6.5.21 Pennsylvania Sprint Series Results
By: Frank Buhrman & Stephanie Dodson
Primed with plenty of fuses, blasting caps and other gear, “Nitro” Nick Sweigart of Myerstown blasted the field Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway, leading all 20 laps of the PA Sprint Series IMCA/RaceSaver feature for his second win of 2021, second at Selinsgrove, and ninth of his PASS career.
He also became this year’s first repeat winner in the 10th feature of the year for the series.
“I was struggling there a little bit,” Sweigart said, after an especially long list of “thank-yous” to sponsors, crew, family and other supporters. He then noted difficulties getting through turns three and four and dissatisfaction with running high on the track. At that point he stopped and went straight to the perspective:
“It doesn’t really matter, because we’re standing here (in victory lane).”
After winning his heat race, Sweigart drew the outside front row starting position and battled pole-sitter Doug Dodson until two red flags – the first on the third lap of competition and the second on the effort to restart – stopped the action. On the second effort at restarting lap three, Dodson’s wing buckled, Sweigart shot into the lead, and the Racer X Motorsports #8 was never challenged after that.
Sweigart’s A.H. Moyer Mechanical/Buckwalter Trucking/Gator Truck Sales mount crossed under the checkered flag 2.265 seconds ahead of Ken Duke Jr. of Selinsgrove, who grabbed the runner-up position on the last lap when Austin Reed began to run out of fuel. Reed held on for third, followed by Dom Melair (from 11th starting position) and Garrett Bard.
Dodson kept his wounded mount fast enough to finish sixth, and Devin Adams, Mikell McGee, Erin Statler and Kenny Heffner completed the top 10.
The early race side-by-side battle between Sweigart and Dodson was initially interrupted by a second-lap caution when B-Main winner Will Brunson slowed. Then, a lap after the race restarted, Kassidy Kreitz, Nathan Gramley, Roger Weaver and Colton Hoover tangled on the frontstretch and blocked the track, causing the first red.
On that restart, a wild, three-wide battle into turn one resulted in contact between Bard and Derek Hauck, who ended up on his side, bring out the second red.
The drivers involved in both incidents were pronounced “OK,” but their cars were done for the night.
Reed took over the runner-up spot after Dodson’s misfortune and held it until his fuel issue on the last lap.
With the long period of green-flag racing after the red flags, there was some impressing charging through the field, and McGee earned the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic Hard Charger Award (and a right rear tire) for coming from 22nd starting position to eighth. That barely topped Heffner’s charge from 23rd to 10th and Jared Zionkowski’s run from 26th (and last) to 11th.
Heat races for the 35 PASS sprinters on hand went to Duke, Sweigart, Hauck and Melair, with Brunson taking the B-Main.
This weekend PASS teams will have two events. On Friday night, PASS returns to Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville for the first time since 2015 for a race co-sanctioned with the Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series. On Saturday the series returns to Port Royal Speedway, where the last effort to race was rained out on May 29.
For the latest news and schedule information, visit www.pasprintseries.com, the PA Sprint Series Facebook page or @pasprintseries on Twitter.
Results from Selinsgrove Speedway June 5
HEAT 1 – 1. 67-Ken Duke Jr.; 2. 34-Austin Reed; 3. 11-Ian Detweiler; 4. 23M-Tom Wise; 5. 99-George Riden; 6. 11M-Mikell McGee; 7. 11W-Donnie Wise; 8. 19-Kruz Kepner (DNF). DNS – 21M-Cassandra Minium.
HEAT 2 – 1. 8-Nick Sweigart; 2. 03-Branstin Shue; 3. 2-Erin Statler; 4. 69K-Kassidy Kreitz; 5. 7J-Aaron Jacobus; 6. 8-Will Brunson; 7. 25-Dustin Young. DQ (light at scales) – 41Z-Jared Zionkowski; DNS – 7-Drew Young.
HEAT 3 – 1. 33-Derek Hauck; 2. 20-Doug Dodson; 3. 99-Devin Adams; 4. 54-Mike Melair; 5. 23-Nathan Gramley; 6. 1M-Paul Moyer; 7. 71-Josh Spicer; 8. 56-Tyler Snook; 9. 73-Jake Waters (DNF).
HEAT 4 – 1. 36-Dom Melair; 2. 95-Garrett Bard; 3. 107-Colton Hoover; 4. 31-Roger Weaver; 5. M1-Justin Mills; 6. 55B-Rick Romig; 7. 97-Kenny Heffner; 8. 1-Rowdy Heffner.
B-MAIN – 1. 8-Will Brunson; 2. 11M-Mikell McGee; 3. 97-Kenny Heffner; 4. 1M-Paul Moyer; 5. 55B-Rick Romig; 6. 41Z-Jared Zionkowski; 7. 56-Tyler Snook; 8. 1-Rowdy Heffner; 9. 19-Kruz Kepner; 10. 11W-Donnie Wise; 11. 73-Jake Waters; 12. 71-Josh Spicer (DNF); 13. 25-Dustin Young (DNF). DNS – 7-Drew Young.
FEATURE – 1. 8-Nick Sweigart; 2. 67-Ken Duke Jr.; 3. 34-Austin Reed; 4. 36-Dom Melair; 5. 95-Garrett Bard; 6. 20-Doug Dodson; 7. 99-Devin Adams; 8. 11M-Mikell McGee; 9. 2-Erin Statler; 10. 97-Kenny Heffner; 11. 23M-Tom Wise; 12. 99-George Riden; 13. 54-Mike Melair; 14. M1-Justin Mills; 15. 41Z-Jared Zionkowski; 16. 55B-Rick Romig; 17. 7J-Aaron Jacobus; 18. 03-Branstin Shue; 19. 11-Ian Detweiler (DNF); 20. 1M-Paul Moyer; 21. 33-Derek Hauck; 22. 107-Colton Hoover; 23. 69K-Kassidy Kreitz; 24. 23-Nathan Gramley; 25. 31-Roger Weaver; 26. 8-Will Brunson. DNQ – 56-Tyler Snook; 1-Rowdy Heffner; 19-Kruz Kepner; 11W-Donnie Wise; 73-Jake Waters; 71-Josh Spicer; 25-Dustin Young; 7-Drew Young; 21M-Cassandra Minium.