Clearfield, PA – Clearfield’s Gary Little returned to the winners circle Friday Night at Hidden Valley Speedway by picking up the Semi Late Special. Little led a host of repeat winners, including Levi Picard of Woodland in the Small Block Modifieds, Tim Steis of St. Mary’s in the Pure Stocks and William Kephart of Shilo in the Four Cylinders.

Glenn McComber of Belveder, NJ made it a worthwhile trip by picking up the Mason Dixon 270 Micro Sprint Special.

A torrential downpour around 6:00pm forced a two-hour late start to the night’s program.  The Semi Late Feature was ready to get going, with Dave Buchannan and Gary Little on the front row. At the drop of Sam McClellan’s green flag, Little shot into the lead with fourth place starter Brad Benton hot on his heels. Buchannan got a bad start and faded to seventh. The race was off to a fast start, as Little led and Benton was trying everything he had to get by him. While the top two were waging a torrid battle, the race for third was just as exciting, with Justin Owens, Zach Gustafson, Buchanan, Craig Bainey and Danny Gill were all under the proverbial blanket fighting for position. The race continued until lap 19, when debris flew onto the front stretch, regrouping the field. 

The restart saw Benton on the bumper of Little once again, and the green waved and Benton was again trying to find the correct lane around Little, but working into the third turn on lap 23, Benton snapped the driveshaft and drifted high, as the field raced by. Still under some power, Benton coasted to the pit entrance off turn one but could not get off the track as the double checkered flags flew ending the event. The official top five saw Little picking up his first win in two weeks over Owens, Gustafson, Buchanan and Gill. Heat wins went to Buchannan and Little.

Levi Picard and Craig Casher led the Small Block Modifieds to the start with Picard shooting into the lead with Casher a very close second. Picard was proving he was a force to be reckoned with this season, as he led the event from flag-to-flag to reach his second win of the season. Casher was on his bumper the entire 20-laps but just could not find the right groove to get by. As Casher was trying to take the lead, he also had to try to defend second as Hayden Holden was trying to muscle his way into the position, trying the high and low sides. At the line, Holden was able to snatch second away from Casher at the line. At the end the top five were: Picard, Holden, Casher, Aaron Casher and Bob Alcorn. Picard also won the heat.

Tim Steis and Mitch Stiles were on the front row of the Pure Stock feature, and it was Steis who took the lead and set the pace. While Steis may have led from start to finish, Stiles was all over him looking for the lead, but Steis held on to get his fourth win of the season over defending champion Stiles, Lester Hudson, Ryan Jones and Shannon Casher. Heat wins went to Steis and Stiles.

Brett Hanley beat Ryan Lippert off the front row at the start of the Four Cylinder feature, and led the opening lap before William Kephart took the lead and began to pull away from the field. While he led, Hanley held Zack Frantz and Jason Elensky at bay. When the double checkers flew it was Kephart getting his fourth win of the season over Hanley, Frantz, Elensky and Luke Hoffner. Lippert and Kephart split heat wins.

Mason McAndrew and Carter Himes brought the Mason Dixon 270 feature to the green flag, with third place starter Glenn Macomber taking the lead following a red flag on the opening lap for a flipping Jason Paisley. Glendale Fire Dept. and Madera EMS were quickly on scene and determined that Paisley was not hurt and in fact, wanted to continue once the car was sat back up.

On the complete restart, with Paisley now at the rear, it was again Macomber who darted into the lead. Once he had the lead, he never looked back, as he went on to grab the win easily over Himes, J.T. Horwat, Bella Betts and Marshall Labuda. McAndrew and Macomber split heat wins.

PIT NOTES: 46 teams filled the pits under threatening skies, including: 9 Semi Lates, 6 Small Block Modifieds, 9 Pure Stocks, 11 Four Cylinders and 11 Mason Dixon 270 Micros…Hidden Valley Speedway would like to thank all of the drivers who helped run the track in after the storm…the Four Cylinder Powder Puff race was won by Verlee Elensky while Nathan McClellan won the Four Cylinder Mechanics race…Coming up this week is the Fifth Annual Fay Lumadue Memorial for the Small Block Modifieds. The Semi Lates, Pure Stocks and Four Cylinders will also be on the card along with the 600 Micros, Thunder Cars and Junior Four Cylinders will all be in action…The Make up Pure Stock feature from June 27 is also on the card…Coming up on August 8th, its Fan Appreciation Night, get those signing hands ready…Watch our website at www.hiddenvelleyspeedway.net or our Facebook page for more details.

Summary:

Semi-Lates – 1.  Gary Little, Clearfield; 2. Justin Owens, 3. Zach Gustafson, 4. Dave Buchannon, 5. Dan Gill, 6. Craig Bainey, 7. Jeremy Lippert, 8. Brad Benton, 9. Luke Hoffner

Small Block Modifieds – 1.  Levi Picard, Woodland; 2. Hayden Holden, 3. Craig Casher, 

4. Aaron Casher, 5. Bob Alcorn, 6. Trent Ogden

Pure Stocks – 1.  Tim Steis, St. Mary’s; 2. Mitch Stiles, 3. Lester Hudson, 4. Ryan Jones, 

5. Shannon Casher, 6. Austin Fenton, 7. Ryan Shaffner, 8. Ron Majewsky, 9. Rick Hemphill 

Little’s Drive-In Four Cylinders – 1.  William Kephart, Shilo; 2. Brett Hanley, 3. Zack Frantz, 4. Jason Elensky, 5. Luke Hoffner, 6. Isaac Exley, 7. Ryan Lippert, 8. Blake Little, 9. Bethany McClellan, 10. Allen Robison, 11. Jimmy Delozier

Mason Dixon 270 Series – 1. Glenn Macomber, Belveder, NJ; 2. Carter Himes, 3. JT Horwat, 

4. Bella Betts, 5. Marshall Labuda, 6. Jason Paisley, 7. Tanner Hugney, 8. Matt Dixson, 9. Mason McAndrew, 10. Matthew Dixson, Jr.

Did Not Start – Zac Horwat

Four Cylinders Powder Puff Race – 1. Verlee Elensky, West Decatur; 2. Melissa Robison, 

3. Donna Orcutt 

Four Cylinders Mechanics Race – 1. Nathan McClellan, Clearfield; 2. Shawn Orcutt, 3. Paul Demko

Photo: Joe Nowak