Maurer, Miller, Swavely, and Harrington Cash In On Clyde Martin Memorial Night

Newmanstown, PA – The biggest night of the year for the members of the Lanco Micro-midget Racing Club took place this past Saturday, with the running of the Clyde Martin Memorial races. Named for the Club’s first Chief Starter, these races are the most important run all season for the Newmanstown oval. The bullring’s fastest class, the Hyper Racing 600’s would take to the speedway first for their feature.

Chris Panczner and Zach Light would start up front for the 35 lap feature. Light would claim the early advantage from the high side of the racetrack. Jesse Maurer claimed the second position four laps in, asserting his early speed. A long green flag run kicked off the action, with Light catching lapped traffic only ten laps in. As the leader caught the car of Olivia Thayer, Maurer made his move for the lead claiming the spot on lap ten. John Smith would spin two laps later, bringing out the first caution flag of the race. Smith was able to restart and joined in at the back of the field. The restart saw Maurer, Light, and Mikey Smith check out, while Nick Skias showed the first signs of mechanical gremlins which would end his night. Light and Smith would make contact and trade sliders throughout the run through the halfway point. With ten laps to go, Olivia Thayer made heavy contact with the outside wall in turn four. The 39 turned over onto its side, but the driver was able to climb from the car under her own power. With only two starts thus far in the race, every driver at the front knew that quick passing would be of the utmost importance. Charging through the field prior to the yellow, Heath Hehnly and Mike Rutherford had advanced from deep in the field to the seventh and eighth positions respectively. A very wide running surface saw several distinct grooves open up. Maurer and Mikey Smith restarted on the front row with only ten laps remaining. Maurer got out to the lead, but the driver moving the quickest forward was Hehnly. Three laps into the run, Hehnly was up to the third position. Caution number three flew with seven laps to go for a multiple car incident in turn two. Maurer and Smith would restart on the front row, with Hehnly and Panczner directly behind. Rutherford and Light would occupy row three. Hehnly would claim the third position on the restart and brought Rutherford along with him. BJ Antonio’s night ended two laps into the green flag run, when his machine slowed into turn four. With only five laps remaining, the restart would be single file; giving Maurer a much clearer path to keep the top spot he earned back on lap ten. Hehnly cleared Smith on the restart, with Rutherford claiming third one lap later. Hehnly tried every line on the racetrack in the final two laps, but never got closer than a half of a car length from Maurer. Maurer would claim the win over Hehnly, Rutherford, Mikey Smith and Light.

After the very intense Hyper Racing 600 feature, the new 125 and 4 Stroke combined division made their first start in this historic race. Zach Hollinger would start from the pole and be joined on the front row by Mike Coen. Coen jumped out to the early lead, as Marty Brian tried to go three wide into turn one. Justin Harrington made a very quick move to charge forward from his starting position outside of the top ten. The theme of lapped traffic not answering the move-over flag started to emerge, as the leaders began to fight through the traffic. Marty Brian was running fourth when he launched over the left-rear of the lapped car of Sara Borror, and also involving Kassidy Michael and Matt Fernsler. Those cars were running third through fifth, jumbling the front of the field. Harrington continued his charge after the restart, rapidly coming forward to claim second. Brian and Michael made contact again in turn two bringing out another caution flag. Harrington did not let Coen get away on the restart, staying right on his bumper. Hollinger ran third, while Mike Glass and Brent Shearer would complete the top five when the caution flew again with 22 laps to go. Harrington pipped Coen by .002 at the line to complete lap 15, and Kassidy Michael spun in turn four. This would be her third incident, bringing out the black flag and ending her night. After the early incidents, Marty Brian recovered to run seventh. The big one happened on the restart, as Hollinger had an issue in turn four. Only seven cars remained running without being involved in the incident. Nearly everyone was able to refire and continue, with the notable exception of Hollinger. Harrington was able to open up a lead over one second just two laps into the green flag run. Shearer went to work on Mike Glass, but the battle was short lived as Glass retired with 14 laps to go. Harrington would be unchallenged and took his first Clyde Martin Memorial, joining his father Jimmy as winners of this prestigious race.

Feature number three would be contested by the 270’s. The two-time and defending race winner Bradley Brown was unable to defend his championship due to injury, leaving a stacked field to stake their claim to the win. Dave Labe and Christi Sweigart would lead the field to the green. While the field didn’t lack in talent, there was an equally stellar amount of experience in the field as well. Jason Swavely made a fantastic initial start around the high side to claim second on lap two. Five laps into the race saw the first caution for a multiple car incident in turn two. The restart would prove to be the undoing for eight-time defending class champion Mike Rutherford, who spun in turn three. Clinton Hauser had to spin his car sideways to avoid hitting Rutherford broadside. Rutherford would be done with a flat left-front tire. Jason Swavely’s strong run ended at the same time, as a mechanical issue put him out of the race. Without a lap being scored, Dave Labe would be starting alone at the front of the field. Mike Miller claimed second from Anthony Yerger, as Nick Skias and Pete Skias begin to charge towards the front. Heath Hehnly made a fantastic save as he spun in turn four and kept the car running to continue without the caution flying. The same couldn’t be said for Trent Eberhart, who spun in turn two and stopped on the infield tire. For the second consecutive caution, a full lap was not completed before the yellow flew again, this time for a three car accident in turn two. The race for the lead saw Mike Miller claim the lead with Miller and Labe making contact in turn two. Labe fell back, giving up second to Pete Skias and third to Nick Skias. Alex Swift jumped up to fourth in the chaos, as Labe recovered in fifth. Just past halfway, Miller, Skias and Skias began to pull away from the rest of the field. With five laps to go, lapped traffic was battling for position and holding up the leaders, allowing Pete Skias to catch up before Miller threw a nice slider on the lapped car of Matt Fernsler. That move gave Miller all of the room he needed to claim the win. Pete Skias finished second ahead of Nick Skias, Alex Swift, and Anthony Yerger.

The final feature of the night rolled the Sportsman division onto the racetrack, with Jason Swavely and Billy Logeman on the front row. The inversion pill was only a two, meaning the front row were the only cars to invert. Swavely got out to a good start, but it was negated for the spin of Michael Spadafora in turn four. The field would line up again for a complete restart. Swavely again got the good start, while Dave Ravel and Mike Kreiser battled early on. Corey Schmuck Jr was making big ground up from the back of the field before Bret Cronrath stopped off turn four. The restart would come with seven laps on the scoreboard. Swavely again would be untested, with Logeman and Ravel able to separate themselves as well. An intense battle developed with Mike Kreiser, Chase Layser, and Schmuck. Ryan Heckman’s mechanical issues would halt that battle temporarily as he stopped on the back stretch with 13 laps recorded. The top three again proved to be the class of the field, while Kreiser and Patrick Kirn battled for fourth. At the halfway point, the top ten had settled in single file. Ravel entered the night as the two-time defending champion of the race and caught lap traffic at an inopportune time allowing Kreiser to catch up. The ninth to eleventh place cars crashed in turn two with ten laps remaining. Clinton Hauser, Brett Scholley, and Chase Layser all were able to restart and join the back of the field. Swavely was able to jump out to the lead again, with no change in the top five. Caution would fly again for Bret Cronrath and Courtney Kupp who spun in separate incidents in turn four. Green would fly again with seven laps remaining. The lap may have changed, but the story remained the same. Swavely took off as the battled developed deeper in the field. Schmuck got around Kirn to take the fifth position. In the same lap, Logeman suffered a mechanical issue dropping him from second to deep in the field at the finish. Logeman’s misfortune was Jesse Maurer’s gain as he claimed the final podium position behind Ravel and race winner Jason Swavely.

The Clyde goes dark for the only time this season, before the return of the USAC NOS Energy National Midget Tour and Hyper Racing PA 600 Speedweek takes over on August 8th.  Regular racing action is back on the high banks on August 15 for Scout Night. Advance tickets are still available for the USAC and 600 Speedweek race night. Tickets may be purchased on race day from 11-3, with the advanced tickets gaining admission one hour before the regular gates open, plus pit access until the racing is ready to begin. Advanced tickets are $25 for adults and $7 for kids; while general admission is $20 for adults and only $5 for kids. This is the biggest race night of the year, with huge payouts and the biggest stars in dirt racing coming to town. There is never a better time to come experience the excitement that is LANCO!

125/4 Stroke Results:

1. 76 Justin Harrington;  2. 647 Brent Shearer; 3. 26c Michael Coen; 4. 44x Alex Lukacs; 5. 13 Shane Davis; 6. 19 Matt Fernsler; 7. 62 Eddie Nocera; 8. 28 Kyle Lindsey; 9. 22 Jared St. John; 10. 04 Sam Borger; 11. 56 Dick Huzzard; 12. 78 Sara Borror; 13. 26 Tyler Martin; 14. 77g Isaac Graby; 15. 6 Mike Glass; 16. 16 Marty Brian; 17. 3h Zack Hollinger; 18. 11h Holden Eckman; 19. 3x Kenny Bushey; 20. 44 Riley Simmons; 21. 57k Kassidy Michael; 22. 3y Zachary Young; 23. 3 Mike Miller; 24. 46 Austin Graby

Sportsman Results:

1. 14 Jason Swavely; 2. 21V Dave Ravel; 3. 88 Jesse Maurer; 4. 26 Corey Schmuck; 5. 16p Patrick Kirn; 6. 77 Mike Kreiser; 7. 3s Jeremy Eisenhauer; 8. 88k Kane Rogers; 9. 10z Brian Scholley; 10. 15 Robert Shannaman; 11. 53s Shannon Slaughter; 12. 9g Jamie Flickinger; 13. 7L  Chase Layser; 14. 23k Courtney Kupp; 15. 22 Clinton Hauser; 16. 30 Ryan Heckman; 17. 18 Noah Merkey; 18. 19m Max Fasnacht; 19. 11m Jessica Moore; 20. 48 Billy Logeman; 21. 5 Bret Cronrath; 22. 13s Charles Hellinger; 23. 14m Chelsey Moore; 24. 8 Michael Spadafora

270 Results:

1. 2 Mike Miller; 2. 55 Pete Skias; 3. 3s Nick Skias; 4. 02 Alex Swift; 5. 5a Anthony Yerger; 6. 20 Corey Schmuck Jr; 7. 49w Johnny West; 8. 1L Dave Labe; 9. 88d Andrew Dietrich; 10. 63 Tajae Adams; 11. 29j Dan Lane Jr; 12. 87 Austin Graby; 13. 4k Trent Eberhart; 14. 82 Heath Hehnly; 15. 21 Toby Blumenshine; 16. 11r Tommy Rinck; 17. 19 Matt Fernsler; 18. 22 Clinton Hauser; 19. 34 Christi Sweigart; 20. 48 Jonah Meck; 21. 96w Chase Walker; 22. 92 Jason Swavely; 23. 5k Mike Rutherford; 24. 53 Billy Logeman

Hyper Racing 600 Results:

1. 3 Jesse Maurer; 2. 5 Heath Hehnly; 3. 2s Mike Rutherford; 4. 2sx Mikey Smith; 5. 11z Zach Light; 6. 22 Nash Ely; 7. 75k Jarid Kunkle; 8. 15p Chris Panczner; 9. 3g Jesse Snyder; 10. 4s John Smith; 11. 1 William Urkuski; 12. 17 Brent Ely; 13. 21 Toby Blumenshine; 14. 22k Kyler Heiney; 15. 16s Brianne Witmer-Cronrath; 16. 9 Joe Kepple; 17. 11h Holden Eckman; 18. 25x Dan Lane Jr; 19. 1e Aaron Espenshade; 20. 46 BJ Antonio; 21. 71 Brian Kramer; 22. 88 Nick Skias; 23. 51 Chris Gerhart; 24. 39 Olivia Thayer

Reminder to Media Members:

The credential deadline for the USAC NOS Energy National Midget Tour event has passed. Media members who did not request a credential by the deadline may not be accommodated due to space restrictions. We will do our best to accommodate you as space permits. Also, photographers and/or videographers who do not request advanced credentials will not have access to the tower, infield, or turn one scaffolding. We appreciate your coverage of the Speedway, and look forward to seeing you next weekend!

Media Contact Only:

Chris Graham – National Racing Network

Chris@NationalRacingNetwork.com

(215) 554-9746