6/28/2025
USAC East Coast Sprint Cars
Passing Classic Showcases Clinton Co Fairgrouds
A Passing Classic at Clinton County Fairgrounds Nets Bobby Butler a Career First!
LOCK HAVEN, PA — A humid, damp, and cloudy Friday night set the stage for an unforgettable evening of racing at Clinton County Fairgrounds. Despite a brief delay caused by mist and a passing shower, the action roared to life when the Innovative Machine Technology USAC East Coast Sprint Cars hit the unique 1/3rd-mile oval.
Clinton County’s character—no backstretch wall and no turn three wall—gives it the feel of a Midwestern bullring, and the 18 sprint cars in attendance made full use of its quirks.
The night’s heat races were action-packed. In heat one, Bobby Butler and Bruce Buckwalter went toe-to-toe in a thrilling battle for the top spot, while Steven Drevicki dominated heat two with a runaway performance, leaving a melee of competition in his wake. Butler and Drevicki both secured heat wins and momentum heading into the feature.
Following the redraw, Butler rolled off from the 7th spot, with Drevicki lining up 8th as the most recent feature winner. The front row featured a determined Bruce Buckwalter and a hungry Ronald Helmick, setting the table for a showdown.
When the green flag waved, Buckwalter wasted no time finding speed and quickly distanced himself from Helmick. But behind them, a charge was brewing from Jason Cherry, Ed Aikin, and Drevicki.
A caution on lap 9 involving Brett Rose and a slowing Mike Haggenbottom brought the field back together, playing into Buckwalter’s hands just as he was approaching lapped traffic. On the restart, Bobby Butler’s #5B machine came to life. Running an innovative lower line, Butler surged to fourth, then third, then second—reeling in Buckwalter with every lap.
With just six laps remaining, Butler made the move that changed everything—ducking low off turn two and driving past Buckwalter’s #83. Moments later, Buckwalter’s stellar run came to a dramatic end as he clipped the inside wall in turn one and flipped, ending his night prematurely.
That crash set up a four-lap dash to the checkered flag, with Butler leading the charge ahead of Helmick, Aikin, Drevicki, Cherry, and Olivia Thayer, all gunning for a podium.
Bobby Butler, of Milford, NJ, was not to be denied. He powered the Premier Lathing #5B under Nicole Flood’s twin checkers to claim his first-ever USAC East Coast Sprint Car victory, presented by Baer Den Farm. Drevicki came home second from 8th, while Aikin charged from 11th to finish third.
An emotional Butler shared in victory lane:
"Even after the heat race win, i felt like I was missing something. I looked to my buddies like Steven Drevicki and was told to go basic and stop overthinking. I think I have been doing this all wrong all season, and I am so excited to be here."
The USAC East Coast series returns to action tonight at Selinsgrove Speedway. Gates open at 5 p.m., with racing getting underway at 6:30 p.m.
E. SCHNEIDER & SONS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Bobby Butler (#5B Butler) 2. Bruce Buckwalter (#83 Buckwalter), 3. Rich Carnathan (#64 Carnathan), 4. Jason Cherry (#67 Cherry), 5. Lee Kauffman (#96 Kauffman), 6. Dale Schweikart (#78 Schweikart) 7. Jordan Fulton (#37 Fulton), 8.Gary Hutson (#44 Hutson) 9. Mike Haggenbottom (#51 Kelly) TIME: 2:31.94
BDB Graphics SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Steven Drevicki (#19 Drevicki) 2. Ronald Helmick (#22R Helmick), 3. Dakota Schweikart (#78C Schweikart) 4. Olivia Thayer (#39T Thayer) 5. Ed Aikin (#19 Aikin), 6. Joe Kata (#10 Kata), 7. Mark Connoly (19c Connoly) DNF 8. Brett Rose (45R Rose Bros) DNS. Dirk Rimrott (#27 Rimrott) TIME: 2:31.14
AUTO BARN FEATURE EVENT 25 LAPS (Starting spot in parenthesis) : 1. BOBBY BUTLER (7), 2. Steven Drevicki (8), 3. Ed Aikin (10) 4. Jason Cherry (6), 5. Ronald Helmick (2), 6. Joe Kata (12), 7. Dale Schweikart (11), 8. Olivia Thayer (3), 9. Jordan Fulton (13), 10. Lee Kauffman (9) 11. Brett Rose (16), 12. Mike Haggenbottom (17), 13. Rich Carnathan (4), 14. Mark Connoly (14), 15. Gary Huston (15) DNF: 16. Bruce Buckwalter (1) 17. Dakota Schweikart (5) 18. Dirk Rimrott (18) NO TIME
Notes: 3 New comers to the series were Dakota Schweikart, Mark Connoly both utlizing 305 motors and also Joe Kata in a Maxim 360.
Submitted By: Kurt Bettler
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