All First Of The Season Winners At The Bird
For Immediate Release
Saturday, May 15th, 2021
By: Steven Curry - Race Reporter
 
Reynoldsville- After rain and cold temperatures washed out the second week of racing at the Bird last weekend, it was time to get back to the track and try it again on Saturday night. All six of our regular divisions were in action plus, it was the first race of the PA Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau Powder-Puff Series. Kelly Clark took the checkers in the first PAGO Powder-Puff Series event of the year. The night saw all new winners on the season in our six regular divisions. All of the winners got to pull into our brand new Carns Powersports Victory Lane to celebrate their victories. Feature winners on the night included: Eddie Connor in the Swanson Heavy Truck Repair Semi Late Models, Tim Steis in the Sunny 106.5 FM Pure Stocks, Shawn Hadden in the Andy Man's Car Care Four-Cylinders, Gary Miller Jr. in the Close Racing Supply Economods, Doug Eck in the Carns Equipment Super Late Models, and Brandon Connor in the Cypress Clock & Gift Shop Pro Stocks.
 
The feature racing action got underway with the Swanson Heavy Truck Repair Semi Late Models hitting the track first for their 20-lap main. Nick Loffredo and Doug Surra led the field to the initial green flag. Surra was able to grab the lead on the start as Loffredo felt the pressure from Eddie Connor for the second spot. Later on the opening lap, Connor completed the pass around Loffredo to move into second. On lap 4, Connor had closed in on Surra for the top spot. Later that lap, Connor worked his way around Surra to take the lead over Surra and Loffredo. Then, on lap 5, Deegen Watt worked his way around Loffredo to move into third behind Connor and Surra. The race stayed green for another few laps before a caution for a spin in turn 1 set up the first restart of the race. On the restart, Connor jumped out to the lead with Surra and Watt following behind. The race had just reached its halfway point before a caution for a wreck on the frontstretch set up another restart. On the ensuing restart, Connor pulled out to the lead once again over Surra and Watt. On lap 12, a mechanical issue on Watt's car forced him to the pit area which allowed Nick Erskine to move into the third position. Connor maintained his lead over the field and would go unchallenged in the closing laps enroute to his first win of the season at Hummingbird. Connor was followed by: 2) Doug Surra 3) Nick Erskine 4) Nick Loffredo 5) Austin Getch 6) Joe Loffredo 7) Rich Runyan Jr. 8) Don Henry 9) Deegen Watt 10) Kyle Shannon. Erskine and Surra won the heat races.
 
Dennis Harrison Jr. and Tim Steis led the Sunny 106.5 FM Pure Stocks trackside for their 15-lap feature event. Steis jumped out to the lead on the start over Harrison Jr. and Andy Frey. Later on the opening lap, Frey worked his way around Harrison Jr. on the high line for the second position. One lap was completed before a number of caution flags came out that plagued the next portion of the race. After all of the cautions, the race saw its first extended green flag run. On the restart, Steis jumped out to the lead over Frey and Harrison Jr. 2 or 3 more laps would get completed before a caution for a stopped car in turns 3 and 4 brought about another restart. On the ensuing restart, Steis led the way once again over Frey and Harrison Jr. The race made it all the way to its halfway mark on lap 8 on this green flag run with Steis continuing to show the way with Frey in second and now Josh Fields in third as he was able to make his way around Harrison Jr. A caution for a spin on the backstretch shortly after this point set up another restart. On the restart, Steis pulled out to the lead once again as Frey began to feel the pressure from a hard-charging Fields for second. On lap 11, Fields used the low line to his advantage to make the pass on Frey and move into the second position behind Steis. The race remained under green flag conditions until a caution for a wreck in turns 1 and 2 with just a couple of laps left set up the final restart of the race. Fields gave it all he had in the 2-lap-shootout, but it was not enough as Steis held on to capture his first checkered flag of the season at the Bird. Steis was followed by: 2) Josh Fields 3) Andy Frey 4) Dennis Harrison Jr. 5) Shawnee Sturgeon 6) Cody Cassler 7) Casey Wolfe 8) Caleb Bloom 9) Ashley Kilhoffer 10) Ryan Shifter 11) Dalton Gustafson 12) Dustin Challingsworth 13) Bob Holt 14) Wayne Garvey 15) Ben Ecelberger 16) Cody Wolfe 17) Blaze Harrison 18) Lester Hudson. Frey, Steis, and Harrison Jr. won the heat races.
 
The Andy Man's Car Care Four-Cylinders were next to the track for their 15-lap feature. Joe Anthony and Greg Kiehl led the field to the opening green flag. Kiehl jumped out to the lead on the start as Anthony felt the pressure from Shawn Hadden for the second spot. Kiehl would lead the opening lap as Hadden made the pass around Anthony to take second. A couple of laps were completed before a caution flag set up the first restart of the race. On the restart, Kiehl jumped out to the point over Hadden and Anthony. On lap 4, Hadden used the low side to his advantage to make the pass around Kiehl for the top spot. Hadden began to extend his lead a bit over Kiehl, Anthony, and the rest of the field as the laps continued to click away. Hadden continued to lead the way as the race reached its midway point on lap 8. Another lap or so was completed before a caution for a wreck on the backstretch set up what would ultimately be the final restart of the race. Hadden pulled out to the lead once again on the restart with Kiehl and Anthony following behind. On lap 10, Wayne Truitt worked his way past Anthony to take the third position behind the leaders. Hadden extended his lead over the field in the closing laps and never looked back on his way to his first checkered flag of the season. On the final lap, Anthony was able to edge out Truitt at the line to retake the third position behind Hadden and Kiehl. Hadden was followed by: 2) Greg Kiehl 3) Joe Anthony 4) Wayne Truitt 5) Randy Albert 6) Devin Kaufman 7) Carl Killinger 8) Jeremy Stewart 9) Kevin Killinger 10) Jim Boyer 11) Heidi Miller 12) Christina Killinger. DNS: Blake Joiner and Justin Finland. Hadden and Truitt won the heat races.
 
Gary Miller Jr. and Bob McMillen led the Close Racing Supply Economods to the track for their 15-lap feature race. After a quick lap one caution flag, the race saw its first green flag run. On the restart, McMillen edged ahead to the lead with Miller Jr. in second and Orin Taylor in third. On lap 2, Mike Anderson got past Taylor to move into third behind McMillen and Miller Jr. On lap 5, Miller Jr. edged ahead of McMillen to lead his first lap of the race just before another caution came out which set up another restart. On the ensuing restart, Miller Jr. jumped out to the lead over Mike Anderson and McMillen. Miller Jr. continued to lead the way over the field as the race crossed its halfway point. The race stayed under green flag conditions until lap 10 when there was a caution for a spin in turns 1 and 2. That caution set up what would ultimately be the final restart. Miller Jr. pulled out to the lead on the final restart and never looked back in the final 5 laps enroute to his first win of the season. Miller Jr. was followed by: 2) Mike Anderson 3) Bob McMillen 4) Brad Curran Jr. 5) Orin Taylor. DNS: Dennis Asel and Nate Fleck. Miller Jr. won the lone heat race.
 
The Carns Equipment Super Late Models were next to the bullring with Chris Farrell and Kenny Schaffer leading the field to the green flag of their 25-lap main. Farrell edged out to the lead on the start over Schaffer and Doug Eck. Farrell began to extend his lead over Schaffer in second and Eck in third. The race remained green until lap 7 when a caution for a spin in turn 2 set up the first restart of the race. On the restart, Farrell jumped out to the lead as Schaffer went high in turns 1 and 2 which allowed both Eck and Rich Wicker to get by and move into second and third respectively. Farrell maintained his lead over a charging Eck until lap 10 when a caution for a spin in turn 2 brought about another restart. On the ensuing restart, Eck used the low line to his advantage to get by Farrell and take the top spot. Eck continued to lead over Farrell and Wicker as the race reached halfway on lap 13. A caution for a spin in turn 4 on lap 16 set up what would ultimately be the final restart of the race. On the final restart, Eck jumped out to the lead once again over Farrell and Wicker. Eck began to check out on the field as the laps continued to click away. On the final lap, Farrell had an issue going down the backstretch which allowed Schaffer and Wicker to get by. In the end, no one had anything for Eck as he held on to capture his first checkered of the season. Eck was followed by: 2) Kenny Schaffer 3) Rich Wicker 4) Paul Kot 5) Garrett Mott 6) Scott Alvetro 7) Orvis Newcome lll 8) Chris Farrell 9) Dwayne Brooks 10) Nathan Brady 11) Mark Schweikart. DNS: Levi Sikora. Wicker and Schaffer won the heat races.
 
Brandon Connor and Duke Davidson led the Cypress Clock & Gift Shop Pro Stocks trackside for their 20-lap feature to cap off the evening. Davidson jumped out to the early lead on the initial start with Zack Gustafson second and Connor third. Davidson continued to lead over Gustafson, Connor, and the rest of the field until a caution for a stopped car in turns 3 and 4 set up the first restart of the race on lap 5. On the restart, Davidson pulled out to the lead as Gustafson went high in turns 1 and 2 which allowed both Connor and Jamie Colwell to get by and move into second and third respectively. On lap 8, Joshua Seippel used the low line to work his way past Colwell for the third position. Then, on lap 9, Davidson spun in turn 4 which forced him to tail the field for the restart. The top 3 for the restart were Connor, Seippel, and Colwell. On the final restart of the race, Connor pulled out to the lead over a charging Gustafson in second and Colwell in third. On lap 12, Seippel was able to work his way around Colwell to take the third spot behind Connor and Gustafson. On lap 18, Davidson, who was recovering from a spin earlier in the race, passed Seippel to move back into the top 3 in third. Gustafson gave Connor all he could handle in the closing laps but it was not enough as Connor held on to pick up his first win of the season at the Bird. Connor was followed by: 2) Zack Gustafson 3) Duke Davidson 4) Joshua Seippel 5) Jamie Colwell 6) Jim Challingsworth 7) Brian Fabiano 8) Josh Blum. DNS: Raven Fuller. Connor won the lone heat race.
 
Speedway Notes: 71 cars filled the pits for the second week of racing. That breaks down to: 10 Semi Late Models, 18 Pure Stocks, 15 Four-Cylinders, 7 Economods, 12 Super Late Models, and 9 Pro Stocks. Next Saturday will feature a regular 6-division program plus a Four-Cylinder Crack the Whip event. Also, the Young Guns Jr Sprints will be making their first visit to the speedway for the 2021 season. Gates open at 4:00 with racing beginning at 7:00. The Sub Hub Kids Club gets underway every Saturday night at 6 pm by the pit gate entrance. It is a great place to take your kids to do some fun kids club activities prior to racing getting started  For more information call the track office at (814) 653-8400 or visit the tracks’ website at www.hummingbirdspeedway.com. You can also follow the track on Facebook and Twitter. 
 
 
Results:
 
Swanson Heavy Truck Repair Semi Late Models
1st) #27C Eddie Connor
2nd) #3xAA Doug Surra
3rd) #5X Nick Erskine
4th) #9N Nick Loffredo
5th) #71A Austin Getch
6th) #9J Joe Loffredo
7th) #18 Rich Runyan Jr.
8th) #68 Don Henry
9th) #17 Deegen Watt
10th) #11 Kyle Shannon
 
Sunny 106.5 FM Pure Stocks
1st) #34 Tim Steis
2nd) #88 Josh Fields
3rd) #55X Andy Frey
4th) #42H Dennis Harrison Jr.
5th) #13 Shawnee Sturgeon
6th) #14C Cody Cassler
7th) #6/2P Casey Wolfe
8th) #37B Caleb Bloom
9th) #50 Ashley Kilhoffer
10th) #80R Ryan Shifter
11th) #4G Dalton Gustafson
12th) #46 Dustin Challingsworth
13th) #31H Bob Holt
14th) #72G Wayne Garvey
15th) #113 Ben Ecelberger
16th) #97W Cody Wolfe
17th) #25 Blaze Harrison
18th) #24 Lester Hudson
 
Andy Man's Car Care Four-Cylinders
1st) #3H Shawn Hadden
2nd) #13 Greg Kiehl
3rd) #55 Joe Anthony
4th) #54 Wayne Truitt
5th) #17 Randy Albert
6th) #25D Devin Kaufman
7th) #76K Carl Killinger
8th) #00 Jeremy Stewart
9th) #24K Kevin Killinger
10th) #11 Jim Boyer
11th) #35 Heidi Miller
12th) #8K Christina Killinger
13th) #569 Blake Joiner
14th) #56 Justin Finland
 
Close Racing Supply Economods
1st) #1M Gary Miller Jr.
2nd) #76 Mike Anderson
3rd) #50 Bob McMillen
4th) #C17 Brad Curran Jr.
5th) #21T Orin Taylor
6th) #0 Dennis Asel
7th) #71 Nate Fleck
 
Carns Equipment Super Late Models
1st) #20 Doug Eck
2nd) #13X Kenny Schaffer
3rd) #2T Rich Wicker
4th) #36 Paul Kot
5th) #43X Garrett Mott
6th) #64 Scott Alvetro
7th) #66N Orvis Newcome lll
8th) #53 Chris Farrell
9th) #1B Dwayne Brooks
10th) #77 Nathan Brady
11th) #11 Mark Schweikart
12th) #57S Levi Sikora
 
PAGO Powder-Puff Series - Race #1
1st) #42 Kelly Clark
2nd) #3H Tessa Spearing
3rd) #25D Stephanie Mayes
4th) #55 Erika Anthony
5th) #8K Melissa Velez
6th) #54 Madison Perry
7th) #00 Cindy Stewart
8th) #13 Rebecca Waddell
 
Cypress Clock & Gift Shop Pro Stocks
1st) #55 Brandon Connor
2nd) #983 Zack Gustafson
3rd) #81 Duke Davidson
4th) #84S Joshua Seippel
5th) #54J Jamie Colwell
6th) #44 Jim Challingsworth
7th) #35 Brian Fabiano
8th) #39B Josh Blum
9th) #10R Raven Fuller