0
0
Written by Chris Moore
GEORGETOWN, DE – Camp Barnes conquerors.
Jordan Watson and Kyle Hardy each claimed a $5,000 top prize in their respective divisions, picking up wins in the 51st annual Camp Barnes Benefit Stock Car Race at Georgetown Speedway.
After a wet weekend washed away programs on both Friday and Saturday night, the annual benefit organized by the Delaware State Police shifted to a Sunday evening feature event.
Watson started sixth in the Millman’s NAPA Modified feature event but got to the front after battles with Richie Pratt Jr. and Mike Gular to take the lead.
The Milford, Del., native set sail with his second career win in the Camp Barnes Benefit Stock Car Race and his first since 2016.
“In all the years I’ve run this race, the years I thought we could win it, we didn’t,” Watson proclaimed. “This year and in ’16 I wasn’t as confident, and here we are again.”
Sewell, N.J.’s Pratt Jr. and Boyertown, Pa.’s Gular started on the front row, but it was Watson from sixth who followed Pratt Jr. across the line on the opening lap.
The race was halted after the first lap due to a red flag for a flipping Jimmy Leiby.
When racing resumed, Pratt Jr. raced back to the lead and Gular went from fourth to second, shuffling Watson back to third.
Watson switched to the outside lane, racing back around Gular for the runner-up spot at the completion of lap four and set his sights on Pratt Jr. for the top spot.
Watson made his move as the field completed the ninth circuit, switching to the bottom groove and muscling by Pratt Jr. for the lead.
From there, Watson led the rest of the way for his second career Camp Barnes Benefit Stock Car Race win in the Modified division.
“I appreciate Camp Barnes for moving the show to Sunday,” Watson said of the Benefit. “It allowed us racers and the fans to come support such a great cause.
“It’s a shame the weather did what it did,” he continued. “It would’ve been a great weekend.”
Federalsburg, Md.’s Austin Hubbard advanced from eighth to finish second and Gular rounded out the top three.
2022 Camp Barnes winner Danny Bouc of Pipersville, Pa., came home fourth after starting 10th and Milford, Del.’s H.J. Bunting rounded out the top five.
Camp Barnes honored Bunting’s father Harold, a titan in the history of Delaware racing, during intermission.
Finishing sixth through 10th, respectively, were Georgetown, Del.’s Carson Wright; Boyertown, Pa.’s Kevin Hirthler; Birdsboro, Pa.’s John Willman; Salisbury, Md.’s W.B. James; and Freemansburg, Pa.’s Tom Solderich.
In Stockley Speed & Supply Super Late Model action, Winchester, Va.’s Kyle Hardy charged from his 13th starting position to get his first ever Camp Barnes win and his breakthrough Super Late Model win at Georgetown.
With Hardy charging from 13th, it was Georgetown, Del.’s Ross Robinson and Millsboro, Del.’s Donald Lingo who brought the field to the drop of the green flag.
Robinson appeared to be the dominant car, leading with a healthy advantage before a yellow flag flew on lap eight.
When the yellow flag fell, Robinson ducked into the pit area with an apparent fuel issue. Robinson returned to the track but restarted at the tail of the field.
Jonestown, Pa.’s Bryan Bernheisel inherited the lead with Lingo alongside. Hardy was up to fourth for the restart.
Hardy wasted no time when the green flag flew, quickly moving into the runner-up spot and setting his sights on the leader Bernheisel.
Hardy stalked Bernheisel until the completion of lap 18, using the bottom groove to take the lead away for good.
Hardy set sail with the win, while Robinson’s charge came up one spot short, coming home second after the trip to the pits. Bernheisel completed the podium.
“I didn’t think we had any chance to win this race,” Hardy proclaimed with a laugh. “When we pulled out on the track though I felt like I might have something I could race with.”
Donald Lingo finished in the fourth spot and York, Pa.’s Rick Eckert rounded out the top five.
Chalfont, Pa.’s Greg Humlhanz dominated the 20-lap Blue Hen Dispose-All Crate 602 Sportsman main event, starting from the pole position and never relinquishing the lead. He earned $1,500.
Petersburg, N.J.’s Tom Sherby offered a challenge to Humlhanz on a pair of mid-race restarts but was unable to complete the pass.
The win was Humlhanz’s second win of the season and his second career Camp Barnes victory with his first coming back in 2015.
Sherby placed second with Ethan Bill, Jacob King, and Michael White rounding out the top five.
Matt Hill came from the third starting spot for a dominant performance in the First State Chevrolet RUSH Late Model feature, winning by almost half a track in the non-stop affair. Hill received $1,000.
Joey Warren, Trevor Collins, Derek Magee, and Nick Davis rounded out the top five.
Kerry King (Modified) and Nathan Austin (Sportsman) were the winners with the Southern Delaware Vintage Stock Cars in their 12-lap feature.
King started on the pole and sliced through lap traffic from the 25-car field flawlessly, while Austin finished third overall and first amongst the Sportsman competitors.
Dylan Betts emerged victorious in the 12-lap Little Lincoln feature in what was one of the best races of the night. Betts bested Nathan Austin and Jordan Herbert, who were at one point three wide for the top spot.
Robert Smith charged from 12th for another Delaware Super Truck victory, holding off a close by Jerry Hill and Tony Guinta for the victory.
Using a last-lap pass, Josh Dahling drove around Derek Swafford for his first Delmarva Charger victory at Georgetown Speedway.
Racing returns to Georgetown Speedway on October 27 & 28 for the annual Mid-Atlantic Championship Weekend featuring the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco, Stockley Speed & Supply Super Late Models, PA/NJ Spec Small-Blocks and more over the jam-packed weekend of racing at the historic Georgetown Speedway.
All Georgetown Speedway events will again be streamed live on FloRacing (www.floracing.tv) produced by the Dirt Track Digest TV production team.
Georgetown Speedway, originally constructed by Melvin L. Joseph in 1949, is located at the intersection of Route 113 and Speedway Road in Georgetown, Del., just miles from the Delaware beaches and less than a 40-minute drive from Ocean City, Md.
A website is live for the speedway at www.thegeorgetownspeedway.com. Like Georgetown Speedway on Facebook, follow @thegtownspdwy on Twitter, e-mail georgetownspeedway@gmail.com or contact the speedway hotline at 302.563.GTWN (4896).
51ST CAMP BARNES BENEFIT STOCK CAR RACE RESULTS SUMMARY – GEORGETOWN SPEEDWAY OCTOBER 1, 2023
Millman’s NAPA Auto Parts Modified Feature Finish (30 laps): 1. 1J-JORDAN WATSON[6]; 2. 65-Austin Hubbard[8]; 3. 2A-Mike Gular[2]; 4. 6B-Danny Bouc[10]; 5. 30-HJ Bunting[7]; 6. 91-Carson Wright[14]; 7. 117-Kevin Hirthler[3]; 8. 74W-John Willman[12]; 9. 119-WB JAMES[16]; 10. 28-Thomas Solderich[13]; 11. 71-James Hill[5]; 12. 8-Norman Short Jr[11]; 13. 77-Richie Pratt Jr[1]; 14. 5- Tommy Wilkins[17]; 15. 05-Sean Metz[20]; 16. 33-Louden Reimert[4]; 17. 12-Tracy Gauger[19]; 18. 11-Danny Hieber[15]; 19. 9L-Jimmy Leiby[18]; 20. 1K-Sean Weiss[9]
Ad-Art Sign Company Top Spec Small-Block Bonus ($250): John Willman (eighth)
Stockley Speed & Supply Super Late Model Feature Finish (30 laps): 1. 45-KYLE HARDY[13]; 2. 7-Ross Robinson[2]; 3. 119-Bryan Bernheisel[4]; 4. 55L-Donald Lingo Jr[3]; 5. 0E-Rick Eckert[5]; 6. 4R-Amanda Robinson[8]; 7. 11-Trevor Collins[6]; 8. 00-Deshawn Gingerich[12]; 9. 19W-Drew Weisser[10]; 10. 31-Jim Bernheisel[11]; 11. 01-Matt Glanden[1]; 12. 47-David Smith[14]; 13. 21-Joey Hoffer[15]; 14. 20-Trever Feathers[16]; 15. 24B-Daulton Bigler[7]
Did Not Start: 92-Nick Davis
Blue Hen Dispose-All Crate 602 Sportsman Feature Finish (20 laps): 1. 02-GREG HUMLHANZ[1]; 2. 257-Thomas Sherby[2]; 3. 14B-Ethan Bill[5]; 4. 94K-Jacob King[6]; 5. 43-Michael White[3]; 6. 9L-Jimmy Leiby[9]; 7. 94-Jordn Justice[12]; 8. 45-Brian Lilick[4]; 9. 85-Scott Hitchens[11]; 10. 4W-Brandon Watkins[19]; 11. 10-Eric Kormann[16]; 12. 74-Jax Yohn[18]; 13. 7J-Ryan Mckinney[8]; 14. 19D-Luke Bunting[10]; 15. 39-Richie Walls Jr[23]; 16. 09-David Jenkins[15]; 17. 17-Kris Thompson[24]; 18. 142-Justin Zook[26]; 19. 9-Greg Nailor[25]; 20. 15-Adam White[13]; 21. 23-Devin Dodson[7]; 22. 1*-Zac Weller[14]; 23. 21R-Greg Reed[22]; 24. 25-Ashley Metz[17]; 25. 22-Ronnie Solomon[20]; 26. 97-Matt Smith[21]
Did Not Qualify: 37-Chris Martinez; 86-Trey Hicks; 21-Monte Pool; 2-Johnny Burton; 69W-TJ Williams; 191-Brian Rogers; 10JR-Molly Struss; 18-Jeff Marker; IIIW-Jay Wimbrow III; 7-Jarod Millman
First State Chevrolet RUSH Late Model Feature Finish (20 laps): 1. 84-MATT HILL[3]; 2. 11-Joe Warren[1]; 3. 72-Trevor Collins[5]; 4. 96-Derek Magee[2]; 5. 92-Nick Davis[4]; 6. 01-Robert Smith[8]; 7. 80-Ben Scott[6]; 8. 15-David Parsons[7]
Southern Delaware Vintage Modified Feature Finish (12 laps): 1. 51-KERRY KING[1]; 2. 71P-David Smith[4]; 3. 3A-Allan Austin[8]; 4. 24-Luke Dill[9]; 5. 34-Terry Chaney[5]; 6. 56-Mike Winstead[10]; 7. 4M-Dave Schamp[6]; 8. 21-Jamie Eichholz[3]; 9. 8-Ed Collins[2]; 10. 13-Brayden Ritter[7]
Southern Delaware Vintage Sportsman Feature Finish (12 laps): 1. 3S-NATHAN AUSTIN[2]; 2. 71S-Garrit Reagan[1]; 3. 20S-Roscoe Clough[12]; 4. 5SRob Schirmer[8]; 5. 15S-Jamie Schirmer[9]; 6. 18S-Chris Killen[14]; 7. 4S-Matt Martin[7]; 8. 66S-John Gladman[15]; 9. 32S-Maddy Jefferson[13]; 10. 77S-Robert Blann[4]; 11. 1S-Cale Pettyjohn[11]; 12. 01S-Glenn Lyon[5]; 13. 9S-Chris Loveland[10]; 14. 77TS-Michael Patchett[6]; 15. 19S-Jason Cahall[3]
Little Lincoln Feature Finish (12 laps): 1. 65-DYLAN BETTS[1]; 2. 14A-Nathan Austin[9]; 3. 47-Jordan Herbert[7]; 4. 16M-MJ White[10]; 5. 10-Tyler White[4]; 6. X-Kirk Lawson[5]; 7. 9-Ryan Walsen[2]; 8. 55-Bryan Piercy[6]; 9. 49-Mel Joseph Jr[3]; 10. 6-Scott Calhoun[11]; 11. 15-Bunky White[8]
Delaware Super Truck Feature Finish (12 laps): 1. 01-ROBERT SMITH[12]; 2. 69-Jerry Hill[7]; 3. 68-Tony Guinta[8]; 4. 80-Dale Elliott[9]; 5. 34-Scott Trice[5]; 6. 29-Cameron Benson[4]; 7. 223-Troy Hopkins[13]; 8. 89-Thomas Jackson[3]; 9. 27-Michelle Jackson[6]; 10. 3-Matthew Smith[11]; 11. 00-Mackenzie Williams[2]; 12. 84-TJ Williams[1]; 13. 71Q-Tim Quay[14]; 14. 77-Tim Williams[15]; 15. 2-
Steve Portillo[10]
Delmarva Charger Feature Finish (12 laps): 1. 37-JOSH DAHLING[4]; 2. 72-Derek Swafford[7]; 3. 44R-Randy Gallaway[8]; 4. 2A-Dan Houck[11]; 5. 87-Dan Stein Jr[12]; 6. 27W-Jay Lowman[3]; 7. 62-Randy Merritt[10]; 8. 5G-Garren Morris[2]; 9. 10-Craig Kelly[5]; 10. 39-Robert Paczkowski[6]; 11. 48-Jeff Merryman[1]; 12. 67-Ron Falkner[9]
Delmarva Charger Winner Bonus ($100): Josh Dahling
