Pauch Jr. wins, claims record
Strada, VanDoren, Nowatarski other winners
One could not help but notice that there was a special vibe, a certain magical feeling in the air on Wednesday night at the JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA on the Kutztown Fairgrounds.
It was Kenny Brightbill Appreciation Night, and his legion of fans turned out in droves to help the “Shillington Slingshot” celebrate his 50th (and most likely, his final) year of driving race cars. It’s surprising that Brightbill could even grip the steering wheel of his No. 19 SpeedSTR because his hand had to be cramping from signing so many autographs during the evening’s festivities.
Always known for his toughness behind the wheel, Brightbill did race on Wednesday. He was collected in a few tangles during the 30-lap main for the SpeedSTRs, but survived to finish fourth as Billy Pauch Jr. earned his second win of the season. The triumph propelled Pauch Jr. into the number one position as Action Track USA’s all-time feature winner in the Speed-STR division, breaking a tie with his dad, Billy Sr. “The Kid’s Kid”, Pauch Jr. now has 11 SpeedSTR wins at the Berks County oval, one more than his dad and just two more than third-place Tim Buckwalter.
“It’s pretty cool to win on Kenny Brightbill Night,” said Pauch in victory lane. “He was one of my heroes growing up; he and my dad had some great battles over the years. He’s one of the greats, so it’s an honor to win on his night and in front of such a great crowd.”
Eddie Strada, from Lake Ariel, Pa., notched his second win of the season in the 25-lap feature for the Hyper Racing 600 Sprints in an exciting, rim-riding exhibition that saw him narrowly defeat point leader Tim Buckwalter.
Kunkletown’s Tanner VanDoren led wire to wire to capture his first All Star Slingshot victory at Action Track USA. And Reading’s Reese Nowatarski made it three wins in three 2017 appearances in the 15lap main for the Junior Slingshots. Kenny Brightbill Appreciation Night Results: SpeedSTR Feature (30 Laps) — 1. Billy Pauch Jr. 2. Jason Rochelle 3. TJ Mayberry 4. Kenny Brightbill 5. John Bockhorn 6. Earl Paules 7. Tim Iulg 8. Gary Hieber 9. Brad Brightbill 10. Dylan Hoch 11. Briggs Danner 12. Steve Nederostek 13. Mike Bednar 14. Tom Mayberry 15. Tim Buckwalter 16. Steven Drevicki 17. Steve Buckwalter 18. Matt Janisch 19. James Morris 20. Keith Brightbill 21. Matt Westfall 22. Louden Reimert 23. Ray Nemeth 24. Kyle Hieber 25. Ed Kenderdine. DNQ: Keith Prutzman, JT Brotosky, Jeff Hartman. 600 Sprint Car A-Main (25 Laps) — 1. Eddie Strada 2. Tim Buckwalter 3. Colin White 4. Billy Pauch Jr. 5. Jason Swavely 6. Kyle Lick 7. Dan Schumaker 8. James Morris 9. Danny Buccafusca 10. Jesse Maurer 11. Damon Paul 12. Shawn Rooney 13. Alex Bright 14. Brandon Azzalina 15. Jay Hartman 16. Kenny Miller III 17. Steve Bull 18. Jacob Severn 19. Mike Linderman 20. Andrew Layser 21. Jim Radney 22. Joe Kay 23. Nate Brinker 24. Dave Dimaio 25. Shelby Harper 26. Robbie Hocker 27. Brandon Pavel. DNQ: Joey Amantea, Tim Bauer, Mikey Smith, Tyler Lindsay, Jake Roberts, Logan Snyder, Nick Havens, Nathan Smith, Matt Roselli, Tyler Kehs, Doug Snyder, Austin Quick, Tommy Kunsman, John Willman, Jared Lilly, Joe Plunkett, Steven Bracall, Nate Schumaker, Billy Koch. Slingshot A-Main (20 Laps) — 1. Tanner VanDoren 2. Alex Yankowski 3. Austin Stufflet 4. Brett Bieber 5. Dylan Hoch 6. Cole Stangle 7. Alan Selemba 8. Anthony Raisner 9. Jared Silfee 10. Ryan Davey 11. Joe Toth 12. Zac Kistler 13. Dakota Kohler 14. Kyle Smith 15. Matt Miller 16. Ryan Conrad 17. Thomas Strupp 18. Austin Daniels 19. Lee Schantzenbach 20. Gavin Danner 21. Travis Bieber 22. CJ Fritz 23. Seth Spayd 24. Dave Carraghan 25. Nick Vinciguerra 26. Joey Vaccaro. DNQ: Damon Paul. Junior Slingshot A-Main (15 Laps) — 1. Reese Nowatarski 2. Shelby McLaughlin 3. Nico Flammer 4. Tommy Stillo 5. Tyler Banks 6. Logan Bauman 7. Trevor Bixler 8. Austin Homan 9. Makayla Kohler 10. Decker Swinehart 11. Tyler Ulsh 12. Payton Fasnacht. Pioneer Pole Buildings 600 Sprints Mad Scramble (10 Laps)— 1.Jacob Severn (Transferred to Feature & $25 from Hosensack Poker Club), 2.Matt Roselli (Hoosier RR Tire), 3.Andrew Layser (10 gal. Methanol from Roadrunner Race Fuel/VP Fuels), 4.Nick Havens (RTS Gift Certificate), 5.Mike Linderman (4-FK Rod Ends), 6.Shawn Rooney (TSL Shocks Gift Certificate), 7.Joe Kay (Saldana Racing Products Gift Certificate), 8.Tim Bauer (Free Reg. @ AT USA), 9.Jared Lilly (Free Reg. @ AT USA), 10.Billy Koch (Pyrotect Racing Cells Gift Certificate), 11.Nate Brinker, 12.Nate Schumaker, 13.Tyler Kehs, 14.Logan Snyder, 15.Steve Bull. All Star Slingshots Mad Scramble (8 Laps):1.Joey Vaccaro (Transfers to Feature), 2.Dakota Kohler (RR Tire), 3.Tanner VanDoren (Rear Bumper), 4.Kyle Smith (Front Tire), 5.Austin Daniels (Steel Wheel), 6.Austin Stufflet (Front Spindle), 7.Lee Schantzenbach (Coil Kit), 8.Ryan Davey (Rear Axle), 9.Alan Selemba (4 qts. oil), 10.Thomas Strupp (Rear Axle), 11.Joe Toth (K&N Air Filter), 12.Alex Yankowski (Free Action Track Car Registration), 13.Dave Carraghan, 14.Damon Paul.
Big Diamond
A ‘rocket’ landed in Big Diamond Speedway Victory Lane on July 16.
Ryan Godown, known to Northeast race fans as the “Ringoes Rocket” launched to the win in the ‘Anthracite Assault’ for Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By VP big-block/smallblock Modifieds at the Coal Region facility.
Godown earned $5,000 for his first STSS-sanctioned victory of the season driving the Searock Fabrications-backed No. 26 open small-block mount.
The event pitted the stars of the STSS Halmar International North Region against the Velocita-USA South Region standouts in a 50-lap ‘Civil War’ offering points toward each region.
The win for Godown was his fifth in STSS competition and first at Big Diamond. ANTHRACITE ASSAULT RACE SUMMARY – BIG DIAMOND SPEEDWAY JULY 16, 2017 Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP Modified North & South Feature Finish (50 laps): RYAN GODOWN, Billy Pauch Sr., Craig Von Dohren, Andy Bachetti, Billy Decker, Brett Tonkin, Ryan Watt, Duane Howard, David Van Horn, Billy Pauch Jr., Frank Cozze, Jimmy Horton, Stewart Friesen, Jordan Watson, Jeremy Smith, Anthony Perrego, Jim Britt, Tommy Meier, Grant Hilfiger, Shawn Ward, Jeff Strunk, Bobby Trapper, Ryan Jordan, Matt DeLorenzo, Rick Laubach, Brett Kressley, Danny Creeden, J.R. Hurlburt, Craig Hanson, Nick Nye. Did Not Qualify: Frank Porreca, Frank Yankowski, Colt Harris, Skylar Sherriff, Dan Humes, Steve Young, Tim Fitzpatrick, Billy Lasko, Kevin Beach Jr. Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By VP Sportsman Feature Finish (25 laps): BRIAN PAPIEZ, Craig Whitmoyer, Corey Cormier, Doug Hendricks, Mike Lisowski, Cole Hentschel, Kenny Eckert Jr., Matt Stangle, Billy Moyer Jr., Phil Vigneri III, Shayne Spoonhower, Larry Mekic, Dylan Swinehart, Chuck Fayash, Leo Fotopoulos, Glenn Rowan, Roger Henion Jr., Rich Emel, Louden Reimert, Daryl Dissinger. Roadrunner Feature Finish (15 laps): SHON ELK, Jim Kost, Mike Reichert, Shawn Mullhall, Kris Ney, T.J. Fitzpatrick, Kody Sites, Dustin Wolfgang, Terry Kramer Jr., Fred Eberly, Devin Trexler.
Grandview
Grandview Speedway was rained out Saturday night. Races were postponed to Saturday, July 29 as part of that night’s features.