Hamlin Speedway Opens Season With Sizzling Spectacular Eight Feature Event Card

Story By: STEVE PADOS / HAMLIN, PA – The 2018 racing season at the Hamlin Speedway got underway on Saturday night and got off to a rousing start with a great collection of veteran and first time performers wasting no time in displaying their style and guile on the newly clayed 1/5th mile clay oval speedway.

Successful promoters Randy and Denise Smith ushered in their thirteenth season at the Hamlin facility with an opening night filled with spectacular racing action. The Smith Family and Staff welcomed in a convoy of 106 talented racers from a surrounding five-state area to their premier short track facility located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. The opening day event began earlier than normal and as soon as the sun went down the night time chill in the air (40 degrees) had the very brave opening crowd on hand seeking jackets, blankets, and plenty of hot beverages to keep warm.

The opening night crowd was treated to an old-fashioned donnybrook of high-flying action on the freshly clayed and banked 1/5 mile racing facility and the lightening fast action allowed for the talented daredevil racing roster to use all of the available speed lanes to present a great evening of racing entertainment. The eight feature event racing card and time trials went off as scheduled and the non-stop racing action was completed at 9:15 PM and when was all said and one eight elated winners found there way into Hamlin Speedway victory circle for the traditional pomp and circumstance.

The extended hot-lap sessions opened the day’s events as the drivers were given ample opportunity to dial in their cars for the evening of racing. The track proved to be silky smooth as the drivers promptly began flirting with all of the racing channels of the speedway. The hot lap sessions lasted an hour and allowed the many new and veteran drivers an opportunity to test the new racing surface and the great field of cars on hand never skipped a beat as they dug their right rear wheels into the rich Pocono clay that was in great condition despite the always frigid weather the Poconos receives during the winter months. The time trials and dual heat format for the Wingless 600 Sprints determined the starting format for the evening of racing that was to follow.

The seven headline divisions found the 23 entries for the JPA Masonry Rookie 600 Sprints broken into two feature events based on time to allow the rookie drivers equal seat time and to become acquainted with the landscape of the facility. “The Ry-Guy” Ryan Stangle and “The Big Show” Joey Amantea were victorious in the two events. Morgan Rochelle captured her first Hamlin Speedway win in the now Winged 270 Sprint main. “The Nickel Man” Joel Smith drove to a convincing win in the Hampton RV and Trailer Sales Stage One Modified feature. “The Oley Jet” Brett Bieber opened his season on a fine note with super competitive win in the All Star Slingshot main event. “Bad” Chad Sandt was back in championship form as he wired the field in the Chad Wheeler Excavating 600 Sprint finale. James Benz took his lessons learned from a season ago and led all laps to claim his first ever Hamlin Speedway win in the Junior Slingshot main event while Mike Taylor was triumphant in the Super Slinger feature event.

The starting field of eighteen Junior Slingshots took off in their scheduled 20-lap feature jaunt. James Benz out-dragged newcomer Talon Prinz into turn one to begin his assault for first win. Prinz was shuffled out of place and on the restart Ashton DeWitt and Jasper Ziegafuze got together knocking DeWitt out of the event. On the restart it would be Benz in front with Kasey Hufcut making some exciting moves to slide into the runner-up role. The event would become a two car breakaway for Benz and Hufcut and they would race that way to the checkered flag with Benz earning his first ever win and Hufcut settling for second. Brian Smith was third as he was still passing cars as the laps wound down. Aiden Donaldson and Adam Buchel raced side by side all of the way to complete the top five. Abby Yates headed up the second five with JJ Rice, Jasper Ziegafuse, Joey Kalafut and Mikey Johannes completing the top ten.

The first JPA Masonry Rookie 600 Sprint main event found Ryan Stangle blasting into the lead on lap two after Brian Zyck led the first lap. Stangle would step away from the field at will on green flag racing but a few spins would bring the field back together and Stangle would have to begin again.
Stangle would go on to win with Zyck in second followed by Zack Weisenfluh, Cody Powell and Brandon Nicholas. Rochester, New York’s Charles hunt was sixth in his first appearance while Noah Zielinski, Matt Brown and Rich Maguire completed the field.

The second JPA Masonry Rookie 600 Sprint main found it to be a showcase for the division sponsor as Joe Nemeth led the first three laps before being overhauled on a restart by Joey Amantea. Amantea would be in charge the rest of the way as he raced to the win in his JPA Masonry sponsored hot rod. Nemeth was strong second with Ryan Lacoe, Aidan Borden and Tony Parlanti completing the top five. Newcomer Earl Rice was sixth followed by Dennis Chamberlain, Savannah Leggio and Annie Rudy.

The Super Slinger feature found Mike Taylor, Wes Hearn and Dale Kober resume their on-going track battles and it would be Taylor going the distance, leading all of the way to kick off his season in fine fashion. Hearn was second with Dale Kober, Roger Collins, Jimmy Conroy and David Guest following.

The Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600 Sprint main was all-star caliber from the drop of the green flag as Chad Sandt and Joseph Smith battled until Smith came into contact with the infield tires and damaging his racer. On the restart Sandt would be challenged by Damon Paul and Paul matched him stride for stride. Not to be denied was former track champion Bobby Butler as he was in the hunt and had his own battle royal going with another former track champion Paul Richards Jr. Adding to the mix were Joel Smith, Colin White and a late charge from current track champion Mick D’Agostino. Sandt would score the win with Damon Paul, Bobby Butler, Paul Richards Jr and Joel Smith completing the top five. Heading up the second five would be Colin White with Mick D’Agostino, Geordan Marrero, Billy Koch and Justin Mills.

Glenn Macomber led the first eleven laps of the Winged 270 Sprint main only to find mechanical issues forcing him to the infield. Morgan Rochelle inherited the lead and would go on to capture her first win ever at Hamlin. Alex Reinsmith was second.

The Hampton RV and Trailer Stage One Modifieds found Joel Smith grabbing the lead at the start only to lose the lead on lap three to John Comandini. Smith would charge back on lap six to assume command and drive away to his initial win of the season. Comandini was second with Michael Samony third in his new ride. Amanda Buchel was fourth in the former Mirabelli racer and Joel Price completed the top five. Jeff Hineline, John Bachetti Jr and Sr completed the field.

The All Star Slingshot main event saw an elite field take the green flag in their feature attraction. Taylor Mills shot out of the blocks like a cannon at the start of the event and would establish the point with former national champion Brett Bieber working diligently into the runner-up spot and breathing down his tailpipe. Mills was good but Bieber a bit better as he slipped under Mills on lap nine to claim the lead. Mills would later fall to Dale Kober and Kober took up the chase but it would be Brett Bieber in the Hockman owned machine claiming the victory. Kober was the runner-up with Mills, Jared Silfee and Scott Neary completing the top five. Wes Hearn was solid in sixth place while Mike Fogler, CJ Fritz, Mike Taylor and Tyler Banks completing the top ten. For Banks it was his initial start in the All Star Slingshots and he did a great job in his first effort.

Pearl Jams:

The new season of racing at Hamlin kicked-off in spectacular fashion and a strong loyal fan base in support of the evening of events. The great concession stand was doing a brisk business all evening long with plenty of Italian Wedding Soup, hot coffee and hot chocolate being dispersed.

A tip of the fedora to Randy Smith and crew for working diligently on the speedway throughout the month of April to make the speedway racy throughout all of the events. The Randy Smith moniker, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” speaks volumes for the great show presented. A huge tip of the hat also goes out to Chad Wheeler Excavating and RLE Recovery and Towing for all of their assistance in helping re-clay the speedway.

The speedway has an aggressive season of special events planned for the 2018 season and small car division racing is definitely the wave of the future and truly happening at the Hamlin facility. The increasing numbers for small car division racing continues to rise and those who have the need for speed and want to remain within their budget restraints, Hamlin Speedway offers the superb alternative with their many divisions of great and affordable competition.

The new season brought out a great new batch of new and refurbished racing equipment to the speedway. Along with many new race cars, many new faces put in their first Hamlin Speedway appearances and the car count of 106 speaks well as the draw of racing equipment to the Pocono facility has far reaching effects with the New England driving contingent adding great flavor to the exciting racing action. The fans had the opportunity to check out the many new paint schemes and graphics of the great field of cars on hand and the seasonally changing rookie division will act as the farm system for many full size racing divisions at other speedways for those who will make the transition into the regular divisions in the future.

New drivers on hand included Aiden Donaldson, Talon Prinz, Charlene Benz, Jacob Taylor and Ashton DeWitt in the Junior Slingshots. New rookie 600 Sprint drivers included Brian Zyck, Brandon Nicholas, Charles Hunt, Matt Brown, Earl Rice and Annie Rudy. Amanda Buchel, Jason Szerencits and Tanner VanDoren were new Stage One entries. DAvid Guest was a new entry for the Super Slingers.

Special thanks are in order to all of the Quarter Midget and Go Kart Clubs in the local areas for assisting in preparing the future driving stars for battle as they transition into the next phase of their racing careers. Trust me, they all did good!

Get well wishes remain order for speedway videographer Barry Boyd. .

RESULTS:

All Star Slingshots: Brett Bieber, Dale Kober, Taylor Mills, Jared Silfee, Scott Neary, Wes Hearn, Mike Fogler, CJ Fritz, Mike Taylor, Tyler Banks, Ashley Kober, Tanner VanDoren, Nick Vinciguerra, Tanner Jones, Rachel Dickinson, Emily Fleming, Amanda Buchel, Austin Silfee

Winged 270cc Sprints: Morgan Rochelle, Alex Reinsmith, Glenn Macomber, Kyle Ferrucci

Chad Wheeler Excavating Wingless 600cc Sprints: Chad Sandt, Damon Paul, Bobby Butler, Paul Richards Jr, Joel Smith, Colin White, Mick D’Agostino, Geordan Marrero, Billy Koch, Justin Mills, Mack Brink, Duane White, Joe Nemeth, Joey Amantea, Ryan lacoe, Hunter metzger, Jacob Balliet, Cody Smith, Brian Zyck, Joseph Smith, Aidan Borden, Charles Hunt, Dennis Stawinsky

Hampton RV And Trailer Stage One Modifieds: Joel Smith, John Comandini, Michael Samony, Amanda Buchel, Joel Price, Jeff Hineline, John Bachetti Jr, John Bachetti Sr, Jason Szerencits, Cody Motto, Evan Civick, Pat VanVarick, Anthony Recchio, Tanner VanDoren

Junior Slingshots: James Benz, Kasey Hufcut, Brian Smith, Aiden Donaldson, Adam Buchel, Abby Yates, JJ Rice, Jasper Ziegafuse, Joey Kalafut, Mikey Johannes, Talon Prinz, Charlene Benz, James Hendricks, Jack VanVarick, Jacob Taylor, Shelby McLaughlin, Ashton DeWitt, James Costlow

Super Slingshots: MIke Taylor, Wes Hearn, Dale Kober, Roger Collins, Jim Conroy, David Guest

JPA Masonry Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (1) Ryan Stangle, Brian Zyck, Zack Weisenfluh, Cody Powell, Brandon Nicholas, Charles Hunt, Noah Zielinski, Matt Brown, Rich Maguire, Jack Hanna, Dennis Stawinsky

JPA Masonry Rookie 600cc Wingless Sprints: (2) Joey Amantea, Joe Nemeth, Ryan Lacoe, Aidan Borden, Tony Parlanti, Earl Rice, Dennis Chamberlain, Savannah Leggio, Annie Rudy, Carmen Leggio Sr