66TH SEASON PENN CAN SPEEDWAY OPENER STARTS OFF AS A THRILLER
Kayla Peting
With the excitement and anticipation hanging in the air, drivers, fans, and employees were eagerly awaiting the green flag to drop. The night started off with recognition to the Beavan family as founders of the racetrack and in appreciation for the family bringing a great track and business to the area. The VIP booths were renamed in honor of the family’s dedication. Everyone was eager to get the season underway after a challenging year and changes in the off season. After being postponed twice due to weather the season opener was finally upon race fans and it was evident in their faces.
The junior division kicked off the features for the night with Trevor Houghton and Josh Landers leading the pack to the green of the 8-lap feature. Houghton got the lead and took off, putting Landers in second. The 10 car of Houghton got loose and spun in turn four of the first lap putting Landers in first. The 33 of Landers chose the inside line and to his outside was the 91 of Evan O’Hara on the restart. Landers got the early jump on O’Hara for the lead while Houghton made quick work of the rest of the field and was back to hunting down the 33. Houghton would look to the outside of Landers to take back the lead while the 71 of Liam Zacharias made a pass at Dominick Kilchberger in the 17 to take the third position. It would be a tough night for Houghton as he clipped the wall with one to go and would again have to catch the rest of the group. Landers reassumed the lead with O’Hara close behind. Zacharias and Klichberger battled hard for the third spot, but it would end up going to the 17 car. Josh Landers pointed out that he stayed back until Trevor had spun. When they restarted, he remembered Evan being to his outside and then suddenly Trevor was back up to his outside. After the race Trevor had mentioned that he was running with a broken shock. Josh would like to thank his dad and family for their support and his sponsor Binghamton Truck and Tire Center.
Next up was the A&E Auto 600cc Modifieds 20 lap feature with 2020 track champion Dana Davis sitting on the pole and the 217 of Larry Furman to Davis’s outside. Davis would get the quick jump once the green flag dropped allowing Brett Gray to maneuver around John Glover, Jeff Baldwin and Doug Lattner for third. After some slight contact between Lattner and Gray, Lattner would slow and pull to the infield while Gray would battle with teammate Brenton Miller for the second position. Gray would look to the inside of the 29 of Miller to complete the pass for second while Davis would close in rapidly on lapped traffic. Gray would use the traffic to his advantage as he looked to the inside of the track champion for the first spot. The battle wasn’t over as Davis and Miller would hunt down Gray and take it three wide for the lead. Miller would make his move and take the first spot leaving Gray and Davis to battle hard for second.
The first caution of the night would come at the halfway mark when Davis and Gray would make heavy contact and Davis would spin on the backstretch. Both cars would go to the back of the pack. As Miller would take the green on the single file restart, both Davis and Gray would make quick work of the field with Davis passing Furman, Baldwin, and CJ Jochum, and the 42 of Glover for second as Gray quickly followed the same pattern and would pass Glover for third. The second caution would come when Chuck Lohmeyer would spin in turn two. On the single file restart, Miller, Davis and Gray would all battle hard for the lead with Miller’s 28 pulling away allowing Gray and Davis to battle door to door for the second position. Davis would take the second-place spot as Miller got the checkered flag. Gray would take third as Glover and Jochum would round out the top five. Feature winner Bretton Miller said it was a nice change of pace running earlier in the order of classes. The driver of the 28-machine watched as his teammate battled the previous Track Champion Davis and had to use his patience in waiting for a hole to open up to find the right time to make his moves. When he heard the 28 and 138 to the rear, he knew it wouldn’t be long before the two drivers made it back to him and felt the pressure to get it done. Miller would like to thank his entire team and sponsors Moose Wraps, Gray Trucking, the Green family and All Things Vinyl by Alicia who helped him to the win.
Following the 600cc feature was the Gary’s U Pull it 4 Cylinders, with 2020 Track Champion Josh Wilder sitting on the pole with Richard Wagner sitting on the outside in the 8W. Wilder got the jump once the green flag waved with Wagner and Kenneth Evans battling door to door for second through turn one and two, but Wagner would take over the second position. Jeff Sterling in the 56 would look to the high side of Evans to take over the third spot. On lap 3, Josh Hubbard and Nick Hildebrant would spin in turn one and would give Wagner another shot at the lead upon the restart, but Wilder would be relentless in his pursuit of the lead spot. Evans and Wagner would battle once again, and Evans would finally take second place from Wagner. A few spots back James Havens and Andy Bolles would duke it out for the fifth place with Havens claiming the position. Wagner and Evans were door to door most of the race for the second-place spot behind Wilder, but Evans would once again take the position. The second caution of the night would come when Sterling’s 56 would come to a slow roll along the front stretch and eventually head pit side. Wilder would take the outside for the restart with Evans to his inside to try and take the lead from Wilder, but Bolles had plans to battle it out with the 27 of Evans for second while Wilder drove hard to keep first in his grasp. Evans would take second while Bolles would go to third while right behind him Cheyenne Bump would go side by side with Wagner for the fourth-place spot through turns one and two, but Wagner gained control of the fourth-place spot.
The final caution would come at lap 11 of the 15-lap feature for Hildebrant slowing on pit road and Evans heading pit side. Wilder would lead the field on a single file restart with Bolles right on his back bumper and Wagner close behind. Wilder, Bolles and Wagner would pull away from the field and battle for the top 3 positions. Dave Nixon would pass Bump to take away the fourth place spot leaving Bump and Scott Beach to scuffle for fifth, ultimately Beach would take the fifth spot from Bump. Meanwhile, Bolles and Wagner are fighting hard for second and the decision came when Bolles clipped the infield wall in turn 3 leaving Wagner to claim the second-place spot. Wilder would cross first followed by Wagner, Bolles, Nixon and Beach to round out the top 5. Feature Winner Wilder said the track felt tacky and had the spring racing feel to it. Sitting on the pole with Wagner, Wilder knew he would be facing stiff competition and had to drive the car hard throughout the whole race. He felt a few love taps throughout the event and got some gentle reminders that the dogs were nipping at his heels. Throughout the race it was hammer down for the driver of the 5 machine, but he felt better with teammate Andy Bolles behind him.
Stafursky Paving Sunoco Modified 30 lap feature was led to green by Alan Rudalavage and Danny Creeden, Rudalavage would get the jump before the first caution would come out for Sam Allen getting pinned in turn three. After getting back in order Rudalavage and Creeden would take the green once again with the 145 of Rudalavage taking the lead while the 97T of Danny Tyler would take the second-place spot from Creeden. Marshall Hurd stepped up to challenge Tyler for second place, but the 97T charged forward to keep his claim on second before the yellow dropped. In turn 4 there was a group of cars that were caught together and those involved were: Ken Titus, Bud Phillips, Darwin Green, and Stanley Wilkins. Rudalavage and Tyler would lead the field to green with the 145 jumping to the lead. Hurd would look to the inside of Creeden to take third and Hurd would go onto battle with Tyler for second. Hurd would take second as the yellow came out for contact between Brian Malcom’s 119 and Creeden in turn two which resulted in both drivers being sent to the rear of the field. Rudalavage and Hurd would bring the field to green with Rudalavage once again taking the lead leaving Hurd and Tyler to swap paint for second with Tyler getting the opportunity to take second. On lap 8, the caution would come out for Kevin Harnett getting loose which led to Creeden, Malcom, Titus and Phillips getting in a jam on the backstretch. Titus and Harnett would head pit side for a quick repair as we were getting ready to come to green with Rudalavage and Tyler on the front row. After the green dropped the yellow was quick as Titus had spun in turn 2.
Upon getting straightened out Rudalavage and Tyler would charge forward on the restart with the 145 taking the quick lead. Alex Yankowski and Hurd would battle hard for third with Yankowski’s 9Y would take third and quickly challenge Tyler for the second place but would stay in the third-place spot. The yellow would fly as Nick Mady and Wilkins collided in turn 2, the restart would see Rudalavage and Tyler in the top two spots with the 145 taking the lead leaving the pack to fight for positions. Jimmy Zacharias and Green would battle Hurd and respectively take third and fourth. Track regular Mike Loney would pass Hurd to take away the fifth spot and a shot at the leaders. The next caution would come just after the halfway point with Brandon Fritch slowing on the front stretch before heading pit side. The single file restart would see 145 lead the pack, Malcom would pass Hurd and Loney to clinch the fifth spot before the caution would come out for Matt Sobiech clipping the wall in turn 4.
On the single file restart, the 97T would look inside of the 145 but couldn’t make the pass while Creeden passed the 3 car of Eddie Strada. A red flag would come out on the track as a track official was hit by flying debris and was in need of medical attention. During the red flag, many drivers stepped out of their cars to inspect tires and any possible damaged received and race leader Alan Rudalavage would head pit side to refuel. Rudalavage was penalized for pitting under red and would be placed at the back of the pack. New leader Danny Tyler would lead the field to green as we got back racing. Loney would look inside Malcom for the sixth spot as laps were starting to tick off. Creeden would manage to get by Loney, Malcom and Hurd to claim the fifth-place spot. As the white flag waved, Yankowski was just to the inside of Tyler through turns one and two as well as the back stretch. In a shocking turn of events, Yankowski drove his 9Y car in deep and to the inside of Tyler claiming the top spot coming out of turn four and down the front stretch taking the victory.
The 16-year-old from Covington Township, PA was excited with his win as he had won his first 602 Crate Sportsman win at Penn Can and now has his first Modified win here as well. Yankowski said that the track was really good and racy until turn 3, he gives “props to the track crew” for having a nice racing surface. The red flag gave him a chance to stop and gather his thoughts. Alex is planning on running the Short Track Super Series and is hoping to return to the speedway. He would like to thank Stafursky, Beach Ball and “all the Joes” on his team.
Brandon Oleski and Mike Nagel Jr. led the field to green in the opening night Sleepy Hollow Turf and Insinger Performance 602 Crate Sportsman feature. Pole sitter Nagel would hold the early lead down the backstretch as Ray Leonard and Alan Komar battled for the fifth spot. The field avoided a sticky situation as Tony Parlanti and Alex Konopka made contact while fighting for 11th and checked up the field. The top 7 began to spread out before the first yellow flag of the event cut the air as the 70J of Joel Powell took a spin in turn four. The yellow broke up a developing battle for second as last year’s Modified Track Champion Brett Tonkin had caught Leonard for second. The field would bottleneck on the restart leading to Joe Buchanan and Brad Weaver making heavy contact and ending Weaver’s night. Alan Komar would head pit side under the yellow with Nagel getting the jump on the restart. Tonkin would make it past Oleski’s inside on the restart. On the ensuing lap Tonkin would sail by Nagel for the lead while Leonard locked down third followed by Oleski. Caution number two saw Komar’s rough night continue as the 88R machine took a spin in turn 4. Tonkin would opt for the outside on the lap 6 restart, it would prove to be the right bet as Tonkin rocketed away down the backstretch and Leonard worked Nagel for the runner up spot. Leonard reeled in Tonkin to go door to door in turn 3 for the lead. Right as their battle heated up Parlanti spun in turn four bringing out the yellow.
Tonkin would again take the outside as he and Leonard took the lap 9 green, it would be short lived as a pileup in turn four included Josh Aksar, Nagel, Parlanti and Josh Allen. By lap 15 the field had begun to spread apart with leaders Tonkin and Leonard catching lapped traffic and Leonard reeling in the front runner. Another flurry of yellows followed when Allen spun coming onto the front stretch and the following lap Komar and Aksar both slowed on the track. With the string of yellows, the top ten now included Tonkin, Leonard, Oleski, Konopka, Dan Solomon, Nagel, Michael Samony, Eddie Kudrako, Matt Martino, and Parianti. Nagel and Samony would slip past Solomon as Solomon got loose on the topside and the leaders took off. With 5 laps to go it was still Leonard chasing Tonkin as the 27K set a blistering pace around the speedway. Lap 21 once again slowed the field for a turn four pile up including Komar, Allen, Parianti and Buchanan. Within five to go the single file start meant time was running out for the field to show what they had for the leader. Allen looked to the inside of Oleski but Oleski would hold him off and the field would single out with 3 laps remaining. Contact between Leonard and Tonkin would seal the deal as Tonkin extended his lead and Leonard had to entertain Oleski’s challenge for second. As the checkers fell it was Tonkin followed by Leonard, Oleski, Konopka, Nagel, Solomon, Samony, Kudrako, Martino and Parianti.
Brett Tonkin plans to run both the Modified and Sportsman division this year and captured his first Sportsman win of the year. When asked about track Tonkin said it had a certain roughness to it, but it will start smooth throughout the season. Tonkin also had said that having Ray Leonard right behind him made him push harder to keep the lead. Also, that his starting spot helped a ton in the win. Brett would thank to thank the Stafursky family, Castle Key Real Estate, H&K Dunmore Asphalt, Falcon Oil, Basster Equipment Company and a large thank you to his wife and newborn son for their endless support.
The Sunoco Race Fuels Street Stocks entertained with a big show for the limited car count. Doug Polhamus and Jim Sykes brought the full-bodied field to green as Sykes was shuffled to the outside and fell back to sixth. As Polhamus built momentum Damion Decker and Travis Brockner went door to door locked in a battle for second. Brockner would use the high side to advance past Decker and Lanson Albanese looked inside of Jerry Lobdell Jr. to take the fourth spot. Carnage followed on lap 3 as Brockner and Lobdell made heavy contact and Polhamus, Dusty Decker, Albanese and Damon Decker were all involved with damage. After Albanese’s car was recovered from the infield of turn 2 the field came back to green led by Sykes on the inside and Ricky Davis Sr on the outside. Polhamus and Lobdell would take Davis 3 wide as they came through turn 3 with Lobdell having to check up as Sykes, Davis and Polhamus then went three wide filling the racing surface in a battle for the lead. Polhamus would hold the inside with Sykes above him while Lobdell slipped past Davis to take third away. Lobdell wasn’t done yet as he pulled alongside Sykes the following lap and completed the pass as the field came to the halfway point. Damon Decker would be the next challenger for Sykes as the two battled and Decker’s car slowed at the top of turn 2. The lap 9 restart had Polhamus in front of Lobdell, Sykes, Davis and Brockner with Brockner getting Davis that lap. Polhamus would hold off Lobdell on lap 11 as the two stayed doors to door into lap 12. Lobdell would take the lead with two to go and skated away to the win over Polhamus, Sykes, Davis and Brockner.
Feature winner Jerry Lobdell Jr. repeated his feat of winning the Penn Can Speedway Opener as an invader for the second year in a row. The Thunder Mountain regular dodged the carnage early and beat some stout competition. Though there wasn’t a preferred line around that seemed to work better than the others Lobdell said the track had character in the early spring race. Jerry would like to thank sponsors Striker Fabrication, Pops Automotive, Dig Shocks, Denny Decker Logging and J. Lobdell Construction.
Rounding out the night Stanley Matthews and 2020 Track Champion Tommy Groover came to the green flag for the factory stock feature. With the top 5 fitting under a blanket for the first few laps Matthews held the lead and Groover, Charlie Gilbert and Jason Thomas used every inch of racing room swapping second. The competitors would have to wait however as the 9 ¾ of Nick Stark spun in turn 2. Matthews would put Groover on the inside, but Gilbert would work the track’s shelf as the three drivers ran side by side out of two and down the backstretch. Stark and Ricky Sinsabaugh collided in turn 4 bringing out the second yellow flag and Matthews would again elect for the outside. Matthews would hold the lead into turn 3 while Gilbert and Thomas banged doors racing for fourth. Groover would make his move on Matthews down the front stretch and Gilbert would get Thomas as the high side powered past the low line. Lap five would slow again as Stark brought out the third yellow of the event spinning in turn 2. Groover would stick Matthews on the inside for the restart as the 7R powered away off turn two to hold the lead while Thomas peeked inside for second. Behind the leaders Alecia Towner got around Matt Millard for the 6th position and Groover checked out on his competition. As the run continued on Groover would encounter lapped traffic as Sinsabaugh was passed on lap 12. Thomas, Gilbert and Matthews would work their way around Sinsabaugh and each other on lap 16 fighting it out for podium spots.
The final yellow of the night saw Thomas’ run come to an end as his car slowed due to overheating issues and Stark’s machine came to a stop on the back-stretch infield. Groover would pull away from Matthews on the final restart and take the checkered flag as Gilbert worked the high side trying to edge Matthews out for second. Matthews would withstand the challenge finishing second with Gilbert third, Alecia Towner fourth, Matt Millard, Casey McPherson, Luke Mills, and Sinsabaugh. Feature winner Tommy Groover was fighting a broken rear shock but said it felt good to race hard again to open up the season. Groover plans on competing with the GRIT series this season and will chase the points championship. The pilot of the 7R machine plans to travel more this summer and is unsure if he’ll be at the speedway to defend his championship yet. Tommy would like to thank Dave’s Buy Rite Auto Sales, T-Shirt Shack by Vinyl Obsession, Red Barrell Cars, Wildside Graphics, T.J.’s Auto, Pops Automotive and Denny Decker Logging.
With the racing season back in full swing everyone is looking forward to being back at the track on a regular basis. On a regular basis Penn Can Speedway will be running the following divisions: Juniors, Sleepy Hollow Turf and Insinger 602 Crate Sportsman, Stafursky Paving and Sunoco Modifieds, Gary’s U Pull It 4 Cylinders, A&E Auto 600cc Modifieds, Street Stocks and Factory Stocks. This Friday the GRIT Hobby Stock Series will be at Penn Can. There will be more action-packed racing and fun throughout the whole season, to be able to stay up to date on all things happening at the track like us on Facebook: Penn Can Speedway.
JUNIORS FEATURE FINISH
WINNER- 33 -JOSH LANDERS
2) 91X- Evan O’Hara 3) 17- Dominick Klochberger 4) 71- Liam Zacharias 5) 10- Trevor Houghton DNS 6) 3- Anthony Mancini
A&E TIRE AND AUTO 600CC MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH
WINNER- 29- BRENTON MILLER
2) 138- Dana Davis 3) 28-Brett Gray 4) 72-John Glover 5) 777- CJ Jochum 6) 17- Jeff Baldwin 7) 217- Larry Furman 8) 1JR- Darwin Green Jr. DNF 9) 5- Chuck Lohmeyer 10) 101 Doug Lattner
GARY’S U PULL IT 4-CYLINDER FEATURE FINISH
WINNER- 5- JOSH WILDER
2) 8W- Richard Wagner 3) 324- Andy Bolles 4) 76- Dave Nixon 5) 21- Scott Beach 6) 17B Cheyenne Bump 7) 62X- Thomas Tomczyk 8) G55- Dakota Fuller DNF 9) 17F- Mike Ferris 10) 27- Kenneth Evans 11) 28- Nick Hildebrant 12) 32RW- Ronnie Welch 13) 56- Nick Sterling 14) 72- James Havens 13) RC2- Josh Hubbard
STAFURSKY PAVING MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH
WINNER- 9Y- ALEX YANKOWSKI
2) 71- Jimmy Zacharias 3) 1G- Darwin Green 4) 16x- Danny Creeden 5) 58M- Marshall Hurd 6) 119- Brian Malcom
7) 5- Kevin Hartnett 8) 33- Eddie Strada 9) 17D- Mike Loney 10) 3R-Richard Smith 11) 145 - Alan Rudalavage 12- 49- Kenny Sparks Jr. 13)- A11- Sam Allen 14) 66M- Matt Sobiech 15) M20- Brian Mady DNF 16- 73- Casey Plummer 17)- 9- Ken Titus 18)- 23-Bud Phillips 19) 52- Brandon Fritch 20) 17- George Kostelansky 21) 20R- Nick Rochinski 22) 14- Stanley Wilkins 23) 9T- Brett Tonkin 24)- 24X- Matt Cole 25) 44- Aleia Geisler DNS 26) 63- Byron Worthing DQ 27) 97T- Danny Tyler
SLEEPY HOLLOW TURF 602 CRATE SPORTSMAN FEATURE FINISH
WINNER- 27K- BRETT TONKIN
2) 3R- Ray Leonard 3) 30+- Brandon Oleski 4) 14K- Alan Konopka 5) M7-Mike Nagel Jr. 6) 4S- Dan Solomon
7) 88S- Michael Samony 8) 32- Eddie Kudrako 9) 226- Matt Martino 10) 114- Tony Parianti
11) 4A- Josh Allen 12) 25B- Ryan Burkett 13) 4JA- Josh Askar 14) 70J- Joe Powell 15) 9- Steve Schrader 16) 26- John Bush 17) 88K- Alan Komar 18) 4J- Joe Buchanan 19) 88R- Ryan Zelosko 20) QR1- Brad Weaver
Sunoco Race Fuel STREET STOCK FEATURE
WINNER- 2L- JERRY LOBDELL JR
2) KP1- Doug Polhamus 3) SIX- Jim Sykes 4) 5- Ricky Davis 5) 151- Travis Brockner DNF 6) 89- Damon Decker 7) 14A- Lanson Albanese 8) 20JR- Dusty Decker
FACTORY STOCK FEATURE
WINNER- 7R- TOMMY GROOVER
2) 22M- Stanley Matthews 3) 28- Charlie Gilbert 4) 9X- Alecia Towner 5) 13MH- Matt Millard 6) 15- Luke Mills 7) 49-Casey McPherson 8) 21X- Ricky Sinsabaugh DNF 9) 7X- Jason Thomas 10) 9 3/4- Nick Stark 11) 5T- Charlie Towner