By Kasey Kreider
(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Saturday night’s action at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway marked the beginning of the final three-race stretch in the chase for the championship across the speedway’s five weekly classes. While some drivers entered the evening with points on their mind, many others were simply looking to carry some momentum into the season’s final races by taking home a checkered flag.
After five straight podium finishes with no wins to show for it, Dominic Schmidt finally cashed in in a big way on Saturday night, winning both the makeup feature and the regular race for the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s, and putting himself in prime position to score his first track championship. Kyle Spence took a detour into Newmanstown on Saturday night and picked up the win of the EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 race following a thrilling battle with Jason Swavely. Swavely – in the meantime – cruised away with the victory in the Border Magic 270 class. The Step Brothers Concrete & Fence Sportsman and Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke classes each saw first-time 2025 winners, as young drivers Masen Stapleton and Seth Gregory finally parked their machines in the winner’s circle. And despite a rare runner-up result, John Maurer became the first driver to mathematically lock up a 2025 championship, doing so in the 125/4 Stroke class.
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
Between points and non-points Hyper Racing Wingless 600 competition during the month of August, Zionsville’s Dominic Schmidt had racked up five consecutive finishes of either second or third at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. While the string of good finishes was good enough to put him squarely in the points chase entering the season’s final month, the checkered flag that Schmidt had been searching for remained elusive with just four feature races left on the calendar.
On Saturday night, Schmidt made up for it and then some, taking the lead of the makeup feature early and never looking back for win number one. Then – roughly three hours later – Schmidt charged back to the front in the second A-Main of the night, getting to the lead just prior to halfway and holding off Kyle Spence and Matt Warner on a late restart to secure the sweep.
For the first race – which was a makeup feature from May 17 – Schmidt started on the outside pole, while Dylan Kontra led the field to green. The No. 08 quickly went on the attack, and after trading sliders for a couple laps, Schmidt broke free with the advantage for good on the seventh revolution.
Once getting into clean track, Schmidt was largely unchallenged the rest of the way, as he kept a consistent four-to-five car length advantage over the rest of the pack to seal the deal on his first win of the year and third-career win at the Clyde. Matt Warner came home with a runner-up finish, while Ryan Groff rounded out the podium. Kontra and Abel Engler were the rest of the top five.
Meanwhile, Marty Brian – who entered the evening as the points leader – fell out of the first race with an apparent mechanical issue and was credited with a ninth-place finish. Unfortunately for Brian, the problem knocked him out for the remainder of the evening, as the No. 16 was unable to make it back onto the racetrack for the regularly-scheduled heat race and feature event.
With an opportunity at a big points swing now staring Schmidt in the face, he rolled off from the fifth position at the start of the second 25-lapper, while Abel Engler paced the field for the start. The opening 10 laps were all led by Engler, as the Stroudsburg native searched for his first-career win at the speedway.
In the meantime, Schmidt used a big early restart to vault himself into third place, and then spent a few laps battling Dylan Kontra for the second spot. On the 11th lap, Engler made heavy contact and rode the guardrail through turns 1 and 2, erasing his lead and allowing Schmidt to throw a slider in the next turn to grab the top spot away.
Schmidt was firmly in control until the final few laps, when Kyle Spence made his way into second and began tracking the No. 08 down. A caution with two laps left seemed to put the Bridgeton, NJ driver well within striking distance to try and steal the win. But on the restart, Spence was instead left to battle a hard-charging Matt Warner for the runner-up position, and that gave Schmidt all the cushion he needed to hang on for his second checkered flag of the night.
With both of his wins and Brian’s misfortune, Schmidt opened up a 100-point advantage in the point standings entering next Saturday’s event. With a third-consecutive victory next Saturday, Schmidt would mathematically lock up the title, regardless of anything that happens on Championship Night in two weeks.
Spence fended off Warner to hold onto the runner-up spot in the second feature. Coming home fourth from 12th was Justin Burr, and Ryan Groff came from the back to claim a fifth-place result.
Makeup Results:
1. 08-Dominic Schmidt[2]; 2. 98-Matt Warner[11]; 3. 03-Ryan Groff[7]; 4. 12-Dylan Kontra[1]; 5. 34-Abel Engler[24]; 6. 7-Shelby McLaughlin[22]; 7. 5X-Chase Rodgers[10]; 8. 1F-James Fries[6]; 9. 16-Marty Brian[18]; 10. 11H-Holden Eckman[9]; 11. 21X-Jayson Conover[3]; 12. 9-Josh Stoyer[4]; 13. 5-Christian Bruno[5]; 14. 2J-Jace Marshall[8]; 15. 90-Trent Warner[12]; 16. 91-Nate Freed[13]; 17. 21-Mason Beinhower[14]; 18. 3B-Dallas Damask[15]; 19. 99X-Brandon Heist Sr[16]; 20. 76-Jacob Bierman[17]; 21. 17J-Josh Conover[19]; 22. 39-Richie Hartman[20]; 23. 88Y-Justin Yohn[21]; 24. 25X-Dan Lane Jr[23]
Results:
1. 08-Dominic Schmidt[5]; 2. 89-Kyle Spence[7]; 3. 98-Matt Warner[10]; 4. 32-Justin Burr[12]; 5. 03-Ryan Groff[17]; 6. 9G-Grady McGrew[2]; 7. 7-Shelby McLaughlin[13]; 8. 2L-Luke Hess[14]; 9. 11H-Holden Eckman[3]; 10. 3Y-Zachary Young[18]; 11. 12-Dylan Kontra[4]; 12. 1F-James Fries[9]; 13. 10L-Lukas Kostic[11]; 14. 34-Abel Engler[1]; 15. 5X-Chase Rodgers[8]; 16. 28P-Gunnar Pio[6]; 17. 15H-Don Hess[15]; 18. 2K-Nathan Miller[16]; 19. 16-Marty Brian[19]
Points (Top 5) (After 11 of 13 Races):
1. 08-Dominic Schmidt[1036]; 2. 16-Marty Brian[-100]; 3. 98-Matt Warner[-207]; 4. 1F-James Fries[-323]; 5. 11H-Holden Eckman[-383]
Dominic Schmidt picked up wins in both of Saturday night’s A-Mains for the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photography)
EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600
Original plans for Saturday night called for micro sprint veteran Kyle Spence to be competing at the Grandview Speedway with the USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series. But when their action got washed out due to mother nature, Spence took a detour and descended upon the Clyde, pulling double-duty in Curt Matherly’s No. 89. The choice ended up being a winning one, as Spence charged from eighth to the win of Saturday’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 A-Main, picking up his first Lanco win in three years.
Chris Gerhart and championship contender Jason Swavely set the pace in the early laps of the race, with the 2010 champ leading the first two circuits before the two-time title holder took the lead away on lap 3.
Swavely continued to lead Gerhart and points leader Bradley Brown as the race approached halfway. In a tough break for Brown, he got tangled up with a lapped car on the frontstretch and spun around, forcing him to try and rally from the back and promoting Spence into the third position.
The No. 89 then moved into second on the ensuing restart, and shadowed Swavely around the speedway for the next few laps. Another caution with 10 laps to go set up what turned out to be a frantic finish, as Spence used an excellent restart from the outside of the front row to take away the lead. While Spence checked out initially, another caution with six to go gave Swavely one more shot.
On that restart, “The Rocketman” fought tooth and nail with Spence to regain his track position, and was briefly successful in doing so, as he crossed over a big Spence slider with five laps left to take the lead. But Spence wasn’t going away without a fight, and after trading the top spot a few more times, Spence finally broke free from the battle with two laps to go, and kept the No. 14 just far enough away over the final few corners to secure the victory.
Jason Swavely (No. 14) and Kyle Spence (No. 89) battled for the win in the closing laps of Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 feature at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photography)
Although not a win, Swavely’s second-place finish was still good enough to take over the points lead by 19, as Brown could only rally back to an eighth-place result. Brent Ely used a big final restart to go from sixth to third, while Gerhart and Chris Panczner brought home the top five.
Results:
1. 89-Kyle Spence[8]; 2. 14-Jason Swavely[2]; 3. 17-Brent Ely[5]; 4. 51-Chris Gerhart[1]; 5. 15P-Christopher Panczner[10]; 6. 3-Ryan Groff[12]; 7. 72-Jesse Maurer[3]; 8. 23-Bradley Brown[6]; 9. 71-Brian Kramer[7]; 10. 51B-Amanda Onimus[9]; 11. 5-Tanner Pressley[11]; 12. 73-Andrew Rothermel[13]; 13. L13-Bob Potter[14]; 14. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[4]; 15. 11H-Holden Eckman[15]; 16. 5A-Anthony Yerger[16]
Points (Top 5) (After 11 of 13 Races):
1. 14-Jason Swavely[964]; 2. 23-Bradley Brown[-19]; 3. 97-Billy Logeman[-186]; 4. 15P-Christopher Panczner[-187]; 5. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[-200]
Kyle Spence outdueled Jason Swavely in the closing laps of Saturday’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 feature to score his first Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway victory in three years. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Border Magic 270
While the Winged 600s saw Swavely barely miss out on a win, the first race of the night for the Fleetwood native went according to plan aboard the Bill Schenck-owned No. 92. After the Winged 270 race was the only Labor Day Shootout event that Swavely competed in and failed to win last weekend, he made some amends on Saturday night by leading the 25-lap A-Main in wire-to-wire fashion.
The end result was never in much doubt from the drop of the rag, as Swavely started on pole and sped off to leads of multiple seconds in between each caution flag. Despite a six-lap dash to the finish, Swavely still took victory by over 2.5 seconds when the checkered flag fell. For Swavely, it was his third win in a Border Magic 270 points race in 2025.
Nick Skias ran second in the feature to keep a 123-point lead over Swavely entering the final two races. With a finish of fifth or better next week, Skias would mathematically lock up his fourth 270 championship at the Clyde, and make it back-to-back titles at the speedway.
Billy Logeman finished third and picked up the Border Magic Hard Charger Bonus after starting 11th. Jonah Meck finished a solid night in fourth, and Mike Skias rounded out the top five.
Results:
1. 92-Jason Swavely[1]; 2. 3-Nick Skias[3]; 3. 27O-Billy Logeman[11]; 4. 48-Jonah Meck[2]; 5. 8S-Mike Skias[7]; 6. 16X-Dan Lane Jr[8]; 7. 77G-Isaac Graby[9]; 8. 28S-Brian Sholley[13]; 9. 39M-Austin Mieczkowski[5]; 10. 81-Dylan Holmes[16]; 11. 34-Christi Sweigart[15]; 12. 5A-Anthony Yerger[12]; 13. 96W-Chase Walker[4]; 14. 21D-Dave Williams[17]; 15. 82-John Maurer[6]; 16. 11R-Tommy Rinck[14]; 17. 1L-Logan Hess[10]; 18. 2T-Doug Pearson[18]
Points (Top 5) (After 11 of 13 Races):
1. 3-Nick Skias[1058]; 2. 92-Jason Swavely[-123]; 3. 27O-Billy Logeman[-176]; 4. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[-264]; 5. 8S-Mike Skias[-277]
Jason Swavely dominated Saturday night’s Border Magic 270 A-Main at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photography)
Step Brothers Concrete & Fence Sportsman
It had been almost exactly one calendar year since Masen Stapleton had last visited Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway’s victory lane entering Saturday night’s Step Brothers Concrete & Fence Sportsman A-Main. However, the first weekend of September was once again kind to “The Bull,” as Stapleton held off three-time track champion Bret Cronrath to pick up an elusive first win of the season.
Stapleton got the lead immediately from the outside of the front row, and set the pace around the bottom groove ahead of Dylan Pennypacker. It didn’t take long for Cronrath to elevate from eighth up into the third spot, and a restart on lap 11 gave Cronrath a chance to bolt into the runner-up position.
After getting to second, the No. 5 applied consistent pressure on Stapleton, as the lead was rarely more than two car lengths all throughout the second half of the race. Although Cronrath looked at times to be a tick faster, Stapleton was steady and speedy enough to hold on to the advantage, and Cronrath was never able to mount a challenge and get alongside the Reamstown driver.
Stapleton won the race by half a second at the finish, with Cronrath and Pennypacker taking the other podium spots. Ryan Heckman drove up from 11th to fourth, and Bradley Brown bounced back from a first-lap flip to take the final spot in the top five.
Despite a flat tire knocking him out of the race, points leader Corey Schmuck, Jr. was credited with a 10th-place finish, allowing him to hold a 140-point lead over Kyle Lindsey entering next Saturday. A finish of ninth or better next week would secure Schmuck, Jr.’s first track championship, regardless of what Lindsey does over the final two races of the season.
Results:
1. 17-Masen Stapleton[2]; 2. 5-Bret Cronrath[8]; 3. 27-Dylan Pennypacker[3]; 4. 30-Ryan Heckman[11]; 5. 15-Bradley Brown[4]; 6. 28-Kyle Lindsey[10]; 7. 31-Tyler Martin[1]; 8. 21D-Dave Williams[6]; 9. 21V-David Ravel[7]; 10. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[5]; 11. 75-Justin Harrington[9]; 12. 2T-Doug Pearson[13]; 13. 8-Michael Spadafora[12]
Points (Top 5) (After 11 of 13 Races):
1. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[1024]; 2. 28-Kyle Lindsey[-140]; 3. 27-Dylan Pennypacker[-155]; 4. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[-208]; 5. 17-Masen Stapleton[-216]
Masen Stapleton did a wing dance to celebrate his first win of the season in the Step Brothers Concrete & Fence Sportsman class at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photography)
Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke
After winning not one, but two A-Main events at the Shellhammer Dirt Track on Wednesday night, “The Ephrata Express” Seth Gregory capped off a dream week of racing with his second-career Clyde Martin victory – and his first of 2025 – in the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke main event.
Gregory started from pole position for the feature, but the task would be anything but easy with nine-time 2025 feature winner John Maurer directly behind him right from the start of the race. Despite that, Gregory looked to have the quicker car – at the very least in clean track – as he opened up a lead over one second while the majority of the feature ran uninterrupted by a caution flag.
The one opportunity for Maurer to close in was once Gregory caught lapped traffic around five laps to go. The gap quickly disappeared between the two frontrunners, and Maurer nearly stuck his nose to the inside of Gregory coming to two laps to go. Gregory, though, was finally able to make a crucial pass on a lapped car, and that gave him the necessary buffer to hold off Maurer during the final couple of circuits and earn his third feature win of the week – on his dad Jeff’s birthday, no less.
Even though Maurer had to settle for second, he opened up his points lead to 201 over Mike Coen, making it mathematically impossible for Coen – or any other driver – to overtake Maurer in the standings with just two races left. In two weeks, Maurer will officially be crowned as the 2025 Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke track champion, marking his first-ever title at the Clyde.
Dave Schroeder came home with the final spot on the podium, while Trevor Waegel and Justin Harrington finished out the top five.
Results:
1. 14-Seth Gregory[1]; 2. 82-John Maurer[2]; 3. X-Dave Schroeder[3]; 4. 44S-Trevor Waegel[6]; 5. 76-Justin Harrington[7]; 6. 23-Asher Kempton[14]; 7. 3H-Corey Harting[4]; 8. 04-Steve Simmons[5]; 9. 26C-Michael Coen[10]; 10. 15-Alyssa Holmes[8]; 11. 8-Michael Spadafora[13]; 12. 19-Matt Fernsler[9]; 13. 3H2-Holly Harting[11]; 14. 112-Dylan Yeingst[12]
Points (Top 5) (After 11 of 13 Races):
1. 82-John Maurer[1165]; 2. 26C-Michael Coen[-201]; 3. 75-Brent Shearer[-251]; 4. X-Dave Schroeder[-281]; 5. 19-Matt Fernsler[-307]
Seth Gregory parked the No. 14 in the winner’s circle after holding off John Maurer in the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke feature event. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
The Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway returns next Saturday, Sept. 13 with the second-to-last race of the season. With one track championship already spoken for, drivers in the other four classes will be looking to etch their names into history as champions of the Clyde, while all the stars and cars of the speedway will be out in pursuit of checkered flags and race wins. Gates will open at 4 p.m., with warmups beginning the on-track action 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.