Pauch, Strada, Hoch win point titles

Season finale rained out on Aug. 21

A long period of heavy afternoon rain forced cancellation of the 2016 season finale at the JeffreyHogueRealtor. com Action Track USA on Sunday, August 21.

Ten events, and a total of 11 feature races were held for the USAC All Pro SpeedSTRs at the Berks County oval this season. Billy Pauch Sr., the veteran from Frenchtown, NJ, notched four victories and his first SpeedSTR point title at Action Track USA. With his four triumphs, Pauch is now the all-time leader in feature wins (in the SpeedSTR division) with ten.

Pauch ended the year with a 68-point bulge over Tim Buckwalter, while Mike Bednar finished third in the point chase. Bednar was just ten points ahead of Steve Nederostek, and Nederostek nipped Matt Janisch for fourth in the standings by two points.

The same number of events and features were held for the Hyper Racing 600 Sprints Powered by Hyper Fuel Injection Technology as were contested by the SpeedSTRs. In the tightest point battle of all three weekly divisions, twotime feature winner Eddie Strada, from Lake Ariel, captured the title by a mere five points over Billy Pauch Jr. The two drivers were tied for the championship lead heading into last Wednesday’s AEI Equipment 600 Fair Nationals, where Strada came from the rear (after spinning early in the 60-lap race) and managed a sixthplace finish. Pauch Jr. wound seventh, and that one position made the difference for Strada, as he recorded his first track championship at the speedway located on the Kutztown Fairgrounds.

Last year’s champ, Tim Buckwalter, had four wins and wound up third in points. Two-time track champion Jay Hartman was fourth in the final standings and Brandon Azzalina finished fifth.

What a year it was for Dylan Hoch, as the Mertztown racer won four times in NAPA Auto

CARL HESS — SUBMITTED PHOTO

Mike Bednar (#23) finished 3rd in the season points while Billy Pauch (#27) captured his first point championship in the SpeedSTR division.