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PRESS RELEASE EVERGREEN RACEWAY, BUTLER TOWNSHIP, PA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jason Makarewicz, Owner/Promoter: 570-956-6347 email: Evergreenraceway@gmail.com
Dino Oberto, Public Relations: 570-401-8168 email: dlmo@ptd.net
WEBSITE: https://www.evergreenracewaypark.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/groups/evergreenraceway
COMING EVENTS:
Sat./Sun. June 7 & 8 Evergreen Drift Presented by Sinister Drift Team
Sat. June 14 Kitchen Drift
Sun. June 15 @2:00 pm Tour Type Modifieds, Street Stocks, 4-Cylinders, Novice + Legends
Sat. June 28 Noon to 4:00 pm Circle Track Driving Experience
Sun. June 29 @2:00 pm Action Track USA Summer Slam – All Pro SpeedSTRs, 602 Crate Modifieds, Four Cylinder, Slingshots
Veteran Jerry Hildebrand scores 602 Crate Modified win at Evergreen Raceway; Mike Sweeney makes it two in a row with Late Models
By DINO OBERTO
(Butler Township, Pa. 6-1-25) Jerry Hildebrand of Mountain Top, has been wheeling around Evergreen Raceway for past 37 years and over that span he’s never showed any signs of slowing down either. That was never more evident on Sunday when he led from start to finish in the 602 Crate Modified feature and, in the process, notched his 20th career victory and first with the class.
Hildebrand withstood a rash of restarts as well as the oncoming assault late in the going by Randy Ahner Jr., and Neal Rutt III to claim his first victory of the season.
“I didn’t think this race was every going to get over with all those cautions and I was just counting my blessings, and we came out on top and that’s all that matters,” said Hildebrand, who began racing here in 1988 and has also won in Tour Type Modifieds, Sportsman Modifieds, Pro Stocks and Street Stocks.
“This is a new car for me and we’re still trying to get it ironed out and I have to give all the thanks to the Ross guys and if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be in Victory Lane.”
Hildbrand and Jacob Kerstetter fought early on for the lead with Mike Dutka keeping a close eye from third although numerous cautions would also interfere with the action which tested the patience of everyone.
Through it all, Hildbrand never shuddered as on each restart he had the ability to hold off Kerstetter who did his best to make an overtake for the lead. By the halfway point fast moving Ahner had maneuvered his way into second but again following restarts there was no giving up as the frontrunner, with Hildebrand able to maintain his spot each time the race resumed.
Towards the closing laps Hildebrand put a safe cushion between himself and Ahner. Ahner, meanwhile, is credited with second spot after a great effort battling Neal Rutt III right down to the wire and giving the Street Stock star his career best finish to date with a Modified. Steve Shultz fought from the rear of the field to finish fourth with Jacob Boehm rounding out the top five.
For the second week in a row Nesquehoning’s Mike Sweeney was again the car to beat with the Late Models. Sweeney started sixth but wasted little time in advancing forward, moving to second by lap two and then setting his sights on leader Brian Romig Jr.
Romig was not making it easy as Sweeney looked high and then eventually low in order to slip by, which took place at the conclusion of lap four. And once he snagged the top spot there was no stopping the Ford powered No. D11 as he continued on over the caution free 30-lap affair with relative ease.
Nick Ross was making an all-out effort to catch Sweeney but without the aid of caution and the fact that Sweeney had built a commanding lead, all he could do was settle for runner-up. Romig looked impressive throughout the day and secured third at the checkers while Evan Berretta put in another steady run in finishing fourth with Roger Maynor completing the top five.
A week ago, Gordie Buchman, of Drums, never made a feature lap with his No. 55B as distributor gear broke and also fouled the cam, sidelining the always potent car. As a title contender, he was, however, lucky to jump into Mike Odwazny’s No. 77 in order to salvage some points for the night.
This week it was back to the norm, as he had his mount firing on all eight cylinders and taking advantage of his pole starting spot he ran perfectly the entire distance at the front for the well-earned verdict.
Cory Derr and Bobby Hunsicker Jr., also had great outings as they took second and third respectively.
There was a low point in the race though when Mike Pollack and Bobby Kibler Jr., had an on-track incident on lap 17 and because of actions by both drivers that also spilled over to the pits, both were disqualified for the day. Further review of the entire incident by officials is pending.
In the Four Cylinder main TJ Kapish of Mountain Top outclassed the field, leading all but the first two laps for his second win in a row.
Kapish grabbed the lead from Tyler Skordensky and afterwards went into cruise control the rest of the way as he roared to his 21st win in class and 41st overall.
Dan Jensen of Hobbie pulled off a daring last lap, last corner pass on race-long leader Tommy Dawson and took a thrilling victory with the Rotten-and-Forgotten.
602 Crate Modified feature finish (35 laps): 1. Jerry Hildebrand, 2. Randy Ahner Jr., 3. Neal Rutt III, 4. Steve Shultz, 5. Jacob Boehm, 6. Micah Adams, 7. Mike Dutka, 8. Brian Rygielski Jr., 9. Marty Noll, 10. Deegen Underwood, 11. Mike Albasini, 12. Tommy Catanzaro, 13. Jacob Kerstetter, 14. Max Pfeifer. 15. Rich Lapolt
Late Model feature finish (30 laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Nick Ross, 3. Brian Romig Jr., 4. Evan Berretta, 5. Roger Maynor, 6. Marc Aigeldinger, 7. Brandon Cook, 8. Geno Steigerwalt, 9. Brett Peters, 10. Brian Romig Sr., 11. Michael DeLong 12. Seth VanFossen
Street Stock feature finish (30 laps): 1. Gordie Buchman, 2. Cory Derr, 3. Bobby Hunsicker Jr., 4. Josh LaBatch, 5. Mallory Kutz, 6. Sara Derr, 7. Johnny Bennett, 8. Mike Odwazny DNS: Ken Erney Jr. DQ: Mike Pollack, Bobby Kibler Jr.
Four Cylinder feature finish (25 laps): 1. TJ Kaish, 2. Michael Wambold. 3. Tyler Skordensky, 4. Robert McNulty, 5. Caitlyn Makarewicz, 6. Danny Cascioli, 7. Jacon Knittel. 8. Lauren Skupski, 9. Brooklyn Peters DNS: Harry O’Neall, Jared Frye
Rotten-and-Forgotten feature finish (25 laps): 1. Dan Jensen, 2. Tommy Dawson, 3. Brent Gordner, 4. Jon Jensen, 5. Josh Young, 6. Hunter Sterner, 7. Jason Koch
