131 Entries Seek Golden Hammer Glory.
With over $15,000 in total payout and over $1300 in bonus money,every position on every lap,could've put added money into a driver's pay envelope.The added monies weren't all going to the winners as some bonuses went back as far as 20th place.
600 time trials had 3 drivers click in under the 9 second mark with those being Steven Snyder,Jr. with the quick time of 8.963,Alex Ruppert at 8.976 and Reese Nowotarski at 8.987.D Main was won by Jackson White,C Main went to Aidan Donaldson and the B to Tim Buckwalter.The remaining 4 classes had the top 5 in each heat redraw for their A Main starting spots,rest was filled in by heat finishes.
1st A Main was the 125's and John Maurer who advanced 8 spots in his heat race to be part of the redraw,vaulted right to the lead from his 3rd starting spot."Smooth" Mike Glass took the seat of the X ride and challenged Maurer for 12 laps,only to have a RR flat sideline him with 2 to go.Steve Simmons inherited 2nd and moving through the field was A J Gerhart,who got shuffled in the late stages of the race to finish 13th.Watching this action in front of them was the close running five some of Easton Miller,Shane Davis,Chase Wehr,Chase Layser and Chris Dolan.These 5 were swapping spots at both ends of the speedway until the checkered.Maurer got the win over Simmons.The next group of 5 were Davis,Wehr,Layser,Miller and Dolan and they were only separated by .6 seconds with Sam Borger finishing where he started,that being 8th place.Some special award winners were Hard Charger to Wehr,8th place on lap 8 to Dolan and halfway leader to Maurer.A tip of the cap to Low Down Entertainment ,who took donations for the Lucky 13 Award and at races end it was $165 going to 13th place finisher,A J Gerhart.
The young drivers in the Junior Slingshots put on a fantastic show with Ryan Rochelle keeping his recent hot streak alive,but this 1 came down to a last lap run through traffic as Colten Williams had his eyes set on the $750 top prize.As the front running duo had their private war,current point leader Chase Schott and a fast charging Griffin Hendershot,were mixing it up for the final podium position.Polesitter Chase Gular was clinging to a top 5 finish but was being challenged by Dylan Hahn and the Hendricks combo of Parker and Abi.Hard luck set in for Dylan Hahn who was residing in the 6th spot until lap 15 when the 42 pulled to the infield getting the Hard Luck bonus.Rochelle held on by just .4 seconds over Williams as Schott slotted in for 3rd.Hendershot would get 4th,as Parker Hendricks got by Gular for 5th.Abi Hendricks got the Miss Motorsports bonus money for the highest finishing female at 7th with Hailey Eroh,putting a last lap bid in ,just falling short and getting 8th.Dylan Hahn got the 8th place,8th lap money and also the Hard Luck bonus with Rochelle getting the halfway leader award.
When your 270 micro point leader starts on the pole,it's basically a run for 2nd place money and last night was no exception as Richie Hartman at one point had a 3 second lead only to have that erased by the most winning 270 driver this year,Louden Reimert.Reimert found some speed in traffic to get to the rear bumper of his teammate,but not enough to pass him and settled for 2nd by just .5 seconds from his 10th starting spot.Challenging Hartman in the early going was Matt McAnally,who after 25 laps took the 3rd place prize.Adam Buchel kept the fans guessing as he would fall back from his 6th starting spot,only to rebound with some new found speed to garner a much earned 4th.Misfortune struck the 29J of Dan Lane,Jr. as he got up and over in turn 3 to bring out a lap 12 red,while running 5th.Jarrett Imler stayed out of trouble and became a top 5 racer at race's end.Ben Layser had his 4L under the checkered for 6th with 2 drivers finding their way through the field from back in the pack as Brandon Confer got the Hard Charger bonus wheeling from 16th to 7th and William Mohring notching 8th place money over Josh Patterson ,who rebounded from some early race incidents.Hard Luck went to Lane.Jr. Mohring got the 8th place on Lap 8 bonus and halfway leader money went to Hartman.
It didn't take long for the #3 of Dave Carraghan to claim the top spot,as he made a turn 2 pass to get by polesitter Ryan Raidline on lap 4.What was happening behind him was anyone's guess with position shuffling every lap.Brett Bieber was moving into the top 5 until he got shuffled and had to restart from the rear.It was now Tyler Hoch, Jax Yohn and Lindsey Garl who were top 5 runners only to have Yohn and Garl infield bound on lap 11.The top 5 jinx was on as Patrick O'Brien was solidly in the 5th spot,but found lapped traffic thwart his efforts in the late going.It was now becoming a spirited battle for the 3rd spot as Tyler Ulsh kept his nose clean to ward off late race advances by Bieber to claim the 3rd place prize.Dylan Hoch who was running in 4th was a DNF on lap 24,giving Bieber 4th place money.Raidline claimed 5th place as the back starting pair of Tucker Cole and Dan Lane,Jr in the Thunberg 12Jr. would skirt through the field for 6th and 7th as a strong showing by Lucas Pittenger would have an 8th place envelope at the end of 25 laps.O'Brien managed to get a top 10 finish at 9th.Hard Luck went to Yohn,Hard Charger to Cole moving up 12 spots.Lap 8,8th place to Ulsh,Halfway leader money to Carraghan,Last car to finish on lead lap awarded to Alex Lagun and last car running to George Manion.
The finale 40 lap 600 micro main never got off to a good start as fast timer,Cash Dash winner and polesitter, Steven Snyder,Jr pulled off the speedway before getting to the starting zone as flames were seen under his 21S forcing him to the infield and getting the Hard Luck Award.It became a much watched 4 car battle for the top spot with Alex Ruppert,Reese Nowotarski,Tim Buckwalter and Cliff Brian,Jr. clicking off some quick laps.Buckwalter would bring out a yellow on lap 10 after a turn 2 incident.As the 30 lap race wore on a new face was becoming the driver to watch as Christian Bruno worked his way past Brian,Jr. and Nowotarski to set up the front of the pack showdown with Ruppert.Once Bruno cleared Ruppert on lap 13,there was nothing that was going to slow down the high flying 5B.The show behind the top 3 was now in the hands of a driver that had no quit on the evening as making the A Main from the D was Jackson White and what a show of driving talent this wheelsman put on. White passed Brian,Jr to slot in at 4th.Next up on the watch list was Adam Buchel as some qualifying issues had him starting 17th,but the #10 hot rod made some incredible 3 wide passes to slot in at 6th once the event was completed.Jacob Severn moved the the field to get 7th from his 15th starting spot with James Roselli getting another Elite 8 finish aboard his sharp looking 98R.Hard Charger went to Buchel with the 8thplace,8th lap money going to Jordan Tittle.1/2 way leader money to Bruno with Daniel Bair getting the last car on lead lap bonus.
With a lot of money on the line,it was a little time consuming getting the letter mains for the 600's and time trials out of the way,but plans are already in the works to make a few changes that will keep the events flowing more smoothly.
The influx of new race teams,many of which were impressed by track prep and the support given by all race sponsors and Cordier Family Productions for the generous payout have stated they will be returning in the future.
When it comes down to the final outcome,let me just say there aren't too many tracks the size of Shellhammer's that would partake in an event that paid out over $16,000 for basically what would be considered a regular show at most small car tracks.
