By:Nathan Aldrich and Kayla Peting
A beautiful day transitioned into a memorable night Friday at the Penn Can speedway with the invasion of the SCDRA 4 cylinders racing for $2500 to win. With the modifieds off for the night the Crate Sportsman, 600cc Modifieds and Factory stocks rounded out the card. The SCDRA cars would be the first out competing in a unique format that utilized the track's new transponder system, starting with time trials.
As the cars rolled onto the speedway, each would receive three laps to try their hand at setting the night’s quicktime. Matt Browning would set the track’s new record with a 20.327 second lap, putting him on the pole of heat one. With a full field of 24 signed into the pits, the division would contest three heats. Matt Browning, Jeff Huber and Adam Delgrosso collected the checkered flags in their respective heats. With qualifying action concluded Browning and Huber brought the charging four cylinders to the green flag. Adam DelGrosso would quickly make his move to the inside of Chad Weaver to take over third place. However, the green flag would not last long as the first caution of the night would come out for Daniel Valade, who had hit the wall in turns one and two. The SCDRA series features Delaware Double File Restarts which puts the leader in a row all by his lonesome, this was the case for Huber as he would lead the field to green. Track regular Jeff Sterling made sure to make his presence known as he would look to the outside of Weaver to take over fourth place and hunt down Delgosso who had just lost second position to Browning. Weaver would face another challenger in Brad Whiteside for fifth, but Weaver would be able to hold the position. Corey Valade would try to go to the outside of Rich Wagner for seventh, but Wagner would hold the spot. By lap 4, Huber would catch lapped traffic and begin maneuvering his way through them. The next yellow would come on lap 8 as the Rusty Garrock machine spun in turn 3. Under the yellow Rich Wagner and Robbie Carrol would receive contact on the front stretch, damaging both cars as Carrol took a hard hit to the frost stretch wall.
Chad Weaver would challenge Sterling for fourth on the restart as Sterling retained the spot using the highside momentum. The move would cost Weaver as Corey Valade moved to his inside, taking the fifth spot away. Up at the front Browning was working Huber for the lead with the pair battling hard up until the halfway yellow for a Justin Pope stopping low in turn three. Browning made his move on lap 18 working the low line to perfection as he slid up in front of Huber and captured the lead. A four lap battle for sixth between Brad Whiteside and Chad Weaver ended with Weaver holding the inside to take the spot as just ahead Sterling battled Valade for fourth. Sterling would lock the spot down as the field worked lap 28, slowing on lap 29 for a Joshua Storms spin in turn one. With Browning leading the way on the single file restart Sterling made moves taking the third spot from DelGrosso. Huber would check into the heartbreak hotel as his car slowed after taking the two to go signal, coming to a rest at the entrance of pit road and setting up a one lap shootout. Browning held off Sterling in the final lap as DelGrosso challenged for second. At the line it was Browning with the win followed by STerling, DelGrosso, Corey Valade, and Brad Whiteside rounding out the top 5.
Feature winner Matt Browning hails from New Albany, PA and is a former regular at The Hill Speedway in Monroeton. With a regular show being 15 laps for the Penn Can 4 cylinders we asked how the longer races feel for Browning. Matt stated the races go by quickly no matter how many laps with the level of competition that comes with the SCDRA races and the cars who come to compete from all over. He and Adam DelGrosso run together frequently and Browning stated he is always a great competitor to run with. A fan of the Delaware Double format, Browning has a prior win from the 2020 King of the Can. He said Penn Can is a little tricky to get the hang of, but it’s a fast and fun track to race on with options when picking your way through traffic. Matt would like to thank his wife and biggest supporter Megan, and sponsors: GFY Chassis and Fabrication, Terry Selleck Excavating, and Moose Racing Engines.
A rough beginning for the 602 Crate Sportsman yielded some great racing and a memorable run to the finish as Brian Malcolm found his way back to Victory Lane. Joe Novak and Malcolm brought the field to green as Malcolm gained the early advantage. Brad Weaver and Marty Goodwin battled for the fifth spot on the opening lap with Weaver taking the spot before the caution flag came out on lap 2. With the cars of Derrick Shaffer and Travis Rooney cleared away Malcolm would elect to restart on the outside with Novak to his inside. The yellow was quickly back out as Weaver, Tommy Groover and point leader Mike Schane tangled, sending all involved to the tail. Malcolm would get the jump from the outside once again as Goodwin and Ralph Mele battled for the third spot. As the field worked lap four major debris was spotted on the backstretch, slowing the field once again. Malcolm would continue to take the outside on the next three restarts before head flagger Scott Stevens signaled the transition to single file. One more yellow would ensue as Mige Nagel Jr’s rear bumper departed his machine, flying towards the entry of pit road for a second debris caution on lap 8.
Malcolm once again brought the field out of turn four while Mike Schane worked the inside of son Kolyn for the eleventh spot. John Michael Phillips would follow Mike Schane through, bringing Alan Komar with him and moving Kolyn back to fourteenth. Contact between the machines of Novak and Kolyn Schane would send both cars to the rear, followed by a second yellow sending Jim O’Hara and Groover to the rear as the field completed lap eleven. Malcolm pulled ahead on the restart as Ray Leonard came to life, gaining the advantage on Phillips for fifth, next working the inside of Nagel to take fourth just as the race reached halfway. Leonard next looked for the third spot getting to the inside of Mele in turn 2 as the pair made slight contact and Mele kept the spot. Mike Schane and Weaver went at it for seventh as Schane took the spot away on the inside. The final yellow cut the pace again on lap 16 as Alan Komar and Eddie Kudrako went around in turn four.
The green flag carried some staying power over the final nine laps as Leonard fired well, taking the third spot from Mele. Mike Schane continued working his way back through the field challenging Phillips for sixth on lap 18. Leonard caught second place running Goodwin with six to go and began to work the inside but was unable to take the spot away. As they worked the backstretch on lap 22 Leonard got the advantage, slipping past Goodwin and stalking Malcolm for the lead. As the laps wound down Leonard closed the gap, Malcolm sprinting under the white flag as Leonard got within a car length. A little slip in one and two hurt Leonard’s momentum but he was still close enough to throw the Hail Mary in three and four as the pair made contact and both went sideways. Malcolm made the recovery and collected the checkers as Leonard, Goodwin, Mele and Nagel completed the top 5. Mele’s post-race tech disqualification would move Phillips to the fifth spot.
Feature winner Brian Malcolm has battled every form of bad luck imaginable this season but said this one helps to take some of the sting out. Caution plagued races have not been kind to Malcolm this season, but the hard luck has helped him in the handicap. Malcolm stated it was a nice change of pace to roll off from the front row and that the clear track is always beneficial. He knew a challenge would be coming at the end as the sportsman field features some stiff competition. Brian would like to thank his Daughter Magda, the Konopka Family, the Soloman Family for their travel support, Sharkey’s Fuels, Konopka Excavating, Smokin Joes, NEP Telephone and Keystone Electrical.
A & E Tire and Auto Center 600cc Modifieds continue to put on exciting shows with strongly contested fields each week. Josh Towner and Nolan Smith dropped the hammer out of turn four as Smith moved out to the early lead. A three wide battle for third quickly developed as Jared Green got the better of Nate Oropallo and Adam Mudge. Mudge would next battle Brett Gray as Gray moved past Mudge and Oropallo to take fourth. With debris in turn four the first yellow slowed the field on lap 3. Smith put Green on the inside for the restart as Green led the way into turn one. Gray worked inside Josh Towner for third, getting past Nolan Smith for second on lap 4. As Josh Towner slowed against the backstretch wall the yellow came out on lap 5. Green took the inside on the restart pulling ahead of Gray. Brenton Miller, Doug Newbigging and Oropallo took it three wide in the battle for sixth with Oropallo capturing the spot, while just ahead Chace Scutt challenged Mudge for fourth. Mudge would lose control while battling Scutt in turn 3, ending up facing the wrong direction for a lap 12 yellow.
As Green pulled away Nolan Smith and Chace Scutt would swap sliders for third giving fans an excellent schow. In the battle for fifth Brenton Miller and Tyler Smith would make contact, slicing the tire of Miller’s machine and sending him pitside. A hard hit came for Jeff Baldwin and Bill Johnson after Baldwin spun into turn one on the restart, with the hit lifting Baldin’s car off the ground. The safety crew quickly reported both driver’s ok as the field came back to green. Ali Scutt would head to the infield from sixth with chain issues on lap 16 as Green once again pulled ahead. Green collected his first Penn Can feature win of the year with Gray, Chace Scutt, Nolan Smith and Tyler Smith rounding out the top 5. Feature winner Jared Green rolled the bottom on his way to a dominant performance at the speedway. Green stated with the level of competition in the field, it was critical to hit his marks and not give up the bottom of the surface. The Holcomb racing machine has been super fast for Green winning everywhere he has taken it. Jared would like to thank his friends, large family, Holcomb and Son’s Firewood and JS Electric.
With a 20 laps feature on tap Charlie Towner and Charlie Gilbert took the green flag as Towner jumped out to the lead. Third palace starter Jason Rhodes worked inside Gilbert to take the second spot, next getting under Towner to take the lead on lap 3. Rhodes worked some light lapped traffic on lap 12 and finished with nearly a half-lap lead as Towner, Gilbert, Kevin Welch and Brandon Gumaer. Feature winner Jason Rhodes captured the second feature win of the night for Holcomb Racing and regained some of the points he lost after getting a flat while leading last week. While Jason said area car counts have struggled this season it’s always a positive to end the night in victory lane. With multiple winners in the class this season Rhodes commented it’s critical to get to the front fast. The division point leader would like to thank his friends, family and sponsors: Winsor Acres, Rogue Studios, MR Graphics, Chris Riley at McGuire, Trackside Products, Leaf Birdsall Lawncare, Holcomb and Son Firewood, JS Electric, Cardinal Lanes and the Double D’s.
The upcoming week will be critical for drivers in the points hunt as Mid Season Championship night will feature double points. Also on tap for this upcoming weekend will be a visit from the Classic Racing Series before we wrap up the month of July with a weekly show joined by the IMCA Modifieds. New to the speedway is an infield flat kart track, where you can catch all the action on Saturday nights starting at 5pm.
SCDRA 4 Cylinders
WINNER - 8 - MATT BROWNING
2.) 56-Jeff Sterling 3.) 11-Adam Delgrosso 4.) 21V-Cory Valade 5.) 46-Brad Whiteside 6.) H15-AJ Hoffner 7.) 17-Mike Ferris 8.) 2-Chad Weaver 9.) 007K-Kevin Criswell 10.) 66-Joshua Storms DNF 11.) H12-Brandon Hoffner 12.) 27-Justin Pope 13.) 42-Jeff Huber 14.) C4-CJ Lavair 15.) 01-Ayden Mohr 16.) 21-Ricky Weaver 17.) 22V-Daniel Valade 18.) 8W-Rich Wagner 19.) 69-Robbie Carrol 20.) 64-Rusty Garrock 21.) 13-Greg Kiehl 22.) 5-Josh Wilder 23.) 27X-Andy Schumaker DNS 107-Tim Vandemark
602 Crate Sportsman
WINNER - 14X - BRIAN MALCOLM
2.) 3R-Ray Leonard 3.) 55-Marty Goodwin 4.) M7-Mike Nagel Jr 5.) 23JR-John Michael Phillips 6.) 197-Mike Schane 7.) 1A-Brad Weaver 8.) 88S-Michael Samony 9.) 14K-AJ Konopka 10.) 7R-Tommy Groover 11.) 70J-Joe Novak 12.) 44-Jim O’Hara 13.) 88K-Alan Komar 14.) 32-Eddie Kudrako DNF 15.) 3D-Brett Wooster 16.) 10K-Kolyn Schane 17.) 16-Ned Fitch 18.) 88A-Amanda Scholtisek 19.) 225-Derrick Shaffer 20.) 54T-Travis Rooney DNS 226-Matt Martino DQ 7-Ralph Mele
A & E Tire and Auto Center 600cc Xcel Modifieds
WINNER - 607 - JARED GREEN
2.) 28-Brett Gray 3.) 108S-Chace Scutt 4.) 77X-Nolan Smith 5.) 80-Tyler Smith 6.) 5S-Geoffrey Sutton 7.) 29-Doug Newbigging 8.) 54T-Adam Mudge 9.) 99K-Phil Burns 10.) 30NN-Nate Oropallo 11.) 108-Ali Scutt 12.) 12J-John Dinniny 13.) 29B-Brenton Miller 14.) 999-Bill Johnson 15.) 17-Jeff Baldwin 16.) 1JR-Darwin Greene Jr. 17.) 9X-Josh Towner 18.) 217-Larry Furman 19.) 00-Jordan Towner 20.) 354-Andy Bolles DNS 67-Tori Straway
FACTORY STOCKS
WINNER - 57ND - JASON RHODES
2.) 5T-Charlie Towner 3.) 28-Charlie Gilbert 4.) 10K-Kevin Welch 5.) 7K-Brandon Gumaer
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