Matt Hirschman Pockets Two Grand at Evergreen
St. Johns, PA (6/19/2016) — When it comes to racing at his home track and everywhere in between, Northampton’s Matt Hirschman is no stranger to victory lane at Evergreen Raceway. That statement held true Sunday afternoon when Hirschman held off twenty-one of his competitors to take his second Evergreen victory of the season and pocket the $2,000 prize. Tom Casagrande of Drums has been a fixture in the Factory Stock division for two decades and his experience shined when he took the “Duct Tape 50” Factory Stock Memorial, which was held in memory of Ed Makarewicz, Sr. After several weeks of bad luck, Scott Adams of Lake Ariel held off challenges to notch his second Street Stock win of the season and Sam Ryan of White Haven kept his Four Cylinder domination going by taking his third win of the year.
Twenty Two Tour Type Modifieds lined the pit area and each driver had their eye on the $2,000 to win prize. Following heat races, several drivers redrew for starting spots in the 50-lap main event and Anthony Sesely pulled the pole. He led the first lap over Brandon Oltra, Blake Barney, DJ Wagner and Brian Romig.
Wagner spun in turns one and two on lap nine and when green flag racing resumed, Earl Paules, who had already climbed into second, grabbed the lead.
With 13 laps complete, Austin Kochenash overtook Sesely for second and Matt Hirschman followed through for third on the following lap.
The yellow waved on lap 23 when Calvin Carroll and Wayne Szerenscits got together on the exit of turn two. Sesely headed to the pits for adjustments under the yellow and Paules, who would not obey track officials on the radio, was black flagged. The interesting turn of events gave the lead to Hirschman, who had been riding in the second spot.
Following the restart, Kochenash pressure the leader heavily. He gave Hirschman a little shot in turns three and four on lap 23 and as Hirschman shot up the track he took the lead. However, the lead was short-lived, as Hirschman repaid the favor and displayed the same move on the next circuit to retake the top spot.
With 25 laps in the books, Hirschman led over Kochenash, Roger Coss, Oltra and Barney.
As the raced carried on, Brian DeFebo cracked the top five and he got by Oltra for fourth on a lap 27 restart. Meanwhile, no one appeared to have anything for Hirschman, who went on to take his second Tour Type Modified victory at the track. Kochenash settled for second, followed by DeFebo and Oltra. Amber Fortin rebounded from a few incidents early in the event to finish a respectable fifth in the star-studded event.
Kochenash, Sesely, and Barney were heat race winners.
Scott Adams led the Street Stock field to the drop of the green flag. He led the opening lap over Paul Morgan, Jr, Bernie Uphold, Chip Wanamaker and Gordy Buchman, Jr.
With Adams still showing the way, Charlie Castiglione and Randy Schlenker cracked the top five and Schlenker grabbed fourth from Wanamaker on lap 13 when the two bounced off each other on the exit of turn two.
With 16 laps complete, Castiglione overtook Uphold for second and then the yellow flag waved when Schlenker and Morgan tangled. Both drivers were Obviously unhappy with one another then and Wanamaker joined in under the yellow flag condition. The end result for all three drivers was disqualification.
Despite looking high and low on Adams following the restart, Castiglione settled for second. Todd Ahner, Steve Shultz, and Uphold completed the top five.
Adams and Castiglione were heat race winners.
With a large amount of lap money on the line for the 5th annual “Duct Tape 50” Factory Stock Memorial, 75-year old Frank Katona started from the pole position and led the first lap over Scott Sipe, Moe Hunsinger, Stephanie Moyer and Tom Casagrande.
Sipe grabbed the lead on lap two and Hunsinger climbed to second shortly after.
Following a lap six restart, Casagrande overtook the leader and began to distance himself from the rest of the field, who battled hard throughout the pack. Sipe continued to hold second at halfway, with Steve Heckman, Hunsinger, and Katona in tow.
With only two yellow flags in the entire event, Casagrande went on to take the victory over Sipe, Hunsinger, Moyer and Katona.
TJ Kapish was the highest finishing Enduro car in the event and he received a trophy for his efforts.
Sipe and Casagrande split heat race wins.
Jay Skupski started from the pole and led the opening lap of the 20-lap Four Cylinder feature over Bob Azarowicz, Frank Hughes, Jr, Brayden Spencer and Sam Danahar.
With three laps on the scoreboard, Azarowicz grabbed the lead and held it to the first yellow flag, which flew on lap 10.
The restart was intense and the action behind the leader was eventful. Danahar, Hughes, and Sam Ryan all fought hard for second and Azarowicz did his best to hold them off. He did it well until Ryan moved to second and following a lap 14 restart, Ryan moved to the point.
In his third start this season, Ryan notched his third victory. Azarowicz was the runner-up, followed by Danahar, Skupski and Tom Cavagnino.
Tony Rispin was the highest finishing Enduro car in the event and he received a trophy for his efforts.
Ryan and Azarowicz were heat race winners.
Evergreen Raceway will be back in action next Sunday, June 26 with the Late Models, Pro Stocks, Street Stocks, Factory Stocks, Four Cylinders and a makeup Late Model feature from 5/15.
Grandstand admission is just $15. Children 10 years of age and younger are admitted for free with a paying adult.
The pit gate will swing open at 10:30 AM and the pit entrance fee is $30 with a pit license or $40 without. Practice will kick off at 12:30 PM and heat races will begin at 2 PM. The grandstand gates will open at 12:00 PM.
Evergreen Raceway is located minutes from Hazleton, PA, in between routes 93 and 309. For more information regarding Evergreen Raceway, including the entire season schedule, directions, and divisional payouts, please visit www.evergreenracewaypark.com and don’t forget to like their Facebook page as well.
Modifieds (50-laps) 1. MATT HIRSCHMAN 2. Austin Kochenash 3. Brian Defebo 4. Brandon Oltra 5. Amber Fortin 6. Lee Sharpsteen 7. Blake Barney 8. Todd Baer 9. Alan Creveling 10. Brian Sones 11. Brandon Pressler 12. Roger Coss 13. Anthony Sessley 14. Wayne Szerencsits 15. Broc Brown 16. Jerry Hildebrand 17.Calvin Carroll 18. Earl Paules 19. Brian Romig 20. DJ Wagner 21. Harry Buchman 22.Tommy Wanick III
Street Stock (25-laps) 1. SCOTT ADAMS 2. Charlie Castiglione 3. Todd Ahner 4. Steve Shultz 5. Bernie Uphold 6. Gordy Buchman, Jr. 7. Frank Petroski 8. Dan Pawlicki 9. Lindsey Buss DQ: Paul Morgan Jr DQ: Randy Schlenker DQ: Chip Wanamaker
Factory Stock (50-laps) 1. TOM CASAGRANDE 2. Scott Sipe 3. Moe Hunsinger 4. Stephanie Moyer 5. Frank Katona 6. Justin Morgan 7. Bob Wink 8. Steve Heckman 9. TJ Kapish 10. BJ Wombold 11. Devin Schmidt 12. Josh Scherer
Four Cylinder (20-laps) 1. SAM RYAN 2. Bob Azarowicz 3. Sam Danaher 4. Jay Skupki 5. Tom Cavagnino 6. Tony Rispin 7. Brayden Spencer 8. Frank Hughes, Jr 9. TJ Kapish 10. Tony Hilliard 11. Jen Adams 12. Jeff Van Wickle 13. Kyle Williams
Upcoming Shows:
Sunday, June 26- Late Models, Pro Stocks, Street Stocks, Factory Stocks, Four Cylinders & 5/15 Late Model Make Up Feature, PLUS Autograph & Camera Day for Pro Stocks, Factory Stocks & Four Cylinders
Sources: Gene Ostrowski/Evergreen Raceway PR