Hartzfeld Takes Checkers In Louie & Ina Pro Stock Showdown At The Bird
For Immediate Release
Saturday, August 29th, 2026
By: Steven Curry - Race Reporter
Reynoldsville- Hummingbird Speedway co-founders Louie & Ina Caltagarone were honored and remembered Saturday night with the annual running of the Louie & Ina's Pro Stock Showdown. It was an emotional evening for all as it was the first race honoring both Louie and Ina after we lost Louie last October. Prior to the racing action getting underway, a 4-wide salute with all of the cars in the pits occurred followed by a dove release in their memory. The Homak Penn Ohio Pro Stock Championship Touring Series took center stage for the night with a 20-lap, $1,000+/win special. There was extra money added to the purse courtesy of Holly Srock and an anonymous source. There was also a $350 Fast Qualifier Award courtesy of Jake Dietz that was awarded to the #66 of Andrew Gordon following qualifying. The #101 of Bruce Hartzfeld notched his first career Penn Ohio Series victory after working his way forward from a 5th starting spot and taking the lead from Fuzzy Fields on lap 18. The win was Bruce's first at the Bird this season. The #88 of Josh Fields continued his dominance in the Pure Stock division after winning for a sixth straight night dating back to the final race of the 2025 season. It was the second straight win for Fields after starting at the back of the field. Three drivers captured their third wins of the season including: the #36 of Paul Kot in the Srock Contracting Super Late Models, the #50 of Bob McMillen in the Economods, and the #3H of Shawn Hadden in the Four-Cylinders. The #3xAA of Doug Surra collected his second checkered flag of the season in the Semi Late Models.
The feature racing action commenced with the Economods taking to the 1/3-mile bullring for their 15-lapper. Bob Connor and Mark Bell led the field to flagman Earl Jackson's green flag. Connor jumped out to the lead on the start and led lap 1 as both Bob McMillen and Gary Miller Jr. were able to work their way past Bell to move into second and third, respectively. The first 3 or 4 laps of the race were completed before a caution for a spin in turn 2. On the restart, it was Connor leading the way over McMillen and Miller Jr.. On lap 6, McMillen was able to use the high line to his advantage to make the pass on Connor for the race lead. At halfway on lap 8, it was McMillen out front over Connor and Miller Jr.. McMillen and Connor raced side-by-side for a number of laps with McMillen getting the edge at the line each lap as they put on a great show for the fans. The caution was displayed again on lap 11 for a wreck on the frontstretch. A couple of more cautions would follow with one additional lap getting completed, including one involving Miller Jr., which would move newcomer Dennis Asel into a podium position for what would turn out to be the final restart of the race. Connor gave it his all throughout the last few laps, but it was not enough as McMillen went on to take the win for his third of the season and 12th of his career in the Economods. Connor, Asel, Bell, and Brad Curran Jr. rounded out the top 5. Kevin Burkhart and McMillen won the heat races.
Brandon Connor and Andrew Gordon led a field of the best Homak Penn Ohio Pro Stocks in the region trackside for the 20-lap, $1,000+/win Louie & Ina Caltagarone Memorial. Gordon edged out to the lead and led the opening lap over Connor and Fuzzy Fields. On lap 4, Fields was able to utilize the momentum on the highside to make the pass on Connor to move into the runner-up position behind Gordon. The race stayed green for the opening 7 laps before a caution for a slow car on the backstretch set up the first restart. On the restart, it was Gordon still leading the way over Fields and Connor. At the halfway mark on lap 10, the top 3 remained unchanged. A few laps later, on lap 13, Bruce Hartzfeld made the pass on Connor to move into third behind the leaders. Gordon had checked out on the field over the course of the last several laps until something broke in the rear-end of his car as he entered turns 3 and 4 on lap 14. His car came to a stop in turn 4 bringing out the yellow and was ultimately towed off, ending his night. This moved Fields into the race lead with Hartzfeld in second and Connor in third for the restart. After another quick caution flag, Fields and Hartzfeld battled side-by-side for the top spot on the ensuing restart. They raced hard, but clean for the first three laps after the restart with Fields edging out Hartzfeld at the line each lap. On lap 18, with just a couple of laps remaining, Fields went way wide in turns 3 and 4 while running the highside which allowed Hartzfeld to clear to assume the lead as Fields settled into second ahead of Connor. A final caution flag would fly on the white flag lap for a spin in turn 4, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. The late caution did not phase Hartzfeld as he held on to pick up his first career Homak Penn Ohio Touring Series victory. The win was Hartzfeld's first this season and his 32nd career win in a Pro Stock at Hummingbird. Fields, Connor, Jimmy Fosnaught, and Jake Dietz completed the top 5. Dietz, Hartzfeld, and Fields won the heat races. Gordon was the fastest qualifier in time trials which earned him the $350 Fast Qualifier Award courtesy of Jake Dietz.
The Srock Contracting Super Late Models took to the track next with Paul Kot and newcomer Danny Kienitz leading the field to green for their 15-lap feature event instead of 25-laps due to low car count. Kot pulled out to the lead on the start and led lap 1 as both Orvis Newcome and Dylan Fenton made the pass on Kienitz to move into the second and third positions, respectively. Kot maintained a healthy lead over Newcome early on, but Newcome began to little by little close in on Kot as the race reached its' halfway point on lap 8. Newcome was able to get a couple of looks to the inside of Kot for the race lead as the laps continued to click away. Newcome kept the pressure on Kot all the way until lap 13 when the leaders had to navigate some lapped traffic which led to Newcome slipping up in turns 3 and 4. That gave Kot all he needed in the final couple of laps to cruise to his third win of the season and his 42nd career Late Model triumph at the Bird. Kot was followed by: Newcome, Fenton, Kienitz, and B.J. Hudson. There were no heat races due to low car count.
Newcomer Kyle Lindemuth and Shawn Hadden led the 15-lap Four-Cylinder feature race to green. Lindemuth and Hadden remained side-by-side for most of the opening lap before Hadden cleared into the race lead in turns 3 and 4 and led the lap as another newcomer, Ryan Lippert, was able to edge ahead of Lindemuth on the highside for second. On lap 2, Camden Frantz was able to make the pass on Lindemuth to move into third behind Hadden and Lippert. Lippert and Frantz ran side-by-side over the course of the next several laps with Lippert getting the edge each lap with the momentum on the high line. At the cross flags on lap 8, it was still Hadden leading the way over Lippert and Frantz. The first 10 laps of the race were completed before the lone caution flag of the race was displayed. On the restart, it was Hadden out front as Frantz looked to the inside of Lippert for second. On lap 11, Frantz was finally able to complete the pass on Lippert after laps of battling side-by-side to move into the runner-up position. One lap later, on lap 12, Bruce Long was able to get to the inside of Lippert and make the pass to move into the third position behind Hadden and Frantz. Hadden would go unchallenged the rest of the way enroute to his third checkered flag of the season by a nearly two second margin over Frantz. The win was Hadden's 29th career Four-Cylinder victory at Hummingbird. Long, Lippert, and Lindemuth finished out the top 5. Lindemuth and Hadden won the heat races.
The penultimate event of the evening was the Pure Stocks with Dustin Challingsworth and Andy Frey leading the way for the 15-lap main. Challingsworth got out to the early lead on the start and led lap 1 over Frey and Dominic Marchiori. Another lap was completed before a caution for a spin in turns 1 and 2 brought about the first restart of the race. On the restart, it was Challingsworth leading the way over Frey and Marchiori. On lap 3, Marchiori was able to make the pass on Frey on the highside to move into the second spot. One lap later, on lap 4, Frey was able to retake second from Marchiori as a hard charging Josh Fields, who had to start at the rear of the field in 13th due to winning 4 races in a row, also worked his way past Marchiori to move into third behind the leaders. Another caution flag was displayed later that lap for a wreck in turn 3. A pileup in turn 1 on the following restart involving Frey, Marchiori, and others, shuffled up the field. That moved Fields into the runner-up position with Ashley Kilhoffer now in the third position. Challingsworth led the way on the restart over Fields and Kilhoffer. On lap 6, Fields looked to the outside of Challingsworth and carried the momentum up top to make the pass and move into the race lead just before another caution. After another quick caution, it remained Fields out front over Challingsworth and Kilhoffer. At the midway point on lap 8, Fields continued to lead the way with Challingsworth and Kilhoffer following behind. The race was nearing its time limit with the number of caution flags, so under the previous caution it was announced that the next flag, whether caution or checkered, would end the race. They would make it all the way to lap 12 when a car spun in turns 1 and 2, bringing out the caution along with the checkered flag for Fields who continued his dominance in the Pure Stock division with his fifth straight win this season and sixth straight dating back to last season. The win was Fields' 45th career Pure Stock win at the Bird. Challingsworth, Kilhoffer, Marchiori, and Caleb Bloom rounded out the top 5. Bloom and Fields won the heat races.
Doug Surra and Kyle Shannon brought the Semi Late Models to green for their 20-lapper to conclude the evening. After a quick caution flag on the initial start, Surra was able to get out to the lead on the restart and lead the opening lap over Shannon and Nick Loffredo. The opening 7 laps of the race were completed before another caution flag with the top 3 still Surra, Shannon, and Loffredo. Surra led the way in the Delaware style restart with Shannon and Loffredo lined up behind. At halfway on lap 10, it was Surra with a comfortable lead over Shannon and Loffredo. Another lap was completed before what would ultimately be the final caution of the race for a spin in turns 3 and 4. The race went back to green on lap 12 and stayed green the rest of the way as Surra checked out on the field and cruised to his second trip to Dunlap Lawn & Garden Victory Lane this season by over four seconds over Shannon, Loffredo, Tyler Rougeux, and Jason Witherite. The win was Surra's 35th career Semi Late Model triumph at the track. Surra and Shannon won the heat races.
Speedway Notes: 72 cars were pitside for the Louie & Ina Caltagarone Memorial. That breaks down to: 10 Economods, 23 Penn Ohio Pro Stocks, 5 Super Late Models, 11 Four-Cylinders, 14 Pure Stocks, and 9 Semi Late Models. We will be back in action one final time on Saturday, September 19th, for the Dave Srock Memorial. There will be a $4,000/win, $500/start Super Late Model Showdown along with a $1,000/win, $100/start Pure Stock Invitational headlining the evening. The Pro Stocks and Four-Cylinders will be in action as well. Please note there are special start times for this event with gates opening at 3:00 and racing beginning at 6:00. The Ken Schaffer Excavating Kids Club will get underway at 5pm by the pit gate entrance. It is a great place to take your kids to do some fun kids club activities prior to racing getting started. Looking ahead, a swap meet is planned for Saturday, October 3rd, with a rain date of Saturday, October 10th. That will be followed by the End-Of-Season Awards Picnic on Sunday, October 4th. Tickets for the Awards Picnic must be purchased in advance by messaging Cindy Battaglia on Facebook or call/text her at 814-591-1062. For more information regarding the September 19th racing action and the other end of season events, keep it tuned to the track Facebook page @ Hummingbird Speedway and website @ www.hummingbirdspeedway.com for the latest updates.
Results:
Economods
1st) #50 Bob McMillen
2nd) #818 Bob Connor
3rd) #0 Dennis Asel
4th) #X Mark Bell
5th) #C17 Brad Curran Jr.
6th) #1M Gary Miller Jr.
7th) #12B Ed Robley
8th) #923 Shane Wilson
9th) #777 Justin Lapcevich
10th) #7 Kevin Burkhart
Homak Penn Ohio Pro Stocks
1st) #101 Bruce Hartzfeld
2nd) #28 Fuzzy Fields
3rd) #55C Brandon Connor
4th) #20J Jimmy Fosnaught
5th) #27B Jake Dietz
6th) #17 Jackson Humanic
7th) #10R Raven Fuller
8th) #310 Dale Tuche
9th) #84S Josh Seippel
10th) #37J Josh Bloom
11th) #54S Mitch Stiles
12th) #24C Dennis Curry Jr.
13th) #37A Jim Bloom
14th) #44 Jim Challingsworth
15th) #3 Rich Howell
16th) #66 Andrew Gordon
17th) #5B Jason Black
18th) #983 Zack Gustafson
19th) #12M Trevor McCann
20th) #113 Ben Ecelberger
21st) #104 Allen Lamb
22nd) #7W Bobby Whitling
23rd) #77 Nathan Brady
Srock Contracting Super Late Models
1st) #36 Paul Kot
2nd) #66N Orvis Newcome lll
3rd) #56 Dylan Fenton
4th) #78 Danny Kienitz
5th) #23 B.J. Hudson
Four-Cylinders
1st) #3H Shawn Hadden
2nd) #158 Camden Frantz
3rd) #44B Bruce Long
4th) #58R Ryan Lippert
5th) #72 Kyle Lindemuth
6th) #87M Matt Mitchell
7th) #778 Duane Hinderliter
8th) #29L Josh Lindenmuth
9th) #282 Derrick Joiner
10th) #8F Sam Fye
11th) #THE99 Scott Robison
Pure Stocks
1st) #88 Josh Fields
2nd) #46 Dustin Challingsworth
3rd) #50 Ashley Kilhoffer
4th) #01D Dominic Marchiori
5th) #37B Caleb Bloom
6th) #55X Andy Frey
7th) #56K Renae Meyer
8th) #28 Kaleb Fields
9th) #23M Bo Murray
10th) #79 Devon Trayer
11th) #26 Bradley Ward
12th) #14C Nevaeh Helsel
13th) #18 Devin Dickey
14th) #49 George Bailey
Semi Late Models
1st) #3xAA Doug Surra
2nd) #11 Kyle Shannon
3rd) #9N Nick Loffredo
4th) #96R Tyler Rougeux
5th) #24M Jason Witherite
6th) #88 Cory Price
7th) #18X Bob McMillen
8th) #18 Rich Runyan Jr.
9th) #152 Kyle Corah
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