10.10.20 Pennsylvania Sprint Series Results
By: Frank Buhrman & Stephanie Dodson
Late in 2019, when Derek Hauck made his first PA Sprint Series start, he ended the night in 15th place . . . in a race won by Garrett Bard. Since then, Hauck has carved out a reputation is one of PASS’s up-and-coming chargers, but most races still ended with him – and the rest of the field – finishing behind Bard, who had won 9 of 22 races this year prior to Saturday’s feature at Port Royal Speedway.
Bard’s early misfortune Saturday ended the opportunity for an epic battle between the two young standouts, but Hauck left little doubt that he and his Fultz Auto Body of Lock Haven #2H would have been up to the task regardless, as the Allenwood racer bested a strong invitational field to win his first full-size sprint feature in a race run in support of the World of Outlaws Nittany Showdown.
He became the 13th different winner in PASS’s IMCA/RaceSaver competition this year.
“It’s awesome,” Hauck said in victory lane. “We’ve had good cars here and there throughout the year, but you know there’s a lot of competition . . . I’m just happy that everything came together here.”
With Bard and “Nitro Nick” Sweigart, the only drivers to win PASS features at Port Royal this year, starting on the front row, fans could have been forgiven for thinking nobody else would have a chance at having everything come together, but Hauck had other ideas.
Utilizing a move Bard has employed this year, he roared from his fourth starting spot into the lead with a pass on the cushion in turns one and two of the second lap. A caution quickly bunched the field, but Bard’s effort to regain the lead ended on lap four when he jumped the cushion in one/two and rode up the wall and into a vicious series of flips. The storied #95 sprinter was in pieces, but the driver walked away with a sore elbow.
Sweigart attempted to take up the challenge, but his night ended in the turns three/four wall on lap nine, and from that point on, it was Hauck’s race.
Meanwhile, a gaggle of racers continued a torrid fight for the remaining spots in the top five. Domenic Melair, another young gun seeking his first win, was up to second when a flat tire ended his night with three laps to go. That handed the spot to Devin Adams, and when Kruz Kepner’s spin brought out a final caution and set up a one-lap dash for the win, Adams pulled out all the stops.
But as Adams chased Hauck on the high line, Larry McVay charged to the inside to inch past Adams for second. Defending PASS and national IMCA/RaceSaver champion Ken Duke Jr. finished fourth, ahead of Christian Rumsey.
Completing the top ten were Dave Grube II, Jason Roush, Kassidy Kreitz, Landon Price and Doug Dodson.
Rumsey, who had failed to finish his heat race, rallied from 22nd starting position to his fifth-place finish and claimed the $100 Hard Charger Award from Penns Valley Meat Market. Dodson, who didn’t start his heat after damage from contact with a spinning car in warm-ups, also mounted a heroic charge from 19th to 10th, and Kassidy Kreitz matched that performance coming from 17th to 8th. Rookie Justin Mills, like Rumsey from Middletown, N.Y., was poised for a great finished after moving from 14th to 5th place, but engine woes ended his night early.
Roush’s 7th-place finish, a career best for the rookie from Thompsontown, was an emotional tribute to his car owner Larry Clegg, who passed away earlier in the week at age 82.
In surely one of the most unusual contingency awards ever presented, “The Poop Guy” who maintains the portable toilets at Port Royal, offered a $100 “Oh, poop, I finished last” award, which went to Garrett Bard. No mention was made of whether the recipient was required to use the presenter’s services.
Of course, Bard’s other consolations including the PASS and Pennsylvania State IMCA/RaceSaver sprint championships and in all likelihood the national IMCA/RaceSaver title as well.
Heat races for the 25-car field were won by Bard, McVay and Hauck. The race was an “invitational” for the top drivers in the Port’s PASS/IMCA/RaceSaver point standings, and drivers drew for starting spots in the heats. The top 12 heat finishers then re-drew for the feature.
Even though PASS’s own points season is over, Port Royal will continue to award points through the Keystone RaceSaver Challenge in two weeks. Bard holds a 145-point lead in that race over Dodson and Sweigart, who are tied for second.
This Friday PASS returns to BAPS Motor Speedway as a lead division for the first night of the 17th Annual Sunoco/Insinger Nationals Fueled by Miller’s Race Parts. The RaceSaver teams will run a full regular program, plus a make-up feature that was rained out on August 1. Although BAPS is normally a fixture on the PASS schedule, COVID-19 conflicts and weather have limited RaceSaver action to one full program this year (plus the preliminaries from the August 1 show), so Friday will determine the track’s 2020 champion for the division.
For schedule updates and the latest news, visit www.pasprintseries.com or the PA Sprint Series Facebook page.
Results from Port Royal Speedway Saturday, October 10, 2020
HEAT 1 – 1. 95-Garrett Bard; 2. 36-Jaremi Hanson; 3. 99A-Devin Adams; 4. 55-Domenic Melair; 5. 2-Erin Statler; 6. 5-John Walp; 7. 46-Mike Alleman; 8. 80-Dave Wickham.
HEAT 2 – 1. 83-Larry McVay; 2. 8-Nick Sweigart; 3. 10-Jake Waters; 4. 67-Ken Duke Jr.; 5. M1-Justin Mills; 6. 69K-Kassidy Kreitz; 7. 19-Kruz Kepner; 8. 23-Nathan Gramley; 9. 88-Fred Arnold.
HEAT 3 – 1. 2H-Derek Hauck; 2. 41Z-Jared Zionkowski; 3. 3D-Dave Grube; 4. 69P-Landon Price; 5. 00-Jason Roush; 6. 25-Dustin Young; 7. 1R-Christian Rumsey (DNF); 8. 20-Doug Dodson (DNF).
FEATURE – 1. 2H-Derek Hauck; 2. 83-Larry McVay; 3. 99A-Devin Adams; 4. 67-Ken Duke Jr.; 5. 1R-Christian Rumsey; 6. 3D-Dave Grube II; 7. 00-Jason Roush; 8. 69K-Kassidy Kreitz; 9. 69P-Landon Price; 10. 20-Doug Dodson; 11. 2-Erin Statler; 12. 41Z-Jared Zionkowski; 13. 5-John Walp; 14. 23-Nathan Gramley; 15. 10-Jake Waters; 16. 19-Kruz Kepner; 17. 25-Dustin Young; 18. 80-Dave Wickham; 19. 46-Mike Alleman; 20. M1-Justin Mills (DNF); 21. 55-Domenic Melair (DNF); 22. 8-Nick Sweigart; 23. 88-Fred Arnold; 24. 95-Garrett Bard; 25. 36-Jaremi Hanson.