By Kasey Kreider
(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Jacob Denney claimed in victory lane on Saturday night that one of his biggest struggles in his first full season with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota was mastering the smaller circuits. But if you had only watched the four-race Appalachian Midget Week mini-series, you would’ve had Denney marked down as a master of the tight confines.
When opportunity presented itself with the two race leaders falling out of competition with six laps left, Denney seized the moment to follow up his Wednesday night win at Action Track USA with a checkered flag from the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. In the process, Denney established himself not only as “king of the Pennsylvania bullrings,” but also as the champion of the second-ever Appalachian Midget Week – pocketing an additional $5,000 in prize money.
Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota
19 drivers signed in on the final night of Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota competition. The drivers would first participate in group time trials to set the heat race lineups, and it ended up being a somewhat familiar face setting quick time when things were all said and done.
Huntersville, NC’s Hayden Wise – a rookie with the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets who had also made a smattering of micro sprint starts at the Clyde over recent years – shattered the existing track record for the series with a fast lap of 10.260 seconds. For Wise, it was her first-career quick time award with the Midgets, and it established her as a true contender for the remainder of the evening.
Hayden Wise (No. 94) picked up her first-career quick time award with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota on Saturday night at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
But there was another “familiar face” to Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway fans who would soon become one of the stories of the night once the page turned to heat racing action. Hopping into a second Chase McDermand Racing car for the final night of the week was Rising Sun, MD’s Steven Snyder, Jr.
With loads of micro sprint success at the track in his back pocket, Snyder, Jr. – a full-timer with the USAC Midgets making only his second Xtreme Outlaw start – looked to defend his home turf on a big stage. In the second of twin heat races, Snyder, Jr. picked up the checkers from the outside pole, joining Sheffield, England’s Brandon Carr as heat race winners.
Crucially for Snyder, Jr. though, his effort was good enough to make him the high-point driver entering the feature event. And after he pulled a zero in the invert draw, the pilot of the No. 40x would start on pole position for the A-Main, with just 30 laps separating Snyder, Jr. from his first national Midget victory.
Maryland’s Steven Snyder, Jr. picked up a heat race win with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota on Saturday night, helping to put him on pole position for the 30-lap A-Main at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photography)
Snyder, Jr. and Alex Karpowicz were the ones who led the field to green for the start of what promised to be a thrilling feature event. While Snyder, Jr. scampered away on the opening lap, the big mover was defending series champion Cannon McIntosh, who threaded through his Keith Kunz Motorsports teammates and into the runner-up position.
Steven Snyder, Jr. (No. 40x), Alex Karpowicz (No. 72), Brandon Carr (No. 98K), and Cannon McIntosh (No. 71K) made up the first two rows for the start of Saturday night’s Appalachian Midget Week Finale at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Over the first half of the feature, Snyder, Jr. kept the gap over McIntosh at a steady four car lengths while both drivers pounded the cushion at the Clyde. Meanwhile, Denney had advanced his way up into third from the fifth starting spot, but found himself falling more than a straightaway behind the two front-runners. The fight for the win looked to be a two-horse race, and the vice tightened as Snyder, Jr. caught lapped traffic and McIntosh closed in.
Perhaps the race’s most critical moment came on the 19th lap, when McIntosh made his first bid for the lead down to the inside of turns 3 and 4. As McIntosh slid up the hill, Snyder, Jr. held his ground on the higher groove, and the two competitors made significant right-rear to left-rear contact. Despite that, both drivers looked as if they had escaped disaster, as they traded a few sliders and held onto the top two spots before Jason Bennett’s spin finally brought out the race’s first caution flag with six laps to go.
Steven Snyder, Jr. (No. 40x) and Cannon McIntosh (No. 71K) battled for the win during the majority of Saturday night’s Appalachian Midget Week Finale at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photography)
Everything unravelled for the two leaders under that ensuing caution period, as McIntosh – feeling something amiss in the rear of his car – came to a stop and was forced out of the race. Meanwhile, Snyder, Jr.’s left-rear tire that had begun deflating under green went completely flat, and the No. 40x was forced to pull to the work area, ultimately running out of time to get back on the racetrack.
So inheriting the lead was Denney, who all of a sudden found himself with a golden opportunity to secure his Appalachian Midget Week title in style, as he led Path Valley winner Gavin Miller and Linda’s winner Kyle Jones back to green for the restart.
Miller attempted to creep around the bottom and make the pass for the win on his teammate, but a caution with four laps to go for Colton Robinson’s flip halted his momentum. After the next restart, Miller got very sideways through turns 3 and 4, and Jones made slight contact with his back bumper, sending the No. 97 for a spin and out of contention.
Denney then led the way over Jones and Wise, who had moved her way onto the podium from the eighth starting position. One last caution stopped the action with two laps left, as Trevor Cline’s car went for a tumble in turns 3 and 4.
Jones had kept himself within striking distance around the bottom while Denney had refused to leave the top. But the No. 67 shot out of a cannon on the final restart, and Jones had no time to gobble up the gap between them before Denney dashed across the finish line for his series-record eighth win of the 2025 season.
Jacob Denney (No. 67) led Kyle Jones (No. 7x) under the checkered flag following a two-lap shootout to end Saturday night’s Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota A-Main at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Not only did Denney pick up two wins on the week, but the Galloway, OH native never finished off the podium during the course of the four-week series. That effort was more than enough for Denney to join Chase McDermand as the only Appalachian Midget Week champions in series history. Meanwhile, Denney also joined Tanner Thorson, Zeb Wise, Logan Seavey, Tyler Courtney, Justin Grant, and McDermand as national Midget race winners at the Clyde.
Jones and Wise made up the remainder of the podium, as Wise scored her best-career finish with the series around the Newmanstown bullring. Carr backed up his heat race win with a strong fourth-place effort, while Ethan Mitchell came from 11th to round out the top five. Daniel Bennett picked up the hard charger award, advancing seven spots in the A-Main from 19th to 12th.
The win extended Denney’s points lead in the overall Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series standings to 273 over McIntosh with six races remaining. The next race for the series is Friday, Sept. 5 at the Doe Run Raceway in Missouri.
Jacob Denney took home the $5,000 Appalachian Midget Week championship following a week with two victories and podium finishes in all four races. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photography)
Jacob Denney (middle), Kyle Jones (right), and Hayden Wise (left) made up the podium for Saturday night’s Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota event at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photography)
Results:
1. 67-Jacob Denney[5]; 2. 7X-Kyle Jones[7]; 3. 94-Hayden Wise[8]; 4. 98K-Brandon Carr[3]; 5. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[11]; 6. 72-Alex Karpowicz[2]; 7. 9U-Kameron Key[13]; 8. 97-Gavin Miller[6]; 9. 5U-Michael Faccinto[10]; 10. 40-Chase McDermand[12]; 11. 11-Eric Heydenreich[14]; 12. X-Daniel Bennett[19]; 13. 29-Jason Bennett[16]; 14. 55-Trevor Cline[15]; 15. 67K-Colton Robinson[9]; 16. 40X-Steven Snyder Jr[1]; 17. 71K-Cannon McIntosh[4]; 18. 25B-Ryan Roulette[17]; 19. 7G-Jimmy Glenn[18]
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
Despite being one of the undercard divisions on Saturday night, the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s put on just as thrilling of a show as usual at the Clyde, as a competitive field of drivers fought for victory in the 30-lap feature. After heartbreak in the Midget race, Steven Snyder, Jr. came back for micro action with a chip on his shoulder, and rocketed from 10th to grab his third win in as many nights aboard the Hyper Racing No. 21s.
The field was led to green by Dominic Schmidt and Kyle Lick, as those two drivers busted away from an entertaining scrap that unfolded behind them. Christian Bruno – who had won the 600 feature the last time the Midgets were in town two years ago – used the bottom to claim third.
A lap 5 restart saw Bruno motor past Lick and into the runner-up spot, and then as the top started to come to life, the No. 5 machine whizzed by Schmidt and into the lead on the 10th lap.
But the top groove coming in also meant that Snyder, Jr. was on a charge toward the front. After carving his way into third, Snyder, Jr. got past Schmidt just a few laps after Bruno did, and the No. 21s hunted down the $10,000 Speedweek Finale winner over the next couple of circuits.
After throwing a test slider the lap before, Snyder, Jr. sent it all the way into turn 1 on lap 18, and got to the top groove before he and Bruno banged wheels off the exit of turn 2. The contact killed any crossover momentum for Bruno, and allowed Snyder, Jr. to set sail while the race continued to run green.
Steven Snyder, Jr. (No. 21s) and Christian Bruno (No. 5) put on an exciting battle for the win of Saturday night’s Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photography)
But the fight wasn’t finished just yet, as a caution flew with five laps left to give Bruno another shot. After the restart, Bruno threw a bomb down into turn 3 that Snyder, Jr. was able to respond to. In the next set of turns, Bruno couldn’t get all the way to the top, and that allowed Snyder, Jr. to clear to what looked to be a sure victory, until one last caution just as Snyder, Jr. had the checkered flag in sight set up a one-lap dash to the finish.
Despite the twinge of drama, the final outcome didn’t change, as Bruno struggled to get through turns 1 and 2 on the final lap and wasn’t close enough for a last-ditch slider into turn 3. For the first time since last July, Snyder, Jr. returned to Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway victory lane, capping off an outstanding week that also saw him claim a Wingless 600 win Thursday at Linda’s and a Winged 600 win Friday at Action Track USA.
Bruno came home for second, while Schmidt fended off Aidan Turner in an excellent battle for third. Lick rounded out the top five.
Results:
1. 21S-Steven Snyder Jr[10]; 2. 5-Christian Bruno[6]; 3. 08-Dominic Schmidt[1]; 4. 26-Aidan Turner[16]; 5. 11Z-Kyle Lick[2]; 6. 21G-Geoff Federspiel[14]; 7. 2-Jakob Stitzel[3]; 8. 98K-Brandon Carr[13]; 9. 12-Cole Cabre[11]; 10. 98-Matt Warner[7]; 11. 16-Marty Brian[19]; 12. 10L-Lukas Kostic[15]; 13. 41B-Brody Snyder[24]; 14. 14X-Cole Gerber[22]; 15. 34-Abel Engler[21]; 16. 21-Mason Beinhower[8]; 17. 12K-Dylan Kontra[12]; 18. 15D-Matthew Donley[20]; 19. 64-Ronnie Dawson[5]; 20. 11H-Holden Eckman[23]; 21. 14-James Roselli[17]; 22. 2J-Jace Marshall[4]; 23. 28P-Gunnar Pio[9]; 24. 17-Brent Ely[18]
DNQ: 9-Bradley Brown; 90X-PJ Reid; 17X-Cole Perez; 3Y-Zachary Young; 3L-Nolen Layser; 1F-James Fries; 15H-Don Hess; 2K-Nathan Miller; 1-Cole Heydenreich
Despite a heartbreak in the Midget feature, Steven Snyder, Jr. capped off the evening with a victory in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s on Saturday night at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Junior Sprints
For the first time, the Junior Sprints competed on the same night as the Midgets at the Clyde, giving some of the speedway’s future stars a chance to shine on a large stage with some big names in attendance.
Coming out on top in the A-Main for the Junior Sprints was Gage Pio, as he got redemption for a near-miss at July’s East Coast Transponders Nationals and became the first two-time Junior Sprint feature winner in track history by leading wire-to-wire in the 20-lapper.
Archer Jumper ran a nice race to come home in the second spot, while Logan Wirt and Will Simco put on a spirited battle for the third spot, with Wirt eventually coming out on top.
Results:
1. 5-Gage Pio[1]; 2. 28-Archer Jumper[2]; 3. 39W-Logan Wirt[3]; 4. 1S-Will Simco[4]
“The Puppy” Gage Pio scored the win of Saturday night’s Junior Sprint A-Main at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photography)
Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway returns to action next Saturday, Aug. 16 with a regular points show for all five classes, plus two makeup features from the Clyde Martin Memorial Race. The EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600s and the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Strokes will each run their 35-lappers in addition to a full show of racing, meaning that fans will be treated to seven A-Main events in total as part of next weekend’s festivities. Gates will open at 4 p.m., with hot laps and racing set to begin at 5:30 p.m. General grandstand admission is $10, and for those unable to attend in-person, live streaming coverage will be provided courtesy of The Cushion.