Buckwalter, Bruno, Bieber, & Laubach Saluted at Action Track USA Banquet on Feb. 2nd

Hershey, PA (February 2)— The 2023 point champions at Foley Cat Action Track USA sound like a law firm, or possibly an accounting firm, as Buckwalter, Bruno, Bieber, and Laubach were feted at the speedway’s annual awards banquet on Friday night, February 2nd. The event was held at the beautiful Englewood in Hershey, PA.
Douglassville, PA wheel-twister Tim Buckwalter captured his second consecutive (and third overall) point title in the All Pro SpeedSTR division. Driving the Earl Fellin, Bagel Rack No. 52, Buckwalter reeled off three straight feature wins at the end of May/early June to put a choke hold on the number one position in points. He added one more victory—in the season finale—to clinch the crown.
In his championship speech on Friday night, Buckwalter gave credit to one of his competitors, Dustin Morris. After the No. 52 team hurt two engines early in the season, they either had to borrow a motor or sit out for several weeks. Enter Morris, who lives in Phoenixville, PA.
“Without Dustin lending us one of his motors, we probably would not have been at Kutztown every week. We actually thought we were done for the year after losing that second engine. But Dustin’s motor carried us through, and we couldn’t have done it without him. I also need to thank Earl (Fellin), Paul (Lotier, Jr.) and the whole crew. They but their butts for me night in and night out. It’s a total team effort,” said Buckwalter as he clutched his championship hardware.
Last season’s four triumphs pulled Buckwalter within just two of the track’s all-time leader in SpeedSTR feature wins, Billy Pauch Jr., who has 24 victories at the speedway on the Kutztown Fairgrounds. Buckwalter now has 22.
Like Buckwalter, Christian Bruno earned his second straight point crown in 2023, winning the Hyper Racing 600 Sprint title. While the Deptford, NJ college student recorded only one feature win in the wildly competitive 600 class (there were nine different winners in 12 point shows during the ‘23 campaign), he was a model of top five and top ten consistency throughout the summer months.
Bruno credited his car owner, Kenny Groff, and crew chief/mentor Chris Snyder for providing him with an excellent car at every event. Does it put additional pressure on the driver when he knows he has a race-winning ride at his disposal, each time he climbs into the seat?
“Nah…well maybe a little,” smiled Bruno. “But Chris and me are a lot alike; we’re just kind of even-minded all the time, no matter what happens, good or bad. That kind of offsets the pressure.”
There’s a theory that consistency wins championships, and Brett Bieber modeled that theory in the All Star Slingshot class in 2023. In the 11 Slingshot races that comprised the point season at Action Track USA, the Oley, PA throttle-jockey never finished outside the top five! Four feature wins certainly helped, but those seven additional top fives definitely paved the way to his third consecutive All Star Slingshot title and his fourth overall championship at Berks County’s baddest bullring.
Young Matthew Laubach, from Hellertown, PA, capped off a very successful Junior Slingshot season by winning his first Action Track USA point championship. Laubach, known as the “Salt Shaker”, registered four wins, including three of the last five features run by the Junior Slingers.
On stage at the banquet, the young charger may have provided a glimpse into his future when asked if a 602 Crate Sportsman ride might soon come his way? The son of dirt Modified standout Rick Laubach, without hesitation stated, “yeah, maybe…I wish it would happen tomorrow!”
The top ten point earners in each of the track’s weekly divisions were recognized at the banquet.
Following the awards, speedway co-owner Rich Tobias addressed the banquet attendees. Tobias and his partner, Doug Rose, are entering their 12th season at the helm of the clay playground located across the street from Kutztown University. He said they are simply building on the variety of events that have made the track even more successful in its past few seasons, as several different classes—mainly “big cars”—have proved immensely successful and popular with the fans that frequent Action Track USA.
“We open up on Sunday, May 5, with our weekly classes running at night and winged 270 Micros and Xcel Modifieds in the afternoon. We will again bring in the Short Track Super Series Modifieds (on May 21), the USAC National Sprint Car Series (on June 16), the Xtreme Midget Series (August 7), and USAC East Coast Sprint Cars (on July 10 and August 18). The Dick Tobias Classic takes place on Sunday, August 18, and features the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars, SpeedSTR’s, and 600 Sprints, with an afternoon matinee highlighted by winged 270’s and Slingshots,” noted Tobias.
The co-promoter also pointed out the new association with Foley Cat, noting that the pairing should pay nice dividends to both Foley and Action Track USA. Foley has recently opened a new full-service facility in Breinigsville, Lehigh County, just a few miles from the Berks County line and in fairly close proximity to the race track that now bears the Foley Cat name.