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Central PA
United Racing Club
SELINSGROVE, PA – Kyle Reinhardt claimed his second victory of the season in Saturday’s Insinger Performance/Sunoco Race Fuels Jack Gunn Memorial for 360 sprint cars at Selinsgrove Speedway.
Reinhardt started the 30-lap feature event in sixth, with Cody Keller and Chad Layton sharing the front row, followed by Jason Shultz and Ryan Kissinger on the second row and Derek Locke in fifth.
Keller jumped to the early lead with Kissinger, Reinhardt, Layton and Shultz falling into line behind him.
An early caution was brought out for a spin, after which Reinhardt took over the second position once the field restarted. Another caution was brought out on Lap 4 for Ryan Stillwaggon.
Reinhardt grabbed the lead on the restart and pulled away, going on to lead the remainder of the event, parking his Westbrook Enterprises No. 1W in Victory Lane.
Kissinger, Locke, Shultz and Keller rounded out the top five finishers. The evening’s heat races were won by Keller and Layton.
RESULTS – SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY
SATURDAY, MAY 24, 2019
A-MAIN (30 LAPS) – 1: Kyle Reinhardt; 2: Ryan Kissinger; 3: Derek Locke; 4: Jason Shultz; 5: Cody Keller; 6: Michael Walter; 7: Josh Weller; 8: Curt Michael; 9: Mallie Shuster; 10: Troy Betts; 11: Joe Kata; 12: Austin Bishop; 13: Jim Shuster; 14: Layton 15: Thomas Radivoy; 16: Lance Moss; 17: Jake Hummel; 18: Ryan Stillwaggon; 19: Ryan Quackenbush
POTTSTOWN, PA – Just five races into his Capitol Renegade United Racing Club career, Austin Bishop parked his No. 11A 360 sprint car in Victory Lane for the first time at Big Diamond Speedway.
“When I got to the track I pulled a 59 and started sixth in the heat and knew I had to do some work to get into the redraw spot,” Bishop said of Friday evening’s event. “I ended up finishing third, which was all I really cared about.”
That was when Bishop’s “luck” turned around.
“We went up for the redraw and we pulled number 1,” he said. “I knew that the car was working pretty well after the heat race and we really didn’t change much going into the feature.”
And after starting on the pole, Bishop wound up in Victory Lane. The Rookie of the Year contender has had a very consistent season thus far, garnering four top-10s, two top–fives and one win in just five races.
And it’s no surprise claiming a win so early in his rookie season gives Bishop a little boost of confidence as he looks ahead to the rest of the season.
“To get a win so early on really gives me some confidence,” he said. “There’s a lot of veterans in this series from 410s and 360s and to know my crew and I can win and be competitive is a great feeling.”
Bishop has been maintaining a top-five position in the season points standings for the past few weeks now and said a top-five finish for the season is his ultimate goal.
“As far as points goes I’ve never really been a points race,” he said. “I always chased wins in the 270, 600, and 305 sprint car ranks, but at the beginning of the season we set a goal to run points. I’ve just been trying to be consistent and finish races and that’s what we will continue to do.”
Bishop said the family of URC drivers has been a huge help to him as he navigates the competition of a new class of sprint cars.
“We’ve had a lot of help from the other race teams,” said Bishop. “The guys have been very welcoming from the series. I often ask about gear, and areas on the racing surface that normally get good at tracks I haven’t been to before and the guys usually give me some good insight on where to run.”
Bishop looks forward to continuing to compete in club action this season, beginning with tonight’s race at Selinsgrove Speedway.
“I would like to thank Kozie Clothes, Stainless Steel Services, Parkes Auto Repair, Boyd Heating and Cooling, Frank’s Shocks, Senn Trucking, Sloan Ford, my crew, Frank Styer and Tyler Rissler.”
A-MAIN (25 LAPS) – 1: Austin Bishop; 2: Chad Layton; 3: Tyler Ross; 4: Ryan Stillwaggon; 5: Josh Weller; 6: Adam Carberry; 7: Ed Aikin; 8: Troy Betts; 9: Jordan Thomas; 10: Jason Clauss; 11: Jimmy Stitzel; 12: Jake Hummel; 13: Joe Kata; 14: Jason Shultz; 15: Curt Michael; 16: Robbie Stillwaggon; 17: Jason Cherry; 18: Jake Elliott; 19: Jonathan Swanson; 20: Ryan Quackenbush; 21: Lance Moss. DNS – Austin Moss.
Heat races were won by Shultz, Robbie Stillwaggon and Ryan Stillwaggon.
BEDFORD, PENNSYLVANIA – It was double the fun for the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club this weekend at Bedford Speedway as the 360 sprint cars ran two feature events at the fairgrounds speedway.
The 2018 URC champion, Josh Weller, started on the pole for the first 25-lap A-Main and paced the field from the drop of the green flag. The first 21 laps of the race went uninterrupted, allowing Weller to pull away to an almost half-lap lead over Chad Layton and Curt Michael.
However, a caution was thrown on Lap 21, during which Weller’s machine came to a stop in Turn 2 with a flat tire.
Second-place Layton assumed the lead for the restart, holding it over the final four laps of the event to claim his first career Bedford Speedway victory. Michael, Derek Locke, Jason Shultz and Troy Betts rounded out the top five. Betts and Weller took home the victories in the two qualifying heat races.
The second feature, which was a make-up race for a rained out event last August, ran green the entire 25 laps, with Weller again starting on the pole and this time landing in Victory Lane. Michael, Layton, Locke and Shultz claimed finishing positions two through five.
The following evening’s event at Delaware International Speedway was canceled due to inclement weather.
The next URC-sanctioned event is scheduled for Thursday, May 23 at New Egypt Speedway, followed by Friday (May 24) evening action at Big Diamond Speedway and Saturday (May 25) night racing at Selinsgrove Speedway.
After Friday’s competition, Layton continues to hold his lead of the 2019 Capitol Renegade United Racing Club point standings, followed by Weller, Michael, Jason Shultz and Austin Bishop.
RESULTS – FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2019
BEDFORD SPEEDWAY
A-MAIN (25 LAPS) – 1: Chad Layton, 2: Curt Michael, 3: Derek Locke, 4: Jason Shultz, 5: Troy Betts, 6: Lance Moss, 7: Gerard McIntyre, 8: Austin Bishop, 9: Josh Weller, 10: Ed Aikin, 11: Ryan Quackenbush, 12: Ryan Lynn, 13: Jason Cherry, 14: Bryn Gohn, 15: Adam Carberry, 16: Ryan Stillwaggon
2018 MAKE-UP A-MAIN (25 LAPS) – 1: Josh Weller, 2: Curt Michael, 3: Chad Layton, 4: Derek Locke, 5: Jason Shultz, 6: Gerard McIntyre, 7: Austin Bishop, 8: Ryan Stillwaggon, 9: Troy Betts, 10: Lance Moss, 11: Ryan Lynn, 12: Jason Cherry, 13: Ryan Quackenbush, 14: Adam Carberry, 15: Ed Aikin. DNS – Bryn Gohn, Eddie Strada, Justin Whitsell, Robbie Stillwaggon, Tyler Templin.
Smith lands 360 sprint in Victory Lane at Port Royal
PORT ROYAL, PENNSYLVANIA – Following an exciting 25-lap feature, Ryan Smith parked his No. 72 360 sprint car in Victory Lane Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway.
Smith took the green flag from the outside of the fourth row in eighth, but got a good jump on the start and was up to second as the field hurtled down the backstretch.
Lucas Wolfe held the pole for the start, sharing the front row with Brian Carber, and jumped out to the early lead heading into Turn 1. Smith, Carber, Curt Michael and Austin Bishop fell in line behind him on the first lap.
A caution was brought out on the first lap for Steve Drevicki, who got backwards in Turns 1 and 2 and on the restart, Carber found himself backward in the same place.
Wolfe led Smith, Michael, Chad Layton and Bishop on the restart, holding the lead with Smith all over the rear bumper of his car.
Wolfe pulled away from Smith before reaching lapped traffic on Lap 7, giving Smith the chance to close the gap between their two cars. Smith came close in Turns 3 and 4 of Lap 12 before Wolfe pulled away once again two laps later.
However, on Lap 18, Smith’s opportunity showed itself as he dove low under Wolfe to emerge from the corner with the lead before pulling away in traffic.
Smith claimed the checkered flag, followed by Wolfe, Steve Buckwalter, Bishop and Josh Weller. Rounding out the top 10 were Layton, Michael, Adam Carberry, Ed Aiken and Derek Locke.
Buckwalter won the first heat, with Smith and Bishop also claiming heat race wins. Aiken took the checkered flag in the B-Main.
After Saturday’s competition, Layton leads the 2019 Capitol Renegade United Racing Club point standings, followed by Weller, Michael, Jason Shultz and Bishop.
The next URC-sanctioned event will take place Friday, May 10 at Bedford Speedway, and will also feature a make-up A-Main from 2018. They will then compete Saturday, May 11 at Delaware International Speedway.
The 360 sprint cars will also join the ASCS this coming weekend at Williams Grove Speedway and Selinsgrove Speedway on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4
RESULTS – SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2019
PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY
A-MAIN (25 LAPS) – 1: Ryan Smith (72); 2: Lucas Wolfe (5W); 3: Steve Buckwalter (7); 4: Austin Bishop (11b); 5: Josh Weller (63); 6: Chad Layton (35); 7: Curt Michael (5G); 8: Adam Carberry (47); 9: Ed Aiken (7A); 10: Derek Locke (77); 11: Jason Shultz (29); 12: Davie Franek (28F); 13: Michael Walter II (33); 14: Todd Gracey (3); 15: Tyler Ross (5); 16: Bill Unglert (33B); 17: Eddie Strada (42E); 18: Steven Drevicki (19); 19: Tyler Denochick (6); 20: Ryan Stillwaggon (11); 21: Tyler Carter (23); 22: Ryan Quackenbush (5Q); 23: Tyler Breham (21R); 24: Brian Carber (8C). DNS – Chris Allen Jr., Jason Cherry, Troy Betts, Jason Clauss.
ABOUT THE UNITED RACING CLUB
The United Racing Club is a traveling 360 sprint car organization that was founded in 1947. Following the value “It’s your club, it’s racing the way you want it,” URC is governed by its own membership and runs at local dirt tracks across the northeast. For more information, please visit www.urcsprintcarseries.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
URC WELCOMES NEW PUBLIC RELATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
JANUARY 8, 2019 – The United Racing Club welcomes Catherine Hogue to the series as the Public Relations and Social Media Representative for the 2019 season.
Hogue joins the team with about seven-plus years of motorsports experience under her belt.
Originally from York, Pennsylvania, Hogue has been immersed in the racing community at various levels. Her cousin, Austin Hogue, raced in both the 358 and 410 sprint car series in Central Pennsylvania, so racing is a passion that is shared by her family and one that she has pursued as a career.
She began her career as a junior in college, covering the 358 and 410 sprint car divisions weekly at Williams Grove and Lincoln Speedways for Area Auto Racing News, eventually expanding her coverage to the Gettysburg Times as well. She also covered select shows at various other tracks in the area, such as BAPS Motor Speedway and Port Royal Speedway.
In January 2016, Hogue made the move to Charlotte, North Carolina, for a year-long internship with 12-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship team Hendrick Motorsports. In 2017, she was hired full-time as the Social Media Coordinator and currently oversees the planning and execution of original social media content plans and initiatives across all Hendrick Motorsports social channels.
Moving forward, Hogue will be the point of contact for any public relations, digital content or social media needs regarding the United Racing Club. Please find her contact information below:
Catherine Hogue
(717) 324-1866
Catherinehogue52@gmail.com
Stillwaggon Wins for Second Straight Year at Big Track Classic
Robbie Stillwaggon parked the Quality Auto Body #89 car in victory lane once again at the Big Track Classic on Sunday afternoon. With the first two days falling to Mother Nature, a rare Sunday rain date was used to complete the annual Big Track Classic in honor of long time URC competitor and official Midge Miller. And just last year at the end of the night, the colorful yellow and purple belonging to Robbie Stillwaggon found its way to victory lane.
With 30 cars signed into the pits, four heat races were scheduled with JJ Grasso, Robbie Stillwaggon, Ryan Smith, Lucas Wolfe, Chad Layton, Chris Allen, Matt Tanner, Tyler Ross, Curt Michael, Steve Buckwalter, Troy Betts and Bill Unglert all making the redraw. The consolation race was won by the #39 of Ryan Watt driving for long time URC competitor Tim Hogue.
With the 25 car of Grasso drawing the pole and the 89 of Stillwaggon pulling the outside pole, the field was set for the 25-lap feature event.
The other race in the race was the battle between 10 time URC Champion Curt Michael and URC points leader Josh Weller. With both Michael and Weller in the same heat race, Michael brought home the win from the pole and Weller a solid 5th after starting in the 8th position. After their heat race finishes, Michael who trailed Weller by 32 points going into the day started in the ninth position with Weller starting in position 18.
At the drop of the green, Grasso shot out to the lead with the field closely following. Grasso went on to dominate the race until a late race caution for a car that spun showed a flat left rear on the 25 car of Grasso. With Grasso relinquishing the lead to Stillwaggon, it was smooth sailing for the 89 car for the remaining two laps. Stillwaggon who has stepped away from the driver’s seat for much of 2018 was excited to close out the past two years in victory lane.
With Curt Michael finishing in the fifth position and Weller in 10th, the 63 Victory Auto Glass, Schearer's Sales & Service, Inc., McBrothers Overhead Doors, Assured Automation of Josh Weller secured enough points to be crowed the 2018 Capitol Renegade United Racing Club points champion.
CAPITOL RENEGADE URC SPRINTS
1 - Robbie Stillwaggon, 2 - Chad Layton, 3 - Lucas Wolfe, 4 - Ryan Smith, 5 - Curt Michael, 6 - Tyler Ross, 7 - Ryan Taylor, 8 - Chris Allen, 9 - Steve Buckwalter, 10 - Josh Weller, 11 - Todd Gracey, 12 - Ryan Watt, 13 - Matt Tanner, 14 - JJ Grasso, 15 - Bill Unglert, 16 - Tom Carberry, 17 - Mark Van Vorst, 18 - Jason Cherry, 19 - Mark Sasso, 20 - Ryan Stillwaggon, 21 - John Swanson, 22 - Ryan Quackenbush, 23 - Troy Betts, 24 - Dominick Melair
DNQ - Larry McVay, Floyd Billington, Jake Eldreth, Doug Suiter, Kevin Nagy, Autin Morris, Adam Carberry
A PHOTO FINISH VICTORY FOR LUCAS WOLFE
By: Jenna Shotz
PORT ROYAL, PENNSYLVANIA (April 21st, 2018)-
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club 360 Sprint Cars had their official points opener on Saturday, April 21st at the Port Royal Speedway as part of their “Open Wheel Madness” show.
There were 29 URC 360 sprints signed in for the event. The club ran three heat races, with Brock Zearfoss, Trey Starks, and Mark Smith taking home heat race wins.
The URC feature was the last event of the night, leaving the class with a smooth, fast surface with two fast grooves. Lucas Wolfe, who started on the pole, shot ahead early, catching the tail of the field quickly.
As he maneuvered through lapped traffic, Trey Starks and Mark Smith were able to catch up and give Wolfe a run for his money. The last two laps kept the crowd on the edge of their seats as Smith caught up to Wolfe and gave him everything he had. It was a photo finish at the line for Wolfe and Smith, but it was Wolfe who took home the checkered flag with a 0.004 second lead at the transponder loop.
The United Racing Club will move north for their next stop at the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York.
CAPITOL RENEGADE UNITED RACING CLUB RESULTS: April 21st, 2018- Port Royal, Pennsylvania- Port Royal Speedway- “Open Wheel Madness”
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, 3 redraw, 5 qualify) 1. Brock Zearfoss (#3z), 2. Josh Weller (#63), 3. Ryan Kissinger (#66), 4. Justin Whittall (#67w), 5. Eric Tomecek (#1w), 6. Derek Locke (#77L), 7. Keith Prutzman (#28), 8. Ryan Linder (#9), 9. Ryan Quackenbush (#5Q), 10. David Quackenbush (#91)
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, 3 redraw, 5 qualify) 1. Trey Starks (#44S), 2. Greg Hodnett (#27), 3. Jimmy Stitzel (#4), 4. Alex Vigneaux (#55), 5. Eric Parker (#39), 6. Troy Betts (#22B), 7. Curt Michael (#5G), 8. Bryn Gohn (#22G), 9. Jason Cherry (#67), 10. Mark Sasso (#706)
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, 3 redraw, 5 qualify) 1. Mark Smith (#M1), 2. Lucas Wolfe (#5w), 3. Bill Balog (#2), 4. Chad Layton (#35), 5. Jason Shultz (#29), 6. Eddie Strada (#42e), 7. Steven Drevicki (#19), 8. Jason Clauss (#08), 9. Cody Bova (#20B)
B-MAIN: (10 laps, 5 qualify) 1. Derek Locke (#77L), 2. Troy Betts #22B, 3. Steven Drevicki (#19), 4. Keith Prutzman (#28), 5. Curt Michael (#5G), 6. Eddie Strada (#42e), 7. Jason Clauss (#08), 8. Bryn Gohn (#22G), 9. Cody Bova (#20B) 10. Ryan Linder (#9)
FEATURE FINISH: 1. Lucas Wolfe, 2. Mark Smith, 3. Trey Starks, 4. Greg Hodnett, 5. Brock Zearfoss, 6. Josh Weller, 7. Ryan Kissinger, 8. Jason Shultz, 9. Eric Parker, 10. Bill Balog, 11. Justin Whittall, 12. Chad Layton,13. Curt Michael, 14. Alex Vigneaux, 15. Eric Tomecek, 16. Derek Locke, 17. Steven Drevicki, 18. Troy Betts, DNF Jimmy Stitzel, DNF Keith Prutzman
URC Honors 10 Time Champion Curt Michael
The 2017 Capitol Renegade United Racing Club came to its official close on Saturday night at the 2017 Banquet.
The top 10 were honored with their point fund checks and picture plaques along with the announcing of Chris Allen as the 2017 Rookie of the Year and Phil Meisner Jr. as the 2017 Mechanic of the Year.
President Rick Weller updated those in attendance on some URC happenings, most notably the appointment of Ryan Stillwaggon and Chris Allen to the URC Board along with the continued service of Dave Betts. President Weller also reported that URC Photographer and PR Tim Moran will be stepping away from the club as PR along with the full time Photography duties. Although Moran will be an occasional visitor at the track, the club is still looking for a fulltime photographer. The daily PR will be handled by Jenna Schostkewitz, who is interning this summer with the Club.
With the well publicized dispute over the URC Perpetual Cup, the United Racing Club rang in a new era with a new cup. This cup displayed the 70+ names (URC has two ties in their 70 year history) of the past champions and leaves room for another 30 more to guarantee the historic tradition of handing down the cup from Champion to Champion.
With 2018 not too far away, look for the Club to be a part of the PPB Motorsports Racecar and Trade show the weekend of January 19, 20 and 21. The Club will have a publicized schedule at the show.
ALT URC Engine Program introduced at Membership Meeting
Don Blackshear from the Pace Performance Circle Track Division will be in attendance during the URC General Membership Meeting at the Limerick Diner on Wednesday November 29 at 7pm.
Don will be talking to the URC race teams and anyone else interested in coming and learning about the Pace Perfomance / URC Alternative Engine and the potential 360 engine program. The engine is based off of a GM LS3 and will come complete along with fuel pump, headers and air cleaner. Total cost of the package is shaping up to be under $24,000 along with free shipping. Don will answer every question everyone might have on Wednesday the 29th, but we will answer one big question now......yes, your engine builder can build this engine if he or she wants to.
The engine was to be tested at the Bridgeport Speedway during the running of the Big Track Classic, but Pace Performance was hit with a major storm that did serious damage to the Pace building. The storm has slowed down the progress a little as the engine was on the dyno when the storm hit.
The Pace URC 360 program will have some similarities to the very successful Pace Performance Knoxville Raceway 305 class CT 525 engine program that Don and Knoxville Race implemented a few years ago. Don just returned from the Knoxville Raceway banquet as he was celebrating the engines 2017 305 division championship.
For more information on Don Blackshear and the Pace Performance Circle Track Division please check out their website http://paceperformance.com/ or check them out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pacecircletrack/
Michael to be Honored at Capitol Renegade United Racing Club Banquet
Curt Michael will be honored on Saturday December 9th at the annual Capitol Renegade United Racing Club banquet for his 10th URC Championship. Michael who has previously won the URC titles in 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2015 and picking up his 10th this year in 2017.
Along with the traditional annual banquet there has been something just as special that has been passed down from driver to driver year to year at the banquet. The perpetual trophy is a tradition that started with its inception and over the 70+ years URC has had just 3 trophies. The original, rightfully, currently sits in the Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa, and is viewed by thousands of fans each year during their visit.
Neither of the other two will be present when Curt and his Bill Gallagher team are honored on December 9th. The second one went missing after the 2014 season when series champion, Davie Franek, received the trophy from the United Racing Company. Unfortunately, this year it appears that 2016 series champion, Davie Franek, will again not pass on the trophy to the series champion. URC President, Rick Weller has unsuccessfully attempted to retrieve the trophy, and is now scrambling to replace the trophy once again.
Curt Michael is one of greatest drivers in URC history. He has rewritten the history books with 10 URC championships along with over 60 URC wins, and this past year the green and white 5G was as strong as ever. It would only seem fair for Curt to be able to participate in this long-standing URC tradition. Unfortunately, it looks like the United Racing Club will once again have to replace this prestigious trophy.
Stillwaggon Captures Final Night of Big Track Classic
Robbie Stillwaggon and the Quality Auto Body team rolled into Bridgeport Speedway on Saturday night fresh off their 4th place finish the previous night. With 32 cars in the pit are, qualifying heat race wins went to JJ Grasso, Curt Michael, Robbie Stillwaggon and Josh Weller. Kevin Nagy won the consolation race.
With the top 12 locked into the redraw, Stillwaggon and Mark Bitner drew the front row. The start of the 25-lap feature event was quickly halted as the 1 of Tom Carberry rested on the top of the guardrail in turns 3-4. On the restart, the 15 of Mark Bitner took the initial lead but it was short lived as the 89 of Stillwaggon drove by on the high side coming out of turn two. On lap 3, the caution flag was again showed this time for the 77 of Will Eggimann. The field got just one more lap in before the caution flew again for the 22 of Troy Betts. After Betts refired the field went back to green with Stillwaggon again jumping out to an early lead.
With Stillwaggon in command, the action was heating up for positions 3-7 as JJ Grasso, Chris Coyle, Lucas Wolfe, Curt Michael, Josh Weller and Chad Layton all were battling for position. On lap 17, the caution flew one last time for Chris Coyle who was having a great night running solidly within the top 10.
On the restart, Stillwaggon drove away from the field again and cruised home to his first Big Track Classic win. By virtue of Stillwaggon’s fourth and first place finish, the driver from Burlington NJ edged out now 10 Time URC Champion Curt Michael for the coveted Midge Miller Memorial Trophy.
Following Stillwaggon across the line was Josh Weller, Chad Layton, Curt Michael and JJ Grasso rounding out the top five.
URC Tidbits: Steve Buckwalter was again in the BRB Construction 7K normally driven by Kris Lilick. After using a provisional, young gun Justin Whittall drove from 21st starting position to a 12th place finish. Lucas Wolfe was in a great position for claim the Midge Miller Memorial trophy but finished in the sixth position on Saturday night. Chad Layton had a strong run in the Selinsgrove Ford 35 car. Derek Locke was missing from the previous night as the team encountered motor issues after the heat race the night before.
The next event for the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will be their annual banquet on Saturday December 9. Tickets are $35 and are available by contacting Club President Rick Weller or Vice President Curt Michael.
Feature: 1) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 2) #63 Josh Weller, 3) #35 Chad Layton, 4) #5g Curt Michael, 5) #25 JJ Grasso, 6) #5w Lucas Wolfe, 7) #15 Mark Bitner, 8) #7K Steve Buckwalter, 9) #747 Davey Sammons, 10) #47 Adam Carberry, 11) #4 Jimmy Stitzel, 12) #67w Justin Whittall, 13) #45 Kevin Nagy, 14) #33b Bill Unglert, 15) #83 Larry McVay, 16) #8c Brian Carber, 17) #22 Troy Betts, 18) #56 Chris Coyle, 19) #71 Chris Allen, 20) #77w Will Eggimann, 21) #1 Tom Carberry
DNQ: #669 Brandon McGough, #71x Chris Allen Sr., #555 JR Berry, #17j Jonathan Swanson, #7o6 Mark Sasso, #301 Chad Connor, #56m Randy Wilber, #5z Zack Burd, #67c Jason Cherry, #3 Chris Priar, #13 Tim Higgins.
Wolfe Takes Night 1 of the Big Track Classic
Lucas Wolfe about the Pabst Blue Ribbon #5w overtook Kevin Nagy on lap 12 and cruised to night 1 of the Big Track Classic at the Bridgeport Speedway.
With 28 cars signed into the pit area, 3 heat races and 1 consolation race were used to set the 24-car starting lineup for the 25-lap feature event. Heat race wins went to Robbie Stillwaggon, Curt Michael and Adam Carberry. The consolation race was won by Josh Weller.
With the redraw competed, the front row of Kevin Nagy and Curt Michael lead the 24-car field to the green flag. Nagy quickly jumped out to an early lead and with the first caution shown on lap 5 for Mark Bitner, Nagy lead over Michael, JJ Grasso, Robbie Stillwaggon and Lucas Wolfe.
On the restart, Nagy again jumped out to the lead at the strong running 45 car pulled away from 2nd place Michael, but quickly the caution flag was shown again, this time for Chris Allen whose car came to a rest in turn 3. Allen was pushed to the infield and Nagy again pulled away on the restart.
As Nagy was getting into heavy lapped traffic, a now 2nd place car of Lucas Wolfe saw his opportunity and overtook Nagy on lap 11. A lap 12 caution saw a new leader with Wolfe leading the way followed by Nagy, Michael, Grasso and Stillwaggon with Josh Weller now shown in 7th place up from his 18th starting position.
On the restart, Wolfe continued to lead and lead the final 14 laps en route to the $2,000 payday. Following Wolfe to the line was Curt Michael, Kevin Nagy, Robbie Stillwaggon and Josh Weller rounding out the top 5.
URC Tidbits: Derek Locke had a strong run in his heat race and qualified in a redraw position only to find motor trouble in the pits afterwards forcing the 77 car to scratch on the night. The rig and trailer towing Josh Weller’s 63 was late arriving due to mechanical trouble. Fellow competitor Troy Betts lent Weller a Tow Rig for the night to get the 63 to the track. Tim Higgins returned to the cockpit after a lengthy amount of time out of the driver’s seat. Higgins qualified for the feature event out of the consolation race.
Feature: 1) #5w Lucas Wolfe 2) #5g Curt Michael 3) #45 Kevin Nagy 4) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon 5) #63 Josh Weller 6) #25 JJ Grasso 7) #47 Adam Carberry 8) #7K Steve Buckwalter 9) #747 Davey Sammons 10) #22 Troy Betts 11) #4 Jimmy Stitzel 12) #56 Chris Coyle 13) #33b Bill Unglert 14) #1 Tom Carberry 15) #13 Tim Higgins 16) #83 Larry McVay 17) #669 Brandon McGough 18) #706 Mark Sasso 19) #555 JR Berry 20) #5z Zack Burd 21) #67w Justin Whittall 22) #17j John Swanson 23) #71 Chris Allen 24) #15 Mark Bitner
DNQ: #77 Derek Locke, #67c Jason Cherry, #56m Randy Wilber, #71x Chris Allen Sr
Capitol Renegade United Racing Club to Wrap Up 2017 at Bridgeport Speedway
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will wrap up its 2017 season with two big shows this weekend at Bridgeport Speedway. On Friday night, the 360 series will invade the big 5/8 mile speedway for the first night of the Big Track Classic.
With the 2017, United Racing Club Championship already decided with Curt Michael picking up his 10th URC Championship, the Fred’s Trailer Parts New York/New Jersey series points are still up for grabs. Curt Michael holds the top spot with Davie Franek in second with Josh Weller and Robbie Stillwaggon both in striking distance of the runner up spot.
The weekend’s racing events are sponsored by Quality Auto Body, B&G Garage and BRB Construction contributing to the weekend’s payouts.
Friday night the Pits open at 4pm, Grandstands at 5:30pm and Racing starts at 7:30pm. Pits admission is $35, Grandstands $20 or you can purchase a weekend grandstand pass for $35.
On Saturday night the pits will open at 1pm, Grandstands at 3pm, Racing at 5pm. Pit admission is $35, Grandstands $20 or weekend pass is just $35.
Capitol Renegade United Racing Club Returns to Action This Saturday Night
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will return to action this Saturday night at the Port Royal Speedway. The last time the URC visited the Central PA track, Curt Michael and Greg Hodnett took home the checkered flags back in May.
With Curt Michael on the verge of wrapping up his 10th United Racing Club Championship, look for the Bill Gallagher owned 5G up front battling with the best 360’s in the area including Hodnett, Wolfe, Whittall, Coyle, Stillwaggon, Weller, Locke and Betts to name a few.
Gates for the big sprint car program will open at 1:30 pm with engine starts tentatively slated for 4 pm.
Port Royal Foliage Days, a two-day autumn craft, food and flea market, encompasses the entire weekend at the track and historic Juniata County Fairgrounds, with activities both Saturday and Sunday.
Fans are invited and encouraged to come early on Saturday in order to take part in the long-time Juniata County celebration before taking a seat for the sprint car show.
A brief Foliage Days parade through the center of Port Royal along Rt. 75 steps off at 1 pm from the fairgrounds and as such, early race-goers may experience a brief delay as they enter Port Royal on Rt. 75 if they intend to arrive around the 1:30 gate opening time frame.
Admission to the grounds for Port Royal Foliage Days is FREE with adult general admission to the speedway for the races set at $20 with students ages 12 – 18 admitted to the races for $7.
Pat and Kathy Palladino to be Inducted into the URC Hall of Fame
When the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club visits the big 5/8-mile Bridgeport Speedway on November 3rd and 4th to wrap up their 2017 racing season which is also the 70th year for the United Racing Club. In addition to honoring the late Midge Miller, the Club will be inducting two of the most successful URC owner and mechanic duo of all time.
The United Racing Club will be welcoming Kathy and Pat Palladino into their Hall of Fame with a special ceremony during the weekend. Kathy was not only the first female URC Champion car owner but is a 6-time URC Champion car owner winning championships in 1999 with Sean Michael, 2000 with multiple drivers, 2005, 2006, 2007 with Curt Michael and finally in 2009 with JJ Grasso. No other owner has won more URC Championship than Kathy Palladino.
A driver cannot be successful without a top-notch mechanic, and Pat Palladino has not only wrenched for the best of them but was the lead mechanic for each of Kathy’s URC Championships.
The couple have been away from the URC for many years but their contributions continue and the United Racing Club is proud to welcome them into a very select company in November.
Pat and Kathy will join Garry Gollub who was also inducted into the Hall of Fame earlier this year when the United Racing Club visited the Delaware International Speedway.
POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVE URC 360 ENGINE PROGRAM TO BE TESTED SOON
The United Racing Club will soon be testing a potential alternative engine option to the URC engine. After testing of the engine program it would have to be approved by the Board of Directors and URC membership. The engine will consist of a 364 CID Aluminum LS3 Dry Sump system built by Pace Performance. Pace is well known in the racing industry, their current engine program the CT525-KY Pace Evolution Engine runs along with the 305’s at Knoxville Raceway and it was utilized by the team that won the point Championship this year.
Pace Performance’s Don Blackshear has been working closely with the URC on this program and along with Knoxville Raceway on the 305 version. Don and Pace want to build an engine that will come close to horsepower & torque of many of the current 360 engines competing now. A new lightened steel block 360 engine with all the bells and whistles weighs approximately 400 – 405 lbs. Don believes that this engine package with an aluminum LS3 block that is stock and not lightened might weigh in at 385 – 395 lbs when finished.
Pace will be finishing the first version of this engine package that will then be tested by 9 Time URC Champion Curt Michael in the Bill Gallagher owned 5g. Plans are to put 300 plus laps on it and see that is very close to a current 360 engine. The price of a new 360 engine have costs in the range of $48,000 up to $55,000. This engine package will be completely dyno tuned and race ready including all components. The motor will use a DSR throttle body and will include a DSR fuel pump, high speed & secondary. An R2C air filter assembly, a set of Schoenfeld headers, a Pace rear drive flange, Pace LS sprint car front motor mounts and a Pace throttle linkage assembly. The only things needed to go racing after receiving the engine are a radiator with
plumbing and a power steering pump. Hopes are that this engine can run 60 plus races with a wing before needing to be rebuilt. The total cost for this engine package will be $23,995 with free shipping and financing could be available.
The URC and Knoxville Raceway will be closely watching the testing of this alternative 360 racing engine package from Pace Performance. Any questions pertaining to this engine package, the rebuilding and teching side of it please contact Curt Michael 302-344-1882.
Hodnett Powers to Williams Grove Win
Greg Hodnett and the Lelands.com, Trone Outdoor, C&N Mushroom, Heffner Racing enterprises used his 5th starting position to overtake Mark Smith on lap 4 to cruise to the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club Van May/Kramer Williamson Tribute Race.
With 42 360 sprint cars signed into the pit area, five heat races and two B-Mains were used to set the field for the 25-feature event. Heat race wins went to the Jersey Jet, JJ Grasso, Robbie Stillwaggon, Lucas Wolfe, Mark Smith and Trey Starks. With an all-star lineup heading to the redraw, the Jersey Jet fresh off his Jersey Rush 5 victory picked the magic #1 for the pole position for the feature event. Cody Keller and Adam Carberry picked up B-Main victories and the 63 of Josh Weller and the 47D of Kyle Drum used their URC and Patriot Sprint Tour Provisionals to advance into the feature event.
At the drop of the green, the New York runner Steve Collins tagged the turn 4 wall and the caution was quickly thrown. On the restart, Puyallup Washington native, Trey Starks jumped out to the early lead. Starks’ lead was short lived as the King of the 360’s former winner Mark Smith took the cat bird seat by lap 3.
On the start, pole sitter JJ Grasso fell back to third and something appeared to be wrong with the car. On lap 3, coming out of turn 2, the 25 of Grasso exploded the left rear time, as the 25 slowed down the back stretch the rest of the field scrambled to avoid the slowing car. The 42 of Eddie Strada was unfortunately unable avoid the slowing Grasso, flipping violently down the back stretch.
As the race was heading back to the restart, New Yorker Jared Zimbardi was caught up in a front stretch flip which the driver of the Performance Powder Coating, Bundle of Warmth Firewood and Kindling 35 car remained in the car and ultimately had to be helped from the car was taken to the local hospital for observation. Current United Racing Club points leader Curt Michael was also caught up in the wreck and returned to racing action as the field attempted a single file restart.
On the restart Hodnett darted to the lead going into turn 1 and exited turn 2 with the lead as Mark Smith and a strong running Robbie Stillwaggon now followed. By lap 4, Starks took back 3rd place and a hard charging Josh Weller was up to 9th from his 26th starting position by lap 6.
The caution was back out for a spinning George Suprick on lap 7, on the restart, Hodnett went uncontested once again jumping out to the lead.
Except for a lap 19 yellow which saw, Hodnett and Smith go wheel to wheel off of turn 4, Hodnett cruised to his third Capitol Renegade Untied Racing Club victory of the 2017 season. Rounding out the top 10 was the M1 of Smith, 5W of Lucas Wolfe, 29 of Jason Schultz, 44 of Trey Starks, 3z of Steve Buckwalter, 45N of Kevin Nagy, 5G of Curt Michael, 63 of Josh Weller and the 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon.
URC Tidbits: With his third win of the 2017 season, Greg Hodnett has now claimed $11,000 with his 3 wins. Long Haul of the night goes to #4A Jon Agan who made the long tow from Knoxville, Iowa. Josh Weller used a provisional starting 26th on the field and finishing 9th. Robbie Stillwaggon made a car change after hot laps but before heat race action. Stillwaggon’s primary mount experience motor issues. Stillwaggon went out a won his heat race with the backup car. Curt Michael rallied from a lap 4 incident to finish 8th. Hard luck of the night goes to Justin Whittall who was 3rd quick in hot laps, but experienced heat race issues that he couldn’t recover from. Making his first start of 2017 in the URC was Trey Starks and Brian Carber. The 3Z was piloted by Steve Buckwalter and not Coby Womer.
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will be back in action on Saturday night at the team travel just up route 15 to the Selinsgrove Speedway.
URC 360 FEATURE: 1) #27 GREG HODNETT, 2) #M1 MARK SMITH, 3) #5W LUCAS WOLFE, 4) #29 JASON SCHULTZ, 5) #44 TREY STARKS, 6) #3Z STEVE BUCKWALTER, 7) #45N KEVIN NAGY, 8) #5G CURT MICHAEL, 9) #63 JOSH WELLER, 10) #89 ROBBIE STILLWAGON, 11) #77 DEREK LOCKE, 12) #79 JORDAN THOMAS, 13) #98 JOE TRENCA, 14) #22B TROY BETTS, 15) #4A JON AGAN, 16) #47D KYLE DRUM, 17) #87 GEORGE SUPRICK, 18) #45 CHUCK HEBING, 19) #22G BRYN GOHN, 20) #1W ERIC TOMECEK, 21) #47C ADAM CARBERRY, 22) #35 JARED ZIMBARDI, 23) #25 JJ GRASSO, 24) #42E EDDIE STRADA, 25) #99 KODY KELLER, 26) #67 STEVE COLLINS
DNQ: #56M CHRIS COYLE, #63 JOSH WELLER, #91 DAVID QUACKENBUSH, #71 CHRIS ALLEN JR, #706 MARK SASSO, #2AU WARREN FERGUSON, #8C BRIAN CARBER, #73B BRETT MICHALSKI, #2W GLENNDON FORSYTHE, #47D KYLE DRUM, #67W JUSTIN WHITTALL, #17Z JOSH AZZI, #81 DEREK JONATHAN, #19 TROY WAGAMAN
Jordan Thomas Picks Up First Capitol Renegade United Racing Club Win
For the second straight week, the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club found a first-time winner at the end of the feature event. Jordan Thomas lead all 25 laps en route to his first URC triumph with the 70 yr old club.
With a field of 21 cars on hand at the Orange County Fair Speedway, three heat races were determined to set the lineup for the 25-lap feature event. Heat race wins went to the 22 of Troy Betts who picked up his first heat race win of 2017 and finally had some luck go his way. Heat race 2 win went to the 67w of Justin Whittall who showed his rookie season for cruising to the heat race win. Finally, heat race three win went to the 79 of Jordan Thomas.
With this being a combined show with the Patriot Sprint Tour, the redraw was created by the top 9 in passing points. Jordan Thomas drew the pole and Scott Flammer drew the outside pole for the feature event. Also in the redraw was the 33b of Bill Unglert, 22 of Troy Betts, 5G of Curt Michael, 67w of Justin Whittall, the 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon who drove from 7th to 2nd in his heat race and the 56c of Chris Coyle.
With the 81 of Derek Jonathan not making the call, the 79 of Thomas and the 1F of Flammer lead the 20 car field to the green flag. Multiple tries were used and once one lap was down the field went single file. Chris Coyle had a flat tire, the 4 of Jimmy Stitzel pulled in with motor issues and the 30 of Scott Goodrich showed some damage on his nose wing all before the feature we 4 laps old.
With the lap 4 restart, Thomas continued to gain control with Flammer close behind. By the end of lap 4, the 5G of Curt Michael was up to 4th and pressuring the 33b of Unglert. By lap 11, the 5G of Michael overtook Unglert for the 3rd position and just 1 lap later Patriot Sprint Leader Jared Zimbardi pulled into the pit area after running 7th from his 11th starting position.
By lap 18, the 5 of Curt Michael was into the 2nd position but was a full 8 seconds behind the leader Thomas who by this time was navigating traffic at a torrid pace. By lap 22, the 5G of Curt Michael was feeling pressure from young hot shoe Justin Whittall after Whittall passed the 1 of Flammer a few laps earlier.
Thomas lead the 35-lap feature wire to wire and picked up his first United Racing Club win, following Thomas to the line was the 5G of Curt Michael, 67w of Justin Whittall, 1F of Scott Flammer and the 33b of Bill Unglert who continues to show that he can run with the 360 elite.
URC Tidbits: This was Justin Whittall’s best 360 finish of his career. Davie Franek was not in attendance, electing to attend the Selinsgrove race instead. Selinsgrove was eventually rained out. Derek Jonathan had a heartbreak of an evening, what looked with the engine and possibly a rear end let loose with the 81 leading heat race 1 and just 1 lap to go. Jonathan failed to make the call for the feature event. Michael continues to strengthen his lead towards a record 10th URC Championship. Chris Coyle had a good night go bad with a flat right rear tire just 2 laps into the feature event.
Up next for the United Racing Club, after a weekend off the Club will return to the Williams Grove Speedway on Friday September 1st, followed by Saturday night September 2nd at the Selinsgrove Speedway and rounding out the weekend at Path Valley Speedway on Sunday September 3rd.
Sprint Feature: 1) #79 Jordan Thomas, 2) #5G Curt Michael, 3) #67W Justin Whittall, 4) #1F Scott Flammer, 5) #33B Bill Unglert, 6) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 7) #47 Kyle Drum, 8) #22 Troy Betts, 9) #56 Billy VanInwegen, 10) #67 Steve Collins, 11) #10 Joe Kata, 12) #08 Jason Clauss, 13) #71 Chris Allen Jr, 14) #30 Scott Goodrich, 15) #1Q Thomas Radivoy, 16) #706 Mark Sasso, 17) #17Z Josh Azzi, 18) #35 Jared Zimbardi, 19) #4 Jimmy Stitzel, 20) #56C Chris Coyle
Hodnett Hustles to Mach 1 National Open Win
Greg Hodnett used his pole starting position to power to his first Capitol Renegade United Racing Club win of the 2017 season and the $6,000 payday to go along with it.
With 28 cars signed into the pits for night 2 of the Mach 1 360 National Open, three heat races were used to determine the starting lineup of the 30-lap event.
Blaine Heimbach and Curt Michael brought heat race 1 to the green flag as the 12 of Heimbach jumped out to the early race lead; Curt Michael was under fire for the runner up position, which was finally taken by the M1 of Mark Smith. Heimbach cruised to the heat race 1 victory followed to the line by the M1 of Smith, 5g of Curt Michael, 19 of Colby Womer and the 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon who started in the 9th position.
Heat race 2 found New York invader Billy VanInwegen and URC regular Troy Betts. Billy V gained redemption from Friday night as the 56v lead all 8 laps heading to a heat race 2 win. Following Billy V to the line was 49 of Mallie Shuster, 22 of Betts, 56 of Nate Snyder and 33 of Michael Walter.
The last and final heat race, the 66 of Ryan Kissinger and 28f of Davie Franek brought the field to the green flag with the 28f of Franek jumping out to an early lead. Meanwhile, the 29 of Jason Shultz was on the move reeling in the leader and finally pulling off a last lap pass of Franek to head to the heat 3 win. Josh Weller failed to make the call after the 63’s night was done with motor issues before the night started.
Larry Kelleher used the high side to take home the B-Main win. Following Kelleher to the line was the 35 of Chad Layton, 1 of Eric Tomecek, 42 of Eddie Strada, 99 of Cody Keller and the 73b of Brett Michalski all transferring to the feature event.
Hodnett used the redraw to pick the pole position for the 30-lap feature event and lead the field of 25 cars to the green flag along with outside pole sitter and previous night winner Mark Smith. At the drop of the green flag, Hodnett jumped out to a comfortable lead with the M1 of Mark Smith in tow. By lap 10, the top 5 was beginning to take place, Hodnett lead over Smith, 6th place starter Blaine Heimbach, 29 of Jason Shultz and the 49 of Mallie Shuster who was having a great run.
A lap 14 red flag for 56 of Nate Snyder gave the crews a chance to work with their drivers during the open red to adjust and set up their cars for the final 16 laps. Once Snyder’s badly damaged car was removed from the speedway, the field went back to green with once again Hodnett cruising to the lead with Smith in tow but Smith was now under siege from 3rd place runner Blaine Heimbach for the runner up position. Heimbach took away the runner up position and set his sights on the leader Hodnett. Smith continued to hold down third and Jason Shultz back in fourth. The car on the move was the 5g of Curt Michael up from his 10th starting position Michael picked off the 28f of Davie Franek and the 49 of Mallie Shuster and was pressuring Shultz for fourth when the 12 of Heimbach slowed on the front stretch. With Heimbach’s night done, on the restart Hodnett continued to lead followed by Smith, Shultz, Michael and Franek rounding out the top five. Lucas Wolfe was up to sixth from his 13th starting position.
On the lap 25 restart, Hodnett continued to lead followed by the M1 of Smith but now Michael was looking to take the third position from Shultz. As Michael overtook Shultz for third, the green and white 5g was clearly one of the fastest cars on the track. Michael set sail for the runner up position but ran out of laps as, Hodnett lead the field to the checkered flags, followed by Smith, Michael, Shultz and Franek.
URC Tidbits: Missing from the previous night’s roster was the 77 of Derek Locke and 67w of Justin Whittall who were both home with motor issues. The 7K of Kris Lilick did not return for the 2nd night due to work commitments. Also missing was the 47 of Adam Carberry who was happy to roll the 47 car into the trailer the night before and did not want to push his luck. After drawing for the pole the previous night, Brett Michalski drew 74 out of a possible 75 on Sunday night starting in the final position of heat race 1. Joining the field for night two was the 27 of Greg Hodnett, 12 of Blaine Heimbach, 5w of Lucas Wolfe, 74 of JR Berry and the 11 of TJ Stutts.
Finish: 1. 27 Greg Hodnett, 2. M1 Mark Smith, 3. 5G Curt Michael, 4. 29 Jason Shultz, 5. 28f Davie Franek, 6. 5w Lucas Wolfe, 7. 11 TJ Stutts, 8. 67 Steve Collins, 9. 35 Chad Layton, 10. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 11. 49 Mallie Shuster, 12. 33 Michael Walter, 13. 56v Billy VanInwegen, 14. 66 Ryan Kissinger, 15. 19 Colby Womer, 16. 76 Larry Kelleher, 17. 42e Eddie Strada, 18. 22 Troy Betts, 19, 73b Brett Michalski 20. 12 Blaine Heimbach, 21. 56c Chris Coyle, 22. 56 Nate Snyder, 23. 1w Eric Tomecek, 24. C4 Jim Shuster, 25. 99 Cody Keller.
Smith Dominates Night One of the 360 National Open Presented by Mach 1
Mark Smith and the Mach 1 Chassis M1 took control of the lead on lap 3 from Steve Collins and never looked back as Smith lead the final 22 laps to pick up night 1 win of the Mach 1 360 National Open Preliminary event. Smith is now locked into Sunday nights feature event.
Thirty-one Capitol Renegade United Racing Club 360 sprint cars signed into the pit area on Saturday night. With 4 heat races to determine the feature line up, heat race wins went to Brett Michalski, Eric Tomecek, Davie Franek and Mark Smith. The B-Main was won by Delaware native Chris Coyle.
Heat race 1 winner Brett Michalski and New York traveler Steve Collins brought the field of 25 URC sprint cars to the green flag. Collins quickly jumped out to the lead by lap 1 with Mark Smith already in the runner up position. Smith made his move on lap 3 on Collins to overtake the lead. Collins continued to follow Smith but Franek took the runner up position on lap 10.
Meanwhile Smith continued to increase his lead on Franek. With the top two spots settled, multiple drivers continued to fight over positions 3 through 10. Collins continued to run strong and battled with Cody Keller for multiple laps before Keller took position 3 advancing from his 6th starting position. Nate Snyder continued to be impressive this year bringing home position 4 from the 7th starting position. Also impressive was the run of Curt Michael who brought home position 6 after starting 9 along with Robbie Stillwaggon who brought home a solid 7th from starting 12th. Jason Shultz was probably the most impressive in watching him march though the field as Shultz advanced up to 9th from the 22nd starting position.
Smith was so dominate that he lapped up to the 9th place car during the 25 lap green flag feature event and lead 2nd place Davie Franek to the line by 5.8 seconds.
URC tidbits: Drivers and crews enjoyed a pig roast after the races at the Brett Michalski trailer. Motor troubles put an early end to Justin Whittall, Eddie Strada and Michael Walters’ nights. Mark Sasso improved each time he hit the track. Adam Carberry’s nightmare season continued with the 47 car pulling in after only 1 lap in the feature. URC Rookie Kris Lilick was happy to make the feature event, Selinsgrove has not been kind to the Rookie this year.
360 Sprints A - Main: 1) #1 Mark Smith, 2) #28F Davie Franek, 3) #99K Cody Keller, 4) #56 Nate Snyder, 5) #67 Steve Collins, 6) #5G Curt Michael, 7) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 8) #63 Josh Weller, 9) #29 Jason Shultz, 10) #66 Ryan Kissinger, 11) #73b Brett Michalski, 12) #35L Chad Layton, 13) #76 Larry Kelleher, 14) #C4 Jim Shuster, 15) #49s Mallie Shuster, 16) #22 Troy Betts, 17) #56c Chris Coyle, 18) #13 Ryan Higgins, 19) #22g Bryn Gohn, 20) #19 Colby Womer, 21) #7k Kris Lilick, 22) #1W Eric Tomecek, 23) #706 Mark Sasso, 24) #77 Derek Locke, 25) #47c Adam Carberry
Franek Continues to Rule Delaware
Davie “No Panic” Franek continued his dominance over the state of Delaware picking up his 6th win of the season and his 3rd win of the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club 2017 season.
Franek also picked up valuable points on leader Curt Michael for the 2017 URC Championship.
At the drop of the green flag, Chris Coyle looked strong aboard the Fred Kennedy owned 56 car, Franek who started in the 5th position was a man on a mission. Franek picked off 2nd place from Davey Sammons on lap six and set sail for the leader Chris Coyle.
By the lap 6 pass, Franek was over a straightaway behind Coyle. A lap 14 yellow put the driver of the 28f car on the back bumper of Coyle.
On the double-file restart Franek outgunned Coyle from the high lane overtaking the home state driver and never looked back. Starting in the 7th position, the Jersey Jet J.J. Grasso rode the extreme outside of the speedway to second in the waning laps, with Coyle, Sammons and Delaware’s Curt Michael filling out the front five.
It was a Delaware sweep in the heat races as heat wins went to the 5G of Curt Michael and the 56 of Coyle.
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will be back in action next weekend with a triple header. The Keystone 360 Sprint Car Weekend kicks off on Friday night for the Lelands.com 360 Sprint Car National Friday, July 28, at Williams Grove Speedway paying $3,000 to win. More than $50,000 in prize money has been posted for the weekend’s three 360 sprint car races.
Lelands.com posted a $10,000 bonus for any one driver who can sweep the weekend series with victories in all three main events.
The winners of Friday’s race at Williams Grove and Saturday’s race at Selinsgrove will be guaranteed starters in Sunday’s finale for the 360’s at Selinsgrove.
Saturday’s race will feature the 360 sprint cars in a 25-lap preliminary event paying $3,000 to win and $300 to start.
Sunday’s July 30 finale will be a 30-lap feature paying $6,000 to win and $400 to start for the 360 sprint cars.
Friday night track gates open at 5pm with hot laps at 7:30 and racing at 8pm. Selinsgrove track gates will open at 5 p.m. with practice laps at 7 p.m. and qualifying slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. both nights.
2017 KEYSTONE 360 SPRINT CAR NATIONALS WEEKEND JULY 28-29-30:
WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY
Friday, July 28, 25-Lap Lelands.com Nationals: 1) $3,000 2) 1,500 3) 1,200 4) $1,100 5) $1,000 6) $700 7) $575 8) $525 9) $515 10) $500 11) $420 12) $410 13) $360 14) $330 15) $300 16) $300 17) $300 18-24) $250
SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY
Saturday, July 29, 25-Lap Mach 1 Chassis Preliminary: 1) $3,000 2) $1,500 3) $1,200 4) $1,100 5) $1,000 6) $700 7) $575 8) $550 9) $525 10) $500 11) $420 12) $410 13) $375 14) $350 15) $325 16-24) $300
Sunday, July 30, 30-Lap Mach 1 Chassis National Open: 1) $6,000 2) $2,000 3) $1,400 4) $1,200 5) $1,100 6) $900 7) $800 8) $700 9) $650 10) $600 11) $500 12) $475 13) $450 14) $425 15-24) $400
Feature Finish (20 laps): 1. 28f DAVIE FRANEK, 2. 25 J.J. Grasso, 3. 56 Chris Coyle, 4. 747 Davey Sammons, 5. 5G Curt Michael, 6. 91 David Quackenbush, 7. 71a Christopher Allen Jr., 8. 22 Troy Betts, 9. 7L Kris Lilick, 10. 63 Josh Weller, 11. 33b Bill Unglert, 12. 12 Brent Shearer.
Weller Gets First Win of 2017
Josh Weller and the and the Schearers VW & Audi Specialists #63 team shook the monkey off of their back on Tuesday night picking up their first win of 2017 and their first win on the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club 2017 tour.
With 20 cars signed into the pit area, two heat races were used to determine the feature line up. Heat race 1 saw the initial start slowed by the caution flag as the 24 of Mike Haggenbottom was left sitting just past the start finish line with a broken front axle. Once racing resumed, the 747 of Davey Sammons took control of the lead with the 15 of Mark Bitner close behind. Bitner finally made his move with time running out on the 8-lap heat race and the two traded positions with Bitner taking the checkered flag and the heat race win. Bitner was followed to the line by the 747 of Sammons, the 63 of Josh Weller, 5w of 410 regular Lucas Wolfe and 56 of Chris Coyle rounding out the top 5.
Heat race 2 saw the 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon hunt down the 67w of Justin Whittall in what resulted in a wheel to wheel battle for first place. Stillwaggon overtook Whittall using the highline and headed to the heat race 2 victory. Stillwaggon was followed to the line by Whittall, 5g of Curt Michael, 28f of current URC Points Leader and defending champion Davie Franek and Adam Carberry in the 47 rounding out the top 5.
Heat race 1 winner Mark Bitner drew the pole and the 747 of Davey Sammons drew the outside pole for the 25-lap feature event. On the start, the 15 of Bitner rocketed to the lead followed by the 747 of Sammons and Josh Weller in the 63. The first caution was displayed on lap 6 as the 21c of Cody Jourdan spun going into turn 1 and had to be pushed back to the pits. Jourdan would not return. On the restart, it was Bitner once again, but this time Weller over took 2nd place from Sammons and Davie Franek was now into the mix from his 7th starting position.
Weller needed to just 5 laps before blasting by Bitner for the lead, and Davie Franek followed suit passing the 15 of Bitner just 1 lap later. With just over halfway, it was all Weller and Franek. By lap 13 nine out of the top ten were running the high side of the racetrack except for the 5w of Lucas Wolfe.
By lap 17, the bottom was starting to come back in and the drivers were searching for the best line to race. Franek continued to pressure Weller for the lead and when Weller had to go to the high side to pass a lapped car, Franek tried the bottom. The two were even coming off turn 2, but Franek had to let off to avoid the lapped car. Franek was back in hot pursuit and by lap 22, was back to striking distance of Weller. As the two entered the backstretch on lap 23, Franek appeared to slow and Weller gapped the 28f machine.
A lap 23 caution for the 67w of Justin Whittall brought the field back to Weller’s bumper. During the caution, the 5w of Lucas Wolfe headed pit side with a flat left rear. On the single file restart, it was all Weller as he cruised to his first win of 2017. Josh Weller now becomes the first repeat winner of the Bridgeport Speedway annual 3 for All event. Followed to the line was Franek, the 747 of Davey Sammons who made a great outside move on the lap 23 restart and overtook Bitner who finished in the 4th position and rounding out the top 5 was Chris Coyle with a fantastic run in the Fred Kennedy owned machine.
URC Tidbits: Justin Whittall debuted a new red white and blue machine sponsored by Atlantic Utility Trailers Inc. Adam Carberry is beginning to show signs of his 2016 self with another good run. Chris Coyle came from 9th to finish 5th in the 25 lap feature. Coyle was running as high as 4th late in the race. Franek continued to strengthen his 2017 points lead with a 2nd place finish.
Feature: 1) #63 Josh Weller, 2) #28F Davie Franek, 3) #747 Davey Sammons, 4) #15 Mark Bitner, 5) #56 Chris Coyle, 6) #5G Curt Michael, 7) #47 Adam Carberry, 8) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 9) #22 Troy Betts, 10) #33b Bill Unglert, 12) #73b Brett Michalski, 12) #24x Mike Haggenbottom, 12) #5w Lucas Wolfe, 13) #7k Kris Lilick, 14) #23 Samantha Lieberman, 15) #23j Jake Eldreth, 16) #71 Chris Allen, 18) #67w Justin Whittall, 19) #5z Zack Burd, 20) #21c Cody Jourdan
Franek From 7th to Claim Delaware Victory
With the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club returning to action for the first time in over a month, a strong field of 22 360 sprint cars signed into the pits at Delaware International Speedway on Saturday night brought to you by Betts Garage.
With three heat races to decide the feature line up, the first heat race saw the #91 of David Quackenbush not make the call as the team was experiencing motor issues. Once the green flag dropped, the 22 of Troy Betts jumped out to the early lead with the Franek Auto Sales 28f of Davie Franek close in tow. With 1 lap down and heading into turn 3, Franek threw it in low below Betts for the lead. Betts hit a slick part on the track going into a complete 360 and being split by the 9D of Kevin Darling and the 747 of Davey Sammons. Just as Franek was completing lap 2 the caution came out for the 56 of Chris Coyle who was slowed in turn 2. On the restart Franek jumped out to the lead and took heat race 1 with Betts, Kevin Darling, Davey Sammons and Robbie Stillwaggon rounding out the top 5.
With heat race 2 on the track, second year driver Adam Carberry jumped out to an early lead but on lap 4 the caution was shown for the 5G of Curt Michael and 7L of Kris Lillick both spun in turn #1. As the green was shown again, the caution immediately came back out as the 5G of Michael was again turned the wrong way in turn 1. Michael also made contact with second year driver Justin Whittall who showed extensive damage to his wing. With both Lilick and Whittall in the pits, the green was dropped once again and Carberry headed to his first heat race win of the year followed by the 71 of Chris Allen, 5G Curt Michael 73b of Brett Michalski and the 17j of Jonathan Swanson rounding out the top 5.
The 3rd and final heat race, the 45 of Kevin Nagy jumped out to an early lead, but the caution was shown on lap 2 as the 24 of Mike Haggenbottom was upside down in turn 3. As the field returned to action the 33b of Bill Unglert wrestled the lead from Nagy and went on to win heat race 3. Unglert was followed to the line by 45 of Nagy, 77 of Derek Locke, 63 of Josh Weller and the 21 of Cody Jourdan.
With the feature up next, the 5G of Curt Michael drew the pole with the 45 of Nagy on the outside. As the field came to the green flag, entering turn 1 the 56 of Chris Coyle went around quickly bringing out the caution flag. Coyle refired and tagged on to the back of the field. On the restart once again, Michael jumped to the early lead, but the caution was shown once more, this time for the 08 of Jason Clauss who was sitting idle on the front stretch.
Once again, Michael jumped to the early lead of Nagy on the restart and by lap 5, Michael had a considerable lead over Nagy and the rest of the field. The caution was shown on lap 6 as the 63 of Josh Weller made hard contact with the inside wall coming out of turn 4. Weller was taken to the pits and did not return.
Michael jumped out to the lead once more this time with the 33b of Bill Unglert in tow along with the 71 of Chris Allen and 28f of Davie Franek who was now up from his 7th starting position. With the long stretch of green flag laps and Michael getting into lapped traffic, the 28f of Franek who was now running 2nd slowly began to reel the 5G of Michael in. As Franek stalked Michael the driver out of Wantage NJ saw his chance on lap 20 as Michael headed into turn 1, Michael went high to go around the lapped car of Adam Carberry, Franek quickly jumped to the inside and rocketed to the lead coming off of turn 2. Franek pulled away the remaining 5 laps headed to his 2nd URC win and his 5th overall win of 2017.
URC Tidbits: Garry Gollub was inducted into the United Racing Club Hall of Fame. Garry was introduced on the front stretch after the feature event. Come feature time the 67w of Justin Whittall had a different look as the team borrowed fellow driver Chris Coyle’s back up wing. Whittall who announced a sponsor this past week currently has the teams primary mount and wings being letter in time for Tuesday’s race at Bridgeport Speedway. Derek Locke visited the Delaware International Speedway for the first time. Locke ran well all-night finishing in the 8th position. The 9D of Kevin Darling ran the highside almost the entire feature going off and back onto the track in turn 1-2. Franek won from his 7th starting position passing 6 cars, this followed up his 12th to 2nd run the night before at Albany Saratoga Speedway. Franek advanced 16 positions in 2 feature races. Bill Unglert continues to run well in his return to the Untied Racing Club.
Finish: 1. 28f Davie Franek, 2. 5G Curt Michael, 3. 33b Bill Unglert, 4. 22 Troy Betts, 5. 747 Davey Sammons, 6. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 7. 71 Chris Allen, 8. 77 Derek Locke, 9. 73b Brett Michalski, 10. 67w Justin Whittall, 11. 56 Chris Coyle, 12. 24 Mike Haggenbottom, 13. 9D Kevin Darling, 14. 47 Adam Carberry, 15. 21c Cody Jourdan, 16. 7L Kris Lilick, 17. 669 Brandon McGough, 18. 45N Kevin Nagy, 19. 17j Jonathan Swanson, 20. 63 Josh Weller, 21. 08 Jason Clauss.
Did Not Qualify: 91 David Quackenbush
United Racing Club Set to Honor Garry Gollub
Saturday night July 8th at the Delaware International Speedway, the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will honor retired racer Garry Gollub by welcoming him into the Hall of Fame.
The 1974 and 1975 URC Champion will be honored on the front stretch and the United Racing Club community is inviting all past owners and crew members to come down and be part of this special event. Garry will join the other 25 members in the Hall of Fame and is the first to be inducted since 2014.
After a month of being idle, the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will return to action on Saturday night July 8th brought to you by Betts Garage. Saturday night will also be kid’s night and everyone will have a chance to meet Curt Michael, Robbie Stillwaggon, Josh Weller, Davey Sammons, Cody Jourdan, Justin Whittall, Brett Michalski along with Miss URCs Tiffany Tyers and Kayla Stoltzfus.
You will also be able to get an up-close look with the powerful 360 sprint cars of Curt Michael, Josh Weller, Davey Sammons, Brett Michalski, Justin Whittall and Cody Jourdan will all be on display.
Gates open at 5 and warm ups are at 7pm. Spectator admission is $20.
Capitol Renegade United Racing Club Returns to Action
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will return to action this weekend when the series heads to the Big Diamond Speedway. Last year the #63 of Josh Weller parked it in victory lane at the end of the night after a great battle with Mark Smith that had the crowd on their feet for laps.
The last time the Club visited the speedway in late April the wings were off for the first time in over 20 years. Mr. Twister put one a show that night and the #15 car ended up in victory lane after putting on a clinic for 25 laps.
This weekend look for all the stars in cars to be in attendance. Can Weller get back into victory lane, can Bitner park it with a wing on this time, will you see multi time URC champions Davie Franek or Curt Michael pick up the win or will a there be a first-time winner with Justin Whittall, Brett Michalski or Adam Carberry. Only one way to find out be there Friday night at Big Diamond Speedway
Gates open at 5:30pm
Racing 8:15pm
Kids 12 and under and active military with ID are free.
General admission is $22.
United Racing Club Offers Clarification of Long Time Club Policy
On Friday night as the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club was racing at the Williams Grove Speedway, car owner and driver Josh Weller experience a broken U-Joint in his #63 URC Sprint Car during hot laps. The unique set up at Williams Grove (2 URC heats, 3 410 Heats, 2 URC heats) allowed Josh Weller a chance to swap heat races and allow more time to get the U-Joint fixed. Weller who was slated to start position #6 in heat race #2, approached driver JJ Grasso about swapping heat races. Grasso was slated to go off in position #6 in heat race #3. The swap would allow Weller to fix the car in time to line up in his new heat race. Heat race #3 which was after the 410 heats.
After this was brought to the attention of the URC Board, the URC Board Members held an emergency URC Board Meeting on Saturday around 4pm held in the trailer of Tom Whittall. Present was URC President Rick Weller, URC Vice President Curt Michael, URC Treasure Tom Whittall and board members Tim Moran, Dave Betts, Mark Sasso and Joe Michalski. Missing was URC Board Member Howard Swanson. (Please note both the President and Vice President are non-voting members)
The long-standing policy of being allowed to swap heat races was discussed and addressed. Since there have been previous occurrences of heat race swapping and there was no direct rule in the rule book, the board members brought to a vote a rule addressing this issue. The rule was put into effect beginning on Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway.
The new rule addressing this issue reads:
If a URC Member driver cannot start in their heat race due to a mechanical issue the driver will have the option to start at the rear of the last heat race or can go directly to the B-Main where they would also start last.
The URC Member who cannot make their heat race and wishes to take either option the driver will need to notify a URC Official and make them aware of the change before their heat race is set to push off.
This rule will be in effect for the rest of 2017 and URC members may propose a new rule pertaining to this situation so the membership can vote on it for the 2018 season.
Smith on a Roll with the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club
Mark Smith and his Mach 1 chassis #M1 found its way back in victory lane for the second time this weekend. Smith who also won on Friday night at the Williams Grove Speedway backed up that performance with his second win of the weekend and third of the 2017 Capitol Renegade United Racing Club season.
With 30 cars signed into the pit area, three heat races and a B-Main were used to determine the A-Feature line up. Heat race wins went to the Franek Auto Sales #28f of Davie Franek, Nate Snyder who was looking to back up his win last Saturday night with another for the Kramer Cup and the Shearer’s Sales and Service #63 of Josh Weller. The B-Main was won by the #29 of Jason Shultz.
The M1 of Mark Smith and the driver of the Dellinger’s Auto Body #77 of Derek Lock brought the 26-car field to the green flag. The oriental start was called back due to Greg Hodnett jumping to the outside and jumping the start from his 4th starting position. Hodnett was sent back a row and started the feature in the 6th position. As a result, the #63 of Josh Weller moved up a row and started the feature in the 4th position. On the restart, the M1 of Smith jumped out to the lead and was into lapped traffic by lap 4. A lap 4 red flag was show due to an incident in turn 4 involving the #73b of Brett Michalski and the #56 of Nate Snyder. Snyder got the worst end of the wreck ending up going over multiple times. Michalski was running in the top 10 when the incident happened and headed to the pits for repairs. Michalski returned to action before the field went back to green.
The caution flag was again shown on lap 6 due to a flat left rear of the #76 of Larry Kelleher, also during the same time Michael Walter was stopped on the front stretch and the #73b of Michalski was stopped at the pit out with a broken front end. Michalski and Walter were done for the night. Kelleher’s tire was changed and sent back out before the green waved gain.
On the restart, Smith again jumped out to the early lead and was into lapped traffic by lap 13. On lap 15, the caution was again shown this time for the 1w of Eric Tomacek who’s right rear exploded coming out of turn 4. The field was brought to a stop for a red flag so the crews could tend to their cars with fuel and air pressure. On the restart Smith again jumped out to the lead, followed by Davie Franek, Greg Hodnett and Derek Locke. Smith would lead the remaining laps en route to his 3rd URC win of the 2017 season. Smith was followed to the line by Davie Franek, Greg Hodnett, Derek Locke and Jason Shultz who came from 18th for a top 5 finish.
URC Tidbits: Derek Locke continues to impress with a 4th place finish tonight. Jason Shultz advanced 13 positions in the feature event advancing from 18th to 5th. Kris Lilick and Jim Shuster both took provisionals. Good to see Ryan Higgins back after motor issues at Port Royal sent him home of Sunday night. JJ Grasso’s return to URC didn’t go as planned as Grasso experience motor issues during the night. Good run by Troy Betts who advanced from 22nd to 13th during the 30-lap feature event. The weekend double event had 31 and 30 cars in the pits each night.
Kramer Cup 360 Sprint A - Main: 1) #1 Mark Smith, 2) #28F Davie Franek, 3) #27 Greg Hodnett, 4) #77 Derek Locke, 5) #29 Jason Shultz, 6) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 7) #63 Josh Weller, 8) #35 Chad Layton, 9) #56c Chris Coyle, 10) #49s Mallie Shuster, 11) #5G Curt Michael, 12) #67w Justin Whittall, 13) #22 Troy Betts, 14) #76 Larry Kelleher, 15) #66 Ryan Kissinger, 16) #3z Colby Womer, 17) #7a Ed Aikin, 18) #13 Ryan Higgins, 19) #C4 Jim Shuster, 20) #7k Kris Lilick, 21) #99K Cody Keller, 22) #1W Eric Tomecek, 23) #45 Kevin Nagy, 24) #33 Michael Walter II, 25) #73b Brett Michalski, 26) #56 Nate Snyder
DNQ: #C4 Jim Shuster, #7k Kris Lilick, #706 Mark Sasso, #71 Jessica Anderson, #29S Derek Steward, 12) #25 J.J Grasso
Smith Dominates Williams Grove
Mark Smith used lapped traffic during his lap 11 pass for the lead of Davie Franek and he never looked back. This was Smith’s second Capitol Renegade United Racing Club’s win of 2017 with his last win coming just a few weeks ago at Bedford Speedway.
With 31 cars signed into the pit area on Friday night, four heats were used to determine the starting lineup for the nights 25 lap feature event paying $2,000 to win. Heat race wins went to Eric Tomacek aboard the Central Builders Supply #1w, Ed Aikin aboard the Tan Racing Collectibles, Chip’s Auto Center #7, Curt Michael aboard the GEI Enterprises, Valley Forge Inc 5G and the Trone Outdoor, Leland’s.com #27 pioloted by Greg Hodnett. The consolation was won by the Kevin Nagy.
The front row of Davie Franek aboard the Dave Franek Auto Sales, Escape RV #28f and 9 Time URC Champion Curt Michael leading the field of 24 cars to the green flag. It was the #28f of Franek who jumped out to the early lead followed by Michael, and Smith. Just under 10 laps in, and the 28f of Franek already into lapped traffic. Smith was pressuring Michael for 2nd and mid pack starter Greg Hodnett who started 12 was already up 6th place, Smith saw his opening and took it passing Michael for second and then Franek for the lead just 1 lap later.
Once Smith was in the lead, he would easily pull away from 2nd place Franek and the rest of the field. A lap 20 caution for the stopped car of Keith Prutzman saw Franek pull up to the back bumper of Smith. The double file restart saw Smith once again take the lead but the red was out just 1 lap later with the 747 of Davey Sammons going over on turns 1-2. On the restart, it was Smith again, but the caution was displayed once more with contact between Robbie Stillwaggon and Mike Walter saw Walter into the turn 4 guardrail and Stillwaggon stopped on the front stretch. Under the caution the 8th place runner of the #67w of Justin Whittall also stopped on the front stretch. Whittall thought he saw the red lights displayed and with Stillwaggon out of his car on the front stretch, Whittall put the brakes on and turned the car off. Whittall was having a great run up until that point running in the 8th position.On the restart, it was Smith once again, followed by Franek and now Greg Hodnett had raced his way into the picture and was pressuring Franek for 2nd. Smith lead the final 13 laps en route to his 2nd URC win of 2017. Smith has been dominating lately in the 360 ranks as he also picked up a win at the Selinsgrove Speedway a week ago.
URC Tidbits: JJ Grasso was making his first URC appearance in a few years racing for Kenny Eldreth aboard the Eldreth Construction #25. Grasso plans to compete on Saturday night when the United Racing Club visits the Selinsgrove Speedway. Derek Locke put in another good performance racing his way from 14th to 8th in the feature event. David Quackenbush raced at Williams Grove for the first time advancing to the feature event through his heat race. Chuck Hebing was with the URC again electing to skip multiple race closer to his update NY home. Ed Aikin picked up his first heat race win of 2017 and just when he thought his luck was turning, Aikin picked the 9th pill at the pill draw. Stillwaggon returned for racing down south (Mississippi) and had out a brand new GF1 chassis.
URC 360 FEATURE: 1) #M1 MARK SMITH, 2) #28F DAVIE FRANEK, 3) #27 GREG HODNETT, 4) #35 CHAD LAYTON, 5) #5G CURT MICHAEL, 6) #5W LUCAS WOLFE, 7) #45 CHUCK HEBING, 8) #77 DEREK LOCKE, 9) #29 JASON SCHULTZ, 10) #63 JOSH WELLER, 11) #1W ERIC TOMECEK, 12) #25 JJ GRASSO, 13) #67 JUSTIN WHITTALL, 14) #7 ED AIKIN,15) #19 STEVEN DREVICKI, 16) #22 BRYN GOHN, 17) #91 DAVID QUACKENBUSH, 18) #33 MIKE WALTER II, 19) #89 ROBBIE STILLWAGON, 20) #45N KEVIN NAGY, 21) #747 DAVEY SAMMONS, 22) #28 KEITH PRUTZMAN, 23) #49 MALLIE SCHUSTER, 24) #71 CHRISTOPHER ALLEN
DNQ: #56 CHRIS COYLE, #66 DOUG DODSON, #22M NYLE BERKES, #7L KRIS LILIK, #21C CODY JOURDAN, #706 DAVID SASSO, #23 CHRIS ARNOLD
Hodnett Takes Weikert Memorial URC Portion, Michael Takes Dash for Cash
Greg Hodnett and his Trone Outdoor, Heffner Racing Enterprises, Eagle Steel, C&B Mushroom #27 used a late race pass of Aaron Ott to take home the $2,000 Capitol Renegade United Racing Club’s portion of the Port Royal Speedways Weikert Memorial Race.
With 36 cars signed into the pits on Sunday night, the 4th and final heat race was just firing off when mother nature decided to open the skies and let loose postponing the nights action until Monday night. With three heat races already in the books, the decision was made to pick up on Monday where the program had left off. The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club had heat race #4 along with the B-Main and the 25 lap A-Main paying $2,000 to win still remaining on the schedule.
When the drivers meeting was called on Monday afternoon, only 26 360 sprint cars had returned to the pit area. The most notable missing was the #7 of Ed Aikin who finished 2nd in his heat race and was qualified for the redraw. Aikin reported that a lack of pit help kept him home for the evening. With 26 cars returning to the pits, the Port Royal Speedway management made the announcement that there would be 26 starting cars for the feature event. The management team lead by Steve O’Neil reported that if the drivers are going to come back and support the track on a Monday afternoon he was going to reward them as well. And reward him they did. Not only did he kick in the extra $400 for the two additional starters but also made the announcement that after the 360 feature, the top 12 finishers would be qualified for a Dash for Cash paying $1,000 to the winner. Port Royal Speedway kicked in an astonishing $5,400 in extra money on Monday afternoon for the 360 drivers.
With the first three heat races going to the driver of the A1 Auto Sales and Service #33 of Michael Walter, the driver of the Franek Auto Sales, Escape RV #28f of Davie Franek and the Don Ott Engines #25 of Aaron Ott. The fourth and final heat race which was run on Monday afternoon was won by Greg Hodnett. With 6 cars starting the B-Main, the 8 lap event was used mostly as a test session since all the drivers qualified. The B-Main was won by the driver of the Dellingers Auto Body, Bartell Chiropractic #77 of Derek Locke. Derek has been experiencing much success on the 2017 URC tour claiming a 2nd place on Saturday night at the Selinsgrove Speedway.
With all 26 cars now qualified for the feature event, the driver of the Shearer’s Audi and VW #63 of Josh Weller and regular 410 driver Doug Esh brought the field to the green flag. At the drop of the green the 25 of Aaron capitalized on his 4th place starting position and settled in behind the #49 of Doug Esh. Ott made his move just 3 laps later throwing a side job on Esh entering turn 1 and overtaking the lead. While Ott and Esh were out front, the Cobra Chuck Hebing was very much the car on the move, advancing from his 10th starting position and into the top 5 by lap 4 and then up into the top 3.
The lone caution flag flew on lap 19 for a slowing Jared Esh in turns 1-2. This brought the field to the rear bumper on front runner Aaron Ott. During the double file restart, Greg Hodnett coming from his 7th place starting position saw his opportunity and took it, taking the lead for Ott. Hodnett would go on and cruise to his first Capitol Renegade United Racing Club victory of the year. Following Hodnett to the line was Hebing, Ott, Esh and defending United Racing Club Champion Davie Franek.
With the #8 pill pulled in victory lane but race winner Greg Hodnett, the front row of the $1,000 to win Dash for Cash was made up of 9 Time URC Champion Curt Michael and top 358 talent Doug Hammaker.
At the drop of the green, it was all green as Michael jumped out to the early lead followed by Hammaker who was in close pursuit. Michael held off all challengers in route to the 15 lap win and the $1,000 top prize. Michael was followed to the line by Hammaker, Hebing, Hodnett and Ott.
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will now head to Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night June 2nd and then will return to the Selinsgrove Speedway just one night later on Saturday June 3rd.
URC A-Main: 1) #27 Greg Hodnett, 2) #45 Chuck Hebing, 3) #25 Aaron Ott, 4) #49E Doug Esh, 5) #28F Davie Franek, 6) #5W Lucas Wolfe, 7) #5G Curt Michael, 8) #66H Doug Hammaker, 9) #56 Nate Snyder, 10) #77L Derek Locke, 11) #63 Josh Weller, 12) #11 TJ Stutts, 13) #67W Justin Whittall, 14) #33 Mike Walter, 15) #35 Chad Layton, 16) #22M Nyle Berkes, 17) #119 Chandler Leiby, 18) #33B Bill Unglert, 19) #39 Eric Parker, 20) #22B Troy Betts, 21) #4 Jeff Halligan, 22) #19 Todd Gracey, 23) #12 Brent Shearer, 24) #73F Brett Michalski, 25) #30 Jared Esh, 26) #7 Ed Aikin
URC Dash for Cash: 1) #5G Curt Michael, 2) #66H Doug Hammaker, 3) #45 Chuck Hebing, 4) #27 Greg Hodnett, 5) #25 Aaron Ott, 6) #5W Lucas Wolfe, 7) #11 TJ Stutts, 8) #28F Davie Franek, 9) #63 Josh Weller, 10) #77L Derek Locke, 11) #67W Justin Whittall, 12) #56 Nate Snyder
DNQ: #56C Chris Coyle, #22 Bryn Gohn, #42E Ed Stada, #C4 Jim Shuster, #59T Tim Stallings, #29 Jason Shultz, #76 Larry Kelleher, #8 Kyle Lick, #15 Ryan Higgins, #7o6 Mark Sasso, #49 Mallie Shuster
Snyder Slides to 1st Win of 2017 at Selinsgrove Speedway
Nate Snyder won for the first time since 2011 and he earned every bit of the $2,000 winner’s share as he fended off multiple late race charges from 2nd place finisher Derek Locke.
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club kicked off their Memorial Day weekend with 30 cars signed into the pit area for the first night of the weekend double header. With three heat races needed to decide the feature time up, heat race wins went to the Erb & Henry Equipment Inc., #08 of Jason Clauss, the Central Builders Supply #1w of Eric Tomacek and the JR Michalski Heating and Air Conditioning #73b of Brett Michalski. The B-Main was won by #29 of Jason Schultz and the Pioneer Auto Body, World Wide Bearings #67w of Justin Whittall and the C4 of Jim Shuster used Provisionals to transfer their way into the evenings feature event.
With 26 cars lining up for the 25-lap feature event, the field saw a rookie pace the field as first time 360 driver Eddie Strada in the Sharkey’s Fuels, A-1 Engines #42 lead the field to the green flag. The caution flag flew before a lap could be completed with Josh Weller needed assistance back to the pit area after making contact. As Strada brought the field to the green flag again, the caution would wave again, this time after 2 laps were completed due to a stopped Davie Franek on the front stretch. Franek picked off 8 positions in two laps before a broken throttle linkage ended his evening. Under the caution the #87 of George Suprick and the #47 of reigning URC Rookie of the Year Adam Carberry both headed to the pits as well.
On the lap 2 restart, again Strada took the field to the green flag before the caution waived on lap 3. This time for the 67w of Justin Whittall who had stopped on the front stretch. Whittall slowed coming out of turn 4 but was unable to make the turn into the pit area due to his steering being broken. The lap 4 restart, saw Strada jump out to the lead, but it wouldn’t last at the #56 of Nate Snyder was now flexing his muscle and putting the Selinsgrove Motel #56 into position P1. A lap 7 caution which saw the 3z of Colby Womer heading to the pits along with the #42 of second place Eddie Strada who was stopped on the back stretch, bunched the field back up.
On the restart, the #56 of Snyder chose the highline and quickly jumped out to the lead, followed by a new pressing Derek Locke. Locke continued to keep the #56 in his sights before a lap 11 caution was waived for #1w of Eric Tomacek who headed to the pits. The remaining teams then pulled to the front stretch for a fuel stop. On the lap 11 restart, again it was all Snyder with Locke following closely behind the red #56. Locke mounted multiple charges and even appeared to be in good position to overtake Snyder heading into turn 1 later in the race, but Snyder repelled the #77 car each time cruising to his first victory since 2011.
The United Racing Club will now head to the Port Royal Speedway for the back half of the weekend double header. The event will pay $2,000 to win, $200 to start and an extra $500 bonus to the highest finishing 358 curtesy of Races Used Parts Warehouse.
URC A - Main: 1) #56 Nate Snyder, 2) #77 Derek Locke, 3) #49s Mallie Shuster, 4) #29 Jason Shultz, 5) #99K Cody Keller, 6) #76 Larry Kelleher, 7) #35 Chad Layton, 8) #5G Curt Michael, 9) #22 Troy Betts, 10) #33 Michael Walter II, 11) #73b Brett Michalski, 12) #22m Nyle Berkes, 13) #C4 Jim Shuster ,14) #13 Ryan Higgins, 15) #29S Derek Steward, 16) #56c Chris Coyle, 17) #66 Ryan Kissinger, 18) #1W Eric Tomecek, 19) #42E Eddie Strada, 20) #3z Colby Womer, 21) #08 Jason Clauss, 22) #67 Justin Whittall, 23) #28F Davie Franek, 24) #87 George Suprick, 25) #47 Adam Carberry, 26) #63 Josh Weller
DNQ: #45 Kevin Nagy, #15 Mark Bitner, #7o6 Mark Sasso, #7 Kris Lilick,
Drevicki Pick’s Up First 360 Win of His Career
Steven Drevicki picked up his first Capitol Renegade United Racing Club win and his first win in a 360-sprint car. The multi time ARDC champion made the jump to a full-sized sprint car last year stepping into the 358 division but recently the team acquired a 360 motor so the team could run with the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club in both the winged and wingless division.
While Drevicki has taken some time to adjust to the wing on the car, Drevicki looked at home in the wingless car on Sunday night at the Path Valley Speedway. Drevicki has logged many laps around the small bull ring in a midget and used that knowledge to anticipate how the track out change for the feature event. With 25 wingless cars signed into the pit area for the nights racing action, 3 heat races were used to determine the feature line up. Heat races were won by Bill Unglert, Eric Jennings and Chandler Leiby.
The duo of Curt Michael aboard the Bill Gallagher owned GEI Enterprises, Valley Forge Inc 5G and Eric Jennings aboard the NPS Northeast Paving & Sealcoat, Superior Remodeling #14 lead the field of 24 strong to the green flag. Michael jumped out to the lead and by lap 4 lead over Chandler Leiby, Eric Jennings, Steven Drevicki and Chris Allen. It only took Drevicki 11 laps before the 19 was shown in P1 but Drevicki was being pressured by the 119 of Chandler Leiby, while Michael slipped to 3rd and Jennings was running 4th. By lap 25 Drevicki continued to strengthen his lead while Leiby, Michael, Jennings and Thomas Radivoy were all involved in an intense battle for positions 2 through 5. A lap 25 caution involving the 78 of Dale Schweikart, 131 Bobby Sandt, Jr. and the 7 of Trey Hivner brought the 119 of Leiby to the rear bumper of the 19 of Drevicki. Under caution you could see the right rear of Leiby’s going down and on lap 27 while the caution was being waived for a spin in turns 3-4, the 119 headed to the pits with a flat right rear.
On the restart the 19 of Drevicki drove away from the field again and by lap 30 Drevicki was clearly in command while the 5G of Michael, 9D of Kevin Darling, 8 of Kyle Lick and 14 of Jennings were all battling hard for position behind the 19 car. Drevicki lead the final 24 laps earning his first URC win along with the $2,000 top prize. Following Drevicki to the stripe were the 5G of Curt Michael, 9D of Kevin Darling, 14 of Eric Jennings and the 8 of Kyle Lick.
URC Feature Finish: 1. 19 Steven Drevicki, 2. 5G Curt Michael, 3. 9D Kevin Darling, 4. 14 Eric Jennings, 5. 8 Kyle Lick, 6. B1 Joey Biasi, 7. 1Q Thomas Radivoy, 8. 83 Larry McVey, 9. 21 Carmen Perigo, 10. 86 Rick Holley, 11. 33B Bill Unglert, 12. 15 Mark Bitner, 13. 59 Steve Wilber, 14. 71X Chris Allen Sr., 15. 78 Dale Schweikart, 16. 7. Trey Hivner, 17. 119 Chandler Leiby, 18. 4B Bobby Butler, 19. 131 Bobby Sandt Jr., 20. 71 Chris Allen, 21. 78s Dakota Schweikart, 22. 4 Jimmy Stitzel, 23. 17J Jonathan Swanson, 24. 11s Terry Schaeffer
DNQ: Michael Hammer
Smith Again at Bedford Speedway
Anytime Mark Smith pulls into the track he is a contender and on Friday night Smith parked the Mach 1 Chassis M1 back in victory lane at the Bedford Speedway. With 27 Capitol Renegade United Racing Club Sprint Cars signed into the pit area, three heat races were needed to determine the starting lineup for the 25 lap feature event.
Heat race winners went to Bill Unglert aboard the Paw It Forward Foundation, Gorman Property Maintenance #33b, The Cobra Chuck Hebing aboard the Wilkins Recreational Vehicles, Northcoast Performance #45 and the 2016 URC Defending Champion Davie Franek aboard the Franek Auto Sales, Escape RV #28f. There was a B-Main scheduled but when track promotor Joe Padula decided to start 24 cars instead of 20 cars the B was no longer needed. Joe Padula and Bedford Speedway put up the extra money to start the 4 more cars. Padula reported that if the drivers and car owners were going to support him and Bedford Speedway, then he was going to support the drivers and car owners by starting 24 cars.
The 24-car starting field was brought to the green flag by the #56 of Chris Coyle and the 5G of Curt Michael. At the drop of the green, Coyle jumped out to the lead with 4th place starter Davie Franek trailing close behind. By lap 5, Coyle was still in the lead, but Mark Smith was now in 2nd place and stalking the #56 waiting for his move. On lap 7, with Coyle now heavily involved with lapped traffic, Smith saw his chance using a lapped car as a pick and taking over the top spot. Coyle was also passed by Franek as he tried desperately to maneuver through lapped traffic. A lap 8 caution brought the 28f of Franek to the back bumper of Smith, but on the restart Smith just pulled away going uncontested for the remaining 17 laps.
URC Tidbits: Son of Series Sponsor Wayne Quackenbush, David Quackenbush made his first Capitol Renegade United Racing Club start of 2017. David finished in the 18th position. A heat race tangle resulted in URC front runner Josh Weller loading up early. After contact with Colby Womer, Weller hit the wall hard exiting turn 2 resulting in a bent chassis. Jimmy Stitzel put the #4 on the trailer after hot laps due to little to no oil pressure. With the 358’s not running anywhere, multiple 358 teams made the tow west to Bedford, #00 Chris Franks, #90 Jordan Givler, and #13 Ryan Higgins were all on hand. The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will now take off their wings and head to Path Valley Speedway on Sunday night May 21st. The next winged race will be next Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway.
1.Mark Smith, 2. Davie Franek, 3. Derek Locke, 4. Chris Coyle, 5. Curt Michael, 6. Chuck Hebing, 7. Robbie Stillwaggon, 8. Adam Carberry, 9. Glenndon Forsythe, 10. Eric Tomecek, 11. Chris Allen, 12. Bill Unglert, 13. Bryn Gohn, 14. Ed Aikin, 15. Brett Michalski, 16. Jordan Givler, 17. Chris Franks, 18. David Quackenbush, 19. Ryan Higgins, 20. Dalton Dietrich, 21. Jason Clauss, 22. Keith Prutzman, 23. Scott Goodrich, 24. Steven Drevicki
Bedford Next Up for the Capitol Renegade URC Series
The Fabulous Bedford Speedway is next up on the schedule for the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club Sprint Car Series. In just over 1 week the 360 club will invade the 5/8 mile facility on Friday night May 19th. This will be the one and only visit to the historic facility in 2017.
Last year the club returned to the track after a year off the schedule. Mark Smith took home the top prize over Robbie Stillwaggon and Davie Franek rounding out the top three. With 9 Time URC Champion Curt Michael and Defending URC Champion Davie Franek tied in points look for the 5G and the 28f to be up front all night long and you can never count out drivers such as Robbie Stillwaggon, Adam Carberry, Josh Weller and Troy Betts.
Gates open at 5pm. Warm-Ups are at 7pm and Racing begins at 7:30pm. General Admission is $16, Kids 12 and under are free and pit admission is $28.
Capitol Renegade United Racing Club Back in Action this Weekend
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club returns to action this weekend as the 360 Winged Sprint Car Series heads south to the Delaware International Speedway.
The last time the winged series raced, 2016 URC Champion Davie “No Panic” Franek parked the #28f Franek Auto Sales, Escape RV in victory lane at the Selinsgrove Speedway. Franek who also visited victory lane the last time the series was in town will be looking to bring home win #3 on the 2017 season.
Also on Saturday night, the United Racing Club is posting a $200 bonus for the highest finishing 305-sprint car. With the Mid Atlantic Sprint Car Series on an off week fans should see some 305’s make the trip south to the fast ½-mile facility.
This will be the first chance the URC Delaware natives of Troy Betts, Curt Michael, Kevin Darling and Chris Coyle will have to defend their home turf. Will one of the home state drivers park it in victory lane at the end of the night or will drivers like Davie Franek, Mark Bitner, Josh Weller, Robbie Stillwaggon, Adam Carberry take home the $1,500 top prize money?
Come out Saturday night to the Delaware International Speedway, Gates open at 5pm, Warm-ups at 7pm. Grandstand Admission is $20 and Pits are $25.
Twister Lands in Victory Lane at Big Diamond Speedway
Mr. Twister Mark Bitner used a lap 2 slide job to propel his Bitner Automotive #15 to the $2,000 victory on Friday night’s Capitol Renegade Wingless United Racing Club event. This was the first wingless event for the United Racing Club since 1996 when the 360 club ran at Grandview Speedway.
A field of 15 cars entered the pits on Friday night for the 25-lap event paying $2,000 to win and two heat races were needed to set the stage for the nightly feature. Heat race wins went to Jimmy Stitzel Third Rail Bar and Restaurant #4 and the #21 of New York native Carmen Perigo.
Front row starters Perigo and Kevin Darling aboard the Ken Darling & Sons Sewer Contractors, Garrison Homes, Anderson Performance #9D lead the field of 15 cars to the green flag. The features only caution was thrown before the completion of lap #1 as a spinning Scott Flammer came to a stop in turn 1.
On the restart the crowd saw Kevin Darling jump out front with Bitner closely in tow. It didn’t take Bitner long before he made his move going into turn 3 on the 2nd lap. Bitner throw the #15 car sideways and low as he executed a perfect slide job past the 9D of Darling.
By lap 8, Bitner was navigating some lapped traffic with now the 1B of Joey Biasi running closely behind. Biasi continued to reel Bitner in and by lap 11, the 1B was just off the bumper of the leader. Just 3 laps later, saw the 21 of Carmen Perigo enter the picture and Carmen began pressing the 1B for the runner up position. With 7 laps to go, Perigo tried an outside move coming off turn 2, but Biasi shut the door going down the backstretch. With 5 to go, the 15 of Bitner was long gone benefitting of heavy lapped traffic that the 21 of Perigo and 1B of Biasi were having to deal with. With Bitner on cruise control, the 21 of Perigo finally got by the 1B of Biasi but Bitner was too far gone and cruised to his first URC win of 2017.
Nightly Tidbits: Kevin Darling was making his debut in a wingless sprint car. Curt Michael made his first appearance in a wingless car since 1996 (His Rookie Year in URC). Lealands.com could be seen on the #74 of JR Berry, in addition Mike Heffner was in Berry’s pit area all night long. Former ARDC Champion Steven Drevicki was on hand, Steven experience a flat tire in a 1st lap contact during his heat race and started shotgun on the field. Drevicki finished in the 6th position.
Feature Finish: 1. Mark Bitner #15, 2. Carmen Perigo #21, 3. Joey Biasi #1B 4. Bill Unglert #33B, 5. Kevin Darling #9D, 6. Steven Drevicki #19, 7. Chandler Leiby #119, 8. Jimmy Stitzel #4 9. Curt Michael #5G 10. JR Berry #74JR 11. Scott Flammer #1, 12. Mike Hamer #47, 13. Rick Holley #86, 14. Jonathan Swanson 17j, 15. David Swanson #117.
Franek Gunns Them Down at Selinsgrove
Davie “No Panic” Franek used a lap 8 pass of race leader Chris Coyle to put the 28f in the lead position and went on his way to his first Capitol Renegade United Racing Club sprint car win of 2017 at the annual Jack Gunn Memorial race paying $2,500 to win.
A field of 32 360 sprint cars singed into the Selinsgrove Speedway pit area on Saturday night all in search of the coveted Jack Gunn Memorial trophy and the $2,500 to win that goes with it. With 4 heat races on the docket for the night, heat race wins went to Adam Carberry aboard the family owned #47, Delaware native Chris Coyle aboard the Fred Kennedy, Fred’s Trailers #56, Robbie Stillwaggon aboard the Quality Auto Body #89 and the #28f Franek Auto Sales, Escape RV of Davie Franek. The B-Main was won by the #22 B&G Auto of Troy Betts.
Adam Carberry aboard the R&S Concrete, Paving and Site #47 and #56 of Chris Coyle lead the 26-car starting field to the drop green flag. Coyle quickly jumped out to the lead but a caution for a slowing #08 of Jason Clauss, again doubled up the field. On the restart, Coyle again jumped out to the lead in the Fred Kennedy owned #56 sprint car. By lap 7, the 28f of Franek was pressuring Coyle for the lead and just as Franek took the lead from Coyle, the caution came out for a stopped Justin Whittall in turns 3-4. The back bumper of the Pioneer Auto Body #67w of Whittall was missing and some damage to the tail tank of the 67w could be see as he was pushed back pit side.
On the restart, Coyle grabbed the lead heading into turns 1-2 but the lead was short lived as the 28f of Franek coming roaring back down the back stretch and into the lead as the field entered turn 4. Caution was again displayed on lap 13, this time for the 35 of Chad Layton and the M1 of Mark Smith who tangled in turns 1-2 while battling for the 5th position. With a considerable amount of time to clean u the mess in turns 1-2, the field came to a rest of turn 4 as the track was then opened for a fuel stop.
On the lap 13 restart, the Heffner Owned #27 of Greg Hodnett was right on the back bumper of Franek stalking the 28f and looking for the right opportunity to take command of the lead. At the drop of the green, both drivers battled for the lead but eventually the 28f of Franek held onto the lead. Lap #17 saw the #89 of Stillwaggon pass Curt Michael and Adam Carberry and head into the 4th running position.
With 5 laps to go Franek continued to pace the field followed by the #27 of Hodnett, with the 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon, the 56 of Chris Coyle and the #5g of Curt Michael rounding out the top 5. Just two laps later, Curt Michael over took Stillwaggon for 3rd but the leaders of Franek and Hodnett were just over a straight away ahead of Michael leaving him no time to track down the two leaders.
Franek cruised to his 2nd victory of 2017, his 2nd at Selinsgrove in 2017 and his 1st in the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club’s win for the 2017 racing season.
Some tidbits for the night. Newly wed Adam Carberry was back from his two-week honeymoon just in time for the race at Selinsgrove. Carberry was just married the Saturday before the URC opener at Bridgeport Speedway. Justin Whittall’s crew had to scramble to replace a tire prior to the start of the feature event as a tow truck ran over the youngster’s left rear tire. The #33 of Mike Walter, and #73b of Brett Michalski both took Provisionals on the night for Selinsgrove and the United Racing Club respectably. The night saw multiple green flips during the night at URC rookie Kris Lillick went for a ride on the backstretch, the 5c of Cory Thornton flipped in turns 3-4. Thornton was taken to the infield care area and was later released.
The next race for the United Racing Club will be Friday April 28th as the United Racing Club’s wingless addition will be taking on the high banks of Big Diamond Speedway.
Finish: 360 Sprints A - Main:
1) #28F Davie Franek, 2) #27 Greg Hodnett 3) #5G Curt Michael 4) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon 5) #47 Adam Carberry 6) #45 Kevin Nagy 7) #56c Chris Coyle 8) #63 Josh Weller 9) #77 Derek Locke 10) #76 Larry Kelleher 11) #56 Nate Snyder 12) #29 Jason Shultz 13) #99K Cody Keller 14) #3z Colby Womer 15) #66 Ryan Kissinger 16) #22 Troy Betts 17) #49s Mallie Shuster 18) #7a Ed Aikin 19) #73b Brett Michaski 20) #1 Mark Smith 21) #35 Chad Layton 22) #10 Joe Kata 23) #67w Justin Whittall 24) #33 Michael Walter II 25) #08 Jason Clauss 26) #706 Mark Sasso
Late Race Charge Propels Michael to Opening Night Victory
Curt Michael used a sputtering Davie Franek and a late race charge to pick up his 1st Capitol Renegade United Racing Club victory of 2017. With 26 cars in the pit area for opening day, after hot laps brought on a lot of changes in the pit area. Defending race winner and URC champion Davie Franek pulled out his back up Franek Auto Sales #28f after his primary mount threw a rod in hot laps. New York traveler Paulie Colagiovanni changed tail tanks after hot laps and new 360 driver Chris Allen cracked a block as well.
With a total of 26 cars in the pits, 3 heat races were used to determine the feature line up and there was no consi due to Joe Michalski from JR Michalski Heating and Air Conditioning put up the extra money for a 26-car starting field. The three heat winners were first time heat race winner Justin Whittall aboard the Pioneer Auto Body, Enterprise, World Wide Bearings #67w, Derek Locke aboard the Dellingers, Long’s Mowing #77 and the final heat race winner was won by the #63 Schearers’s VW & Audi Specialties of Josh Weller.
New this year, each driver in the invert will draw a pill to determine their starting position for the feature event. With 3 cars from each heat race making the invert from a total of 9 drivers drew pills and the Quality Auto Body #89 of Robbie Stillwaggon and the #28f of Davie Franek made up the front row of the first A-Main of 2017. Stillwaggon who won the previous 2 nights in North and South Carolina was looking for the weekend sweep and had positioned himself perfectly to sweep the weekend. At the drop of the green, Franek got the jump on Stillwaggon but the race quickly went red for the #22 of Troy Betts who went for a hard ride down the front stretch finally coming to a stop just past the start/finish line. The #47 of Defending URC Rookie of the Year Adam Carberry’s car failed to fire, so he also headed to the pits along with the #67w of Justin Whittall due to a bent front axle.
On the restart, Stillwaggon looked like a force to be reckoned with as he put the #89 solidly out into the lead followed by the 28f of Franek who made his move going into turn 3 wrestling the lead away from Stillwaggon. On lap 4, the #15 of Mark Bitner pulled into the infield after running in the top 5. A lap 11 caution for the smoking #88B of Andy Best brought Stillwaggon to the back bumper of Franek. On the restart it was the 5g of Curt Michael who made his move going from 4th to 2nd within a lap using the high side lane, Michael then settled into the 2nd position just behind Franek. A lap 14 caution for a spinning Jonathan Swanson and a lap 16 caution for a smoking Paulie Colagiovanni put Michael on the back bumper of the defending URC Champion Davie Franek. A lap 17 restart saw the 28f of Franek jump out to the lead while the 73b of Brett Michalski made a daring move down the backstretch positioning him into 10th from his 18th starting position. Meanwhile Michael took a peek under Franek on lap 22 as the two cars entered turn 3, setting up Michael to make a high side run coming off of turn 4 just 1 lap later. Michael then cruised to his first win of 2017 followed by Davie Franek, Robbie Stillwaggon and Derek Locke who had a solid run and the 747 of Davey Sammons completing the top 5.
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will now be back in action in 2 weeks on Saturday night April 22nd at the Selinsgrove Speedway.
Results: 1. 5G Curt Michael, 2. 28f Davie Franek, 3. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 4. 77 Derek Locke, 5. 747 Davey Sammons, 6. 63 Josh Weller, 7. 45 Kevin Nagy, 8. 33B Bill Unglert, 9. 39 Steve Buckwalter, 10. 73b Brett Michaelski, 11. 7 Ed Aikin, 12. 7K Kris Lilick, 13. 1Q Thomas Radivoy, 14. 24 Mike Haggenbottom, 15. 10c Paulie Colagiovanni, 16. 56 Chris Coyle, 17. 90 Matt Tanner, 18. 17j Jonathan Swanson, 19. 88B Andy Best, 20. 15 Mark Bitner, 21. 71 Chris Allen, 22. 1 Bobby Scherff ($200 305 Bonus), 23. 22 Troy Betts, 24. 67W Justin Whittall, 25. 47 Adam Carberry
Fred’s Trailer Parts Center to Sponsor the New Jersey – New York Series
Capitol Renegade United Racing Club car owner Fred Kennedy has stepped up the plate in 2017 to sponsor the New Jersey – New York Series.
The 2012 URC Hall of Fame inductee “Mr. Everything” Fred Kennedy has been a driver, sponsor, board of director, and respected car owner for over twenty years. The Team 56 entry has always been one of the top URC cars to beat at the “Big” series events with drivers such as Greg Coverdale, Becca Anderson, Trevor Lewis, and Chris Coyle all winning “Big” races in the famous Kennedy #56. Fred has always been a loyal supporter of URC and his dedication to our sport is unsurpassed and has one again stepped up for the United Racing Club.
With Fred’s Trailers sponsoring the New Jersey – New York series, the United Racing Club member drivers will have more opportunity to win some additional money at the following races:
Bridgeport Speedway April 9th Bridgeport Speedway July 11th Fonda Speedway July 15th Orange County Fair Speedway August 19th Outlaw Speedway September 22nd Fonda Speedway September 23rd Bridgeport Speedway November 3rd Bridgeport Speedway November 4th
Also announced for Sunday’s race, Dave Betts from Delaware who owns B&G Towing, B&G Auto Body, B&G Truck and Trailer Repair, and B&G Glass is kicking in an extra $200 that will go to the highest finishing 305 driver in the A-Main.
The 70th anniversary of the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club kicks off this Sunday at the 5/8 mile Bridgeport Speedway. Hot Laps are scheduled for 4pm and heat races are scheduled for 5pm. Grandstand Admission is $25 for Adults and kids 10-15 are $10.
Just 1 Week Until the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club Opener
In just 1 weeks’ time the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club will open its racing season for the 70th straight year. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the 360-sprint car club and it should be better than ever.
Over the off season, the club announced new leadership with Rick Weller taking over the Presidency along with long time competitor Curt Michael taking over the VP position. Shortly after the change in leadership, the club announced a title sponsor with Capitol Renegade Custom Trailers and Coaches coming on board for the 2017 season.
After a successful Motorsports 2017 show, the teams have been busy putting the final pieces together for the 2017 season. The youth movement that the United Racing Club saw in 2016 is back with Justin Whittall, Brett Michalski and Adam Carberry all set to return for a full season. Returning for 2017 are veteran racers, Robbie Stillwaggon, Curt Michael, Ed Aikin, Troy Betts and now multi time champion Davie “No Panic” Franek. Of course, you can’t forget about the likes of “Mr. Twister” Mark Bitner, Josh Weller who will be looking to improve on his 4-win season just a year ago. Throw them all together and look for occasional racers, Greg Hodnett, Mark Smith, Paulie Colagiovanni and Davey Sammons and you have some of the best 360 sprint car drivers in the country all competing.
Also, new for 2017 is the addition of not 1 but 2 Miss URCs, Tiffany Tyers and Kayla Stoltzfus will be on hand during the year meeting fans and greeting each winner as then enter victory lane. Just recently, the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club announced a new website changing from the unitedracingclub.org site to a new urcsprintcarseries.com site now complete with full history of the clubs previous 69 years.
Don’t miss the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club’s kick off of its 70th season next Sunday April 9th at Bridgeport Speedway. Davie Franek will not only be looking to repeat as the defending race winner, but also repeat as the United Racing Clubs Champion. In order to do so, he will have to go through the likes of Michael, Betts, Stillwaggon, Aikin, Whittall, Weller, and Michalski to name a few.
Racing kicks off a 5pm at the ultra-fast 5/8-mile speedway.
Capitol Renegade United Racing Club Launches a New Website
With just two weeks until opening night at the ultra-fast 5/8 mile Bridgeport Speedway, the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club has announced the launching of their new website. The old Unitedracingclub.net has been replaced with URCSprintCarSeries.com, and that is not the only difference.
The much-improved website includes the additions of History and Hall of Fame Tabs. When you click on the history tab, you are taken to a page that brings the United Racing Club’s 70-year history to life. You will find URC All Time Feature Winners, URC Past Champions, Rookie of the Year along with Yearly Feature wins, Race Tracks and past URC Presidents. There are also photos dating back to 1949. Click on the new Hall of Fame tab, and you can browse through all of the past inductees along with their photos and a short write up about each member of the HoF.
All of the additional important information continues with the 2017 Schedule, 2017 Points along with links taking you to administrative paperwork like your 2017 rules and membership and information on STIDA insurance pricing and membership.
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club kicks off its 70th year in just two weeks on Sunday April 9th at Bridgeport Speedway. Be sure to arrive early and meet Co 2017 Miss URC’s Tiffany Tyres and Kayla Stoltzfus on the grandstand side.
63 Days Until the Capital Renegade URC Sprint Series Opens up at Bridgeport Speedway
Just 63 days until the Capital Renegade United Racing Club Sprint Series invades the Bridgeport Speedway. On Sunday April 9th, the stars and cars of the Capital Renegade URC Sprint Series will head to the ultra-fast 5/8 mile for their first race of the season. Last season 2014 and 2016 URC champion Davie Franek took the win and never looked back on his way to his 2nd URC championship.
Defending URC Champion Davie "No Panic" Franek will be looking to repeat as the opening winner but will have to contend with an all star field such as 63 Josh Weller, 89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 747 Davey Sammons, 47 of 2016 URC Rookie of the Year Adam Carberry along with a number of top running cars that will be on hand.
Get a change to meet and have your photo taken with 2017 Miss URC Tiffany Tyres, and Kayla Stoltzfus.
The action begins at 5pm on Sunday April 9th. You don't want to miss it!
United Racing Club Names Two Miss URC's for the 2017 Season
The Capitol Renegade United Racing Club has named Tiffany Tyers and Kayla Stoltzfus as Miss URC for the 2017 racing season.
Stoltzfus from Cochranville PA has enjoyed being a Grandview Speedway Thunder on the Hill Girl for the last 3 years along with Miss Teen Racers Roundtable in 2012. The 19 year old Soltzfus has been around the racing world since she was born and has been racing since she was 9 years old first starting out in quartermidgets then to the 125 and eventually 600 cc micro sprint ranks.
The 22 year old Sewell NJ native Tiffany Tyers also has had the pleasure being a Thunder on the Hill girl. Tyers also has a career in racing, starting when she was just 11 years old. Tyers reported " I am honored to be one of the Miss URC's for the 2017 season! This year is going to be an amazing experience as there are several tracks on our schedule I have not been to! I cannot wait to see some awesome racing and meet the great fans that come out to support our sport."
With the Capitol Renegade URC season quickly approaching look for both of these beautiful ladies in victory lane beginning on Sunday April 9th at the Bridgeport Speedway.
The United Racing Club Officially Welcomes New Title Sponsor Capital Renegade Custom Coaches and Trailers at Motorsports 2017.
The United Racing Club presented by Capital Renegade Custom Coaches and Trailers held their annual winter meeting on Saturday 1/21/17 at the 2017 Motorsports show presented by PPB. There were many drivers, crew members, and owners on hand for the annual winter meeting this past Saturday including Justin Whittall, Curt Michael, and Brett Michalski to name a few.
New URC president Rick Weller welcomed everyone in attendance before new Vice President Curt Michael went over the 2017 schedule which was recently released. New URC Board member and club treasurer Tom Whittall announced the addition 2 new product sponsors (BR Motorsports and King Racing Products) before making the official announcement that the United Racing Club has entered into an agreement with Capital Renegade Custom Coaches and Trailers as the title sponsor for 2017. Whittall turned over the microphone to Capital Renegade Custom Coaches and Trailers owner Wayne Quackenbush. Wayne expressed his excitement partnering with a long standing (70 Yrs) sprint car series and mentioned he believes this to be the beginning of a long standing partnership. Wayne also made the announcement that he purchased a new 360 for his son David to participate in multiple URC races in 2017.
Insinger Performance Inc. were also on hand for the meeting and were able to speak about the 2017 URC partnership they recently entered into. For 2017, URC members can purchase a drum of fuel for $145 and receive a $20 rebate to cash in at the end of the season.
With 1 day left before the 2017 Motorsports Show presented by PPB is over, be sure to make your way over to the URC booth to fill out your 2017 URC memberships. The United Racing Club continues to seek a Miss URC for the 2017 Racing Season. Be sure to see Jenn Michael at the Motorsports Show this weekend.
The United Racing Club Announces 2017 Schedule
The United Racing Club is proud to announce its 32 race schedule consisting of 4 wingless races, 26 points races, multiple special events, and co sanctioned races as well.
The United Racing Club 2017 travels will include racing in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania over an 8 month span beginning in April and ending in November at the ultra fast Bridgeport Speedway and heads back to places such as Lincoln Speedway, Path Valley Speedway and Penn Can Speedway in 2017.
Some highlights of the 2017 schedule include 4 Wingless Events with a co-sanctioned race at the Weedsport Speedway at the end of June paying $5,000 to win. Some other highlights are the Gunn Memorial, Kramer Cup, Weikert Memorial, Selinsgrove Nationals, Three for All and the Big Track Classic.
All special event races will be run using URC Points, rewarding points only to full URC members. These events will count only those full URC members and distribute points using the A Feature URC Points.
United Racing Club's new 2017 sponsor Capitol Renegade Custom Coaches and Trailers owner Wayne Quackenbush will be on hand on Saturday during the URC information meeting conducted by 2017 URC President Rick Weller. Rick will be on hand to provide updates for the 2017 season and formally announce Capitol Renegade Custom Coaches and Trailers as the 2017 title sponsor.
URC memberships will also be available all weekend at the 2017 Motorsports Show presented by PPB. Stop by the URC booth this weekend to become a 2017 member.
United Racing Club Partnering with Insinger Performance for 2017
The United Racing Club is excited to announce a new partnership with Insinger Performance and Sunoco Race Fuels for the 2017 racing season.
Insinger Performance is a master distributor of Sunoco Race Fuels. Insinger offers all products from Sunoco found at www.racegas.com. Insinger also are the number 1 rated supplier of 99.9% Methanol in the Northeast United States. Insinger services the Racing Industries as well as the Oil & Gas Industry with the purest methanol available.
Insinger Performance was started in 1987 by Bruce Insinger as the Owner and CEO of the company. Bruce has grown the business by creating a network of dealers that extend from Maryland into Canada. Through hard work and customer satisfaction the business has grown steadily every year.
For the 2017 racing season United Racing Club Members will be able to purchase a drum of racing fuel for $145.00 and the URC member will receive a rebate for $20 for each drum purchased.
Drums of racing fuel can be purchased by contacting Fred's Trailer Parts Center located at 450 Creek Rd, Delanco NJ or at Insinger Performance located at 49 Albe, Dr, Newark DE.
An Insinger rep will be at this weekends Motorsports Show 2017 presented by PPB to talk about this great partnership and it's benefits. Be sure to stop by the United Racing Club this weekend to learn more about this great deal!
United Racing Club Prepares for Motorsports 2017 Presented by PPB.
The United Racing Club is putting the finishing touches on their 2017 schedule which is one of many things that will be released during next weekends 3 day Motorsports Show. The United Racing Club which will showcase 2014 and 2016 URC Champion Davie "No Panic" Franek and URC rookie Kris Lilick in their booth will also be releasing their Series Title Sponsor as well.
For those who are looking to complete their 2017 membership, members of the United Racing Club board will be on hand accepting memberships which you can find on the URC website.
Simply click the link, fill out the membership form and bring it to Motorsports. If you will not be attending Motorsports, you can mail the form to Tom Whittall. In 2017, all racers who compete in a United Racing Club event will be required to either have a 2017 membership or a temporary membership that they can purchase for $50 per event. URC memberships will not be mandatory for races at Selinsgrove Speedway.
All drivers are encouraged to fill out a drivers information sheet. This will help the Club in press releases and is a great way to make sure all of your sponsors get noticed. The 2017 Driver Media Sheet can be found on the URC website .
URC President Rick Weller will be having an informal meeting on Saturday from 12 to 1 to introduce the Series Sponsor and talk about the upcoming URC season .The 2017 United Racing Club racing season will be one that you don't want to miss. Be sure to mark your schedule now!
Two Big Announcements from URC this Past Weekend
The first announcement came on Saturday night that the wingless portion of the United Racing Club will be racing at Weedsport Speedway in a joint effort with the Empire Super Sprints. The Ultimate Wingless Shootout at Weedsport Comes in 2017! $5,000 to win event on Sunday, June 25th and it will sure to be a packed show both in the pits and the grandstands.
Today it was announced that the Winged portion of the United Racing Club has added on to their 2017 racing schedule booking a race at the Path Valley Speedway over Labor Day Weekend. This Sunday night race will conclude a 3 races in 3 days swing for the winged warriors of the United Racing Club. The weekend will start off at the Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night September 1st before heading to the ultra fast 1/2 mile Selinsgrove Speedway on Saturday night September 2nd. The action will now continue to the tight Bullring of Path Valley Speedway on Sunday night September 3rd.
Be sure to look for the United Racing Club booth at the 2017 Motorsports Show sponsored to Pioneer Pole Buildings. Plenty of the 360 sprint cars will be on hand in multiple booths the weekend of January 20,21,22 with Mark Bitner, Davie Franek and Jonathan Swanson already to committed to multiple vender booths.
United Racing Club Celebrates in 2016 Racing Season
The United Racing Club concluded its 2016 racing season with their annual banquet this past Saturday night December 3rd. The United Racing Club was able to provide a points payout to the top 13 in points.
This well attended event which saw 10 out of the top 13 in points on hand to accept plaques and point fund money was an used as a transition of leadership for the 2017 racing season. As reported before Rick Weller will be the new URC president beginning in 2017. The crowd thanked Bill Gallagher (previous president 2014-2016) for his service and dedication in revitalizing the United Racing Club.
Along with the top 10 receiving plaques, also receiving awards was the 2016 United Racing Club Rookie of the Year which was awarded to Adam Carberry. Carberry is currently in the midst of building multiple cars for next year in preparation of the 2017 racing season. The mechanic of the year was awarded to Bryan Zyck of the 28f Davie Franek race team.
The 2016 United Racing Club champion and team of Davie Franek received a points fund money of $2,000 to go along with Hoosier Racing Jackets, the illustrious championship trophy and 2017 Championship Calendars provided by Tim Moran of WRT Speedwerx.
The United Racing Club will now prepare for the 2017 Motorsports Show held the weekend of January 20-22. Davie Franek has confirmed that the Franek Auto Sales #28f will be in the booth along with a 2nd car. The 2017 season is scheduled to open on Sunday April 9th at the Bridgeport Speedway.
Wolfe Makes Most of URC Appearance with Big Track Classic Win
Lucas Wolfe made the most of a rare United Racing Club appearance on Saturday night of the 1st Annual Big Track Classic presented by Michalski Heating and Air Conditioning. With 25 cars in the pit area, Wolfe started 6th in heat race #3 and took home the win.
When Heat race #1 winner Curt Michael drew the "6" invert pill, the front row was set with 410 regular Davey Sammons and the Sean Michael who was making his return to sprint car racing after a lengthily layoff.
At the drop of the green flag, Sammons in the 747 and 4th place starter Lucas Wolfe battled wheel to wheel for the lead, with Sammons taking control in one corner and Wolfe coming back in the next to regain the lead. By lap 5 Wolfe was in command, with the 747 of Sammons on the rear bumper and rounding out the top 5 was the 67m of Michael, 63 of Josh Weller and the 28f of now 2016 URC Champion Davie Franek.
A long stretch of green flag laps were interrupted on lap 17 when the 747 of Sammons came to a stop with apparent motor issues. Sammons was pushed to the pits with the top 5 now consisting of Wolfe, Weller, Franek, Curt Michael and the 67m of Sean Michael. On the restart Wolfe chose the inside line with Weller to the outside. The two ran wheel to wheel for 3 laps before Wolfe finally overtook the lead and while entering turn 3 the 63 of Weller went up in smoke ending his night and the 2016 racing season.
With 5 laps to go, Lucas Wolfe lead the 28f of Franek, followed by the 5g of Curt Michael and the 67m of Sean Michael. At the drop of the green Wolfe jumped to the lead once again with Franek close in tow, meanwhile the Michael brothers were left to battle for 3rd and 4th with Sean overtaking Curt for the 3rd position. With three laps to go Curt regained the 3rd position and was running down Franek with two to go. As Wolfe crossed under the checkered flags and securing his first URC win of the season, Curt Michael used the high side off of turn 4 to overtake Franek at the line for the runner up position and the first Annual Midge Miller Memorial Trophy.
Feature: 1) #5w Lucas Wolfe 2) #5g Curt Michael 3) #28f Davie Franek 4) #67m Sean Michael 5) #77 Derek Locke 6) #22 Troy Betts 7) #89 Ryan Stillwaggon 8) #90 Matt Tanner 9) #24 Mike Haggenbottom 10) #1q Travis Radivoy 11) #39 Justin Barger 12) #73b Brett Michalski 13) #23 Samantha Lieberman 14) #77w Will Eggimann 15) #21c Cody Jourdan 16) #71 Chris Allen 17) #31 Kris Lilick 18) #63 Josh Weller 19) #56 Chris Coyle 20) #67c Jason Cherry 21) #747 Davey Sammons 22) #67w Justin Whittall 23) #706 Mark Sasso 24) #4 Jimmy Stitzel
DNQ - 5z Zack Burd.
Michael Wins the Battle at Bridgeport, Franek Inches Closer to Winning the War!
Curt Michael picked up his 2nd win of the season at the Friday night portion of the 1st Annual Big Track Classic sponsored by JR Michalski Heating and Air Conditioning. With 30 360 sprint cars in the pits, a total of 3 heat races and 1 B-Main was needed to decide the 24 car starting field. Heat race winners went to the Fred's Trailers #56 driven by Chris Coyle, the second heat race was won by Davie Franek in the Franek Auto Sales #28f, heat race #3 was won by the GEI Enterprises, Valley Forge Inc., #5g of Curt Michael. The B-Main was won by former URC regular and making his return to 360 racing the 64K of Kyle Purks.
After Chris Coyle pulled the "0" invert pill, the feature was determined by a heads up start from the heat races creating a front row of Coyle and current 2016 URC Points leader Davie Franek. After the original start was called back, the second time around saw the 28f of Davie Franek jump out to an early lead, but followed closely by the Betts Garage #22 of Troy Betts, and following closely was the #4 of Jimmy Stitzel.
Chris Coyle's run came to an early end when he brought out the first caution of the night on lap #3. Coyle headed to the pits and with 3 laps down, the top 5 was comprised of Davie Franek, Tory Betts, Curt Michael, Jimmy Stitzel and the 747 of Davey Sammons. On the restart it was Franek again, but Betts quickly challenged the 28f for the top spot, briefly overtaking Franek heading into turn 3 before Franek again fought back to regain the top spot. The races 2nd caution came for a spinning Jimmy Stitzel in turns 3-4. Stitzel was able to refire and headed to the tail end of the field.
By lap 10, Franek was clearly in the lead, but the pressure was starting was being put on the rest of the top 4 as Betts, Michael and Sammons all were in hot pursuit of the 28f. After the races 3rd caution, Betts again mounted a charge for the lead and again battled hard with the 28f of Franek. Franek again would hold off Betts, but by lap 15, the 5G of 9 Time URC Champion Curt Michael was into the picture running in the runner up position. On lap 18, Michael made his move and over took Franek for the lead. Franek couldn't mount another challenge as Michael cruised to his 2nd win of the season. Franek finished in the 2nd position and lost very few points to Michael in the 2016 URC Championship points chase. Rounding out the top 5 was the 5W of 15th place starter Lucas Wolfe, the 22 of Betts, and the 747 of Davey Sammons.
Notable mention, Friday night saw the return of Sean Michael, who ran a Justin Whittall backup car with Mike Heffner's 360 bolted into the XXX mount. New York competitor #90 Matt Tanner made his first start at the large 5/8 mile facility along with fellow New York competitor 1Q Thomas Radivoy. Ryan Stillwaggon continued to run the Quality Auto Body #89 for brother Robbie who continues to recover from multiple concussions sustained at New Egypt and Williams Grove Speedways. New York runner and often 410 driver Justin Barger was in the #39 of Tim Hogue. Barger and Hogue first linked up late in the season for a few New York state races.
Feature Finish: 1. 5G Curt Michael, 2. 28f Davie Franek, 3. 5w Lucas Wolfe, 4. 22 Troy Betts, 5. 747 Davey Sammons, 6. 29 Jason Shultz, 7. 63 Josh Weller, 8. 67m Sean Michael, 9. 67w Justin Whittall, 10. 24 Mike Haggenbottom, 11. 89 Ryan Stillwaggon, 12. 21 Ed Aikin, 13. 90 Matt Tanner, 14. 44 Dave Brown, 15. 77w Will Eggimann, 16. 1Q Thomas Radivoy, 17. 73b Brett Michalski, 18. 7o6 Mark Sasso, 19. 67c Jason Cherry, 20. 21c Cody Jourdan, 21. 71 Chris Allen Jr., 22. 4 Jimmy Stitzel, 23. 39 Justin Barger, 24. 64k Kyle Purks, 25. 56 Chris Coyle.
DNQ: 23 Samantha Lieberman, 52 Zack Burd, 17c Keith Anderson, 31 Kris Lilick, 45 Chuck Hebing who had motor issues, and 67c Jason Cherry who took the URC provisional.
Franek Continues his Dominance over the United Racing Club
Davie "No Panic" Franek continued his dominance over the United Racing Club on Saturday night scoring his 6th URC win of the 2016 season. With 17 sprint cars signed into the pit area, two heats were held to determine the 25 lap feature line up. Heat race wins went to the Franek Auto Sales #28f of Davie Franek and the Quality Auto Body #89 currently being driven by substitute driver Ryan Stillwaggon.
After the "4" invert pill was pulled by heat race #1 winner Franek, the front row consisted of rookie Adam Carberry aboard the R&S Concrete Paving and Site Contractors #47 and the returning veteran Chris Coyle who continues to impress aboard the Fred Kennedy owned #56.
At the drop of the green flag, Coyle showed his muscle by shooting to the lead. By lap 3, the 28f of Davie Franek was already into the 2nd position and was stalking to the #56 of Coyle. A lap 4 spin by the #89 of Ryan Stillwaggon brought out the nights first caution and was the perfect opportunity for Franek to take control of the lead with a slide job on the restart going into turn 1. United Racing Club Rookie Just Whittall was already up to the 3rd position by lap 7 after starting 7th and was looking like the young rookie could be in line for his best URC finish. As the field took the 1/2 way flag, Franek was still in control followed by the 56 of Coyle, the #67w of Whittall who was now pressuring Coyle for the runner up spot, the #47 of rookie Adam Carberry and the #747 of 410 regular Davey Sammons. A lap 22 caution due to the 74jr of JR Berry stopping in turns 1-2 was the perfect opportunity for the 56 of Coyle and the 67w of Whittall to mount a challenge on the leader Franek.
On the restart Franek jumped out to the lead going into turn 1, but the action behind him was hot and heavy as the 56 of Coyle, 747 of Sammons, and 67w of Whittall ran 3 wide going into turn 1 and half way through the turn it looked like the three might make it but contact between the 67w and the 747 sent the 747 into the backstretch wall ended Sammons' great run. On the second attempt of a restart which was now single file, Franek again jumped out to the lead, but the caution again quickly came out as the 47 of Adam Carberry was sitting in turn 1. Contact between the #47 of Carberry and the #67w of Whittall while fighting for the 3rd position send both cars to the pits and both were done for the night.
At the drop of the green, Franek continued his march towards his 6th URC win of the year, but the 5g of Curt Michael was now pressuring the #56 of Chris Coyle for the runner up position. Down 1 cylinder, the 5g of Michael caught and passed Coyle at the line finishing in the 2nd position but also improving 6 positions from his 8th place starting position.
Finish: 1. 28f Davie Franek, 2. 5g Curt Michael, 3. 56 Chris Coyle, 4. 22 Troy Betts, 5. 73b Brett Michalski, 6. 28 Keith Prutzman, 7. 77 Will Eggimann, 8. 89 Ryan Stillwaggon, 9. 23j Jake Eldreth, 10. 21c Cody Jourdan, 11. 7o6 Mark Sasso, 12. 67c Jason Cherry, 13. 47 Adam Carberry, 14. 747 Davey Sammons, 15. 74jr JR Berry, 16. 67w Justin Whittall DNS 08 Jason Clauss
Weller Again! This Time at Delaware International!
Josh Weller's August hot streak continued last Saturday night August 27th at the Delaware International Speedway. Weller in the family owned Victory Auto Glass #63 won for the 3rd time in the past 3 races and it was the veteran drivers 4th win overall in the 2016 season.
A total of 19 United Racing Club 360 sprint cars signed into the pits last Saturday night at the Delaware International Speedway. With two heat races needed to complete the starting line up, heat race wins went to Weller and the 9D of Delaware native Andy Best. The former United Racing Club Rookie of the Year was competing in just his first URC race of the 2016 season.
After Weller drew the "0" invert pill the feature event was comprised of a heads up start from the heat races. Notibly starting in the rear of the feature event was the 2016 URC points leader Davie Franek who experience motor trouble during the heat race. Franek pulled out a back up car and promptly drove from the 19th starting position all the way up to 3rd during the 25 lap event. Meanwhile it was all Weller from the drop of the green flag earning his 3rd win in a row and 4th of the season. Weller now has a 6th, 5th, and 3 first place finishes in his last 5 races.
The Burlington NJ hotshoe Robbie Stillwaggon aboard the Quality Auto Body #89 was missing in action again due to effects from multiple wrecks during the season. His brother and 305 sprint car driver Ryan Stillwaggon filled in again for his brother bringing home a 9th place finish. Rookie Justin Whittall continues to impress with a 5th place finish and was the highest finishing rookie.
Up next for the United Racing Club will be a Labor Day weekend filled with non-points shows starting off Friday night at the Brewerton Speedway, the 1/3 mile D Shaped dirt deaman provides some of the racing action in the northeast. On Saturday night the United Racing Club will head to Thunder Mountain Speedway again where last year Cobra Chuck Hebing and 9 time URC champion Curt Michael had an epic battle of slide jobs with Michael and the Bill Gallagher owned 5G parked in victory lane at the end of the night. On Sunday night the racing will wrap up at the Utica-Rome Speedway which could be use as a test race for the following weekends Cole Cup and $10,000 to win show. The next URC points race will be a rescheduled Delaware International Speedway event on Saturday September 10th.
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 63-Josh Weller[1]; 2. 5G-Curt Michael[9]; 3. 28F-Davie Franek[19]; 4. 22-Troy Betts[4]; 5. 67W-Justin Whittall[5]; 6. 56-Chris Coyle[13]; 7. 47-Adam Carberry[3]; 8. 74JR-J.R. Berry[8]; 9. 89-Ryan Stillwaggon[10]; 10. 73B-Brett Michalski[11]; 11. 23J-Jake Eldreth[12]; 12. 77W-William Eggimann[16]; 13. 17J-Jonathan Swanson[7]; 14. 706-Mark Sasso[17]; 15. 21C-Cody Jourdan[18]; 16. 67C-Jason Cherry[14]; 17. 9DX-Kevin Darling[15]; 18. 08-Jason Clauss[6]; 19. 9D-Andy Best[2]
Michael Cruises to First Win on the Season on Saturday Night
Curt Michael and the GEI Enterprises, Valley Forge Inc., K&N Filters 5g cruised to their first victory on 2016 on Saturday night at the Orange County Fair Speedway. The United Racing Club brought 23 cars into the pit area on Saturday night and with three heats on hand the top 5 headed to the A-Main from each heat race. Most notably missing was Robbie Stillwaggon from competition who was at home still trying to heal up from the violent feature wreck at the Williams Grove Speedway just over a week ago. Robbie’s bother Ryan piloted the Quality Auto Body #89 for the night’s action. Also in the pits was the 2016 United Racing Club Points leader Davie Franek. Franek toyed with the idea of skipping the event and heading to the Selinsgrove Speedway for their National Open. Ultimately Franek decided to race closer to home so his family and friends could be present along with continuing to support the United Racing Club. Heat winners went to Chris Coyle, who now has multiple heat race wins aboard the Fred Kennedy owned #56, Davie Franek aboard the Franek Auto Sales #28f, and “Cobra” Chuck Hebing aboard the North Coast Performance #45.
After heat race #1 winner, Chris Coyle drew the “9” invert pill the front row was made up of the 1R of Christian Rumsey and the 72 of Jeremy Quick. At the drop of the green flag, the 72 of Quick jumped out to the lead and was followed by the 1R of Rumsey, the 17j of Jonathan Swanson who was also running a 19h wing in memory of long time URC member Guy Howie, the 5g of Curt Michael, and the 47 of United Racing Club rookie Adam Carberry.
A lap 1 caution bunched the field back up and on the restart again the 72 of Quick using the outside lane to his advantage jumped out the lead, this time with the 5g of Michael following very closely behind. Just about 5 laps in Davie Franek looked like a contender jumping into the 2nd position when he passed Michael going into turn 1, but Michael quickly regained the position just before the caution came out again.
On the restart Michael aboard the Bill Gallagher owned car rocketed to the top position overtaking Quick. Just before halfway Michael continued to lead followed by Davie Franek, Chuck Hebing, Quick and now the 47 of Adam Carberry. Also on the move was the 67w of URC rookie sensation Justin Whittall who was now shown in the 6th position after starting 10th. A final caution was brought out by a spinning JR Berry in turns 1-2, on the double file restart Michael chose the inside and quickly jumped out to the lead again. Franek could get close but could never fully mount a charge for the top spot, ultimately finishing 2nd. Following Franek across the line was Cobra, Adam Carberry and Chris Coyle.
The United Racing Club which just completed a 4 race in 7 days stretch will now have the week off before returning back to action on Saturday night August 27th at the Delaware International Speedway.
Results: 1. 5G Curt Michael, 2. 28f Davie Franek, 3. 45 Chuck Hebing, 4. 47 Adam Carberry, 5. 56 Chris Coyle, 6. 67w Justin Whittall, 7. 4 Jimmy Stitzel, 8. 08 Jason Clauss, 9. 72 Jeremy Quick, 10. 30 Scott Goodrich, 11. 73b Brett Michalski, 12. 89 Ryan Stillwaggon, 13. 1Q Thomas Radivoy, 14. 7o6 Mark Sasso, 15. 74JR JR Berry, 16. 67c Jason Cherry, 17. 1R Christian Rumsey, 18. 17j Jonathan Swanson, 19. X Benny Rizzo, 20. 25X Geoff Quackenbush, 21. 1F Scott Flammer
DNQ. 56v Billy VanInwegen, 22 Troy Betts
Weller Parks It Again in Victory Lane
Josh Weller is as hot at the August heat right now with the United Racing Club. Fresh off of an 18 to 5 place and hard charger at Williams Grove to winning at Susquehanna Speedway from the 4th position on Saturday night, Weller rolled into Bridgeport Speedway for a Tuesday night special paying $2,000 to win thanks to Valley Forge Inc and GEI Enterprises kicking in an extra $500 for the win.
With a field of 17 cars in the pits for the Tuesday night show, 2 heat races were needed to complete the line up for the 25 lap A-Main. Heat race #1 was won by the Quality Auto Body #89 of Robbie Stillwaggon who was still suffering some physical effects from his crash on Friday night at the Williams Grove Speedway and heat race #2 was won by the 2014 URC Champion and current points leader the Franek Auto Sales #28f of Davie "No Panic" Franek.
After Heat race #1 winner Robbie Stillwaggon drew the "6" invert pill, the front row was set with Weller and the Fall Proof Fall Protection, Bitner Automotive, K&N Filters #15 of Mr. Twister Mark Bitner.
Right from the drop of the green, Bitner out drug Weller going into turn won and was shown the leader of lap #1. Bitner carried the lead until lap 4 saw the first and only caution of the race, unfortunately it was the leader Mark Bitner who rolled to a stop in turns 1 and 2. Bitner later reported motor problems put an early end to his great run. With Weller now in command, the driver of the Victory Auto Glass #63 picked the outside of row 1 heading to the restart. Weller quickly took command of the lead and went and hid for the remaining laps.
Weller parked the #63 in victory lane and completed his traditional wing dance. Following Weller to the line was current points leader Davie Franek, the GEI Enterprises, Valley Forge Inc #5g Curt Michael, the R&S Concrete Paving and Site Contractors #47 of Adam Carberry. Carberry who expired a motor on Saturday night at Susquehanna quickly contacted former 360 driver Eddie Wagner for the purchase of his SEC Racing Engines motor. Carberry had just enough time to pull the old mount from his #47 and place the new motor in before heading to the track on Tuesday afternoon. Rounding out the top 5 was the B&G Auto Glass #22 of Troy Betts.
The Untied Racing Club will now complete a 4 races in 8 days swing when they head north to Middletown NY and the Famed Orange County Fair Speedway on Saturday night. Franek continues to lead the 2016 United Racing Club Points followed by Stillwaggon and 9 Time URC Champion Curt Michael.
Results: 1) #63 Josh Weller 2) #28F Davie Franek 3) #5G Curt Michael 4) #47 Adam Carberry 5) #22 Troy Betts 6) #67w Justin Whittall 7) #39 Nate Snyder 8) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon 9) #56 Chris Coyle 10) #73b Brett Michalski 11) #18 Tim Tanner 12) #5 Stef Palmai 13) #77w Will Eggimann 14) #67 Jason Cherry 15) #15 Mark Bitner 16) #17j Jonathan Swanson
Weller Wins It!
Josh Weller and the rest of the United Racing Club headed to Susquehanna Speedway for the first time in 2016. Fresh off of a top 5 finish the night before at the Williams Grove Speedway where Weller advanced 13 positions in the feature event from the 18th starting position, Weller posted "Now if I can just draw well." Tonight Weller drew well and started 3rd in heat #3 and brought home the heat race win. Other heat race wins went to Robbie Stillwaggon aboard the Quality Auto Body #89 and Jordan Givler aboard the WTBD #90. The B-Main was won by Eric Tomecek.
After the "6" invert pill was drawn by heat race #1 winner, Jordan Givler, the front row was comprised for 2 of the URC heavy hitters, the Franek Auto Sales #28f driven by current URC points leader Davie "No Panic" Franek and the #55 Mach 1 Chassis driven by Mark Smith. Franek who was fresh off of his win the night before at the Williams Grove Speedway took the lead from Smith on the initial start. A lap 4 red flag was shown for an engine fire aboard the #47 of Adam Carberry. A lap 5 restart saw Franek jump into position p1 again followed by Smith, and the 63 of Weller.
Smith was the next to bring out the caution which saw the 55 come to a stop in turns 1-2. With Smith now out of the picture, the top 5 was now made up of Franek, Weller, Stillwaggon, Locke and the 66h of Doug Hammaker from the 13th starting position. On the double file restart Franek took over the lead once again, but the caution was quickly thrown for Jimmy Stitzel who had blown a right rear coming down the front stretch. After the single file restart Weller went to the outside of Franek going into 1, Franek tried to squeeze Weller but Weller didn't back off and the both of them entered side by side into turn 1, coming off of turn 2, Weller jumped to the lead and was now shown the leader. Weller went on the lead the remaining laps and brought home the Victory Auto Glass, Schearer's VW & Audi Specialists #63 his 2nd win of the 2016 season.
The Untied Racing Club will now head to Bridgeport Speedway on Tuesday night for the annual 3 For All Event. Pit Gates Open at 3:30, Grandstands Open at 5pm, Hot Laps at 6:15pm and Heat Races start at 7:15pm.
The official run down was not available at the time of this publication, the official results will be posted once they become available.
Davie Franek Parks It in Victory Lane at Williams Grove Speedway
Friday night the United Racing Club visited the Williams Grove Speedway for the 5th time this season. With mother nature claiming the first visit and Greg Hodnett claiming the next 4 races, we were in for a new 2016 winner at the 1/2 mile facility with Hodnett off competing at the Knoxville Nationals.
With 25 cars in the pits, they were divided into 3 heat races with the top 6 automatically transferring into the A-Main event paying $2,000 to win thanks to nightly sponsor Quality Auto Body. Heat race wins went to Robbie Stillwaggon aboard the Quality Auto Body #89, Chuck "Cobra" Hebing aboard the Wilkins Recreational Vehicles, Northcoast Performance #45 and Chris Coyle aboard the Fred's Trailer Parts Center #56. This was Coyle's first URC Heat Race win of the year since stepping into the potent #56 seat. A B-Main was not needed when the 17j of newly married Jonathan Swanson scratched for the night.
When heat race #1 winner Robbie Stillwaggon drew the "6" pill, the front row was set with United Racing Club rookie Justin Whittall driving the family owned Pioneer Auto Body, World Wide Bearings #67w and Jason Shultz in the Weather Proofing #29 car. At the drop of the green, Whittall jumped out to a quick lead over the 29 of Shultz and the 28f of Davie Franek. Mark Smith brought out the nights first caution on lap 2 after making contact with the turn 2 inside wall. The contact ended Smith's night who would have been considered one of the favorites to win the nights feature event.
On the restart, Whittall again jumped out to the lead this time the 15 yr old rookie was challenged by the 2014 URC Champion Davie Franek entering into turn 3, Franek briefly took command of the lead before Whittall crossed over the 28f and retook the lead before a lap 3 caution was shown for a slowing Chris Coyle on the front stretch. Coyle refired and joined the back of the field for a restart.
By lap 10, Whittall was still in command with Franek running 2nd, Schultz 3rd, Chuck Hebing 4th and the top 5 rounded out by the 1w of Eric Tomecek. Franek finally took control of the top spot during lap 13. Once again Whittall went at Franek with no fear and went wheel to wheel with the current points leader. Franek finally took complete control of the lead by lap 13th. Franek lead the remaining laps earning his 5th United Racing Club win of the season and strengthening his points lead over 2nd place Robbie Stillwaggon.
The United Racing Club will be back in action on Saturday night when the head to Susquehanna Speedway for the first time in 2016. After Saturday night the Club will head to the big 5/8 mile Bridgeport Speedway on Tuesday night.
Results: 1) #28F DAVIE FRANEK, 2) #45 CHUCK HEBING, 3) #1W ERIC TOMECEK, 4) #29 JASON SCHULTZ, 5) #63 JOSH WELLER, 6) #77 DEREK LOCKE, 7) #67W JUSTIN WHITTALL, 8) #4 JIMMY STITZEL, 9) #5G CURT MICHAEL, 10) #31 GLENNDON FORSYTHE 11) #19 TIM WAGAMAN, 12) #08 JASON CLAUSS 13) #23 CHRIS ARNOLD, 14) #30 JARED ESH, 15) #56 CHRIS COYLE, 16) #22 TROY BETTS, 17) #47 ADAM CARBERRY, 18) #73B BRENT MICHALSKI, 19) #10K ROB DIETRICK, 20) #706 MARK SASSO, 21) #67C JASON CHERRY, 22) #87 GEORGE SUPRICK III, 23) #89 ROBBIE STILLWAGGON, 24) #55 MARK SMITH
DNQ: 17j JONATHAN SWANSON
Hodnett Wins Again With The United Racing Club
Greg Hodnett did it again on Friday night scoring another victory with the United Racing Club. This time, the win now makes him eligible for the $10,000 bonus if he can win all three races this Mid Atlantic Championship Weekend. The weekend now heads to Selinsgrove Speedway for the $10,000 to win Mach 1 Nationals and finishing up on Sunday night at the Utica-Rome Speedway and the $10,000 to win Cole Cup.
A total of 38 United Racing Club and Empire Super Sprint Cars signed into the pit area on Friday night all looking for the $4,000 to win top prize along with having a chance for the Lelands.com $10,000 bonus if any driver can sweep the weekend. Four heat races were needed with heat race wins going to Greg Hodnett aboard the Lealands.com, Heffner Racing Enterprises #27, Davie Franek aboard the Franek Auto Sales #28f, URC Rookie Adam Carberry aboard the R&S Concrete, Paving and Site Contractors #47 and Aaron Ott aboard the Bruner's Auto Center , Don Ott Engines #25. The B-Main win went to the #79 of Jordan Thomas. Provisionals went to the 10C Jeff Cook (ESS), 4 Jimmy Stitzel (URC) and the 706 of Mark Sasso (Selinsgrove)
With Hodnett pulling the "0" invert pill, it was a heads up start for the 25 lap feature event. >From the green flag Hodnett put the Heffner #27 out front, but before the 3rd lap could be completed the caution flag was show for a slowing Mark Smith in turn 3. Mark Smith's Mach 1 Chassis M1 appeared to have a motor expire ending his night. On the restarted Hodnett chose the inside line and again put the #27 out front followed by the 25 of Ott and the 89 Quality Auto Body of Robbie Stillwaggon already up from the 6th position.
By lap 7 Hodnett was in control followed by the 25 of Ott, 89 of Stillwaggon, in 4th was the Cobra Chuck Hebing up from his 9th starting position. Hebing continued to march towards to front and put the 45 into the 3rd position on lap 9. A lap 12 spin by the 706 of Mark Sasso could have been disastrous for the 45 of Hebing as his right rear of the car made contract with the 706 of Sasso. Hebing stayed out on the track as the tire didn't appear to be going down.
Also on the move by lap 12 was the 63 of Josh Weller. Weller who started 19th was already shown just outside the top 10 in the 11th running position. Weller climbed into the top 10 by lap 13 when he was shown in the 7th position and finished in the 6th position.
Meanwhile Hodnett continued to show the way, with Cobra now in 2nd place followed by Ott, Stillwaggon, Sammons, Franek, Weller, Wolfe, Michael and the 21 of 24th starter Kyle Reinhardt.
In the end Hodnett cruised to his 4th URC win of the season and earning a chance at the $10,000 bonus if he can sweep the weekend. The top 5 was rounded out by the 45 of Chuck Hebing, the 25 of Aaron Ott, 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon, and the 28f of Davie Franek. A last lap motor explosion aboard the Pioneer Pole Buildings, Area Auto Racing News #747 of Davey Sammons put an end to a top 5 run for the New Jersey driver.
Results: 1. 27 Greg Hodnett, 2. 45 Chuck Hebing, 3. 25 Aaron Ott, 4. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 5. 28f Davie Franek, 6. 63 Josh Weller, 7. 5w Lucas Wolfe, 8. 5g Curt Michael, 9. 21 Kyle Reinhardt 10. 29 Jason Shultz, 11. 1w Eric Tomacek, 12. 47 Adam Carberry, 13. 747 Davey Sammons, 14. 28fm Steve Porier, 15. 4 Jimmy Stitzel, 16. 10 Paulie Colagiovanni, 17. 76 Larry Kelleher, 18. 23 Chris Arnold, 19. 22 Troy Betts, 20. 28 Keith Prutzman, 21. 19 Troy Wagaman, 22. 79 Jordan Thomas, 23. 10k Rob Dietrich, 24. 08 Jason Clauss, 25. 10c Jeff Cook, 26. 7o6 Mark Sasso, 27. M1 Mark Smith.
DNQ 2w Glenndon Forsythe, 1j Derrick Juliano, 18 Nyle Berkes, 77 Derek Locke, 67c Jason Cherry, 97 Brie Hershey, 87 George Suprick
No Panic in Franek at Georgetown on Friday Night
Davie "No Panic" Franek used a last lap pass of Delaware native Kevin Darling to take win #7 on the year and win #4 on the year with the United Racing Club. With the win Franek increases his points lead to 71 over 2nd place Robbie Stillwaggon.
With 15 United Racing Club sprint cars signed into the pits on Friday night, two heat races were needed to set the 25 lap feature event starting line up. Heat race wins went to the Victory Auto Glass #63 of Josh Weller and the R&S Concrete, Paving and Site Contractors #47 of United Racing Club Rookie Adam Carberry.
With the "4" invert pill drawn by heat race #1 winner Josh Weller, the front row was comprised of the Ken Darling & Sons Sewer, Aquaflow Pumps and Design #9D of Kevin Darling and the Dave Franek Auto Sales and current URC Points Leader #28f Davie Franek. After the initial start was called back, Darling who was only making his 3rd appearance of the 2016 season quickly jumped to the outside of Franek taking command of the lead. Darling lead Franek, followed by Josh Weller and former URC Champion and defending 305 sprint car champion Mike Haggenbottom.
With Darling in command and now lapping cars around lap 7, a lap 9 caution for URC Rookie Adam Carberry brought the 28f of Franek to Darlings back bumper. Darling, a URC veteran, was not intimidated by one of the hottest 360 drivers in the nation, and at the drop of the green for the restart, both Darling and Franek were side by side entering turn 1. Franek slid up the track a bit, but Darling stayed in it and pulled Franek coming off of turn 2 and into the lead going into turn 3.
With Darling in command, also on the move was the GEI Enterprises, Valley Forge Inc, Bill Gallagher owned #5g of 9 time URC Champion Curt Michael. Michael who started in the 10th position was shown in 7th position at the halfway point and up to 5th with 5 to go eventually finishing in the 4th position.
With the two laps to go flags showing at the flagger stand, it appeared that Darling was on his way to his first victory of 2016, but when Darling came to the white flag, going into turn one, his left front touched a lapped car of Brett Michalski. Darling tried to go around Michalski on the high side, and the two were wheel to wheel coming off of turn 2.
With another lapped car of Jason Cherry to the inside of the racetrack, Franek who had now closed the gap on Darling, didn't hesitate and split the lapped cars going down the backstretch. All Darling could do was watch the 28f shoot by to his left and follow him into turn 3. With Darling not being able to mount a charge, the 28f of Franek crossed under the checkered flags first and brought home win #7 on the year.
The United Racing Club has had many on the edge of your seat races in 2016 (Weller going wheel to wheel with Mark Smith at Big Diamond, Stillwaggon and Smith battling it out just a few short weeks ago at Bedford) and now tonight's last lap pass of Davie Franek on Kevin Darling.
Former URC regular Chris Coyle made his return to sprint car racing (close to 5 years since last URC start) on Friday night. Coyle who started 4th in heat #2, finished, 3rd and started 6th in the 25 lap main event, finished in the 7th position in the Fred Kennedy owned #56.
Results: 1. Davie Franek, 2. Kevin Darling, 3. Josh Weller, 4. Curt Michael, 5. Davey Sammons, 6. Robbie Stillwaggon, 7. Chris Coyle, 8. Justin Whittall, 9. Troy Betts, 10. Brett Michalski, 11. Will Eggimann, 12. Jason Cherry, 13. Michael Haggenbottom, 14. Adam Carberry, 15. Jason Clauss.
Smith Battles with Stillwaggon for URC Win at Bedford Speedway
The United Racing Club returned to the Fabulous Bedford Speedway on Friday night July 8th for the first time since 2014. A total of 14 URC Sprint cars were in the pit area with all the top notch teams in attendance. With two heat races on tap, heat race wins were won by the Franek Auto Sales #28f of Davie Franek and the B&G Auto Glass #22 of Troy Betts.
After the invert pill of "4" was drawn by Franek, the front row for the nightly feature event belonged to the Quality Auto Body #89 out of Burlington NJ Robbie Stillwaggon and the Mach 1 Chassis #M1 of Mark Smith. At the drop of the green flag, Stillwaggon jumped out to the lead over the M1 of Mark Smith. By lap 7, Stillwaggon and the leaders were into lapped traffic and with Stillwaggon increasing his lead before a lap 11 caution flag was shown for the Victory Auto Glass #63 of Josh Weller for a collapsed front end. Also heading pitside was the Erb and Henry Equipment #08 of Jason Clauss.
On the restart Stillwaggon used the inside lane to his advantage to regain the lead, but this time Mark Smith stayed with Stillwaggon constantly pressuring him for the top spot. Also on the restart the Valley Forge Inc, GEI Enterprises #5g of 9 time URC Champion Curt Michael moved around the #22 of Troy Betts and into the 4th position.
On lap 17, as Stillwaggon and Smith touched coming down the front stretch, the M1 of Smith was finally able to get by the 89 of Stillwaggon for the lead position. Smith would go on the lead the remaining laps, finishing 2nd was the 89 of Stillwaggon, 3rd was the 28f of Davie Franek 4th the 5g of Curt Michael and in 5th the 22 of Troy Betts.
The Untied Racing Club will now head south for their next 2 races as they have a date next Saturday July 16th at the Delaware International Speedway and the following Friday July 23rd back to the Georgetown Speedway were Davie Franek picked up the victory in URC's first visit in 2016.
Results: 1. M1 Mark Smith, 2. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 3. 28f Davie Franek, 4. 5g Curt Michael, 5. 22 Troy Betts, 6. 47 Adam Carberry, 7. 4 Jimmy Stitzel, 8. 67w Justin Whittall, 9. 28 Keith Prutzman, 10. 73b Brett Michalski, 11. 77w Will Eggiman, 12. Jason Cherry, 13. 08 Jason Clauss, 14. 63 Josh Weller
Hodnett Cruises to Williams Gove Victory
Greg Hodnett and the Leland's.com. Trone Outdoor #27 cruised to his 3rd United Racing Club victory of 2016. A total of 24 cars were pit side for the midweek show on Wednesday night. Heat races were won by 2014 URC Champion, driver of the Franek Auto Sales #28, Davie "No Panic" Franek, The "Cobra" Chuck Hebing, and Greg Hodnett. When the "9" invert pill was drawn by Franek, the Quality Auto Body #89 of Robbie Stillwaggon was slated to start on the pole position for the 25 lap feature event paying $2,000 to win.
Robbie Stillwaggon and the #29s of Jason Shultz lead the field of 23 cars to the green flag. Stillwaggon quickly jumped out to the lead but the caution was thrown before a lap could be completed when the 29s of Shultz made contact with the wall in turns 1 and 2, also involved where the Brink Construction #47K of Kody Lehman, the Transfleet Concrete #77 of Will Eggimann and the R&S Concrete, Paving and Site Contractors #47 of URC Rookie Adam Carberry. Schultz was the only one that was able to continue, all three other cars went pit side with heavy damage.
On the double file restart Stillwaggon again jumped to the lead before the caution was thrown for the Wilkins Recreation Vehicles #45 of Chuck Hebing turned around in turns 1 - 2. The restart again saw Stillwaggon jump out to the lead, followed by the Weather Proof Roofing #29s of Jason Shultz, the Mach 1 Chassis 1M of Mark Smith and the #27 of Greg Hodnett who moved up from his 7th place starting position in just 1 lap. Stillwaggon lead until lap 10 when Hodnett overtook the #89 car coming out of turn 4.
A lap 12 caution bunched up the field of 360 sprinters again, this time the double file restart saw the 27 of Hodnett take command of the lead position followed by the 1M of Mark Smith, 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon, the 29s of Jason Shultz, and now the Franek Auto Sales #28f of Davie Franek who had worked his way up from the 9th starting position. By lap 15, the top 2 didn't change, but Franek was on the move working his way up to 3rd place. The remaining laps belonged to Hodnett who cruised home to his 3rd URC feature win of the year. Following Hodnett was the 1M of Mark Smith, 28f of Davie Franek who continued to strengthen his URC points lead, 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon, and the 29s of Jason Shultz who had a great run.
The United Racing Club will now be off until Friday July 8th when the Club visits the Fabulous Bedford Speedway located in Western PA. The United Racing Club did not visit Bedford Speedway in 2015 so this will be the first visit since going back to the "Club" status.
URC FEATURE: 1) #27 GREG HODNETT 2) #M1 MARK SMITH 3) #28F DAVIE FRANEK 4) #89 ROBBIE STILLWAGGON 5) #29 JASON SHULTZ 6) #5G CURT MICHAEL 7) #5W LUCUS WOLFE 8) #63 JOSH WELLER 9) #2W GLENDON FORSYTHE 10) #23 CHRIS ARNOLD 11) #4 JIMMY STITZEL 12) #67W JUSTIN WHITALL 13) #1W ERIC TOMECEK 14) #22 TROY BETTS 15) #10 PAULIE COLAGIOVANNI 16) #33W MIKE WALTER 17) #73B BRENT MICHALSKI 18) #08 JASON CLAUSS 19) #28 KEITH PRUTZMAN 20) #45 CHUCK HEBING 21) #47K KODY LEHMAN 22) #47 ADAM CARBERRY 23) #77W WILL EGGIMANN
DNS: DEREK LOCKE
Weller Wins Wheel to Wheel Battle With Smith at Big Diamond
Josh Weller won his first United Racing Club sprint car feature or 2016 and his first as an official car owner Friday night at the Big Diamond Speedway. With 20 cars in the pits, and 2 heat races on tap, the heat races were won by Valley Forge Inc., GEI Enterprises #5g of Curt Michael and the Franek Auto Sales #28f of Davie Franek. After Michael pulled the "0" invert pill, the heads up start was used.
With Michael and Franek bringing the 20 car starting field to the green flag, Davie Franek jumped out to the lead with the Mach 1 Chassis M1 of Mark Smith putting on the pressure for the lead. The field was slowed due to a lap 6 caution due to the Buck Rubs #28 of Keith Prutzman spinning out in turn 2. Prutzman's night was done as he was removed from the speedway on the dreaded hook. On the restart Franek again jumped out to the lead but was quickly overtaken by the M1 of Mark Smith. Smith who has 3 wins already on the year with URC was looking for win #4 and was looking impressive in the early stages of the feature event.
A lap 7 caution due to a wreck in turns 4 involving the #4 of Jimmy Stitzel, 17j of Jonathan Swanson, the 7o6 of Mark Sasso and the 33w of Michael Walter again bunched up the field with this time Smith now leading the Schearer's VW and Audi Specialists, Victory Auto Glass #63 of Josh Weller, Franek, Michael and rookie Adam Carberry rounded out the top 5.
On the restart Weller flexed the Don Ott muscle overtaking Smith for the lead. A lap 9 caution for the 21 of Ed Aikin turned ugly when after Aikin was refired he drove over the front of 15 year old URC rookie Justin Whittall causing race ending damage to the front of the Pioneer Auto Body #67w. On the restart again, Weller jumped out to the lead with Smith close in tow behind the #63. Lap 15 saw Smith briefly overtake Weller for the top spot, but Weller retook the top spot from Smith exiting turn 4 with a text book slide job.
A lap 21 caution saw the B&G Auto Body #22 of Troy Betts sitting on the front stretch and being pushed to the pits. Weller who was just overtaken by Smith for the lead had a bit of lady luck on his side as the field reverted back to the previous lap and Weller was again the leader. A lap 21 restart saw Weller again jump out to the lead but this time Smith pressured Weller running wheel to wheel through turns 1 and 2, down the backstretch and going into turn 3. Weller finally took command of the top position coming off of turn 4 and never looked back as Weller went on to win the 25 lap feature event.
Next on tap for the United Racing Club, the United Racing Club will complete a 3 races in 8 days swing when they head to the famed 1/2 mile speedway of Williams Grove on Wednesday night June 22nd. URC will be sharing the card with the Super DIRT Modified Racing Series. Wednesday June 22nd, Hot Laps are at 7:30 and racing at 8:00.
Results: 1. 63 Josh Weller, 2. M1 Mark Smith, 3. 5g Curt Michael, 4. 28f Davie Franek, 5. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 6. 747 Davey Sammons, 7. 47 Adam Carberry, 8. 08 Jason Clauss, 9. 2 Art Liedl, 10. 33 Michael Walter, 11. 73b Brett Michalski, 12. 1w Eric Tomecek, 13. 17j Jonathan Swanson, 14. 67c Jason Cherry, 15. 22 Troy Betts, 16. 7o6 Mark Sasso, 17. 67w Justin Whittall, 18. 28 Keith Prutzman, 19. 4 Jimmy Stitzel, 21. Ed Aikin.
Hodnett Uses Late Race Pass for the Win at New Egypt Speedway
Greg Hodnett used a late race bobble of Adam Carberry to take home the Turnpike 25 win Tuesday night at New Egypt Speedway. With 19 cars in attendance for the 4th annual Turnpike 25 presented by Brett Deyo, the two heat races went to the Heffner owned 27 of Greg Hodnett and the Carberry Racing, R&S Concrete and Paving #47 of URC Rookie Adam Carberry. When the #0 pill was drawn by Hodnett the feature was a heads up start.
At the drop of the green flag it was the 47 of Carberry jumping out to the lead. A lap 1 red flag found the Quality Auto Body #89 of Robbie Stillwaggon on its lid after contact with a spinning Ed Aikin coming off of turn 2. Once the 89 was cleared to the infield, Carberry used the inside lane on the double file restart to once again take command of the lead for the 25 lap feature. By lap 5, the 47 of Carberry was dealing with lapped traffic until a lap 9 caution came out for the 21k of Kyle Reinhardt who had been running inside the top 10. Reinhardt was taken to the pits and did not return. With just under 10 laps complete the running order was Adam Carberry, Greg Hodnett, the Pioneer Pole Buildings #747 of Davey Sammons, the Victory Auto Glass #63 of Josh Weller and the 28f Franek Auto Sales of Davie Franek rounding out the top 5.
A lap 10 restart saw Carberry take command of the lead once again, however on lap 15, Carberry and the 47 jumped the cushion letting the 27 of Greg Hodnett to take control of the lead. That was all that Hodnett needed as he lead the remaining laps to take home the 25 lap feature win along with the $2,000 winners prize money.
Heat races were won by Hodnett and Carberry. Heat 1 pole sitter Troy Betts experience a scary moment when he briefly had to deal with a cockpit fire, Betts quickly exited the B&G Auto #22 while still engulfed in flames. Thankfully a quick thinking corner worker threw dirt on Troy as he was laying down rolling around trying the extinguish the fire himself. Other URC Rookie Justin Whittall had a strong 8th place run in the Pioneer Auto Body #67. Unfortunately due to the lateness of the races, race winner Greg Hodnett needed to head out before victory lane could be completed at the end of the night.
The United Racing Club will be back in action on Friday night in coal country as they visit the Big Diamond Speedway. Pit gates open at 5:30, hot laps at 7:45 and racing begins at 8:15. Last years winner Josh Weller will be looking to repeat in his family owned #63.
Feature: 1) #27 Greg Hodnett 2) #47 Adam Carberry 3) #5G Curt Michael 4) #747 Davey Sammons 5) #63 Josh Weller 6) #28F Davie Franek 7) #8C Brian Carber 8) #67W Justin Whitall 9) #18 Tim Tanner 10) #24 Mike Haggenbottom 11) #21 Ed Aiken 12) #77W Will Eggiman 13) #2 Art Liedl 14) #15 Mark Bitner 15) #21K Kyle Reinhart 16) #39 Nate Snyder 17) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon 18) #117J David Swanson
URC Returns to Action Tuesday June 14th at New Egypt Speedway
Tuesday night June 14th, the United Racing Club will invade the New Egypt Speedway for the annual Turnpike 25 event promoted by Brett Deyo. Coming off of an off weekend the United Racing Club teams will be chomping at the bit to get back on the track.
Points leader Davie Franek spent his off weekend racing with the Empire Super Sprints at the Utica Rome Speedway on Sunday night. Franek who has lead the points from the start of the season will be looking to continue his success at the New Jersey facility. Second place points Robbie Stillwaggon spent the off weekend helping out his crew chief and brother Ryan with his 305 sprint car with the TSRS series' visit to New Egypt Speedway. Stillwaggon and Franek are the only 2 URC regulars to compete at New Egypt Speedway earlier this year when the World of Outlaws 410 series was in town. The will find out if that experience can translate to a feature win tomorrow night.
The mid week show is expected to draw a large crowd of 360 sprint cars. Expected to be in attendance along with Franek and Stillwaggon will be Curt Michael, Josh Weller, Mark Bitner, Ed Aikin, Mike Haggenbottom, Mark Smith, and Greg Hodentt. The who's who of the 360 crowd will all be gunning for the $2,000 to win prize money.
The 2016 URC rookie crop is the strongest its been in years with Brett Michalski, Adam Carberry, Justin Whittall and Mark Sasso all doing very well with Carberry and Sasso in the top 10 in URC points.
The United Racing Club will then be back in action on Friday night June 17th at the Big Diamond Speedway. Last year's race saw local driver Josh Weller in victory lane followed by a couple of New York invaders of Justin Barger and Joe Trenca.
Tuesday nights event, pit gates open at 3 p.m. Grandstand gates are unlocked at 4 p.m. Hot laps hit the track at 6 p.m. Racing is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m.
Adult admission is $30. Seniors (ages 65 and over) and Military with ID pay $24. Students ages 12-15 are $12 and Kids 11 and under are FREE.
Well Deserved Weekend Off for the United Racing Club
This weekend the United Racing Club will have a week deserved weekend off after back to back 2 race weekends. Through 8 points races this season the United Racing Club win leaders are Davie Franek and Mark Smith with 3, followed by Ryan Kissinger and Greg Hodnett each with 1 and Cody Keller with the rain shortened URC/ESS race in April.
This Tuesday night June 14th, the United Racing Club will return to action as part of Brett Deyo’s Short Track Super Series Turnpike 25 at the New Egypt Speedway. The 2015 Turnpike 25 saw 9 time URC points champion Curt Michael in the Bill Gallagher owned, Valley Forge Inc, GEI Enterprises 5g bring home the win followed by 2014 URC Champion Davie “No Panic” Franek in the Franek Auto Sales #28f and Josh Weller in the Eldreth Construction #25.
The 2016 version should be just as exciting with top runners Curt Michael, Mark Smith, Josh Weller, Robbie Stillwaggon and Davie Franek to all be in attendance.
After Tuesday night’s action the Untied Racing Club will be making their annual visit to coal country and the Big Diamond Speedway. In 2015, the #25 of Josh Weller brought home the win. Look for the new #63 Victory Auto Glass of Josh Weller to be at the front of the pack again.
Check out Unitedracingclub.net to keep up with all the United Racing Club’s news and results.
Hodnett Puts Stop to Smith's URC Win Streak
Greg Hodnett and the Mike Heffner owned #27 360 sprint car found the winning combination on Friday night at the Williams Grove Speedway and put a stop to Mark Smith's recent dominance of the United Racing Club.
Friday night's visit to the Williams Grove Speedway brought 23 United Racing Club sprint cars into the pit area. The 3 URC heat races were won by Greg Hodnett, Burlington NJ's Robbie Stillwaggon in the Quality Auto Body #89 and Ocean View DE's Curt Michael in the Bill Gallagher owned Valley Forge Inc, GEI Enterprises, K&N Filters #5g.
After heat #1 winner Greg Hodnett pulled the #6 invert pill, the stage was set with the front row comprised of the two drivers with the most 2016 URC wins, Mark Smith and Davie Franek who both have 3 URC wins on the year.
At the drop of the green flag the Mach 1 Chassis 1m of Mark Smith jumped out to the early lead until a lap 2 caution for the 22 B&G Auto Body of Troy Betts bunched up the field again. Smith again jumped out to the lead with the 27 of Hodnett now running in the 2nd position. A lap 3 caution for a slowing #67 of 15 yr old URC rookie Justin Whittall due to a broken drive shaft again brought the field together for another double file restart. This time Hodnett's #27 took command of the race until a lap 7 caution due to two separate incidents of 08 Jason Clauss slowed on the front stretch and the 706 of Rookie Mark Sasso spinning in turns 1-2.
Again Hodnett jumped out to the lead and on lap 10, the 5g of Curt Michael (starting 4th), the 63 of Josh Weller (starting 11th) and the 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon (starting 5th) were all on the move. The rest of the race went caution free with Hodnett picking up a 5.9 second victory. Rounding out the top 5 were Mark Smith, Curt Michael, Robbie Stillwaggon, and Josh Weller. Current URC points leader Davie Franek finished in the 6th position just outside the top 5, but Michael and Stillwaggon gained valuable points in search of the 2016 URC Championship.
The United Racing Club will again head north to the Selinsgrove Speedway for Saturday Night June 4th's event. Last week Mark Smith's luck landed him in victory lane when leader Eric Tomecek crashed into the turn 4 wall during the 25 lap feature event. Can Tomecek and the 1W finish what they started just 1 week ago and park the 1W in victory lane? Track gates open at 5 and racing at 7pm.
URC FEATURE: 1) #27 GREG HODNETT 2) #M1 MARK SMITH 3) #5G CURT MICHAEL 4) #89 ROBBIE STILLWAGGON 5) #63 JOSH WELLER 6) #28F DAVIE FRANEK 7) #77 DEREK LOCKE 8) #8C BRIAN CARBER 9) #1W ERIC TOMECEK 10) #29 JASON SHULTZ 11) #2W GLENDON FORSYTHE 12) #4 JIMMY STITZEL 13) #23 CHRIS ARNOLD 14) #19 TROY WAGAMAN 15) #10K ROB DIETRICK 16) #47 ADAM CARBERRY 17) #706 MARK SASSO 18) #08 JASON CLAUSS 19) #67W JUSTIN WHITTALL 20) #22 TROY BETTS 21) #21 ED AIKIN
DNS: #21C CODY JOURDAN, #56 RANDY WEST
The United Racing Club Swings Back into Action This Weekend
The United Racing Club swings back into action this weekend Friday Night June 3rd at Williams Grove Speedway and Saturday Night June 4th at the Selinsgrove Speedway. This will be URC’s first visit to Williams Grove in 2016, their previous date was rained out on April 29th. This will be URC’s 4th visit to Selinsgrove this year, and 3rd point’s race visit. Previous winners in 2016 are Cody Keller, Mark Smith and aga...in Mark Smith this past weekend won the Kramer Cup Memorial Race. Smith continues to be on a tear in the 360 ranks, doubling up last weekend at Selinsgrove and Port Royal Speedways.
Wantage New Jersey’s Davie “No Panic” Franek continues to lead the 2016 season long points stretching his lead to 35 points over 2nd place Robbie Stillwaggon. Ocean View Delaware’s Curt Michael continues to sit in 3rd 96 points out and still in striking distance of his 10th URC title. Franek continues to lead the United Racing Club in 2016 wins with 3, while Mark Smith has 2 and Cody Keller and Curt Michael both have 1.
This weekend at Williams Grove Speedway Pit Gate and Grandstand gates open at 6pm. Grandstand Admission is $16 and Pit Admission is $30. Hot laps are at 7:30 and racing begins at 8pm.
Selinsgrove Speedway on Saturday night regular admission prices: Adults $12; Students (12-17) ONLY $7; Kids 11 & Under FREE; Pits $25 Gates open at 5pm!
The United Racing Club will then have a weekend off before returning to action on Friday night June 17th at Big Diamond Speedway. Josh Weller picked up the victory in 2015 and will be looking to put his family owned 63 into victory lane again Friday June 17th.
Smith Doesn't Need Luck in Sunday Nights Port Royal Victory
Mark Smith and the Mach 1 Chassis #M1 completed the weekend URC sweep with his victory at Port Royal Speedway on Sunday Night May 29th. Fresh off his Kramer Cup victory less that 24 hours ago, Mark Smith drove away from the field enroute to his 2nd URC win of the year.
Smith who started in the 9th position in heat race #1 due to a poor pill draw. Smith wasted no time and putting the M1 to a qualified position and eventually finishing in the 3rd position.
With the 8 invert pill draw, Smith started in the 9th position for the main event. Smith wasted no time in the feature, and he put the M1 into position P1 by the 4th lap of the main event. A lap 11 caution due to a flat left rear tired on 410 feature's winner Greg Hodnett sending the Heffner owned #27 pit side. Hodnett would not return and on the lap 11 restart it was again Smith, followed by Josh Weller, Eric Tomecek, Matt Campbell and the 47 of Rookie Adam Carberry.
At the drop of the green, Smith again pulled out to a comfortable lead. A lap 20 caution again bunched up the field and putting the 1W of Eric Tomeck right on Smith's tail tank. The restarts did both Smith again as he used a lap 20 double file restarted to take a commanding lead and cruising on his way to the $3,000 winners prize.
With 38 cars on hand, the United Racing Club featured 4 heat races won by Robbie Stillwaggon, Eric Tomecek, Davie Franek and Greg Hodentt who was doing double duty. There were several double duty drivers on hand for the night racing action. Also running a 410 and a 360 were Greg Hodnett, Steve Buckwalter, Aaron Ott, TJ Stutts, Mark Smith, and the 5w of Lucas Wolfe. The 18 car B-Main was won by Aaron Ott running the high side and around the 5 of Justin Barger.
The United Racing Club will now prepare for another 2 race weekend kicking off Friday Night at the Williams Grove Speedway and then onto to the ultra fast 1/2 mile of Selinsgrove Speedway on Saturday night. Aaron Ott blew up his 360 just as he was getting pushed off and URC regular Mark Sasso used his provisional to partake in the nightly A-Main event.
Results of the URC A-Main: 1) #M1 Mark Smith, 2) #1W Eric Tomecek, 3) #16 Matt Campbell, 4) #47 Adam Carberry, 5) #79N Steve Buckwalter, 6) #28F Davie Franek, 7) #5G Curt Michael,8) #23 TJ Stutts, 9) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 10) #5W Lucas Wolfe, 11) #29 Jason Shultz, 12) #66H Doug Hammaker, 13) #66 Ryan Kissinger, 14) #C4 Jim Shuster, 15) #21 Ed Aiken, 16) #22 Troy Betts, 17) #77L Derek Locke, 18) #5B Justin Barger, 19) #3 Jared Esh, 20) #706 Mark Sasso, 21) #56W Randy West, 22) #5 Phil Walter, 23) #63 Josh Weller, 24) #27 Greg Hodnett, 25) #99 Cody Keller
DNQ: 26) #28 Keith Prutzman, #76 Larry Kelleher, #67W Justin Whittall, #12 Brent Shearer, #77 Will Eggimann, #4 Jimmy Stitzel, #10 Rob Deitrick, #67 Steven Collins, #79 Jordan Thomas, #49 Mallie Shuster, #74 JR Berry, #39 Nate Snyder, #25 Aaron Ott.speedwerx.com
Smith's Luck Leads Him to Kramer Cup Victory at Selinsgrove Speedway
Sometimes you have to just be lucky to win a race. Saturday night Mark Smith's luck helped him to victory lane at the Annual Kramer Cup race at Selinsgrove Speedway. Eric Tomecek had the field covered but an unlucky incident with the turn 4 wall with 2 laps to go handed Smith the coveted Kramer Cup Victory.
A field of 33 360 sprint cars were in the pits at the Annual Kramer Cup event held in honor of the late Kramer Williamson. With 4 heat races on tap, winners of the heat and $73 dollars went to Josh Weller, Robbie Stillwaggon, TJ Stutts and Mark Smith. The B-Main was won by Nate Synder and when heat #1 winner Josh Weller pulled the 8 pill, that put Tomecek and the B&G Auto Body #22 of Troy Betts on the front row. The invert also buried the top 3 in URC points, Davie Franek 14th starting position, Robbie Stillwaggon 7th starting position and Curt Michael 12th starting position.
From the drop of the green flag Tomecek was fast, hitting lapped traffic by lap 5 and building a 3.9 second advantage over 2nd place runner TJ Stutts. A lap 16 caution for the 21 of Ed Aikin erased Tomecek's lead and bunched up the field. A lap 17 restarted saw the 33w of Michael Walter II flipping down the front stretch. After a quick red flag fuel stop, the top 5 was Tomecek, TJ Stutts, Mark Smith, Troy Betts and Jason Schultz. Since no lap was scored a single file restart with Tomecek once again taking a commanding lead. The field raced just 2 laps before the most of the field had to take evasive action down the front stretch to avoid a slowed 39 of Eric Parker.
On the restart, Mark Smith jumped all over Tomecek and took the lead heading down the backstretch, unfortunately they yellow was thrown before a lap could be completed, putting Tomecek back to P1 and creating another single file restart. On the restart Tomecek again checked out on the field, unfortunately the next caution flag was thrown for the 1 of Tomecek who had stopped in turn 4 after hitting the wall and ending his night. Tomecek who had built a 2 second lead at the time of his wreck could only watch the remaining 2 laps from the pits.
On the restart Smith jumped out to the lead with the Victory Auto Glass, Schearer's VW and Audi Specialists #63 of Josh Weller had a great start rocketing himself from his 3rd place starting position to the now runners up spot. Unfortunately the flagman didn't like the start and it was called back with the field now starting single file again. Smith would go on to lead the final 2 laps taking home the coveted pink Kramer Cup along with a heafty $2,573 top prize money.
The teams of the United Racing Club will now only have a few hours to wash and maintenence the cars before heading to night #2 of the Memorial Day Weekend at Port Royal Speedway. Saturday nights race is sponsored by Quality Auto Body of Burlington NJ and an increased purse thanks to Greencastle Livestock Market, LLC.
Kramer Cup A-Main 30 Lap Results: 1) #1 Mark Smith, 2) #23 TJ Stutts, 3) #29 Jason Shultz, 4) #63 Josh Weller, 5) #5G Curt Michael, 6) #28F Davie Franek, 7) #22 Troy Betts, 8) #89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 9) #21 Ed Aikin, 10) #47 Adam Carberry, 11) #67 Steve Collins, 12) #79 Jordan Thomas, 13) #66 Ryan Kissinger, 14) #39 Eric Parker, 15) #10k Rob Dietrick, 16) #1W Eric Tomecek, 17) #23a Chris Arnold, 19) #C4 Jim Shuster, 20) #5w Phil Walter, 21) #33 Michael Walter II, 22) #49s Mallie Shuster, 23) #77 Derek Locke, 24) #8C Brian Carber, 25) #56 Randy West, 26) #706 Mark Sasso
DNQ: #67 Justin Whittall, #74 JR Berry, #73B Brett Michalski, #44 John Braim, #28 Keith Prutzman, #3z Colby Wormer, #67c Jason Cherry, #99 Cody Keller, #706 Mark Sasso, #77 Derek Locke.
Franek Continues Hot Streak at Georgetown Speedway
To say Davie Franek is on a roll is an understatement right now. Franek who started on the outside pole of the Sunday night B&G Auto Body sponsored United Racing Club event at Georgetown Speedway lead all 25 laps and continued his dominance in the early 2016 racing season.
Franek now has won 3 out of the 4 races in the 2016 racing season for the United Racing Club. Franek widened his points lead on 2nd place finisher Robbie Stillwaggon. Front row starters Stillwaggon and Franek lead the field of 19 cars to the green flag with Franek jumping out to the lead. The red flag was displayed shortly after half way for a flipping Brad Franks car in turn 3. On the restart Franek jumped to the lead again with Stillwaggon close in tow being. Rounding out the top 5 were Josh Weller, frequent PA runner Jason Shultz and the 5g of Curt Michael.
Just as Franek was battling lapped traffic the caution was displayed for a spinning 21c of rookie Cody Jourdan who was making his 2016 URC debut. On the double file restart Franek and Stillwaggon where wheel to wheel as they exited turn 2 and headed down to back stretch. The two cars appeared to touch just before the caution was again displayed for the spinning car of 47 Adam Carberry. Since no lap was scored on the single file restart Franek jumped out to the lead once more and widened his lead by almost a full straight away before the checkered flags few for the 28f. Following Franek was the 89 Burlington Auto Body of Robbie Stillwaggon, 29 Horstcraft Millworks Jason Shultz, 63 of Schearers VW and Audi Specialist of Josh Weller and the 22 B&G Auto Body Troy Betts.
In victory lane, Franek dedicated the win to long time URC driver and owner Guy Howie who recently lost his courageous fight with cancer this past week. Howie was a crew member on Franek's car after a long history of owning the famous 19H driven by Randy West, Brian Siedel, Michael Carber, and Ryan Bohlke to name a few.
The 3 heat races were won by Michael Haggenbottom, Josh Weller and Brad Franks. With 21 cars showing up there was no consi as Brian Carber and David Swanson both loaded up after heat race incidents. Swanson's was the worst of the two brining out the red flag after a hard hit in turn 4.
Results: 1. 28 Davie Franek, 2. 89 Robbie Stillwaggon, 3. 29 Jason Shultz, 4. 63 Josh Weller, 5. 22 Troy Betts, 6. 5g Curt Michael, 7. 21 Ed Aikin, 8. 9D Kevin Darling, 9. 24 Michael Haggenbottom, 10. 4 Jimmy Stitzel, 11. 73B Brett Michalski, 12. 47 Adam Carberry, 13. 12 Brent Schearer, 14. 74JR JR Berry, 15. 21c Cody Jourdan, 16. 67 Jason Cherry, 17. 56 Randy West, 18. 11 Ryan Stillwaggon, 19. 12B Brad Franks, 20. 9DX Jonathan Baker. DNQ 8c Brian Carber, 117 David Swanson.
B&G Glass Presents the URC Sprints at Georgetown Speedway
This Friday May 13th the United Racing Club travels to Georgetown Speedway for the first time this year. In 2015, the United Racing Club returned to Georgetown Speedway and what a show the 360 sprints put on as Davie Franek, Curt Michael and Josh Weller all battled for the win. Franek will be looking to duplicate his 2015 win and with the passing of crew member and longtime driver and owner Guy Howie, the win would ...be a special way to pay tribute to his longtime friend.
With the May 7th Delaware International Speedway race now being rescheduling for May 21st the once anticipated off weekend now has a points race on Saturday night. After the Delaware race the United Racing Club will have a full Memorial Day weekend planned as they will travel to Selinsgrove Speedway on Saturday May 28th for the annual running of the Kramer Cup and then Sunday May 29th as part of a three day weekend at the Port Royal Speedway.
Friday night May 13th, pit gates will open at 4 p.m. Grandstand gates will unlock at 5 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., with racing at 7:15 p.m.
Adult grandstand admission is just $15. Seniors (ages 65 and up) and Students (ages 13-17) pay $12. Kids 9-12 pay $8 and children under eight years old are admitted free. Pit admission is $30, with no license required.
Delaware International Speedway Next Up for the United Racing Club
This Saturday night the stars and cars of the United Racing Club will head south for the first trip to the Delaware International Speedway. For local talents, Troy Betts (Newark DE), Kevin Darling (Wyoming DE) and Curt Michael (Ocean View DE) nothing would be sweeter than parking their 360 sprinter in the victory circle in front of a hometown crowd.
Other top runners, Davie Franek (2 Wins), Robbie Stillwaggon, Mark Bitner, Josh Weller and rookies Brett Michalski, Justin Whittall and Adam Carberry will also all be on hand looking for the winners share of the nights purse.
Look for the United Racing Club to head south again on Friday the 13th when they head to the newly promoted Georgetown Speedway. Brett Deyo has done a fantastic job on improving the 1/2 mile oval.
In other news, the Selinsgrove Speedway re-released their official finish of the Jack Gunn Memorial Race on Wednesday afternoon. Below is now the official order of finish. The URC points will be updated shortly.
OFFICIAL FINISH of the April 30 JACK GUNN MEMORIAL: 1) 1M Mark Smith 2) 63 Josh Weller 3) 23 T.J. Stutts 4) 66 Ryan Kissinger 5) 89 Robbie Stillwaggon 6) 29 Jason Shultz 7) 99 Cody Keller 8) 21 Ed Aikin 9) 39 Nate Snyder 10) 44 John Braim 11) 1W Eric Tomecek 12) 33 Mike Walter 13) 22 Troy Betts 14) 28F Davie Franek 15) 77 Derek Locke 16) 39 Eric Parker 17) 67 Steve Collins 18) 47 Adam Carberry 19) 5G Curt Michael 20) C4 Jim Shuster 21) 98 Joe Trenca 22) 10 Paul Colagiovanni 23) 74 J.R. Berry 24) 3Z Colby Womer 25) 5 Justin Barger 26) 56 Randy West
Mark Smith Wins Rain Shorted Jack Gunn Memorial
Mark Smith couldn't out run mother nature on Saturday night, but he did out run the other 27 URC competitors at the Selinsgrove Speedway. Smith who's win was worth a cool $2,200 timed 4th, finished 2nd in his heat race and started on the pole for the feature picked up his first United Racing Club win of 2016.
A field of 28 360 United Racing Club sprint cars packed the infield for the annual running of the Jack Gunn Memorial race. Heat race wins went to Clay New York's Joe Trenca, Josh Weller, and TJ Stutts. The consi was won by Colby Womer. Paulie Colagiovanni used his URC provisional and Derek Locke used a track provisional to be added to the tail end of the field.
With 26 cars starting the Gunn Memorial, Josh Weller jumped out to an early lead with the Franek Auto Sales 28f closely following. Soon a battle for 2nd place ensued with Mark Smith taking over the runner ups position. A lap 6 caution for 10 Paulie Colagiovanni and Davie Franek bunched the field back up. Weller was P1 followed by Mark Smith, Robbie Stillwaggon, TJ Stutts and Cody Keller rounding out the top 5.
On the double file restart Weller jumped out to the lead again, followed by the 1M of Mark Smith. On lap 8 Smith made his move on Weller and took command of the lead. By Lap 11, Davie Franek who had been involved in the lap 6 caution had made his way back up to the 11th position. While running in the top 10 Curt Michael blew a right rear coming off of turn 4 on lap 17. Smith continued to lead followed by Weller, Stutts, Stillwaggon and Jason Shultz now in the top 5 position. On the double file restart Smith jumped out to the lead again only to have the caution fly for the final time due to moisture on the racetrack. The storm Selinsgrove was trying to out run finally arrived just after the 1/2 way point of the race. The Jack Gunn Memorial was called on lap 18, with Mark Smith declared the winner.
Results: 1. Mark Smith, 2. Josh Weller, 3. TJ Stutts, 4. Ryan Kissinger, 5. Robbie Stillwaggon, 6. Jason Shultz, 7. Cody Keller, 8. Nate Snyder, 9. Ed Aikin, 10. Joe Trenca, 11. John Braim, 12. Eric Tomecek, 13. Davie Franek, 14. Derek Locke, 15. Michael Walter II, 16. Troy Betts, 17. Steve Collins, 18. Eric Parker, 19. Adam Carberry, 20. Jim Shuster, 21. Curt Michael, 22. Paulie Colagiovanni, 23. Colby Womer, 24. JR Berry, 25. Justin Barger, 26. Randy West. DNQ Mark Sasso, Derek Steward
First Double Weekend of 2016 on Tap for the United Racing Club
This will be the first weekend of back to back to nights for the United Racing Club and the 2016 season. On Friday night April 29th, the United Racing Club will travel to the famed ½ mile facility of Williams Grove Speedway. This will be the first of 5 visits to the historic track in 2016. In three visits last year, the fans were treated to some of the best 360 racing action around along with two different winners in Curt Michael and Greg Hodnett.
On Saturday night the United Racing Club will head north to the ultra-fast Selinsgrove Speedway. This will be the 2nd time that the United Racing Club will visit Selinsgrove Speedway but the first time for points. The trip a few weeks ago was a non-points race, raced in conjunction with the Empire Super Sprints as well.
The Jack Gunn Memorial race has become a fixture on the URC schedule every year. Last year this race saw over 30 cars in the pit area with the win going to Mark Smith. Followed by Mark Smith was Robbie Stillwaggon and 410 regular Aaron Ott.
This points standings after two races are lead by 2014 URC Champion Davie Franek. Followed by Franek are 9 time and Defending URC Champion Curt Michael and 2012 URC Champion Robbie Stillwaggon.
The United Racing Club will then travel to the First State the first weekend in May. On Saturday night May 7th, the United Racing Club will head to Delaware International Speedway for the first time this year.
Franek Now Perfect on 2016 URC Points Tour
Davie "No Panic" Franek returned to his old stomping grounds and picked up his 2nd win of the 2016 URC Season. Franek who also won at the opening night of the 2016 URC Racing season at Bridgeport Speedway has now surpassed his 2015 win total and increased his points lead.
With 18 United Racing Club Sprint cars in the pits, the fans saw 2 exciting heat races with Jason Clauss and Ed Aikin picking up the heat wins. Clauss drew the "0" pill for the invert and was rewarded with the P1 starting position for the night. A lap 1 caution for a spinning Scott Flammer sent the colorful 37 to the rear of the field. At the restart Ed Aikin in the Scott McClelland owned 21 bolted to the lead with Jason Clauss now following. A scary crash on lap 5 ended the night of Jason Clauss while sending the 747 of Davey Sammons to the pits for a new right rear. The 5g of Curt Michael and 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon barely missed the crash while Stillwaggon completed a 360 while avoiding the crash. Sammons and the 747 returned before the green waived again.
At the restart Robbie Stillwaggon picked off the 5G of Curt Michael and set his sights on the 28f of Davie Franek and leader Ed Aikin. With Aikin in heavy lapped traffic and a blanket covering the top 4, it was only a matter of time before something gave. Going into turn 1, Aikin and the 21 car battled lapped traffic, while Aikin went high, Franek and the 28f went low and come out with the lead. Franek lead the final laps with Aikin crossing the finish line in 2nd. Rounding out the top 5 was the 5G of Curt Michael, 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon and the 56 of Randy West.
The United Racing Club will now head to Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night April 29th. Race time is 8pm at the Grove. On Saturday the teams will have just enough time to get the cars washed before they are off to Selinsgrove Speedway and the Jack Gunn Memorial Race.
Results: 1. 28f Franek, 2. 21 Aikin, 3. 5G Michael, 4. 89 Stillwaggon, 5. 56 West, 6. 5 Barger, 7. 39 Snyder, 8. 22 Betts, 9. 74JR Berry, 10. 10 Colagiovanni, 11. 4 Stitzel, 12. 37 Flammer, 13. 17j Swanson, 14. 7o6 Sasso, 15. 747 Sammons, 16. 08 Clauss, 17. X Rizzo, 18. 73B Michalski.
United Racing Club Returns to Orange County Fair Speedway
The United Racing Club will return to Orange County Fair Speedway this Saturday night for the first of 2 visits this 2016 racing season. Last year Justin Barger took home the victory in the Cortland Auto Body, JE Pistons #5, followed by 2015 URC Champion Curt Michael and the 39 of Ed Aikin. This year Barger looks to continue his success at the “Hard Clay” ½ mile facility.
So far this year 2012 URC Champion Robbie Stillwaggon is off to a great start with a pair of 3rd place finishes (Bridgeport Opening Night Points, and Selinsgrove Non-Points) and you can never count out the 9 time and defending URC Champion Curt Michael. The United Racing Club comes with 2 rookie talents of 73B Brett Michalski and 67 Just Whittall. Look for also 28f Davie Franek (Opening Night’s Winner), 22 Troy Betts, 56 Randy West, 10 Paulie Colagiovanni, 17j Jonathan Swanson and 21 Ed Aikin to all be in attendance.
This Saturday Night, Race Pit gates open at 3:30 warm ups at 5:30 at the Orange County Fair Speedway. After OCFS, the United Racing Club will have its first double weekend of the 2016 racing season. Friday April 29th URC will be at the famed ½ mile Williams Grove Speedway, before heading up the road to the ultrafast ½ mile Selinsgrove Speedway.
Franek is "No Panic" at the 69th United Racing Club Opener
A field of 22 United Racing Club sprint cars were in the pits on a cold but sunny Sunday afternoon at Bridgeport Speedway. Three heat races were won by the 28f of Davie Franek, 5G of Curt Michael, and the 15 of Mark Bitner. With an invert pill drawn of 3, Mark Bitner brought the 21 car field to the green flag.
Defending and 9 time URC Champion Curt Michael grabbed the lead in the GEI Enterprises, Valley Forge Inc 5g from the drop of the green flag and held the lead until a lap 11 caution flag caused by the spinning Ed Aikin who was making his return to URC in the Scott McClaren owned 21 car. Michael brought the field to the green flag but the lead was quickly wrestled away by the 28f of Franek on lap 12. A lap 23 debris caution in turn 3 bunched up the field again and had all the makings for a dramatic finish. On the restart a 4th place running Josh Weller stopped in turn 2 with front end damage. A 2nd chance at a lap 23 restart gave 2nd place running Curt Michael another chance at the 2014 URC Champion Franek. Entering turn 1 Michael dove low and took the lead from Franek, but Franek wasn't to be denied taking the lead from Michael going down the back stretch once again. Rounding out the top 5 was the 5g of Michael, 89 Quality Auto Body Robbie Stillwaggon, B&G Glass Troy Betts, and the Hook & Ladder Home Improvements of Nate Snyder making his return to URC in the Tim Hogue owned 39.
Amber Allmond has been named the 2016 Miss URC. Look for Amber to be in victory lane at all the races. Rookies, Justin Whittall, Brett Michalski, Ryan Stillwaggon, and Mark Sasso all made the starting field. Stillwaggon faired the best with a 14th place finish. The United Racing Club in conjunction with Bridgeport Speedway made a classy move, forgoing the B-Main and starting all 21 remaining cars.
The United Racing Club will now have a non-points race at Selinsgrove next Saturday night the 16th, and then will head to the "Hard Clay" of Orange County Fair Speedway for the 2nd points night of the 2016 racing season. Photos from tonight's event can be found at www.wrtspeedwerx.com
The 69th Season of URC is Set to Kick Off on Sunday April 10th at Bridgeport Speedway
In a little over a week the United Racing Club is set to kick off their 69th season of racing. This will be the 2nd season since the return of the United Racing Club and the 2nd season that the United Racing Club will be opening up at Bridgeport Speedway. The Sunday April 10th opener again is being sponsored by Bob Lilick and BRB Contractors, where the drivers will compete for the $2,000.00 to win top prize. Last year saw Curt Michael take the win on opening night with Josh Weller, and Troy Betts following closely. That was Curt’s first of 6 wins on the 2015 year, leading all URC drivers.
For the 2016 racing season, the United Racing Club has been hard at work during the off season. Curt Michael has booked 24 points shows along with non-points shows at Selinsgrove, Brewerton, Fonda, Outlaw Speedway, Utica Rome, and Thunder Mountain Speedways. The non-point shows will be run in conjunction with the Empire Super Sprints (ESS) who field some of the best 360 sprint talent in the Northeast. Look for the continuation of the Kramer Cup, Jack Gunn Memorial, 360 National Open and the Turnpike 25 with Brett Deyo.
This year will also feature what is being called the weekend of Money. It all begins on Friday July 29th at Williams Grove Speedway and the 360 National Open, on Saturday July 30th the venue then shifts to Selinsgrove for the 360 Mach 1 Nationals paying $10,000 to win, and it all concludes in New York at the Utica Rome Speedway on Sunday July 31st for the $10,000 to win Cole Cup.
Many of the top contenders of the United Racing Club will be returning along with the return of a few veterans and of course a new rookie crop. Curt Michael will be looking for his 10th URC title in the Bill Gallagher owned 5G. The Burlington NJ native Robbie Stillwaggon will be looking to improve 1 position in the points for his 2nd URC Championship. Stillwaggon returns to the familiar family owned Quality Auto Body 89 car. Also look for the F5 Mark Bitner, 22B Troy Betts, 17j Jonathan Swanson, 16 Justin Hoffman, 56 Randy West to all follow the URC trail. Josh Weller reports he will run URC on a limited basis in his own 63 sprint car. The retirement of Ken Eldreth left Weller ride less for the 2016 season, so Weller has opted to bring out his own 63 car. Also look for some old faces returning to URC for the 2016 season. Davey Sammons will be running some select 360 races including the season opener at Bridgeport Speedway, Ed Aikin will be driving the 21 Scott McClaren backed car, Nate Snyder returns to URC, this time in the 39 owned by Tim Hogue and Brian Carber will be returning to the URC fold in 2016 as well.
The United Racing Club will have a few rookie contenders for the 2016 season. Ryan Stillwaggon, the younger brother and crew chief of Robbie Stillwaggon will be competing in a limited number of events during the 2016 season. Justin Whittall will be making the jump up from 600 micro sprints for 2016; the family has already purchased multiple XXX’s chassis and will be ready for Sunday’s opener. Brett Michalski will be retuning with the family owned 73B. Brett is still eligible for the Rookie of the Year honors because he only a handful of races last year. Both Brett’s and Justin’s cars were present in the URC booth during the PPB Motorsports Show in January.
Being a member of the URC also entitles you to some great incentives. Some benefits are URC drivers will be eligible for points Provisionals, discounted admission to some tracks, and eligible for certificates and product giveaways. Additionally, if a URC member elects to sign up for the Stida insurance they will receive 10% off any package.
Finally, the 2016 board was elected just before the banquet last year. Bill Gallagher will continue as president, Robbie Stillwaggon will continue as Vice President, Curt Michael Chairman of Board, and Mark Bitner, Rick Weller, Howard Swanson, Tim Moran, Dave Betts, and Billy Gallagher were all voted in as board members. WRT Speedwerx will continue to be the official photographers of the United Racing Club. Their photos can be viewed at www.wrtspeedwerx.com. 2016 is gearing up the be an exciting year and it all starts Sunday April 10th at Bridgeport Speedway.
The Youth Movement Comes to URC in 2016
Justin Whittall from Vincentown NJ will be competing for the 2016 United Racing Club Rookie of the Year Honors. Whittall who is just 15 years old will be competing in his first year of full size sprints after spending the past few years in the Micro Sprint Division.
Whittall first started racing at the age of 7 at local quarter midget near his Vincentown NJ home. At the age of 11, Justin moved from the dirt to the asphalt where he continued his success both in the quarter midget class but also the Beast Midget class, and finished 10th in points at the age of 11 years old. In 2013, wanting to continue to race after the midget season was over the Whittall family bought a Hyper 600 micro sprint and raced it at Hamlin Speedway. That next season saw Justin win 4 times in the 600cc class. Justin won at Path Valley, Shippensburg, and twice at Trailways all while finishing 2nd in championship points.
Towards the end of the 2013 racing season URC lost a great friend and competitor when Midge Miller passed. Miller and Whittall where friends, and Whittall bought Millers old equipment. The Whittall's bought a 305 motor and Justin practiced at Susquehanna Speedway a few times, but later was not allowed due to his young age of 13yrs old at the time.
In 2015, the Whittalls once again concentrated on 600cc micros running Linda's and Lanco Speedways and when they could run Path Valley on Sunday nights. The team purchased a 358 motor with the intention of running it a couple of times in PA. They were able to run it twice, once at Lincoln Speedway, and another at Susquehanna Speedway with the United Racing Club. In that race, no only did Justin make the feature, he finished 12th in his first full size sprint car race.
During the winter of 2015-2016, the team sold their micro equipment with the intention of going full size sprint car racing in 2016. Justin who will turn 16 in October, will have 2 XXX chassis on hand, and a 360 motor from the Heffner sable. The team also has kept the Maxim purchased from Pat Miller and will bolt in a 358 motor to run at some 358 shows.
As you get to know Justin, you can tell this kid just loves racing. Justin's most memorable moment ,as I am sure most of you can relate to, was him and his dad racing in the 600 micro class, and Justin passing him on the high side. Justin is very realistic with his goals for the 2016 season, make laps, be consistent, finish races, and take a run at the 2016 URC Rookie of the Year honors. Justin likes the URC schedule "because it gives everyone a chance to try and win and experience different tracks. Traveling is great because it gives everyone a chance instead of one guy having a really good set up for that one track, it levels out the playing field."
What the future holds for Justin, you could see him take the same route as former URC competitor David Gravel. Justin reports wanting to eventually move up to 410 Sprints, run with the PA Posse, and possibly venture out onto the World of Outlaws Schedule. For 2016, look for the sharply lettered 67 URC Sprint Car to be turning laps at a track near you.
2016 United Racing Club Schedule
Date Event
4/10/2016
Bridgeport Speedway - Bridgeport, NJ
69th URC Season Opener
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
4/23/2016
Orange County Fair Speedway - Middletown, NY
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
4/29/2016
Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
4/30/2016
Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
Jack Gunn Memorial
5/7/2016
Delaware International Speedway - Delmar, DE
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
5/13/2016
Georgetown Speedway - Georgetown, DE
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
5/28/2016
Selinsgrove Raceway Park - Sellinsgrove, PA
$2,000 to Win $300 to start
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
5/29/2016
Port Royal Speedway - Port Royal, PA
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
6/3/2016
Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
6/4/2016
Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
$2,000 to Win
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
6/14/2016
New Egypt Speedway - New Egypt, NJ
Turnpike 25
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
6/17/2016
Big Diamond Speedway - Minersville, PA
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
6/22/2016
Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA
With Super DIRTcar Series
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
6/28/2016
Bridgeport Speedway - Bridgeport, NJ
Three For All
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
7/8/2016
Bedford Speedway - Bedford, PA
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
7/22/2016
Georgetown Speedway - Georgetown, DE
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
7/29/2016
Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA
360 National Open
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
7/30/2016
Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, PA
Kramer Cup
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
8/12/2016
Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA
Insinger Fuel Night
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
8/13/2016
Susquehanna Speedway Park - Newberrytown, PA
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
8/20/2016
Orange County Fair Speedway - Middletown, NY
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
8/27/2016
Delaware International Speedway - Delmar, DE
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
9/2/2016
Brewerton Speedway - Brewerton, NY
NO Points. One URC Provisional
360 Sprints: Empire Super Sprints with United Racing Club
9/3/2016
Thunder Mountain Speedway - Center Lisle, NY
NO Points. One URC Provisional
360 Sprints: Empire Super Sprints with United Racing Club
9/4/2016
Utica-Rome Speedway - Vernon, NY
NO Points. One URC Provisional
360 Sprints: Empire Super Sprints with United Racing Club
10/22/2016
Port Royal Speedway - Port Royal, PA
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
11/4/2016
Bridgeport Speedway - Bridgeport, NJ
URC 1st Annual Big Track Classic Weekend
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
11/5/2016
Bridgeport Speedway - Bridgeport, NJ
URC 1st Annual Big Track Classic Weekend
360 Sprints: United Racing Club
URC Season Finale at Port Royal Rains/Sleets out Handing Michael his 9th URC Championship
The United Racing Club’s last race of the year at Port Royal Speedway this past weekend was rained out due to persistent rain and sleet falling at the racetrack. Point’s leader Curt Michael in his Bill Gallagher owned 5g were ready to do battle with the 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon for the 2015 URC Championship. Unfortunately not one car hit the track and the even was cancelled, giving Cu...rt Michael his 9th URC Championship. This is the duos 4th URC Championship; Michael previously earned 3 URC Championships with car owner Pat Palladino, 1 with Frank Davis and 1 with Mike Bostic.
In 17 feature events, Curt Michael placed in the top 10 15 times, top 5, 13 times, and had 6 wins (Bridgeport 2, Williams Grove, New Egypt, Delaware International, and Thunder Mountain) on the year as well. Curt was followed by 2nd place finisher Robbie Stillwaggon 14 top 10 finishes, 11 top 5 finishes, and 1 win (Selinsgrove Kramer Cup) on the season, 3rd place Josh Weller 12 top 10 finishes, 7 top 5 finishes and 1 win (Big Diamond), 4th place and defending URC champion Davie Franek 13 top 10 finishes, 10 top 5 finishes and 1 win (Georgetown), and 5th place Brad Franks 4 top 10 finishes.
Michael and the Gallagher team will now refresh and rebuild over the winter months in preparation to once again defend their title for the 2016 season.
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Justin Barger Triumphant in United Racing Club's Return to OCFS
Justin Barger used the outside pole starting position to cruise to Saturday nights 25 lap feature in what was the United Racing Club's first visit to the Hard Clay since 2008. A field of 22 360 Sprint Cars were in the pit area for the nights events. The United Racing Club decided to forgo a consi and instead added the 2 additional cars to the feature event. This guaranteed that everyone would go home with at least starting feature money.
The three heat races were won by Brad Franks, Robbie Stillwaggon and Davie Franek. The 6 invert pill was drawn for the feature event placing 8 time URC Champion Curt Michael on the pole. At the drop of the green it was a race to turn 1 that the 5 of Justin Barger won. Barger lead all 25 laps of the feature event. A lap 23 caution for a spinning Jimmy Stitzel in turns 3-4 bunched up the field for one last time. Barger continued have control of the feature event for the remaining 2 laps. Rounding out the top 5 was, 5g Curt Michael, 39 Ed Aikin, 28f Davie Franek and the 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon.
URC will be back in action on Saturday August 29th at Delaware International Speedway located in Delmar, DE. Pit gates open at 5pm and racing is set to begin at 7pm.
Feature Finish, 1. Barger, 2. Michael, 3. Aikin, 4. Franek, 5. Stillwaggon, 6. Weller, 7. Franks, 8. Flammer, 9. Tanner, 10. West, 11. Clauss, 12. Kata, 13. Michalski, 14. Eggimann, 15. Betts, 16. Stitzel, 17. D. Swanson, 18. J. Swanson, 19. Quackenbush, 20. Unglert, 21. Sasso, 22. Dolan.
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Michael Runs Out of Time, Settles for 2nd
Curt Michael's night just ran out of time. Michael was one of 36 360 Sprints who signed in to the 360 Summer Nationals presented by Lelands.com at Williams Grove Speedway. Michael in the Valley Forge Inc., GEI Enterprises 5g started on the pole for heat race number 2 on the night and easily won over Art Liedl, Derek Locke, and Justin Hoffman.
With the 4 pill pulled for the feature invert, Michael and the potent Bill Gallagher owned 5g was relegated to the 7th starting position just inside of New York Invader Chuck "Cobra" Hebing. At the drop of the green flag Michael quickly advanced positions and was running 3rd at the lap 10 mark. With Greg Hodnett and Robbie Stillwaggon just in front of him. A lap 10 caution bunched the field back up but Michael was the victim of being separated by 2 lapped cars between him and the 27 of Greg Hodnett. With the restart Michael tried to pass both lapped cars as quickly as possible, but by the time that he could get the 5g in position to take a run at the leaders, Hodnett had already passed Stillwaggon and was pulling away. Michael got Stillwaggon a few laps later and set hit sights on the 27 of Hodnett.
Time just ran out as the caution flag was not show again. Michael finished 2nd behind Greg Hodnett. Michael continued his hot streak with his 3rd top 3 in his last 4 URC races.
Today Michael and the 5g crew will have just enough time to maintenance the car before heading to Selinsgrove Speedway. >From 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday, there will be a race car display on the Selinsgrove Ford lot located at 10 North Susquehanna Trail in Selinsgrove that will be open to the public. In addition, there will be several prize raffles throughout the afternoon courtesy of Selinsgrove Ford.
Max Media radio stations Y106.5, ESPN 92.3, and B98.3 will be hosting live remotes throughout the day. In addition, a number of local businesses will have stands set up offering concessions and giveaways. Reality TV stars Bobby Brantley and Krazy Dave formerly of TruTV's Hit Series “Lizard Lick Towing” will be holding meet and greets at both Selinsgrove Ford and Selinsgrove Speedway.
At 4 p.m., more than 70 race cars are registered to participate in the Second Annual Selinsgrove Ford Market Street Race Car Parade that will start at the dealership, proceed through downtown Selinsgrove, and conclude at the speedway.
Track gates will open at 5:30 p.m.
Michael Lands Back in Victory Lane at Bridgeport’s Three for All Event
Curt Michael earned his 4th win of the season on Tuesday night July 21st at the Bridgeport Speedway’s Three for all event. A field of 28 Sprint Cars entered the pit area for the midweek event.
The three heat races were won by Brad Franks, Mike Haggenbottom and Ryan Stillwaggon who was making his first 360 start of the year. The B Main was won by Kevin Darling who was also making his first start of the year with the United Racing Club. The #9 invert pill was drawn for the feature event.
On the initial start of the 25 lap feature the red flag was displayed for a flipping 88b of Andy Best in turn 1. Best was not hurt in the single car incident. On the 2nd try pole sitter Art Liedl shot his Downs Ford #2 to the lead followed closely by Mark Bitner aboard the Bitner Automotive sponsored #F5. Bitner took a look at Liedl in turns 3 and 4 but could not complete the pass. Michael who started in the 3rd position looked like he was shot out of a cannon going from 3rd to 1st in the matter of a lap passing both Bitner and Liedl.
A lap 13 caution for Art Liedl who was running in the 2nd position at the time bunched up the field. Curt Michael was followed by Bitner, Davie Franek, Mike Haggenbottom from 8th and Randy West rounding out the top 5. On the restart Michael resumed control of the lead once again, while the 89 Quality Auto Body of Robbie Stillwaggon was shuffled back a few spots but only needed 5 laps to take 3rd from Davie Franek and 2 more to take 2nd place from Mark Bitner. With Stillwaggon on the move, Josh Weller was starting to make some noise charging from his 10th place starting position. Weller took over 4th from Franek on lap 20 and 3rd from Bitner in the closing moments of the 25 lap race.
The United Racing Club will be off this weekend but will be back in action with a 2 race weekend next weekend. The action all starts on Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway for the 358/360 Sprint Car Nationals. Last time the United Racing Club was there Steve Buckwalter, Mark Smith, and Curt Michael battled with 2 laps to go in what was a finish that will be talked about for years.
Saturday will be a special day at Selinsgrove as the speedway hosts their annual Kramer Cup event. The Selinsgrove Market Street Kick off parade at 4pm kicks off the day’s action before heading to the speedway for the nights events beginning at 7:30pm.
Feature Finish: 1 – Curt Michael, 2 – Robbie Stillwaggon, 3 – Josh Weller, 4 – Mark Bitner, 5 – Davie Franek, 6 – Mike Haggenbottom, 7 – Troy Betts, 8 – Randy West, 9 – Brad Franks, 10 – Ryan Stillwaggon, 11 – Jason Clauss, 12 – Larry Kelleher, 13 – Jason Barney, 14 – Kevin Darling, 15 – Tim Tanner, 16 – Dave Brown, 17 – Eddie Wagner, 18 – Rick Stief, 19 – Art Liedl, 20 – Andy Best
DNQ: David Swanson, Jonathan Swanson, Shane Smith, John Haggenbottom, Zack Burd, Jason Cherry, Will Eggimann, Keith Anderson
Weller Returns to Victory Lane as the United Racing Club Returns to Big Diamond
Friday night's $1,500 victory couldn't have come at a better time for Josh Weller and the 25 Eldreth Trucking team. Weller gained valuable points on 2014 URC Champion Davie Franek and 8 Time URC Champion Curt Michael. Not to mention Saturday nights National Open for 360 Sprints at Selinsgrove Speedway is one of biggest paydays of the year.
A field of 24 cars entered the pits of Big Diamond for their Friday night show. Two New York invaders came down as Joe Trenca from Clay New York, and Justin Barger from Westchester New York both won their respective head races. The third and final heat race was won by Josh Weller. The consolation event was won by Larry Kelleher. The "0" pill was drawn for the 3rd race in a row creating a heads up start from the heat races.
The New York duo of Joe Trenca and Justin Barger lead the 21 United Racing Club sprint cars to the green flag. Trenca quickly jumped out to the lead but entering the 3rd turn on the 2nd lap Josh Weller made the move of the race sliding under Trenca and taking the lead. A lap 3 caution would bunch the field back up this time with Weller in front, Trenca 2nd, Barger 3rd, Davie Franek 4th and Curt Michael in the 5th position.
At the drop of the green, Weller took off with the field in line and continued to lead until a lap 18 spin by Tyler Ross bunched the field back up. Weller had entered heavy lapped traffic and at the time 2nd place Justin Barger was closing the gap. As the field took off Weller taking advantage of the "clean air" jumped out to the lead until a scary lap 22 crash brought out the red flag stopping all sprint cars on the track. Tyler Ross hit the wall 1/2 way between turns 3 and 4 and exited the racing facility. The red flag was displayed for a number of minutes as Ross exited the car and a pair of tow trucks retrieved the 25 car from outside the facility. Ross was reported as ok and was seen attending to the car after the races but the 25e appeared to be a total loss.
With the green ready to be dropped again Weller continued to lead followed by Barger, Trenca, Michael and Robbie Stillwaggon from the 9th starting position. Around lap 10 defending URC champion Davie Franek dropped off the pace a bit appearing to have some trouble with the 28f machine. Franek continued to battle and would finish in the 9th position.
With a three lap shootout ready to be played out the minds of the fans reverted back to a few weeks ago when a similar three lap shootout involving Steve Buckwalter, Mark Smith, and Curt Michael brought the crowd to their feet at Williams Grove Speedway and ultimately landing Curt Michael in victory lane. At the drop of the green Weller shot out to the lead again and gained valuable real estate down the back stretch. Weller continued to hold the lead and crossed the checkered flags first winning his first feature of the 2015 racing season. New Yorker's Joe Trenca and Justin Barger were 2nd and 3rd on the night, followed by Curt Michael and Robbie Stillwaggon.
Feature Finish -- 1. Josh Weller, 2. Joe Trenca, 3. Justin Barger, 4. Curt Michael, 5. Robbie Stillwaggon 6. Jason Clauss, 7. Randy West, 8. Troy Betts, 9. Davie Franek, 10. Jimmy Stitzel, 11. Brad Franks, 12. Scott Lutz, 13, Keith Prutzman, 14. Kevin Albert, 15. Mark Bitner, 16. Art Liedl, 17. Jason Cherry, 18. Tyler Ross, 19. Larry Kelleher, 20. JR Berry, 21. Andy Best.
DNQ -- Jonathan Swanson, Brett Michalski, Jamie Bodo, Jason Cherry -- Provisional
Curt Michael Parks It at the Dirty Jersey 3
Curt Michael parked the 5g of Bill Gallagher in victory lane at the Dirty Jersey 3 presented by Brett Deyo. With 21 cars on hand, the cars were divided into 3 heat races with 7 cars in each. Heat race winners went to Curt Michael, Mark Smith and Justin Hoffman. With the invert possibility being 0,3,6, or 9, Michael pulled the 0 pill which meant a heads up start for the feature.
Michael and Smith lead the field of 21 URC Sprint Cars to the green flag with Michael quickly jumping out to the lead. A lap 4 spin by top 5 running Stewart Friesen bunched up the field again. Michael jumped to the lead, but 2nd place running Mark Smith slowed in turns 1-2 bringing out the caution once again. Smith headed to the work area and returned before the green flag was displayed again.
Just over halfway into the feature, the 33 of Stewart Friesen headed to the pits, and on lap 20, the 89 of Robbie Stillwaggon spun in turns 3-4. Stillwaggon refired and joined the rear of the field. A lap 21 incident involving Justin Hoffman’s left rear coming off in turns 3-4 bunched up the field again, and brought the 28f of Davie Franek right to Michael’s rear bumper.
Michael led the field to the green flag once more this time for a 2 lap shootout. Franek could get close to Michael, but couldn’t mount a challenge for the lead. Michael crossed the checkers first for his 3rd win of the year and increased his points lead in the process. The top 5 were Michael, Franek, Weller, Smith (from the tail of the field) and Tyler Ross.
URC will next be back in action on Friday night, June 19th, at Big Diamond Speedway. The next night at Selinsgrove will be the $10,000 to win National 360 Open.
Finishing order: 1. Curt Michael, 2. Davie Franek, 3. Josh Weller, 4. Mark Smith, 5. Tyler Ross, 6. Robbie Stillwaggon, 7. Neal Williams, 8. Troy Betts, 9. Randy West, 10. Andy Best, 11. Mike Haggenbottom, 12. Art Liedl, 13. Brad Franks, 14. Brett Michalski, 15. Mark Bitner, 16. Justin Hoffman, 17. Jimmy Stitzel, 18. Keith Prutzman, 19. Stewart Friesen, 20. Jonathan Swanson, 21. David Swanson.
Mark Smith Simply Unstoppable at Selinsgrove
Mark Smith visited Victory Lane for the 4th time at Selinsgrove and the 3rd time this year with the United Racing Club. Smith who started in the 5th spot needed just 13 laps to take control of the race and go onto the win.
A field of 28 URC Sprints assembled for the 2nd night of the 2 night weekend. Heat races were won by Robbie Stillwaggon, Jason Schultz, and Ryan Kissinger and the Consolation race was won by Curt Michael just one day after winning an exciting feature at Williams Grove Speedway.
After Stillwaggon drew the 0 invert number the feature line up was determined by the heads up start from the heat races. Jason Schultz and Robbie Stillwaggon lead the field to the green flag. Schultz quickly jumped out into the lead with 23 URC sprinters closely following the 29 car. Mark Smith was on a mission marching from his 5th starting spot to take the lead on lap 13 only to have the red flag displayed for an incident involving Mallie Shuster who went out over the turn 1-2 way. Although the 49 car was completely destroyed Shuster walked away unharmed.
Before the field could get back in order a freak incident involving the 5g of Curt Michael hitting the starters cone on the front stretch ripped the brake line from the 5g. Michael was retired for the night. On the restart nothing was going to prevent the 1M of Mark Smith to take the lead from Jason Schultz. Smith would go on to lead the last 1/2 of the race. Following Smith across the checkers was TJ Stutts from the 9th starting position, Jason Schultz, Robbie Stillwaggon and Ryan Kissinger rounding out the top 5.
URC's is next in action at the Brett Deyo promoted Dirty Jersey 3 on Thursday night June 11th at the New Egypt Speedway.
Feature Finish, 1. Mark Smith, 2. TJ Stutts, 3. Jason Schultz, 4 Robbie Stillwaggon, 5. Ryan Kissinger, 6. Cody Keller, 7. Josh Weller, 8. Davie Franek, 9. Derek Locke, 10. Tyler Ross, 11. Eric Parker, 12. Troy Betts, 13. Jason Clauss, 14. Coby Womer, 15. Jordan Thomas, 16. Justin Hoffman, 17. Brad Franks, 18. Jim Shuster, 19. Derek Steward, 20. Mike Walter, 21. Art Liedl, 22. Curt Michael, 23. Mallie Shuster, 24. Erin Tomecek.
DNQ. Kevin Albert, Michael Thomas, Charlie Anderson and PJ Williams
Curt Michael and the United Racing Club Make a Statement at Williams Grove.
Eight time URC Champion, Curt Michael, driving the Bill Gallagher 5g made a statement that he is a force to be reckoned with for the 2015 URC Championship in winning the feature event after battling with Steve Buckwalter and Mark Smith.
The United Racing Club made the statement that the Club is Back! With 42 sprint cars filling the Williams Grove pits, a handful of 410 drivers doing double duty, along with the New York Invaders, Jason Barney and Chuck Hebing, the United Racing Club Feature was the best of the year at the fast 1/2 mile speedway.
Four heat races were on tap with 5 to qualify out of a starting grid of 10-11 cars in each, making just qualifying a task. After the pill draw, many of the top 360 drivers had their work cut out for them.
Heat race wins went to Aaron Ott, Greg Hodnett, Chuck Hebing and Mark Smith. Heat race 2 was red flagged by a multi car accident involving David Swanson, PJ Williams, Robbie Stillwaggon, Mike Walter, and Danny Dietrich. David Swanson's badly damaged race car was the only car able to refire, but Swanson returned the 117 to the pits 1 lap later. The Consolation event was more of a feature event with 23 cars scheduled to start. With the likes of Stillwaggon, Josh Weller, Danny Dietrich, and Jason Schultz, racing into the top 5 was going to be a challenge. The consi was won by Josh Weller in the Eldreth Construction #25.
The feature event was by far the best in recent memory of the United Racing Club. Leading the 25 starters to the green flag were Jason Barney and Larry Kelleher. Barney and Kelleher battled for the lead, with Kelleher leading for around 10 laps before the strong field finally caught up to him. Steve Buckwalter and Mark Smith charged from their 6th and 9th starting positions with Buckwalter taking the lead. Multi-time URC Champion Curt Michael also worked his way into the mix with the 5g advancing from his 5th starting position. Aaron Ott and Greg Hodnett, both doing double duty, advanced their way into the top 5 as well. Just as the top 3 of Buckwalter, Smith and Michael were ready to duke it out, the caution came out providing a 2 lap shootout for the fans’ enjoyment.
With Buckwalter leading Michael and Smith to the green flag, the excitement was building as the 3 drivers entered turn 1. Exiting turn 2 the line up stayed the same with Michael making a move down the backstretch, and Smith wanting a part of the lead as well. With the 3 entering turn 3, almost 3 wide, Michael was able to make the slide job stick and lead the field to the white flag lap. Michael entered turn 1 with Buckwalter and Smith stalking him. Michael was able to keep the lead off of exit 2 but Smith was now in control of 2nd place and trying to run down Michael for the lead. Michael triumphantly lead the field to the checkers closely followed by Mark Smith, Steve Buckwalter, Aaron Ott, and Larry Kelleher.
This was Michael's 2nd win on the year, now tying him with Mark Smith who also has 2 with URC as well. This was also Michael's 3rd win in a 360 at Williams Grove, and now his 51st win all time with URC.
URC sprints, 25 laps: 1. Curt Michael, 2. Mark Smith, 3. Steve Buckwalter, 4. Aaron Ott, 5. Larry Kelleher, 6. Greg Hodnett, 7. Jason Barney, 8. Tyler Ross, 9. Glenndon Forsythe, 10. Robbie Stillwaggon, 11. Ryan Kissinger, 12. Chuck Hebing, 13. Tim Wagaman, 14. Cody Lehman, 15. Davie Franek, 16. Eric Tomecek, 17. Josh Weller, 18. Troy Betts, 19. Derek Locke, 20. Mark Bitner, 21. Bryn Gohn, 22. Justin Hoffman, 23. Keith Prutzman, 24. Mallie Shuster, 25. David Swanson
DNQ: Jonathan Swanson, Eric Riggins, Art Leidl, PJ Williams, Chris Arnold, Danny Dietrich, Mike Walter, Scott Lutz, Jason Cherry, JR Berry, Jason Schultz, Adam Lyman, Brad Franks, Leah Starner, Kevin Albert, Jason Clauss, Jimmy Stitzel
A Two Race Weekend on Tap for URC
After a few weeks off The United Racing Club will return to action Friday night June 5th at the famed Williams Grove Speedway. This is the first visit to Williams Grove this year and the 358/360 Sprint Car Challenge will be sure to draw some of the best in the business. On Saturday night the United Racing Club will return to Selinsgrove for their 2nd visit of the year. The last visit to Selinsgrove Speedway Robbie Stillwaggon and the 89 Quality Auto Body sprint car lead most of the race only to be passed late by a charging Mark Smith. Stillwaggon will be looking to finish what he started at the Jack Gunn Memorial Event.
In addition to next weekend the United Racing Club has added another race at Bridgeport Speedway. After a 4 year absence from the facility the United Racing Club opened its season at Bridgeport Speedway in late April. With the success of the first Bridgeport event, the Speedway has decided to offer a 2nd date on July 15th. This midweek show will produce plenty of excitement on the ultra fast 5/8 mile facility. On tap will be the United Racing Club and the 358 Modifieds.
With only 4 races in the books the 2015 United Racing Club campaign has been a very successful one consistently drawing numbers in the mid to upper 20’s along with some of the best racing around. United Racing Club has visited Bridgeport, Selinsgrove, Susquehanna and Georgetown Speedway. Event winners have been former URC Champions Curt Michael and Davie Franek. Mark Smith swept an early May double header weekend.
With The Pressure on "No Panic" Proves up to the Challenge
Whoever said quantity is better than quality was obviously not at Georgetown Speedway on Friday Night for the United Racing Club's visit to the fast 1/2 mile speedway. Seventeen of the best 360 sprint car drivers the area has to offer assembled into the pit area for the $2,000 to win event.
Even though a full field was not in the pit area there was still plenty of talent with 8 time URC champion Curt Michael on hand with the 5G owned by Bill Gallagher. Previous URC champions Davie "No Panic" Franek and Robbie Stillwaggon were also on hand. Young Hot Show Tyler Ross was on hand with the 25e Eldreth Construction sprint car, and his teammate Josh Weller also made their way to the first state. Local Delaware favorites PJ Williams and Troy Betts were also signed into the pit area.
With two exciting heat races won by Josh Weller and Davie Franek the 0 invert pill was pulled for a heads up feature line up. The front row of Franek and Weller lead the field to the drop of the green flag. Franek got an early jump on Weller into the first turn. The 8w of Rookie PJ Williams got a little high almost going over the banking, while Williams lost a few positions from his 8th place starting spot he gathered it up and headed down the backstretch. The field quickly slowed for the spinning of the Brad Franks 12 car in turn 2 along with trouble for the 23j of Jake Eldreth (making his first URC Start) on the front stretch. While Franks refired and joined the back of the field Jake Eldreth was towed off and done for the night. URC utilized a single file restart with the top 5 of Franek, Weller, Ross, Stillwaggon and Andy Best. On the start Franek again jumped out the lead with Stillwaggon immediately pressuring Ross for the 3rd spot. By the 3rd lap Curt Michael moved into 5th from his 7th place starting position. A lap 6 caution for the spinning PJ Williams in turns 3-4 would again bunch up the field. Franek again would jump out to a sizeable lead over Weller, Ross, Stillwaggon, and Michael. Ross pressured Weller for the runner up spot but was unable to make the move stick. Michael passed Stillwaggon and was now in the top 4 when the caution would again come out, this time for debris in turn 2.
The restart again proved to be no different than before as Franek would jump out to the lead, Curt again pressured from the start and passed Ross for 3rd and immediately charged towards Weller for the 2nd spot. A nasty flip down the front stretch involving Will Eggimann brought out the nights only red flag. Eggimann emerged from the car unhurt but the 77w is a total loss. The top 5 on the restart was Franek, Weller, Michael, Ross and Stillwaggon. While Franek jumped out to the lead on the restart Michael immediately pressured and passed Weller for the runner up spot until the caution came out again. With Michael now in 2nd place the heat was on "No Panic" Franek to live up to his name and drive his own race. The restart again saw Franek jump out to the lead with Michael close in tow. Michael would mount a charge on Franek multiple times but the 28F would continuously shut the door on the 5g of Michael. Franek would take his first URC sprint car win of the year with the top 5 completed by Michael, Weller, Stillwaggon and Jason Clauss.
Finishing Order Franek, Michael, Weller, Stillwaggon, Clauss, Ross, Best, Betts, D. Swanson, Williams, J. Swanson, Cherry, Franks, Eggimann, C. Darling, Eldreth. DNS West.
Smith Sweeps the Weekend with a Win at Susquehanna Speedway
On Sunday night May 3rd, Mark Smith and his Mach 1 Chassis sponsored 360 sprint car took the win in the 2nd night of the 358/360 challenge races. Smith, who has been on fire this year, has already won in Florida and the Selinsgrove’s Jack Gunn Memorial the night before. With the top 8 being inverted from the heat races, 2014 URC Champion Davie Franek, and the 25 of Josh Weller lead the field of 24 starters to the green flag. Unfortunately, the caution was immediately displayed due to the 12 of Brad Franks spinning in turns 1-2. A second restart was called back due to the 44 John Braim stopping in turns 1-2. The 98 of New York invader Joe Trenca also received some attention during this yellow flag. They say the 3rd time is a charm, and this time Davie Franek took the early lead with Josh Weller close in tow. Josh Weller took a run at Franek in turn 3 on the 4th lap and looped it. Surprisingly enough, no other contact was made and the Eldreth Construction #25 was able to re-fire and start at the back of the pack. A single file restart was in order, and again Franek jumped out to the lead. Mark Smith passed Curt Michael and set his sights on the 28 of Davie Franek. Smith quickly pressured Franek for the lead, overtaking Franek on lap 4. Lap 5 saw the #4 Jimmy Stitzel facing the wrong way in turn 1. With 5 laps down, Smith was leading, followed by Franek, Michael, Ott, and New York Invader Jason Barney completing the top 5. Multi-time URC Champion Curt Michael just wasn’t going to give up. Michael, who won a 360 race at Susquehanna in the Fall, again had his sights set on the red #28 of Franek. Michael continuously pressured Franek for the runner up spot, with a slide jobon lap 14 finally making it stick. A lap 16 spin by the #4 of Jimmy Stitzel would bunch up the field and give Michael the valuable real estate he needed to be right on Smith’s bumper for the restart. Michael set his sights on Smith next, pressuring him in turns 1-2 multiple times. A lap 20 caution again put the GEI Valley Force Inc. #5g right on the back bumper of Smith. Smithkept the lead and pulled away at the end. The top 5 were Mark Smith, Curt Michael, Aaron Ott, Davie Franek and Jason Barney. A stout field of 39 360 Sprint Cars were on hand for the night’s events. Notable entries were New York invaders, Jason Barney, Justin Barger, and Joe Trenca. Some 410 regulars also were on hand with Mark Smith, Glenndon Forsythe and Aaron Ott. Heat wins went to Justin Barger, Aaron Ott, Robbie Stillwaggon, and Mark Smith. The B main was won by Tyler Ross. No Provisionals were used. URC has Mother’s day weekend off but will be back in action in the First State with a race at Georgetown Speedway on Friday, May 15th. Pits open at 4pm, General Admission at 5:30 and racing begins at 7pm.
Mark Smith Takes Jack Gunn Memorial
A strong field of 32 sprints were on hand for the 35th Annual Mark Smith Memorial race paying a cool $3,500 to the winner.
Pole sitter Mark Smith and Robbie Stillwaggon lead the field of 26 to the green flag. Stillwaggon quickly jumped out to the lead followed by Josh Weller in the Eldreth Sprinter. Lap 4 brought a caution with the 29 Jason Schultz the victim of a flat left rear. Once the rear was changed the field went back green. Mark Smith shot under Josh Weller in turns 3-4 to take over second on lap 5. Already a winner at Selinsgrove Davie Franek was on the move on lap 7 over taking invader Jessica Zemkin. A lap 8 red flag was brought out for a wreck involving 29 Jason Schultz who eventually went over. Others involved were 25e Tyler Ross, 66 Ryan Kissinger, and 99 Cody Keller. All 4 drivers were retired for the evening.
On the lap 8 restart Stillwaggon again jumped back out to the lead with Smith again trying taking a run at Stillwaggon on lap 9. Stillwaggon would retain the lead. The front runners started catching lapped traffic on lap 16 with allowed Smith to once again catch Stillwaggon. At the halfway point the top 5 were Stillwaggon, Smith, Weller, Franek and Ott.
Lap 21 Smith would again take a run at Stillwaggon in turns 3-4. Smith got up into the loose stuff but was able to recover without loosing any positions. Lap 28 Smith's run finally stuck as he lead at the start finish line. Smith would pull away for a comfortable 1.4 second lead at the end of the 30 lap feature. Heat wins went to defending URC Champion Davie Franek, Derek Locke, Jason Schultz, and multiple time URC Champion Curt Michael winning the fourth and final heat race by .050 of a second.
The teams will have just enough time to wash the cars and preform some general maintenance before heading off to Susquehanna Speedway Park for tonight's challenge race again with the 358 division.
United Racing Club will then be off until the 15th when they return to the first state and the Georgetown Speedway.
360 Sprint Cars – 32 Entries 30-Lap A-Main: 1) 1 Mark Smith 2) 89 Robbie Stillwaggon 3) 25 Aaron Ott 4) 23 TJ Stutts 5) 28F Davie Franek 6) 1W Eric Tomecek 7) 5G Curt Michael 8) 77 Derek Locke 9) 25 Josh Weller 10) 5 Justin Barger 11) 08 Jason Claus 12) 1Z Jessica Zemken 13) 76 Larry Kelleher 14) 33W Michael Walter II 15) F5 Mark Bitner 16) 19 Colby Womer 17) 66 Ryan Kissinger 18) 22 Troy Betts 19) 39 Eric Parker 20) M16 Justin Hoffman 21) 12B Brad Franks 22) 29S Derek Steward 23) 56 Randy West 24) 25E Tyler Ross 25) 99K Cody Keller 26) 29 Jason Shultz Heat Winner: Davie Franek, Derek Locke, Jason Shultz, Curt Michael B-Main Winner: Tyler Ross
Broadsliding with Bev
Bridgeport –Sunday April 12th, 2015
No, you didn’t read that byline wrong. Yes, I’m still alive and well and living in Newtown, PA. And no, I’m not returning to write a column weekly about sprint cars, but I couldn’t help myself after visiting Bridgeport Speedway this past Sunday. We are now avid boaters as many of my Facebook friends know and for the past two winters have been living on our boat down in Florida. Life has been good post racing and while we sometimes enjoy watching our grandsons run quarter midgets at Atco, we don’t get to very many races anymore. Bruce does not want to be bitten by the racing bug, so he stays away. Me, I still miss the people!
This past weekend though we returned to Bridgeport Speedway in NJ as guests, which included The United Racing Club’s opener. It was an honor to be included in the celebration of the “club” returning to a membership club that only wants what’s best for the racers, fans and racetracks. Having been involved with URC for more than a dozen years as racers, media, board members and President, Bruce and I never agreed with the club turning into a company but understand why it happened. We thank Bill Gallagher and URC for including us in this historic day. Bill is the driving force behind the membership and along with a handful of folks will hopefully return URC into the strong club it once was.
Bridgeport also holds a special place in my heart as it was the first racetrack I ever drove a sprint car. We rented the track for a day with several other racers and I got to run my #10 URC sprinter there for many practice laps. The facility is much nicer than I remember and I think that Dave Adams and Keith Hoffman have done a wonderful job of promoting this track. Owner, Brian Ramey has put money into this place and it shows. They are kid friendly and run a very efficient show. We were impressed with car counts and the officials. The bathrooms were great (such a women thing). My only wish is that the track was physically smaller. It would be SO much racier and would allow fans to watch closer competition if they’d just cut it down a bit. At least that’s how the sprint car fans and racers feel. We all think cars get too spread out and it’s boring to watch.
The new dirt put on the track this year made for a smooth dusty surface. It’s often hard to tell how a surface will remain for the season for several reasons. Judging it by the first race is tough because of weather, wind, cold, recent rain and new clay. I believe dirt track prep is one of the hardest jobs there is, so I always reserved judgment until June, when we raced. Bridgeport’s track was what I would have expected early in the season.
It was in May of 1948 (and no I wasn’t born back then) that the very first URC race took place at Lockport, NY, with only 9 cars in attendance. The first Champion was Bob Cooney and people like Harry Johnson, Shorty Pritzbur, Jules Furslew and Carl Miller were all instrumental in making that first year a success and car counts grew each week. They even had a banquet that first year, imagine that! The subsequent years that followed proved even more successful and the working man’s club flourished, thanks to guys like Louis Kunz and Bill Bauer. It was April 29th, 1973 that URC first raced Bridgeport and Harry Benjamin was the winner that day with Toby Tobias running 2nd. Leroy Felty would go on to become the URC Champion that year and car counts were good. If you ask me URC’s hay-days were during the 80’s and 90’s but maybe I’m prejudice because that’s when we were involved with the club.
It’s been four years since URC has raced Bridgeport when Daryn Pittman and JJ Grasso were the winners in 2011. The 22 racers and car owners were excited to return there to race and many expressed to me how happy they were to be there and be part of the club camaraderie again. Some teams talked to me about wanting it to be fun again. They claim the last 3 years have been pretty bad.
Several retired URC racers as well as officials and friends were present to kick off Sunday’s race. A few past Champions that I talked with were (1975, 76) Gary Gollup and (1994) Greg Coverdale. Both are doing well and happy. Other former racers on hand included Stew Brown, Tm Hogue and Bruce Thompson. Past owners Rick Shive, Pat and Kathy Palladino, Larry and Jan Gilbert, and Fred Kennedy were there as well. Former URC officials, Flo Fling along with daughter Stephanie Hill as well as Bob Hafner were there supporting the opener. It was also good to see so many old friends. It was very nostalgic for me.
Many of the racing faces at Bridgeport on Sunday have been supporting URC for many years, even through the last 9 years of the Company. Eight-time Champion Curt Michael is in full support of the renewed club atmosphere and won his 50th career win in fine style. The Michael family have been long time racing folks with Brother Sean a former driver as well. Mom and Dad were on hand to support their favored driver and the new club racing. Curt still is smooth and fast and I enjoyed seeing him in the green #5G. Many others that have been supporters of URC for at least 8-10 years including Mike Haggenbottom, Mark Bitner, Randy West, Josh Weller, Dave Betts, Dave Franek, Jason Clauss, Jimmy Stitzel and Robbie Stillwaggon. Most of these URC teams are family affairs with support from local businesses in their towns as well as other family members.
Speaking of Josh Weller, he is a nice young man who drives for long time URC owner, past President and past board member, Ken Eldreth. The Eldreth family has supported URC for many years and at one time had son Jon driving. They now support two cars, including the #25e driven by 21 year old Tyler Ross who finished a solid 5th. Josh drove an excellent race and put the good looking #25 in second place, giving Curt a run for his money. The two Eldreth cars will be a force to be reckoned with this year I’m sure.
There was only one sprint car flip all day which is pretty good considering it was opening day. The unfortunate one was Jason Cherry, in turn one during the feature, driving the Cherry family #67. He bent the frame and had his bell rung, but was back in the pits assessing the damage so they could regroup.
I got a chance to visit with the Swanson Family who supports two cars. Younger brother David Swanson drives the family red #117. He finished 13th in the feature. Dave will run a limited schedule due to his work schedule as a NJ policeman. Older brother Jonathan who drives the red #17j dropped from the feature early with a flat tire. Both were running Kriner motors and both look forward to supporting the new URC.
Almost nineteen year old rookie, Brad Franks driving the 12B will be running the URC schedule this year. He finished 12th in the feature on Sunday and was giving the car a good shake down. Speaking of rookies, I know this isn’t sprint car stuff, but congrats to Tommy Tanner who won the DA’s Auto Body Rookie Feature on Sunday at Bridgeport. He will be a Sportsman to watch this year as he drives the family #93.
Getting the distance award was Chuck Hebing from Ontario, NY with his #45. Chuck led the field at the drop of the green but had some problems with his power steering and was a DNF getting paid for 19th. He was driving the car his daughter uses in the 305 division.
Some new/old URC officials include Glenn (Stretch) Fitzcharles Jr who I know will do a great job as Race Director. As a former crew chief for his dad, Stretch has already worked several years as an official and grew up around racing. Billy Gallagher has official experience and will be an asset as well. Mimi, (sorry don’t know your last name) will also be a big help. The club will use track scorers and flagman due to a restricted budget.
They have a limited amount of money to advertise and need new sponsors to support their 22 race schedule. Their payout is consistent with what it was with the company and will pay $2000 to win on a regular or special sponsored race and $1500 to win a regular non sponsored event. They will pay $200 /$250 to take the green and their total payout varies from $8500 to $10,045 depending on sponsorship. They will be returning to Central PA at tracks like Williams Grove, Selinsgrove and Port Royal and Susquehanna, which I think is exciting. I am looking forward to watching the growth they will make and maybe even catching another race here or there this season.
Please support them this year. Check out the club website and schedule at: unitedracingclub.net Then go watch some racing with the oldest continuous sprint car club in America. You can reach Bill Gallagher with questions at: 610-960-0440. Their next race will be May 2, for the Jack Gunn Memorial at Selinsgrove.
Bev Thompson is a former URC, Central PA, sprint car columnist, who wrote for Area Racing News for 15 years, as well as posting her column on Hoseheads. Her husband Bruce drove stock cars and sprint cars for many years, as did their son Len, who drove sprint cars in Central PA. Now their grandson’s Mike and Owen drive quarter-midgets.
It's all Michael at the URC Season Opener at Bridgeport Speedway
With the sun setting in the distance, New York Invader Chuck Hebing led the 20 URC Sprints to the green flag. Before a lap was completed, the potent, Bill Gallagher owned 5G with Curt Michael in the driver’s seat overtook Hebing coming out of turn 4. From lap 1 until 25, Curt Michael led the 2015 URC Season opener, scoring the 50th URC win of his career.
Before the 2nd lap could be completed, the 17J of Jonathan Swanson stopped in turn 1. During the caution, Robbie Stillwaggon headed to the pits only to return just prior to the green flag. On the restart, Curt Michael led with Chuck "Cobra" Hebing close in tow along with Josh Weller, Troy Betts and Jimmy Stitzel rounding out the top 5. On lap 3 Weller overtook Hebing for the runner up spot. One lap later Hebing retired to the infield with power steering problems. The Quality Auto Body 360 sprinter of Robbie Stillwaggon returned to the pits again on lap 5 with a fuel pump issue. The 17J of Swanson stopped again in turns 1-2 on lap 6. A hard charging Randy West made his way up into the top 5 only to retire on lap 8 with motor issues. Lap 11 saw Jason Cherry flip hard in turn 1. Cherry reported that the car got a little loose then hit a rut and began to flip. Cherry walked away, but the 67 was totally demolished. On the restart, Michael jumped out again to the lead with Josh Weller and the Eldreth sponsored sprinter close behind. With the top 5 of Michael, Weller, Betts, Stitzel and Franek all running the top line, Michael began to catch the end of the field on lap 17. Michael worked through lapped traffic for the remaining 8 laps and went on to score his 50th career URC win. The top 5 included runner up Josh Weller, Troy Betts, reigning URC Champion, Davie Franek, and URC rookie Tyler Ross, who gained 9 positions aboard the second Eldreth Construction ride.
With a total of 22 cars on hand, URC had 3 heat races with heat wins going to Robbie Stillwaggon, Chuck Hebing and Curt Michael. With the 76 of Jamie Bodo and the 8w of PJ Williams retiring their cars after the heats, a consi was no longer needed. Many drivers were spotted in the pits during the night. Andy Best reports recently purchasing the 360 of Kevin Darling, so the 88B will be back in action soon. Kevin Darling reports that he is still getting the 9D together, but will be back on track soon. Also, Tim Hogue is reportedly waiting on a motor before he and Kyle Reinhardt can hit the track in the 39 car.
Next up for the United Racing Club on May 2nd will be the annual running of the Jack Gunn Memorial race at Selinsgrove Speedway. The following night URC will travel to Susquehanna Speedway for a special Sunday night show.
1 Curt Michael, 2 Josh Weller, 3 Troy Betts, 4 Davie Franek, 5 Tyler Ross, 6 Jimmy Stitzel, 7 Mark Bitner, 8 Jason Clauss, 9 Scott Lutz, 10 Mike Haggenbottom, 11 Bill Unglert, 12 Brad Franks, 13 David Swanson, 14 Justin Hoffman, 15 Jason Cherry, 16 Randy West, 17 Jonathan Swanson, 18 Robbie Stillwaggon, 19 Chuck Hebing, 20 JR Berry
Getting to know Cody Jourdan
by Tim Moran
Throughout the 2015 race season we will be highlighting the stars of the United Racing Club. The first edition is getting to know Cody Jourdan. Jourdan will be running the entire United Racing Club 2015 schedule aboard the 21c sprint car. Cody has been racing for 10 years in a career that, like most, started in quarter midget racing until the age of 16. At 16, Jourdan moved up to the 305 winged sprint car series sanctioned by the TSRS. Even though this will be Jourdan's first full year with a 360 series, he did try his hand running with the 360's during last year’s race at Grandview Speedway. Jourdan chose Grandview to try out because he enjoys a small, fast track that focuses more on the driver’s ability than the amount of money you can spend on a motor. Cody credits the experiences with, and respect he’s already been shown by the drivers in the United Racing Club as the main reasons for moving up to the ultra competitive division. Jourdan's expectations are reasonable and attainable for a driver making the step up in competition. Cody expects to learn a lot this year visiting tracks he has never been to or seen. Most importantly, Jourdan just wants to learn and gain respect from his competitors in his rookie season. Make sure to visit the 21c pits before or after the races to meet United Racing Club’s Cody Jourdan.
The first race of the season for the United Racing Club will be April 12th at the large 5/8 mile, ultra fast Bridgeport Speedway. Come out early for the URC FanFest and enjoy the stars and cars of the United Racing Club past and present. Bring the whole family for food, music by Whiskey Grin, give-a-ways, driver autographs, bounce houses and more! FanFest will be held at the pavilion behind the main grandstands.
United Racing Club Returns to Port Royal Speedway
The United Racing Club Return to Port Royal Speedway for the “Open Wheel Madness” event on October 17 featuring the URC 360 sprints and 410 sprints. The show will highlight two popular divisions as the famous fairgrounds host Port Royal Fall Foliage Days, a local trademark craft and fall festival during the daytime, followed by the big Open Wheel Madness.
The URC sprints look forward to bringing a large car count to the Famous Speedway located in middle of the small Port Royal town. URC will run its regular show with pill draw for heats and invert for feature, starting a 20 car field. The 358 sprints will be allowed to race with URC but they must pass PA 358 tech and run an URC legal 5x5 wing.
On April 12, the United Racing Club will be at the Bridgeport Speedway for the first race of the season. Race teams are encouraged to arrive early as they must go through New Jersey State tech procedures. The pit gates swing open at 12:30pm with hot laps starting at 3pm and racing getting underway at 4pm.
It is recommended that all competitors obtain a URC license to be eligible for points, contingency sponsorships and provisional starting spots and there will be a discount for URC members entering the pits at Bridgeport. To avoid a delay the day of the event, send your membership forms to the URC office in advance. Memberships forms can be found on the URC website, www.unitedracingclub.net.
Race night sponsorship packages are still available with URC at a few of the events so act fast to get in on the excitement. For more information, please contact Curt Michael at 302-344-1882 or curtmichael@verizon.net. Be sure to keep up with everything URC related by checking our website or Facebook pages.
United Racing Club Returns to Big Diamond Speedway June 19
The United Racing Club makes its return to Big Diamond Speedway on Friday, June 19th. The always racy 3/8-mile speedway in Minersville, PA has put on some of the best URC races over the years and this year’s event should be no different.
No matter where you look on the speedway you will always find action taking place. That is what Randy West, driver of the Fred Kennedy owned sprint car finds most intriguing. “There’s usually two grooves which makes for great racing and the fans are always very happy to see us there. It is great to race in front of such a energetic crowd.”
Curt Michael, eight time URC Champion, is also looking forward to URC’s return to Big Diamond. “Big Diamond is a track that I have had success at. I like the small tracks where things happen quick and you have to get your elbows up,” stated the driver of Bill Gallagher’s potent “green machine”
The United Racing Club season kicks off Sunday April 12th at the spacious 5/8 mile Bridgeport Speedway in Bridgeport, NJ. Randy West and Curt Michael will be looking to win the season opener along with Robbie Stillwaggon, Josh Weller, Mark Bitner, Brad Franks, Kyle Reinhardt and Brian Carber just to name a few.
With races also taking place at Williams Grove, Selinsgrove, Georgetown, New Egypt, Thunder Mountain, Utica Rome, Susquehanna, Port Royal, and Orange County the schedule has a little something for everyone, drivers and fans alike.
Anyone interest in scheduling a URC race should contact booking agent Curt Michael at 302-344-1882.
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