Sunday, 27 June 2010
Barry Angstadt
A brief history lesson...while Trip Kone and Dan Little get much of the credit - and deservedly so - for creating PA 600 Speedweek, it really began when Dale Thomas decided to organize a major event for the 600cc Micro-Sprints. Thomas, known as the Racing Realtor, wanted to hold the race here in the northeast, and he was determined to pay $10,000 to the winner.
Through his efforts, the Super 600 Showdown was born, and the first edition of the mega-event took its green flag at the Hill Valley Speedway in 2005.
Two years later, when the Showdown moved to Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, the race became the final event of the first-ever PA 600 Speedweek. Kone and Little worked with Thomas to expand his one day event, which was always held on or around the Fourth of July, and they immediately realized their efforts had produced what is arguably the single biggest phenomenon in small car racing. The biggest names in 600cc competition - from all over the country - quickly jumped on the bandwagon and participated in the week-long gauntlet of speed.
A.J. Bast has the distinction of being the very first PA 600 Speedweek Champion. Bast earned the title in 2007, while Brent Marks captured the coveted honor in 2008. Last year saw two drivers end the six-races-in-eight-days marathon in a tie for first place; Shane Lewis and Heath Hehnly were declared Co-Champions of Speedweek after both performed brilliantly during the grinding mini-series.
When this season's version of Speedweek commences this Saturday at Trail-Way Speedway, Kone and Little will pay out more than $100,000 in cash and contingency prizes. Five of the six events will offer $2,500 to win, and the grand finale - Lanco's Micromania - could see the victor walk away with $10,000 (depending upon the number of entries).
There is a Speedweek point fund, too, and this year's champ will earn $1,000, courtesy of American Racer and Hoosier Tires. In addition, the tireless efforts of Kone and Little have brought Valken Racing on board and in a big way.
The Valken Wheel Hard Charger Award will provide $100 per race to the driver who advances the most positions in each Speedweek A-Main. But that's not all...
The Valken Wheel Challenge is worth an extra $1,000 per race to the feature winner, as long as he/she has Valken Wheels mounted on the car and its body panels sport a Valken decal. And there's more...
If one driver can do the unthinkable and win ALL SIX of the Speedweek A-Mains, there's a $6,000 bonus waiting from Valken Racing (provided the car meets the requirements listed above). That's an extra $12,000 in addition to normal purse and point fund payouts! Obviously, that bonus money is going to be extremely difficult to earn, but hey, the offer is on the table and you know that the fastest 600cc Micro-jockeys in the USA are lying awake at night, just thinking about it.
So the stage is set...but who is/are the favorite(s) to win the big money and the 2010 Speedweek title? Let's take a look at some of the contenders...
We start with...one of last season's co-champions, Heath Hehnly. Since he's teamed up with Sonny Cooke, Hehnly has done quite a bit of traveling and he's garnered quite a few victories. From Pennsylvania to Tennessee to Arkansas to Illinois, the Hehnly/Cooke pairing has become one of those teams, that, whenever and wherever they pull into the pit area, they're automatically one of the favorites to win. For example, last weekend the duo journeyed to Decatur, Illinois, for the POWRi Mini-Sprint Nationals at Tony Stewart's Macon Speedway. And they came back to Pa. with the winner's share of $5,000, as Hehnly drove from seventh on the starting grid to the huge victory in Saturday's A-Main. Um, yeah...it's safe to say that the Hehnly/Cooke team has some major momentum as PA 600 Speedweek begins...
Along with Hehnly, Shane Lewis was a 2009 Speedweek Co-Champion. The Honeybrook Hustler also came within a few points and an ill-timed flat tire of winning the '08 title. Glenn's baby boy and his dad always seem to "kick it up a notch" during the last week of June (that's when Speedweek occurs each year), and they're prepared to do it again. They've recently gone back to last year's chassis, a revolutionary and unique RTS on which they collaborated with Terry Schaeffer. The 2010 version just wasn't responding to adjustments, according to Glenn and Shane. "We may have tweaked the frame when we wrecked - on our first night out this year - at I-30 Speedway in Arkansas," reasoned Shane.
But that "tweak" could turn out to be a good thing...Glenn says Shane feels much more comfortable in the '09 chassis and he's been running much better since the switch.
Many people in and around the 600cc Micro-Sprint community are looking at Ryan Wilson as one of the Speedweek favorites for this year. He's already got five wins at Linda's and one at the Clyde, and he's the point leader at both facilities. The Maytown Missile is now a PMP Chassis dealer, and there's no doubt that his Thru-It-All Body Shop/PMP is very hooked up this season.
Then there's Brock Zearfoss; the kid from Jonestown, Pa. has been on a very impressive tear of late. He swept a pair of 600cc features at the Greenwood Valley Action Track a few weeks ago, then finished second in last weekend's POWRi Mini-Sprint Nationals Preliminary Feature on Friday night. He led Saturday's A-Main until he was taken out by a lapped car at the halfway point.
Zearfoss enters PA Speedweek armed with a PACE Chassis that is powered by a '08 Yamaha R6. He's in the Susquehanna Valley Speed Shop, PACE Chassis East house car.
Ryan Greth has been traveling with the 600 Pro Series, and the experience of running a wide variety of tracks could pay major dividends during Speedweek. In 2006, Greth won the Super 600 Showdown at Hill Valley, and last year he was victorious in the Labor Day Shootout at Clyde Martin. He's back in Wayne Lesher's Hyper, with horsepower provided by NPS Racing Engines.
If you want to talk about versatility, look no further than Ryan Smith. The Kid from Kunkletown has spent the past several seasons winning in winged and wingless 600's, 270cc Micros, and ARDC Midgets. He was all set to make a serious bid for the Speedweek title, but ARDC has added a race to their schedule on Friday, July 2, at Central PA Speedway. Smith will be forced to miss the Speedweek event at Linda's, flushing his championship aspirations down the proverbial toilet. Wheeling his Schoenly Enterprises, Ellette Pool Services, Spar Racing Engines SB3, Smith should be a force in the events that he enters, even if a point title appears out of the question.
The Murphy boys, Jake and Ben, always seem to win at least a couple of the Speedweek events. This year, however, Ben is not able to run the full series due to work commitments. He will enter three of the companion Sidewinder races, though, and if a 600cc ride should materialize...???
Jake Murphy is set to compete in all six events. He's been concentrating on running at different tracks on a weekly basis this season to further develop his adaptability to various types of layouts and surfaces. That experience should make him even tougher during Speedweek.
Before anyone screams "favoritism", I am basing the following prediction on statistics; specifically, the number of wins at different tracks by a driver in 600cc Micro-Sprint competition. According to those criteria - and a lot of drivers can claim a high ranking - Tyler Walton has to be one of the favorites to win races and the championship in this year's week long festival of tossing clay.
Consider this: in '09, the chauffeur of the Juniata Beverage, Spar Engines, Hyper Racing No. 14 registered double-digit victories at four or five different speedways. He was also last year's point champ at Clinton County. So far this season, Walton has nine wins, including four at Path Valley, two at Trail-Way, a pair at Shippensburg, and a single triumph at Clinton County. Two of those victories have come in 600 Pro Series events, making his resume even more impressive.
Walton got married about a month ago (I think his wedding was the day after his win at Clinton County), but that certainly hasn't slowed him down.
There are a few others who should never, ever be counted out when the big money is on the line. Mike Dicely prepped for Speedweek by racing in some POWRi events in Illinois last week. He's certainly got the resources to get the job done, and his experience makes him one of the top threats when Speedweek rolls around each year. Dicely is also a two-time winner of the Super 600 Showdown; at Lanco in '07 and last year at Trail-Way.
Word on the street has Mike Rutherford in a new Hyper for this year's mini-series. Rutherford is no longer running for Gary Hunter, even though he won a recent 600 Pro Series race (at Clinton County) in Hunter's car. Rutherford won the Micromania event at Lanco last season, in a brand new Hyper, exactly one week after he destroyed his car during the Speedweek opener at Trail-Way.
Hunter informed that he will have Rick Stief in his car for an assault on the Speedweek title. Given all the success and experience under the belts of these two 600cc veterans, don't be surprised if they turn some heads during the tour.
If Jimmy Brookens enters all six shows, he will be a force as he was last year, when he was in the hunt for the point title all week long.
Watch out for the "Catonsville Kid", Robbie Kendall, during the six-race series. Kendall is riding a streak of three consecutive victories, and he's always tough at Lanco - where he won the Super 600 Showdown in '08 - so Micromania could be his ace in the hole.
Others to watch...I want to recognize all of the other throttle-jockeys who sent information regarding their Speedweek plans. While many of them are planning to enter all six events, there are some who only intend to run two or three of the shows. Tim Buckwalter, who has registered victories at all six of the Speedweek venues, will steer Gary and Donna Spotts' SB3 chassis with NPS Racing Engines supplying the power. Jason Morrison and A.J. Michael will attack Speedweek, armed with newly built Hyper's. Tom Kohler will try to qualify for all six of the Speedweek A-Mains in his PACE Chassis, as will Jared Davis in his RTS, No. 55.
Jamie Kostic and Steve Bracall will buckle into their No. 10 Micros, with Kostic focusing on Micromania and Bracall set to run all of the events. Shelby Rowles, from Curwensville, Pa. is ready for another week of action, as is Arron Spahr. Spahr will jump into the HyperMotive Racing Group No. 14 normally driven by Brian Racine because Racine cannot commit to the full series of races.
Tim Dietz, the owner of three track championships, is ready for battle in his Brookmere Winery/ Probe Chassis No. 18D. Young lion Keith McIntyre, Jr., who qualified for four of the six A-Mains in last year's Speedweek, is all set to do even better this season. Joe Snyder is scheduled to run all of the week's events, as is Stephen Kemery of Berlin, NJ. And Doug Snyder plans to tow his No. 69s to at least two or three of the Speedweek affairs, with an eye on the big check at Micromania.
The travelers...The "Longest Haul" award will definitely go to Ben McLeod. McLeod resides in Warrnambool, in the State of Victoria, Australia. Bill Mann and Jerry Russell are fielding a car for the two-time Oval Express winner and 2007 National Champion, where he is a regular competitor at Premier Speedway, the home of Australia's Grand Annual Sprint Car Classic. McLeod will gas an Eagle Chassis that is being prepared in Springfield Illinois, and the horsepower will come from an engine that was purposely built for 600 Speedweek by Stephen Bell of Jettco Developments in Australia. The car will carry the number 88AU.
A visitor from the south will also attempt to give the yankees a run for their money during Speedweek. Terry Peters, formerly of Tower City, Pa., now lives in Concord, NC. He just won his ninth feature of 2010 at East Lincoln Speedway, and he intends to make a serious bid for the series point title with his PMP Chassis.
Those are just some of the players; there are about 60 to 70 others who could easily make some big news during the week of speed. It kicks off this Saturday at Trail-Way, then moves a few miles to Lincoln on Sunday, the 27th of June. Path Valley plays host to PA 600 Speedweek on Monday, with Tuesday and Wednesday reserved as rain dates for the first three shows. Thursday, July 1, the grind resumes at Susquehanna Speedway Park before its annual visit to Linda's Speedway on Friday. The 2010 Champion will be crowned on Saturday, July 3, after the second running of Micromania at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. Sunday, the Fourth of July, will serve as the rain date for Micromania.
Wishing all the competitors good luck, safe racing, and lots of fun during this year's edition of PA 600 Speedweek.
Thanks for reading; hope you enjoyed it.
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