By Kasey Kreider
(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Ryan Snyder/ReflexX Photography)
The first Saturday in May is traditionally reserved for “the Run for the Roses” – otherwise known as the Kentucky Derby. But if you wanted to trade in horses for horsepower and witness a “chase for the checkered flag” instead, then the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway was the place to be on Saturday night.
Nick Skias continued a dominant start to the 2026 racing season with his third consecutive victory in the Border Magic 270 division. Meanwhile, the other four classes all saw drivers break through for their first triumphs of the young season. Mason Beinhower claimed the win in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main, while Jason Swavely parked his “Pink Panther” machine in the winner’s circle following EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 competition. Brandon Heist turned a few close calls into his first win of the year in the Yeti Fence Sportsmans. And Justin Harrington snapped a two-year winless drought when he flashed across the finish line first in the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Strokes.
Border Magic 270
Having already won the first two points races of the Border Magic 270 season, Nick Skias no longer needed to prove to anybody that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with in 2026 at the Clyde. Still, that didn’t keep the Wernersville native from turning in his most impressive performance of the season to date, as the four-time defending track champion quickly climbed from 10th at the start to score the victory of Saturday night’s A-Main.
While Mike Boyer led the opening circuit of the feature from pole position, Skias put on a show on that first lap simply by going where the rest of the field wasn’t – all the way up against the guardrail through both turns of the racetrack. Skias passed five cars on the opening lap before a caution flag flew. And on the next restart, it was “same song, second verse,” as Skias quickly motored into the battle for the lead between Boyer and nine-time track champion Mike Rutherford.
By the time that the yellow lights flickered on again on the third lap, Skias was into the runner-up spot, trailing only Rutherford. That last pass would prove to be a little more difficult to make for Skias, as Rutherford wasn’t willing to let what would have been his first Lanco win since August of 2022 slip away that easily.
With several short green-flag spurts at the beginning of the race, Skias had ample opportunity to experiment and find a line that worked best for his No. 3 Viper Chassis. After strictly running the top groove through the first portion of the race, Skias shifted to the bottom in turns 1 and 2 while continuing to speed around the upper line in turns 3 and 4.
On lap 11, Skias used that high-side momentum out of the fourth turn to his advantage, as he popped to the inside of Rutherford’s No. 27T and completed the decisive pass through the corner. From that point on, Skias never lost command of the race and put his Chuck Skias-owned entry on cruise control en route to his third-straight victory.
There was still plenty of moving and shaking through the rest of the pack, and it was Jason Swavely who came away with a second-place finish after starting in ninth. Brandon Heist rounded out the podium while making a rare appearance in the Dave Walter No. 4R, while Rutherford and Boyer completed the rest of the top five. The Border Magic Hard Charger Bonus went to Mike Skias, as he climbed 11 spots over the course of the race from 21st to finish 10th.
Results:
1. 3-Nick Skias[10]; 2. 92-Jason Swavely[9]; 3. 4R-Brandon Heist Sr[5]; 4. 27T-Michael Rutherford[3]; 5. 41-Mike Boyer[1]; 6. 11R-Tommy Rinck[8]; 7. 29J-Jacob Neff[6]; 8. 11-Mike Uhrich[14]; 9. 39M-Austin Mieczkowski[11]; 10. 8S-Mike Skias[21]; 11. 2-Michael Miller[15]; 12. 28-Kyle Lindsey[13]; 13. 30-Ryan Heckman[23]; 14. 29-Steve Simmons[7]; 15. 4S-Kiptyn Stratton[17]; 16. 6-Danial Boyer[19]; 17. 21D-Dave Williams[24]; 18. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[22]; 19. 11H-Chason Hauck[4]; 20. 5A-Anthony Yerger[16]; 21. 5-Bret Cronrath[20]; 22. 82-John Maurer[18]; 23. 45O-Billy Logeman[12]; 24. 81-Dylan Holmes[2]
DNQ: 34-Christi Sweigart; 47X-Ernie Newmaster III; 41E-Soren Ecenrode; 28S-Brian Sholley; 14L-Jarid Kunkle
Points (Top 5) (After 3 of 16 Races):
1. 3-Nick Skias[400]; 2. 4R-Brandon Heist Sr[-50]; 3. 11R-Tommy Rinck[-119]; 4. 92-Jason Swavely[-125]; 5. 27T-Michael Rutherford[-133]
Nick Skias made it three-in-a-row in Border Magic 270 competition on Saturday night at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
After being in the hunt for the victory in the most-recent Hyper Racing Wingless 600 event two weeks prior, Mason Beinhower was determined not to let another shot at the win slip away from him at the Clyde. The Dillsburg native turned in an ultra-impressive performance on Saturday night, as he took the lead in the early laps and dominated the rest of the race to tally his first win of 2026.
North Carolina’s Brody Snyder was the polesitter and early pace-setter at the onset of the 25-lap main event. But it only took until the third lap for the young Tar Heel State racer to face his first assault from Beinhower’s machine. After the two drivers traded sliders for a lap, Beinhower was easily able to clear Snyder in the run back through turns 1 and 2 the next time around. Beinhower began to set sail from that point forward, legging out the gap to over two seconds before the next caution flag flew on lap 8.
With the exception of a brief challenge on an early-race restart from Dominic Schmidt, Beinhower never faced much of a threat from his competition throughout the rest of the race. Perhaps Beinhower’s only scare came in the form of the Clyde’s fast and tricky track surface, as he had a few close calls with disaster over the second half of the event. But Beinhower was plenty fast and stayed smooth enough to steer his E.K. Services No. 21B Hyper Chassis under the flagstand 2.314 seconds ahead of the pack at the checkered flag.
Schmidt – the defending track champion – had his best performance of the year so far, wheeling the Groff Motorsports No. 3 to a runner-up result. Abel Engler turned in another fantastic effort to score his first-career podium at the speedway, as he zipped from 14th all the way to third at the finish. James Roselli and Justin Burr made up the remainder of the top five.
Results:
1. 21B-Mason Beinhower[2]; 2. 3-Dominic Schmidt[3]; 3. 34-Abel Engler[14]; 4. 95B-James Roselli[7]; 5. 32-Justin Burr[15]; 6. 9G-Grady McGrew[5]; 7. 17-Cole Perez[8]; 8. 2J-Jace Marshall[22]; 9. 24-Cooper Fegely[21]; 10. 10L-Lukas Kostic[9]; 11. 3L-Nolen Layser[12]; 12. 03-Ryan Groff[17]; 13. 11H-Holden Eckman[18]; 14. 2L-Luke Hess[4]; 15. 5X-Chase Rodgers[6]; 16. 44-Aiden Purdue[10]; 17. 1F-James Fries[13]; 18. 14-Cole Gerber[19]; 19. 98-Matthew Warner[11]; 20. 27F-Brantley Floczak[16]; 21. 41B-Brody Snyder[1]; 22. 99G-Gordon Greenlaw[20]
Points (Top 5) (After 3 of 15 Races):
1. 21B-Mason Beinhower[308]; 2. 10L-Lukas Kostic[-8]; 3. 3-Dominic Schmidt[-23]; 4. 34-Abel Engler[-25]; 5. 17-Cole Perez[-28]
Mason Beinhower posed with Ms. Motorama 2026 — Madison Deal — after winning Saturday night’s Hyper Racing Wingless 600 feature at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600
The EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 division had been “The Bradley Brown Show” throughout the month of April, as he had claimed victory in each of the first three races of the season. A flip of the calendar to the month of May signaled a new winner – but a very familiar face – as three-time defending track champion Jason Swavely rocketed to his first win of the season at the Clyde.
Despite rolling off in fifth at the drop of the green flag, it didn’t take very long for Swavely to announce his presence at the very front of the field, as the Fleetwood nearly rolled the bottom groove all the way to the race lead until a caution flag wiped out his start before the lap could be completed.
On the second start, Swavely settled into the fourth position and had a front row seat for the battle for top spot between Liam Kane, Brent Ely, and Trent Warner. Warner in particular rode the ragged edge over the first couple of laps, and eventually, his luck ran out as his No. 90 machine climbed the guardrail in turns 1 and 2 and tumbled upside down.
The restart on lap 4 provided the new third-place runner in Swavely with a chance to pounce. He capitalized on a missed shift by Ely before wrapping the bottom through turns 1 and 2 to clear Kane for the top spot. The North Carolina driver was unable to clear his slide job attempt in turn 3, and that allowed Swavely to shoot around the outside of Kane and dance away with the lead.
Swavely was large and in charge throughout the rest of the race, as his Reading Bakery Systems No. 14 RTS Chassis scurried off to leads of more than a straightaway over a couple of extended green-flag runs. After scoring his first win of the year at Linda’s a few weeks prior, Swavely broke through at the Clyde with his “Pink Panther” tribute paint scheme to his late father Jay, securing the win by just over three seconds at the final flag.
There was still plenty of great racing behind Swavely, with Ely finally getting the better of Bradley Brown – albeit for his third-straight runner-up finish. Meanwhile, Jesse Maurer made his first trek to the Clyde in 2026 and paid it off nicely with an 11th-to-fourth run. And Kane – who had also picked up a win at McGrewBid Motoplex on Friday night – bested Chris Gerhart in a back-and-forth battle for the final place in the top five.
Results:
1. 14-Jason Swavely[5]; 2. 17-Brent Ely[1]; 3. 23-Bradley Brown[6]; 4. 72-Jesse Maurer[11]; 5. 29X-Liam Kane[3]; 6. 51-Chris Gerhart[7]; 7. 15P-Christopher Panczner[8]; 8. 71-Brian Kramer[15]; 9. 82-Rayce Martin[17]; 10. 11R-Steven Drevicki[10]; 11. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[13]; 12. 62-Cayden Blair[16]; 13. 19C-Michael Ciccone[12]; 14. 9E-Easton Loomis[2]; 15. 73-Andrew Rothermel[9]; 16. 75R-Brevan Rothermel[14]; 17. 90-Trent Warner[4]
Points (Top 5) (After 3 of 17 Races):
1. 23-Bradley Brown[390]; 2. 17-Brent Ely[-10]; 3. 51-Chris Gerhart[-54]; 4. 71-Brian Kramer[-77]; 5. 14-Jason Swavely[-110]
Jason Swavely stormed to the checkered flag of Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 feature at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Ryan Snyder/ReflexX Photography)
Yeti Fence Sportsman
After twice being a bridesmaid in the opening races of the Yeti Fence Sportsman season, third time was the charm for Brandon Heist on Saturday night, as the Jonestown native got his redemption on Mike Miller to claim first Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway win of the 2026 season.
While Heist started in the fifth spot, it was Masen Stapleton leading the first few circuits of the race from the pole position. Unfortunately for “The Bull,” things unraveled relatively quickly, as his No. 17 machine went for a solo spin in the fourth turn on the fourth lap – handing the lead over to Miller.
After his triumph in the Clyde Martin Memorial Race, Miller was looking to garner his second win of the first three events, but it wasn’t long before he once again had Brandon Heist directly behind and stalking the tail tank of his No. 2 car. For a while, it appeared as if it could be deja vu all over again, as Heist spent the next seven laps bobbing and weaving in an attempt to move past the wily veteran racer.
But the crucial moment came on lap 11, as Heist finally built up the run that he needed from the speedway’s middle groove to get fully to the outside of Miller. Miller didn’t let him have it easily, as he and Heist raced wheel-to-wheel for the next two laps. But after that, Heist finally put his Mt. Gretna Roller Rink No. 99 RTS Chassis into clean air for good, and that was all she wrote in terms of the battle for the win, as the 2024 track champion eventually sped away to the win by over two and a half seconds at the finish line.
Brandon Heist (No. 99) and Mike Miller (No. 2) battled for the win of Saturday night’s Yeti Fence Sportsman feature. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Miller held on for second, while Matt Fernsler made it back-to-back third-place finishes in the Kupp Racing No. 23K. Austin Mieczkowski put on a drive from 14th to fourth, and Bret Cronrath came from 12th to finish in fifth.
Results:
1. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[5]; 2. 2-Michael Miller[2]; 3. 23K-Matt Fernsler[3]; 4. 39M-Austin Mieczkowski[14]; 5. 5-Bret Cronrath[12]; 6. 30-Ryan Heckman[21]; 7. 27-Dylan Pennypacker[8]; 8. 21V-David Ravel[10]; 9. 77-Michael Kreiser[9]; 10. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[6]; 11. 77J-Jade Smith[19]; 12. 11H-Chason Hauck[7]; 13. 9R-Mason Ruffner[15]; 14. 31-Tyler Martin[4]; 15. 17-Masen Stapleton[1]; 16. 31M-Noah Merkey[17]; 17. 3S-Charles Hellinger[11]; 18. 21D-Dave Williams[13]; 19. 75-Justin Harrington[18]; 20. 94-Dallas Sanders[20]; 21. 97-Billy Logeman[16]
Points (Top 5) (After 3 of 17 Races):
1. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[385]; 2. 2-Michael Miller[-60]; 3. 5-Bret Cronrath[-77]; 4. 27-Dylan Pennypacker[-79]; 5. 77-Michael Kreiser[-84]
Brandon Heist claimed his first Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway win of 2026 in Saturday’s Yeti Fence Sportsman A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke
It had been a long journey for Justin Harrington to get back to victory lane at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway – particularly while investing in and tinkering with a new 4-Stroke engine package over the past few seasons. On Saturday night, the blood, sweat, and tears finally paid off, as Harrington led all 25 laps of the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke feature and made a return trip to the winner’s circle.
Harrington never faced a huge threat from behind, as he had the rest of the field covered while most of the excitement took place from second on back. Still, after dealing with plenty of engine gremlins dating back to last season, surviving all 25 laps was the name of the game for the two-time track champion.
The Harrington Motorsports No. 76 RTS Chassis didn’t just survive, but it thrived all the way to the checkers, as Harrington stayed in command and took the win by 1.802 seconds at the finish. Not only was it Harrington’s first win in the class since switching to the 4 Stroke, but it was also his first victory of any kind at the speedway since his last Sportsman win in June of 2024.
Behind Harrington, Trevor Waegel charged up from the eighth starting spot, but was one position shy of back-to-back wins. One of the feel-good stories of the night belonged to Brandon Worthington, as he drove an impressive race to finish third and score his first podium at the Clyde. Mike Coen and Corey Harting each came from deep in the field to round out the top five.
Results:
1. 76-Justin Harrington[1]; 2. 44S-Trevor Waegel[8]; 3. 4W-Brandon Worthington[2]; 4. 26C-Michael Coen[11]; 5. 3H-Corey Harting[13]; 6. 15-Alyssa Holmes[7]; 7. 3H2-Holly Harting[10]; 8. 74-Paige Rothermel[14]; 9. 68-Kevin Jones[12]; 10. 8-Michael Spadafora[9]; 11. 19-Matt Fernsler[6]; 12. 23-Asher Kempton[5]; 13. X-Dave Schroeder[3]; 14. 82-John Maurer[4]; 15. 14-Seth Gregory[15]; 16. 112-Dylan Yeingst[16]
Points (Top 5) (After 3 of 17 Races):
1. 76-Justin Harrington[355]; 2. 82-John Maurer[-27]; 3. 19-Matt Fernsler[-40]; 4. 23-Asher Kempton[-46]; 5. 3H-Corey Harting[-47]
Justin Harrington collected his first win in almost two seasons at the Clyde after Saturday night’s Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
The Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway returns to action next Saturday, May 9, with another regular Saturday night points show featuring all five classes. Gates open at 4 p.m., with warmups and racing beginning at 5:30 p.m. General grandstand admission is just $10, but for those unable to attend, live streaming coverage will be provided by The Cushion.