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By Dino Oberto
(Butler Township, PA 9-6-24): Paulie Hartwig III of Galloway, NJ raced to a rousing victory on Friday night at Evergreen Raceway, picking up his second 602 Crate Modified win of the season, beating Jacob Kerstetter by three car lengths.
Hartwig started fifth but wasted little time in zeroing in on front runners Jayden Harman and Kerstetter.
It was pole sitter Kerstetter who jumped into the early lead but after a lap two restart he was overtaken by Harman. At the same time Hartwig made it a close three car battle as the threesome faced off in very close formation.
Just prior to the halfway mark Hartwig and Kerstetter locked horns that almost sent both cars spinning but there was some sharp maneuvering on their parts that enabled them to not only make an impressive save but swap spots as well.
Now second, Hartwig quickly set his sights on Harman and on lap 16 he pulled inside of him as they negotiated turn one and on exit the pass was completed as the new leader emerged.
“He (Harman) just got a little bit loose there and that opened up the door and I was able to take it. We may have knocked the right front out a little bit after contact with the 95 (Kerstetter) but we hung on,” said Hartwig.
Once in command there was no denying the stout performance by the 13-year old sensation as he was on cruise control the rest of the way.
“I love this place and we got two wins so far and the car was really good,” said the two surface star who also competes on dirt.
“You can race side-by-side on dirt and it’s a matter of how you hit your marks. This to me is way harder than running on dirt and the track is so different when we race under the lights.”
Kerstetter did come across the line in second but what would have been his best finish in a Modified turned sour when he was placed last in the running order due to a post-race infraction. That elevated Micah Adams to the runner-up spot, equaling his best finish thus far. He and Steve Shultz put on quit the duel too before Adams was able to secure the spot. Harman and point leader Brian Rygielski Jr., competed the top five.
In the Harry’s U-Pull-It Street Stocks Gordie Buchman of Drums, scored only his second victory but this will forever be a signature win.
On August 11, which was the last time the class raced, Buchman had just given up the lead of the race and right after it was halted for a medical emergency in the grandstands. It turned out to be his grandfather who unfortunately succumbed to heart failure.
Back on track for the first time since then, Buchman put on a driving clinic all evening long as he easily won his heat and then did much of the same in the feature, leading all 30 laps in convincing fashion and in the process snapped the five race win streak of Mike Pollack, who was second but never a factor.
Lehighton’s Johnny Bennett got back into the winning form, shaking off several tough weeks of sub-par results as he proved no match over the rest of the field in leading handily from start to finish in the Himmer Graphics Four Cylinders.
As the pole sitter Bennett swiftly blasted to the lead and there would be no looking back, leaving everyone in his dust and winning for the first time since the season opener.
While Bennet was controlling his destiny, second through fifth was hotly contested. Ryan Petro had held the runner-up spot early on but at the later stages there was a torrid battle taking place between Tj Kapish, point leader BJ Wambold and Jay Kanor. The trio all raced under a blanket and would eventually cross the finish line in that same fashion. Petro meanwhile was within reach and completed the tight battle in fifth spot.
Noah Jensen, of Wapwallopen, piloted to his class leading third win of 2024 with the Rotten-and-Forgotten. In an exciting and very close battle with his brother, Sam Jensen, N. Jensen was able to wrestle the lead away just past halfway. Once in front he competently cruised the rest of the way.
It was also an all Jensen top five with brothers Tom, Dan and Jon rounding out the front five.
602 Crate Modified feature finish (30 laps): 1. Paulie Hartwig III, 2. Micah Adams, 3. Steve Shultz, 4. Jayden Harman, 5. Brian Rygielski Jr., 6. Nick Baer, 7. Nick Schaffer, 8. Tommy Catanzaro, 9. Deegen Underwood, 10. Kenzie Adams, 11. Joe Schmutz, 12. Geno Steigerwalt, 13. Jacob Kerstetter
Street Stock feature finish (30 laps): 1. Gordon Buchman Jr., 2. Mike Pollack, 3. Jason Gould, 4. Brian Wozniak, 5. Josh LaBatch, 6. Amber Knecht, 7. Aaron Higgins
Four Cylinder Feature finish (25 laps): 1. Johnny Bennett, 2. TJ Kapish, 3. BJ Wambold, 4. Jay Kanor, 5. Ryan Petro, 6. Jimmy Ayre, 7. Maggie Wambold. 8. Robert McNultey, 9. Jared Frye, 10. Riley Titus, 11. Sam Ryan, 12. Jay Skupski, 13. Brooklyn Peters DNS: Lauren Skupski, Lyndsay Buss
Rotten-and-Forgotten feature finish (25 laps): 1. Noah Jensen, 2. Sam Jensen, 3. Tom Jensen, 4. Dan Jensen, 5. Jon Jensen, 6. Vince Corter, 7. Hunter Sterner, 8. Dylan Starr
