Champions Galore Honored at Action Track USA/Speedway Entertainment Banquet

(January 12) Hershey, PA— The combined Awards Banquet for Foley Cat Action Track USA and Speedway Entertainment was held on Saturday, January 11 at the beautifully rustic Englewood in Hershey, PA. A grand total of 73 trophies, plus a suitcase full of point fund dollars, were distributed to the champions and top performers from 2024.
Leading the way were Action Track USA point kings Tim Buckwalter (SpeedSTR); Colin White (Hyper Racing 600 Sprints); Dylan Hoch (All Star Slingshots); and Matthew Laubach (Junior Slingshots).
Speedway Entertainment saluted its top point earners in both Junior and All Star Slingshot’s Speedweek series, along with the Junior and All Star World Championship standings. Speedweek Champions included Darian Danyluk (All Stars) and Aubrey Romig (Juniors), while the World Championship titles went to Dylan Hoch (All Stars) and Jack Jarvis (Juniors).
Rich Tobias, President and Founder of Speedway Entertainment and one-half of the promotional duo at Action Track USA, presented the second annual Mary Tobias First Lady of Racing Award to Donna Bailey. Bailey, a longtime gatekeeper at Action Track USA in her hometown of Kutztown, PA, has devoted much of her adult life to support local racing. Her late husband, Randy Bailey, and her late son, Mike, were heavily involved in local dirt Modified competition. Donna lost both of them in separate but very sudden and tragic circumstances, yet she perseveres with the love and support of her (extremely large) racing family.
Douglassville, PA’s Tim Buckwalter captured his fourth SpeedSTR championship at Foley Cat Action Track USA in 2024. Buckwalter, who could not attend the banquet because he was on his way to compete at the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, OK, is now tied with Billy Pauch Jr. for the most SpeedSTR point titles at the Berks County oval. Last summer, Buckwalter also took over the number one spot in all-time SpeedSTR victories at the track. His three triumphs during the ‘24 campaign give him 25 career wins in the division, one more than Pauch Jr.
Buckwalter’s car owner, Earl Fellin, accepted the championship laurels for his driver.
Colin White, who hails from Washington Township, PA, recorded his second point championship in the Hyper Racing 600 Sprints. He notched one feature win in 2024 and used consistency to earn the crown—he registered ten top-five finishes and never took the checkered flag outside the top ten!
White gave credit to his father, Duane, for keeping his No. 6 in top shape and finely tuned each week as he focused his efforts almost entirely on the events at AT USA.
“I got messed up in a bad crash at the Chili Bowl, and it kind of limited our racing last year,” noted White. “So this championship means a lot, as we put all our effort into racing at Kutztown. We hope to do more racing in 2025.”
Dylan Hoch was on stage quite a bit at the banquet, as he was feted as the All Star Slingshot Champ at Action Track USA, and also as last season’s All Star Slingshot World Champion.
Hoch won four main events at AT USA in ‘24 and pretty much cruised to the title. It is his fourth track championship, tying him with Brett Bieber for most point crowns in the All Star Slinger class.
Hoch, from Mertztown, PA, also collected his fourth career World title by winning the final four races during World Championship weekend at the end of October. He explained that his team’s speed and consistency come from a lot of hard work and collaboration between himself, his brother Tyler, and their dad, Lance.
Hellertown, PA’s Matthew Laubach raced to his second consecutive Junior Slingshot Championship at Action Track USA. He notched a trio of feature wins in ‘24, along with three more top-five efforts. Landon McNichol, a two-time winner during the season, kept the pressure on Laubach but the “Salt Shaker” held on for another point title.
Delaware’s Jack Jarvis had a fantastic season in Junior Slingshot activity. He recorded 17 feature wins, including a pair of triumphs during World Championship Weekend, and he captured the Spirit Speedway point crown. All of those accomplishments, combined with finishing five of six races in the top-three on World Championship Weekend, propelled him to the 2024 Junior Slingshot World Championship.
Rich Tobias addressed the banquet attendees after the awards were handed out to the deserving racers. Tobias talked about plans developed by Doug Rose and himself to “make each visit to Action Track USA even more of an event, and not just another race.” Additional seating, providing a unique view of the incredible action, will be added on the backstretch. In addition, he and Rose continue to shun the critics and raise the bar at Berks County’s #1 bullring by adding a Super Late Model race in September of 2025.
Tobias also highlighted an expanded 21-event schedule for the SpeedSTR’s for the upcoming racing season. In addition to the dozen events on the Action Track USA schedule, the SpeedSTRs will tackle the new oval at Pagoda MC in Birdsboro on three occasions. They will also return to asphalt competition, with four races at Evergreen Speedway in St. Johns, PA.