Fleck, Frantz Notch Career Firsts At The Bird
For Immediate Release
Saturday, June 10th, 2023
By: Steven Curry - Race Reporter
Reynoldsville- A couple of career firsts headlined the fifth night of racing at Hummingbird Speedway on Saturday night. The #71 of Nate Fleck collected his first career feature win in the Andy Man's Car Care Economods. A few races later, the #158 of 12-year-old Camden Frantz captured his first career big car checkered flag in the Brooks Services LLC. Four-Cylinder division. The #3xAA of Doug Surra was also victorious for the first time this season in the Semi Late Models. Three drivers added to their 2023 win totals at the Bird. The #36 of Paul Kot made it three wins in a row by taking the checkers in the Srock Contracting Super Late Model feature. In the Brian Savino Motorsports Pure Stocks, the #76 of Mike Anderson made it back-to-back wins in his Roostit Chassis. The #37A of Jim Bloom also made it back-to-back wins in the Cypress Clock & Gift Shop Pro Stocks. The Aquaholics PowderPuff Series made their first of three scheduled visits to Hummingbird with the #17S of Kim Nelson picking up the win to complete the nights' racing action.
Keith Felicetty and Orin Taylor led the Andy Man's Car Care Economods trackside to kick off the feature racing action with their 15-lap feature event. Felicetty edged out to the lead on the initial start over Taylor and Nate Fleck. Third place starter, Fleck, charged his way past both Taylor and Felicetty to lead lap 1. Another lap was completed before the first caution flag of the race for a spin on the backstretch. A quick caution flag on the restart was displayed for Taylor spinning in turns 1 and 2. The spin moved Bob McMillen into the third spot for the restart. Fleck got out to the lead on the restart over Felicetty and McMillen. On lap 3, McMillen made the pass to the inside of Felicetty for the second position. Later that lap, a caution for a spin on the frontstretch brought about another restart. On the restart, it was Fleck still out front over McMillen and Felicetty. On lap 6, Taylor, who was recovering from an earlier spin, made the pass on Felicetty to move back into third behind Fleck and McMillen. A caution for a spin on the backstretch on lap 7 set up what would ultimately be the final restart of the race. On the final restart, Fleck jumped out to the lead over McMillen and Taylor. At the halfway point on lap 8, it was Fleck still pacing the field over McMillen as Felicetty was able to regain the third spot by making the pass on Taylor. Fleck checked out on the field in the second-half of the race and never looked back enroute to his first career feature win. McMillen, Felicetty, Taylor, and Brad Curran Jr. rounded out the top 5. Taylor and McMillen won the heat races.
The Semi Late Models were next to the track with Jarid Ivory and Doug Surra leading the field to green for their 20-lap feature race. The front 2 or 3 rows of cars stayed side-by-side for most of the opening lap before Jarid Ivory edged ahead to lead lap 1 over Surra and Nick Loffredo. On lap 2, Surra was able to edge ahead of Jarid Ivory for the lead just before the first and only caution flag was displayed for a slow car on the backstretch. On the restart, it was Surra out to the lead over Jarid Ivory and Loffredo. On lap 3, Loffredo was able to edge ahead of Jarid Ivory for second. Jarid Ivory regained the second spot from Loffredo the following lap. Loffredo took the second spot back for good on lap 5 as he set his sights on Surra for the lead. At the halfway mark on lap 10, it was Surra out front with a fairly healthy advantage over Loffredo and Jarid Ivory. On lap 11, Paul Ivory made the pass on Jarid to move into third behind the leaders. Loffredo tried to close in on Surra in the final 9 laps or so, but it was to no avail as Surra held on to pick up his first win of the 2023 season. The top 5 was completed by: Loffredo, Paul Ivory, Nick Erskine, and Jarid Ivory. Erskine and Jarid Ivory won the heat races.
Dwayne Brooks and Clay Ruffo led the Srock Contracting Super Late Models into the 1/3 mile bullring for their 25-lap feature. Brooks got out to the lead on the start and led the opening lap over Ruffo and Doug Eck. Brooks had built himself a pretty decent-sized lead over Ruffo, Eck, and the rest of the field, but it was slowly starting to fade as Ruffo started to close in ever so slightly with each passing lap. At the cross flags on lap 13, it was Brooks out front, beginning to feel a little bit of the heat from Ruffo, with Eck following behind both of them in third. On lap 18, Eck was forced to retire from the race with some sort of mechanical issue which gave the third spot to last week's feature winner, Paul Kot. That happened as Ruffo closed in to within a car length or two of Brooks for the lead. In turns 3 and 4 of that lap, Brooks went way wide which allowed Ruffo to easily take the race lead. On lap 20, Kot was able to make the pass to the inside of Brooks to move into second behind Ruffo. Kot closed in on Ruffo and the two battled hard side-by-side for the top spot for the next 3 laps before Ruffo spun in turns 3 and 4 on the way to getting the white flag. The spin moved Kot into the lead, Brooks back into second, and Orvis Newcome into third for the lone restart of the race. Kot pulled out to the lead on the restart and never looked back in the final couple of laps on his way to his third straight victory at the Bird. Brooks, Newcome, Ruffo, and Nathan Brady rounded out the top 5. Brooks and Ruffo won the heat races.
A field of 19 Brooks Services LLC. Four-Cylinders took the green flag for their 15-lap main. Coty Maines and Joe Anthony led the field to green. Maines jumped out to the lead on the initial start, but was quickly overtaken by a charging Devon Trayer. Trayer led lap 1 over Maines and Ben Lehane, just before a caution for a spin on the frontstretch set up the first restart of the race. On the restart, it was Trayer out front over Maines and Lehane. On lap 2, both Lehane and Camden Frantz were able to make the pass on Maines to move into second and third respectively. The race stayed green until lap 4 or 5, when a caution for Lehane being involved in an incident on the frontstretch brought about another restart. The caution moved Frantz into second and Allen Robison into third for the restart. Trayer jumped out to the lead on the restart over Frantz and Robison. At halfway on lap 8, it was Trayer continuing to pace the field over Frantz and Robison. Frantz began to close in on Trayer over the next couple of laps. On lap 11, Frantz was able to edge ahead of Trayer on the highside by a nose to lead that lap. On lap 12, Trayer pulled a slide job to get back into the lead as he and Frantz continued to battle hard for the top spot. Robison, following not far behind at all, got a front row seat to the intense battle for the lead. Trayer was able to use some lapped cars as a pick to get a little bit of breathing room as the field received the 2-to-go signal from flagman Earl Jackson. A scary moment occurred just after that as Jeremy Harris' car burst into flames in turn 4, bringing out the red flag immediately. Track workers, the Falls Creek VFD, and other safety/rescue personnel were on scene within moments to help put the fire out and get Jeremy out of the car. Thanks in large part to the quick response, Harris was able to walk away under his own power and uninjured. The red flag set up a green-white-checkered finish with Trayer leading the way over Frantz and Robison. Frantz got to the outside of Trayer on the restart as Trayer pulled a slide job to stay ahead of Frantz. Frantz crossed him over going down the backstretch and took the lead in turns 3 and 4 coming to get the white flag. Trayer gave it all he had on the final lap, but came up just short as Frantz edged him out at the line by less than one-tenth of a second. The win for Frantz was his first career big car win. At 12-years-old, Frantz became one of, if not the, youngest drivers to win a race at Hummingbird. The top 5 was completed by: Trayer, Robison, Larry Conklin, and Justin Finland. Frantz, Trayer, and Lehane won the heat races.
Dustin Challingsworth and last week's winner Mike Anderson led the Brian Savino Motorsports Pure Stocks trackside for their 15-lap feature event. Anderson edged out to the lead on the start and led lap 1 over Challingsworth and Dominic Marchiori. On lap 2, Jenna Pfaff was able to work her way past Marchiori to move into third behind Anderson and Challingsworth. A couple of more laps were completed before a caution for a stopped car in turns 3 and 4 brought out the first and ultimately only caution flag of the race. While under caution, Pfaff took her third place running car to the pit area with some sort of mechanical issue. That moved Andy Frey to the third spot for the restart. Anderson jumped out to the lead on the restart over Challingsworth as Steis applied the pressure on Frey for third. On lap 5, Steis completed the pass on Frey to move into third. Anderson began to extend his lead over the field a bit as the laps continued to click away. At the halfway point on lap 8, it was Anderson comfortably out front over Challingsworth and Steis. The race went caution-free the rest of the way as Anderson cruised to his second victory in as many weeks. Challingsworth, Steis, Frey, and Ashley Kilhoffer rounded out the top 5. Steis and Anderson won the heat races.
The Cypress Clock & Gift Shop Pro Stocks concluded the regular racing program with their 20-lap feature race. Fuzzy Fields and Michael Oakes led the field to the opening green flag. Fields jumped out to the lead on the start and led the opening lap as Matt Bernard and last week's feature winner Jim Bloom, both made their way past Oakes to move into second and third respectively. On lap 2, Bloom looked to the inside of Bernard and made the pass to move into the second spot behind Fields. On lap 4, Bloom caught Fields and was able to make the pass on the inside line to take the top spot. Later that lap, the lone caution flag of the race was displayed for a spin in turn 4. On the restart, it was Bloom out to a slim lead over Fields as Oakes made the pass on Bernard for third. Fields was able to regain the lead from Bloom shortly after the restart. Fields led a couple of more laps before Bloom edged back ahead of Fields on lap 7. Fields closed back in on Bloom as the race neared halfway. At the cross flags on lap 10, it was Fields getting back past Bloom on the highside for the lead. A couple of laps later, Bloom regained the top spot for good as Bernard made his way back past Oakes for the third spot. Bloom began to extend his lead over Fields, Bernard, and the rest of the field throughout the final 8 laps or so enroute to his second win a row at Hummingbird. The top 5 was completed by: Fields, Bernard, Oakes, and Matt Sturgeon. Oakes won the lone heat race.
Speedway Notes: 68 cars were on-hand for Night #5 of the 2023 racing season. That breaks down to: 9 Economods, 12 Semi Late Models, 8 Super Late Models, 20 Four-Cylinders, 12 Pure Stocks, and 7 Pro Stocks. We will be back in action this coming Saturday, June 17th, with a regular 6-division program plus $1,000/win Economods and Kid's Bike Races. The $1,000/win Economod special will be a part of a three-race, three-track "Economod Mania" weekend. There has been a mini-points fund that has been setup courtesy of Close Racing Supply as well as other additional sponsors. There are a couple of other contingency awards as well that are up for grabs. You must attend all three events in order to be eligible for the bonus monies. The first race of the weekend will be Friday night at Raceway 7 in Ohio for a regular show, then on to Hummingbird Saturday night for $1,000/win, and then to Eriez Speedway on Sunday for $1,200/win in the Kyle Miller Memorial. The Kid's Bike Races will be run at intermission on the frontstretch. 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:
Andy Man's Car Care Economods
1st) #71 Nate Fleck
2nd) #50 Bob McMillen
3rd) #98 Keith Felicetty
4th) #21T Orin Taylor
5th) #C17 Brad Curran Jr.
6th) #83E Ed Vogel
7th) #29L Johnny Lindenpitz
8th) #5M Donnie May
9th) #569 Blake Joiner
Semi Late Models
1st) #3xAA Doug Surra
2nd) #9N Nick Loffredo
3rd) #4A Paul Ivory
4th) #5X Nick Erskine
5th) #17I Jarid Ivory
6th) #11 Kyle Shannon
7th) #44 Dan Smeal
8th) #15 Andy VanCuren
9th) #17 Deegen Watt
10th) #28 Fuzzy Fields
11th) #47 Adam Nixon
12th) #21M
Srock Contracting Super Late Models
1st) #36 Paul Kot
2nd) #1B Dwayne Brooks
3rd) #66N Orvis Newcome lll
4th) #14 Clay Ruffo
5th) #77 Nathan Brady
6th) #18 Rich Runyan Jr.
7th) #20 Doug Eck
8th) #9J Joe Loffredo
Brooks Services LLC. Four-Cylinders
1st) #158 Camden Frantz
2nd) #79 Devon Trayer
3rd) #4T1 Allen Robison
4th) #3C Larry Conklin
5th) #56 Justin Finland
6th) #1 Ben Lehane
7th) #17S Joe Anthony
8th) #03C Coty Maines
9th) #44B Bruce Long
10th) #6 Adam Pluebell
11th) #8F Sam Fye
12th) #29L Josh Lindemuth
13th) #317 Kevin Piper
14th) #427H Jeremy Harris
15th) #65 Louis Young
16th) #17X Eric Luzier
17th) #35K Heidi Miller
18th) #65Y Michael Young
19th) #11 Jim Boyer
20th) #916 Sam Regitz
Brian Savino Motorsports Pure Stocks
1st) #76 Mike Anderson
2nd) #46 Dustin Challingsworth
3rd) #34 Tim Steis
4th) #55X Andy Frey
5th) #50 Ashley Kilhoffer
6th) #54 Wayne Truitt
7th) #54S Mitch Stiles
8th) #56K Renae Meyer
9th) #37B Noah Bloom
10th) #33 Jenna Pfaff
11th) #01D Dominic Marchiori
12th) #18 Devin Dickey
Cypress Clock & Gift Shop Pro Stocks
1st) #37A Jim Bloom
2nd) #28 Fuzzy Fields
3rd) #7B Matt Bernard
4th) #22JR Michael Oakes
5th) #47 Matt Sturgeon
6th) #44 Jim Challingsworth
7th) #43 Pernell Beimel
Aquaholic PowderPuff Series
1st) #17S Kim Nelson
2nd) #4T1 Melissa Rock
3rd) #21J Tracy Smith
4th) #17 Melanie Luzier
5th) #79 Madison Perry