By Kasey Kreider
(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
There was no doubt about it: if you were going to win on Saturday night at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, you were going to have to bring your “A-game” in order to do it. Some standout performances and awesome racing action were the highlights of a fantastic final weekend of August around the Newmanstown bullring.
A late restart provided the opportunity for Brent Shearer to make it interesting, but it was points leader Bradley Brown holding command to the checkered flag of Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 feature for his sixth win of the season. Gunnar Pio went wire-to-wire in the Hyper Racing Wingless 600s for his third win of the year. Tommy Rinck finally captured a long-awaited first-career Border Magic 270 win, holding off Nick Skias while the Wernersville driver officially clinched his fifth track championship. Brandon Heist went back-to-back in the Yeti Fence Sportsmans after a great battle with his fellow points contender Bret Cronrath. And Seth Gregory flashed from eighth to first in just five laps to pocket his third Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke triumph of the year.
EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600
With members of Boy Scout Troop 44 on hand to give the command, a near-full field of EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600s roared to life for another thrilling 25-lapper at the Clyde. 2024 track champion and current points leader Bradley Brown had to sweat out a late charge from Brent Shearer on a couple of late restarts, but “The Highsider” held serve to make it a six-pack of wins aboard the Reanimated Art Tattoo Studio No. 23 RTS Chassis.
Brown and Shearer shared the front row for the initial start of the race, with the Ephrata native gaining the early lead before a quick caution flag flew on the third lap. The restart that followed saw Shearer take his first shot at the race lead, executing a slider down into turn 1. Brown was able to cross over and hold the advantage back through the next turn, and Shearer briefly lost the runner-up place to Cayden Blair while regaining his momentum aboard the No. 28.
Shearer reclaimed the second spot on the 10th lap, but Brown had opened up a lead of over one second by that point of the race. The gap stayed steady in and amongst lapped traffic, and it appeared that it was Brown’s race to lose.
But keeping with the theme of the season in the Winged 600 division, a late-race caution flag set the stage for a dramatic dash to the finish. The yellow lights flickered on with two laps remaining, setting up Brown and Shearer for a nose-to-tail restart.
Brown fired off nicely, but Shearer made excellent time rolling the bottom of the speedway and put himself right on the tail tank of Brown’s No. 23 as the drivers exited turn 2 on the last lap. Entering turn 3 for what appeared to be the final time, Shearer threw a slider into the corner, with Brown preparing for a crossover. None of it would matter, though, as the caution once again flew before the leaders could finish the race.
On the final one-lap sprint, Brown got an outstanding restart, leaving Shearer too far back to try and repeat a move down into the final corner. Brown took the win by two car lengths at the finish for his class-leading sixth triumph of the year, five of which have come in points races.
Shearer finished in the second place, with Blair recording his second consecutive podium finish aboard the Carber Racing No. 62. Connor Fetrow had his best run to date at the Clyde to come home fourth, and Mason Beinhower brought home the top five.
With his victory coupled with a ninth-place finish from Brent Ely, Brown extended his points lead to 140 over Ely with just two points races to go. With a finish of ninth or better in the next scheduled points race on Sept. 12, Brown would mathematically clinch his second EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 title in the last three years at the speedway.
Results:
1. 23-Bradley Brown[1]; 2. 28-Brent Shearer[2]; 3. 62-Cayden Blair[4]; 4. 11-Connor Fetrow[9]; 5. 21B-Mason Beinhower[3]; 6. 51-Chris Gerhart[7]; 7. 28A-Charlie Allaband[6]; 8. 72-Jesse Maurer[13]; 9. 17-Brent Ely[5]; 10. 29-Matthew Gosselin[8]; 11. 11R-Steven Drevicki[15]; 12. 707-Jax Wittmer[19]; 13. 3-Ryan Groff[20]; 14. 71-Brian Kramer[11]; 15. 15Q-Quinn Llewellyn[10]; 16. 75R-Brevan Rothermel[18]; 17. 1S-William Simco[16]; 18. 29SR-Brayden Benjamin[23]; 19. 15P-Christopher Panczner[12]; 20. 73-Andrew Rothermel[14]; 21. 11X-Logan Falini[17]; 22. 25-Pat Kelly[21]; 23. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[22]
Points (Top 5) (After 14 of 16 Races):
1. 23-Bradley Brown[1345]; 2. 17-Brent Ely[-140]; 3. 51-Chris Gerhart[-305]; 4. 14-Jason Swavely[-443]; 5. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[-515]
Bradley Brown posed in victory lane with members of Boy Scout Troop 44 after winning Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 feature at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
After suffering the heartbreak of crashing from the lead of the Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek Finale in July, Gunnar Pio returned to the Clyde on Saturday night with some redemption in mind. Revenge was best served in the form of a dominant, wire-to-wire performance, as Pio led all 25 laps of the Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main to cash in on his third win of the year driving the East Coast Transponders No. 25 Hyper Chassis for Tim West and Julie Sechrist.
Pio was never really threatened during an A-Main that only saw one caution flag, as he started from pole position and set a strong pace running right against the outside guardrail. Defending champion and points leader Dominic Schmidt did his best to keep Pio honest after reaching the runner-up spot, but could seldom match lap times with the Kunkletown driver as he extended his lead over a 20-lap green-flag run to the finish.
There would be no bad luck this time around, as Pio took the twin checkers by nearly two seconds at the final flag, while Schmidt clicked off another runner-up finish to inch closer to back-to-back championships. A great back-and-forth battle for third was won by Abel Engler – who charged to the final podium spot from 10th at the drop of the initial green. Cole Gerber came out on the losing end of that fight but still captured a solid fourth, with Cole Perez completing the top five.
Schmidt extended his points lead to 136 over Gerber with two races left, meaning that a finish of eighth or better on Sept. 12 would be enough to seal back-to-back championships for the Zionsville driver.
Results:
1. 25-Gunnar Pio[1]; 2. 3-Dominic Schmidt[3]; 3. 34-Abel Engler[11]; 4. 14-Cole Gerber[5]; 5. 17-Cole Perez[8]; 6. 98-Matthew Warner[6]; 7. 1F-James Fries[13]; 8. 707-Jax Wittmer[7]; 9. 03-Ryan Groff[14]; 10. 11H-Holden Eckman[9]; 11. 12-Tucker Gordner[15]; 12. 99G-Gordon Greenlaw[12]; 13. 2J-Jace Marshall[2]; 14. 2L-Luke Hess[4]; 15. 10L-Lukas Kostic[10]; 16. 24-Cooper Fegely[16]; 17. 29J-Jacob Neff[17]
Points (Top 5) (After 12 of 14 Races):
1. 3-Dominic Schmidt[1047]; 2. 14-Cole Gerber[-136]; 3. 34-Abel Engler[-170]; 4. 98-Matthew Warner[-241]; 5. 10L-Lukas Kostic[-327]
Gunnar Pio raced to his third win of the season in Hyper Racing Wingless 600 competition at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Border Magic 270
While Tommy Rinck had scored his first win at the Clyde in the Winged 600 division back in June, the New Jersey native – now living in Narvon, PA – had been on a quest for nearly five years to capture a Border Magic 270 triumph at the speedway. After four runner-up finishes and countless other close calls, the dream for Rinck was finally realized, as he drove off from champion-to-be Nick Skias over the closing laps to put the finishing touches on a breakthrough win.
Rinck was originally slated to start from the outside pole of the feature, but inherited the top spot when original polesitter Matt Fernsler had issues getting his car to push off for the main event. For the first half of the race, Rinck maintained control over second-place running John Maurer – another driver who was searching for his first 270 win at the track.
After a series of cautions of lap 13, the yellow lights illuminated one more time when Maurer was called for pulling out to pass and jumping a single-file restart. That violation knocked last year’s 125/4 Stroke champion back to fourth, and put Nick Skias – the points leader and seven-time feature winner in 2026 – right on Rinck’s back bumper.
But in a feat rarely seen this season, Skias got driven away from on each of the green-flag runs that commenced through the conclusion of the race. A determined driver and a fast A.N.A. Towing & Recovery No. 11R RTS Chassis were a combination that proved too challenging for even the track champion to beat on this night.
Rinck blistered around the racetrack all the way to the checkered flag, leading to an emotional celebration and a victory that was popular amongst the pit area and Rinck’s fellow competitors. Skias finished as the runner-up, with Maurer capping off the podium. Brandon Heist and Mike Rutherford made up the rest of the top five. Bouncing back from a heat race flip and coming out of the B-Main, Michael Hoffmaster scored the Border Magic Hard Charger Bonus with a great drive from 24th to ninth at the checkered flag.
Despite being unable to score another win, the second-place result for Skias was enough for him to keep his points lead above 200 and become the first driver to lock up a championship in 2026 at the Clyde. The championship – which Skias will officially be crowned with on Sept. 19 – is his fifth title in the Border Magic 270 class and his third in a row.
Results:
1. 11R-Tommy Rinck[2]; 2. 3-Nick Skias[5]; 3. 82-John Maurer[3]; 4. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[4]; 5. 27T-Michael Rutherford[12]; 6. 28-Kyle Lindsey[19]; 7. 19-Matt Fernsler[1]; 8. 89-Rilynn Hannula[10]; 9. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[24]; 10. 16-Dan Lane Jr[7]; 11. 81-Dylan Holmes[11]; 12. 29-Steve Simmons[9]; 13. 2-Michael Miller[13]; 14. 34-Christi Sweigart[22]; 15. 28S-Brian Sholley[21]; 16. 23-Billy Gray[23]; 17. 47X-Ernie Newmaster III[16]; 18. 27O-Billy Logeman[6]; 19. 1J-Toby Blumenshine[17]; 20. 8S-Mike Skias[15]; 21. 11H-Chason Hauck[20]; 22. 77G-Isaac Graby[18]; 23. 1X-Brent Shearer[8]; 24. 5-Bret Cronrath[14]
DNQ: 2T-Doug Pearson; 01-Daron Reppert; 96W-Chase Walker
Points (Top 5) (After 13 of 15 Races):
1. 3-Nick Skias[1308]; 2. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[-217]; 3. 92-Jason Swavely[-298]; 4. 5-Bret Cronrath[-472]; 5. 11R-Tommy Rinck[-480]
Tommy Rinck prevailed for the first time on Saturday night in the Border Magic 270 division at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Yeti Fence Sportsman
One week after a thrilling eighth-to-first drive in the Yeti Fence Sportsman division, Brandon Heist only had to come from sixth to make it back-to-back victories on Saturday night. However, it took an exciting, wheel-to-wheel battle with his championship rival Bret Cronrath for Heist to park the Mt. Gretna Roller Rink No. 99 RTS Chassis into victory lane.
Entering the night with just a four-point lead in the standings, Heist rolled off from the handicap spot of sixth, while Matt Fernsler and Cronrath made up the front row. The three-time champion in Cronrath wasted no time on the start, shoving his car inside of Fernsler’s No. 23K on the opening lap to quickly put his vehicle into clean air.
Searching for his first Sportsman win of the season, Cronrath set sail over the next few laps while Heist climbed up the running order. With good maneuverability in his machine, Heist was up to third by the time a caution waved on lap 6. That yellow flag wiped out a lead of over a second and a half for Cronrath, and put Heist right behind him on the inside of the second row for the ensuing restart.
Heist motored past Fernsler at the drop of the rag from the lower groove, and then wound up momentum in the middle lane of the racetrack to begin his bid for the lead. After stalking Cronrath’s No. 5 for a few laps, the ninth circuit is when Heist made his first dive for the top spot, switching to the bottom groove and racing inside of Cronrath on the entrance to turn 3.
Cronrath didn’t give up easily, as he raced back to the bottom of Heist and ran wheel-to-wheel with him for the entire next lap in a bid to keep the clean air. But Heist eventually cleared the pass for good, and that ended up being “all she wrote” in the fight for the win.
Brandon Heist (No. 99) and Bret Cronrath (No. 5) — the top two in the point standings — fought for the lead in Saturday night’s Yeti Fence Sportsman feature at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
A late-race caution with three laps to go didn’t change the outcome at the head of the pack, as Heist sped off to record his seventh Sportsman win of the campaign and his eighth total triumph at the track in 2026 – the most of any driver. What did change was the second-place finisher, as Billy Logeman raced outside of Cronrath on the final lap and swiped the silver spot away, costing Cronrath five crucial points. Cronrath still held on for third, with Fernsler and Mike Miller rounding out the top five.
The results of Saturday night extended Heist’s points lead to 14 over Cronrath with the final two points races of the year on the horizon. As long as both drivers show up and attempt to compete on Sept. 12, the title fight will be guaranteed to come down to the final race of the season.
Results:
1. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[6]; 2. 97-Billy Logeman[8]; 3. 5-Bret Cronrath[2]; 4. 23K-Matt Fernsler[1]; 5. 2-Michael Miller[4]; 6. 17-Masen Stapleton[5]; 7. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[9]; 8. 21V-David Ravel[13]; 9. 77-Michael Kreiser[10]; 10. 11H-Chason Hauck[7]; 11. 77J-Jade Smith[15]; 12. 21D-Dave Williams[3]; 13. 2T-Doug Pearson[12]; 14. 31-Tyler Martin[11]; 15. 3S-Jonathan Hellinger[16]; 16. 94-Dallas Sanders[14]
Points (Top 5) (After 14 of 16 Races):
1. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[1179]; 2. 5-Bret Cronrath[-14]; 3. 77-Michael Kreiser[-146]; 4. 21V-David Ravel[-196]; 5. 17-Masen Stapleton[-262]
Brandon Heist went back to the winner’s circle for the seventh time in 2026 in the Yeti Fence Sportsman feature at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke
It’s a lot easier said than done to drive through the field in the ultra-competitive Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke class at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, which is why it’s fair to say that Seth Gregory turned in one of the best performances of the season when he sliced and diced his way from eighth on the grid to the lead in the span of just five laps en route to picking up the win of Saturday night’s A-Main.
Starting on the outside of row four, Gregory used the upper lane of the racetrack to pass four cars in just the first lap and a half of the feature. While Gregory charged, Corey Harting cleared polesitter Asher Kempton and set the pace around the track. But Harting’s time at the front would be short-lived as Gregory continued to elevate up the order.
With back-to-back inside moves, Gregory dispatched of third-place Michael Spadafora and the runner-up Kempton to put himself on the bumper of Harting by the completion of the fourth lap. Gregory then pulled off a power move around the outside of Harting in turns 3 and 4 to take the lead away as the fifth circuit was scored.
Tight racing continued all the way through the field while Gregory quickly amassed a lead of over three seconds in clean racetrack. The caution flag waved for the first time on lap 17, bringing the pack back to Gregory’s bumper but bailing the Ephrata native out of lapped traffic. Nobody was able to mount a charge on the Ephrata Recycling No. 14 Mongoose Chassis over the closing laps, and Gregory cruised to his third win of the 2026 campaign.
Trevor Waegel moved into second in the final laps after starting from seventh and finished in that position, while Kempton collected his first podium finish of the year in third. Dave Schroeder came home with fourth, and points leader Justin Harrington finished off the top five.
Waegel made up 15 points on Harrington in the title fight, but the two-time champion still holds an advantage of 116 markers in the standings. A finish of fourth or better on Sept. 12 would secure Harrington his third title at the Clyde.
Results:
1. 14-Seth Gregory[8]; 2. 44S-Trevor Waegel[7]; 3. 23-Asher Kempton[1]; 4. X-Dave Schroeder[5]; 5. 76-Justin Harrington[6]; 6. 3H-Corey Harting[2]; 7. 4W-Brandon Worthington[3]; 8. 8-Michael Spadafora[4]; 9. 15-Alyssa Holmes[10]; 10. 5R-Brandon Heist Jr[13]; 11. 3H2-Holly Harting[11]; 12. 68-Kevin Jones[12]; 13. 17-Aspen Groff[14]; 14. 26C-Michael Coen[9]; 15. 112-Dylan Yeingst[15]
Points (Top 5) (After 14 of 16 Races):
1. 76-Justin Harrington[1349]; 2. 44S-Trevor Waegel[-116]; 3. 14-Seth Gregory[-166]; 4. 3H-Corey Harting[-226]; 5. 15-Alyssa Holmes[-328]
Coming from eighth, Seth Gregory captured the flag for the third time in 2026 in the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Strokes at the Clyde. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
The biggest racing weekend of the season – the Labor Day Shootout – is on the horizon at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. The annual Cornhole Tournament kicks off the weekend’s festivities on Friday, Sept. 4. Racing then commences on Saturday, Sept. 5 with the Winged Night of the Labor Day Shootout presented by Germania Band Club of Manheim. The 600s, 270s, Sportsmans, and 125/4 Strokes will all be in action. Sunday, Sept. 6 is the Wingless Night of the Shootout, featuring the Wingless 600s, Wingless 270s, Wingless 125/4 Strokes, and Wingless Junior Sprints. Gates open both nights at 3 p.m., with timed warmups starting the on-track action at 5 p.m. Grandstand admission is $15 per night, and live streaming will be provided by The Cushion for those who are unable to attend.