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By DINO OBERTO
(Butler Township, Pa. 10-25-25) Day one of the King of the Green Presented by Niagara Bottling at Evergreen Raceway was headlined by the 602 Crate Modifieds which saw a record turnout of cars as 22 took the green for the 50-lap feature.
And although there was a quality field on hand, the race came down to a hard fought two-car slugfest between winner Paulie Hartwig III of Galaway, NJ and recently crown track champion Steve Shultz from Drums. And after the 50-lap contest came to a close it was Hartwig winning out by a slim advantage over Shultz.
When the action began AJ DeSantis and Bobby Jones would lead the field to the green with Jones taking the early lead. Hartwig was third and Shultz fourth.
Hartwig would then use a lap three restart to move to second, thanks also to it being a cone race where we selected the outside lane for the re-go.
The pair then fought closely in a nip and tuck battle, with Hartwig trailing until a lap nine restart allowed him to pass Jones and take the lead.
“That first restart when Bobby (Jones) choose the bottom and I took the top he definitely gave me room,” said Hartwig.
At the time of the lead pass by Hartwig, Shultz also picked up third spot and the trio stayed in line up until a lap 15 yellow flag. It was on that resumption that Shultz muscled past Jones for second and from there on the two front runners engaged in a close, torrid fight to the finish.
Shultz tried time and again to find an opening, but Hartwig remained resolute and kept him at bay despite the ongoing pressure.
By winning it marked his second time in as many starts this year at Evergreen with the 602 Crate Mod and the second consecutive King of the Green verdict with the class.
“Coming in here today we were able to work off the good practice we had here yesterday, and we had this car set-up great, we hit our mark perfectly and it all,” said Hartwig, who notched his 30th overall Modified win between asphalt and dirt.
“This was the first time I actually drove this car, Tyler Truex won with it at Wall Stadium early this year.,” he continued.
“Steve Shultz really gave me a run for my money, and I had to be on my game because he is so good here and he just kept pressuring me lap after lap. I really want to thank him for racing me clean too, he’s one of the most respectful drivers I’ve run against.”
Jones maintained third although he had to fend off Brian Rygielski Jr., in doing so. DeSantis kept himself in contention, running with the leaders throughout the race and took fifth.
When Mike Sweeney seized the lead on lap two of the Late Model feature, it soon became apparent that it would be a race for second. The driver who hails from Nesquehoning put on a clinic of superiority by leading the next 39 laps with rarely a hint of letting go of the lead, with the only chance of that happening on the few restarts that took place yet even then he was not letting his guard down.
A caution with just two laps to go gave Dennis Wenner the opportunity to pick up second spot but as far as Sweeney was concerned there was not enough time to make any additional moves. The five-time track champion was able to add his third King of the Green triumph to his long list of winning achievements.
Brian Romig Jr., who was the final car on the lead lap, Roger Maynor and Ryan Rochelle completed the top five.
The Legends cars came out with a strong field for the first of two days of action and Manorville, NY’s Riely O’Keefe showed his prowess of getting around the 1/3-mile oval, by leading all 25 laps which landed him his second career King of the Green Crown.
Starting from the pole O’Keefe took charge from the outset and never let anyone get too close. Also, at the start William Sipala took control of second place and would follow O’Keefe, although several car lengths back, the rest of the distance, while Jayden Glennerster held off 2025 Evergreen champ Chris Sintor for third with Landen Herring completing the top five.
For the first time in two years The Factory Stocks made a return to Evergreen for the “Duct Tape Memorial” sponsored by Arc Electric. The race was held as a memorial to the late Ed “Duct Tape” Makarewicz.
And for Jarrod Hayes of Long Island, NY, it was a repeat performance of the last time the class ran here which was the 2023 version of the King of the Green. Hayes picked up right where he left off, in Victory Lane.
From his pole starting spot, he quickly let it be known that this was going to be no contest dominating so strongly that by the time he took the checkered flag he had gained nearly three quarters of a lead.
Racing for second place was a whole different scene as Bob Wink was in a race-long clash with Brandon and Travis Guyer before securing the spot at the finish.
The East Coast TQ Midget feature was an outstanding duel between Tyler Wagner and Josh Patterson who gave fans an exceptional race battle. Patterson, from Mansfield and Wagner of Rockaway, NJ, raced either nose-to-tail or side-by-side for much of the event.
While Patterson was the leader for all of that time, Wagner finally slipped by him with three laps to go and went on the claim the checkers. However, following post-race inspection Wagner’s car did not make the specified weight and was disqualified, handing the victory over to Patterson.
602 Crate Modifieds finish (50 laps): 1. Paulie Hartwig III, 2. Steve Shultz, 3. Bobby Jones, 4. Brian Rygielski Jr., 5. AJ DeSantis, 6. Nick Baer, 7. Jayden Harman, 8. Billy Both, 9. Mike Dutka, 10. Vinny Delaney, 11. Jacob Boehm, 12. Mike Albasini, 13. Marty Noll, 14. Don Betterly, 15. Avery Arthofer 16. Joey Torchia, 17. Paul Frye, 18. Jacob Kerstetter, 19. Brian Osgood, 20. Rich Lapolt, 21. Max Pfeifer DNS: Randy Ahner Jr.
Late Model finish (40 laps): 1. Mike Sweeney, 2. Dennis Wenner, 3. Brian Romig Jr., 4. Roger Maynor, 5. Ryan Rochelle, 6. Brandon Turbush, 7. Brett Peters, 8. Geno Steigerwalt, 9. Eldon King, 10. Steh VanFossen, 11. Rich Cooper
Factory Stock finish (30 laps): 1. Jarrod Hayes, 2. Bob Wink, 3. Brandon Guyer, 4. Travis Guyer, 5. Joe Kunkel, 6. Luke Foerster
Legends finish (25 laps): 1. Rieley O’Keefe, 2. William Sipala, 3. Jayden Glennerster, 4. Chris Sinatro, 5. Landen Herring, 6. Devin Thornton, 7. Chris Piasecki, 8. Kaitlyn Stradley, 9. Lars Wilson, 10. Charlie Hodge, 11. Nick Hodge, 12. Mike Renn, 13. Ed Stadtlander, 14. Mike Metcalf, 15. DQ: Jeffery Farruggia, Chevy Rommeney
ECTQM finish (20 laps): 1. Josh Patterson, 2. Kyle Taraska, 3. Billy Cole, 4. Steve Craig, 5. Keggen Weese, 6. Jasper Zeigafuse, 7. Charlie Shultz, 8. Mark Janisch, 9. Howard Boss, 10. Ken Hirt, 11. Lexi Przyblinski DQ: Tyler Wagner DNS: Geoffery Sutton
