“Money Matt” Is Kutztown STSS Victor; Connor Gross Takes 600 Main In Action Track USA Opener

Kutztown, PA (May 21)– Car owner Jeff Behrent wasn’t exactly enthused about making the long drive to Pennsylvania Dutch Country on May 21st. His driver, Matt Williamson, had to convince Behrent that it was necessary if they were going to make a serious bid for the Short Track Super Series South Region Championship. And, reasoned Williamson, it would be fun to race at Foley Cat Action Track USA. Behrent reluctantly gave in, although he still wasn’t too keen about Modifieds competing on the tight bullring located on the Kutztown Fairgrounds.
Williamson couldn’t have been more right and Behrent couldn’t have been more wrong. The car owner had a great time at the Action Track USA season opener as he watched his driver win his heat race and the 50 lap Berks County Brawl worth $5,000!
Connor Gross, from Asbury, NJ, was victorious in the 25 lap, Hyper Racing 600 Sprint feature in front of one of the largest crowds to ever witness an event at the speedway promoted by Rich Tobias and Doug Rose.
Williamson, from St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada, took the green from the outside of row one. He got the jump on pole sitter Cale Ross after a couple of aborted starts to the Modified main event. As Williamson set the pace, Ross and Anthony Perrego diced for the runner-up spot. Behind them, a fierce battle ensued between Billy Pauch Jr., Tanner VanDoren, Alex Yankowski, and Ryan Godown.
The second and final caution flag flew with ten circuits in the books. On the restart, Williamson dashed away once again and Pauch Jr. bounded into third, then second position, by lap 12. With 17 revolutions complete, Alex Yankowski slipped past Perrego for third place.
As the race reached its halfway point, Williamson caught the back of the pack. He got held up behind cars that were battling for position, and Pauch Jr. began to close the gap between them.
As Williamson struggled to lap a couple of cars that were stuck in the back of the pack, Pauch began to gobble up the real estate between himself and the leader, catching Williamson as they negotiated heavy traffic with 15 to go. As Williamson put cars a lap down, he also extended his advantage over Pauch Jr. after Billy had actually drawn even on the backstretch..
“Yeah, my owner didn’t want to come tonight, but I sort of talked him into it,” smiled Williamson in victory lane, “because I like these little bullrings. I was concerned because I didn’t really know where to be, but the car felt good everywhere. Billy pulled even with me that one time, in traffic, and that kind of got me going again. I knew I had to put some lapped cars between us.”
He did just that, pulling away to win by a fairly comfortable margin over Pauch Jr., who held off Yankowski for runner-up cash. Perrego and Ryan Godown finished fourth and fifth.
The triumph was Williamson’s first of the season on the STSS tour. “This is a great track, and what a fantastic crowd turned out tonight,” said Williamson. “This was fun!”
Matt Sheppard was quickest in the timed hot lap sessions for the 39-car field. Sheppard’s fast lap was 11.132 seconds.
Heat race victories went to Perrego, Sheppard, Cale Ross, Yankowski, and Williamson.
The three consolation winners included Brandon Grosso, Ryan Krachun, and Danny Bouc.
The winner of the Rocky 20, a race for the non-qualifiers that paid $1,000 to win (or forfeit the money and start 17th in the A-main), was Paulie Hartwig III. The Galloway, NJ hot shoe turned down the money for the chance to compete in the 50 lap feature, where he finished 12th.
It was a good night to start outside pole in the main, as Connor Gross duplicated Williamson’s fete by bolting into the lead at the outset over pole sitter James Roselli. Zach Weisenfluh quickly moved to the runner-up spot as sixth-starting Colin White dashed to fourth, then third, before lap five was recorded.
A yellow at the halfway mark interrupted a terrific three-car scuffle for second place among Roselli, Weisenfluh, and White. The caution also wiped out the huge lead built up by Gross.
Four laps after the restart, Weisenfluh slipped past Roselli for the runner-up slot with White grabbing third on the next tour of the speedway as Gross once more danced away from the field. One more yellow flag, with five to go, did nothing to change the outcome as Gross registered his fourth career triumph at Foley Cat Action Track USA.
Weisenfluh, White, Christian Bruno, and Roselli completed the top five.
An outstanding group of 66 entries were filed for the Hyper Racing 600 Sprint portion of the program.
Heat wins were recorded by White, Gross, Bruno, Weisenfluh, Roselli, and Jasper Zigafuse.
Jacob Severn, Lukas Kostic, and Gunnar Pio were consolation race winners.
At intermission, a section of the granstand was dedicated to the memory of Randy Bailey, the well known and univerally liked former Modified driver who suddenly and tragically passed away near the end of 2023. Bailey’s widow, Donna, was on hand for the dedication of the Randy Bailey section of grandstand that is located directly behind the flagstand. Bailey was also a key member of the Action Track USA staff, assisting with track preparation (along with his brother Dennis) each week.
The Goldie and Elton Meitzler Memorial, rained out on May 15, will be made up this Wednesday, May 29, with warm-ups getting underway at 6:15. Pit gates open at 4 p.m. and grandstand gates swing open at 5:00. Taking part in the festivities will be the All Pro SpeedSTRs, Hyper Racing 600 Sprints, along with the All Star and Junior Slingshots.
RESULTS:
STSS Modifieds Berks County Brawl, 50 laps: 1.Matt Williamson, 2.Billy Pauch Jr., 3.Alex Yankowski, 4.Anthony Perrego, 5.Ryan Godown, 6.Cale Ross, 7.Matt Sheppard, 8.Ryan Krachun, 9.Louden Reimert, 10.Danny Bouc, 11.Dillon Steuer, 12.Paulie Hartwig III, 13.Tanner Van Doren, 14.Mike Gular, 15.Brandon Grosso, 16.Matt Stangle, 17.Mike Mahaney.
Hyper Racing 600 Sprints, 25 laps: 1.Connor Gross, 2.Zack Weisenfluh, 3.Colin White, 4.Christian Bruno, 5.James Roselli, 6.Jasper Zigafuse, 7.Tim Buckwalter, 8.Brian Carber, 9.Billy Koch, 10.Cole Dewease, 11.Nate Freed, 12.Jacob Severn, 13.Pat Bealer, 14.Adam Buchel, 15.Anthony Tramontana, 16.Aidan Donaldson, 17.Shelby McLaughlin, 18.Zach Bealer, 19.Alex Ruppert, 20.Cole Gerber, 21.Richie Baker, 22.Weston Doklan, 23.Jame Fries, 24.Lukas Kostic, 25.Tyler Lindsay, 26.Gunnar Pio.