By Kasey Kreider
(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Saturday night marked the beginning of a new era for the Lanco Micro Midget Club’s most prestigious race – the Clyde Martin Memorial. The ground rules for the event remained the same: double points on offer and 35-lap features in honor of all former members of the Lanco Micro Midget Club who have passed on and are no longer with us. But for the very first time, “the granddaddy of them all” served as the first points race of the 2026 season. The new date and changed eligibility rules led to the highest car counts seen for the event in many years. But at night’s end, it was still some of Lanco’s brightest stars and biggest names who stood tall in the winner’s circle.
Christian Bruno finally claimed his first Clyde Martin Memorial Race win in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s, beating Aiden Purdue in an epic slide-job battle in lapped traffic. Bradley Brown came to life late in Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 A-Main to capture his fourth Clyde Martin Memorial Race win across three different classes. Nick Skias finally won “The Clyde” for the very first time, joining father Pete and brother Mike on the Border Magic 270 trophy. In the Sportsmans, Mike Miller turned back the clock once again, beating Brandon Heist to the line for his first Clyde Martin Memorial triumph in the division. And John Maurer made it back-to-back seasons lifting the trophy in the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Strokes.
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
After three prior runner-up finishes in Clyde Martin Memorial Race A-Mains, Deptford, NJ’s Christian Bruno finally broke through on Saturday night to score his first victory in the prestigious race, bringing Chris Snyder’s No. 5 Hyper Chassis back into the winner’s circle and kicking off the 2026 season with back-to-back wins.
But the race wasn’t without plenty of excitement, despite Bruno leading the final 33 laps of the feature en route to the win. Bruno blasted around the outside of polesitter and early-race leader Kyle Lick on a lap 3 restart and eventually pulled away to a roughly five-car length advantage once the race settled into a long green-flag run.
But Bruno’s main challenge came in the form of Clinton, IL native Aiden Purdue, who was making just his second career start at the speedway as the pilot of the iconic Hyper Racing No. 44.
Purdue tracked down Bruno just prior to the race’s halfway point, and made his first bid for the lead with a slider into turn 3 on lap 15. In each set of turns for the next three laps, Purdue continued to try and stick a slider to complete the pass for the top spot, but Bruno was able to cross over on every occasion and eventually pulled away from Purdue as the laps wound down.
A few late caution flags added a dash of drama, but didn’t change the outcome, as Bruno cruised to victory to join an illustrious list of Clyde Martin Memorial Race winners. That list includes his car owner – Chris Snyder – who won the race in the 270 division in 2003.
Purdue continued his impressive start to his northeast micro sprint racing career with a runner-up finish, while defending race winner Lukas Kostic battled with Lick for almost the entirety of the 35-lap feature and came out on top to complete the podium. Ryan Groff charged from 16th at the drop of the green flag to finish fifth.
Results:
1. 5-Christian Bruno[4]; 2. 44-Aiden Purdue[3]; 3. 10L-Lukas Kostic[2]; 4. 11Z-Kyle Lick[1]; 5. 03-Ryan Groff[16]; 6. 14-Cole Gerber[10]; 7. 17-Cole Perez[9]; 8. 25-Brent Shearer[14]; 9. 21B-Mason Beinhower[6]; 10. 09-Vincent Gueci[17]; 11. 3-Dominic Schmidt[13]; 12. 34-Abel Engler[12]; 13. 11H-Holden Eckman[18]; 14. 3L-Nolen Layser[22]; 15. 99G-Gordon Greenlaw[23]; 16. 25D-Destin St Clair[21]; 17. 90-Trent Warner[15]; 18. 2J-Jace Marshall[5]; 19. 24-Cooper Fegely[19]; 20. 1F-James Fries[11]; 21. 15H-Don Hess[20]; 22. 98-Matthew Warner[8]; 23. 2L-Luke Hess[7]
Points (Top 5) (After 1 of 16 Races):
1. 5-Christian Bruno[200]; 2. 44-Aiden Purdue[-10]; 3. 10L-Lukas Kostic[-20]; 4. 11Z-Kyle Lick[-30]; 5. 03-Ryan Groff[-40]
Christian Bruno outdueled Aiden Purdue to grab his first Clyde Martin Memorial win in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600
An enthralling three-car tussle between some of Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway’s best drivers highlighted the 35-lapper for the EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600s. In the closing laps, Ephrata native Bradley Brown brought the bottom groove to life and bested both Brent Ely and Jason Swavely to score his first Clyde Martin Memorial win in the class.
Ely started on pole and set the pace on the high line through the early portion of the race. Brown was mired back in eighth at the start, but wasted little time moving up into the third position, trailing only Ely and Swavely as the action continued.
While Ely and Swavely continued to rip the lip around the top of the speedway, Brown struggled on the top and came to the realization that his only hope of beating both drivers was to work the bottom groove of the bullring.
As “The Highsider” kept adjusting to dial in his No. 23 RTS Chassis for the low side of the racetrack, Brown’s machine eventually came to life. With Brown’s rear tires making more and more traction through the slick low line of the track, he quickly became the fastest car on the speedway. With eight laps remaining, he made the decisive pass on Ely to take the lead, and cruised off to claim the victory by a margin of nearly two seconds at the final flag.
Bradley Brown (No. 23) passed Brent Ely (No. 17) in the closing laps to win Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 Clyde Martin Memorial Race. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
For Brown, the win was his fourth total triumph in the Clyde Martin Memorial Race, adding onto two victories in the 270 class and a win in the inaugural running of the Wingless 600 event.
Ely – one of the well-known “Catfish” of the speedway – pounded the top for 35 laps and held on for a runner-up result. Swavely made a couple of bids for the lead but ultimately was forced to settle for third. Chris Gerhart drove from ninth up to finish in fourth, and Brian Kramer – despite a loose nose wing – soldiered on to a fifth-place result.
Results:
1. 23-Bradley Brown[8]; 2. 17-Brent Ely[1]; 3. 14-Jason Swavely[3]; 4. 51-Chris Gerhart[9]; 5. 71-Brian Kramer[4]; 6. 75R-Brevan Rothermel[11]; 7. 25D-Destin St Clair[13]; 8. 11R-Tommy Rinck[16]; 9. 15P-Christopher Panczner[5]; 10. 19C-Michael Ciccone[10]; 11. 73-Andrew Rothermel[15]; 12. L13-Bob Potter[12]; 13. 82-Rayce Martin[2]; 14. 28-Brent Shearer[7]; 15. 11H-Holden Eckman[6]; 16. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[14]
Points (Top 5) (After 1 of 18 Races):
1. 23-Bradley Brown[200]; 2. 17-Brent Ely[-10]; 3. 14-Jason Swavely[-20]; 4. 51-Chris Gerhart[-30]; 5. 71-Brian Kramer[-40]
Bradley Brown claimed his first Clyde Martin Memorial Race win the EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 class on Saturday night. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Border Magic 270
Perhaps the race of the night in an evening full of action belonged to the Border Magic 270s, who were racing for a $650 payday in the 2026 iteration of “The Clyde.” In a race that had plenty of heavy hitters all slicing and dicing at the front, it was four-time defending track champion Nick Skias who rose above the rest in the waning laps and scored a long-awaited first Clyde Martin Memorial Race triumph.
2023 Clyde Martin Memorial Race winner Alex Swift started from the pole and led the race’s first 22 circuits aboard the Johnny Blanda Racing No. 15, while the action was tense behind him. Brandon Heist eventually settled into second, with Jason Swavely filing into third.
But flying like a slot car up against the guardrail was Skias, who started from seventh, worked up to fourth, and then began picking off the remaining drivers ahead of him one at a time while zipping inches from the guardrail.
It didn’t take Skias long to motor into the runner-up spot, and even the strong setup aboard Swift’s machine was no match for the hard-charging champion behind him. After catching the Bridgeport, NJ driver with 15 laps remaining and gunning his machine to the inside of Swift into turn 3, Skias put himself in a preferred position and completed the pass for good a lap later. Skias checked out from that point forward and crossed the finish line with a margin of victory of over three seconds, checking the prestigious victory off of his bucket list in fine style.
The win was truly a family affair for Skias, as Nick earned the victory piloting the No. 3 Viper Chassis owned by his uncle Chuck. In fact, it was the same entry that his father Pete had driven to a Clyde Martin Memorial triumph in 2021. And with the win, Nick joined both Pete and his brother Mike on the trophy as winners of the event in the 270 division.
Swift came home with second, while Swavely got past Heist late in the going to put Bill Schenck’s new No. 92 on the podium in its first race of the year. Rounding out the top five was T. J. Greve, who wheeled the Kevin St. John/Joe Sanders-owned No. 16 from 14th up to fifth at the finish. Mike Rutherford picked up the first $27 Border Magic Hard Charger Bonus of the season, as he maneuvered from 24th – last – all the way up to seventh at the twin checkers.
Results:
1. 3-Nick Skias[7]; 2. 15-Alex Swift[1]; 3. 92-Jason Swavely[3]; 4. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[4]; 5. 16-Thomas Greve Jr[14]; 6. 1A-Brent Shearer[6]; 7. 45O-Michael Rutherford[24]; 8. 41-Mike Boyer[12]; 9. 8S-Mike Skias[17]; 10. 11R-Tommy Rinck[16]; 11. 29J-Jacob Neff[8]; 12. 30-Ryan Heckman[19]; 13. 77G-Isaac Graby[10]; 14. 11-Mike Uhrich[23]; 15. 11X-Chase Roberts[18]; 16. 21D-Dave Williams[22]; 17. 5-Bret Cronrath[5]; 18. 27O-Billy Logeman[2]; 19. 11H-Chason Hauck[13]; 20. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[11]; 21. 39M-Austin Mieczkowski[9]; 22. 34-Christi Sweigart[21]; 23. 1J-Toby Blumenshine[20]; 24. 2-Michael Miller[15]
DNQ: 1-Jesse Snyder; 01-Daron Repperts; 81-Dylan Holmes; 47X-Ernie Newmaster III; 24-Dustin Roberts; 5A-Anthony Yerger; 41E-Soren Ecenrode; 29-Steve Simmons; 1L-Logan Hess; 28-Kyle Lindsey
Points (Top 5) (After 1 of 17 Races):
1. 3-Nick Skias[200]; 2. 15-Alex Swift[-10]; 3. 92-Jason Swavely[-20]; 4. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[-30]; 5. 16-Thomas Greve Jr[-40]
Nick Skias became the third Skias family member to win the Clyde Martin Memorial in the Border Magic 270 class on Saturday night. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Sportsman
There’s aging like fine wine, and then there’s aging like Mike Miller. The Reading native proved as much in Saturday night’s Clyde Martin Memorial Race for the Sportsman division, as at 70 years of age, Miller fended off defending race winner Brandon Heist over the closing laps to put his legendary name on the legendary trophy once again.
Miller started from the outside pole of Saturday night’s feature and settled into second place while Dylan Pennypacker led the first 12 laps of the A-Main. As Pennypacker checked out in the early laps, Heist spent most of that first run breathing down the tail tank of the No. 2 Reading Standard Motorsports machine.
A caution on lap 13 changed the game, as Miller was able to swipe the lead away on the restart with a slick crossover move. The race’s third and final restart on lap 21 opened the door for Heist to elevate into second, and the nose-to-tail battle that had ensued earlier in the race resumed as the fight for the win.
Although Heist appeared to be a bit quicker over the last run, he needed a mistake from one of Lanco’s most accomplished drivers to have a chance to pass him. There were little bobbles here and there, but the big mistake never came. And despite Heist’s best efforts at diamonding the corners to open up a passing lane, Miller held on by just under a car length at the finish line to score his first victory at the speedway since August of 2022, when he triumphed in the 125/4 Strokes.
Mike Miller (No. 2) beat Brandon Heist (No. 99) across the finish line to grab the win of Saturday night’s Clyde Martin Memorial Race in the Sportsman class. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
The win was Miller’s ninth all-time in the Clyde Martin Memorial Race, but his first in the Sportsmans, as he added Saturday night’s triumph to two in the 270s and six in the 125 class. In fact, the victory was Miller’s first Sportsman win in nearly 10 years, as his last checkered flag in that division came in July of 2016.
Heist was forced to settle for second, with Bret Cronrath rounding out the podium from ninth. Pennypacker came home fourth at the finish, and Justin Harrington bounced back from a first-lap incident to bring home a top five.
Results:
1. 2-Michael Miller[2]; 2. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[5]; 3. 5-Bret Cronrath[9]; 4. 27-Dylan Pennypacker[1]; 5. 75-Justin Harrington[8]; 6. 77-Michael Kreiser[7]; 7. 44E-Trevor Waegel[17]; 8. 3S-Charles Hellinger[4]; 9. 94-Dallas Sanders[3]; 10. 19-Wes Fasnacht[13]; 11. 17-Masen Stapleton[15]; 12. 21V-David Ravel[20]; 13. 2T-Doug Pearson[18]; 14. 20-Max Fasnacht[22]; 15. 31M-Noah Merkey[11]; 16. 11H-Chason Hauck[10]; 17. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[19]; 18. 23K-Matt Fernsler[6]; 19. 21D-Dave Williams[12]; 20. 31-Tyler Martin[14]; 21. 77J-Jade Smith[16]; 22. 9R-Mason Ruffner[21]
Points (Top 5) (After 1 of 18 Races):
1. 2-Michael Miller[200]; 2. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[-10]; 3. 5-Bret Cronrath[-20]; 4. 27-Dylan Pennypacker[-30]; 5. 75-Justin Harrington[-40]
Mike Miller won his first Clyde Martin Memorial in the Sportsman class on Saturday night. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke
For the second consecutive year, Fleetwood native John Maurer turned in an almost inhuman performance to score the victory of the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke Clyde Martin Memorial Race, leading wire-to-wire in the A-Main to keep possession of the trophy for another calendar year.
Maurer started on the outside pole at the drop of the green flag, but beat Seth Gregory on the run down into turn 1 to grab control of the race. From that point forward, it was pretty much a battle for silver, as the No. 82 Mongoose Chassis checked out to a whopping lead of almost two-thirds of a racetrack during the course of a 26-lap green-flag run.
That run ended three laps shy of the finish, when second-place driver Mike Coen suffered an apparent motor issue aboard his No. 26c. The late restart didn’t do anything to change the outcome, as Maurer easily cruised over the final laps to chalk up another dominant win.
Matt Fernsler finished in the runner-up position after starting eighth, and Billy Logeman rallied from 14th at the start to complete the podium. Asher Kempton and Justin Harrington were the remainder of the top five.
Results:
1. 82-John Maurer[2]; 2. 19-Matt Fernsler[8]; 3. 97-Billy Logeman[14]; 4. 23-Asher Kempton[5]; 5. 76-Justin Harrington[9]; 6. 3H-Corey Harting[10]; 7. 8-Michael Spadafora[6]; 8. 15-Alyssa Holmes[7]; 9. 3H2-Holly Harting[11]; 10. 26C-Michael Coen[3]; 11. 112-Dylan Yeingst[15]; 12. 14-Seth Gregory[1]; 13. 68-Kevin Jones[13]; 14. 44S-Trevor Waegel[4]; 15. 74-Paige Rothermel[16]; 16. 4W-Brandon Worthington[12]; 17. X-Dave Schroeder[17]
Points (Top 5) (After 1 of 18 Races):
1. 82-John Maurer[200]; 2. 19-Matt Fernsler[-10]; 3. 97-Billy Logeman[-20]; 4. 23-Asher Kempton[-30]; 5. 76-Justin Harrington[-40]
John Maurer dominated Saturday night’s Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke A-Main to make it back-to-back victories in the Clyde Martin Memorial. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Next Saturday, April 18, the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway returns to action for Checkered Flag Fan Club Night at the speedway. The race will feature all five weekly divisions back in action, with gates opening at 4 p.m. and hot laps kicking off the on-track festivities at 5:30 p.m. General grandstand admission is just $10 per person, and for those unable to attend, live streaming coverage will be provided by The Cushion.