Champions Honored at Tri-City Raceway Park Fete
(Franklin, PA January 29, 2022): Second-year promoter Merle Black recognized the accomplishments of his top drivers in a banquet and awards ceremony held at the Oakland Township Volunteer Fire Company, located just a short distance from Tri-City Raceway Park. “We are so proud of what these racers have done and we appreciate their loyalty and support,” he said. And, in an unscripted moment before the opening prayer, one of the racers thanked Black, his family, and staff for bringing back the Venango County oval.
Receiving top honors, of course, were Brandon Matus in the Shawgo Real Estate LLC 410 Sprint Car division, Jeremiah Shingledecker in the Krill Recycling LLC 358 Modifieds, Curtis J. Bish in the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply Pro Stocks, and Justin Bailey in the 4 Your Car Connection Mini Stocks. All four racers will return to defend their crowns.
As expected, Brandon Matus was the most loquacious of the recipients. “I feel so honored to win this championship,” the third-generation racer from Wampum, PA said. “My grandfather won a championship, or two, at Tri-City, and I am proud to be on that list with him.”
Matus had the most dramatic finish to the season, making a bold last-lap pass to win the final race of the season and clinch his first-ever track championship. He recalled the momentous lap. “When we took the white flag, Carl (Bowser) had, like, an eight car-length lead on me. I had absolutely no idea that I had to pass him and win the race to be the champion. But, I knew that my car was getting good near the end of the race. I ripped the top (in turn one) and it stuck. I thought that I may have had a tire going down, but we came off two and I got up next to him, and then I realized that I could win the race.” Well, Matus did get by Bowser racing down the long back stretch at Tri-City, and he managed to get down in front of Bowser as the two approached turn three. The rest, as they say, was history.
“It never crossed my mind that the championship was on the line,” he added. Matus first learned of his accomplishment when track announcer, John McConnell, gave him the news in victory lane.
Matus had a pair of wins in his championship run. Also getting two wins was his rival, Jack Sodeman, Jr. Sodeman, the defending track champion and the current dean of Western PA Sprint Car racing, finished second in the points. Veteran Bob Felmlee scored one, very emotional, win on his way to third in the final standings. Brent Matus and Darrin Gallagher rounded out the top five.
Sixth, with one win, was Brandon Spithaler. Logan McCandless, Carl Bowser, Leyton Wagner, and Kyle Colwell completed teh top ten.
Also scoring wins during the season, but not reaching the top ten in the point standings, were A.J. Flick, with three; and Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Josh Baughman, and Bradley Howard, with one each.
Jeremiah Shingledecker, from nearby Polk, chalked up seven victories on his way to the 358 Modified title. Shngledecker has had considerable success at Tri-City over the course of his career, with many wins and several track championships coming in the Big Block Modified ranks in years past. Shingledecker still competes with the Big Blocks at other area tracks, and with the BRP Modified Tour, but he fields a different car for the weekly racing at Tri-City.
Shingledecker said that it was much easier on his team to field two different cars, explaining that his team is able to do all of the maintenance on them during the week and that both cars are ready when they get to the track. “We have a few new guys helping us this year, and the cars are washed and ready on Monday and we can do whatever we need in the shop. That way, we don’t have to scramble at the track getting ready to race on Sunday.”
Shingledecker revealed one of his speed secrets, stating that he sets both the Big Block and the Small Block the same on his shop scales. “It’s pretty much the same set-up on both cars. The Small Block handles better in the corners because it is lighter, but there is not as much smoke off the corner.” Not that he is suffering in that department, though. His father, Mike, builds all of his motors in-house.
Second, with one win to his credit, was Jimmy Holden. Also nabbing one win was Kevin Hoffman, who was absent from the festivities because he was picking up a new chassis for the 2022 season. Sid Unverzagt, Jr. and Kyle Fink were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Lonnie Riggs was sixth in the standings, despite dealing with a number of mechanical woes during the 2021 season. D.J. Schrader, Max Smoker, Ryan Riffe, and Nathan McDowell completed the top ten. Watch for McDowell to jump up to the 410 Sprint Cars for 2022.
Other 358 Modified winners in 2021 were Empire State drivers Chad Brachman and Erick Rudolph.
Curtis J, Bish earned his first Tr-City championship, and third overall, aboard the Tarr Motorsports Pro Stock. “It is a real relief to have the financial part on somebody else’s shoulders,” he said. But Bish doubted that the long-standing relationship with his team gave him any advantages over his competitors, most of whom are owner-drivers. Bish has driven for Tarr Motorsports since 1997.
Bish scored three wins on his way to the 2021 title. He noted that his first victory for Tarr Motorsports came a decade earlier at another area speedway.
Second, with a pair of wins, was local teenager Tyler Wyant. Another Franklin pilot, Josh Seippel, scored one win to go along with third in the point standings. Darr Diegelman and Curt Bish, Jr. were fourth and fifth.
Bobby Whitling scored five victories to lead the Pro Stock class, but his part-time schedule held him to sixth in the standings. One of them was his memorable 100th career victory. Pat Fielding, William Hurrelbrink, Josh Blum, and Jason Johns, rounded out the top ten.
Also scoring two wins, but not reaching the top ten in points, was Tim Bish.
Justin Bailey had a back and forth battle with Dalton Speer for most of the 2021 season in the Mini Stock ranks. Indeed, Speer had six wins to Bailey’s three, but a run of bad luck in the second half of the season for Speer, together with Bailey’s consistency, turned the tide. “There were a couple of times that I thought that it (the championship) could have slipped away,” Bailey said. “But when he had his troubles, we got the finishes, and that made the difference,” Bailey explained.
Third, with a pair of wins to his name, was Chad Greeley. He was also the most consistent finisher using a four cylinder powerplant in his car rather than the more potent sixes in most of the others. D.J. Macrae and Evan Sobieski were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Jamie Tasker, Brody McClintock, Michael Barr, Kevin Wallace, and Todd Hanlon were the other honorees. Single wins went to Andy Thompson and Philip King, but they did not crack the top ten.
An April opener is set, and the 2022 schedule will have some big events. Watch your media outlets, and the track website, for details, which will be announced soon. Further information about Tri-City Raceway Park can be obtained by calling the track office at 724-967-4601, or by e-mailing the office at tricityracewaypark2020@gmail.com. Or, you can check the web at Tri-CityRacewayPark.com, or the Facebook page at Tri City Raceway Park. Tri-City Raceway Park is located just a few miles north of Franklin, PA, at 3430 State Route 417 in Oakland Township.