RACE RECAP (7/5/2025): Ruppert Races to $15,000 at Inaugural East Coast Transponders Nationals

By Kasey Kreider

(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)

History was made on Saturday night at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, as the richest payday in the 68-year tenure of the Newmanstown facility was handed as part of the first-ever edition of the East Coast Transponders Nationals.

The first iteration of this event had a little bit of everything. There was pageantry and fireworks – both figuratively and literally. There was high drama, three-and-four-wide racing, and some occasional frightening spills that thankfully, all drivers walked away from. And of course, there were plenty of stars and cars in town to chase a $15,000 winner’s purse. It was clear from the outset of the weekend that one driver had risen above the rest. And after winning the $1,000 Friday Night Lights feature and the $300 Alpha Seal Cash Dash, Lewisberry, PA’s Alex Ruppert led all 40 laps of Saturday’s A-Main finale to cap off a perfect 4th of July racing weekend.

Wingless 600 East Coast Transponders Nationals

After warmups came to a conclusion, a powerful opening ceremonies scene set the tone for this evening of Independence Day weekend racing. As had been the case on Friday, 13-year old Emma Newcomer provided a dazzling rendition of the nation’s Star Spangled Banner. While her performance took place, the three cars fielded out of the Groff Motorsports/Snyder Racing Enterprises/East Coast Transponders stable took a lap in three-wide formation around the speedway, carrying large American flags from the back of their machines. The one change from Friday to Saturday was that after Emma finished her performance, the three drivers – Christian Bruno, Ryan Groff, and Greyson Springer – all hopped on the throttle and took two laps at nearly full-song around the speedway before returning to the pit area and preparing for the night of racing.

Greyson Springer (No. 28), Ryan Groff (No. 03), and Christian Bruno (No. 5) all took laps with the American flag during opening ceremonies at Saturday night’s East Coast Transponders Nationals. (Photo Courtesy of Steve Koletar)

Before Saturday night’s $15,000 A-Main could be contested, there was still plenty of unfinished preliminary action to be tended to as drivers fought for one of the 26 coveted A-Main starting positions. Starting off the night was the second round of heat races, with two big changes from the heats that had been held on Friday night. The first change was that each heat race would be lined up in a complete inversion from the starting lineup of the respective Friday night heat race. And the second change was that finishing positions would be worth 100 more points compared to the same values for Friday night.

So with a maximum of 200 points on offer for heat race winners, the action was frenzied as fast cars tried to make their way from the back, while drivers that had suffered rough Friday nights looked to salvage their weekend by holding onto their track position.

After a perfect Friday night, Alex Ruppert entered the second set of heats as the high-point man, but could only drive up to fourth position by the end of his 10-lap heat. When the early-evening dust settled, the second group of heats were won by Cole Perez, Chase Rodgers, Alex Bright, Dylan Kontra, Kyle Spence, and Lukas Kostic. Kontra and Kostic each used those victories to propel themselves into top-18 lock-in spots for the A-Main, while Spence’s win put him among six drivers in the Alpha Seal Cash Dash, joining Ruppert, Aidan Turner, Gunnar Pio, Billy Koch, and new-high point man Bradley Brown.

Two-and-three-wide racing was the norm during Saturday’s heat races, as drivers fought for enough points to lock into the East Coast Transponders Nationals A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Dave White)

The six-lap, six-car Alpha Seal Cash Dash would give $300 to the winner, as well as pole position for the A-Main. It was this race where Ruppert’s No. 5 once again began to flex some muscle, as he zipped past Turner on the start to take the second spot, and then needed just one slider on the third lap to take the lead – and the eventual win – away from Brown.

Ruppert and Brown finished in the top two spots and would start the A-Main from the front row, while the rest of the finishing order consisted of Turner, Spence, Pio, and Koch.

Alex Ruppert grabbed the win of the six-lap Alpha Seal Cash Dash, putting himself on pole position for Saturday night’s 40-lap A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)

Two C-Mains transferred four drivers apiece into the back of the Last Chance Qualifier. Shelby McLaughlin and Mason Beinhower took the wins of those, while New York’s Nick Fauci began mounting a soup run, as he motored from the 13th starting spot in the first C-Main to grab the fourth and final transfer spot.

In the LCQ, 22 drivers fought for the last eight positions in the feature. The biggest on-track incident of the night occurred on lap 3 of the 15-lap event, when Jason Swavely’s car lost power on the frontstretch and triggered a massive pileup that saw Connor Mirabelli, Nick Skias, and Gabe Gerber all go upside down, while a total of seven cars were knocked out of the race in the incident. All drivers were okay, but the field was thinned out significantly once the race resumed.

Connor Mirabelli (No. 9x) and Nick Skias (No. 20s) both went upside down, while Mason Beinhower (No. 21B) and Brian Kramer (No. 71) were also involved in a massive pileup near the start of Saturday night’s Last Chance Qualifier. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)

While Alex Bright shuffled away with the victory, Nick Fauci completed his run all the way from the back of the back of the C-Main into the seventh of eight transfer spots out of the LCQ. The last transfer position belonged to Geoff Federspiel, as he fended off Brian Kramer and Justin Burr to take the final A-Main spot.

With the cars staged on the frontstretch for the A-Main, all 26 drivers hopped out of their vehicles and came over toward the frontstretch grandstands for driver introductions, which provided a rare opportunity to fans to see the competitors up close before they strapped aboard their machines. The drivers also got to greet and shake hands with East Coast Transponders Nationals dignitaries, and many competitors also signed autographs for the young fans in attendance on their way through the gate and back onto the racetrack.

Once all the drivers were back aboard, the engines fired, and a two-lap four-wide salute to the fans provided one final opportunity for the packed house to send the field off in style, while fireworks crackled in the night sky overhead.

And then finally, it was time to get down to business, as Ruppert and Brown led the pack through the Windshield World Start Zone to kick off the 40-lap finale. Unfortunately, the first green-flag run only lasted about five seconds, as Greyson Springer went for a flip in turn 4 from the back half of the field.

The second try at the start was cleaner, and Ruppert led a five-car breakaway at the front of the pack ahead of Brown, Turner, Spence, and Matt Warner before the yellows waved for Jace Marshall’s spin in turn 3. Turner made the first big move on the restart, as he briefly slid both Ruppert and Brown to elevate from third to first. Ruppert easily crossed back over to regain the lead, but the pass for second stuck, and the North Carolina driver spent the next few laps chasing Ruppert around the top side of the track before a lap 7 caution waved for Christian Bruno’s blown engine.

Aidan Turner (No. 26T) was one of the main challengers to Alex Ruppert (No. 5) during Saturday night’s East Coast Transponders Nationals A-Main at the Clyde. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)

Turner looked to try and pounce on the restart, but instead was called for jumping the start, docking him two spots and putting Brown back into second. The next short spurt of racing saw a spirited three-way dogfight for the runner-up spot, as Brown, Turner, and Spence all traded sliders and positions over a frantic few laps, with Turner eventually coming out on top.

After a lap 11 caution for Chris Gerhart’s flip in turn 4, the race finally featured a long green-flag run, as the next 17 circuits ran caution-free. And with the run, some new challengers worked their way to the front. While Ruppert and Turner broke away, Dominic Schmidt moved into the third spot. And quickly rising the order was Gunnar Pio. Pio had been forced to start from the tail of the field due to a pre-race rules infraction, but quickly became the show as he carved through traffic. By a lap 28 caution for Marty Brian’s spin into turn 3, Pio had worked his way into the fifth position.

Following the restart with 13 laps to go, the wild racing from third on back continued, while Ruppert remained unchallenged despite Turner’s best efforts at the front. Trouble struck for third-place runner Spence, as he cut down a tire and got spun while trying to pull into the infield, bringing out what would end up being the race’s final caution flag with seven laps left.

Perhaps Ruppert’s best restart of the night was the final one, as he mashed the throttle and bolted away from the field over the first few laps. While Ruppert did that, the racing behind him was nothing short of bonkers, as Turner’s car faded with a deflating right-rear tire, and at least a half-dozen other drivers looked to pick up the scraps and move into the runner-up spot. By rolling the bottom through turns 1 and 2, Trevor Cline went from seventh to second in one lap, and then fought with a rocketing Pio and a hard-charging James Roselli for the podium places.

The action behind Alex Ruppert was fast and furious over the final run to the checkered flag, as Bradley Brown (No. 23), Gunnar Pio (No. 28P), Dominic Schmidt (No. 08), James Roselli (No. 14), Aidan Turner (No. 26T), and Matt Warner (No. 98) all fought for top five positions in the closing laps. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)

But it all took place while Ruppert set sail to a lead of over a straightaway. In 2024, the $7,500-to-win East Coast Transponders race had slipped away from him due to a late-race restart violation. He got redemption of sorts one week later by winning the $10,000 Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek Finale. And on Saturday night, with a perfect performance, Ruppert finished the story. With a final margin of victory of 2.813 seconds, Ruppert scored the victory and brought his total earnings for the weekend up to $16,300.

“This one is really special after giving this race away last year,” an emotional Ruppert said in victory lane. “Everyone that supports me, they put 110 percent on this thing, and it just feels so great I can give back to them.”

Coming out with the runner-up spot was an exhausted Pio, as he gave everything he had to charge from 26th to second over the 40-lap race, but came just one spot short of the ultimate goal. Roselli came from 13th to round out the podium in third, and Cline’s late charge through traffic was good enough for fourth. Brown rounded out the top five, as the former track champion represented his home track well against the stout field of cars.

Results:

1. 5R-Alex Ruppert[1]; 2. 28P-Gunnar Pio[5]; 3. 14-James Roselli[13]; 4. 55-Trevor Cline[16]; 5. 23-Bradley Brown[2]; 6. 08-Dominic Schmidt[8]; 7. 66-Billy Koch[6]; 8. 98-Matthew Warner[7]; 9. 11Z-Kyle Lick[10]; 10. 10L-Lukas Kostic[18]; 11. 95-Nicholas Fauci[25]; 12. 26T-Aidan Turner[3]; 13. 21G-Geoff Federspiel[26]; 14. 2-Jakob Stitzel[9]; 15. 34-Abel Engler[12]; 16. 17-Cole Perez[24]; 17. 89-Kyle Spence[4]; 18. 12-Dylan Kontra[14]; 19. 20-Alex Bright[19]; 20. 16-Marty Brian[15]; 21. 2J-Jace Marshall[17]; 22. 15D-Matthew Donley[23]; 23. 51-Chris Gerhart[22]; 24. 5-Christian Bruno[11]; 25. 2L-Luke Hess[20]; 26. 28-Greyson Springer[21]

DNQ: 71-Brian Kramer; 32-Justin Burr; 11H-Holden Eckman; 21-Mason Beinhower; 14J-Jason Swavely; 2D-Cole Dewease; 90-Trent Warner; 20S-Nick Skias; 1F-James Fries; 83-Gabe Gerber; 9X-Connor Mirabelli; 5X-Chase Rodgers; 7-Shelby McLaughlin; 14X-Cole Gerber; 03-Ryan Groff; 25X-Dan Lane Jr; 5A-Anthony Yerger; 25-Kenneth Beinhower III; 52 Scott Kreutter; 4E-Emmalie Starr; 57-Cameron Vargo; 88J-JR McCutcheon; 7J-Cyle Johnson; 62-Jacob Lynch; 90X-PJ Reid; 14Z-Tony Zajonczkoski; 16L-Logan Dontonville; 75X-James Hendricks; 91-Nate Freed; 22H-Fred Heinly; 54-Dakota Barlet; 14C-Connor Gross; 66A-Marvin Albright; 3B-Dallas Damask; 50-Jacob Severn; 3Y-Zachary Young; 50X-Jasper Zeigafuse

Alex Ruppert posed with Julie Sechrist (left), Tim West (second from right), and Kenny Groff (right) after winning Saturday night’s East Coast Transponders Nationals at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Steve Koletar)

Alex Ruppert (center), Gunnar Pio (right), and James Roselli (left) were the podium finishers of Saturday night’s East Coast Transponders Nationals A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Steve Koletar)

Junior Sprints

After taking part in some practice sessions on Friday night, Saturday night was the time to race for some of racing’s future stars, as 16 drivers competed in the Junior Sprint portion of the East Coast Transponders Nationals event.

While much of the attention was focused on the 600 drivers, there was perhaps no moment over the course of Saturday night that garnered a bigger cheer from the crowd than a thrilling, last-lap pass by Braylon Morris, as he rebounded from a heat race flip and a first-lap feature spin to grab the win of the 20-lap A-Main.

Barrett Bressler started on pole for the feature event and led off the initial start, but a couple of quick cautions slowed the action before the first lap could be put on the board. One of those incidents involved Morris, as he passed several cars on the opening half-lap but then went for a spin on the entry to turn 3, putting him to the tail of the field.

Once the race got going, Gage Pio climbed up into the top spot and set a blistering pace at the front of the field. As Pio had things under control, Morris was working his way through traffic, attempting to throw his hat back into the ring and still be able to challenge for the win. By the end of the sixth lap, Morris had already moved himself back into the top three.

Morris’ No. 15 made the pass on Bressler for the second spot on lap 8, but it seemed like his rally would come to an end there, as Pio was still comfortably setting sail as the race wound toward the finish.

But then the caution flag flew with one lap remaining, setting up one last chance for Morris to complete his drive all the way to the front. Morris built up momentum through turns 1 and 2 after the restart, and then dove to the inside down the backstretch and heading to the final corner. The two leaders ran side-by-side through turns 3 and 4, and by less than a car length, Morris pulled ahead at the checkered flag to grab an improbable victory, one that elicited a roar from the crowd of fans watching at the speedway.

With a last-corner pass, Braylon Morris (No. 15) bested Gage Pio (No. 5) in Saturday night’s Junior Sprint A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)

Pio would have to settle for second, with third-place finisher Archer Jumper completing the podium. Bressler came home in the fourth spot, and Brycen Hooper rounded out the top five.

Results:

1. 15-Braylon Morris[10]; 2. 5-Gage Pio[5]; 3. 28-Archer Jumper[11]; 4. 64B-Barrett Bressler[1]; 5. 75-Brycen Hooper[13]; 6. 1S-Will Simco[9]; 7. 95-Landen Edsall[14]; 8. 5A-Brady Ayers[2]; 9. 15X-Ryder Morris[3]; 10. 45-Logan Schibilia[6]; 11. 22H-Gauge Healy[16]; 12. 521-Dawson Kreutter[15]; 13. 33-Cole Surman[8]; 14. 9-Connor Edsall[12]; 15. 39W-Logan Wirt[7]; 16. 14A-Brycen Austin[4]

Braylon Morris did a wing dance to celebrate his dramatic win in Saturday night’s Junior Sprint A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)

Braylon Morris posed with the checkered flag after scoring the win of Saturday night’s Junior Sprint feature. (Photo Courtesy of Steve Koletar)

The Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway would like to thank Tim West, Julie Sechrist, Kenny Groff, and all of the sponsors for helping to put this inaugural and historic East Coast Transponders Nationals event on. The track would also like to give a big thank you to everyone who helped get the facility and the speedway back into tip-top shape following the nearly 10 inches of rain that the track received between Monday and Tuesday.

Racing returns to the Clyde on Saturday, July 12 with a points show for all five weekly classes. The Step Brothers Concrete & Fence Sportsman division will also be running their makeup feature from May 17. Gates will open at 4 p.m., with hot laps and racing kicking off at 5:30 p.m. General grandstand admission is $10, and for those unable to attend, live streaming coverage will be provided courtesy of The Cushion.