Gordon, Frantz Headline 2nd Annual Al Connor Memorial Winners At Hummingbird
For Immediate Release
Saturday, June 11th, 2022
By: Steven Curry - Race Reporter
Reynoldsville- It was a very special night at Hummingbird Speedway on Saturday night as we honored the late driver Al Connor with the running of the 2nd Annual Al Connor Memorial. To honor Al, we ran a 25-lap, $1,500/win race for the Penn Ohio Pro Stock Touring Series Powered by Can-Am and a 15-lap, $500/win race for the Sunny 106 Four-Cylinders. In the Penn Ohio Pro Stock Touring Series Powered by Can-Am, the #25 of Andrew Gordon took the lead on lap 13 and led the rest of the way enroute to capturing the $1,500 payday and his second touring series victory of the season. In the Sunny 106 Four-Cylinders, the #114 of Josh Frantz led the last 6 of the 15 laps on his way to collecting the $500 prize and his first victory of the season at the Bird. In addition to the specials, there were a couple of career firsts that occurred. The #C17 of Brad Curran Jr. picked up his first win in the Andy Man's Car Care Economod division. The win was Brad's first in 15 years. In addition to Brad's first Economod win, the #33 of Jenna Pfaff notched career win #1 in the PA Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau Pure Stocks. Pfaff joins Stephanie Lucas and Cecilia Olson as the only females to go to victory lane so far at Hummingbird. The Semi Late Models ran two features, the regular one and the 5/21 makeup. In the regular feature, it was the #9N of Nick Loffredo picking up the win, his first of 2022. The #3xAA of Doug Surra got the win in the 5/21 makeup feature, his second of the season. Doug's win was the 55th of his career at the Bird which is the most of all drivers. The #20 of Doug Eck was victorious in the Carns Powersports/Mountain Extreme Super Late Models for the first time this season.
Deegen Watt and Nick Erskine led the Semi Late Models to flagman Earl Jackson's green flag to begin their 20-lap feature to begin the feature racing action. Watt jumped out to the lead on the start and led lap 1 over Nick Loffredo and Erskine. On lap 3, Doug Surra used the highside to his advantage to make the pass on Erskine and move into the third position behind Watt and Loffredo. Then, on lap 5, Surra slipped up coming off of turn 4 which allowed Rod Phillips to get by on the inside and move into the third spot. At the halfway mark on lap 10, it was Watt continuing to lead the way over Loffredo and Phillips. Loffredo began to slowly close in on Watt as the laps began to wane in the race. Loffredo caught up to Watt on lap 14 and used the low line to make the pass on Watt and lead lap 15. One lap later, on lap 16, Watt took his car to the pit area with some sort of issue which moved Phillips into second and Dennis Curry into third. Phillips tried to close in on Loffredo in the closing laps, but it was to no avail as Loffredo hung on to pick up his first win of the season in a caution-free feature. Loffredo's win was his fourth career Semi Late Model win at the Bird. Loffredo was followed by: Phillips, Curry, B.J. Hudson, Kyle Corah, Watt, Kyle Shannon, Surra, and Erskine. Erskine and Surra won the heat races.
The Homak Penn/Ohio Pro Stocks Powered By Can-Am were next to the track with former flagman Bob Connor and Jackson Humanic on the front row for the 25-lap, $1,500/win Al Connor Memorial for the Touring Series. Connor got out to the lead on the start and led lap 1 over Humanic and Josh Seippel. On lap 4, both Seippel and Dylan Cecce made their way around Humanic to move into the second and third positions respectively. The race stayed green for another lap before a caution for a stopped car in turn 1 set up the first and only restart of the race. On the restart, Connor pulled out to the lead Seippel received pressure from both Cecce and Andrew Gordon for the second spot. On lap 6, both Cecce and Gordon made the pass on Seippel to move into second and third behind Connor. Cecce continued his charge to the front as he looked to the inside of Connor for the top spot. Cecce made the pass and led lap 7 over Connor and Gordon. On lap 9, Gordon made the pass on Connor to move into the second spot behind Cecce. At the halfway point on lap 13, it was a dead heat between Cecce and Gordon for the race lead. They came to the line side-by-side with Connor following behind in third. One lap later, on lap 14, Gordon completed the pass on Cecce to take the top spot. Gordon extended his lead over Cecce, Connor, and the rest of the field as the laps continued to click away. Gordon went unchallenged the rest of the way enroute to his first win of 2022 at Hummingbird and his second win on the Penn Ohio Touring Series. Gordon's win was his 10th career Pro Stock victory at the speedway. Cecce, Bob Connor, Bruce Hartzfeld, Seippel, Hunter Exley, Brandon Connor, Chris McGuire, Humanic, Scott Stiffler, Chase Lambert, Jason Fosnaught, Matt Bernard, Josh Blum, Brian Fabiano, Tim Bish, Zack Gustafson, Aden Boozell, and Bobby Whitling rounded out the field. McGuire, Brandon Connor, and Cecce won the heat races.
Joe Loffredo and Doug Eck led the Carns Powersports/Mountain Extreme Super Late Models into the 1/3 mile bullring for their 25-lap feature event. Loffredo jumped out to the lead on the initial start, but he was quickly overtaken by Eck coming off of turn 2 on the opening lap. Kenny Schaffer made the pass on Loffredo on the inside of turns 3 and 4 to move into the second spot behind Eck. Eck led lap 1 over Schaffer and Loffredo. On lap 6, Dwayne Brooks made the pass on Loffredo to take the third spot behind Eck and Schaffer. Eck continued to lead the way over Schaffer and Brooks until lap 11 when a caution for a spin in turn 2 set up the first restart of the race. After another quick caution flag for a spin in turns 3 and 4, the race saw its second restart. On the restart, it was Eck out to the lead as Schaffer was pressured by Brooks for second. On lap 12, Brooks made the pass on Schaffer on the lowside to move into the second position. At the cross flags on lap 13, it was Eck continuing to lead the way over Brooks and Schaffer. A couple of more laps were completed before a caution for a spin in turn 4 brought about another restart. Four laps were completed on the restart as the race made it to lap 19 when a caution came out for Brooks hitting a yuke tire in turns 1 and 2. The damage caused by the contact forced him to retire from the race which moved Schaffer into second and Paul Kot into third for the final restart. On the final restart, it was Eck out to the lead over Schaffer and Kot. Schaffer gave Eck all he could handle in the closing laps, but it was not enough as Eck held on to notch his first victory of 2022. Eck's win was his 8th career win at the Bird. Eck was followed by: Schaffer, Kot, Denny Fenton, Scott Alvetro, Garrett Mott, Nathan Brady, Cody Lucas, Loffredo, Brooks, and Dylan Fenton. Loffredo and Eck won the heat races.
The Andy Man's Car Care Economods were next to the track for their 15-lap main. Brad Curran Jr. and Bob McMillen led the field to the opening green flag. McMillen edged out to the lead on the start and led lap one over Curran Jr. and Mike Anderson. Curran Jr. worked McMillen over on the inside over the next handful of laps. Lap after lap the top 2 were side-by-side battling for the lead. On lap 7, Curran Jr. was able to make the inside line work well enough for him to clear up and take the top spot over McMillen. At halfway on lap 8, Curran Jr. led the way as Anderson made the pass on McMillen on the lowside to take the second position. Curran Jr. began to extend his lead over Anderson, McMillen, and the rest of the field as the laps continued to click away. Curran Jr. maintained a roughly 1.5 second lead the rest of the way enroute to capturing his first checkered flag at the track and in the Economod division in a caution-free feature. His win was his first in 15 years. He became the 12th different Economod driver to take a trip to victory lane at the Bird in just the second full season of running the division. Anderson, McMillen, Dennis Asel, Orin Taylor, and Nate Fleck rounded out the field. Fleck won the heat race.
Dave Smail and Mitch Stiles led the Sunny 106 Four-Cylinders trackside for their 15-lap, $500/win special as a part of the 2nd Annual Al Connor Memorial. 13 cars were lined up behind Smail and Stiles to make it a field of 15 to take the green flag from flagman Earl Jackson. A quick caution flag on the initial start of the race for a wreck in turn 1 setup the first and only restart of the race. On the restart, the field fanned out three-wide all the way through. Once everything sorted itself out, it was Adam Bales leading lap 1 over Noah Swank and Smail. On lap 2, Josh Frantz used the highside to his advantage to make the pass Smail to move into the third spot behind Bales and Swank. Then, on lap 3, Frantz made the pass on Swank on the inside to move into second. At the halfway mark on lap 8, it was Bales still leading the way over Frantz and Swank. A couple of laps later, on lap 10, Frantz used the high line to make the pass on Bales for the race lead. Frantz pulled away from Bales, Swank, and the rest of the field in the closing laps on his way to taking his first trip to victory lane at Hummingbird this season and earning the $500 payday. His win was his 9th career Four-Cylinder win at the track. Frantz was followed by: Bales, Swank, Shawn Hadden, Blake Joiner, Smail, Kevin Killinger, Stiles, Ernie Irvin, Louis Young, Carl Killinger, Heidi Miller, Joe Beningo, Issac Irvin, and Christina Killinger. Frantz and Swank won the heat races.
The PA Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau Pure Stocks capped off the regular feature racing action with their 15-lap feature race. Jenna Pfaff and Andy Frey led the field to the opening green flag. Pfaff got the lead on the start and led the opening lap over Frey and Dustin Challingsworth. On lap 2, Challingsworth edged ahead of Frey by a nose at the line to move into the second position behind Pfaff. Then, on lap 4, Josh Fields worked his way around Frey to move into third behind the leaders. At the halfway point on lap 8, it was Pfaff continuing to lead the way over Challingsworth and Fields. Challingsworth looked to the inside of Pfaff a few times over the next 3-4 laps, but to no avail as Pfaff maintained the top spot. On lap 12, Fields used the outside to make the pass on Challingsworth and move into the second position. Fields tried to close in on Pfaff in the final few laps (which he did), but ran out of laps as Pfaff held on to pick up career win #1. Pfaff became the 74th different driver to visit victory lane in the Pure Stock division. Also, she joins Cecilia Olson and Stephanie Lucas as the only girls to have won at the Bird so far. Fields, Challingsworth, Frey, Ashley Kilhoffer, Cody Cassler, Devin Dickey, and David Lowe rounded out the field. Fields won the heat race.
The Semi Late Models returned to the track to resume their 5/21 feature to conclude the evening. The race resumed with just two laps completed out of the scheduled twenty and Doug Surra in the lead. Surra jumped out to the lead on the restart with Rod Phillips and B.J. Hudson following behind in second and third respectively. Surra continued to lead the way over Phillips and Hudson as the race neared halfway. At halfway on lap 10, Surra paced the field over Phillips and Hudson. The race remained under green flag conditions until lap 12 or 13 when a caution for a spin in turns 3 and 4 set up what would ultimately be the final restart. Phillips gave it all he had on the restart and in the final laps, but he came up short as Surra held on to capture his second checkered flag of the season in just three races. Surra's win was his 19th career Semi Late victory at Hummingbird which puts him just one win behind division leader Nick Erskine who has 20. The win was also his 55th career win at the speedway which leads all drivers at least since the track reopened in 2000. Surra was followed by: Phillips, Hudson, Loffredo, Erskine, Curry, Corah, Watt, Eddie Connor, Bernie Whiteford Jr., Bill Phillips Jr., and Raven Fuller. Connor and Surra won the heat races back on 5/21.
Speedway Notes: 68 cars were in attendance for the 2nd Annual Al Connor Memorial. That breaks down to: 9 Semi Lates, 19 Pro Stocks, 11 Super Lates, 6 Economods, 15 Four-Cylinders, and 8 Pure Stocks. Next Saturday will feature a regular six division program plus the second visit for the Young Guns Jr Sprints. Also, the 5/21 makeup features for the PA Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau Pure Stocks and Sunny 106 Four-Cylinders will be run. Looking ahead in our schedule, it has been decided that due to the low number of races that have been run so far this year, Mid-Season Championship Night (originally scheduled for June 25th) will be pushed back a couple of weeks to July 9th. 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:
Semi Lates
1st) #9N Nick Loffredo
2nd) #1P Rod Phillips
3rd) #75 Dennis Curry
4th) #23 B.J. Hudson
5th) #152 Kyle Corah
6th) #17 Deegen Watt
7th) #11 Kyle Shannon
8th) #3xAA Doug Surra
9th) #5X Nick Erskine
Homak Penn/Ohio Pro Stocks Powered By Can-Am
1st) #25 Andrew Gordon
2nd) #18* Dylan Cecce
3rd) #V2 Bob Connor
4th) #101 Bruce Hartzfeld
5th) #84S Josh Seippel
6th) #23HJR Hunter Exley
7th) #55 Brandon Connor
8th) #63 Chris McGuire
9th) #17 Jackson Humanic
10th) #14 Scott Stiffler
11th) #22 Chase Lambert
12th) #J19 Jason Fosnaught
13th) #7B Matt Bernard
14th) #39B Josh Blum
15th) #35 Brian Fabiano
16th) #11B Tim Bish
17th) #983 Zack Gustafson
18th) #44B Aden Boozell
19th) #7W Bobby Whitling
Carns Powersports/Mountain Extreme Super Late Models
1st) #20 Doug Eck
2nd) #13X Kenny Schaffer
3rd) #36 Paul Kot
4th) #55 Denny Fenton
5th) #64 Scott Alvetro
6th) #43X Garrett Mott
7th) #77 Nathan Brady
8th) #67 Cody Lucas
9th) #9J Joe Loffredo
10th) #1B Dwayne Brooks
11th) #56 Dylan Fenton
Andy Man's Car Care Economods
1st) #C17 Brad Curran Jr.
2nd) #76 Mike Anderson
3rd) #50 Bob McMillen
4th) #0 Dennis Asel
5th) #21T Orin Taylor
6th) #71 Nate Fleck
Sunny 106 Four-Cylinders
1st) #114 Josh Frantz
2nd) #26B Adam Bales
3rd) #40 Noah Swank
4th) #3H Shawn Hadden
5th) #569 Blake Joiner
6th) #81S Dave Smail
7th) #24K Kevin Killinger
8th) #54 Mitch Stiles
9th) #98E Ernie Irvin
10th) #65 Louis Young
11th) #76K Carl Killinger
12th) #35K Heidi Miller
13th) #21 Joe Beningo
14th) #14I Issac Irvin
15th) #8K Christina Killinger
PA Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau Pure Stocks
1st) #33 Jenna Pfaff
2nd) #88 Josh Fields
3rd) #46 Dustin Challingsworth
4th) #55X Andy Frey
5th) #50 Ashley Kilhoffer
6th) #14C Cody Cassler
7th) #18 Devin Dickey
8th) #21 David Lowe
Semi Lates (5/21 Makeup Feature)
1st) #3xAA Doug Surra
2nd) #1P Rod Phillips
3rd) #23 B.J. Hudson
4th) #9N Nick Loffredo
5th) #5X Nick Erskine
6th) #75 Dennis Curry
7th) #152 Kyle Corah
8th) #17 Deegen Watt
9th) #27C Eddie Connor
10th) #33JR Bernie Whiteford Jr.
11th) #23JR Bill Phillips Jr.
12th) #10R Raven Fuller