5.30.20 Pennsylvania Sprint Series Results

By: Frank Buhrman
Christian Rumsey removed “almost” from his resume Saturday night, winning the two-month-delayed 2020 season opener for the PA Sprint Series at Selinsgrove Speedway.

In a survival-of-the-fittest race, Rumsey lead the final two laps after advancing from 14th starting position and collected the winner’s trophy (plus a cake, gum and other goodies) for the 20-lap PASS feature on a night when 51 IMCA/RaceSaver sprint cars battled on the historic Snyder County half-mile track.

It was the first sprint car feature win for the 21-year-old from Middletown, N.Y., who until this year also ran modifieds at his hometown track, the storied Orange County Speedway. Last year in PASS competition, Rumsey was almost always near the front, with eight top-5 finishes – including a pair of seconds – in just 11 starts. Members of his family-supported team (sponsored by CG Racing Engines, Doland Racing Products, Moreno Rumsey Seal Coating and Joe Algair) were jubilant in Victory Lane., and the winner was emotional in his thanks.

“We started out pretty good tonight,” he added. “My crew chief Ryan, he made a lot of great changes and kept us on track all night. We’ve been working hard here for two long years. We had a good year last year, super close to winning, but we finally pulled it off.”

Rumsey was the third leader in a race that saw contender after contender fall by the wayside. At the green flag, defending Keystone RaceSaver Challenge winner “Nitro Nick” Sweigart grabbed the lead from 2020 IMCA RaceSaver National Champion and hometown racer Ken Duke Jr., with Jaremi Hanson taking third, only to fall out of the race after the first lap. Two laps later, Duke’s night ended in disappointment.

Sweigart built a healthy lead and maintained it over Doug Dodson when the leaders encountered traffic just prior to the halfway mark. Rumsey was notable among the chargers moving through the pack. Then, suddenly, Sweigart’s A.H. Moyer/Buckwalter Trucking/Gator Truck Sales #8 began to fall off the pace, and two laps later he stopped on the track. Before action could resume, Kyle Keen, who had looked ready to challenge the leader, retired with a flat tire.

That moved Rumsey’s #1R into second ahead of Landon Price, who had been in the lead pack all night.

With four laps to go, new leader Dodson got a strong restart, but then he fell out, handing the lead to Rumsey. The first lap 19 restart was scrubbed when Jared Zionkowski, running fourth, stopped with a tire issue, but on the second effort, Rumsey held off Price and claimed the win, with Peter Dance, running third, losing a tire and stopping at the entrance to the front straight, costing the Connecticut traveler a strong finish.

Dance’s misfortune moved PASS veteran Dave Graber up to third at the finish, with Kassidy Kreitz advancing from 11th starting spot to fourth, and Devon Adams coming from 18th to fifth.

Completing the top 10 were Josh Spicer, Jacob Gomola (from 22nd), Johnny Scarborough (from 19th) and B-Main winner Larry McVay.

Heat races were won by Dave Grube, Zionkowski, Price, Keen and Dodson. Nathan Gramley won the C-Main (which had 13 starters, even after three cars scratched), and McVay, whose daughters Maria McVay and Kristina Pratt also were entriees, won the B. Maria McVay, by the way, finished 22nd in the feature after falling out of the race, and Pratt, making her first start, ran in the C-Main.

With tracks restarting their seasons and rescheduling races, the PASS schedule for the coming weeks remains tentative, and fans should check the www.pasprintseries.com website of the PA Sprint Series Facebook for schedule updates. The Christian Rumsey Victory Lane interview also is posted on the Facebook Page.

Results from Selinsgrove Speedway Saturday, May 30, 2020

HEAT 1 – 1. 3D-Dave Grube; 2. 67-Ken Duke Jr.; 3. 11X-Robert Garvey; 4. 69K-Kassidy Kreitz; 5. 83-Larry McVay; 6. X7-Andy Cavenaugh; 7. 00-Jason Roush; 8. 23-Nathan Gramley; 9. 27H-Brandon Hawkins; 10. 56-Jake Frye; 11. 99Q-Cale Reigle.

HEAT 2 – 1. 41Z-Jared Zionkowski; 2. 51-Dave Graber; 3. 71-Josh Spicer; 4. 31C-Chase Metheney; 5. 4J-Jacob Gomola; 6. 88-Fred Arnold; 7. 55B-Rick Romig; 8. 00S-Randy Sterling; 9. 8B-Will Brunson; 10. M1-Mike Potts.

HEAT 3 – 1. 69-Landon Price; 2. 8-Nick Sweigart; 3. 38-Marie McVay; 4. 99A-Devin Adams; 5. 21M – Cassandra Minium; 6. 11-Dylan Smith; 7. 55-Dominic Melair; 8. 23M-Tom Wise; 9. 2H-Derek Hauck; 10. 27C-Craig Pelegrini.

HEAT 4 – 1. 17K-Kyle Keen; 2. 36-Jaremi Hanson; 3. 1R-Christian Rumsey; 4. 61J-Johnny Scarborough; 5. 19-Kruz Kepner; 6. 2-Erin Statler; 7. 812-Zach Berghof; 8. 86-Ron Aurand; 9. 19K-Chris Kreider; 10. 25Y-Dustin Young.

HEAT 5 – 1. 20-Doug Dodson; 2. 56D-Peter Dance; 3. 80JR-Kyle Colwell; 4. 95-Garrett Bard; 5. 75-Dylan Shatzer; 6. R6-Reed Thompson; 7. 83K-Kristina Pratt; 8. 27J-Jenna Shotz; 9. 10-Jake Waters; 10. 911-Mike Wenrick.

C-Main – 1. 23-Nathan Gramley; 2. 23M-Tom Wise; 3. 86-Ron Aurand; 4. 27H-Brandon Hawkins; 5. 99Q-Cale Reigle; 6. 56-Jake Frye; 7. 00S-Randy Sterling; 8. 27J-Jenna Shotz; 9. M1-Mike Potts; 10. 19K-Chris Kreider; 11. 25D-Dustin Young; 12. 8B-Will Brunson; 13. 2H-Derek Hauck. DNS – 10-Jake Waters; 911-Mike Wenrick; 27C-Craig Pelegrini.

B-Main – 1. 83-Larry McVay; 2. 4J-Jacob Gomola; 3. 19-Cruz Kepner; 4. 2-Erin Statler; 5. 21M-Cassandra Minium; 6. 88-Fred Arnold; 7. X7-Andy Cavenaugh; 8. 86-Ron Aurand; 9. 55-Dominic Melair; 10. R6-Reed Thompson; 11. 55B-Rick Romig; 12. 00-Jason Roush; 13. 83K-Kristina Pratt; 14. 812-Zach Berghof; 15. 23M-Tom Wise; 16. 11-Dylan Smith; 17. 27H-Brandon Hawkins. DNS – 75-Dylan Shatzer; 99Q-Cale Reigle.

FEATURE – 1. 1R-Christian Rumsey; 2. 69-Landon Price; 3. 51-Dave Graber; 4. 69K-Kassidy Kreitz; 5. 99A-Devin Adams; 6. 71-Josh Spicer; 7. 4J-Jacob Gomola; 8. 61J-Johnny Scarborough; 9. 31C-Chase Metheney; 10. 83-Larry McVay; 11. 19-Cruz Kepner; 12. 2-Erin Statler; 13. 21M-Cassandra Minium; 14. 11X-Robert Garvey; 15. 56D-Peter Dance; 16. 20-Doug Dodson; 17. 41Z-Jared Zionkowski; 18. 80JR-Kyle Colwell; 19. 17K-Kyle Keen; 20. 8-Nick Sweigart; 21. 3D-Dave Grube; 22. 38-Marie McVay; 23. 95-Garrett Bard; 24. 88-Fred Arnold; 25. 67-Ken Duke Jr.; 26. 36-Jaremi Hanson. DNQ – X7-Andy Cavenaugh; 86-Ron Aurand; 55-Dominic Melair; R6-Reed Thompson; 55B-Rick Romig; 00-Jason Roush; 83-Kristina Pratt; 812-Zach Berghof; 23M-Tom Wise; 11-Dylan Smith; 27H-Brandon Harrison; 75-Dylan Shatzer; 99Q-Cale Reigle; 23-Nathan Gramley; 56-Jake Frye; 00S-Randy Sterling; 27J-Jenna Shotz; M1-Mike Potts; 19K-Chris Kreider; 25D-Dustin Young; 8B-Will Brunson; 2H-Derek Hauck; 10-Jake Waters; 911-Mike Wenrick; 27C-Craig Pelligrini.