SURRA, HARTZFELD, FENTON, WRIGHT, FIELDS, AND LIDWELL WIN AT HUMMINGBIRD SPEEDWAY
By: Dave Resinger
Mother Nature provided perfect weather for an evening of exciting action at Hummingbird Speedway Saturday night. Fans were treated to some intense racing action as both repeat and new winners found their way to Victory Lane. Doug Surra topped the Swanson Heavy Truck Repair & Service Semi-Lates, Bruce Hartzfeld won the Cypress Clock & Gift Shop Pro Stocks A-Main, Denny Fenton was the winner of the Carns Powersports / Mountain Extreme Powersports Super Late Models feature, and Mitchell Wright took the checkers for the Andy Man’s Car Care Economods. Josh Fields continued his winning streak in the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau Pure Stocks and newcomer Chad Lidwell brought home the win for the Sunny 106 4-Cylinders. In addition, the PA Thunder On The Dirt Vintage Modified Racing Series visited the speedway with Mark Hahn coming out on top of that class.
First to take the track for their feature event were the Swanson Heavy Truck Repair & Service Semi-Lates. Behind the beautifully restored ’57 Chevy pace car of Ron Mitchell, the front row was made up of Nick Loffredo and Doug Surra. At the wave of flagman Earl Jackson’s green flag, Loffredo jumped into the lead and held it in the early stages. Surra raced hard to try and get by the leader, but Loffredo was able to hold him off until his car started smoking and he was forced to pit on lap 7. Surra inherited the lead, with Kyle Shannon behind him. By lap 13, Nick Erskine had made his way to third and was putting pressure on Shannon for second; but Erskine slipped back a bit and had to be content with third. At the checkers it was Surra, Shannon, Erskine, Deegan Watt, and Dennis Curry. Erskine was the heat race winner.
The Cypress Clock & Gift Shop Pro Stocks were next up. Bruce Hartzfeld and Jim Bloom led the field to green, and Hartzfeld took the early lead with Bloom and Zack Gustafson racing side-by-side for second. Bloom prevailed and Gustafson had to fend off Bob Connor for third. They swapped spots a couple times in the next few laps, with Connor eventually coming out on top. While close racing was going on throughout the pack, Hartzfeld was able to stretch out his lead. Just past the halfway mark, Bloom was forced to retire from action after a mechanical failure, putting an end to his good run. The battle was on between Hartzfeld, Connor, and Gustafson. Hartzfeld was again able to pull away and won by more than 6 seconds over Connor and Gustafson. Ray Gregory and Brian Fabiano rounded out the top five. Hartzfeld also won the lone heat race.
Jim Dorman made his first visit to the speedway, and he and Denny Fenton were on the front row for the Carns Powersports / Mountain Extreme Powersports Super Late Models feature event. Dorman took the lead at the drop of the green flag, followed by Denny Fenton, Dylan Fenton, and Joe Loffredo. Fenton got by Dorman on lap six and set the pace from there. Dorman and last week’s feature winner, Paul Kot, were back & forth for the second and third spots. The race was slowed for a caution with 5 laps to go, and Kot & Dorman continued their battle for second, while Fenton pulled away and took the win. At the finish, it was Fenton, Dorman, Kot, Scott Alvetro, and Derek Rodkey. Fenton and Loffredo were the heat race winners.
The visiting PA Thunder On The Dirt Vintage Modified Racing Series saw action next with Wally Stock and Tom Warburton making up the front row. After several early restarts, Mark Hahn got by Stock to take the lead, and then Warburton passed Stock for second. After a lap three caution, Warburton and Stock battled for second again, with Warburton taking the spot and setting his sights on Hahn who was still leading. He tried everything to get by, racing him hard & clean, but was unable to make the pass and Hahn went on to capture the victory. Following him across the line were Warburton, Stock, Fred Hildenbrand, and William Stile. Stock won the heat race.
A field of 14 Andy Man’s Car Care Economods were next to take to the track, including a number of newcomers making their first visit to “The Bird”. With only one car not able to make the call, thirteen took the initial start, led by Bob McMillen and Alex Siekkinen on the front row. McMillen took the early lead, with Siekkinen trying to get by him on the low side. With the top two holding their own, the battle was on for third between Mike Anderson and Mitchell Wright. After a lap 8 caution, Wright had gotten by Anderson, then passed McMillen for the lead. Wright started to pull away, but there was great racing behind him between McMillen and Siekkinen running side by side. Anderson then joined that mix and the three put on a show for the crowd. A lap 15 caution bunched the field again for the final five laps. After a single file restart, Wright again was able to hold onto the lead and took the win followed by Anderson, McMillen, Siekkinen, and Keith Felicetty. Heat race wins went to Anderson and Felicetty.
Jon Caine (subbing for Ashley Kilhoffer) and Jenna Pfaff made up the front row for the start of the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau Pure Stocks main event. After a lap one incident and complete restart, Pfaff took the lead and held off all challengers in the early going, and through several cautions & restarts. Tim Steis (subbing for the Bloom Family Racing #37B) got by Pfaff on lap three. Josh Fields, who has collected numerous wins so far this season, had made his way from the back of the pack to second already. At the halfway mark it was Steis & Fields battling for the lead. Several cautions kept things close, with Steis still in the lead until lap twelve when he slipped back and dropped to fourth. Pfaff ran a steady race and tried to catch Fields but was unable to get by. Fields continued his dominance of the class, and after runner-up Pfaff it was Steis, Cody Cassler, and Dustin Challingsworth rounding out the top five. Steis and Fields won the heats.
Rounding out the evening’s action were the Sunny 106 4-Cylinders for the final feature event. Ten cars answered the call for the beginning of the race, with several drivers not able to compete due to earlier issues. Bradley Ross and Chad Lidwell paced the field, and Lidwell took the early lead with Zach Frantz (driving Travis Timko’s car) behind him in second. Frantz got by Lidwell on lap four and those two pulled away from the rest of the field. A lap eight caution for a multi-car incident in turn four brought the field back to the leaders. On the restart, Frantz slowed and his car came to a stop on the backstretch, giving the lead back to Lidwell. Isaac Irvin tried to get by Lidwell as they ran side by side for the last few laps, but Lidwell held him of by .148 seconds as the evening’s final checkered flag flew. Heat race wins went to Frantz and Carl Killinger.
Seventy-five cars were in the pits for the evening’s competition. Kids’ bike races were held at intermission, much to the enjoyment of youngster who were able to take to the racing surface on their own two wheels. The full program was completed shortly after 11:00 PM. Next week sees another regular racing program with the Junior Sprints making their final appearance of the season. Racing season is winding down, and there are only two more weeks to determine the final point standings with the Season Championship slated for August 27th. Plans are being made for a two-day show on Friday September 9th and Saturday September 10th. Once they are finalized, details will be announced on the track’s website – www.hummingbirdspeedway.com – and Facebook page.
RESULTS
SWANSON HEAVY TRUCK REPAIR & SERVICE SEMI-LATES
1. Doug Surra
2. Kyle Shannon
3. Nick Erskine
4. Deegan Watt
5. Dennis Curry
6. Levi Ardery
7. Nick Loffredo
CYPRESS CLOCK & GIFT SHOP PRO STOCKS
1. Bruce Hartzfeld
2. Bob Connor
3. Zack Gustafson
4. Ray Gregory
5. Brian Fabiano
6. Amber Brady
7. Jim Bloom
CARNS POWERSPORTS / MOUNTAIN EXTREME POWERSPORTS SUPER LATE MODELS
1. Denny Fenton
2. Bob Dorman
3. Paul Kot
4. Scott Alvetro
5. Derek Rodkey
6. Bill Davis
7. John Brady
8. Nathan Brady
9. Joe Loffredo
10. Dylan Fenton
11. Rich Runyan Jr.
12. Kyle Nicholas
PA THUNDER ON THE DIRT VINTAGE MODIFIED RACING SERIES
1. #14 Mark Hahn
2. #31 Thomas Warburton
3. #2X Wally Stock
4. #A Fred Hildenbrand
5. #8+8 William Stile
6. #20 Steve Longo
7. #16 Jeff Manners
ANDY MAN’S CAR CARE ECONOMODS
1. Mitchell Wright
2. Mike Anderson
3. Bob McMillen
4. Alex Siekkinen
5. Keith Felicetty
6. Brad Curran Jr.
7. Dale Reiser
8. Orin Taylor
9. Nate Fleck
10. J R Mechling
11. Royce Stanley Kr.
12. Dennis Asel
13. Andrew Smith
14. (DNS) Brian Toto
PENNSYLVANIA GREAT OUTDOORS VISITORS BUREAU PURE STOCKS
1. Josh Fields
2. Jenna Pfaff
3. Tim Steis (subbing for Bloom Family Racing)
4. Cody Cassler
5. Dustin Challingsworth
6. Devin Dickey
7. David Lowe
8. Wayne Truitt
9. Andrew Frey
10. Jon Caine (subbing for Ashley Kilhoffer)
11. Brandon Proudfoot
12. Cory Wolfe
13. Casey Wolfe
SUNNY 106 4-CYLINDERS
1. Chad Lidwell
2. Isaac Irvin
3. Bryan Resitz
4. Kevin Killinger
5. Bradley Ross
6. Carl Killinger
7. Caelan Hughes
8. Jimmy Delozier
9. Zach Frantz (subbing for Travis Timko)
10. Austin Lowe
11. (DNS) Ricky Nelson
12. (DNS) Ernie Irvin
13. (DNS) Timothy Maines Jr.
14. (DNS) Devon Trayer
15. (DNS) Heidi Miller