Monday, 5 July 2010
Barry Angstadt
PA 600 Speedweek Notebook...
The 2010 edition of PA 600 Speedweek was certainly eventful, and overall, another successful venture for organisers Trip Kone and Dan Little. While the car counts were somewhat lower than past years, the numbers were still very good and the quality of the fields at each of the six events was excellent.
Unfortunately, the eight-day series ended on a sombre note...the sixth and final event, Micromania at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, was cut short due to crash-related injuries suffered by Jim Garrison. During the 600cc C-Main, Garrison's car hammered the turn three guardrail, then flipped down the banking. The driver was flown by Life Lion helicopter to Hershey Medical Centre, where doctors diagnosed broken bones in his face. Garrison also had a bad concussion, and he was taken into the operating room early Sunday morning to repair the broken bones in his facial area. Additional surgery was to occur later in the day on Sunday to correct sinus problems caused by the accident.
The incident obviously cast a pall over the speedway, and as soon as Garrison was on his way to Hershey, the rest of the drivers and car owners were summoned to a meeting with Kone, Little, and Lanco officials. A quick decision was made to cancel the remainder of the racing program, and the competitors immediately voiced their desire to have the event's entire payout donated to Garrison and his family. Combining the 600cc Micromania purse with the money put up for the 270cc Clash at the Clyde, more than $26,000 was to be given to the injured driver.
"That choice was the most incredible and classiest thing I've ever seen," noted Kone. "This is why I love Micro-Sprint racing...the drivers and teams are such a close-knit community, and they're always ready and willing to help one of their own."
The final PA 600 Speedweek points were then tallied - every driver who signed in at Clyde Martin was given 20 "show up" points - and Heath Hehnly was quietly declared the 2010 Champion. Hehnly and his car owner, Sonny Cooke, shared last season's 600 Speedweek title with Shane Lewis, and they were on a mission to snare this year's championship for themselves.
In 2009, Hehnly tied for first place without winning a race during the week-long tour. Another of his team's goals, therefore, was to win at least one of the Speedweek events this season. That mission was also accomplished, as the Manheim, Pa. speedster captured the checkered flag on Thursday, July 1, at Susquehanna Speedway Park.
Hehnly's week began with a sixth-place finish at Trail-Way, and he followed up with a runner-up finish at Lincoln. At Path Valley on Monday, June 28, Hehnly worked the low groove to finish fifth before notching the victory at Susky. He was tenth at Linda's Speedway on Friday, July 2nd, and wound up five points ahead of Mike Rutherford in the final 600 Speedweek standings. While his triumph definitely aided his cause, Hehnly proved once again that consistency wins championships; five top-ten finishes in five races provided the evidence.
Ask anyone in the 600cc pit area, and they'll tell you that Hehnly and Cooke have the perfect combination working for them right now...they obviously have good equipment; the Hyper Racing, Spar Engines No. 2 is always fast and reliable. But lots of teams have similar stuff, so there's got to be more to it for the Hehnly/Cooke combo.
Sonny Cooke is a veteran racer, and he knows what adjustments to make for various track conditions and configurations. He and Heath get along extremely well, too, so that all-important "chemistry" is just right between the two. And, without a doubt, Hehnly is on top of his game as a driver.
While everyone's main concern, thoughts, and prayers are with Jim Garrison and his family right now - Hehnly and Cooke included - we also congratulate the duo on their 2010 PA 600 Speedweek Championship.
Mike Rutherford may have fallen just short of the title, but he nevertheless had a terrific (and quite lucrative) Speedweek. Steering his new PACE Chassis No. 6, the Newmanstown ace finished third at Trail-Way, ninth at Lincoln, sixth at Path Valley, and tenth at Susquehanna. Then came Friday and a return to Linda's Speedway, where he's won numerous championships in both the 600cc and 270cc divisions.
Rutherford screamed to a non-stop, 30-lap triumph in the A-Main at Linda's, putting the $1,000 winner's share in his wallet. He was also the first driver to collect the $1,000 bonus offered by Valken Racing for winning a Speedweek event while four Valken Wheels and the company's decal were mounted on his Micro-Sprint.
Another $500 went his way for copping the Hinchman's Racewear Manufacturer's Challenge, a 12-lap challenge that pitted eleven drivers, all in different chassis, against one another.
When all the contingency prizes were added in, Rutherford strolled out of Linda's Speedway on Friday with more than $3,000 in cash and gift certificates.
Many people were surprised by Jeff Hartman's Speedweek success, including the driver's family. "I just did not expect to do this well; I'm happy, and I'm a hard guy to please," smiled Newt Hartman, the former dirt Modified standout and Jeff's father.
While Hartman certainly has a credible reputation in the 600cc ranks - he's won a bunch of races on Bridgeport's quarter-mile this year as well as a wingless event at Kutztown (he's also the point leader at both tracks) - his Speedweek accomplishments startled some due to his unfamiliarity with the tracks on which the series competes.
Jeff started out strong with a fifth place effort at Trail-Way, followed up with a sixth at Lincoln. He wound up tenth at Path Valley, then came back for a fifth at Susquehanna. Hartman was seventh when the checkered flag waved at Linda's.
This was the first year in which Hartman and his Delran Auto Body No. 026 entered all of the 600 Speedweek events. In the past, he had run just a few of the tour's races each season. In 2010, however, everyone involved with Speedweek learned to respect his talents, and Jeff Hartman was rewarded with third place in the final point standings.
We'll have more notes from PA 600 Speedweek in next week's column, including many people's choice for the week's Hard Luck Award, along with some interesting information about the Australian team that took part in this year's series.
One "fun fact" before I end this effort...the A-Main at Path Valley went 30-laps, with the final 28 going non-stop. The next race, at Susquehanna, was a 20-lapper, and it ran from green to checkered without a single caution. At Linda's on Friday, the 30-lap feature was also spun off without a yellow flag. Bottom line: in three straight A-Mains, the drivers ripped off 78 consecutive green flag laps! Pretty impressive stuff...
And last but not least...Trip Kone and Dan Little deserve a ton of credit for organising another 600 Speedweek. The pair are quick to recognise that they can't do it alone, though, and wish to express their gratitude to all of the race teams, the tracks, the sponsors, and especially those individuals who give so much time and effort to support the series.
Barry Dicely handled the tech throughout the week, meaning some late nights got even later as he inspected cars after the A-Mains.
Dave Bodine did a super job of coordinating the Hinchman Racewear Manufacturer's Challenge as he persuaded the various car builders' teams to compete and gathered sponsorship to make it worthwhile.
Tim Bortz handled the point system for the Sprint Bandit qualifying format, and Bortz received kudos from the staff members at every track on the Speedweek circuit.
Mike Batz kept track of the overall Speedweek points and made sure everyone stayed informed after each race with his excellent Inside Speedweek videos that were posted on the series website and at Microracing.com.
Once more, we extend our best wishes to Jim Garrison for a complete and speedy recovery.
Thanks for reading; hope you enjoyed it.
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