Hummingbird Speedway Race Report
Saturday, July 29, 2017
By: Randy Albert
Hummingbird Speedway was back in action on Saturday night. Fans young and old alike enjoyed mingling with the drivers and cars parked on the track for Fan Appreciation Night. Candy and autographs flowed freely as they took the opportunity see the cars they cheer for each week and talk to the drivers that wheel them around the third mile oval. The speedway thanks MJ Services from Reynoldsville for sponsoring the trophies for the evenings racing action.
Success came to Dustin Challingsworth in the Sunny 106.5 Pure Stocks. Doug Surra continued to be the top dog in the Swanson Heavy Duty Truck and Repair Services Semi-Late Models. Bruce Hartzfeld took the top spot in the Street Stock division. In the BWP Bats Late Model class, Charlie Powell from Brookville found the checkered flag to his liking. And in the final race of the evening Zack Frantz was the victor in the Aarons of DuBois Front Wheel Drive cars.
The Sunny 106.5 Pure Stock cars lined up for the first race of the evening. Eric Lucas and Rich Anderson made up the front row. A little mid-pack mayhem allowed Dustin Challingsworth to slip into the second spot with Tim Steis quickly working his way through the pack. A caution placed Challingsworth on the outside of Lucas and Steis right behind him. Challingsworth is tough from any position and a clear path to the front was just what he needed to take the lead. Lucas was hanging tough staying on the rear bumper of Challingsworth but Steis wedged his way into the second spot going into turn three. Steis set his sights on Challingsworth working the bottom and making his car very wide in the turns. Challingsworth had to take the long way around but Steis managed to get by to take the lead. Challingsworth fought back on the bottom but the two got together in turn four bringing out the caution. Steis retired to the pits leaving Challingsworth to restart at the front of the pack. Challingsworth had some pressure from Brad Benton but held him off leaving him to do battle with Duke Davidson and Eric Lucas. They were mixing it up three and four wide for the second position along with Josh Fields who was down a couple of laps but no less competitive. Challingsworth took the win with Davidson edging out Benton for second on the last lap.
Josh Fields and Dustin Challingsworth were the winners of the heat races.
Neil Wilson Jr and BJ Hudson led the field of Swanson Heavy Duty Truck Repair & Services Semi-Late Models onto the track. Flagman Bob Connor let the green flag fly with Wilson in control. Doug Surra, who started behind Wilson, kept his composure running down low against the tires and in traffic, moving into the lead on the second lap. He didn’t waste any time slipping into the outside groove coming out of turn four and setting the car on auto-pilot. Doug Surra, auto pilot that is. Nick Erskine navigated his way through traffic into second as Tom Kronenwetter also got by Hudson but couldn’t mount an offensive on Erskine. A mid-race caution gave Erskine an chance to show Surra his right front fender for a few laps but Surra stayed in the high groove and in the throttle just enough to keep the tires working and moving the car forward. Erskine encountered a lap car late in the race slowing his pace a little and John Lee worked his way into third place but it may not have mattered as Surra was in control. The car looked to be spot on and the driver had the experience to know what to do with it not overworking it and keeping it in the line that was working for him best.
Doug Surra and Jon Lee won the two heat races in the division.
The first lap of the Street Stock race was started by Rich Howell on the inside and Bob Rossman on the outside. Brandon Connor quickly moved into the second spot riding the tail of Howell looking for an opening to take the lead position. He slowly took the lead foot by foot by working the high line forcing Howell to settle for the low groove. A caution reset the field but Connor set to work with the same strategy as Howell stayed tough running the bottom. Matt Hugill moved up to the back bumper of Howell taking the position just before another caution reset the field. This time Hugill was on the inside but Bruce Hartzfeld made a move on the restart relegating Hugill to the outside with Hartzfeld moving into second. Rossman was back in the game and Howell wasn’t giving any ground as they fought for the fourth and fifth position. Hartzfeld looked low on Connor for a number of laps but dropped back behind him a few laps later, perhaps to cool his tires or gain momentum for a run on the leader. Connor appeared to have it under control but another caution allowed Hartzfeld to gain a slight edge on the bottom just taking the lead in time for a final caution. That put him in the lead for the single file restart. Howell, Rossman, and Hugill were putting on a show for the third through fifth positions behind the leaders but all eyes were on Hartzfeld and Connor. Hartzfeld took advantage of his efforts to take the lead earlier and held the mid to high line blocking Connors way to the front as the white flag flew, followed by the checkered, giving him the win.
Matt Hugill and Bruch Hartzfeld were the winners of the heat races.
The BWP bats race was a traffic jam from the start but Bernie Whiteford and Scott Alvetro had the pleasure of being at the front of the pack. Alvetro quickly had his hands full with Charlie Powell, Jerry Redden and Paul Kot. Powell moved into second place early but cautions plagued the beginning of the race. As the cautions clicked off, Powell managed to take the lead with Kot in second, Whiteford in second and Alvetro holding off Chris Farrell and Denny Fenton. Everyone was riding the cushion but Chris Farrell. He pushing the envelope hard down low and came into contact with Kot. Kot stayed in the second spot leaving Farrell spinning in turn four to restart at the back of the field. Powell held the high ground through the restarts with Kot looking low but not finding traction, settling in to run behind the leader. Alvetro, Redden, and Whiteford were under attack by Farrell who wasted no time marching back to the front of the pack. Steve Scaife Jr worked his way into the mix for third as Kot got another look at the lead on a restart but again had to settle for the view of the back bumper of Powell. Powell held on for the win followed by Kot, Scaife, and Farrell.
Four heat races were held for the BWP Bats Late Models. Chris Farrell, Scott Alvetro, Bernie Whiteford, and Billy Dickson were the winners.
The Aarons of DuBois Front Wheel Drive cars closed out a late night of racing activity. Zack Frantz and James Ogden made up the front row with Frantz out to the early lead. Zachery Lennox and Eric Luzier gave chase in second and third with Ogden relegated back to fourth. Frantz held the advantage working through lap traffic until a late race caution bunched up the field. Luzier gave it his best shot running low and getting up alongside the leader but the high grove was where the traction and action was and the leader began to pull away. Lennox took advantage of the high line also slipping past Luzier in the closing lap as Randy Albert worked his way into the fourth spot from his back of the pack starting position. Frantz took the win and closed out the 2017 Fan Appreciation Night.
Zack Frantz also won the first heat race with James Ogden winning the second.
August 5th is the annual Pittsburgh Circle Track Club Night. Join us each week for some of the best dirt track racing in Central Pennsylvania. Hummingbird Speedway offers a family friendly racing experience with good food and reasonable admission. Looks us up on the web at www.hummingbirdspeedway.com and join us on Twitter for updates on rain delays.
Final Results
Sunny 106.5 Pure Stocks
1. #46 Dustin Challingsworth
2. #81D Duke Davison
3. #51X Brad Benton
4. #8L Eric Lucas
5. #516 Rich Anderson
6. #76 Mike Anderson
7. #78 Josh Fields
8. #55X Andrew Frey
9. #17K Kylee Brown
10. #81 Steve Brugmann DNS
11. #25 Mike Annis DNS
12. #23A Austin Hockenbury DNS
13. #45 Tim Steis DQD
14. #5B Sam Brink DQD
Swanson Heavy Duty Truck Repair & Services Semi-Late Models
1. #3xAA Doug Surra
2. #5x Nick Erskine
3. #5L Jon Lee
4. #4K Tom Kronenwetter
5. #1 B.J. Hudson
6. #7 Neil Wilson Jr
7. #17 Deegen Watt
8. #8 Matt Howell
9. #77k Kip Charles
10. #92 Joshua Henry
11. #15W Casey Wolfe
12. #68 Don Henry
13. #44 Jim Challingsworth
14. #38S Justin Owens
Street Stocks
1. #101 Bruce Hartzfeld
2. #T3 Brandon Connor
3. #65H Matt Hugill
4. #1S Kyle Shannon
5. #3 Rich Howell
6. #48R Bob Rossman
7. #22 Sammy Swauger
8. #30 Bob Egley
9. #12M Trevor McCann
10. #43B Pernell Beimel
11. #2 Cregen Brady
12. #4ord Ray Hickok
13. #43W Kristen Wileman
14. #37A Jim Bloom
15. #M21 William Huntingdon
BWP Bats Late Models
1. #26H Charles Powell Jr
2. #36 Paul Kot
3. #7S Steve Scaife Jr
4. #53 Chris Farrell
5. #55 Denny Fenton
6. #64 Scott Alvetro
7. #71 Billy Eash
8. #SR1 Tom Shaffer
9. #W3 John Weaver
10. #44 Dan Smeal
11. #747 Roswell Babcock
12. #1BU Jeremy Buck
13. #5R Jerry Redden
14. #46 Tom Merryman
15. #7 Ray Claycomb
16. #32 Billy Dickson
17. #71X Orvie Newcome III
18. 33 Bernie Whiteford
19. #1B Dwayne Brooks
20. #78 Brian Molnar
21. #17G Doug Glessner
22. #14R Derek Rodkey
23. #25 Dylan Fenton DNS
24. #1S Rod Philips DNS
25. #82 Bobby Watt DNS
Aarons of DuBois Front Wheel Drive Four Cylinders
1. #358 Zack Frantz
2. #1 Zachery Lennox
3. #6 Eric Luzier
4. #17 Randy Albert
5. #16G Adam Gee
6. #33L Tanner Lansberry
7. #24 David Scott
8. #57 Chris Dodson
9. #7 Daniel Clark
10. #92A Anthony Sones
11. #25B Brooks Kaufman
12. #21 Jim Ogden
13. #11 Jim Boyer
14. #11L Ryan Lippert
