin, Sam Kravitsky, Stephen Reynolds, Jake Fox, Paul Richards Sr
Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Cole Stangle, Damon Paul, Joel Smith, Bill Dianella, Chloe Andreas, Will Casazza, Caitlin Henneforth, Charlie Bodine, Janell Geary, Michael Samony
Junior Slingshots: Cole Stangle, Hunter Lapp, Jared Silfee, Reese Nowotarski, Tanner Van Doren, Shelby McLaughlin, Ty Kelly, JJ Rice, Emily Fleming, Jake Mason, Tommy Stillo, Colton Geary, James Costlow, James Hendricks
Super Slingshots: Dale Kober, Wes Hearn, Greg Zellman, Steve Pirone, John Mirabelli, Ryan Lacoe, Mike Jablonka, Jim Conroy, Jeff Haduck
Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (2) Jacob Balliet, Brett Altemose, Joe Howey, Tony Parlanti, Geordan Marrero, Clay Butler, Carmen Leggio Sr, JR Williams, Joe Nemeth, Cody Powell
Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (1) Tim Bauer, Jakson Ring, Kyle Exley, Scott Slater, Jesse James Bartleson, Justin Mills, Justin Hartz, Savannah Leggio, Ron Bosga, Kevin Weiand
Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for July 23rd when all Divisions will be in action plus the Mini Series for the 270 Sprints going Wingless 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
