Schweikart Father-Son Duo Finish 1st and 2nd in Sprints at Clinton County Speedway
Mill Hall, PA – Veteran driver Dale Schweikart of Linden held off his son Dakota Schweikart in a non-stop 25 lap RaceSaver Sprint Car race on Friday night at the Clinton County Speedway. The win was the 40th career victory for Dale Schweikart at the 3/8th mile oval. Other winners included Corey Long of Selinsgrove in the Pro Stocks, Ross Perchak of Bloomsburg in the 270 Micro Sprints, Jeffrey Weaver of Lock Haven in the 600 Micro Sprints, Blake Snyder of Montgomery in the Four Cylinder Stock Cars and Emily Brouse in the Junior 4-Cylinder division.
Dale and Dakota Schweikart brought the full field of 24 RaceSaver Sprints Cars to the green flag of the 25 lap main event. Dale Schweikart led the opening lap with Dakota Schweikart, Jarrett Calvert, Jeffrey Weaver and Aaron Jacobus in the top five. By circuit number five, the leaders began to encounter lapped traffic, with Weaver moving into the third postion. Jared Zionkowski, who started tenth moved into top five on the completion of lap number seven. With the completion of lap number ten, Dale Schweikart was in heavy lapped traffic while Dakota attempted to keep pace with his father.
As the duo raced through lapped traffic, Dakota Schweikart tried to make quick work of the lapped cars to catch his father, and on one occasion he passed two lapped cars at the same time as he exited turn two. “I was hoping lapped traffic would work to my advantage tonight,” said Dakota in a post-race interview. “Just when I thought I had a chance to catch him, he would put another lapped car between us.” Twelfth place starter Garrett Bard moved into the top five with five laps remaining in the event. Dale Schweikart continued to weave this way through traffic and help off the attempts from Dakota Schweikart Jeffrey Weaver finished third, Garrett Bard made a last lap pass to earn the fourth position and Aaron Jacobus completed the top five. Sixth through tenth were Zionkowski, Ken Duke Jr, who earned the hard-charger award by advancing from the 21st starting position, Reed Thompson was eight followed by Calvert and Josh Beamer. Heat races were won by Dale Schweikart, Weaver and Lutz.
The win was the 6th career RaceSaver Sprint Victory for Schweikart and the 40th overall in his career. The 40 wins occurred in eight different divisions.
Lock Haven’s Robert Tressler lead the opening laps of the Pro Stock feature event. Front row starter Marc Bitler of Williamsport took the lead from Tressler by the completion of lap number five. By the midway mark of the race, Long powered by Bitler to take the lead with Noah Jensen of Wapwallopen in pursuit. Three-time feature winner Brandon Moser advanced for his 6th place starting spot to take the third position on lap number eleven. While Long held a three car advantage over the rest of the field, the battle was heating up for second with Jensen, Moser and Bitler in hot pursuit. When the checkered flag waved, Long secured his first win of the season over Jensen, Bitler, Moser and Tressler. Sixth through tenth belonged to AY Schilling AJ Hoffman, Rooster Peters, Kevin Way and Chris Orwig Jr. Heat races were won by Long and AJ Stroup.
In 270 Micro Sprint action, Mill Hall’s Timmy Bitner advanced from his 4th place starting spot to lead the opening lap. Ninth place starter, Perchak took command of the field by the completion of lap number 5. Weaver followed suit and claimed the second position with Brandon Spencer in tow.
The red flag waved on lap number eight when Cory Stabled rolled his car on the front stretch. On the restart, Spenser took the second spot while Cody Seigel who started 12th moved into the top five by the completion of lap number nine. On the white flag lap, Perchak lead Spencer and Seigel. Seigel made a last lap pass to wrestle the runner up postion away from Spenser, while Bitler and Weaver finished in the top five. Sixth through tenth were Hunter Zimmerman, Dan Wertman, Logan Hammaker, Denny Rinehimer and Mitchell Holden. Heat races were won by Ross Perchak, Bobby Sanso, Denny Rinehimer
In 600 Micro Sprint competition fourth place starter Jeffrey Weaver passed Timmy Bitner for the lead by the completion of lap number two. Josh Beamer advanced from the sixth starting position to take the second postion by the conclusion of lap number six. Weaver and Beamer encountered lapped traffic with two laps to go. Weaver held off the challenges by Beamer to secure the win with Cody Hauck, Johnny Smith and Sierra Hauck completing the top five. Sixth through tenth were Timmy Bitner, Dermont Thompson, Mitchell Holden, Kyle Knopp and Ethan Spotts. Weaver and Spotts won the qualifying events.
Cody Stover of Lock Haven started on the front row of the 12-lap four cylinder stock car main event. Stover led the first several circuits and battled with Chris Small and Blake Snyder in a closely contested battle for the lead. On lap number nine, Stover’s car broke while leading. Following the restart, Small had mechanical issues, giving the top spot to Snyder. Snyder held off the late race challenge to claim the victory over last week’s winner Jimmy Moyer, Maddox Smith, Skyler Witchley and Keith Haagen. Heat races were won by Scott Englert, Snyder and Small.
In the four cylinder junior division, Emily Brouse was the winner over Caden Kennedy, Chelsie Harris and Chloe Smith.
The Clinton County Speedway will return with racing action this Friday night, May 28st with a five division program featuring the Limited Late Models, Pro Stock, 270 Micro Sprints, 600 Mirco Sprints, and the 4-Cylinder Stock Cars presented by 21st Century – 1st Choice Realty. The night will also feature kid’s bike races. Gates will open at 5PM, Hotlaps at 7PM and Racing at 7:30PM. For more information, visit www.clintoncountyspeedway.com or visit the speedway on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
RaceSaver Sprint Cars: 1. Dale Schweikart 2. Dakota Schweikart 3. Jeffrey Weaver 4. Garrett Bard 5. Aaron Jacobus 6. Jared Zionkowski 7. Ken Duke Jr. 8. Reed Thompson 9. Jarret Calvert 10. Josh Beamer 11. Scott Lutz 12. Dave Guss Jr. 13. Dustin Prettyleaf 14. Neil Petock 15. Andrew Jacobus 16. Andrew Boyer 17. Austin Greenland 18. Quinn Roberts 19. Frank Rusnock 20. Devin Brenam 21. Tyler Cochran 22. Mariah Romig 23. Ryan Lynn 24. Matt Tebbs DNS: Robbie Bartchy, Dylan Proctor Heat Races: Jeffrey Weaver, Dakota Schweikart, Scott Lutz
Pro Stocks: 1. Cory Long 2. Noah Jensen 3. Marc Bitler 4. Brandon Moser 5. Robert Tressler 6. AY Schilling 7. AJ Hoffman 8. Rooster Peters 9. Kurt Way 10. Kris Orwig Sr. 11. Rich Fye 12. Brad Benton 13. AJ Stroup 14. Todd Geyer Sr. 15. Logan Hile DNS Gary Mellott Heat Races: Cory Long and AJ Stroup
270 Micro Sprints: 1. Ross Perchak 2. Cody Siegel 3. Brandon Spencer 4. Timmy Bitner 5. Jeffrey Weaver 6. Hunter Zimmerman 7. Dan Wertman 8. Logan Hammaker 9. Denny Rinehimer 10. Mitchell Holden 11. Bobby Sando 12. Mathew Dixson 13. James Bilger 14. Tom Quiggle 15. Sam Chamberlin 16. Mac Wert 17. Aidan Adams 18. Cory Stabley 19. Rich Damore 20. Shaun Musser 21. Skeetz Hockenbrock Heat Races: Ross Perchak, Bobby Sanso, Denny Rinehimer
600 Micro Sprints 1. Jeffrey Weaver 2. Josh Beamer 3. Cody Hauck 4. Johnny Smith 5. Sierra Hauch 6. Timmy Bitner 7. Dermont Thompson 8. Mitchell Holden 9. Kyle Knopp 10. Ethan Spotts 11. Eric Knopp DNS Derek Swartz Heat Races: Ethan Spotts and Jeffrey Weaver
4 Cylinder Stock Cars: 1. Blake Snyder 2. Jimmy Moyer 3. Maddox Smith 4. Skyler Witchley 5. Keith Haagen 6. Scott Englert 7. Cody Stover 8. Chris Small 9. Tim Muthler 10. Mike Hepler 11. Mike Luther 12. Tanner Baney 13. Mike Boring 14. Larry Beacher Jr. 15. Dillan Craft 16. Cody Maines 17. Kyle Strouse 18. Shawn Stahl 19. Seth Derr 20. Jeff Miller 21. Zachary Rill 22. Kris Orwig Jr. DNS John Bower, Sam Creveling. Heat Races: Scott Englert, Blake Snyder, Chris Small
4 Cylinder Juniors: 1. Emily Brouse 2. Caden Kennedy, 3. Chelsie Harris 4. Chloe Smith