Monday Downpours Do Not Stop Shellhammer Action

2 Inches of Rain Does Not Stop Racing Action.

With 2 inches of rain falling on and around the speedway Monday night,it took Dave Cordier,Jr. some time to have a track ready for racing Weds. night.A BIG thanks to the 4 wheelers that helped pack the track and the 125's for really spraying the clay during hot laps,it only pushed the starting time back 15 minutes.

The All Star Slingshot Speedweeks race slotted in as the 1st class run.Lineup was set by dual heat format and Lindsey Garl made the most of her 2 races to start on the pole with Brett Bieber to her outside.Brett challenged Lindsey for the 1st 7 laps,but didn't have enough to get by with Tucker Cole pressuring Bieber in the later laps of the 20 lap event.Behind this trio was a staunch 4 car battle for the 4th spot with Wyatt Taschler,just nosing out Colton Williams for 4th.Behind them it was Griffin Hendershot warding off the last turn challenge from Matt Miller for 6th.Dave Carraghan was the Driver of the Week Free Pit Pass winner.

Playing the waiting game in the 125 main was Chris Dolan,who patiently passed Shane Davis on lap 7 and Dylan Yeingst on lap 8 to take the top spot,never to be headed for the remainder of the race.Davis got by Yeingst on lap 14 to take the runnerup money as Dylan completed the podium finishers.Moving through the field was Dave Schroeder in the X machine passing 4 cars in the last 3 laps to earn a much deserved 4th from his 12th starting slot.Steve Simmons was the victim of Schroeder's march through the field dropping from 4th to 5th at race's end.John Maurer had to go "elbows up" to get 8th after being involved in a lap 11 stoppage and starting in the rear.

It was also Junior Slingshot Speedweek night with Aubrey Romig using her heat finishes to start on the pole.2 drivers on the move early were Miles Zehner and Lily Barrett.With 10 laps in the record books the top 2 winners this year would have a battle to the end as Haley Eroh and Chase Schott were being joined late in the race by Trevor Houghton and Darian Danyluk who found some speed in the middle groove to be race challengers.Eroh gets the win by .3 seconds over Schott with Danyluk passing Houghton for 3rd with 1 lap to go.Zehner entered the top 5 on lap 9 and held that to the finish with Barrett getting a solid 6th.Hard luck driver of the race was Barry Seaman who had a chain break before 1 lap could be completed.

A 16 lap battle for lead,with no contact pitted Dakota Barlet against Richie Hartman with these 2 putting on a driving clinic throughout the 600 micro main.Switching lanes at each end of the track kept the fans attention,but behind the pair was another show with Adam Buchel,Dan Lane,Jr and Matt McAnally doing their best to notch 3rd spot.Buchel got by Geezer Fanelli to settle into 3rd with Lane and McAnally following suit 1 lap later.Hartman wrestled the lead on lap 18 using a lowside pass in turn 2,only to have Barlet retake the lead for a short time heading into turn 4.Hartman went on for his 6th win this year followed by Barlet and Buchel.Matt got by Dan with 1 to go for 4th.Chris Kurtz became a late race contender to finish 6th.Some good runs for Damian Bower and Kaitlyn Swist getting 7th and 8th.

No one was going to stop a determined Matt Mertz from taking his 2nd 2023 Stage 1 Modified win.Matt had several challenges from Colin Cox,but none being successful.These 2 took 1st and 2nd with AJ Gerhart using the last 5 laps to go from 5th to 3rd after 20 laps were completed.Falling victim to the late race charge by Gerhart were Bryce Dodig and Mark Mohr,who had their own little battle to the checkered.Coincidentally Dodig started 4th,finished 4th and drives car # 4,making for a great lottery ticket # 444.Continuing to show improvement is Jake Moyer getting 6th.

The closing A Main was the 270 micros and the Matt Hoffman / Louden Reimert Show lasted 9 laps until Reimert made a turn 4 pass to the take the lead and the win.Misfortune and hard luck struck 2nd place runner Matt Hoffman as he tangled with a slower car,moving Matt from 2nd to the rear.The late race yellow gave Matt McAnally 1 last shot at overtaking Reimert ,but his bid came up .2 seconds short.John Maurer was smooth and steady to earn a 3rd place payout.Jarrett Imler entered the top 5 picture on lap 10 after passing Chase Zeigenfuss and soldiered on for 4th.Another 'where did he come from' run by Adam Buchel putting his red #10 in for 5th from his 12th starting spot.Track officials had to burn off fuel after Patrick Kirn and Matt Bangs tangled in turn 4.Both drivers were ok.

All drivers added to their 2023 win totals last night,but it was great seeing some new faces in challenging positions. Even though racing started a little late and having some added qualifying,the checkered was thrown at 10:23.

Again a big thanks to the 4 wheeler help and to Joe Adams for quick manning the mic for me during last night's action.

The Race Track By the River will be dark until racing resumes for Wingless Weds. on August 30th.