By Kasey Kreider
(Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
With the final scheduled off weekend of the season in the rearview mirror, it was time to hit the gas pedal on Saturday night at the Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway for the stretch run of the season. Some drivers found the winner’s circle to take big steps toward securing themselves as one of the speedway’s five 2026 track titleists, while other points races tightened up with the final month of championship contention on the horizon.
Bradley Brown picked up his fifth win of the year – but his first since May – in the EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 feature. In the return of Hyper Racing Wingless 600 action, New Zealand’s Kayden Barker achieved his first micro sprint victory in the United States with his triumph in the 25-lapper. Nick Skias used lessons learned from his father to go from sixth to first and score the victory of the Border Magic 270 A-Main, leading his brother Mike across the finish line in a touching moment. Billy Logeman took full command of the Yeti Fence Sportsmans for his third win in that class this season. And Matt Fernsler took the twin checkers for the second time in 2026, as the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Strokes ran a nonstop 25-lapper for the second-straight race.
EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600
After a dream start to the season which featured wins in each of the first three races, things had cooled off a bit for Bradley Brown during the summer months, as the Ephrata native had fought various car and motor issues which hindered his efforts for a return trip to victory lane. But Brown couldn’t have asked for a much more timely win than the one that he achieved on Saturday night, as he held off Jason Swavely in an exciting late race duel to put the Reanimated Art Tattoo Studio No. 23 RTS Chassis back in the winner’s circle.
Brown took the lead from polesitter Andrew Rothermel right at the drop of the green flag and set the early pace around the bottom of the racetrack, while Swavely moved into second. 600 micro sprint rookies Charlie Allaband and Logan Falini worked themselves into third and fourth, and both drivers took turns pressuring Swavely for the runner-up spot as the race wore on.
Despite the best efforts of those youngsters, it was Brown and Swavely who would eventually separate themselves from the pack and race to settle the winner. With Brown’s car seeming to struggle on corner exit over the closing laps, Swavely quickly erased the deficit in front of him and began showing the No. 23 car a nose in the final laps.
Swavely’s best chance came with two laps left, as his No. 14 poked inside of Brown on the run down to the turn. There was little real estate to race with, though, as the three-time and defending track champion contacted an infield tire and bobbled off of the corner. That allowed Brown all the cushion he needed over the final six turns, and he held on to claim his fifth win of the season – four of which were in points shows – and his first victory since the end of May.
Bradley Brown (No. 23) and Jason Swavely (No. 14) were in a tight battle for the win of Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 feature, with Brown coming out on top. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Behind Brown and Swavely, it was Falini who outraced Allaband to score his first Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway podium, while Allaband still came home with a fourth-place result. Jesse Maurer rounded out the top five.
With his win and a 12th-place finish from Brent Ely, Brown – the 2024 track champion – nearly doubled the points lead that he had held entering the evening. The gap now sits at 101 points between the top two drivers with five races left in the season.
Results:
1. 23-Bradley Brown[2]; 2. 14-Jason Swavely[4]; 3. 11X-Logan Falini[5]; 4. 28-Charlie Allaband[7]; 5. 72-Jesse Maurer[6]; 6. 16-Alex Slade[17]; 7. 28Y-Gabe Yacono[14]; 8. 707-Jax Wittmer[10]; 9. 9E-Easton Loomis[9]; 10. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[24]; 11. 11R-Tommy Rinck[13]; 12. 17-Brent Ely[12]; 13. 32D-Donny Smith[21]; 14. 56C-Cody Singer[16]; 15. 75R-Brevan Rothermel[19]; 16. 51B-Amanda Onimus[18]; 17. 62-Cayden Blair[3]; 18. 1F-James Fries[15]; 19. 2J-Jace Marshall[22]; 20. 82-Rayce Martin[20]; 21. 73-Andrew Rothermel[1]; 22. 15G-Ashen Glazier[8]; 23. 29SR-Brayden Benjamin[23]; 24. 51-Chris Gerhart[11]
Points (Top 5) (After 11 of 16 Races):
1. 23-Bradley Brown[1080]; 2. 17-Brent Ely[-101]; 3. 51-Chris Gerhart[-238]; 4. 14-Jason Swavely[-263]; 5. 71-Brian Kramer[-320]
Bradley Brown extended his points lead and claimed his fifth checkered flag of the year in Saturday night’s EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600 feature at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Hyper Racing Wingless 600
After finishing on the podium in both the East Coast Transponders Nationals and the Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek Finale, Hamilton, New Zealand’s Kayden Barker seemed well overdue for his first win at the Clyde and by extension, his first 600 micro sprint triumph in the United States. In what appeared likely to be Barker’s final race of the summer at the speedway, the Kedzlie Contracting No. 3NZ Hyper Chassis finally found victory lane on Saturday night.
Originally rolling off third at the drop of the green flag, Barker received a break when outside polesitter Easton Loomis was called for jumping the initial start of the race. That elevated Barker outside of Matt Warner at the next drop of the rag, and after a couple of cautions, Barker made his move to the front on a lap 2 restart.
After carving low and taking the lead down into turn 1, Barker went to work setting the pace throughout the remainder of the feature. While Barker was fast, he wasn’t free of challengers, as Abel Engler, defending track champion Dominic Schmidt, and Cole Gerber all kept the race leader within shouting distance.
But after the final caution flag with nine laps to go, Barker pulled away to his biggest lead of the race and dashed across the finish line with a margin of victory of 1.296 seconds, putting the cherry on top of a successful summer of racing in the states.
Engler would have to settle for second while still chasing a first win of his own. Schmidt – the newly-minted Speedweek champion – finished in third, while Gerber had a successful return to the driver’s seat with a fourth-place finish. Those results gave Schmidt a 121-point advantage over Gerber in the point standings with four races left in the season. Loomis finished off the top five.
Results:
1. 3NZ-Kayden Barker[3]; 2. 34-Abel Engler[4]; 3. 3-Dominic Schmidt[6]; 4. 14-Cole Gerber[5]; 5. 9E-Easton Loomis[2]; 6. 98-Matthew Warner[1]; 7. 4-Kiptyn Stratton[10]; 8. 2J-Jace Marshall[12]; 9. 10L-Lukas Kostic[9]; 10. 23-Bradley Brown[16]; 11. 11H-Holden Eckman[8]; 12. 29-Matt Gosselin[14]; 13. 99G-Gordon Greenlaw[13]; 14. 89S-Brett Greenlee[11]; 15. 72-Jesse Maurer[7]; 16. 29J-Jacob Neff[15]
Points (Top 5) (After 10 of 14 Races):
1. 3-Dominic Schmidt[862]; 2. 14-Cole Gerber[-121]; 3. 34-Abel Engler[-151]; 4. 98-Matthew Warner[-212]; 5. 10L-Lukas Kostic[-222]
New Zealand’s Kayden Barker collected his first-career Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway victory in Saturday night’s Hyper Racing Wingless 600 A-Main. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Border Magic 270
There are times in racing where some things just seem meant to be, and that was certainly the case during Saturday night’s Border Magic 270 feature. On the eighth day of the eighth month of the year – the two-year anniversary of the passing of legendary racer Pete Skias – Skias’ sons Nick and Mike concocted the best on-track tribute possible, achieving a one-two finish amongst a field of 32 entries.
While both of the Skias brothers were strong all night, it at first appeared as if a first-time winner would be in store at the end of the 25-lap feature. Chase Walker captured the lead from polesitter Michael Hoffmaster on the opening lap and amassed a lead of over two seconds while Nick Skias worked his way through traffic from sixth on the grid.
Skias got to that runner-up place by the end of the sixth lap, and then got a caution flag to bunch up the field two laps later. But even then, the pass for the lead was far from a formality, as Walker kept the advantage in his hands for the next several laps while Skias worked to find a way by.
The winning move came with 10 laps left, as the No. 96W skated off the bottom of turn 4 while racing amongst lapped traffic. With Skias able to hold a tighter line and carry just as much speed, he raced inside of Walker in the run down to turn 1, and completed the pass through the center of the turn.
When the caution flag waved shortly after, Walker looked to give himself one last chance to take back command of the race. Unfortunately, that led to a jump start from the Ephrata native, docking him two positions and putting Mike Skias into second place instead.
Over the final run of the race, the Skias brothers raced away in the top two positions and completed an emotional tribute by finishing in those spots. For Nick, it was his seventh win of the year and third in a row while driving a Weinhold’s Poultry-sponsored No. 3 Viper Chassis that his father, Pete, had piloted for several years. Meanwhile, Mike collected his third podium result in a row while donning the No. 8s – Pete’s most recognizable number.
Finishing in third was Mike Rutherford, as the nine-time champion collected his first podium of the season. Jason Swavely finished in fourth, while Seth Gregory turned in an outstanding top-five finish in just his second 270 start at the track – an effort made even more impressive after he rebounded from an early-race spin. With an eventful race and an 18th-to-ninth drive when it was all said and done, Toby Blumenshine picked up the Border Magic Hard Charger Bonus.
In the point standings, Nick Skias continued to close in on his “drive for five” in the 270 class, as he opened up the points lead to 188 over the new runner-up Swavely with four races left to run.
Results:
1. 3-Nick Skias[6]; 2. 8S-Mike Skias[5]; 3. 27T-Michael Rutherford[9]; 4. 92-Jason Swavely[11]; 5. 16-Seth Gregory[4]; 6. 96W-Chase Walker[2]; 7. 82-John Maurer[10]; 8. 34-Christi Sweigart[15]; 9. 1J-Toby Blumenshine[18]; 10. 08G-Nate Gibble[19]; 11. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[17]; 12. 77G-Isaac Graby[16]; 13. 5A-Anthony Yerger[14]; 14. 24-Dustin Roberts[20]; 15. 28S-Brian Sholley[22]; 16. 11H-Chason Hauck[12]; 17. 6-Danial Boyer[3]; 18. 5-Bret Cronrath[8]; 19. 89-Rilynn Hannula[23]; 20. 1A-Brent Shearer[7]; 21. 2-Michael Miller[21]; 22. 32-Michael Hoffmaster[1]; 23. 11R-Tommy Rinck[13]; 24. 94-Dallas Sanders[24]
DNQ: 11X-Brian Heist; 47X-Ernie Newmaster III; 81-Dylan Holmes; 27O-Billy Logeman; 2T-Doug Pearson; 11-Mike Uhrich; 29-Steve Simmons; 39M-Austin Mieczkowski
Points (Top 5) (After 11 of 15 Races):
1. 3-Nick Skias[1118]; 2. 92-Jason Swavely[-188]; 3. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[-202]; 4. 5-Bret Cronrath[-408]; 5. 8S-Mike Skias[-417]
Nick Skias continued his dream season on Saturday night with his seventh win of the year in the Border Magic 270 division. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
The Skias brothers — Nick and Mike — posed together in victory lane after recording a one-two finish in Saturday night’s Border Magic 270 A-Main on the two-year anniversary of the passing of their father, Pete. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Yeti Fence Sportsman
Continuing his impressive season in a return to the Yeti Fence Sportsman division in 2026, Billy Logeman took the twin checkers for the third time aboard the Weinhold’s Poultry No. 97 RTS Chassis, steering that car into the winner’s circle after leading all 25 laps from the pole.
The end result was never in too much doubt from the drop of the initial green flag, as Logeman flexed his muscle early in the race by jumping out to a multi-second lead. As six-time feature winner and points leader Brandon Heist worked up the pecking order, it appeared as if he might be the only one to have a chance to snatch the win away from the Reinholds native.
But there was simply no beating Logeman on this Saturday night at the Clyde, as the 2007 Sportsman champion held on through several late-race restarts and secured an impressive victory.
Heist crossed the finish line in second, but was later disqualified for post-race procedural infraction. That elevated Bret Cronrath to second in the official rundown, with Masen Stapleton completing the podium. Dave Ravel finished fourth, and Corey Schmuck, Jr. charged from the back row to round out the top five.
With five races left in the season, Heist’s points lead now sits at 63 points over Cronrath – as the three-time champion used his runner-up result to vault himself into the catbird seat in the points fight.
Results:
1. 97-Billy Logeman[1]; 2. 5-Bret Cronrath[3]; 3. 17-Masen Stapleton[9]; 4. 21V-David Ravel[13]; 5. 26-Corey Schmuck Jr[17]; 6. 23K-Matt Fernsler[4]; 7. 75-Justin Harrington[10]; 8. 3S-Charles Hellinger[5]; 9. 11X-Brian Heist[16]; 10. 31M-Noah Merkey[12]; 11. 77-Michael Kreiser[11]; 12. 2T-Doug Pearson[14]; 13. 94-Dallas Sanders[8]; 14. 2-Michael Miller[7]; 15. 21D-Dave Williams[2]; 16. 11H-Chason Hauck[15]; 17. 9R-Mason Ruffner[18]; 18. (DQ) 99-Brandon Heist Sr[6]
Points (Top 5) (After 11 of 16 Races):
1. 99-Brandon Heist Sr[979]; 2. 5-Bret Cronrath[-63]; 3. 75-Justin Harrington[-76]; 4. 21V-David Ravel[-149]; 5. 77-Michael Kreiser[-149]
Billy Logeman racked up his third Yeti Fence Sportsman win of the year on Saturday night at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (Photo Courtesy of Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke
For the second race in a row, the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Strokes ran their entire feature caution-free. This time, it was Matt Fernsler who came out on top, as the Annville native collected his second win of the season piloting the Morgan Mechanical Insulation No. 19 RTS Chassis.
Fernsler used the clean air and a fast racecar to open up a steady lead right after the drop of the green flag, but lapped traffic made things interesting as the race continued to run without a yellow. After being behind by as much as 1.5 seconds at one point during the race, it was Mike Coen leading the charge of cars that began to close in on Fernsler as the laps clicked down.
With every passing circuit, Coen began taking little pieces out of the No. 19’s advantage, closing just about to the back bumper approaching the white flag. But with lapped cars right ahead, Fernsler stayed calm under the pressure and completed a clean final lap to lead Coen across the finish line and seal the deal on the victory.
Finishing directly behind Fernsler and Coen was Dave Schroeder in third, as the entire podium was separated by just 0.406 seconds at the finish line despite 25 straight laps of racing. Trevor Waegel made a bid for second late in the race but instead suffered a bobble and was forced to finish fourth, while points leader Justin Harrington completed the top five.
With another solid effort, Harrington kept his championship lead at a steady 68 points over Waegel with five races to go in the season.
Results:
1. 19-Matt Fernsler[1]; 2. 26C-Michael Coen[2]; 3. X-Dave Schroeder[3]; 4. 44S-Trevor Waegel[5]; 5. 76-Justin Harrington[9]; 6. 8-Michael Spadafora[7]; 7. 5-Keegan Stratton[12]; 8. 3H-Corey Harting[11]; 9. 14-Seth Gregory[8]; 10. 23-Asher Kempton[6]; 11. 4W-Brandon Worthington[10]; 12. 112-Dylan Yeingst[14]; 13. 15-Alyssa Holmes[4]; 14. 68-Kevin Jones[13]; 15. 3H2-Holly Harting[15]; 16. 17-Aspen Groff[16]; 17. 5R-Brandon Heist Jr[17]
Points (Top 5) (After 11 of 16 Races):
1. 76-Justin Harrington[1074]; 2. 44S-Trevor Waegel[-68]; 3. 3H-Corey Harting[-171]; 4. 14-Seth Gregory[-186]; 5. 15-Alyssa Holmes[-237]
Matt Fernsler tallied his second win of the year in Saturday night’s Gretna Graphics 125/4 Stroke feature. (Photo Courtesy of Wayne Hohler Photography)
Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway is back in action next Saturday, Aug. 15. The championship battles will continue to rage on for the EVO Fuel Injection Winged 600s, the Yeti Fence Sportsmans, and the Gretna Graphics 125/4 Strokes. The Hyper Racing Wingless 600s and the Border Magic 270s will have the night off, but in their places will be the return of the PA Micro Midgets, as both the 500 and 300 divisions will compete in their second and final event of the season at the Clyde. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m., with hot laps beginning at 6 p.m. Grandstand admission is $10, and live streaming coverage will be provided by The Cushion for those who are unable to attend.