Pauch Jr. reflects on Action Track USA titles

A New Jersey racer is a local favorite. The hot shoe out of Milford, N.J., Billy Pauch Jr., secured his third USAC SpeedSTR Championship and first ever 600 Micro Sprint Championship recently at Action Track USA on the Kutztown Fairgrounds.

“We started out the year strong in both divisions at Action Track USA,” noted Pauch Jr. “We were able to win three SpeedSTR races and two Micro Sprint races, which put us in the position for both championships.”

Last year saw Pauch Jr. come one spot short in the Heffner Racing Enterprises No.27 SpeedSTR. This year was redemption for the No.27 team.

“This is our second year driving for Mike Heffner,” he said. “It’s cool to be associated with him. He puts a first-class effort in and it definitely shows. Unfortunately, last year we fell one spot short. We were close but to be able to

put it all together this year and get our first championship together with Mike is awesome.”

Pauch Jr. would like to give a special thanks to all of his sponsors who were on board with him this season on the SpeedSTR; Lealands. com, Weaknecht Archery, Liv’n Green, Berks Sealcoating, and Buck Rubs.

Pauch Jr.’s 2018 USAC SpeedSTR Championship marked his third SpeedSTR Championship at the Kutztown oval.

After Lamar Shaffer, owner of the No.91s Micro Sprint, took the 2017 season off, the dynamic duo jumped at the opportunity to once again join forces in 2018.

“We had a solid year,” Pauch Jr. said. “We didn’t finish any worse than fourth-place for a while but had a rough last two weeks.”

Pauch Jr. went seven races straight with topfour finishes in the Micro Sprint until their streak ended abruptly after braking a rear end resulting in a DNF.

“It’s pretty cool to get our first Micro Sprint championship,” added Pauch Jr. “We got second in points a bunch of times, but we were able to come back together, thanks to some help from Pioneer Pole Buildings who jumped on board and helped us this year, we were able to put together a solid year and propel to our first championship.”

Running two divisions in one night can put a toll

on a driver, but with a lot of help, both teams were able to persevere and come out on top.

“To run two divisions in one night puts a lot of stress on the crew but I’m fortunate to have a great bunch of guys,” he said. “I have a good group of guys that come every week. They’re solid and help make my life easy.”

Once the trailer doors open and the cars roll out, it’s nonstop action for Pauch Jr. every Wednesday night.

“They put on a really good show at Action Track USA,” he said. “They get 50+ Micro Sprints and a strong field of SpeedSTR’s weekly, which makes it intense. This was my sixth year running there and my first time being able to grab two championships in one year.”

Racing at ActionTrack USA is finished for the season. The NASCAR championships will be decided at Grandview Speedway this Saturday night with Lansdale radio station, WNPV1440-AM sponsoring the night of racing. Featured will be the excitement of T.P.Trailers 358 Modifieds, Late Models and Sportsman stock cars.

Getting most of the attention will be the battle between Mike Gular who is looking for his very first track title and two ten time track champions Jeff Strunk and Craig Von Dohren.

In the Late Models Danny Snyder has lead the standings since the start and hopes to hold off challenge Kyle Merkel. And sophomore racing talent Louden

Reimert is looking to sew up his first title on the final night in the Sportsman division.

Racing action gets the green at 7:30 p.m.

The Modified racers will be looking to use this race as a tune-up for the “Granddaddy of Modified Stock Car Classics” with $25,000 going to the winner. The race is expected to attract many outsiders to challenge the Grandview regulars for the big bucks.

Jeff Strunk is a seven time winner of the Classic and is the defending winner of the race.

Advance tickets are on sale at the track on Saturday night for $35 each while on race day they will be priced at $40.

*** Ryan Blaney, who clinched a berth in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs last week, will appear at The Smokehouse, benefiting the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, on Oct. 7 before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Dover International Speedway, track officials announced today.

Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Ford for Penske Racing, has two top-10 finishes in five career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Monster Mile. Blaney’s first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory came at Pocono last year.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie will also make an appearance at The Smokehouse on Oct. 7. LaJoie, driver of the No. 72 Chevrolet for TriStar Motorsports,

has made two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Dover.

The Smokehouse is marking its 11th year at the Monster Mile’s hospitality village. Through the event’s first 10 years, more than $800,000 has been raised for the NFFF, which supports fallen firefighter families throughout the country.

The exclusive Smokehouse package on Oct. 7 includes:

• A Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff race ticket

• A Trackside Access Pass which allows fans to walk the Monster Mile’s frontstretch on Sunday morning

• Driver Q&A sessions with Ryan Blaney and Corey LaJoie

• An all-you-can-eat buffet with Pepsi and Anheuser-Busch products

• Cost is $109, which rises by $20 on Sept. 1.

Each ticket package purchased includes a contribution to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s mission of honoring America’s fallen fire heroes and providing resources to assist their survivors in rebuilding their lives.

The NFFF also built and maintains the national memorial in Emmittsburg, Maryland, the first permanent national park honoring all firefighters that have died in the line of duty.

For tickets or more information on Monster Mile events, call (800) 441RACE or visit DoverSpeedway.com. You can also keep up with track activities at Facebook.com/DoverInternationalSpeedway, or on Twitter and Instagram at @MonsterMile.