September Brings Cooler Nights For Spectacular Racing

Nathan Aldrich and Kayla Peting

It was a beautiful, cool night for racing as the season is winding down. Last Night was Small Addictions RC night and the fans were ready for some action. The drivers would draw as they came into the pits for their heat line ups and would be in the redraw for the feature. The winners of the features are guaranteed a redraw spot for King of the Can in two weeks. With 75 cars across the six divisions, it was sure to be an action packed night. There was a demonstration by the Small Addictions RC group to showcase what they have in their store and it got the crowd involved as well. The fans and drivers’ are soaking up those last few weeks of racing before the 2021 season comes to an end.

Twenty-five Stafursky Paving Sunoco Race Fuels Modifieds packed the racing surface as Kevin Hartnett and Craig Whitmoyer brought the field to the green flag as disaster nearly struck early. Stanley Wilkins came off turn 4 sideways on the start while the field rapidly checked up behind him. Alan Rudalavage would head pitside under the yellow and return to the tail of the field before the green flag. With everyone back in order it was Hartnett dashing into the lead with Whitmoyer second and Brian Malcolm moving into third. Dan Pompey and Alan Barker would put on a show as the pair battled for fifth in the early laps with Pompey working the inside line to secure the spot. Pompey next took the fourth spot away from Chris Hunsinger Jr. with Barker following past to put Hunsinger back to fifth. Hunsinger would come under fire from Alex Tonkin on the following lap but kept the spot. On lap 8 Hartnett closed in on the tail of the field while Brett Tonkin took the eleventh spot from Jamie Bedford and Alex Stanton took his machine pitside.

As Hartnett worked heavy traffic on the frontstretch of lap 10 his car appeared to lurch sideways and by turn 3 had rolled to a slow stop before being pushed pitside. With Alan Rudalavage also heading pitside under the yellow, new leader Whitmoyer elected to put Malcolm on his outside for the restart. Malcolm timed the restart well, shooting past Whitmoyer as the pair worked into turn one.Pileups in turn one brought the field to a halt with Dan Vauter, Art Bray, Stanley Wilkins, and Bailey Boyd needed some assistance getting pointed back in the right direction and Boyd ultimately going off on the hook. Once the red flag cleared, Malcolm headed pitside with a right rear flat, turning the lead back over to Whitmoyer. With Whitmoyer on the inside and Pompey completing the front row the pace picked back up; Whitmoyer leading the field into turn one. Kostelansky peeked inside Bedford for the eighth spot but couldn't take it away meanwhile at the front of the field Barker found some bite on the outside moving past Pompey for second. A lap 14 yellow again sent Malcolm to the back as he and Loney collided in turn 4 after rubbing rails the previous lap.

Barker grabbed the lead from the inside on the restart while Alex Tonkin peeked inside Whitmoyer for second. With Whitmoyer keeping the second spot Brett Tonkin moved into sixth, slipping past Bedford. Vauter would slow as he came down the back stretch on lap 20 drawing up a restart with ten laps to go. Whitmoyer set the pace out of turn four while Tonkin used the single file restart to work his way past Matt Cole for fourth, just as Nick Branning came to a stop in turn two. With 7 laps remaining Malcolm would slip past Brandon Fritsch to move into the top ten on another restart. The final yellow came with 6 laps to go as Art Bray slowed on the front stretch. Whitmoyer held off a closing Barker over the final few laps to take the double checkered flags with Alex Tonkin, Brett Tonkin, Cole, Kostelonsky, Bedford, Hunsinger, Malcolm, and 27 rounding out the top 10.

Feature winner Craig “Hook” Whitmoyer is a regular at the Grandview and Big Diamond speedways, who made a last minute decision to head to Penn Can for the redraw show. With a strong car all night Whitmoyer had some tough lane choice decisions to make on restarts but he “felt restarting on the outside was better”. In the closing laps Craig focused on “hitting the good lines on the track” and was able to hold off Barker’s furious charge to the end. Craig would like to thank Mauer and Scott, TSM Motorsports, Leindecker race engines, Candy's Homemade Ice cream, Road Runner Race Fuels, Faster Place, Harrington Hoists, Remax of Reading, Whitmoyer machine, Penske shocks and Snyder web design.

Sleepy Hollow Turf and Insinger Performance 602 Crate Sportsman were brought to green by Mike Wilcha and Alex Konopka for their 25 lap feature event. Wilcha led the way down the front stretch while Track Champion Ray Leonard looked inside Konopka for second on lap 2. Leonard couldn’t wrestle the spot away before having to defend his third spot from the 99 of . The first caution of the feature came on lap 5 as Kyle Walsh in the 13 would spin in turn 2. The restart would see Wilcha taking the inside line with Konopka to his outside. Konopka would jump to the lead leaving the field to battle for spots. Kolyn Schane would look to the inside of Mike Nagel Jr. for sixth but would be unable to clinch the spot as Nagel Jr. would move up to challenge Komar for fifth. With Nagel Jr. using the lowside to claim fifth over Komar, he would continue on that line to battle with the 99 for fourth, but would be unable to take the spot. However, Nagel Jr. would not give up as he would continue to challenge the 99 for fourth and would be able to claim the spot. Nagel Jr. was on a mission as he stepped up to challenge 2021 Track Champion Ray Leonard for the third place and the two would battle door to door for three laps before Nagel Jr. would begin to slow allowing Leonard to keep third. On lap 12, the yellow would come out for a slowing Nagel Jr. who would rejoin the field. The restart would see the leader being Konopka select the inside line with Wilcha on his outside, as the green flag flew Konopka would take the lead. Behind the leader battles would ensue with Komar challenging the 99 for fourth using the inside lane to claim it. Komar would continue on the bottom to challenge Leonard for third, but would be unable to make it stick. Nagel Jr. would be the man on a mission as he would pass 327 for seventh on the low side and would use that lane to make his way around Schane for sixth. Meanwhile, Komar had not given up on battling Leonard for third and would look to the inside to claim the spot. Nagel Jr. would try repeatedly on the inside of 99 for fifth, but would be unable to claim the spot as the checkered would fall. Konopka would take the win followed by Wilcha, Komar, Leonard, 99, Nagel Jr, Schane, 327, 627, Eddie Kudrako round out the top ten.

A & E Tire 600c.c. Modifieds were brought to green by 2021 Track Champion Brenton Miller and Nolan Smith. As Smith led the field down the front stretch and into turns one and two Miller pulled alongside. Seizing his chance in turns three and four Miller jumped out to the lead and would never look back. The first yellow of the event would come out moments later as Darwin Greene Jr, Devan Sieben, Jeremy Williams, Tommy Groover and Jeff Balwin came to a stop in turn one. Miller found a familiar foe in Tyler Smith to his outside on the restart as the pair finished first and second in Thunder Mountain speedway points this season. Miller got the jump on the restart while teammate Brett Gray continued to weave through the field taking the third spot away from Chuck Lohmeyer. With Gray and Lohmeyer both getting past Smith on lap 3 Ali Scutt spun in turn 4, putting Smith back on the front row for the restart.

With the early yellows out of the way Miler once again pulled ahead while Gray worked on Tyler Smith for second. Lewis and Groover would make contact while racing for eighth on lap 6 resulting in both losing momentum and positions. As the run continued Miller began to lap cars on lap 12, but with Gray also working lapped traffic the gap between the lead duo remained consistent. Miller took another trip to victory lane as Gray, Tyler Smith, Lohmeyer, Nolan Smith, Scutt, Furman, Williams, Sieben and Groover rounded out the top 10. Brenton Miller has made 15 trips to victory lane this season with several trips including teammate Brett Gray. “This has been an excellent season for us,” says Miller, who was the 2021 track champion. Brenton and Brett are constantly pushing each other to do better and last night was no exception as the duo finished first and second. “I knew he was there, but the car was set up perfectly and I was confident that the lapped traffic helped,” said Brenton. When asked if he will be returning in two weeks for King of the Can, Brenton had this to say “I will be there to take that title from Brett since he has been calling me his queen all year”. Miller would like to thank Gray’s Trucking, Crawn Trucking, Moose Wraps, and All Things Vinyl by Alecia. As well as, Shannon, Wade Gray, Carol Gray, Brett, and the rest of his family.

The SUNOCO Race Fuels Street Stock feature had 3 cars come to the green led by Jason Rhodes and 2021 Track Champion Travis Brockner followed by Dusty Decker in third. Rhodes would take the early lead over Brockner while Decker would battle to take second. Rhodes had a solid lead over the other drivers before spinning on lap 5 to bring out the caution. With Rhodes being turned around in turn three, Brockner would go high to avoid the car while Decker went to the lowside. Rhodes would go off on the hook with a broken transmission. On the restart, Brockner would take the inside lane with Decker to his outside. Brockner would get the early lead over Decker and extend the lead to half a straight away before Decker’s car would start to slow and smoke. On lap 7, Decker would start to slow on the front stretch before heading into the pits. It was decided by race officials that the feature would be shortened to 10 laps which resulted in Travis Brockner being the feature winner of the night. Brockner has 7 wins on the season and became the track champion last Friday. Brockner stated that Rhodes was quick but he was confident he could catch him. Once Rhodes spun Brockner claims he was lucky to not get tangled up with him. He would like to thank his Mom, Dad, Brother, The Bonham family, Mike, Mel’s Garage, Michael & Puerschner Construction, Grafix Unlimited, Mootz Tree Trimming, Behrents Performance Warehouse, Bilstein Shocks, Wehrs Racing Products, and Close Racing Supply.

With some new faces arriving for the redraw show this week it was a pair of Mikes on the front row. Mike Morse jumped out to the early lead over pole sitter Mike Chilson as Jason Rhodes challenged Chilson for second. Morse would fend off Rhodes’ first attempt for the lead on the inside before losing the top spot a lap later. Sheldon Whitman looked under John Picchio for the sixth spot on lap 4 but couldn’t get enough ground to secure the spot. On lap 6 Whit man would bring out the yellow flag after spinning in turn 4 to set up a double file restart. Rhodes elected for the inside line, pulling ahead on the start while Charlie Towner and Mike Chilson battled for third. Rick Glover pulled to the infield in the closing laps as Rhodes opened up a straight away lead by the time he crossed the checkered flags. Morse, Chilson, Towner, Picchio, Michelle Romanik, and Carter Bixby rounded out the field. Jason would like to thank Nick and Dakota, Mike Fox, Jack, Cardinal Lanes, Short Track Race Car Models, Moose Race Engines, JS Electric, Bodies by Scoobie, Holcomb and Son Firewood, Trackside Products, Slow Car Racing and MR Grafix.

The Gary’s U-Pull It 4 Cylinders charged under the green led by Rich Wagner and Bob Lovine. Wagner pulled out the early lead as Brian Salmini and Josh Wilder ran door to door for the third spot. As the pair worked past Lovine, Wilder pulled ahead taking second on the inside. Kenny Underwood piloted the Dave Nixon machine past Lovine to take the fifth spot on lap 4 while Tim Vandermark moved past both drivers in his own march to the front. By lap 5 Vandermark was looking inside Salmini for third but would have his progress halted by a lap 6 yellow. With the slowing car of Scott Beach back underway Wagner elected to restart outside Wilder. Wagner got the jump as Vandermark hounded Wilder, taking the second spot away as Wilder’s machine slowed on lap 8. With a blown fuse ending Wilder’s night, Wagner and Vandermark came back to the green. The pair would put on a great battle running door to door and swapping the lead twice in the closing laps before Wagner took the checkered flag. Underwood took third as Salmini, Lovine, Furman, Jason Bartsch and Wilder rounded out the field. Feature winner Rich Wagner has come to life late in the season after fighting hard luck in the beginning. With wins in back to back weeks Wagner is hitting his stride just in time for the King of the Can Event he has won before. On this night however Wagner conquered Vandermark to bring home the Victory in a well earned battle. Rich would like to thank Steve Torzinini from NEP telephone, Missy’s Place, DJ Fox of Fox’s Heating and Plumbing, Wildside Graphix, Wolfpak Racing, Daniel Brown, his crew and Shania.

This was the last race of the season before the final race of the season, the King of the Can is in two weeks. The Penn Can Speedway will be off for racing this coming Friday, but on Saturday the 18th there will be Part 1 of the demolition derby. The rules and general information can be found on: The Penn Can Speedway Facebook and questions can be directed to Sheldon Whitman. In two weeks, the King of the Can will be returning to the speedway to wrap up the 2021 season and additional information can also be found on Facebook: The Penn Can Speedway. The tickets for the demolition derby will be $10 and children 5& under are free, with pits being $20 for ages 15& up and $15 for 14 and under.

STAFURSKY PAVING SUNOCO RACE FUELS MODIFIEDS

WINNER – 99-CRAIG WHITMOYER

2.) 77-Alan Barker 3.) 37-Alex Tonkin 4.) 9T-Brett Tonkin 5.) 24X-Matt Cole 6.) 17-George Kostelansky 7.) 111J-Jamie Bedford 8.) 15JR-Chris Hunsinger 9.) 119-Brian Malcolm 10.) 27-Doug Snyder 11.) 4B-Brandon Fritsch 12.) 9-Dan Vauter 13.) 17D-Mike Loney 14.) 73-Casey Plummer 15.) 14-Stanley Wilkins 16.) 14B-Art Bray 17.) 2X-Nick Branning 18.) 11-Dan Pompey 19.) 84Y-Brian Franko 20.) 163-Bailey Boyd 21.) 5-Kevin Hartnett 22.) 7M-Mike Nagel Sr. 23.) 117-Alex Stanton 24.) 1-Darwin Greene 25.) 145-Alan Rudalavage

INSINGER PERFORMANCE SLEEPY HOLLOW TURF 602 CRATE SPORTSMAN

WINNER –14K - ALEX KONOPKA

2.) 84-Mike Wilcha 3.) 88- Alan Komar 4.) 3R-Ray Leonard 5.) 99-? 6.) M7-Mike Nagel Jr. 7.) 10K-Kolyn Schane 8.) 327-? 9.) 627-? 10.) 32-Eddie Kudrako 11.) 13-Kyle Walsh

SUNOCO RACE FUELS STREET STOCKS

WINNER – 151 - TRAVIS BROCKNER

2.) 20JR-Dusty Decker 3.) 35-Jason Rhodes

FACTORY STOCKS

WINNER - 57- JASON RHODES

2.) 99-Mike Morse 3.) 23B-Mike Chilson 4.) 5T-Charlie Towner 5.) 74-John Picchio 6.) 22-Michelle Romanik 7.) 77C-Carter Bixby 8.) 4-Rick Glover 9.) 4MK-Sheldon Whitman

A & E TIRE AND AUTO CENTER 600c.c. MODIFIEDS

WINNER – 29 - BRENTON MILLER

2.) 28-Brett Gray 3.) 80-Tyler Smith 4.) 5-Chuck Lohmeyer 5.) 77X-Nolan Smith 6.) 108-Ali Scutt 7.) 15-Jeremy Williams 8.) 22-Devan Sieben 9.) 17-Jeff Baldwin 10.) 110-Roger Lewis 11.) 12-Mike Frye 12.) 1JR- Darwin Greene Jr. 13.) 7R-Tommy Groover 14.) 217-Larry Furman

GARY’S U-PULL IT 4 CYLINDERS

WINNER – 8W- RICH WAGNER

2.) 107-Tim Vandermark 3.) 16-Kenny Underwood 4.) 77-Brian Salmini 5.) 15-Bob Lovine 6.) 49Z-Shawn Furman 7.) 7F-Jason Bartsch 8.) 5-Josh Wilder 9.) 21-Scott Beach 10.) 5B-Madyson Beach DNS 76-Dave Nixon, 944-Jeremy Trunzio