Schweikart and Zimmerman win 40 Lappers at Clinton County
Mill Hall, PA – The Clinton County Speedway hosted two large race events on Saturday for the RaceSaver Sprint Cars and the Pro Stocks. Thirty-three IMCA RaceSaver Sprint were in competition for the Nittany 40 Championship sponsored by Bill’s Happy Camper of Mill Hall. Twenty-seven Pro Stocks were in attendance for the 40-lap C.W. Smith Memorial honoring the late racer who competed in late models, the ARCA Series and eventually NASCAR with a team based locally in nearby Williamsport. Dale Schweikart of Linden won the Nittany 40 and John Zimmerman of Varysburg, NY won the C.W. Smith Memorial. Timmy Bittner of Beech Creek claimed the 270 Micro Sprint feature and Blake Snyder won the 4-Cylinder main event.
Tylor Cochran of Williamsport set fast time in Sprint Car time trials with a lap time of 15.620 second. Four heat races and a consolation were used to determine the starting line up for the Nittany 40. Matt Tebbs of Cogan Station and Ryan Lynn of Hollidaysburg brought the field of sprint cars to the green flag. Lynn made the pass for the lead going down the front stretch leading Tebbs and national IMCA points leader Garrett Bard of Wells Tannery. The caution flag waived on lap number four when Doug Dodson spun in turn number two. On the restart, Lynn controlled the top spot and while Tebbs and Bard battled for second. Firth place starter Dale Schweikart and fourth place starter Tylor Cochran completed the top five. On lap number six, Bard and Schweikart passed Tebbs and set their sights on the leader. Schweikart passed Bard on lap number 8 for the runner up position. On lap number fourteen, Lynn began to encounter lapped traffic allowing Schweikart to get within striking distance. However, Lynn threaded his way through the lapped traffic and when Schweikart would get close, Lynn managed to put a lapped car between them. Lynn’s approach to lap traffic was flawless, until the caution came out on lap number 23 when Tebbs and Dylan Proctor of Lock Haven tangled in turns three and four. On the restart, the motor of Lynn’s car appeared to miss as he did not get as strong of start, allowing Schweikart to take the lead. Bard, Cochran, and Lutz were able to pass Lynn shuffling him back to fifth. On lap 27, three cars came together in turns one and two. Kyle Coldwell and Dakota Schweikart of Linden tangled in turn two and Josh Beamer of Hughesville was also involved as he had no place to go. All three cars were able to restart, with Dakota Schweikart feeling the biggest disappointment as he started last in the feature event and worked his way up to eighth before being involved in the wreck.
Schweikart brought the field back for the green flag with Cochran, Bard, Lutz, and thirteenth place starter Jared Zionkowski in the top five. Lutz passed Bard for third on lap number 29. Cochran and Lutz tried to chase down Schweikart, but just could not make the pass. At the checkered flag, Schweikart won by .270 second for this third feature of the season and the biggest races of his sprint car career. “This has been a great season, I would like to thank the fans, the speedway workers and everyone who has made Clinton County a great place for RaceSavers sprints,” said Schweikart in victory lane. “Many of the best in the country were here today and that make this win even more special.” Cochran finished second, Lutz was third, Bard finished fourth and Zionkowski completed the top five. Sixth through tenth were Derek Hauck, Ken Duke, Jeffrey Weaver, Brad Mellott and Dylan Proctor. Heat race winners were Tebbs, Dale Schweikart, Bard and Proctor. The B-main was won by Ken Duke.
Outside pole sitter, Don Russell led the opening two laps of the 40 lap C.W. Smith Memorial event. By the completion of lap number 3, fourth place starter John Zimmerman took the lead with Russell in second, Steven Reinhardt in third, Brandon Moser in fourth and Robert Tressler in the top five. Zimmerman begins to catch lapped traffic on lap number twelve with Reinhardt and Moser hoping for the leader to make a mistake. A caution on lap number 16 for Mike Koser, bunched the field for the restart. Sixth place starter Kurt Stebbins used the restart to pass Moser and Reinhardt and focused on catching Zimmerman. The caution waived once again on lap number 21. The restart found Zimmerman leading Stebbins, Reinhardt, Jason Smith, and Noah Jenson. As the green flag waived Stebbins’ car started to smoke as the field came back up to full speed. Five laps later, the caution waived for Rich Sharpsteer and Reinhard, as Stebbins retired his smoking car to the pit area. The final restart found Zimmerman with Jason Smith on his back bumper followed by Noah Jensen, Moser, and Ray Rothfuss in the top five. Smith and Jensen battled for the runner up position for several laps. At the finish, Zimmerman claimed the $1,800 pay day over Smith, Jenson, Moser, and Tommy Dawson. Sixth through tenth were Rothfuss, Russell, AY Schilling, Bob Buono and Cory Long. Heat race winners were Reinhardt, Zimmerman, and Moser, while AY Schilling won the B-main.
Mitchell Holden and Logan Hammaker led the field of 270 Micro Sprints to the drop of the green flag. 2020 track champion, Timmy Bittner of Beech Creek advanced from his fourth starting spot to lead the first lap. The caution waived on lap number 3 when Hammaker spun. On the restart Bittner led Ethan Spotts, Jeffrey Weaver, Dan Wertman and Kyle Stahl. Stahl brought out the caution at the races’ midway point. Bittner opened a several car lengths advantage over the rest of the field. Weaver took over the runner up position on the final lap. Third through fifth were Wertman, Buddy Kramer, and Holden. Sixth through tenth were James Bigler, Levi Brungard, Spotts, Corey Stable and Logan Hammaker. Heat races were won by Bittner and Wertman
Pole sitter Tyler Watson led the opening laps of the 4 cylinder feature event. Watson had to contend with the challenges of fellow front row starter Chris Orwig. Bake Snyder who started sixth moved into the runner up position on lap number four and began to pressure Watson. Snyder made the pass for the lead at the midway mark of the race. Orwig took the runner up position lap number 7, with Watson battling back to regain the position on lap number 10. At the finish, Snyder was the winner over Watson, Orwig, Sam Creveling and Dylan Craft. Sixth through tenth were Shaun Wise, Scott Englert, Kyle Strouse, Brett Shirk, and Tim Muthler. Heat races were won by Snyder and Creveling.
The Clinton County Speedway will now prepare for the season finale on Saturday, October 3rd when the Super Late Models compete for a $5,000 top prize presented by Strouse Electric. The show will feature time trials and heat races plus a 50 lap feature event. In addition, the pro stocks will be in competition plus the 270 micro sprint and the 4 cylinders utilizing SCDRA rules. Gates open at 1PM, Hot laps at 4PM and Racing begins at 4:30PM.
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Sprint Cars: 1. Dale Schweikart 2. Tylor Cochran 3. Scott Lutz 4. Garret Bard 5. Jared Zionkowski 6. Derek Hauck 7. Ken Duke 8. Jeffrey Weaver 9. Brad Mellott 10. Dylan Proctor 11. Dakota Schweikart 12. Josh Beamer 13. Dominic Melair 14. Aaron Jacabos 15. Dave Guss Jr. 16. Kenny Heffner 17. Rowdy Heffner 18. Mike Allemen 19. Ryan Lynn 20. Nathan Gramley 21. Kyle Colwell 22. Chris Kreider 23. Matt Tebbs 24. Larry McVay 25. Doug Dodson Non-Qualifiers: Mike Melair, Will Brunson, Jeff Miller, Steve Cousins, Erin Statler, Reed Thompson, Jim Kenney, Brody Adamsky.
Pro Stocks: 1. John Zimmerman 2. Jason Smith 3. Noah Jensen 4. Brandon Moser 5. Tommy Dawson 6. Ray Rothfuss 7. Donald Russell, Jr. 8. AY Schilling 9. Bob Buono 10 Cory Long 11. Johnny Bouse 12. Travis Horan 13. Robert Tressler 14. Kevin VanAmburg 15. Rooster Peters 16. AJ Stroup 17. Kurt Stebbins 18. Steven Reinhardt 19. Rich Sharpsteer 20. Will Brunson 21. Mike Koser 22. Noah Kissinger 23. Mike Wilbur 24. Ben Huslander 25. Brad Myers. Non-Qualifiers: Lonnie Savage, Marc Bitler
270 Micros: 1. Timmy Bittner 2. Jeffrey Weaver 3. Dan Wertman 4. Buddy Kramer 5. Mitchell Holden 6. James Bigler 7. Levi Brungard 8. Ethan Spotts 9. Corey Stabley 10. Logan Hammaker 11. Kyle Stahl 12. Greg Robinson
4 Cylinders: 1. Blake Snyder 2. Tyler Watson 3. Chris Orwig 4. Sam Creveling 5. Dylan Craft 6. Shaun Wise 7. Scott Engler 8. Kyle Strouse 9. Brett Shirk 10. Tim Muthler 11. Dustin Miller 12. Seth Derr 13. Virgil Moyer 14. John Bower 15. Matt Kauffman 16. John Stringfellow 17. Zachery Rill 18. Maddox Smith 19. Josh Morton DNS Tyler Gill