The Inside Track Aug 2014 | Page 14

By: Steve Pados The Fourth of July weekend found the Hamlin Speedway kicking back into racing mode after being shut down for a week. The spectacular evening of racing unfolded on Saturday night with the successful running of the Wounded Warriors Project Firecracker 100. Race car trailers and teams were still arriving at the speedway after 5 PM as more than 135 entries lined the pit area and included 40 of the top Slingshot drivers in the country today. Speedway Promoters Denise and Randy Smith greeted a standing room only crowd with a dynamic 100 lap Slingshot event. The Wounded Warriors Project, headed up by Kim's Kreations, S&S Speedways, Hamlin Speedway and Rode Racing, put forth a solid effort that saw $8994.50 raised for the charitable organization. After a series of time trials and two B Mains, the 31-car starting field for the All Star Slingshots was established for the run at the hefty pot of gold that would await the winner. The event was the curtain closer for the evening but the headline attraction for the Wounded Warriors Project Firecracker 100 at the speedway. Utilizing the "revenge draw" found the top twelve drivers being shuffled a bit but the field was without question the top field of Slingshot drivers in the country today when the green flag fell. Modified talent "Fast" Frank Yankowski began from the pole position and held off all comers until lap 53 when "Kid Wicked" Tyler Pirone used a full head of steam to power past Yankowski. Pirone would hold onto the lead until lap-68 when mechanical problems forced him to the infield and out of the event. The battle royal behind the leaders was unbelievable as one driver after another would race into contention with brassy moves from all corners of the speedway. Russ Benke seized the moment and built up a sizeable lead until a skirmish slowed the field. When racing resumed it would be the S&S Speedway team cars going to war with each other and Dale Kober would find the room to slip past "The Sheriff" Simon Egan for the runner-up slot. Egan would make a comeback from the baseline of the speedway and the two warriors made contact with Egan ending up facing the Jersey barriers and out of the event. Benke would again resume command of the field with Kober racing him hard and clean. From lap-90 it appeared the handling on the Jordan Towing sponsored machine of Benke was losing grip in the corners and the veteran Kober began to push the nose of his race car underneath him. Kober throttled past Benke on lap-97 to take over the lead and race away to a hard fought win. Benke ran an excellent race to claim runner-up honors. Troy Langendoerfer was third but a post race infraction found his racer disqualified. Wes Hearn would move to third with Mack Brink in fourth and Louden Reimert claiming a top five after starting from 28th position. Trevor LaBagh, John Gilroy, Collin DuBois, John Rooks Jr and Frank Yankowski completed the top ten with LaBagh, DuBois and Yankowski all racing back through the field after being involved in incidents along the way. 1- Dale Kober 2- Russ Benke III 3- Wes Hearn 4- Mack Brink 5- Louden Reimert 6- Trevor LaBagh 7 - John Gilroy 8- Collin DuBois 9- John Rooks Jr 10- Frank Yankowski 11- AJ Hobbs 14 ~ The Inside Track 12- Kyle Herve 13- Ryan Quackenbush 14- Shane Lewis 15- Jimmy Johnston 16- Charlie Lawrence 17- Simon Egan 18- Dakota Kohler 19- Jeff Cosgrove 20- Jared LaBagh 21- Tyler Pirone 22- Aaron Henneforth 23- Danny Buccafusca 24- Joe Kata 25- Mike McLaughlin 26- John Pantis 27- Dalton Maynard 28- Ben Whitaker 29- Kim Glass 30- Steve Svanda 31- Troy Langendoerfer (DQ)