Hudson, Hadden First Repeat Winners Of 2025 At Hummingbird Speedway
For Immediate Release
Saturday, June 7, 2025
By: Steven Curry - Race Reporter
Reynoldsville- After nearly a month without racing due to rainouts, Mother Nature granted a reprieve and allowed the 2025 season to continue Saturday night at Hummingbird. It was a big night at the track with all of the feature winners receiving three trophies due to all of the rainouts that we suffered. Trophies on the night were sponsored by TJS Painting, Fin & Bear It Outdoors, and Smeal Racing Designs In Memory of Ernie & John Smeal. Also, there were increased purses in all six divisions courtesy of a donation by Fin & Bear It Outdoors. In addition, our Flagman Earl Jackson and his wife Taylor donated an extra $100 for the Super Late Model payout and Smeal Racing Designs donated $100 to the purse for each of the top 5 positions in the Semi Late Models. Two drivers were able to double up on their Opening Night wins with the #23 of B.J. Hudson getting the win in the Gio's BBQ Semi Late Models and the #3H of Shawn Hadden getting the win in the Brooks Services Four-Cylinders. Four drivers visited Victory Lane for the first time this season including the #1M of Gary Miller Jr. in the Ken Schaffer Excavating Pro Stocks, the #12C of Garrett Calvert in the Economods, the #55 of Denny Fenton in the Srock Contracting Super Late Models, and the #34 of Tim Steis in the D. Fenton Fabrications & Mechanical Pure Stocks.
The feature racing action commenced with a 20 lapper for the Ken Schaffer Excavating Pro Stocks. Jim Challingsworth and Cregen Brady led the field to the green flag. Challingsworth edged out to the lead on the start, but was quickly overtaken by a charging Gary Miller Jr. as he led lap 1. Opening Night's feature winner, Dennis Curry Jr., was able to make the pass on Brady for the third spot. On lap 2, Curry Jr. used the highside to his advantage to work his way past Challingsworth for second. Miller Jr. began to extend his lead over Curry Jr., Challingsworth, and the rest of the field as the laps continued to click away. On lap 7, Cregen Brady was able to make the pass on Challingsworth for the third position. Another lap or so was completed before the first and ultimately only caution flag of the race was displayed. On the restart, Curry Jr. put the pressure on Miller Jr. for the top spot. The battle continued until Curry Jr. nearly spun out in turns 3 and 4 coming to take the cross flags from flagman Earl Jackson. Curry Jr. was able to save it, but not without allowing Josh Bloom (filling in for Jim) and Cregen Brady to move into second and third, respectively. This also allowed Miller Jr. to check out on the field. On lap 13, Curry Jr. was able to work his way past both Bloom and Cregen Brady to move into second. No one had anything for Miller Jr. in the closing laps as he cruised to his second career Hummingbird Speedway victory in a Pro Stock. Curry Jr., Cregen Brady, Nathan Brady, and Challingsworth rounded out the top 5. Miller Jr. and Curry Jr. won the heat races.
Garrett Calvert and Brendan Warner led the Economods trackside for their 15-lap feature event. Cautions plagued the early stages of the race with Calvert and Warner swapping the lead back and forth several times with Warner officially leading the first 4 laps of the race in between caution flags. On a lap 4 restart, Calvert was able to use the inside line to his advantage to edge ahead of Warner and lead lap 5 with Dave Shagla following behind in third. The lead went back to Warner on lap 6 just before another caution flag was displayed. On the restart, it was Warner out front over Calvert and Shagla. At the halfway mark on lap 8, Calvert was able to pull off a slide job in turns 3 and 4 to take the race lead from Warner. Warner kept the pressure on Calvert the rest of the way as he tried to get the momentum rolling on the outside line. After a late race restart with only a couple of laps remaining, it was Calvert fending off the charge from Warner to capture his second career checkered flag at the Bird by just over 0.100 seconds. Warner, Shagla, Bob McMillen, and Brian Toto completed the top 5. Warner and Calvert won the heat races.
The Srock Contracting Super Late Models were next to the track for their 25-lap feature race. Paul Kot and Kenny Schaffer led the field to the green flag. Schaffer got out to the lead on the start and led the opening lap over Kot and Clay Ruffo. On lap 2, Denny Fenton was able to edge ahead of Ruffo on the inside for third behind the leaders. One lap later, on lap 3, Fenton once again used the inside line to work his way ahead of Kot for second. The race remained under green flag conditions for another lap until a caution for a spin in turn 4 set up the first restart of the race. On the restart, Denny Fenton got to the inside of Schaffer for the race lead and the two battled side-by-side down the backstretch. The two got together in turn 3 causing Fenton to spin out. That put the caution flag back in the air and sent Schaffer to the rear of the field after being charged with the caution. The caution moved Fenton into the lead with Kot second and Ruffo in third. A few more sporadic caution flags were displayed throughout the remainder of the race. Despite a valiant challenge from Kot especially after the restarts following the caution flags, Fenton stayed in command of the race on his way to taking his first trip to Dunlap Lawn & Garden Victory Lane this season. The win was Denny's seventh career Super Late Model victory at Hummingbird. The rest of the top 5 were Kot, Ruffo, Zack Gustafson, and Tyler Wyant. Schaffer and Kot won the heat races.
Jake Foradori and Tim Steis made up the front row for the 15-lap D. Fenton Fabrications & Mechanical Pure Stock feature. Steis jumped out to the lead on the start and led lap 1 over Foradori and Opening Night feature winner, Mitch Stiles. A couple of laps later, on lap 3, Andy Frey was able to use the inside line to his advantage to make the pass on Stiles for the third position. Steis continued to lead the way over Foradori and Frey as the race reached its halfway point on lap 8. Steis maintained the lead over Foradori, Frey, and the rest of the field throughout the second half of the race on his way to capturing his first checkered flag of the season at the Bird in a caution-free feature. The win was Steis's 27th career Pure Stock win at the Speedway. The feature was run in an astonishing 4 minutes and 21 seconds. Because of the great driving that was displayed in the 15-lap feature by all of the drivers, all of the Pure Stock drivers in attendance earned a free pit pass to be used at the next scheduled event as a reward. Foradori, Frey, Dalton Gustafson, and Stiles rounded out the top 5. Steis, Stiles, and Josh Fields won the heat races.
The Gio's BBQ Semi Late Models were next to the 1/3-mile bullring for their 20-lap main. Justin Owens and Dan Smeal led the field of 12 to the opening green flag. A jostling of positions on the opening lap resulted in Opening Night feature winner, B.J. Hudson, leading the way over Smeal and Nick Erskine. On lap 5, Erskine was able to use the low line to his advantage to make the pass on Smeal for the second spot. The following lap, Smeal was able to edge back ahead of Erskine for second at the line. At halfway on lap 10, it was still Hudson out front with Smeal and Erskine following behind in second and third, respectively. Another lap was completed before the first caution flag of the race was thrown for a stopped car in turns 1 and 2. On the restart, it was Hudson leading the way over Smeal and Erskine. In turns 3 and 4 after the restart, Smeal and Doug Surra got together, bringing out another caution flag. The wreck moved Erskine into second and Tyler Rougeux into third for the restart. The top 3 remained unchanged through two additional caution flags and two laps getting completed. On lap 15, Rougeux was able to use the inside line to work his way past Erskine for second. Another lap was completed before another caution this time for a wreck in turn 4. While under caution, Rougeux took his car to the pit area with some sort of mechanical issue, thus ending his race. This moved Erskine back into second with Rich Runyan Jr. following behind in third for the restart. There was one more caution flag in the final four laps of the race, but it did not phase Hudson as he held on to go back-to-back wins to start off 2025 at Hummingbird. The win was Hudson's third career Semi Late Model win at the track. Erskine, Runyan Jr., Gary Little, and Owens completed the top 5. Surra and Erskine won the heat races.
Bruce Long and George Kephart led a full-field of Brooks Services Four-Cylinders trackside for their 15-lap feature event to conclude the evening. Kephart pulled out to the lead on the start and led lap 1 as Brett Hanley made the pass on Long for second. On lap 2, Hunter Flook was able to make the pass on the highside of turns 3 and 4 to take the third position. The first four laps of the race were completed before a caution for a car slowing on the backstretch. On the restart, the field fanned out as there were battles for position from the front of the field to the back. As the field came around to complete lap 5, it was the Opening Night feature winner Shawn Hadden advancing 4-5 positions from the restart to grab the top spot from Kephart with Zach Lennox following behind them in third. Another lap was completed before a caution for a stopped car on the backstretch. On the ensuing restart, it was Hadden leading the way over Kephart and Lennox. Lennox's car began to billow smoke soon after the race went back green, forcing him to the pit area. That allowed Hanley to inherit the third spot behind Hadden and Kephart. At the cross-flags on lap 8, the top 3 remained unchanged. Another lap was completed before a caution for a mechanical issue on Kephart's car brought it to a stop in turn 4. Kephart had to retire from the race, moving Hanley and Greg Kiehl into second and third for the restart. One additional caution flag came out in the final 5 or 6 laps, but it did not affect Hadden as he too collected back-to-back checkered flags to open up the 2025 season at the Bird. The win was Hadden's 27th career win at the Speedway, leading all drivers in the division. The rest of the top 5 were Hanley, Kiehl, Long, and Isaac Exley. Lippert, Kephart, Long, and Hanley won the heat races.
Speedway Notes: 81 cars were in attendance for the second night of racing for the 2025 season. That breaks down to: 11 Pro Stocks, 9 Economods, 8 Super Late Models, 18 Pure Stocks, 12 Semi Late Models, and 23 Four-Cylinders. We will be back in action this coming Saturday, June 14th, with a regular 6-Division Program on the card. Trophies on June 14th will be sponsored by Surra Racing - In Memory of Tom Scott. More information regarding the Father's Day weekend racing action and future events will be posted to the track Facebook page and website, so keep it tuned there for the latest. Gates open at 4:00 with racing beginning at 7:00. The Ken Schaffer Excavating 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, visit the tracks' Facebook page, or visit the tracks’ website at www.hummingbirdspeedway.com.
Results:
Ken Schaffer Excavating Pro Stocks
1st) #1M Gary Miller Jr.
2nd) #24C Dennis Curry Jr.
3rd) #2 Cregen Brady
4th) #77 Nathan Brady
5th) #44 Jim Challingsworth
6th) #152 Kyle Corah
7th) #37A Josh Bloom
8th) #43* Shane Wagner
9th) #28 Fuzzy Fields
10th) #0 Larry Kugel
11th) #47 Andrew Gordon
Economods
1st) #12C Garrett Calvert
2nd) #12* Brendan Warner
3rd) #6 Dave Shagla
4th) #50 Bob McMillen
5th) #8B Brian Toto
6th) #5S Eric Smith
7th) #131 Casey Wolfe
8th) #113 Ben Ecelberger
9th) #1C Chris Myers
Srock Contracting Super Late Models
1st) #55 Denny Fenton
2nd) #36 Paul Kot
3rd) #14R Clay Ruffo
4th) #983 Zack Gustafson
5th) #24 Tyler Wyant
6th) #10R Raven Fuller
7th) #13X Kenny Schaffer
8th) #56 Dylan Fenton
D. Fenton Fabrications & Mechanical Pure Stocks
1st) #34 Tim Steis
2nd) #14 Jake Foradori
3rd) #55X Andy Frey
4th) #83 Dalton Gustafson
5th) #54S Mitch Stiles
6th) #46 Dustin Challingsworth
7th) #01D Dominic Marchiori
8th) #50 Ashley Kilhoffer
9th) #37B Noah Bloom
10th) #24 Lester Hudson
11th) #23S Ryan Shaffner
12th) #55 Austin Fenton
13th) #56K Renae Meyer
14th) #13 Greg Kiehl
15th) #88 Josh Fields
16th) #15S Greg Snell
17th) #18 Devin Dickey
18th) #0 Dennis Asel
Gio's BBQ Semi Late Models
1st) #23 B.J. Hudson
2nd) #5X Nick Erskine
3rd) #18 Rich Runyan Jr.
4th) #69* Gary Little
5th) #38S Justin Owens
6th) #60 Jeremy Lippert
7th) #88 Cory Price
8th) #26 Chad Desmett
9th) #68 Ron Laubscher
10th) #96R Tyler Rougeux
11th) #44 Dan Smeal
12th) #3xAA Doug Surra
Brooks Services Four-Cylinders
1st) #3H Shawn Hadden
2nd) #23 Brett Hanley
3rd) #13 Greg Kiehl
4th) #44B Bruce Long
5th) #64E Isaac Exley
6th) #850A Bryun Hackenberg
7th) #158 Camden Frantz
8th) #96B Hunter Flook
9th) #25 Cody Hetrick
10th) #850B Andrew Murray
11th) #626 Benton Wriglesworth
12th) #21B Nevaeh Helsel
13th) #44C Shawn Cessna
14th) #13KC Josh Lindenmuth
15th) #F6 Justin Forsythe
16th) #007 George Kephart
17th) #79 Devon Trayer
18th) #22L Zach Lennox
19th) #79A Avery Robinson
20th) #4T1 Allen Robison
21st) #4 David Cioffi Jr.
22nd) #58R Ryan Lippert
23rd) #11 Jim Boyer