PATH VALLEY HOSTS OVER 100 RACERS ON ASHLEY YODER DESIGNS NIGHT
By Judy McGee Timmons
Mother Nature has not been very accommodating to Path Valley Speedway, but Saturday night, over 100 drivers signed in for racing action on Ashley Yoder Designs Night, although some black clouds hovered nearby.
The T.A. Ward Construction 270 Micro Sprints had Zach Glass as the first lap leader, with Jason Houtz taking 2nd, Stephanie Welk in 3rd, as Cory Myers & Lathan Good finished out the top five. Myers moved into 3rd on the 2nd lap, with Good pulling into 4th, & Stephanie Welk in 5th. Cayden Forsythe came forward to pass Welk & Good, when a caution was thrown for Ayden Sword, who came to a stop in turn two, taking a rear position.
Glass, Houtz, Myers, Forsythe, & Brett Kauffman, were sitting at the top on the reline, with Glass holding the lead, while Myers passed Houtz to take 2nd. Eleven laps were complete, when Mark Knable got his racer upside down on the backstretch, from which he had to be towed to the pit area.
When the green flag waved on the restart, Myers put the pressure on Glass, taking the lead on lap 13. Another caution flag was shown for Ayden Sword, when he was driving out of turn 2 getting his racer pointed in the wrong direction, returning him to the rear.
When the racers got into position for the green flag, 2nd place runner, Zach Glass, had exited the oval, moving Houtz into 2nd. Forsythe controlled 3rd, with Brett Kauffman & Aiden Crouse following, where they remained for two laps, till Crouse passed Kauffman for 4th. Cory Myers led the racers to the checkered, as Houtz, Forsythe, Crouse & Kauffman finished out the top five. Cory Myers had the best lap, traveling 74.944 MPH in 12.009 seconds. The 270 Micro heat winners were, Lathan Good, Cory Myers, & Stephanie Welk.
The Zachary Crouse DVM, Limited Late Model class, was led to the green by Brandon Bard & Taylor Farlling, with Bard taking the lead ahead of Tyler Bowman, briefly, till Farlling passed Bowman, taking control of 2nd place. Bowman held 3rd, while Arden Fedder moved to 4th, & Shawn Jones claimed 5th place. Randy Burkholder brought his racer from his 8th starting spot to pass Fedder, taking claim to the 4th position. The racers held their top five positions for 15 nonstop laps, before a caution light was shown for Jeff King, who had problems on the backstretch, putting his ride to the pits.
Seventeen of the 25 laps were in the books when a caution for Cole Slanker was flown, when his racer got out of shape in turn 2, putting him to the rear. Bard escorted the lineup to the final green, with Shawn Jones, & Shyann Smith going into a wheel to wheel battle for 6th place. Taylor Farlling, Tyler Bowman, Randy Burkholder, & Arden Fedder followed Bard to the checkered, for the top five finish. Bard had the best lap, racing at 72.475 MPH in 12.418 seconds. The Late Model heat wins went to Brandon Bard & Taylor Farlling.
The Metzler Auto Truck & Trailer Sales Wingless Super Sportsman were led to the green by polesitters Craig Perigo & Lee Kauffman, with Perigo taking the lead. Kauffman, Kirk Baker, Luke Lenker & Brett Perigo were the 1st lap top runners, which changed immediately when Brett Perigo passed Baker & Kauffman, putting him into 2nd. Kauffman had control of 3rd, while the racer piloted by Brandon Shearer, came from 10th starting position to take over 4th place, followed by Baker.
As the racers approached midrace of the 30 lap competition, 9th place starter, Donnie Farlling, pulled into the top 5 spot, while Brett Perigo passed Craig Perigo to take the lead. Farlling was on a mission, as he passed Kauffman & Shearer to move into 3rd. Brett Perigo was gaining space with his lead, as Craig Perigo also ran the oval without close competition. Farlling held rank on his 3rd position, with Shearer & Kauffman maintaining the top 5.
Five laps were remaining, when Luke Lenker raced his ride past Kauffman to move into 5th place, where he remained, as Brett Perigo passed the checkered flag for the win. Craig Perigo, Farlling, & Shearer filled the gap for the top five. Craig Perigo had the best lap, running at 69.536 MPH in 12.943 seconds. Winners for the heat events were Eric Walker & Luke Lenker.
The Macri Concrete 600 Micro Sprints started their feature with a pre-lap caution, which resulted in Cole Armstrong & Taylor Smith entering the pits, joined by Ben Irvin, after 1 lap, when his racer was pushed to the pit area.
An original restart put Travis Keiser & Vincent Gaudiosi in the front row on green with Keiser taking the lead, followed by Jim Young, Gaudiosi, Conner, Fetrow & Randy Kunkle. Keiser & Young pulled away from their competition as Young’s racer held 2nd place inches behind Keiser.
Gaudiosi, Kunkle & Dylan Anderson, followed the leaders, but with six laps remaining, Young’s machine began to lose positions, giving Gaudiosi, Kunkle, Kauffman, Anderson & Fetrow, chances of advancement in the remaining laps. Positions changed with Kunkle moving into 2nd, ahead of Gaudiosi, Kauffman & Anderson for the top five. Jim Young had the best lap with a speed of 75.892 MPH in 11.859 seconds. Cole Armstrong & Dylan Anderson were the winners of the heat races.
Jake Shoup & Jeremy Shoup were side by side at the front of the Cisney’s Auto Parts 4 Cylinder Thunder Car Event, with Jake pulling to the lead, ahead of a three abreast battle on the frontstretch, to obtain a better starting position. Brock Foster came from 9th starting position to take control of 2nd, while Jeremy Eutzy, Ronnie Buck jr, & Devin Thomas controlled the top five.
Dustin Moore left the oval with 8 laps to his favor, while Kenny Hill called it a night with 10 laps completed. Matt Dixson Sr., got his racer into the frontstretch infield, putting him to the rear. Jake Shoup, Kenny Yoder, Jeremy Eutzy, Ronnie Buck Jr. & Devin Thomas were at the top of the reline when the flag went green, with the racers holding their spots. Eight laps were remaining when Eric Seibert brought out a caution on the backstretch, from which he returned to the rear of the reline. Shoup, Yoder, Jeremy Eutzy, Buck & Thomas returned to their restart positions where they remained till the finish, as they followed Jake Shoup to the checkered. Ronnie Buck had the best lap, racing at 62.783 MPH in 14.335 seconds. Winners in the heat events were Jackson Eutzy, Ronnie Buck Jr., & Devon Thomas.
The Randy Burkholder Racing Supplies 4 Cylinder Strictly Stocks, had Rusty Garlock & Shawn Fessler at the helm, when the flag went green, with Garlock, Robert Cutshall, Fessler, Jimmy Moyer, & Koltan Martin, taking claim to the top five spots. Fessler & Moyer went into some wheel to wheel action by lap 4, with Moyer gaining 3rd place on lap 7. Moyer continued his advancement when he passed Cutshall on the next lap, putting him in 2nd place. Garlock was on a start to finish win, meeting the back of the line with two laps to go, when Moyer & other racers got together coming out of turn 3, unfortunately putting the second place runner to the pits. Rusty Garlock collected the win, followed by Justin Williamson, Robert Cutshall, Shawn Fessler, & Koltan Martin. Jimmy Moyer had the best lap, running at 62.997 MPH in 14.291 seconds. Strictly Stock heat winners were Rusty Garlock, Shawn Fessler & Justin Williamson.