Steis Victorious In Pure Stock Special At Hummingbird
For Immediate Release
Saturday, May 27th, 2023
By: Steven Curry - Race Reporter
Reynoldsville- A $1,000/win Pure Stock special and the first visit of the season for the Young Guns Jr Sprints headlined the third night of racing at Hummingbird Speedway Saturday night. It was also the return of former flagman Bob "The Bandit" Connor to the stand, filling in for Earl "The Squirrel" Jackson who became a first-time Dad Friday night. In the $1,000/win special for the Brian Savino Motorsports Pure Stocks, it was the #34 of Tim Steis collecting his second win in as many races at the Bird and the $1,000 payday. The win for Steis made it 6 wins in 7 total races run so far in 2023. In the Young Guns Jr Sprints, it was the #46 of Nolan Minnich that captured the checkered flag in the Open Class, while the #26 of Karley Miller did so in the Stock Class. All of the other feature winners on the night took their first trips to Carns Powersports Victory Lane this season. The #5X of Nick Erskine became the third different driver to win in the Swanson Heavy Truck Repair Semi Late Model division so far this season. In the Srock Contracting Super Late Models, it was the #36 of Paul Kot taking the checkers, and also becoming the third different driver to win in the division. The same could be said for the #57S of Royce Stanley Jr., who collected his first win of the season in the Andy Man's Car Care Economods, adding his name to the 2023 win list. The #1 of Ben Lehane became just the second different winner of the season to win in the Four-Cylinder division. The win was Lehane's first of his career.
The Young Guns Jr Sprints kicked off the feature racing action with their 10-lap feature event. Nolan Minnich and Blake Buckel led the field to the opening green flag. Minnich jumped out to the lead on the start and led lap 1 as both Karley Miller and Deryk Jones were able to make their way past Buckel for second and third respectively. Minnich began to extend his lead over the field as the race neared its halfway mark. At halfway on lap 5, it was Minnich continuing to lead the way over Miller and Jones. Minnich would go unchallenged the rest of the way enroute to picking up the win in the Open Class over Buckel. In the Stock Class, it was Miller taking the checkers over Jones, Kaylan Burkett, and Lincoln Hetrick. In the combined heat race, Minnich took the win in the Open Class and Miller in the Stock Class.
Jake Foradori and Dustin Challingsworth led the Brian Savino Motorsports Pure Stocks trackside for their 20-lap, $1,000/win special. One lap was completed on the start with Foradori getting out to the lead as Josh Fields made the pass on Challingsworth for second. A caution flag was then displayed for a spin on the frontstretch. On the restart, it was Foradori out to the lead over Fields and Challingsworth. On lap 2, the feature winner last time out, Tim Steis, looked to the inside of Challingsworth and made the pass in turns 3 and 4 to move into the third position. Another lap was completed before another caution flag was thrown for a spin on the backstretch. On the ensuing restart, Foradori jumped out to the lead over Fields and Steis. On lap 4, Steis made the pass on Fields on the highside for second. Then, on lap 5, Fields was able to regain the second spot from Steis. On lap 6, Fields was able to look to the inside of Foradori and make the pass to take the race lead. At the halfway point on lap 10, it was Fields leading the way over Foradori and Steis. On lap 12, Steis made the pass to the inside of Foradori to move into second behind Fields. A couple of laps later, Fields had a mechanical issue going down the backstretch, which brought out the final caution flag of the race and ultimately forced him to retire from the race. Fields' misfortune moved Steis to the top spot with Foradori and Challingsworth to second and third for the final restart. Foradori gave it all he had in the closing laps, but it was to no avail as Steis went on to pick up the win and the $1,000 payday. The win was his second straight at the Bird and his 6th in 7 total races he has run in this season. Steis was followed by: Foradori, Challingsworth, Jenna Pfaff, Andy Frey, Ashley Kilhoffer, Renae Meyer, Wayne Truitt, Fields, Dominic Marchiori, Caleb Bloom, Mitch Stiles, Al Pacer, Devin Dickey, and Mike Anderson. Foradori, Challingsworth, and Fields won the heat races.
The Swanson Heavy Truck Repair Semi Late Models were next to the track for their 20-lap feature race with Nick Erskine and Nick Loffredo on the front row. Erskine jumped out to the lead on the start and led lap 1 over Loffredo and Jarid Ivory. Erskine began to extend his lead over the field as the laps clicked away. At halfway on lap 10, it was Erskine continuing to lead the way over Loffredo and Jarid Ivory. The race remained under green flag conditions all the way until lap 14 or so when a caution flag was thrown for a car with a flat tire. Another caution flag came out in the closing handful of laps, but it did not phase Erskine as held on to capture his first Hummingbird Speedway checkered flag of 2023. Loffredo, Jarid Ivory, Kyle Shannon, Paul Ivory, Dan Smeal, Adam Nixon, and Doug Surra rounded out the field. Erskine and Loffredo won the heat races.
Paul Kot and Doug Eck led the Srock Contracting Super Late Models to green for their 25-lap feature. A number of caution flags plagued the early part of the race with Eck leading through all of them over Kot and Joe Loffredo. Only 5 laps were completed through the cautions. On the restart following all of the cautions, it was Eck out to the lead over Kot and Loffredo. On lap 7, Kot looked to the inside of Eck and made the pass at the line for the race lead. Kot began to extend his lead over Eck, Loffredo, and the rest of the field as the laps clicked away. At the cross-flags on lap 13, it was still Kot out front over Eck and Loffredo. Kot would go unchallenged throughout the entire second-half of the race on his way to his first victory of the 2023 season. Kot was followed by: Eck, Loffredo, Dwayne Brooks, Bob Dorman, Clay Ruffo, Jon Rohacevich, Dennis Curry, Cregen Brady, Rich Runyan Jr., and Orvis Newcome lll. Eck and Kot won the heat races.
The Andy Man's Car Care Economods were next to do battle in the 1/3 mile bullring for their 15-lap main. Gary Miller Jr. and Royce Stanley Jr. headed the field of seven to the green flag. Miller Jr. pulled out to the lead on the start and led lap 1 by about a nose over Nate Fleck with Stanley Jr. following behind them in third. On lap 3, Fleck made the pass on Miller Jr. on the highside to take the top spot. Fleck extended his lead over Miller Jr., Stanley Jr., and the rest of the field as the race neared halfway. At the halfway point on lap 8, it was still Fleck pacing the field over Miller Jr. and Stanley Jr.. The race remained under green flag conditions until lap 11 when the caution flag was displayed for Miller Jr. spinning in turns 3 and 4. The spin moved Stanley Jr. to second and Bob McMillen to third for the restart. The race made it all the way to the white flag lap on lap 14 before Fleck spun out of the lead in turn 2, bringing out another caution flag and sending the race past its 15-lap scheduled distance. The spin moved Stanley Jr. to the lead, McMillen in second, and Ed Vogel in third. This entered into what would ultimately be three failed green-white-checkered attempts before finally completing the race on the fourth attempt after running 19 laps. Stanley Jr. came out on top after all of that for his first win of the season. Miller Jr, Vogel, Dave Lowe, McMillen, Chip Davis, Fleck, Dennis Asel, Johnny Lindenpitz, and Orin Taylor rounded out the field. Fleck and Asel won the heat races.
Camden Frantz and Shawn Shank led a 15-car Four-Cylinder field trackside for their 15-lap feature event to conclude the evening. It was Frantz out to the lead briefly on the start over Shank and William Kephart, before Kephart charged past both Frantz and Shank on the inside to lead lap 1. On lap 2, Travis Timko made the pass on Shank to move into third behind the leaders. Another lap or so was completed before the first caution flag of the race for a stopped car in turn 4. In between caution flags, on lap 4, Timko was able to work his way past Frantz to move into second behind Kephart. On the lap 5 restart, it was Kephart out to the lead over Timko and Frantz. At the halfway mark on lap 8, it continued to be Kephart out front over Timko and Frantz. The race remained green until lap 10 or so until a caution for Frantz being stopped on the inside of the frontstretch due to some sort of mechanical issue. Frantz would be able to continue in the event, but the caution would move Issac Irvin into the third spot behind the leaders. After another quick caution, the race saw what would ultimately be its final restart. Kephart led the way on the final restart over Timko and Irvin. Timko closed in on Kephart and the two made some contact in turns 3 and 4 as they came to get the two-to-go signal. The two made contact again in turns 1 and 2 which led to both cars getting into the wall and rolling over. The red flag was displayed immediately, so safety crews could make it to the cars to ensure that everyone was okay and get the cars rolled back over. Thankfully, all drivers involved were okay and able to walk away. Due to the amount of fuel that was spilled on the backstretch as a result of the wreck, the race was deemed complete two laps short of its scheduled 15-lap distance. The winner was Ben Lehane, who had just taken third from Irvin just before the wreck occurred. The win was Ben's first career feature win. Lehane was followed by: Irvin, Justin Finland, Michael Young, Frantz, Kevin Piper, Adam Pluebell, Sam Fye, Timko, Kephart, Shank, Heidi Miller, Louis Young, Devon Trayer, Shawn Hadden, Josh Lindemuth, Bruce Long, Cody Baughman, and Jim Boyer. Hadden, Timko, and Kephart won the heat races.
Speedway Notes: 69 cars were on-hand for our Memorial Day weekend race. That breaks down to: 6 Young Guns Jr Sprints, 15 Pure Stocks, 8 Semi Late Models, 11 Super Late Models, 10 Economods, 19 Four-Cylinders. We will be back in action this coming Saturday, June 3rd, with a regular 6-division program. There will be Kids Power Wheels Races that will be run at intermission. It will be a non-points night for the Pure Stocks because of a special at Marion Center. Gates open at 4:00 with racing beginning at 7:00. The Sub Hub Kids Club gets underway every Saturday night at 6pm by the pit gate entrance. It is a great place to take your kids to do some fun kids club activities as well as meet some drivers 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, Twitter, and TikTok.
Results:
Young Guns Jr Sprints - Open Class
1st) #46 Nolan Minnich
2nd) #42 Blake Buckel
Young Guns Jr Sprints - Stock Class
1st) #26 Karley Miller
2nd) #27 Deryk Jones
3rd) #26B Kaylan Burkett
4th) #116 Lincoln Hetrick
Brian Savino Motorsports Pure Stocks
1st) #34 Tim Steis
2nd) #14 Jake Foradori
3rd) #46 Dustin Challingsworth
4th) #33 Jenna Pfaff
5th) #55X Andy Frey
6th) #50 Ashley Kilhoffer
7th) #56K Renae Meyer
8th) #54 Wayne Truitt
9th) #88 Josh Fields
10th) #01D Dominic Marchiori
11th) #37B Caleb Bloom
12th) #54S Mitch Stiles
13th) #5 Al Pacer
14th) #18 Devin Dickey
15th) #76 Mike Anderson
Swanson Heavy Truck Repair Semi Late Models
1st) #5X Nick Erskine
2nd) #9N Nick Loffredo
3rd) #17I Jarid Ivory
4th) #11 Kyle Shannon
5th) #4A Paul Ivory
6th) #44 Dan Smeal
7th) #47 Adam Nixon
8th) #3xAA Doug Surra
Srock Contracting Super Late Models
1st) #36 Paul Kot
2nd) #20 Doug Eck
3rd) #9J Joe Loffredo
4th) #1B Dwayne Brooks
5th) #19 Bob Dorman
6th) #14 Clay Ruffo
7th) #24J Jon Rohacevich
8th) #75 Dennis Curry
9th) #2 Cregen Brady
10th) #18 Rich Runyan Jr.
11th) #66N Orvis Newcome lll
Andy Man's Car Care Economods
1st) #57S Royce Stanley Jr.
2nd) #1M Gary Miller Jr.
3rd) #83E Ed Vogel
4th) #21L Dave Lowe
5th) #50 Bob McMillen
6th) #12C Chip Davis
7th) #71 Nate Fleck
8th) #0 Dennis Asel
9th) #29L Johnny Lindenpitz
10th) #21T Orin Taylor
Four-Cylinders
1st) #1 Ben Lehane
2nd) #14I Issac Irvin
3rd) #56 Justin Finland
4th) #65Y Michael Young
5th) #158 Camden Frantz
6th) #317 Kevin Piper
7th) #6 Adam Pluebell
8th) #8F Sam Fye
9th) #910 Travis Timko
10th) #007 William Kephart
11th) #79.5 Shawn Shank
12th) #35K Heidi Miller
13th) #65 Louis Young
14th) #79 Devon Trayer
15th) #3H Shawn Hadden
16th) #29L Josh Lindemuth
17th) #44B Bruce Long
18th) #15M Cody Baughman
19th) #11 Jim Boyer
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Steven Curry
Race Reporter
Hummingbird Speedway
pr@hummingbirdspeedway.com