Drevicki Claims Top Honors at Clinton County Speedway
For Immediate Release
May 20, 2023
Mill Hall, PA –Steven Drevicki of Reading, PA topped the field of twenty-seven USAC East Coast Sprint Cars on Friday night at the Clinton County Speedway. Tommy Dawson won the Pro Stocks, Jeffrey Weaver won the 270 Micro Sprints, Tommy Kunsman won the wingless 600 Micros and John Stringfellow won the 4 Cylinders.
Ed Aikin and JT Ferry lead the field to green at Clinton County for the 25 lap feature event, and it was immediately evident what kind of feature the fans would be treated too. JT Ferry edged out Aikin to the line in a fierce side by side battle for the first five laps of the feature event as the two traded slide jobs up and down the speedway on each end of the track.
Ferry had a great line through the middle of the speedway, sometimes utilizing the high line, but Aikin had a great handling car and could cut down to the bottom side of the speedway and utilize the shorter radius, and moisture to the bottom, to motor side by side, and nearly take the lead from Ferry on multiple occasions.
As the leaders battled for position lap after lap, fourth starting Steven Drevicki quickly dispatched of third place starter Joey Amantea, and separated himself from the intense battle for fourth and fifth between Alex Bright and Briggs Danner.
The caution flag flew on lap four of the feature event for Mike Thompons as he appeared to suffer a broken rear-end. With the car coasting to a stop, evasive action was taken by many cars, with Lee Kauffman, Jason Cherry, and Michael Smith all making contact at the rear of the field. Smith and Cherry ended up stuck together in corner one. Of the four cars involved, only Cherry would rejoin the field, with Smith failing to make repairs with enough time in the work area.
On the following restart, Drevicki began his pressure of the lead duo, with Steven Snyder showing muscle and passing both of Bright and Danner to move into fourth and try to reel in Drevicki and the leaders.
Ferry and Aikin had amassed a decent lead in their duel over Drevicki, with Aikin finally getting the power down off of corner number four to take the lead away from Ferry officially on lap seven of the feature event.
Unfortunately, the first and only red flag of the feature event flew on lap seven of the feature event, as Steven Snyder Jr got too low on the bottom side of turns one and two, caught the inside wall, and went for a series of flips in turn two. The rookie driver would be ok but done for the rest of the feature event.
The ensuing restart saw Aikin tear away from Ferry, but only for a lap or two, as Ferry and now Drevicki battled with Drevicki utilizing a diamond maneuver down the banking of the speedway to get by Ferry and try to catch leader Aikin for the race lead.
Meanwhile, further back in the pack, Kenny Miller lll, Alex Bright, Briggs Danner, and Carmen Perigo were locked in battle, with Miller moving into the top five behind Bright with Danner falling to sixth.
Drevicki was relentless, hounding the rear bumper of Aikin in an incredible, and clean race for the lead. Aiking was running a very unique line through corners three and four, allowing the car to drift wide, with Drevicki keeping the car glued to the bottom, but not getting the best grip to get the race lead. As those two dueled, JT Ferry again drew into the picture closing in and making it a near three car battle for the lead.
With the top three glued together, Alex Bright, Briggs Danner, who had moved back by Miller for fifth, and Kenny Miller lll had begun to catch the leaders, and were nearly in the same corner as the lead trio shaping up what could have been a possible six car race for the lead.
Drevicki finally got the bite he needed off of corner four and took the race lead on lap 19 of the feature event. As the duo entered into corner one, they both swung wide, trying to get a run down the banking under Drevicki down the back straight away. Drevicki kept his car extra tight to the bottom, and despite the huge run Aikin had, he was not able to get under Drevicki for the lead.
The caution flag flew once again on lap 20, as Dalton Herrick spun off the banking of turns three and four. Drevicki nailed the restart with Aikin and Ferry battling again for the runner up spot and the rest of the top five remaining the same. The caution flag flew yet again on lap 22, as Herrick went for the same spin off the banking in three and four, drawing an end to his night.
With a three-lap dash to the finish, Drevicki nailed the restart and pulled away some from Aikin to collect his second consecutive series win of the season. Aikin held off JT Ferry for second, with Bright and Danner rounding out the top five. Sixth though tenth were Kenny Miller, Carmen Perigo, Jr, Bruce Buckwalter, Dale Schweikart and Joey Amantea. Heat races were won by Alex Bright, Joey Amantea and Briggs Danner. Austin Graby won the B-Main.
In addition to the USAC Sprints, running wingless, the 600 Micro Sprints took their wings off for the first time this year to allow drivers an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming Hyper Racing 600 Wingless speed-week event in July. Cory Stabley and Tommy Kunsman started on the front row of the 15 lap main event. Kunsman, who was pulling double duty, by running both wingless divisions, jumped into the lead at the drop of the green flag. Stabley, a rookie in the 600 division, who was running his first wingless event, held onto second through the completion of lap number five. The caution flag came out Kimber Tyson who stopped on the back stretch. Upon the restart Kunsman continued to lead, while Gary Smith passed Stabley for second place. Kunsman continued to lead every lap to claim his first wingless victory at the speedway. Smith was second, Stabley was third, Chad Waite was fourth and Corey Bowmaster completed the top five. Kunsman also won the qualifying event.
Steven Fernberg Jr and Jillian Maurer brough the field of 270 Micro Sprints to the green flag. Fernberg led the first circuit. By lap number two, Jeffrey Weaver, who started sixth, advanced into the top spot. Logan Hammaker moved into second by the completion of lap number two. With five laps completed, Weaver lead Hammaker, Cory Stabley, Jillian Maurer and Mac Wert. On lap number eleven, Wert took the fourth spot away from Maurer. Weaver established a sizeable lead over the rest of the field to secure his fourth consecutive win of the season. Hammaker finished second while Wert took third of the final laps from Stabley and Maurer. Sixth through tenth were Tom Quiggle, Trevor Fernberg, Steven Fernberg Jr., Brad Snyder and Matt Dixson. Heats were won by Weaver and Stabley.
In Pro Stock competition, Blake Snyder and AY Schilling started on the front row. Schilling led the opening lap. A caution occurred on lap number two when Johnny Bouse and Tommy Dawson got together while battling for fifth, forcing both drivers to the rear of the field. Fourth place starter AJ Stroup took the lead on lap number four. The event’s only other caution occurred on lap number four when Kris Orwig spun. Stroup was being pressured by last week’s feature winner Cory Long, as Dawson and Bouse worked their way up through the field. By lap number nine, Dawson made it a three-car race for the lead when he took second place from Long. With two laps remaining, Stroup, Dawson and Long were in a contested battle while Noah Kissinger and Bouse battled for fourth and fifth.
During the final laps Stroup and Dawson were in an epic battle running side by side. As the duo raced down the back straight, Dawson had one more chance to pass Stroup. As they exited turn four, Dawson had a slight advantage to win by a margin of 0.25 seconds. Stroup settled for second, Long was fourth followed by Kissinger and Bouse. Sixth through tenth were AJ Hoffman, AY Schilling, Blake Snyder, Rich Fye and Marc Bitler, Heats were won by Long and Stroup.
Johnny Stringfellow and Michael Barrett were the front row starters of the four-cylinder main event. Barrett led the first three circuits before Stringfellow powered into the lead by the completion of lap number four. At the race’s midway point of the race, Hunter Flook took second away from Barrett as Zak Kline and Adam Harris were in the top five. With one lap to go, Flook’s car brought out the caution flag. Stringfellow held off the challenges to claim the win over Barrett, Blake Snyder, Kline and Skyler Phillips. Sixth through tenth were Chloe Smith, Adam Harris, Matt Weaver, Troy Bennett and Toby Maines. Heats were won by Small, Harris and Snyder.
The Clinton County Speedway returns this Friday night with a four-division show, featuring the Limited Late Models, Pro Stocks, 270 Micro Sprints, 4-Cylinders and kids Power Wheels races presented by Century 21 First Choice Realty. Gates open at 5PM and racing begins at 7PM. For the latest information about upcoming events, visit the speedway’s website, www.clintoncountyspeedway.com or follow the speedway on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
USAC Wingless Sprints (25 Laps): 1. 19 Steven Drevicki, 2. 7 Ed Aikin, 3. 18J JT Ferry, 4. 20 Alex Bright, 5. 39 Briggs Danner, 6. 23M Kenny Miller, 7. 21 Carmen Perigo Jr, 8. 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr, 9. 78 Dale Schweikart, 10. 88J Joey Amantea, 11. 85 Josh Beamer, 12. 67 Jason Cherry, 13. 87 Austin Graby, 14. 5B Bobby Butler, 15. 21K Tommy Kunsman, 16. 83S Billy Ney, 17. 29 Dalton Herrick, 18. 27 Steven Snyder Jr, 19. 11 Mike Thompson, 20. 96 Lee Kauffman, 21. 76 Michel Smith.
Lap Leaders: JT Ferry (1-4, 6). Ed Aikin (5, 7-19). Steven Drevicki (20-25).
270 Micros: 1. Jeffrey Weaver, 2 Logan Hammaker 3. Mac Wert, 4. Cory Stabley 5. Jillian Maurer 6. Tom Quiggle 7. Trevor Fernburg 8. Steven Fernburg, Jr, 9. Brad Snyder 10. Matt Dixson 11. Mathew Dixson.
600 Micro Sprints: (Wingless): 1. Tommy Kunsman 2. Gary Smith 3. Cory Stabley 4. Chad Waite 5. Corey Bowmaster 6. Mitchell Holden 7. Kimber Tyson
Pro Stocks: 1. Tommy Dawson 2. AJ Stroup 3. Cory Long 4. Noah Kissinger 5. Johnny Bouse 6. AJ Hoffman 7. AY Schilling 8. Blake Snyder 9 Rich Fye 10. Marc Bitler 11. Kris Orwig Sr.
Four Cylinders: 1.Johnny Stringfellow 2. Michael Barrett, 3. Blake Snyder 4. Zak Kline 5. Skylar Phillips 6. Chloe Smith 7. Adam Harris 8. Matt Weaver 9. Troy Bennett 10. Toby Maines 11. Coty Maines 12. Kevin Tripley 13. Robert Doorman 14. Hunter Flook 15. Garrett Lucas 16. Bryrun Hackenberg 17. Chris Small 18. Brian Haagen 19. Joey Snook DNS. Kayla Leigey Nick Snook, Tim Muthler