Local Racing
Hardy Handles ULMS Foes at Dog Hollow Speedway
STRONGSTOWN, PA (September 17, 2021): Dog Hollow Speedway concluded its regular season of racing Friday with a Late Model triple header, and nobody was happier than the traveler from Linden, VA, Kyle Hardy. Hardy romped to a $3,000 win, as he closes in on his thirtieth victory of the year. Although his triumphs have cut across the Super Late Model, Crate Late Model, and Limited Late Model genres, he only raced with the Supers this night, so he did leave something on the table for the other racers.
Benefiting from Hardy’s singular focus on the Tom Smith Memorial for the United Late Model Series were Michael Duritsky in the RUSH (Crate) Late Models and Shawn Shoemaker in the 358 Steel Block Late Models. Other winners were Brad Benton in the Pure Stocks and Dylan Young in the Mini Stocks.
“We really enjoy coming here, it’s one of my favorite tracks,” Hardy said enthusiastically. His last Super Late Model win at Dog Hollow came on June 29, 2019.
Dan Angelicchio and Hardy brought the ULMS racers to the initial green flag. Alex Ferree and Dylan Yoder were in the second row, with Michael Lake and Jason Miller right behind. Chad McClellan was paired up with Ryan Montgomery in row four. Clinton Hersh, who did double duty this night, had former Big Block Modified pilot Del Rougeux on his right for row five. John Weaver and Deshawn Gingerich made up row six.
Angelicchio and Hardy were battling for the lead on the opening lap, but the caution came out early, and often, to interrupt the flow of the event. While the racers were getting realigned for the second attempt at green, Ferree fell off the pace. He retired with a broken drive line and ultimately received the hard luck award for the night.
On the second try, Angelicchio switched his line and went to the top entering turn one, while Michael Lake dove to the bottom. But they left a gap just wide enough for Hardy to slip through. Hardy did not have much room to spare, but he did make the pass cleanly in the second corner to assume control.
While Hardy was able to maintain his advantage throughout, Angelicchio was never far away. He pressured the northern VA pilot at both ends of the track while keeping McClellan and Lake at bay. McClellan held third for most of the contest, but he and Lake got shuffled back on a restart with twenty-one laps complete. Taking advantage were Miller and Montgomery.
Miller began to close on Angelicchio with five to go and the fans were starting to wonder if the southern drivers were going to finish one-two. But Angelicchio carried the colors to the finish.
After Hardy, Angelicchio, and Miller came Montgomery. McClellan rallied to regain fifth. Lake, Yoder, Weaver, Derek Rogers, and Brian Bernheisel completed the top ten. Rogers was the hard charger, advancing twelve positions over the thirty laps. Weaver also received an award for being the highest finishing track regular.
The trio of heat races went to Angelicchio, Miller, and Lake. There was no B Main. Angelicchio was the fastest driver in the scramble to get the pole position.
In the RUSH Late Models, Chuck Bowie and Corey Neal occupied the front row, with Levi Crowl and Mike Laughard in the second. Mike Duritsky and his nemesis, Joe Martin, were in row three. Joe Moyer and Ramond Dellape had row four.
On the opening lap, Duritsky got into some water that had accumulated on the bottom of turn three and he slid up into Crowl, who spun. Duritsky’s car was damaged significantly, but he was able to keep moving and retained his position for the restart.
“I knew it was bad,” Duritsky said of the damage he sustained. The flapping body panel eventually damaged a support, which began to rub his tire. Diritsky could smell the rubber, but he soldiered on to get the win.
Laughard and Duritsky battled for the lead when the race got going again, but a caution negated Duritsky’s pass coming off turn four. Bowie got a better start on the third attempt, but Duritsky and Laughard were challenging.
Duritsky finally got control, followed by Laughard, Martin, Joe Moyer, and Bowie. A restart shuffled the racers in the top ten and the ensuing chaos produced a wreck between turns three and four that further jumbled the running order.
While Duritsky continued to lead, Martin began to flex some muscle. He reached second and then chased down the leader at the halfway mark. Martin grabbed the lead and began to pull away from Duritsky, who was getting the tire rub.
A caution was required with four laps to go when Rob Coffaro made a sudden left turn from the high side to enter the infield at the start/finish line. That caused the other racers to take evasive maneuvers, which were successful for the most part.
It took several more attempts to get the final laps in the books. Martin rolled into turn one on the high side each time, and Duritsky was coming hard on the bottom. Duritsky made the final lunge with just a lap or two to go, and he picked up the win.
Trailing Duritsky and Martin atthe checkers were Moyer, Bowie, and Crowl. Jamey Swank, Benjamin Scott, Mark Rend, Tim Snare, and Dellape completed the top ten.
Martin and Diritsky split the preliminaries. There was no B Main.
The 358 Steel Block Late Models turned out to be the most entertaining feature of the night. Paul Ivory and Shawn Shoemaker had the front row, with Chris Hackett and Clinton Hersh in the second. Robbie Black and Mike Blazer were in the third, followed by Devin Weyandt and Bryan Benton.
Ivory led early, while Shoemaker and Hackett went back and forth for second for most of the race. Ivory bobbled in turn four, and that opened the door for Shoemaker to get under him for the lead on lap sixteen.
Shoemaker had the point for the final restarts, and he was able to complete the remaining laps without challenge. Greg Moore advanced to second in the disjointed stretch run, followed by Hackett. Kyle Lear turned in a strong performance, coming from last on the starting grid to get the fourth spot. Hersh was fifth.
Benton, Rob Marhefka, Austin Stover, Ivory, and Eric Lucas completed the top ten.
Shoemaker and Ivory topped the heat races. There was no B Main.
Brad Benton held off Ron Banton in the Pure Stocks, with Dennis Collins, Tim Laughard, and Jeremy Zufall making top five runs.
Dylan Young triumphed over Michael Phillipson, Cody Young, Ashton Daughenbaugh, and Noah Swank in the Mini Stock feature, which got started with a bang when John Diehl flew off the back stretch and flipped violently. He was unhurt.
Dog Hollow Speedway will have a final race coming in October. The Mini Stocks will race for an enhanced purse and there will be an enduro to close out the racing action.
ULMS Late Models: Kyle Hardy, Dan Angelicchio, Jason Miller, Ryan Montgomery, Chad McClellan, Michael Lake, Dylan Yoder, John Weaver, Derek Rogers, Bryan Bernheisel, Clinton Hersh, Denny Fenton, Del Rougeux, Deshawn Gingerich, Josh Whetstone, Dylan Fenton, Andrew Wylie, Alex Ferree, Chad Homan, Ryan Christoff (DNS), Dave Blazavich (DNS).
RUSH Late Models: Michael Duritsky, Joe Martin, Joe Moyer, Chuck Bowie, Levi Crowl, Jamey Swank, Benjamin Scott, Mark Rend, Tim Snare, Raymond Dallape, Mike Laughard, Kyle Smith, Jr., Rob Coffaro, Jason Mullen, Corey Neal.
358 Steel Block Late Models: Shawn Shoemaker, Greg Moore, Chris Hackett, Kyle Lear, Clinton Hersh, Bryan Benton, Rob Marhefka, Austin Stover, Paul Ivory, Eric Lucas, Bernie Whiteford, LaVerne Ward, Devin Weyandt, Marvin Williams, Robbie Black, Mike Horne, Mike Blazer (DNS).
Pure Stocks: Brad Benton, Ron Benton, Dennis Collins, Tim Laughard, Jeremy Zufall, Bob Torquato, Mike Ball, Rich Anderson, Thomas Argent, Mike Benton.
Mini Stocks: Dylan Young, Michael Phillipson, Cody Young, Ashton Daughenbaugh, Noah Swank, Dustin Gibbons, Kala Varner, Cruz Daughenbaugh, Jamie Noel, Timothy Baker, Michael Sinclair, Adam Pletcher, Adam Ellis, Quinten Beeman, Michael Boring, Anthony Varner, John Diehl, Brayden Seippel (DNS).
SARVER, PA (September 14, 2024): Tyler Courtney survived and won the Commonwealth Clash for the High Limit Racing Series at the Lernerville Speedway. He was racing in third when the early leader, Corey Day, crashed spectacularly coming through turn two. Two laps later, Courtney moved up another notch when the new leader, Brent Marks, sustained a flat right rear. The racing luck was with Courtney over the second half of the contest, though, as he fought off several challenges from Sye Lynch. In the final stage of the race, Courtney used lapped traffic to distance himself from Lynch, who was having difficulties negotiating the slower cars.
Courtney explained that “taking fifty grand out of here is maybe a little bit of redemption. We were going for it the last time that we were here.” He was leading the Don Martin Memorial earlier this season when he tangled with James McFadden while fighting for the lead. Both drivers were knocked out from that incident.
“This race was anything but boring. Corey (Day) crashed while leading. Sye (Lynch) was giving it all on the bottom. I had to get up in the seat for that one.”
Courtney appreciated the efforts that his crew put forth. They did not have a good run at the Tuscarora 50 the week before. “These guys never gave up. They kept their heads down.”
For Lynch, who finished second for the second consecutive night before a partisan crowd, was pleased with his performance. He noted that although the track may have looked the same, “it was a lot different from (his) perspective. It raced way different all night long. We weren’t very good early in the evening. We made some adjustments and the car was better.”
McFadden seemed to be climbing the same mountain throughout the race. “I went from eleventh to fifth. Then on every restart I’d go back to eleventh and I’d have to battle my way back.” He commented that he got a hole in his right rear tire with about seven laps remaining, and that may have defeated his chances to overtake Lynch in the run to the checkers.
Logan Wagner was the pole sitter for the forty lap A Main. Next to him was the preliminary night winner, Corey Day. Brent Marks and Tyler Courtney were in row two. Anthony Macri and Sye Lynch made up row three. Jacob Allen and Skylar Gee were in row four, with Spencer Bayston and Brad Sweet in row five. Behind them were Ja,ed McFadden and Justin Peck.
Day turned down under Wagner in turn two of the opening lap to take the lead. Wagner remained in second, followed by Marks, Courtney, Lynch, Allen, Macri, Gee, Bayston and McFadden. Marks moved into second on lap three, moments before the first caution.
There was a multi-car tangle coming off turn two on lap three that damaged several cars. Getting the worst of it was Rico Abreu, whose fuel tank was leaking badly following some contact. Others whose nights were ended in the melee included T.J. Stutts and Cody Bova.
When the race resumed, Day sped away from Marks and Wagner, Courtney held fourth once again, followed by Lynch and McFadden.
On lap nine, Justin Peck took a wild ride coming entering turn two. He was not hurt in the crash.
Day separated himself from the pack at the drop of the green again. However, the bad luck came his way on lap seventeen, when he had a commanding lead. His right rear tire sheared off and that sent the car into a spectacular series of tumbles. He came to a stop at the base of the hill way below turn two. Despite the heavy damage, Day was not harmed.
Marks inherited the lead for the restart and he established himself as the man to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, Lynch was fighting with Courtney for the second position. They swapped it several times before Courtney took control a couple of laps into the run. Soon thereafter, Marks flattened his right rear, giving Courtney the point for the second half of the event.
On the restart, Lynch was applying pressure to Courtney. Back a few positions, Wagner and McFadden touched wheels, but both drivers were able to maintain control of their machines.
With Courtney on the cushion and Lynch using the low line, there were several lead changes, However, Courtney always managed to regain the lead before they reached the scoring loop.
The final twenty laps ran without interruption. Courtney stayed out front. Once he got into lapped traffic, he pulled away from Lynch, who had to move up the track to try to pass the slower traffic. This change of lines was not to his favor. Lynch had trouble with the the new line. McFadden closed in on Lynch, but he could not challenge for second.
At the checkers, it was Courtney over Lynch and McFadden. Tanner Thorsen nipped Bayston for fourth at the scoring loop. Brad Sweet, Allen, Emerson Axsom, Zeb Wise, and Chris Windom completed the top ten.
Track champion A.J. Flick dropped out with damage to his radiator during the extended stoppage after Day’s flip. Flick was driving the Bernie Steubgen 71 once again.
The forty-three car field ran four heat races. The wins belonged to Skylar Gee, Logan Wagner, Brent Marks, and Jacob Allen. The Dash winner was Logan Wagner.
Cory Eliason prevailed in the B Main. Hunter Schuerenberg topped the C Main.
The fastest qualifier overall came from Group B. It was Brent Marks, who circled the track in 13.235 seconds. Skylar Gee was best in Group A, with a time of 13.266 seconds.
SARVER, PA (September 13, 2024): Corey Day went from third to first near the midpoint of the non-stop thirty lapper that opened the Commonwealth Clash weekend for the High Limit Racing Series at the Lernerville Speedway. Day’s seventh series victory of the season was worth $10,000 and it locked him into the finale to be held on Saturday evening.
Day said that it was good to be back at the track for the second time of the season. He had a strong run on the first occasion, The Don Martin Memorial, but he came home second to Rico Abreu. This time around, Day had the advantage.
“I did not know where they (the lapped cars) were at or where I needed to be. I got up to Rico (Abreu) and he started to get away from me. I went down but I couldn’t make any speed, so I went back up.”
Day claimed that he “saw Sunshine’s nose (Tyler Courtney) like maybe twenty-five times, but maybe it was a lapped car.” He was right, the car that he saw was the similarly styled car of Chris Windom, a lapped car, for after Day passed Courtney for the lead, he easily distanced himself from the other lead pack cars.
The pole position belonged to Sye Lynch, a third generation driver with deep roots at Lernerville Speedway. Next to him was Anthony Macri. Day and Courtney shared row two. Behind them were Brent Marks and James McFadden. Brad Sweet and Jacob Allen made up row four. Emerson Axsom made his Lernerville debut from the inside of row five, with Danny Sams as his runningmate. A.J. Flick started in row six aboard the Sreubgen 71, with Brian Brown as his dancing partner.
Lynch got the drop on Macri, who stayed close on the opening lap. Behind them were Courtney, Day, McFadden, Marks, Allen, Sweet, Sams, and Axsom. After just a couple of laps, Courtney worked his way into second and, by lap seven, Day was third and closing.
Meanwhile, Lynch, the favorite son, continued to lead. However, his time out front ended on lap twelve, when Courtney swept past. Day soon followed into second. Courtney got sideways in turn four just one lap paper, almost colliding with the lapped car of Cody Bova. That miscue was enough to allow Day to jump ahead.
At the halfway mark, it was Day ahead of Courtney, Lynch, Macri, and McFadden. Macri moved up a notch on lap eighteen, but Lynch rebounded on lap twenty to regain third place.
The leaders were working hard through heavy lapped traffic in the final third of the race. Day maintained the lead nonetheless. Lynch continued his march forward, taking second by lap twenty-five. Lynch narrowed the margin somewhat in the final five laps, but he was no match for Day.
At the checkers, it was Day over Lynch, Courtney, and Macri for the transfer spots into the Saturday A Main. McFadden was fifth, followed by Marks, Sweet, Allen, Spencer Bayston, and new father Tanner Thorson.
Lynch was disappointed that he could not bring home the win before the highly partisan crowd. He admitted that he is his hardest critic. “You can’t make mistakes, you need to be on kill every lap. I made some mistakes for several laps.” Fortunately for Lynch and his ‘underdog team,’ as he put it, he was able to recover and to race his way back to second in the stretch run.
Courtney noted that things got “pretty hectic” during the race “We were pretty good in the beginning, but I almost spun out and gave it all up.”
The forty car field competed in four heat races, with wins going to James McFadden, Anthony Macri, Brad Sweet, and Tyler Courtney. Logan Wagner won the B Main. The Dash victory went to Sye Lynch. Rico Abreu was the best in Group A and overall, with a time of 12.794 seconds. Jacob Allen topped Group B with a time of 13.012 seconds.
- 14-Corey Day[3]; 2. 42-Sye Lynch[1]; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[4]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri[2]; 5. 83-James McFadden[6]; 6. 19-Brent Marks[5]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet[7]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen[8]; 9. 5-Spencer Bayston[14]; 10. 88-Tanner Thorson[16]; 11. 27-Emerson Axsom[9]; 12. 55-Chris Windom[13]; 13. 2KS-Hunter Schuerenberg[15]; 14. 9P-Parker Price Miller[17]; 15. 24-Rico Abreu[22]; 16. 21-Brian Brown[12]; 17. 24D-Danny Sams III[10]; 18. 13-Justin Peck[24]; 19. 8-Cory Eliason[23]; 20. 1-Brenham Crouch[20]; 21. 6-Ryan Smith[19]; 22. 71-AJ Flick[11]; 23. 20B-Cody Bova[18]; 24. 69K-Logan Wagner[21]
FRANKLIN, PA (July 10, 2024): This Sunday, July 14, the spotlight will shine on the Pro Stock division at the Tri City Raceway Park. The region’s top runners will be on hand, as the event will be part of the Penn Ohio Pro Stock Series. Of course, the track’s regulars will be there representing the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks.
“The Pro Stock class has long been part of the tradition at Tri City Raceway Park, and we are proud to have this battle among the best in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio at our track,” said the new owner Josh Shiffer.
“And, last week’s feature was a great example of the competitiveness that the Pro Stocks bring,” he added. Rod Laskey scored his first win of the season by holding off a strong challenge from Jackson Humanic, who was subbing for Josh Seippel. Seippel will be back from vacation in time for the invasion of the Penn Ohio series, in which he also competes. And, we know that Humanic will be hungry for a win after his strong finish last week.
Another track regular expected to be on hand will be Bobby Whitling. The “Seneca Slider” missed the last race due to a fuel pump failure detected at his garage. Tim Bish, a multi-time winner at Tri City this season, may return as well. He has been sidelined by an engine failure.
There will be plenty other talented drivers also carrying the Tri City flag, too. Pat Fielding, Doug Iorio, II, Russ Coyne, Jason Kimmy, Aaron Smith, Andrew Hammond, Jake Whitling, Charlie McMillen, Matt Bernard, and Hunter Exley are some whose names will be familiar to the Tri City fans.
The invaders will include Chris Schneider, who has already been a winner at Tri City this year. Tyler Dietz, Joey Zambotti, Chase Lambert, Brandon Connor, Jason Fosnaught, Brett Hutira, and Tommy Dembowski are among the Penn Ohio Series regulars who are expected as well.
This will be a unique opportunity for the Pro Stock fans to see many of the top stars on the track together, as the Sunday race date eliminates schedule conflicts for so many of the competitors.
But, there will be three other classes in action also. The Krill Recycling 410 Sprint Cars will be on the card, along with the 4 Your Car Connection RUSH Sprints. And, the 21st Century Energy Group 358 Modifieds will be back after their brief hiatus.
On Sunday evening, Matt Farnham and Michael Bauer provided a last lap thrill in the 410 Sprint Car ranks, while A.J. Flick was closing in on them both! John Mollick picked up his second win of the season with young Blaze Myers right behind him in the Rush Sprinters.
While many of his competitors were enjoying the week off from racing, 358 Modified point leader Chad Reitz was at Tri City helping his friend, Bob Felmlee. Felmlee is the points leader in the Krill Recycling 410 Sprints. Reitz will be ready with his Ford powered Modified, the only Blue Oval among the Bowtie Brigade. Eric Gabany will probably be at the controls of Steve Slater’s car once again, as medical issues have kept Slater out of the seat for the last couple of weeks. Hayden and Jimmy Holden, Kyle Fink, Lenny Liebold, III, Makayla Shannon, Frank Guidace, Eric Beggs, Troy McGregor, and many others will be looking for their first wins this season.
Regular event ticket pricing will apply for this exciting event. That means adult admission will be $15. Seniors (ages 62 and up), students (ages 11 through 16), and military will be $13, all with proper identification. The children (ages 10 and under) will be admitted for free, as usual at Tri City. The Pit Passes will be $35, with the exception of those required for the infants (ages 2 and under). The youngsters will be pitside for just $15.
The pit gates will be open at 2 p.m. and the spectator gates will open at 4 p.m. Racing will begin at 6 p.m. There will be practice for the Pro Stocks before the racing begins in earnest.
If you cannot make it to Tri City Raceway Park this week, consider the weekend doubleheader coming up on July 20 and 21. Saturday will feature a Demolition Derby and an Enduro. Next will be a Sunday Thunder program, along with Bike races for the children. Helmets will be required for all riders.
Also, mark your racing calendars for the return of the FAST on Dirt Sprint Car Series on July 28.
The divisional sponsors of Tri City Raceway Park for 2024 are: Krill Recycling, LLC (410 Sprint Cars), 21st Century Energy Group (358 Modifieds), Hovis Auto & Truck Supply (Pro Stocks), and 4 Your Car Connection (RUSH Sprint Cars).
All competitors at Tri City Raceway Park will be eligible for the Marsh Heating & Cooling Heat Race Challenge. The driver that wins the most heat races over the courseof the season, regardless of the class, will receive a special award. Currently leading in that category is Tim Bish.
Other marketing partners of Tri City Raceway Park for 2024 include: Erie Beer, Wab-Tec (manufacturer of locomotive engines), Schaeffer Lubricants, Keystone Transit (school buses), Blue Ox Timbers (buyers of timberland timber land management), Constable Refuse (residential and commercial garbage collectors), First Rate Realty (real estate sales), Landscape Connection (portable toilets and landscape supplies), KEI-Klapec Express Inc. (trucking company), BKI-Bert Klapec Inc. (excavation and demolition), Shambaugh Towing, Gibson Hill Automotive (auto repair), McCandless Ford Sales (located in Mercer and Meadville), McCandless Trailer Sales (located in Mercer and Meadville), Big Dog RC (remote controlled cars and race track), McGregor Excavating, Les Frickshun (lubricants and undercoating), Bish Heating & Cooling, Wet Hose LLC (pressure washing), Heffern Septic Service, Tionesta Builders Supply (located in Tionesta and Shippenville), UCIP-United Community Independence Program (housing and services for the handicapped), Close Racing Supply, Billy’s Garage & Towing, Oakland-Rampart Equipment (makers of centrifugal dryers, wash systems, and separators), Shaw Industries (machine shop), Welding Technologies, Froggie Radio, and Hards Welding.
Remember that you will need to check the Facebook page, Tri City Raceway Park, for current information. The former website is not updated and will soon be replaced.
Tri-City Raceway Park is located just a few miles north of Franklin, PA, at 3430 State Route 417 in Oakland Township. Professional auto racing will be presented in a family friendly atmosphere most Sunday evenings from May through Labor Day weekend.
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Seized the Day
