6.30.18 Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway Results

Newmanstown, PA (June 30) – It took him until the last day of June, but Bradley Brown finally got the monkey off his back and won a Hyper Racing 600 Sprint main event at Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. But it certainly didn’t come easy for the driver from New Providence, PA…but that just made the triumph that much sweeter.

Saturday was Coca-Cola Night at the speedway, and the other drivers who joined Brown in the winner’s circle included TJ Greve (Viper Chassis 270), Kane Rogers (Sportsman), Kassidy Michael (250cc Four-Stroke), and Kyler Heiney (125cc).

The Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway will be dark on Saturday, July 7, before returning to action on July 14 with another five division card of the wildest winged Micro Sprint competition in the northeast.

On a sultry summer evening at the Clyde, the Hyper Racing 600 Sprint main sparkled with excitement, as the first 19 trips around the ultra-tacky, multi-grooved oval went caution free. And the racing was intense, with Brown roaring from the outside of row two to snatch the lead from Chris Panczner in the early going.

Tenth-starting Kyle Spence charged forward, quickly moving to the runner-up spot and beginning an entertaining slide-fest with the race leader. Each time Spence threw a slide job on him, Brown dashed to the inside and reclaimed the top spot as they launched off the corner. Behind the front running duo, Mike Rutherford and three-time winner Heath Hehnly swapped fourth position numerous times with Zach Light just in front of them.

On the restart after the first yellow flag (with only six laps to go), Rutherford cleared Hehnly and took third from Light. He immediately went on the attack to displace Spence from the runner-up slot as Brown separated himself from the second place battle. Spence repelled Rutherford’s assault, then closed back in on the No. 23 of Brown. Spence went for the slider in turns one and two on the final lap, but Brown was ready for it, crossing over to the bottom and reclaiming the lead on the backstretch. Spence went for the slider again in three and four, but Brown’s momentum on the top prevented Spence from clearing him and they drag raced to the checkered, Brown crossing the stripe with Spence on his left-rear tire.

Rutherford had to settle for third with Hehnly finishing fourth and Andrew Layser rounding out the top five.

The top three finishers from the 600cc feature also competed in the Viper Chassis 270 main event, and Brown nearly pulled off his second victory of the evening. But it was Hartly, DE’s TJ Greve who made a late race charge and registered his first career Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway triumph.

Brown started from the pole and led lap one, but Danny Lane Jr. was hooked on the bottom and went sneaking by Brown to lead the second tour. Lane then motored away, leaving Brown to fight for second with a large group including Brian Sholley, Andrew Dietrich, TJ Greve, Nick Skias, Mike Rutherford, and Mike Skias.

Brown emerged from the wildly competitive battle to re-secure second, then set sail and tracked down Lane. Brown went back to the front on lap 12. A caution with ten to go set up the frantic finish, as Greve sat third for the restart. He executed a slide job to pass Lane for the runner-up position before zeroing in on the race leader. Brown and Greve tussled for the top spot over the final laps, with Greve sliding the leader several times in the closing stages of the 25-lapper. Greve eventually made good on a slider with the race nearing its end, and he held on to record the popular victory. The win was a nice, albeit belated, birthday present to himself, as Greve turned 19 less than a week before his first triumph at the Clyde.

Brown was quick to congratulate the winner after chasing him to the checkered, with Rutherford earning another third-place finish. Lane and Sholley made up the top five.

The Sportsman feature was a dandy as well, with rookie Jeremy Eisenhauer setting the pace in the early laps. Nick Skias started 15th, but blasted his way to third by the time lap four was scored. He moved to the runner-up spot on the eighth revolution, then went to the lead as he and Eisenhauer flew down the frontstretch on lap 11. Heading into turn one, Eisenhauer got into the corner a little too hot, tapping Skias’ back bumper and sending him around. Both Skias and Eisenhauer went to the rear, handing the lead to the swift running Patrick Kirn. During a caution period with eight to go, however, Kirn’s drive chain came apart, forcing him to retire. Kane Rogers inherited the lead at that point, but all eyes were on Nick Skias, as his comeback trail led him to second with six circuits remaining. Rogers, from Oley, PA, hit his marks and held off Skias to notch his first Lanco victory.

At the finish, it was Rogers, N. Skias, Michael Kreiser, last week’s winner Noah Merkey, and Toby Blumenshine who made up the top five.

Manheim’s Kassidy Michael was not even on the track when the 250cc Four-Stroke feature went green. A quick caution light, without completing lap one, allowed her crew to finish repairs and get her Stream Energy No. 21 onto the speedway, where she started last (14th). Michael made the most of her good fortune, zipping through the field during the 25-lap feature’s first half. She grabbed the lead from Eddie Nocera on the 16th trip around the clay, then danced away to register her fourth win of the season in Four-Stroke competition. Cliff Brian Jr. chased Michael to the checkered, with Tommy Phipps Jr. – racing without a right-rear shock after an early race tangle – earning third place pay. Mike Coen wound up fourth and Donna Geib finished fifth.

Kyler Heiney darted past early leader Corey Schmuck Jr. and Kerry Lengle when those two washed up the turn four banking on lap three. Heiney then went on to totally dominate the 125cc feature race, notching his second consecutive victory and third of the season.

Mike Glass worked his way to a runner-up effort, with Schmuck Jr. rebounding from the early jingle with Lengle to finish third. Austin Graby took the checkered flag in fourth position with Brian Kramer in fifth.

The hot night was perfect for event sponsor Coca-Cola, as drivers finishing in designated positions in each feature received a case of Coke. Some lucky fans also received six packs of the popular soft drink, and the beverage manufacturer also provided some nice, cold Dasani bottled water to the top three finishers in each main event, as they have been doing all season long.

June 30 also marked the final event for track photographers Bonnie & Curt Goshert. They, along with sons Colton and Austin, make up Shred Racing Photos, and they served as Lanco track photographers for the past seven years. The Goshert family often went above and beyond their normal duties, offering up sponsorship money and special deals on photos and novelty items. The Lanco club sends its sincere appreciation and best wishes to the Goshert family as they move on to new ventures.

A new track photographer has been selected and an announcement will be released in the next week or so.

On July 14, when the Clyde swings back into action gates will open at 4:30 and warm-ups begin at 6 p.m. The first qualifying heat will take the green at approximately 6:45 (or just about 15 minutes after warm-ups).

Come on out and LIVE the excitement that is Lanco!

RESULTS:

Hyper Racing 600 Sprints, 25 Laps: 1.Bradley Brown, 2.Kyle Spence, 3.Mike Rutherford, 4.Heath Hehnly, 5.Andrew Layser, 6.Ryan Groff, 7.Zach Light, 8.Nash Ely, 9.Dan Souder, 10.Shaun Brandel, 11.Tomas Partington, 12.Brooklyn Gable, 13.Logan Spahr, 14.Chris Panczner, 15.Kassidy Michael, 16.Bruce Ginther Jr., 17.Amber Oraschin, 18.Don Hess, 19.Chris Oraschin, 20.Holden Eckman, 21.Tyler Lindsay, 22.Will Urkuski. DNS: Brian Kramer.

Viper Chassis 270 Sprints, 25 Laps: 1.TJ Greve, 2.Bradley Brown, 3.Mike Rutherford, 4.Dan Lane Jr., 5.Brian Sholley, 6.Andrew Dietrich, 7.Nick Skias, 8.Mike Skias, 9.Corey Schmuck Jr., 10.Christi Sweigart, 11.Jarrett Imler, 12.Dylan Adams, 13.Daniel LaFrance, 14.Kyle Spence, 15.Austin Graby, 16.Devin Adams, 17.Matthew Kreider, 18.Mike Miller, 19.Toby Blumenshine, 20.Jimmy Wampole.

Sportsman Micro Sprints, 25 Laps: 1.Kane Rogers, 2.Nick Skias, 3.Michael Kreiser, 4.Noah Merkey, 5.Toby Blumenshine, 6.Alan Durham, 7.Robert Shanaman, 8.Deana Cogdill, 9.Clinton Hauser, 10.Louie Kirn, 11.Jeremy Eisenhauer, 12.Ricky Sechrist, 13.Sam Borger, 14.Austin Yingst, 15.Jonathan John, 16.Patrick Kirn, 17.Kody Hibshman.

250cc Four-Stroke Micro Sprints, 25 Laps: 1.Kassidy Michael, 2.Cliff Brian Jr., 3.Tommy Phipps Jr., 4.Mike Coen, 5.Donna Geib, 6.Ron Zimmerman, 7.Eddie Nocera, 8.Marty Brian, 9.Riley Simmons, 10.Zachary Young, 11.Ron Wechter, 12.Katelin Vragovich, 13.Jessica Moore, 14.Dylan Yeingst.

125cc Micro Sprints, 25 Laps: 1.Kyler Heiney, 2.Mike Glass, 3.Corey Schmuck Jr., 4.Austin Graby, 5.Brian Kramer, 6.Kerry Lengle, 7.Shane Davis, 8.Chase Layser, 9.RJ Rossi, 10.Keith Bushey, 11.Dave Labe, 12.Dalton Eckman, 13.Ben Layser, 14.Mike Miller, 15.Jimmy Wampole.

Submitted by Barry Angstadt