“Ross the Boss” Perchak Takes 270 Win; Strunk Gets First SpeedSTR Win of Season; Hoch is Junior Slingshot National Tour Victor

*Jeff Strunk’s SpeedSTR victory was his first of the year at the JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA. The $800 triumph also locked Strunk into Sunday’s Dick Tobias Memorial, as it did for Tuesday’s runner-up, Rick Eckert. Strunk and Eckert will start on the front row of the 45-lap Tobias Memorial on Sunday. The race, worth $3,500 to the winner, is the final event of the 2013 season at the Action Track USA.

Strunk and Eckert started on the front row and spent much of the 20-lap “Prelim to the SpeedSTR National” racing side by side. Eckert, the World of Outlaws Late Model star from York, nosed ahead to lead as the duo crossed the stripe each time during the race’s first 14 circuits. Eckert ran the top at first, with Strunk’s BPG Racing No. 88D strong on the bottom. As the event entered its second half, Eckert switched lines and utilized the low groove while Strunk rolled the top. The pair engaged in some sensational wheel to wheel action before Strunk, from Pottstown, shoved the nose of his car in front to narrowly lead lap 15. Seconds later, the yellow flag appeared, and Strunk was out front for the restart. He went on to win by just over one-second, with Eckert fending off the challenges of Billy Pauch Sr. to record the runner-up finish.

With nine laps left to run, Billy Pauch Jr. ignited a seven-car pile-up in turns one and two when he spun while running fourth. Collected in the melee were Kenny and Brad Brightbill, Matt Janisch, John Kovatch, Wayne Weaver, and Steve Yankowski. Only Janisch was unable to continue, although Kenny Brightbill, and Pauch Jr., the top two in the SpeedSTR point standings at the JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track USA, dropped out later in the race.

*Five Canadian racers made the trek from Quebec to Kutztown to compete in the Fair Week activities. Defending National SpeedSTR Champion Maxime Plante, the 16-year-old talent, was joined by his sister, Josianne, and father, Rejean, on Tuesday. Dave Coursol and Carl Labonte also entered the event. The five French-Canadian speaking wheel-twisters will also compete in Wednesday’s Fair Week Nationals for the SpeedSTR’s. Labonte will also take part in the All Star Slingshot portion of Wednesday’s racing program.

*Perchak’s second 270cc win of the year earned the Hazleton driver a lucrative winner’s share of $750. It was a perfect night for Perchak, as he set fast time (10.957 seconds), won his heat race, then led every lap of the 30-lap Fair Week National for the winged 270cc Micro-Sprints. Six caution periods slowed the pace but the yellows did not deter Perchak, as he darted away from the field on each restart. The racing was entertainingly fierce behind him, with Brandon Edgar, Ryan Smith, Austin Bishop, Tommy Kunsman Jr., and Jason Swavely dicing for positions two through six over the entire 30-lap distance. Edgar eventually fell out with mechancial problems, and Smith – who fell back to fourth in the first half of the event – climbing back up to second. Swavely dueled with Bishop and Kunsman for much of the event before he secured third spot for good.

*Mertztown’s Dylan Hoch swept around the outside of Dillon Steuer just after a lap two restart, grabbing the lead as the pair raced off turn two and onto the backstretch. Hoch went on to lead the rest of the 20-lap Junior National Slingshot Tour event, holding off Middletown, NY’s Jared LaBagh for the win. The Junior Slingshots presented a terrific event, with three-wide racing behind Hoch as LaBagh, Ryan Quakenbush, and Steuer fought for the runner-up position. Prior to that tussle, it was LaBagh, Quakenbush, and Dylan Swinehart going tooth-and-nail for third. Swinehart, unfortunately, slowed with mechanical issues after contact with LaBagh that saw the NY driver nearly end up in the backstretch wall. Swinehart, from Fleetwood, was forced to retire from the race with eight laps remaining.
Hoch held on for the victory with LaBagh, the current Junior Slingshot National point leader, on his bumper as the checkered flag waved.

*A total of 61 cars took part in Tuesday’s program, with the breakdown as follows: SpeedSTR’s = 23; winged 270cc Micro-Sprints = 23; and the Junior Slingshots = 15.

*270cc heat race winners included Perchak, Edgar, and Austin Bishop.

Two heats were run for the SpeedSTR’s, with Kenny Brightbill and Billy Pauch Sr. scoring victories.

A pair of heat races were also contested for the Junior Slingshots. Dillon Steuer and Dylan Hoch were the winners.

*Timed hot laps were held for the winged 270cc Micro-Sprints and SpeedSTR’s.

The Fast Five in 270cc timed runs were Perchak (10.957 seconds), Jarid Kunkle, Austin Bishop, Ryan Smith, and Jason Swavely.

The SpeedSTR Fast Five included Brad Brightbill (11.781 seconds), Eckert, Billy Pauch Jr., Pauch Sr., and K. Brightbill.

*The Kutztown Fair Week Nationals continue on Wednesday, August 14, as the Pioneer Pole Building Wingless 600cc Micro-Sprints compete for a $750 winner’s prize. Joining the 600’s will be the Sunoco USAC Championship SpeedSTR’s and NAPA Auto Parts All Star Slingshots. The All Star Slingshots will also take part in the Racer’s Roundtable.com Challenge Matches, a series of one-on-one match races among the top ten in points.

Pit gates open at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, with warm-ups beginning at 6:00. Heat races will immediately follow the warm-up sessions.

On Thursday, August 15, the 270cc Micros will have the opportunity to compete in a wingless racing program. They will join Enduro type racecars on the menu, as the stock cars take part in the Daniel Boone 200.

A Demolition Derby will rock the fairgrounds on Saturday, August 17, and the Action Track USA season finale` takes place on Sunday, August 18.

Sunoco USAC Championship SpeedSTR’s, 20 laps: 1.Jeff Strunk, 2.Rick Eckert, 3.Billy Pauch Sr., 4.Freddie Rahmer Jr., 5.Brandon Rahmer, 6.Maxime Plante, 7.Gary Huber, 8.Mike Bednar, 9.Brittany Wixon, 10.Chuck Schutz, 11.John Kovatch, 12.Wayne Weaver, 13.Brad Brightbill, 14.Josianne Plante, 15.Steve Yankowski, 16.Dave Coursol, 17.Kenny Brightbill, 18.Carl Labonte, 19.Billy Pauch Jr., 20.Matt Janisch. DNS: Joey Allen, Mike Vermeulen, Rejean Plante.

Winged 270cc Micro-Sprints, 30 laps: 1.Ross Perchak, 2.Ryan Smith, 3.Jason Swavely, 4.Tommy Kunsman Jr., 5.Austin Bishop, 6.Bobby Butler, 7.Andrew Dietrich, 8.Harlee Schaffer, 9.Kyle Spence, 10.Jordan Tittle, 11.Alex Swift, 12.Cheyanne Schaffer, 13.Larry Hoagland, 14.Jeff Carman, 15.Luke Fogg, 16.Brandon Edgar, 17.Alyssa Fogel, 18.Anthony Yerger, 19.Jacob Hendershot, 20.Jake Smith, 21.Steve Walters, 22.Ronald Helmick, 23.Jarid Kunkle.

Junior Slingshot National Tour, 20 laps: 1.Dylan Hoch, 2.Jared LaBagh, 3.Ryan Quakenbush, 4.Amber Britto, 5.Andrew Kreis, 6.Dakota Kohler, 7.Damon Paul, 8.Kassidy Kreitz, 9.Alex Yankowski, 10.Logen Snyder, 11.Reese Nowotarski, 12.Dillon Steuer, 13.Dylan Swinehart, 14.Daniel Morgiewicz. DNS: Tyler Lindsay.