Shellhammer Dirt Track Sept. 4th Recap

"Donit Night" Rewards All Ages

The "G" Racing Team had something for everyone last night with an all ages giveaway and a dozen "donits" to all A Main winners.

Geezer Fanelli and crew had a table full of giveaway items for all ages and also had 2 "donit" pillows and an inflatable "donit" as an intermission giveaway.

Many drivers added to their win totals as 4 of the 6 classes had repeat winners and quite a few of the finishes came right down to the checkers.

The 125 micros had a night that can only be described as unusual. Easton Miller assumed command and was never to be denied as AJ Gerhart worked all available racing grooves but could not get past Easton. Joining the battle was 6 time winner Chris Dolan and Dylan Yeingst creating a foursome that was exciting to watch. All came apart on lap 17 as Dolan's # 16 came to a complete stop heading into turn 1 and Dylan Yeingst with nowhere to go hit Dolan full throttle. Yeingst had leg pain after the collision. Sam Borger's slight contact in this incident created a steering problem that would send the 04 into the entrance gate by the starter's stand at full speed on the next restart. Sam was dazed and sore as EMTs rushed to his aid. A 25 minute delay was needed to repair the gate. With 3 laps remaining,Easton Miller nosed out Gerhart by just .2 seconds with Shane Davis notching 3rd ahead of Corey Haring.

The Junior Slingshot racers have shown their talents on the high banks many times this year and this 20 lap main again went non-stop in 3:33. Showing the way for the 1st 8 laps was Aubrey Romig with Gavin Wolfe, Hailey Eroh and Lily Barrett pack racing behind her. Eroh got by Wolfe on lap 3 and was now chasing down Romig who had build up a nice margin. Heading into turn 3 on lap 8 Aubrey left the lowside open and Eroh made the pass exiting turn 4 to outrun the rest of the field for the last 12 laps. Romig stayed focused for another 2nd place run. Behind the pair it was a 3 car scramble as Hailey Burnatowski entered the top 5 and it was quite a battle for the coveted final podium spot of 3rd. Wolfe got help from some lapped traffic to get a nice run for 3rd with Barrett and Burnatowski almost side by side at the checker with Lily getting 4th over Burnatowski. Another impressive run by Cheyenne Snodderly capturing the 6th spot.

If you are a 600 micro racers,there is really no reason to stay home as the field only had 2 race stoppages and a 3 car car battle that wasn't decided until the 20th lap. Adam Buchel ,a 2 time winner and recent winner Trevor Kobylarz set a blistering pace that the next 4 drivers kept in touch with as JT Bierman, Dan Lane,Jr., Matt McAnally and Fred Heinly were wired on all 4 racing grooves prepared by Dave Cordier,Jr. Not to be left behind was 7th starter Ryan Rochelle who entered the top 5 on lap 10 after getting by Lane,Jr. There was some top money on the line as the $500 to win class was the 600 micros. With laps ticking away Kobylarz tried getting by Buchel on the lowside in turns 1 & 2 and the high side in turns 3 & 4 but didn't have enough to get his 2nd win of the year missing out by just .2 seconds. Rallying for 3rd in the last 3 laps was Matt McAnally and using a lap 19 turn 2 pass to garner 4th was Ryan Rochelle. Bierman's night in the top 5 resulted in a 5th place payout.Buchel got the $500 along with his 5th 600 micro win.

A solid field of 20 All Star Slingshots set sail for their 25 lap main event and the front row consisted of 2 female flyers as Lindsey Garl and Tess Horvath had a 2 car duel for the 1st 8 laps until Lindsey started stretching her lead. Behind this pair was Jason Dunkelberger,Colton Williams and Brett Bieber with Darian Danyluk,Dan Lane,Jr. and Zack Gerber close by. At the halfway point Garl was a straightaway ahead of Horvath with Lane,Jr. Dunkelberger and Williams looking potent. Lap 17 would change the racing order as Garl headed to the infield with mechanical issues while leading. Horvath inherited the lead and was now being challenged by a hard charging Danyluk. The mad dash to the checker had Dunkelberger getting by Danyluk on lap 23 and just getting nosed out by Horvath by .2 seconds for the win. Danyluk improved 9 spots from 12th to 3rd as Lane,Jr. warded off the final rally by last weeks winner Wyatt Taschler for 4th, who just got to the line ahead of 6th place runner Zack Gerber.

The 270 micros took to the Race Track by the River and still winless in this class in 2024 was Adam Buchel. With a front row starting spot,it was a real pleasure not seeing any traffic in front of him and having turned back the early race challenge by Jeff Ubel,he now had to worry about 5 time winner Matt McAnally,who had Matt Hoffman and Sleeveless Mike Kalman having their own private battle. Kalman would be part of a midrace yellow moving Dustin Roberts and Dylan Kuronya into the top 5. These 2 would be the reason for the next yellow and now it was time for Mark Kemp,Chase Zeigenfuss,Abby Witter,Jeffrey Confer and Clinton Hauser to show their late race speed. The final lap saw McAnally get to Buchel's RR tire coming off of turn 2 but had to settle for the runnerup spot with Buchel getting his 1st 270 win of the season by just .3 seconds. Matt Hoffman was dialed in for the 20 lap distance never being outside the top 5 in getting 3rd. Mark Kemp got his best finish of the season for 4th with Witter under the checker 5th,but was light at the scale giving the 5th spot to Jeffrey Confer.

Not to be outdone was the final A Main of the night,the Stage 1 Modifieds. Hopping from his 600 micro into the # 4 Stage 1 was JT Bierman and he showed the field he knows how to get this class around the 1/8th mile. The drag race to turn 1 was won by Bierman with Jake Moyer trying a high side pass exiting turn 2 that just fell short. The tightly bunched field behind the front running pair had 5 time winner AJ Gerhart, last weeks winner Johnny Fugelo and 2 time winner Brett Smith showcasing their talents as they had a few 3 wide runs in the mid-stages of the event without any yellows being needed. Bierman was running on rails as he distanced himself from Moyer,easily getting around slower traffic and getting his 1st 2024 Stage 1 win 4 full seconds ahead of Moyer. Fugelo's lap 18 pass on Gerhart slotted him for a strong 3rd place run with Gerhart using the bottom groove to his advantage to hold off Smith for 4th. Looking strong throughout the 20 lap distance was 6th place runner Ali Cushman.

Even with the 25 minute delay to aid Sam Borger and repair the entrance gate,all race teams were on their home by 10:30. This has been the latest night since the July Golden Hammer nights.

There truly is no reason for anyone to stay home on a Weds. night as Shellhammer Dirt Track continues to provide the best racing surface and car entry payout of any small car track in the country,