By Kasey Kreider
(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Mother Nature tried her best to send everyone packing and home early on Saturday night at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. But despite three separate rain delays, persistent effort from the track crew and officials – along with great cooperation from the drivers and teams – allowed for all of the scheduled racing to be completed. Finally getting things started for good just after 8:30 p.m., the entire show was run in less than three hours from the start of the first hot-lap group to the checkered flag of the final feature.
The night of racing that took place saw a first-time winner at the Clyde, as Tommy Rinck pocketed his maiden EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 victory for his first win in any division at the speedway. In the final tune-up for next weekend’s East Coast Transponders Nationals, Gunnar Pio made it two-for-two in the Tim West and Julie Sechrist-owned No. 25, claiming the checkers in Hyper Racing Wingless 600 action. Scoring his first Border Magic 270 triumph in eight years at the Clyde, Dan Lane, Jr. was the one to finally put the Kevin St. John and Joe Sanders-owned No. 16 in victory lane. Justin Harrington claimed his first Yeti Fence Sportsman win in two years. And Seth Gregory charged to his first triumph of the season in the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Strokes.
EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600
After several years of competition across both 270 Micro Sprints – and more recently, 600 Micro Sprints – at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, Tommy Rinck finally broke through for his first-career victory at the Newmanstown bullring on Saturday night following a fast and furious 25-lapper in the EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600s.
Rinck started on the outside pole for the A-Main, and after a miscue on the first attempt at the start, the Narvon native took full advantage of attempt number two to get the race underway, as he powered past Andrew Rothermel on the upper groove and set a quick early pace around the speedway.
However, Rinck would have to fend off several young drivers during the course of the race, all of whom were just as hungry to collect their first win. Charlie Allaband put on a show in the opening laps of the feature, flying up the order from fifth to second and quickly chomping away at Rinck’s lead. After catching the No. 11R, Allaband raced inside of Rinck’s machine for a couple of laps, looking to make the pass for the lead.
But a big bobble from Allaband in turn 2 saw the No. 28 have a wild “Dukes of Hazzard” moment, as he slid sideways and then ramped over an entire set of infield tires. Despite keeping his foot in it and wrestling his car through the infield, Allaband rejoined the racing surface out of contention for the win.
Rinck was left to hold off three more young drivers, all out of the Carber Racing stable. Easton Loomis and Cayden Blair each began to close in on Rinck as the laps clicked off, with Alex Slade eventually joining the party as well from the 12th starting position. But a caution with six laps left appeared to give Rinck the reset that he needed. And after that final restart, the HRS Design & Promotions No. 11R RTS Chassis pulled away to a popular victory – as several of Rinck’s fellow competitors congratulated him after the checkered flag.
Loomis held on for a second-place finish, while Slade finished his Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway debut with an impressive third. Blair came home in fourth, and Bradley Brown finished in fifth to retake the season points lead.
Results:
1. 11R-Tommy Rinck[2]; 2. 9E-Easton Loomis[4]; 3. 16-Alex Slade[12]; 4. 62-Cayden Blair[3]; 5. 23-Bradley Brown[10]; 6. 14-Jason Swavely[14]; 7. 72-Jesse Maurer[9]; 8. 73-Andrew Rothermel[1]; 9. 71-Brian Kramer[6]; 10. 51-Chris Gerhart[7]; 11. 28-Charlie Allaband[5]; 12. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[11]; 13. 32D-Donny Smith[8]; 14. 75R-Brevan Rothermel[13]; 15. 15P-Christopher Panczner[16]; 16. 707-Jax Wittmer[15]; 17. 98-Mason Peters[17]
Points (Top 5) (After 8 of 16 Races):
1. 23-Bradley Brown[800]; 2. 17-Brent Ely[-65]; 3. 71-Brian Kramer[-100]; 4. 14-Jason Swavely[-162]; 5. 51-Chris Gerhart[-169]
Tommy Rinck scored his first-ever Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway victory in Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 feature. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
Gunnar Pio continued “batting a thousand” in his Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway efforts in 2026, as the Kunkletown native made it two wins in two starts on Saturday night aboard the East Coast Transponders No. 25 Hyper Chassis for car owners Tim West and Julie Sechrist.
Pio engaged in a race-long battle with James Roselli for the win of the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main, as the two drivers who had finished second and third in last year’s East Coast Transponders Nationals looked to give themselves one last jolt of momentum entering this year’s edition of the event.
Pio went high-to-low on the opening lap to swipe the lead from Roselli, and then set the pace around the gripped-up bottom of the speedway while Roselli flirted with the upper edge of the groove. Roselli seemed to dial in that higher line as the race ran into its second half, and was putting all kinds of pressure on Pio before a caution flag flew with six laps left.
Gunnar Pio (No. 25) and James Roselli (No. 95B) raced for the win in the closing laps of Saturday night’s Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
But Pio settled back into a groove after the restart and hit his marks every lap from that point forward, allowing him to rack up another victory. Roselli ran second, while Trent Warner put together a great run to round out the podium. Former champion Ryan Groff returned to the Clyde and finished fourth, and Holden Eckman finished off the top five. Points leader Dominic Schmidt came home sixth.
Results:
1. 25-Gunnar Pio[2]; 2. 95B-James Roselli[1]; 3. 90-Trent Warner[4]; 4. 03-Ryan Groff[3]; 5. 11H-Holden Eckman[5]; 6. 3-Dominic Schmidt[8]; 7. 98-Matthew Warner[6]; 8. 16-Alex Slade[9]; 9. 2L-Luke Hess[10]; 10. 4-Kiptyn Stratton[7]; 11. 21B-Mason Beinhower[14]; 12. 14-Cole Gerber[13]; 13. 01M-Aden Myers[11]; 14. 28-Brent Shearer[17]; 15. 17-Aubree Bane[12]; 16. 99G-Gordon Greenlaw[15]; 17. 9E-Easton Loomis[16]; 18. 34-Abel Engler[18]
Points (Top 5) (After 8 of 14 Races):
1. 3-Dominic Schmidt[672]; 2. 14-Cole Gerber[-64]; 3. 10L-Lukas Kostic[-96]; 4. 34-Abel Engler[-141]; 5. 98-Matthew Warner[-166]
Gunnar Pio gathered his second win in as many starts at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in 2026 following the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 feature. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Border Magic 270
After more than eight years since his last Border Magic 270 win at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, Dan Lane, Jr. would not be denied on Saturday night as he chased victory aboard the Sanders Garage No. 16 RTS Chassis for car owners Kevin St. John and Joe Sanders. Lane, Jr. fended off Billy Logeman in a tight battle over the closing laps to take the victory.
Lane, Jr. started from the pole and had an adventurous first few laps around the track, bouncing and bottoming out heavily through the bottom of turns 3 and 4 before moving up the banking and settling into a groove. Lane, Jr. found the line that worked for him in time to hold off a fast-approaching Jason Swavely, but it was soon Logeman who put his hat into the ring after driving up from the seventh starting position.
Little by little, Logeman closed the gap between himself and Lane, Jr., making most of his gains through the bottom groove of turns 3 and 4. After stalking the back bumper of the No. 16 for a few laps, Logeman finally got enough of a run to pull alongside coming to the white flag.
But with Lane, Jr. still half a car length ahead entering turn 1, the Elverson native slammed the door on the approach to the corner, forcing Logeman to lift out of the throttle and allowing Lane, Jr. to dance away with the win. For Lane, Jr., it was his first 270 Micro Sprint victory at the Clyde since April of 2018.
Points leader Nick Skias made a last-lap pass on Logeman and won a photo finish for the second spot, while Logeman was forced to settle for a frustrating third. Swavely came home in fourth, while Mike Rutherford completed the top five. Advancing eight positions from 17th to ninth, Steve Simmons collected the Border Magic Hard Charger Bonus.
Results:
1. 16-Dan Lane Jr[1]; 2. 3-Nick Skias[8]; 3. 27O-Billy Logeman[7]; 4. 5A-Jason Swavely[4]; 5. 27T-Michael Rutherford[5]; 6. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[9]; 7. 30-Ryan Heckman[13]; 8. 5-Bret Cronrath[14]; 9. 29-Steve Simmons[17]; 10. 81-Dylan Holmes[12]; 11. 34-Christi Sweigart[15]; 12. 39M-Austin Mieczkowski[2]; 13. 14L-Jarid Kunkle[3]; 14. 1L-Logan Hess[10]; 15. 11R-Tommy Rinck[6]; 16. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[18]; 17. 28-Kyle Lindsey[16]; 18. 94-Dallas Sanders[11]
Points (Top 5) (After 8 of 15 Races):
1. 3-Nick Skias[818]; 2. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[-65]; 3. 5A-Jason Swavely[-138]; 4. 5-Bret Cronrath[-290]; 5. 27T-Michael Rutherford[-294]
Dan Lane, Jr. finally put the No. 16 into the winner’s circle after Saturday night’s Border Magic 270 A-Main at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Yeti Fence Sportsman
With a fast car and a little bit of luck on his side, Justin Harrington added to his three 125/4 Stroke victories in 2026 with his first win of the year in the Yeti Fence Sportsman division, holding off Brandon Heist to park the Harrington Motorsports No. 75 in the winner’s circle.
Harrington ran in second for the first portion of the race, while it was Billy Logeman who dominated the opening stanza of the event. With a lead of nearly three seconds in hand as the race approached halfway, Logeman suffered a cruel twist of fate, as his No. 97 hopped the right-rear tire of a breaking lapped car in front of him and went for a tumble in turn 3.
Logeman’s misfortune presented an opportunity for Harrington, as the Manheim native took over the lead and was tasked with denying the points leader Heist a third consecutive victory. The 2024 Sportsman champion looked high and low on Harrington’s No. 75, but was unable to navigate past. With a car length between them at the finish, Harrington collected his first Sportsman win since June of 2024.
Heist finished in second and tallied his seventh top-two finish in eight Sportsman races, while Bret Cronrath wheeled up from eighth to round out the podium. Ryan Heckman and Tyler Martin were the rest of the top-five finishers.
Results:
1. 75-Justin Harrington[2]; 2. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[6]; 3. 5-Bret Cronrath[8]; 4. 30-Ryan Heckman[5]; 5. 31-Tyler Martin[7]; 6. 11H-Chason Hauck[9]; 7. 21V-David Ravel[4]; 8. 77-Michael Kreiser[13]; 9. 21D-Dave Williams[11]; 10. 17-Masen Stapleton[3]; 11. 97-Billy Logeman[1]; 12. 23K-Matt Fernsler[10]; 13. 94-Dallas Sanders[12]; 14. 27-Dylan Pennypacker[14]
Points (Top 5) (After 8 of 16 Races):
1. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[825]; 2. 75-Justin Harrington[-127]; 3. 21V-David Ravel[-160]; 4. 5-Bret Cronrath[-166]; 5. 77-Michael Kreiser[-184]
Justin Harrington took the lead after Billy Logeman crashed on lap 12 and held it the rest of the way to win Saturday night’s Yeti Fence Sportsman feature. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke
After being snakebitten through the first part of the 2026 season, Seth Gregory finally turned a speedy racecar into a winning one in Saturday night’s Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke feature. The victory came after a great battle for the win between Gregory, Alyssa Holmes, and Trevor Waegel.
Holmes started on the pole for the feature and was in command early in the race in search of her first Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway win. Holmes pulled away from both Waegel and Gregory as those two cars ran nose-to-tail in second and third.
But as the race continued in a long green-flag run to the finish, both Waegel and Gregory began to reel Holmes’ No. 15 back in. A little bit of lapped traffic made things dicey as well, as Gregory used a lapped car to help move past Waegel and into second with 10 laps left. Waegel briefly retook the position a lap later, as the two drivers ran side-by-side and criss-crossed lines before Greogry finally regained control of the spot.
The decisive move then came with seven laps remaining, as Gregory used a good run off of turn 2 to race alongside Holmes entering turn 3. Holding the bottom through the turn, Gregory took away the top spot and never looked back from there, powering his Stitzer Auto Body No. 14 Mongoose Chassis to the checkered flag for the first time in 2026.
Seth Gregory (No. 14) made the pass on Alyssa Holmes (No. 15) with seven laps left in Saturday night’s Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke feature en route to scoring the win. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Waegel finished in second, while Keegan Stratton scored his second-straight podium with a third-place result. Alyssa Holmes matched her career-best effort with fourth, and Dave Schroeder finished in fifth. Points leader Justin Harrington suffered a blown motor in his heat race and was forced to hop into a backup car for the feature before eventually salvaging a ninth-place finish out of the night.
Results:
1. 14-Seth Gregory[3]; 2. 44S-Trevor Waegel[2]; 3. 5-Keegan Stratton[5]; 4. 15-Alyssa Holmes[1]; 5. X-Dave Schroeder[7]; 6. 19-Matt Fernsler[8]; 7. 26C-Michael Coen[6]; 8. 3H-Corey Harting[10]; 9. 76-Justin Harrington[16]; 10. 68-Kevin Jones[13]; 11. 112-Dylan Yeingst[15]; 12. 3H2-Holly Harting[14]; 13. 4W-Brandon Worthington[4]; 14. 23-Asher Kempton[9]; 15. 8-Michael Spadafora[11]; 16. 17-Aspen Groff[12]
Points (Top 5) (After 8 of 16 Races):
1. 76-Justin Harrington[799]; 2. 44S-Trevor Waegel[-48]; 3. 3H-Corey Harting[-104]; 4. 15-Alyssa Holmes[-150]; 5. 14-Seth Gregory[-155]
Seth Gregory picked up his first Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway win of 2026 in Saturday night’s Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Next weekend marks the second annual running of the East Coast Transponders Nationals at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. The massive event kicks off on Friday, July 3 with opening night for the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s – featuring a $1,000-to-win A-Main – along with a complete show for the Storm Chassis Wingless Junior Sprints. Racing then continues on Saturday, July 4 with more heat races followed by lower mains. All of the action builds up to a $12,000-to-win, 51-lap A-Main for the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s, along with a $2,000-to-win main event for the Storm Chassis Wingless Junior Sprints. A two-day grandstand general admission pass is $25, while general admission is $10 for Friday and $20 for Saturday alone. Gates open both nights at 4 p.m., while on-track action kicks off each night at 6 p.m. While this event promises to be a “can’t miss” spectacle, live streaming coverage for those unable to attend will also be provided by The Cushion.