Mill Hall, PA. May 19th, 2023. Nick Fillman, USAC ECSC
For the second time in as many weeks, Steven Drevicki went back to Rapid Tire Services, USAC East Coast, Presented by Capitol Renegade Series victory lane. This time, for the first of his career at the Clinton County Speedway, for his first multi win season since 2020.
Following heat race action, and the first points inversion line up of the season, Ed Aikin and JT Ferry lead the field to green at Clinton County for the 25 lap feature event, and it was immediately evident what kind of feature the fans would be treated too. JT Ferry edged out Aikin to the line in a fierce side by side battle for the first five laps of the feature event as the two traded slide jobs up and down the speedway on each end of the track.
Ferry had a great line through the middle of the speedway, sometimes utilizing the high line, but Aikin had a great handling car and could cut down to the bottom side of the speedway and utilize the shorter radius, and moisture to the bottom, to motor side by side, and nearly take the lead from Ferry on multiple occasions.
As the leaders battled for position lap after lap, fourth starting Steven Drevicki quickly dispatched of third place starter Joey Amantea, and separated himself from the intense battle for fourth and fifth between Alex Bright and Briggs Danner.
The caution flag flew on lap four of the feature event with a jingle at the tail end of the field as more tough luck fell up on Mike Thompons as he appeared to suffer a broken rear-end. With the car coasting to a stop, evasive action was taken by many cars, with Lee Kauffman, Jason Cherry, and Michael Smith all making contact at the rear of the field. Smith and Cherry ended up stuck together in corner one, leading to the caution flag flying. Of the four cars involved, only Cherry would rejoin the field, with Smith failing to make repairs with enough time in the work area.
On the following restart, Drevicki began his pressure of the lead duo, with Steven Snyder showing muscle and passing both of Bright and Danner to move into fourth and try to reel in Drevicki and the leaders.
Ferry and Aikin had amassed a decent lead in their duel over Drevicki, with Aikin finally getting the power down off of corner number four to take the lead away from Ferry officially on lap seven of the feature event.
Unfortunately the first and only red flag of the feature event flew on lap seven of the feature event, as Steven Snyder Jr got too low on the bottom side of turns one and two, caught the inside wall, and went for a series of flips in turn two. The rookie driver would be ok, but done for the rest of the feature event.
The ensuing restart saw Aikin tear away from Ferry, but only for a lap or two, as Ferry and now Drevicki battled with Drevicki utilizing a diamond maneuver down the banking of the speedway to get by Ferry and try to catch leader Aikin for the race lead.
Meanwhile, further back in the pack, Kenny Miller lll, Alex Bright, Briggs Danner, and Carmen Perigo were locked in battle, with Miller moving into the top five behind Bright with Danner falling too sixth.
Drevicki was relentless, hounding the rear bumper of Aikin in an incredible, and clean race for the lead. Aiking was running a very unique line through corners three and four, allowing the car to drift wide, with Drevicki keeping the car glued to the bottom, but not getting the best grip to get the race lead. As those two dueled, JT Ferry again drew into the picture closing in and making it a near three car battle for the lead.
With the top three glued together, Alex Bright, Briggs Danner, who had moved back by Miller for fifth, and Kenny Miller lll had begun to catch the leaders, and were nearly in the same corner as the lead trio shaping up what could have been a possible six car race for the lead.
Drevicki finally got the bite he needed off of corner four and took the race lead on lap 19 of the feature event. As the duo entered into corner one, they both swung wide, trying to get a run down the banking under Drevicki down the back straight away. Drevicki kept his car extra tight to the bottom, and despite the huge run Aikin had, he was not able to get under Drevicki for the lead.
The caution flag flew once again on lap 20, as Dalton Herrick spun off the banking of turns three and four. Drevicki nailed the restart with Aikin and Ferry battling again for the runner up spot and the rest of the top five remaining the same. The caution flag flew yet again on lap 22, as Herrick went for the same spin off the banking in three and four, drawing an end to his night.
Event with a three lap dash to the finish, Drevicki nailed the restart and pulled away some from Aikin to collect his second win of the season, and second in two weeks. Aikin held off JT Ferry for second, with Bright and Danner rounding out the top five.
Steven Drevicki has announced to the rest of the field, that he is back and back in a big way. Consistent early runs in the first two events of the season, followed by back to back wins aboard his new RPM chassis, have Drevicki back to his old ways. Drevicki and team got their 360 engine back from the builder on Thursday afternoon at 3:30, and were back in victory lane by 10pm the following night. Drevicki and his ability to be smooth and steady on the bottom of the track were on full display for two straight weeks, and could be on display as the series head to another slow and small bull ring in Winchester, VA next week.
Ed Aikin, like Drevicki, finds himself on the podium for two straight weeks as well! Aikin came home in a strong third last weekend at Grandview, and this week showed the same speed leading the bulk of the feature event, before falling just short in the end. What words did Aikin have about the night? “That Drevicki is just too damn good on the bottom.” But for the second straight week, nothing for the veteran driver to be disappointed in as he knocks on the door of a series win even more.
If there is a track on the USAC East Coast Series trail that JT Ferry wants to win at more than any other it would be the Clinton County Speedway. Ferry, the owner to some winged 600 sprint victories at the track considers the oval his home track. Ferry struggled in his series debut at the speedway last season, but proved he not only belonged Friday night, but belonged at the front of the field. Ferry lead laps early, and battled hard and clean with Aikin and Drevicki at the front of the field. Possibly a sign of things to come for the talented rookie as he hunts down his first career USAC East Coast victory.
Last season in the series first ever visit to Clinton County, Alex Bright was victorious in dominating fashion. The former series champion suffered engine issues that night, that actually benefited the driver on his way to victory. As jokes abound in the pit area about the mag and engine issues, Bright proved this time around that he can get around the speedway with a fully working machine. Bright picked up a dominant heat one win, and came home with a solid top five run.
Rounding out the top five was defending series champion Briggs Danner. Danner and the Hogue Racing team have come out of the box firing on all cylinders racking off the top five finishes, but still have yet to find victory lane. Danner has been fast in everything he has driven this season picking up Four speedstr wins at Bloomsburg and Action Track USA. The pair picked up a heat race win on Friday night, but just could not get around the cars in front of them in the feature event. Danner had lost a few spots in the feature event toward the half way point, but the car appeared to come in for the young driver at the tail of the feature event. The team leaves the Clinton County Speedway as the series points leader, and will try again to get win number one of the season.
Up next for the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series, presented by Capitol Renegade is a trip far south to the Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Virginia. A stop that was at first a challenge to some, has now become a date circled on many drivers calendars. Following the stop to Winchester, comes the biggest race on the series schedule, the Bill Gallagher memorial on June 2nd, paying $5,000 to the winner.
USAC East Coast at Clinton County Results:
Heat 1 (10 Laps, 5 Qualify, 3 Invert): 1. 20 Alex Bright, 2. 23M Kenny Miller lll, 3. 83s Billy Ney, 4. 85 Josh Beamer, 5. 67 Jason Cherry, 6. 29 Dalton Herrick, 7. 87 Austin Graby, 8. 11 Mike Thompson.
Heat 2 (10 Laps, 5 Qualify, 3 Invert): 1. 88J Joey Amantea, 2. 7 Ed Aikin, 3. 18J JT Ferry, 4. 21 Carmen Perigo Jr, 5. 21K Tommy Kunsman Jr, 6. 96 Lee Kauffman, 7. 44 Gary Huston, 8. 76 Mike Smith
Heat 3 (10 Laps, 5 Qualify, 3 Invert): 1. 39 Briggs Danner, 2. 19 Steven Drevicki, 3. 27 Steven Snyder Jr, 4. 83 Bruce Buckwalter, 5. 5B Bobby Butler, 6. 78 Dale Schweikart, 7. 48 Derek Swartz.
Semi Feature (10 Laps, 5 Qualify): 1. 87 Austin Graby, 2. 96 Lee Kauffman, 3. 11 Mike Thompson, 4. 78 Dale Schweikart, 5. 76 Michael Smith, 6. 48 Derek Swartz, 7. 29 Dalton Herrick, 8. 44 Gary Huston.
Feature Event (25 Laps): 1. 19 Steven Drevicki, 2. 7 Ed Aikin, 3. 18J JT Ferry, 4. 20 Alex Bright, 5. 39 Briggs Danner, 6. 23M Kenny Miller, 7. 21 Carmen Perigo Jr, 8. 83 Bruce Buckwalter Jr, 9. 78 Dale Schweikart, 10. 88J Joey Amantea, 11. 85 Josh Beamer, 12. 67 Jason Cherry, 13. 87 Austin Graby, 14. 5B Bobby Butler, 15. 21K Tommy Kunsman, 16. 83S Billy Ney, 17. 29 Dalton Herrick, 18. 27 Steven Snyder Jr, 19. 11 Mike Thompson, 20. 96 Lee Kauffman, 21. 76 Michel Smith.
*Steven Snyder Jr flipped on lap 7 of the Feature.
*Mike Thompson Flipped on lap 10 of Heat 1
Lap Leaders: JT Ferry (1-4, 6). Ed Aikin (5, 7-19). Steven Drevicki (20-25).
Hard Charger: Dale Schweikart +10
UP NEXT:
May 27th: Winchester Speedway, Winchester, VA
June 2nd: Williams Grove (Bill Gallagher Memorial 5K to Win)
June 9th: Beford Speedway
June 13th-18th: Eastern Storm
June 30th: Delaware International Speedway