Spithaler Dominates Star Studded Sprint Field at Tri-City
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Franklin, PA) Brandon Spithaler, of Evans City, PA, won the second round of Shawgo Real Estate Sprint Car racing, during “Sunday Thunder” at the all new Tri-City Raceway Park on Sunday night, June 14th, 2020. Clocking lap times that were three-tenths-of-a-second faster than any other driver, Spithaler outran the competition by a significant distance, with a shockingly fast performance. Tom Holden scored an emotional win in the Modified division of racing, and Rod Laskey made a last lap pass to earn a victory in the Hovis Auto and Truck Supply Pro-Stock division. The 4 Your Car Connection Mini Stock division finished their delayed event from Opening Night, and competed in round two, in the same evening. Both races were won by Dillon Speer.
For the second consecutive week, Tri-City Promoter, Merle Black, added to the drivers’ payout and increased the number of starting positions available. That allowed all 28 Shawgo Real Estate Sprint Car teams that checked in for competition, to start the feature race and earn paychecks. (Typically 24 starting spots are available). Three preliminary heat races were contested, won by Brandon Matus, Tim Shaffer, and Lee Jacobs. All three have been winners in the All-Star Circuit of Champions national touring series. After a random draw for top starting positions among the top three finishers from each heat race, Brandon Spithaler launched from the pole position for the 25-lap feature race. Spithaler immediately pulled away from the field with the early race lead. The previous week’s winner, Shaffer, grabbed second place, after starting fourth. Quickly, Spithaler caught up to the back of the pack, and lapped traffic was heavy. Shaffer was able to gain on leader Spithaler, in the first stages of the event, when racing through slower cars. But after a caution flag forced a restart, Spithaler’s strength was evident, as he pulled far away from Shaffer. When the leaders caught up to lapped traffic the second time, Spithaler attacked with bold moves. Splitting the slower cars and “threading the needle” between other drivers battling for positions, Spithaler built an insurmountable lead in the middle stages of the race. Whether in traffic, or with a clear race track (after a restart), Spithaler’s car was no match for any other machine. In the closing laps, Spithaler lapped the fifth place driver, building an interval of more than a straightaway over Shaffer. Dan Kuriger, who was the “hard charger” one week prior, started in the 18th position, and climbed to fifth place on Sunday. That advancement showed that Kuriger’s car was a strong one – yet the leader’s torrid pace still allowed Spithaler to pass Kuriger before the finish, and designate Kuriger a “lapped car.” Spithaler has won more than 20 feature races in his career, but perhaps none was more convincing. He defeated national superstar Shaffer, “The Steel City Outlaw” by an unreasonable margin, with second generation driver Jack Sodeman, Jr. finishing third after starting fifth. Jacobs, who led the most laps in the opening night feature race, started in eighth place and finished fourth, ahead of Kuriger.
“This track was perfect tonight. If Tri-City was like this every week, I would love it,” Spithaler declared in victory lane. “When I saw that Shaffer was behind me on the scoreboard under caution, I knew I needed to take every chance in lapped traffic, to keep him in second place.” Spithaler’s improvement was notable, as he finished a distant sixth in the season opener, the previous Sunday.
The 20-lap feature event for 358-cubic-inch engine Modifieds, included a thrilling late race pass for the win. Eric Beggs won his heat race early in the evening, and grabbed the lead on lap one of the feature, after starting second. One week prior, Beggs showed great determination driving from the back of the pack after an early race caution flag incident, to finish in third place. Kevin Green was the pole starter for the race, and the eldest driver in the field spent the majority of the race in one of the top three positions, riding second to leader Beggs early on. Veteran Tom Holden started back in sixth position, and worked his way into second place before the midpoint of the race. Holden had been using the lowest possible lane of the track. But, after a caution flag forced a restart, leader Beggs chose the outside groove, instead of choosing Holden’s preferred lane. On lap 13, Holden grabbed the lead, and maintained the top spot until the finish. In victory lane, Holden became emotional when he explained that his newly changed car number is honor of his late father, who raced previously. Holden, of Sheffield, PA, dedicated the win to his father and his sister, who also recently passed. Beggs placed second, with Travis Shingledecker rallying late in the event, to advance from the seventh starting spot to a third place finish. Green had a second-straight top five performance, crossing the line fourth, with heat race winner Jeff Schaffer, Jr. placing fifth.
Fans were on their feet at the conclusion of the Hovis Auto and Truck Supply Pro-Stock feature event. Curt Bish grabbed the lead from his row-one starting position, immediately passing pole starter Josh Seippel. Seippel, the opening night winner, lost several spots in an early race shuffle. Bish, one of the region’s biggest winners in recent years, was challenged by veteran Rod Laskey near the midpoint of the event. Lasky officially led one lap, before Bish secured the top spot again. After chasing Bish in the final stages of the race, Laskey was within striking distance with two laps to go. In the final turn of the 15th and final lap, Laskey powered around Bish to steal the victory, as the checkered flag was displayed. The official top five finishers were: Laskey, heat winner Bish, Jackson Humanic, Curt Bish, Jr., and Seippel. Bobby Whitling won the other heat race, but dropped out of the feature race.
The 4 Your Car Connection Mini Stock division completed a 12-lap feature race, that was started the previous Sunday. The caution-filled event was won by Dillon Speer with Kyle Janas, Emily Stoyer, Shane Shook, and Jesse Armstrong as the top five finishers, respectively. In the regularly scheduled 12-lap feature, several more crashes eliminated competitors – including Janas and Shook who both flipped over during the race. No drivers were injured. Speer parked in victory lane for the second time in two events, this time defeating his cousin Dalton Speer. Patrick Hanlon, Bondy Stoyer, and Justin Bailey placed third through fifth, behind the Speers.
Sunday, June 21st, the all new Tri-City Raceway Park presents “Sunday Thunder” round three, at 6pm. The Vintage Modifieds will be a part of the action, showcasing the race cars of yesteryear. In addition, Tri-City will celebrate Father’s Day by giving a free Popcorn to all dads in attendance.