Baughman Rips Through Tri-City Raceway Park Sprint Field;Holden, Bish, and Speer also Win
(Franklin, PA May 30, 2021): Josh Baughman rolled into Western Pennsylvania from Odessa, TX to do a little testing in preparation for Western Pennsylvania Speedweek. If Sunday’s performance is indicative of his level of preparation, the other racers better burn the midnight oil because they have some catching up to do. Baughman, who has not sat in a Sprint Car since last August, showed no signs of rust in racing to the win in the Shawgo Real Estate LLC 410 Sprint Cars.
Jimmy Holden (Krill Recycling 358 Modifieds), Curtis J. Bish (Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks), and Dalton Speer (4 Your Car Connection Mini Stocks) also celebrated in victory lane.
“That was pretty fun,” Baughman said. “I lost my brakes on lap eight, so I had to go to the bottom.” he added. Baughman gave props to Sye Lynch and his crew for helping him throughout the night. Baughman is a sponsor of Lynch’s racer.
Bob Felmlee sat on the pole for the twenty-five lap feature event in the Shawgo Real Estate LLC 410 Sprint Cars. Next to him was Brandon Matus. Behind them were Goerge Hobaugh, Jr. and Carl Bowser, with teammates Lynch and Baughman in the third row. Brandon Spithaler lined up next to last week’s winner and current point leader, Jack Sodeman, Jr. Gale Ruth, Jr. and Clay Riney had their mounts in row five, with Ken Rossey and Brent Matus in row six.
Felmlee led the snarling Sprint cars into turn one, but Brandon Matus found some bite on the high side in turns one and two to take an early lead. But Felmlee battled back and he nailed turns three and four to be scored as the leader of the opening lap. Felmee was hitting his marks, with Matus running second, Baughman in third, and Hobaugh in fourth. Sodeman was up to fifth in the early going.
There was a three-car battle for the lead with a handlul of laps complete. As the leaders approached traffic, Baughman weaved his way through to take the lead with eight klaps in the books. Felmlee held second, but he was under attack from Brandin Matus. Soon, Sodeman was in the hunt.
A caution for debris brought Baughman back to the rest of the racers. Sodeman used the restart to his advantage, sweeping into second in the first two turns. But he was no match for the fleet Texan.
A red for a spectacular crash involving Clay Riney and Bob McMillin in the middle of the back stretch brought out the red. Neither driver was hurt, but the fence running along the track took the brunt of the impact.
Baughman raced out front the rest of the way, with Sodeman making up some ground as the laps wound down. But Sodeman ran out of time and fortified his points lead with the best of the rest finish this night.
Taking third was Felmlee for his best outing of the season. Lynch crossed in fourth, with Brandon Matus fifth. Bowser, Ruth, Rossey, Kyle Colwell, and Brent Matus rounded out the top ten.
Scoring heat wins for Donovan & Bauer Auto Group were Sodeman and Hobaugh. There was no B Main for the Shawgo Real Estate LLC 410 Sprint Cars.
Sid Unverzagt, Jr. and Max Smoker brought the field to the chalk stripe in turn four for the start of the twenty lapper in the Krill Recycling Modifieds. Lonny Riggs and Kyle Fink were in row two, with Jimmy Holden and Kevin Hoffman in the third. D.J. Schrader and Jeremiah Shingledecker were in row four, with Brian Sadler and Curt Bish, Jr. in the fifth row.
Unverzagt and Smoker ran wheel to wheel on the opening lap before Unverzagt took control. Riggs settled into third, with Schrader and Holden following.
Holden moved into second on lap three and Jeremiah Shingledecker followed him into third.
A caution on lap five put Holden on Unverzagt’s flank with Shingledecker and Riggs hot on their tails. Holden and Shingeldecker both scooted past Unverzagt before another caution slowed the pace. Another caution for debris kept the drivers from getting into a comfort zone.
However, the remainder of the race was completed without incident. Although Holden maintained control, he was challenged in the last few laps by Shingledecker.
Shingledecker rolled up on the leader in traffic and got a nose inside of him coming off turn four. But Holden reached the lapped cars first and they were running single file on the inside. So Holden used them as a pick to get separation from Shingledecker. Holden maintained his lead to the finish.
Next to cross was Riggs for his best finish of the season so far. Unverzagt also cracked the top five for the first time this season. Getting fifth was Hoffman. Eric Beggs, Smoker, Sadler, Nathan MacDowell, and Ryan Riffe completed the top ten.
“It was smooth top to bottom when we went out for hot laps, but Mother Nature does what it does. It was pretty smooth in the groove,” Holden observed. “This is the best that our car has been all year. My dad stayed ahead of the track.”
Taking the wins for the Donovan & Bauer Auto Group heat races were Riggs and Fink, who was an early retiree due to a mechanical failure. There was no B Main in the Krill Recycling LLC 358 Modifieds.
In the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks, Randy Wyant and Jackson Humanic battled fro the lead from their front row starting spots. Wyant took control and led the way until his car broke on lap thirteen while leading. Although Himanic had the lead, he was unable to hold back the Bish brothers, who were racing hard.
Curtis J. Bish took the lead on the restart and Curt Bish Jr. was nipping on his heels until he got crossed up in turn two. That enabled William Hurrelbrink to scoot by for second.
Curtis J. Bish took the checkers, followed by Hurrelbrink, and Bish Jr. Humanic held on for fourth with Tyler Wyant upholding the family name in fifth. Josh Seippel, Darr Diegelm,an, Pat Fielding, Bob McMillen, and Randy Wyant were scored in the top ten.
The Donovan & Bauer Auto Group heat winners in the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks were Randy Wyant, Duke Davidson, and Curtis J. Bish.
Dalton Speer led wire to wire despite losing his power steering during the 4 Your Car Connection Mini Stock feature race. Justin Bailey chased him home. Chad Greeley was third, with D.J. Macrae and Brandon Seippel taking fourth and fifth. Positions six through ten went to Evan Sobieski, Kevin Wice, Jesse Armstrong, Michael Barr, and Trevn Shaffer.
Chad Greeley was named the hard charger for the night, advancing fourteen pots in the Mini Stock Feature. He picked up a bonus from Fisher & Father Napa Auto Parts.
The two Donovan & Bauer Auto Group heat races belonged to Bailey and Todd Hanlon. There was no B Main in the 4 Your Car Connection Mini Stocks.
Remember that Tri-City Raceway Park will be part of history next weekend when the Western PA Sprint Car Speedweek resumes after several years’ absence. The track will host the finale of the five-race series, which will pit the Shawgo Real Estate LLC 410 Sprints against all comers. You will not want to miss this event! Also on the card will be the Krill Recycling LLC 358 Modifieds, The Gary Glass Automotive and Washington House RUSH Sprints (without wings), and the 4 Your Car Connection Mini Stocks. The Hovis Auto and Truck Supply Pro Stocks will have the week off, but they will return for the Sunday Thunder shows that will be held on June 13 and June 20. All dads will receive a free gift on June 20.
Additional information about Tri-City Raceway Park can be obtained by calling the track office at 724-967-4601, or by e-mail to tricityracewaypark2020@gmail.com. You can also check the website at Tri-CityRacewayPark.com, or Facebook at Tri City Raceway Park. Tri-City Raceway Park is located on Oakland Township, which is just a short drive from Franklin. For the GPS, 3430 State Route 417, Franklin, PA 16323.
Shawgo Real Estate LLC 410 Sprint Cars: Josh Baughman, Jack Sodeman, Jr., Bob Felmlee, Brandon Matus, Carl Bowser, Gale Ruth, Jr., Ken Rossey, Kyle Colwell, Brent Matus, Clay Riney, Bob McMillin, Matt Sherlock, George Hobaugh, Brandon Spithaler, Davey Jones.
Krill Recycling LLC 358 Modifieds: Jimmy Holden, Jeremiah Shingledecker, Lonnie Riggs, Sid Unverzagt, Jr., Kevin Hoffman. Eric Beggs, Max Smoker, Brian Sadler, Nathan MacDowell, Ryan Riffe, Dillon Barr, Tyler Clark, D.J. Schrader, Kyle Fink, Curt Bish, Jr., Travis Shingledecker, Steve Barr, Nick Joy (DNS).
Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks: Curtis J. Bish, William Hurrelbrink, Curt Bish Jr., Jackson Humanic, Tyler Wyant, Josh Seippel, Darr Diegelman, Pat Fielding, Bob McMillen, Randy Wyant, Duke Davidson, Jason Johns, Dylan Cecee, Larry Kugel, Jamie Duncan, Mike Bordt, Josh Blum, Matt Bernard, Bobby Whitling (DNS), Jordan Perkins (DNS), Doug Iorio, II (DNS), Andy Buckly (DNS).
4 Your Car Connection Mini Stocks: Dalton Speer, Justin Bailey, Chad Greeley, D.J. Macrae, Brandon Seippel, Evan Sobieski, Kevin Wice, Jesse Armstrong, Michael Barr, Trevn Shaffer, James Tasker, Kelly Clark, Brianna Parker, Howard Garlick, Todd Hanlon, J.R. Shaner, Diezel Marvin, Tim Callahan, Charles McClintock, Brody McClintock (DNS), Nick Steiger (DNS).