Buckwalter, Danner sweep races
KUTZTOWN » For the first time in the six-year history of the Ronnie Tobias Memorial, one driver swept both ends of the Twin 20’s contested by the USAC All Pro SpeedSTRs. And it was not a name you might expect, such as a Pauch or a Buckwalter, who pulled off the extremely difficult double; rather it was a teen from Allentown named Briggs Danner who smiled in victory lane after each of the SpeedSTR mains on Wednesday night at Championship Energy Action Track USA on the Kutztown Fairgrounds.
It was a Buckwalter, however, who won both 17-lap features for the Hyper Racing 600 Sprints, as Tim Buckwalter repeated his Ronnie Tobias Memorial feat from the 2016 season. The victories were Buckwalter’s first two 600 Sprint wins of the current Action Track USA campaign.
Mertztown’s Dylan Hoch notched his second All Star Slingshot triumph of the year in that division’s 40-lap feature, which served as a tune-up before next Wednesday’s Kutztown Komet 100 – a victory that is not yet on Hoch’s resume.
The July 25 menu of high speed adventure, in addition to the 100-lapper for the Slingshots, will include the USAC All Pro SpeedSTRs, the Hyper Racing 600 Sprints, and the Junior Slingshots. There will also be a Big Wheel Race for the youngsters at intermission, and it all gets underway with warm-ups at 6 p.m. Pit gates open at 4:00 and grandstand gates swing open at 5:00.
On July 18, the first 20-lap feature for the SpeedSTRs began with Ed Kenderdine shooting into the lead on the opening tour, but Kenderdine then skated up the banking in turn one as Tim Iulg and Jeff Hartman flew by him.
Point leaders Billy Pauch Jr. and Matt Westfall were involved in a four-car skirmish, along with Kenderdine and Brad Brightbill, with three circuits in the books. All four restarted at the back of the pack.
Iulg continued to set the pace through the early and middle stages of the race while Hartman, Kevin Graver Jr., ninthstarter Briggs Danner, and Andy Haus slugged it out for positions two through five. Danner blasted into the runner-up spot with four to go, setting his sights on the leader. Briggs used the turn two banking to get a big run down the backchute with two laps remainig and, when Iulg burped the throttle to set his car for turn three, Danner’s No. 78 made slight contact with his rear bumper - just enough to send Iulg spinning into the corner. Danner was able to get around him but, as Iulg attempted to gas his No. 56SR and continue, he tapped Graver - whose No. 78K spun, then flipped down the third turn banking.
When the race resumed, Danner was the new leader and Haus found himself in second, with Tim Buckwalter third. That’s the way they finished, with Danner picking up his second win of the season. For Andy Haus, the runner-up effort was his best in two seasons of SpeedSTR competition, while Tim Buckwalter completed the podium. TJ Mayberry made his way from 16th on the starting grid to finish fourth, and Brad Brightbill rebounded nicely from the early tangle to earn fifth place pay.
“I had a run, and I got into him...that’s totally on me,” said Danner as he described the incident with Iulg. “I hate that it happened, but that’s racing. It’s happened to me already, too, so we’ll take the win and move on.”
In the second SpeedSTR main, pole sitter TJ Mayberry and Tim Buckwalter battled for the lead with Mayberry on the bottom and Buckwalter rolling the top. The fierce duel raged for eight trips around the clay before Buckwalter shoved the nose of his Business Link Print.com No. 52 in front of Mayberry as they crossed the stripe to complete lap nine. Danner was third, watching the battle for the lead unfold in front of him, and he went to the whip when Buckwalter took the lead. Just as he made the move to get by Mayberry for second, Mike Mahaney flipped on the backstretch with ten circuits complete.
As the race went back to green, Andy Haus made his presence known in the top three, and on lap 13, Haus blasted by Buckwalter to snatch the lead. The yellow flag waved on the same lap and, during the caution period, Buckwalter suddenly headed for the pits. The top four at that point were Haus, TJ Mayberry, Brad Brightbill, and Danner, with point leader Billy Pauch Jr. in fifth. Close quarters racing among the top five ensued until, on a restart with six to go, Danner threaded the needle, slipping between Mayberry and Brightbill on the backstretch to claim the runner-up position. When Haus appeared to get tight as he navigated the inside lane in turn two, Danner shot to the outside of the leader and edged ahead as lap 16 was scored. Danner went on to win by three-quarters of a second over Haus, who recorded another runner-up finish. TJ Mayberry wound up third, his fourth consecutive top-six finish at Action Track USA. Matt Westfall rumbled from 19th starting position to take home fourth-place money, and Brightbill settled for fifth.
“We’re going good now; I am going to write down all of our set up notes from tonight,” said Danner with a smile, after he became the first driver to sweep both SpeedSTR mains in the Ronnie Tobias Memorial event. Danner has won three of the last four SpeedSTR features at the Berks County speedway.
“This feels like two wins for us,” noted Andy Haus of Hamburg. “With the way we’ve struggled here, ever since we started running the SpeedSTR, this is great. I will take two second-place finishes.” Haus gave credit to Billy Pauch Jr. for helping him with set up advice during the days leading up to the event. When it was pointed out to him that the suggestions he used enabled him to beat Pauch in both of the Twin 20’s, Haus grinned and said, “well, I guess that’s the last advice we will get from him.”
While Tim Buckwalter had an up-and-down night in the SpeedSTR, he re-discovered his groove in the Hyper Racing 600 Sprints. The Douglassville, PA throttlejockey diced with Nash Ely, Jacob Severn, and Jay Hartman in a four-car shootout for the lead in the early laps of the first 17lap main for the 600’s. Buckwalter’s No. 71 was working incredibly well in the low groove, and he grabbed the lead on the fourth revolution over Severn, Hartman, and a charging Colin White. White was “rippin’ the lip”, flying around the high side at both ends of the speedway, and he eventually wrestled second away from Severn. White then made a few assaults on the leader, but Buckwalter drove away from him (and the rest of the field) in the final laps. At the checkered it was Buckwalter, White, Jay Hartman, point leader Billy Pauch Jr., and Kenny Miller III.
With Pauch on the pole for race number two, it was Jay Hartman darting into the top spot and Buckwalter scooting past Pauch for second as lap one was recorded. Buckwalter again utilized the low lane as he and Hartman went tooth-and-nail, side by side for the race lead over the initial eight trips around the oval. When Hartman got a bit twitchy in turn four, Buckwalter motored in front, securing the lead on lap ten. His advantage was shortlived, though, as Colin White was comin’ on like gangbusters. White rocketed around the top while Buckwalter remained committed to the bottom, and White had a nose in front when they passed by the flagstand to complete lap 12. Buckwalter was not about to give up, however, and he gunned his Greth Racing/ Hyper No. 71 back in front as the laps dwindled, hanging on for a narrow victory (0.114-seconds) over White, who was happy but not satisfied with his second straight runner-up effort. Pauch Jr. wound up third ahead of Jay Hartman and Kenny Miller III was fifth again. The top five drivers were the same in both 600 Sprint features, with Pauch and Hartman switching third and fourth place in the two races.