Bright brings home win at the Clyde
Perhaps Alex Bright just enjoys races that fall on the first of the month, or maybe he shines when the track is heavy and super-tacky. Or, quite possibly, he is just that darn good when the USAC Eastern Regional Midgets presented by ARDC compete at Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway.
Bright, from Collegeville, stormed to victory in Saturday night’s Star Spangled Havoc event at the Clyde. It was his second consecutive triumph in the event that is held annually on the Independence Day holiday weekend, and his fourth straight stand-alone USAC/ ARDC win at the Newmanstown oval. With the victory, Bright also becomes this season’s first two-time winner on the USAC/ARDC traveling circuit, adding to his April 1st triumph at Clyde Martin. And, to say that he scored a convincing win on Saturday is a serious understatement, as last year’s point champion lapped up to the fourth place finisher in the 30-lap A-Main.
“I knew I had to get to the front before Ryan did,” explained the winner, referring to runner-up Ryan Greth. “He’s really good, as everybody saw, and I had to work hard early to beat him to the lead.”
“He’s just awesome here, “said Greth afterward as he pointed towards the winner. “We had that one shot at him, but we’ll take second tonight and count it as a good points night. I am taking these races one at a time, but it’s hard not to think about the points thing when you are in our position.”
Greth recently took the USAC/ARDC point lead, leap-frogging over Bright after a pair of top-ten finishes at Williams Grove on June 15 and 16.
Kyle Spence had a very busy night on Saturday as well. For a time, it appeared that Spence would enjoy a very profitable evening, too, but it didn’t quite work out as he’d planned or hoped it would.
The driver from Bear, Del., did crank out his fourth straight 600 Sprint victory at the Clyde, steering Gary Hunter’s No. 7h to the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 triumph in the 30lap Firecracker Frenzy A-Main. He quickly buckled into his family owned No. 25 for battle in the USAC/ ARDC Midget’s Star Spangled Havoc feature, but fell out of that one while challenging for third position. And then came the Viper Chassis Wingless 270 Clash at the Clyde, where Spence led 29 of the 30 laps before mechanical gremlins sidelined him and handed the victory to Mike Rutherford.
The 270 win was Rutherford’s fourth consecutive triumph in that division at the Clyde, and it was a very emotional victory for the Lititz, Pa. wheel-twister. His dad, Rich, passed away unexpectedly just six days earlier.
This was the final tuneup for the mighty Midgets (at Lanco’s Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway) before the Tuesday, August 15 event featuring the cars and stars of the USAC National Midget Championship. The second annual Battleground: Lanco event will pit Bright, Greth, and the rest of the local Midget competitors against the best of the midwest, including last year’s Battleground victor Tanner Thorson, who will once again pilot one of the potent Keith Kunz Midgets during PA Midget Week.
Advance General Admission tickets for Battleground: Lanco are now on sale. They will be available at the track each Saturday, and mail order information is posted on the website: www.clydemartinspeedway.com.
Advance tickets will enable the holder to enter the facility one hour prior to walk-up ticket buyers so that blankets can be put down to save seats. Advance ticket holders will also be permitted to go into the pits for approximately two hours before the action begins.
The Hyper Racing Wingless 600 Sprints will join the USAC National Midgets on August 15.
Postponements
Rain and storms postponed many racetracks in the region over the weekend, including Grandview Speedway and Big Diamond.
At Grandview, this Saturday fans will see, in addition to the two 25-lap Sportsman features, the Firecracker 40 for Late Models, the TP Trailers 358 Modifieds and Blast from the Past Vintage Cars. Modified racer Kory Fleming will also be doing his annual kids bicycle giveaway with two bikes for girls and two for boys.
Racing at Action Track USA was not on the schedule due to the Kutztown Folk Festival.