New Winners Emerge To Share Spotlight In Exciting Racing Action At Hamlin Speedway
New Winners Emerge To Share Spotlight In Exciting Racing Action At Hamlin Speedway
By: Steve Pados, GA Motorsports Media
The 2015 racing season at the Hamlin Speedway has been thrown a curve ball from Mother Nature for the first two weeks of the racing season but hard work, determination and the concession stands coffee pot prevailed for a great racing show. The hard working track crew headed up by Randy Smith went to work to whip the track into shape for the evening of events and even though the racing began a bit later than usual, the 1/5 mile clay cushioned facility was in great shape for the 120 drivers to put down an over the top driving exhibition on the speedway. A nice crowd was on hand to witness the exciting action as the first two weeks of the season have helped establish the stars and cars of the speedway and assisted in moving some new names into the forefront of the racing world. The racing was completed at 10:18 PM and sponsored by S&S Speedways Indoor Go Karts.
When the exciting heart stopping action was completed, New Yorker Justin Mills shared the spotlight with his first ever win at Hamlin in the Junior Slingshot division. Fellow New Yorker Collin DuBois captured his first ever win in the Stage One Modified action. “Kid Wicked” Tyler Pirone was at the top of his game with a wire to wire triumph in All Star Slingshot action. “The A-Team” Brandon Azzalina captured his first win in the fabulous Wingless 600 Sprint main. “The Ambassador” Wes Hearn made it two in a row in Super Slinger action. “The Icon” Pat Bealer recovered from a first lap spin to conquer his foes in the 270 Winged Sprint main event. “The Z-Man” Zach Weidner earned his first win in the Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint headliner.
The feature events began with the Junior Slingshots rolling out onto the raceway for their scheduled 20-lap feature excursion. “The Little Machinist” Nathen Marold took to the lead at the start with second generation driving talent Anthony Recchio giving chase. Recchio was able to put the nose of his race car under Marold at times but Marold was able to hold him off time and time again. The field was tightly formed as the challenges were building up after the midway point. Justin Mills found the inside of the raceway to his liking and found the seam he needed to slip past Marold on lap fifteen. Two laps later Recchio was was able to drive by Marold to take up the chase after Mills. Mills used his big right foot to drive to the win over a a hard charging Recchio. Marold finished third with Tyler Peet and Tighe Sherlock completing the top five. The second five included Ashley Kober, Alex Yankowski and newcomers Hunter Lapp, Shelby McLaughlin and Kyle Braun. Sixteen cars finished the twenty lap endeavor.
The 270 Sprint main event rolled onto the speedway and Pat Bealer grabbed the lead into turn one but spun in front of the pack with a few cars scrambling and getting together. On the restart, “Deuce” Glenn Macomber jumped into the lead followed by Alex Shaffer. Shaffer would fall by the wayside early but the high flying Jacob Hendershot quickly moved into contention. Hendershot took control of the lead on lap seven and led until lap eleven when his racer lost power out of turn two. Pat Bealer had raced back through traffic and took over the lead when the race restarted and drove away to a big win. Macomber did an excellent job in the runner-up role with Brittany Erlsten, Jenna Schostkewitz and Paul Richards Jr completing the top five. Shawna Winters, Sydney Prince and Tyler Galatro followed.
The Rookie Wingless 600 Sprint main found Zach Weidner and “The Quack Attack” Ryan Quackenbush locked up in a two car battle early on in the feature. Weidner led through six laps and Quackenbush led lap seven as he pulled a slider out of turn four. Weidner regained the lead as the car raced side by side, each trying to find the sweet spot on the speedway. Lap fifteen proved to be the end of the battle as the pair touched wheels and Quackenbush got into the front stretch fence and began a series of heart-stopping side over side flips that left his Cool Way Direct sponsored hot rod destroyed. Quackenbush emerged unscathed in the scary incident. Weidner would easily lead the final laps to capture the win with AJ Hobbs, Jerry Rutledge and Kyle Exley following.
The Super Slinger feature found Wes Hearn vault into the lead at the drop of Russ Furry’s green flag and quickly pull away from the rest of the field. Hearn was perfect as he sped to his second consecutive win of the season. John Bush enjoyed a strong run for runner-up honors while John Rooks Sr, Ryan Lacoe, John Mirabelli, Kenneth Reeder and Jannell Geary completed the field.
The Wingless 600 Sprint main was top-notch over the top from the drop of the green flag as the highly competitive field used every inch of the raceway to find the proverbial sweet spot of the facility. “The Rockaway Rocket” Danny Buccafusca was quick on the throttle as he grabbed the lead at the start of the event and hit his marks throughout as he clicked off consistent 12.2 second laps. “The A-Team” Brandon Azzalina kept a ton of pressure on Buccafusca as the field remained tightly bunched throughout the event. Buccafusca, through his own admission, began to become arm weary and Azzalina seized the moment to rocket into the lead off of turn two on lap twelve. Johnny Smith and Eddie Strada followed with their own moves past Buccafusca and were able to close on Azzalina in the late stages of the race but it would be Azzalina grabbing up the win in his first appearance of the season. Smith and Strada would follow on the podium while Buccafusca would settle for fourth and hard driving Colin White would complete the top five. The second five were made up of Joseph Smith, Chris Oraschin, Doug Snyder Nick Corazzi and Zach Weidner. Fifteen cars completed all twenty laps.
The Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified feature saw Joel Smith take command of the event at the drop of the green but fifth place starting Collin DuBois found room on the baseline to burst into the runner-up slot early on. Smith led until lap thirteen when he pulled his race car off the course with mechanical gremlins. DuBois took control of the event and led the remaining laps to capture his first ever win in the division. Brett Smith was the runner-up with Bobby Smith Jr in third, Joel Price in fourth followed by John Comandini and Erin Paulison.
The All Star Slingshot main attraction found Tyler Pirone taking advantage of a front row start and he blasted out front to take command of the event. The race was far from over as “The Bossman” Taylor Eccles and Joe Krum had ideas of their own. Krum, who was fresh off a win the night prior at the Accord Speedway and another win a week ago at Five Mile Point, put some pressure on Eccles and the battle allowed Pirone to step away from them for a few laps. As the laps clicked off, the battle behind Pirone was raging as Wes Hearn found some incredible speed off of the baseline of the speedway and was able to slip past both Krum and Eccles and into the runner-up slot. Pirone would race to a well earned victory with Hearn in second, Eccles in third, Krum in fourth and “Magic Shoes” Mike McLaughlin completing the top five. The second five were Ryan Neiger, Jeff Cosgrove, Chris Kurtz, Corey Cormier and Dalton Maynard. Twenty one cars completed the hard pounding excursion.
Pearl Jams:
The extensive work Randy Smith and his staff did early on provided dividends as the speedway was multi-channeled throughout the evening. The clay surface remained tacky, dust free and very drivable throughout the evening of events. The racing action was completed by 10:18.
Time trials for three divisions found Tighe Sherlock quickest in the Junior Slingshots with a 14.338 clocking, Joel Smith fastest in the Stage One Modifieds with a 12.950 time and Zach Weidner turning up the wick in the Rookie 600 Sprints with a 12.258 time.
Heat race action found Wes Hearn and Dale Kober capturing wins in the Super Slingers. Pat Bealer and Jenna Schostkewitz were heat winner in the 270 Sprint heats. Joe Krum, Tyler Pirone and Taylor Eccles captured heat wins in the All Star Slingshots. Wingless 600 Sprint heats went to “The G-Man” Grady Johnston, Danny Buccafusca and Brandon Azzalina.
The first special event takes place on May 2nd with the Wingless 600 Sprints going to war with a thirty lap main event paying $600.00 to the winner based on a 24-car starting field.
Results:
All Star Slingshots: Tyler Pirone, Wes Hearn, Taylor Eccles, Joe Krum, Mike McLaughlin, Ryan Neiger, Jeff Cosgrove, Chris Kurtz, Corey Cormier, Dalton Maynard, Donny Hockman, Mike Fogler, Daniel Morgiewicz, John Rooks Jr, Damon Paul, Russ Benke III, Kyle Herve, Austin Silfee, Eddie Reeder, Caitlin Krum, Hunter Metzger, Tess Horvath, Chloe Andreas, Alan Selemba, David Burns, Dale Kober, John Gilroy
270cc Sprints: Pat Bealer, Glenn Macomber, Brittany Erlsten, Jenna Schostkewitz, Paul Richards Jr, Shawna Winters, Sydney Prince, Tyler Galatro, Jacob Hendershot, Mike Kalman, Alex Shaffer, Mallory Prince, Paul Richards, Geordan Marrero
600cc Wingless Sprints: Brandon Azzalina, Johnny Smith, Eddie Strada, Danny Buccafusca, Colin White, Joseph Smith, Chris Oraschin, Doug Snyder, Nick Corazzi, Zach Weidner, Sam Kravitsky, Adam Jones, Amber Oraschin, Larry Mekic, Shawn Rooney, Gary Dennis, Cody Smith, Rick Calvert, Grady Johnston, Will Butler, Joel Smith, Zack Bealer, Kyle Rutledge, Zac Azzalina, Jason VanDoren, Brody Adamsky
Hampton RV Stage One Modifieds: Collin DuBois, Brett Smith, Bobby Smith Jr, Joel Price, John Comandini, Erin Paulison, Jeff Hineline, Joel Smith, Billy Dianella, Jimmy Johnston, Mike Marold Jr
Junior Slingshots: Justin Mills, Anthony Recchio, Nathen Marold, Tyler Peet, Tighe Sherlock, Ashley Kober, Alex Yankowski, Hunter Lapp, Shelby McLaughlin, Kyle Braun, Kyle Smith, Michael Samony, Reese Nowotarski, Tanner VanDoren, Taylor Mills, Wyatt Hager, Andrew Vreeland, Evan Van Valkenburg, Jared Silfee, Joshua Allen
Super Slingshots: Wes Hearn, John Bush, John Rooks Sr, Ryan Lacoe, John Mirabelli, Kenneth Reeder, Jannell Geary, Dale Kober, John Gilroy, Jim Conroy, Aaron Geary, Greg Zellman
Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: Zach Weidner, AJ Hobbs, Jerry Rutledge, Kyle Exley, Ryan Quackenbush, Chris Kurtz, Jake Frye
Racing every Saturday evening from April through September. The next event on the Hamlin Speedway schedule is set for May 2nd when the first special event of the season is presented. The Wingless 600 Sprints will be featured in a 30-lap main event with $600.00 on the line for the winner based on a 24 entry car count. All regular divisions will be in action
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. For video work or questions regarding the purchase of videos from the exciting on-track action at the Hamlin Speedway, contact videographer Barry Boyd at: http://www.boydracingvideos.com For top quality photos from all of the racing action at Hamlin contact: Tim Krysiuk http://strictlydirtphotography.smugmug.com/
Visit us often for a great night of racing action as……………………………………..
Hamlin Speedway is the “Pearl in the Poconos”
