Lanco Crowns 2019 Champions; Honors Angstadt & Adams For Years Of Service

Story By: CHRIS GRAHAM / CLYDE MARTIN MEMORIAL SPEEDWAY – READING, PA – The Board of Directors and Members of the Lanco Micro-midget Club honored theirs 2019 Champions and awards winners Saturday night.

Champions Michael Kreiser (Sportsman), Kerry Lengle (125cc), Marty Brian (Four Stroke), Mike Rutherford (Viper Chassis 270cc), and Heath Hehnly (Hyper Racing 600cc), along with the top points finishers, collected their prize fund money and some spectacular hardware. Along with the honorees, the Club paid tribute to longtime stalwarts of the Newmanstown facility, Kim Adams and Barry Angstadt.

Kreiser, of Jonestown, PA, picked up his first career win early in the season, and never looked back. Behind four wins was nearly unmatched consistency, the pilot of the #77 Edge of Kaos, No Nonsense with NipNyce machine took his first career Championship by 115 markers over Clinton Hauser.

Lengle, of Myerstown, PA, claimed hist first Championship in his final season of full-time competition. With two wins on the year, the second coming in mid-June, his ability to run up front every week was the key to the title. Runner-up Mike Glass came home 77 points back.

Dominance was the name of the game in the Four Stroke division, as Marty Brian of Ephrata, PA, picked up nine wins on the season. Brian’s total was the most by any driver in one class for 2019, and put him a staggering 195 markers ahead of runner-up Tommy Phipps, Jr.

The theme of dominance continued in thee Viper Chassis 270cc division, as Lebanon, PA’s Mike Rutherford tallied his eighth consecutive championship. That run is unmatched in the sixty-plus year history of the Club, and the winning combination will return for one more crack at the title. Car owners Ken and Tony Kaylor announced in their Owner’s Championship speech that the 2020 season would be their final one as owners. Rutherford’s four wins were outpaced by runner-up and Clyde Martin Memorial Race winner Bradley Brown’s five, but the ability of the 5k to run near the front every week sealed the title by only 23 points.

Manheim, PA’s Heath Hehnly was again duking it out with Rutherford for the Hyper Racing 600cc class title, For the fourth time in a row, it was Hehnly coming out on top. The fight wasn’t only a two-man show this year, however, as Aaron Bollinger also had a shot at the title on Championship Night. Bollinger led the division with five wins on the season, including the double points paying Clyde Martin Memorial in July; but it wasn’t enough to top either Hehnly or Rutherford. Both drivers finished the campaign with four wins each. The final margin of victory for Hehnly was 59 markers over Rutherford. Hehnly and car owner Chris Snyder both credited Rutherford’s assistance with winning the Championship. During a night with two features due to a makeup, Hehnly crashed hard in race one and nearly didn’t get back out for the second feature. Rutherford and team came to help the mass of people who surrounded the stricken number 5 after the race and made sure it was on the line to start the second end of the double dip.

Awards were also presented to the Rookies of the Year, Hard Luck Awards, Most Improved Driver, Best Appearing Car, and for the Mark Geib Sportsman of the Year. Club President Jimmy Harrington honored Kim Glass and Debbie Splain with the President’s Award for their dedication to the Club and handling a majority of the promotions work for the season.

Kim Adams has served the club in a variety of roles including running the pit shack and organizing the annual banquet. She has informed the club that this year’s banquet is her final one as organizer. Angstadt, the longtime voice of the Speedway is stepping away to pursue new opportunities after more than two decades behind the microphone. To open the festivities; Angstadt announced that the National Racing Network’s Chris Graham will fill his role.

With the 2019 campaigned now closed, attention turns to the 2020 season; which kicks off on April 4th for the annual No Wing Spring Fling. Regular points racing begins one week later and runs through September 19. Also, on the card for 2020 are the return of the USAC NOS Energy National Midget Tour, and the two-day Labor Day Shootout. Full schedule details are available online at ClydeMartinSpeedway.com

2019 Award Winners

Champions: Heath Hehnly (600), Mike Rutherford (270), Michael Kreiser (Sportsman), Marty Brian (4 Stroke), Kerry Lengle (125)
Rookie of the Year: Chris Good (600), Trent Eberhart (270), Jamie Flickinger (Sportsman), Alex Luckas (4 Stroke), Tyler Martin (125)
Hard Luck Award: Ryan Hook (600), Zak Vickers (270), Noah Merkey (Sportsman), Eddie Nocera (4 Stroke), Jimmy Wampole (125)
Most Improved Driver: Brian Kramer (600), Patrick Kirn (270), Mike Kreiser (Sportsman), Riley Simmons (4 Stroke), Barbie Eichorn (125)
Best Appearing Car: Zach Light (600), Nick Skias (270), Mike Kreiser (Sportsman), Dylan Yeingst (4 Stroke), Kerry Lengle (125)
Mark Geib Sportsman of the Year: Ryan Groff (600), Andrew Dietrich (270), Sam Borger (Sportsman), Tommy Phipps, Jr (4 Stroke), Mike Glass (125)
President’s Award: Kim Glass and Debbie Splain
Special Awards: Kim Adams and Barry Angstadt