A tribute to Frank Sagi

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Coming up this Saturday night, Hagerstown Speedway will present the Frank Sagi Tribute in honor of the man who was long known and remembered for being “The Voice of the Hagerstown Speedway”.

Sagi, whose name was synonymous with the speedway, began announcing at the track in 1957 when the previous announcer quit and handed him the microphone. Sagi continued to announce the races for an additional 39 years after having the job thrust upon him.

Sagi passed away at age 78 in 2012, and had been retired from announcing for several years, but he was still a regular sight at Hagerstown as he continued follow the racing career of his son Alan Sagi.  Many racers and fans to this day will say that there was no better announcer than Frank Sagi.

Sagi was best known for a few catch phrases that became part of his trademark style.

In the time between hot lap warmups and heat races, Sagi would say: “The long chutes and wide-sweeping turns of this fabulous clay oval will allow the drivers ample room to live life in the fast lane as they battle for the checkered flag. And now before we present the cars and stars of the oval world, we ask you to please rise as we proudly present our National Anthem”.

And just as the main feature event of the evening was getting ready get started, Sagi would always shout over the speakers and ask “Who’s got the hot shoe tonight?” Then he’d name off a few driver’s names to get a reaction from the crowd.

Even at the conclusion of a night of racing before signing off, Sagi always said “Be careful driving home and always remember that speed is for the speedways, and not for the highways.”

That’s just really a tidbit of greatness that came from Frank Sagi. The excitement that came from Sagi’s voice when announcing a race was genuine. He really loved auto racing.

As of now, many former retired drivers and car owners are expected to be on hand to celebrate the memories of Sagi. Just about everyone that will be there on Saturday night had the privilege to be interviewed by Sagi after winning a race.

Leading the list of names of racers attending the Frank Sagi Tribute are former track champions Denny Bonebrake, Buddy Armel, Jeff Robinson, Sam Nalley, Nathan Durboraw, Tom Peck, Dave Wilt, Dan Sullivan, Marvin Lescalleet, Wayne Walls, Jr., and nearly sixty more legends and car owners that have raced at Hagerstown Speedway while Sagi worked at the track.

Along with many sponsors stepping forward with extra prize money, gift certificates, and product awards, this is sure to be a night to remember. The Pure Stock winner will get $880 and the Hobby Stock winner will get $350 which is a considerable increase in payout versus a regular show.

The Pure Stock feature for this Saturday’s Frank Sagi Tribute will pay a whopping $880 to win for the normal 15-lap distance.  This increased pay is being made possible by the generous contribution of Jeremy Miller and Miller Steel Fabrication of Littlestown, Pa.  Jeremy scored the first of his 40-plus career Hagerstown Speedway feature wins in his very first visit to the track in 1988, winning a special midweek Pure Stock invitational event.  Jeremy was interviewed by Frank Sagi for the first time that night after his win, which is why he wants this Saturday night’s feature winner to receive $880, in remembrance of that win in 1988.  There will also be increased pay and bonuses available for finishing positions throughout the rundown, making this week’s race one of the most lucrative of the season for the very competitive Pure Stock division.
For more information about this grand event, call the track office at301-582-0640.
Drivers and Car Owners Attending:
Buddy Armel
Charlie Beeler
Jake Beard
Jack Bland
Denny Bonebrake
Junior Boone
John Burkholder
Ronnie Byers
Creed Calton
Gerald Chamberlain
John Chamberlain
Roland Cox
Gerald Davis
Ralph Davis
Roy Deese, Sr.
Ronnie DeHaven, Sr.
Larry Dietrich
Nathan Durboraw
Gary Dyer
Walter Dyer
Jim Edmonds
Wayne Feathers
Gerry Fries
Bob Friese
Walter Hammond
Buddy Harbaugh
Mike Harbaugh
Rick Harbaugh
Larry Hines
Brent Hottle
Tim Hottle
Mike Kendall
Irvin King
Barry Klinedinst
Scott LeBarron
Marvin Lescalleet
Jim McBee
Jeremy Miller
Ben Milliken
Kendall Moore
George Moreland
Tom Myers
Sam Nalley
Lynn Paxton
Tom Peck
Frankie Plessinger
Buck Rees
Jeff Robinson
Al Shawver, Sr.
Brent Smith
Jimmy Spence
JT Spence
Mert Stine
Dan Sullivan
Charlie Tabor
Richard Walls
Wayne Walls, Sr.
Mike Warrenfeltz
Bud Watson
Pete Weaver
Charlie Weirman
David Wilt
Larry Wright
Don Zechman
Sponsors :
*Champion Auto Sales – Winchester, Va.
*Miller Steel Fabrication – Littlestown, Pa.
*Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic – Finksburg, Md.
*Outback Motor Speedway slot car track – Winchester, Va.
*Bernheisel Race Cars – Jonestown, Pa.
*KRS Graphics – Mechanicsburg, Pa.
*Hershey’s Racing Engines – Chambersburg, Pa.
*LeBarron’s Auto Salvage – Dover, Pa.
*Jeff Sweitzer Oval Research – York, Pa.
*Round Hill Auto Service – Round Hill, Va.
*Chaz’s Used Auto Parts – Taneytown, Md.
*Pancho’s Racing Products – Hanover, Pa.
*Need-a-Sign Graphics – Winchester, Va.
*Appalachian Mountain Speedweek
*The Bearded Buck
*Rocket Chassis – Shinnston, WV
*Roy Rogers – Hagerstown, MD.
*Strange Oval Products – Morton Grove, Illinois
*Racing Optics – Las Vegas, Nevada
*ASI Racewear – Patchogue, N.Y.
*Quartermaster Clutches – Lake Zurich, Illinois
*A&C Racing Engines – Hagerstown, MD.
*Bell Helmets
*OneDirt.com
*Mapco Driveshafts – Sunbury, Pa.
*KRC Power Steering – Kennesaw, Georgia
*Sites’ Garage – St. Thomas, Pa.
*Port City Racing – Muskegon, Michigan
*Shearer Custom Speed – McConnellsburg, Pa.
*Wilwood Engineering – Camarillo, California
*Joe’s Racing Products – Everett, Washington
*Sign Design by Bill Funk – Marion, Pa.
*K&K Machine – Glen Burnie, MD.
*Sites’ Custom Racing Bumpers – St. Thomas, Pa.
*Cizmar Pop Rivets – Girard, Ohio
*Shaffer’s Auto Salvage – Mercersburg, Pa.
*AR Bodies – Greenbrier, Tenn.
*Booze Brothers Performance – Marion, Pa.

Anderson Un-retires to get Hagerstown SLM Win

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By Brett Rose

HAGERSTOWN, MD – “Double A” Andy Anderson, who briefly retired from racing last season, completed his comeback behind the wheel of the Bland’s Towing No.41 by winning the 25 lap Super Late Model feature event Saturday night at Hagerstown Speedway.

The Bunker Hill, WV resident started third, and quickly settled his way into second place on the grid behind early race leader Scott Palmer. Palmer was in command while Anderson was in pursuit through the halfway point of the feature race.

Palmer encountered lapped traffic, and Anderson used that to his advantage to power around Palmer on the outside groove of the sixteenth lap.

A caution with five laps to go bunched the field back up, and gave Palmer another shot at Anderson, but it wasn’t enough as Anderson sped away from the competition to record his first win of 2017.

 “Well, it’s always better being the cat than the mouse, but uh, he (Palmer) was pretty good. I mean, I kinda just… he got away from me a little bit there because I started searching around there trying to get him, and once I seen that lapped traffic, I had to get back up in the middle and try to run him down.”

“And then I just had to go where he wasn’t.”, said Anderson in his victory lane interview.

Palmer, who had sat out a few weeks following a violent rollover at another track, recorded his best finish of the season in second place, while Marvin Winters, Roy Deese, Jr., and Gary Stuhler rounded out the top five.

Kyle Lee went flag to flag in the 20 lap Crate Late Model feature event, picking up the win in the Walter Nichols No.75 for his first win of 2017. Lee never relinquished the lead once the race started. He steadily pulled away from Tanner Kerr as the race progressed. His lead was a straightaway length at the halfway point, and the margin over Kerr at the finish was 6.737 seconds.

Kerr held on to finish second, while Timmy Booth, Lindsey Barton, and Clinton Hersh completed the top five.

Craig Parrill drove to his fourth consecutive and fifth overall Pure Stock win of the 2017 season behind the wheel of the Dickie Tharp No.3. Parrill drove past Brandon Churchey for the lead on the sixth circuit, and never looked back for the rest of the 15 lap feature event.

Churchey was second, Nick DiBella was third, Dwayne Snyder was fourth, and Sean Dawson came back from a previous spin to record a fifth place finish.

Jonathan Raley battled side by side with Dylan Rutherford for several laps, and the duo exchanged the lead over the final few laps before Raley was able to take the final command and hold on for the 15 lap Hobby Stock feature win by about a car length over Rutherford.

Following them at the stripe were Jamie Mills, James Speelman, and Davey Gross, Jr.

Barry Miller wired the Late Model Sportsman field to record his first win of 2017. Miller was fast and wasn’t going to be denied victory. He was trailed by Craig Smith, Paul Cursey, Jr., Dale Murphy, and Ronnie Bottenfield at the checkered flag.

Feature Results:

Super Late Model – 1. Andy Anderson, 2. Scott Palmer, 3. Marvin Winters, 4. Roy Deese, Jr., 5. Gary Stuhler, 6. Kenny Moreland, 7. Bryan Bernheisel, 8. Kyle Lee, 9. Rodney Walls, 10. Brad Omps, 11. Brian Booze, 12. Reese Masiello, 13. Chad Myers, 14. Kirk Baker, 15. Pancho Lawler, 16. Randy Burkholder, 17. Devin Friese,  DNS- D.J. Myers, DQ- Steve Gibney

Late Model Sportsman – 1.Barry Miller, 2. Craig Smith, 3. Paul Cursey, Jr., 4. Dale Murphy, 5. Ronnie Bottenfield, 6. Frankie Gordon, 7. Alan Sagi, 8. Kyle Lear, 9. Michael Walls, 10. Justin Jesmer, 11. John Rowland, 12. D.J. Groft, 13. Eddie Cornett, 14. Joe Westerman, Jr.

Pure Stock – 1. Craig Parrill, 2. Brandon Churchey, 3. Nick DiBella, 4. Dwayne Snyder, 5. Sean Dawson, 6. Ed Pope, 7. Wayne Hawbaker, 8. Joshua Bloom, 9. Shane Wilt, 10. William Crook, 11. Brian Swiger, 12. Scooter Jones, 13. Jamie Zentmyer ,DNS-Danny Atherton

Hobby Stock – 1. Jonathan Raley, 2. Dylan Rutherford, 3. Jamie Mills, 4. James Speelman, 5. Davey Gross, Jr., 6. Willie Ling, 7.Jerry Deason, 8. John Catlett, 9. Rodney Miner, 10. Ralph Hansberger, 11. Gary Breeden, DNS- Bryan Neff

Crate Late Model – 1. Kyle Lee, 2. Tanner Kerr, 3. Timmy Booth, 4. Lindsey Barton, 5. Clinton Hersh,  6.Steve Lowery, 7.Levi Crowl, 8. Transtan Stoner, 9. Scott Sweeney, 10. Chuck Bowie, 11. Harry Shipe III, 12. Cory Lawler, 13. Zach Price

Feathers Flies to Hagerstown SLM Feature Win

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By Brett Rose

HAGERSTOWN, MD – Trever Feathers flew from his pole position start to dominate the 25 lap Thomas All Things Automotive Super Late Model feature event on Saturday night at Hagerstown Speedway.

The third-generation racer from Winchester, Virginia drove his North River Farms No.20 Barry Wright Race Cars entry to a 7.655 second lead at the finish over Andy Anderson.

Feathers navigated through lapped traffic with ease and was able to keep his competition at bay without any contention.

Anderson used the top side of turn two to power by Gary Stuhler for the runner up spot with just two laps remaining. Stuhler held onto third, followed by a nice run by Rodney Walls in fourth, and Kenny Moreland rounded out the top five.

Feathers said: “Yeah, I mean this Barry Wright Icon has been pretty unbelievable since we brought it out the first week. We actually haven’t changed much, did a lot of work when we got the car and made sure everything was perfect before we got here.”

In Crate Late Model action, it was veteran driver Allen Brannon taking the checkered flag in the 20 lap CLM feature event. Brannon battled early race leader Transtan Stoner on the top groove with for several laps before settling into the top spot. Stoner held onto second, while Clinton Hersh, Gunnar Kerr, and Lindsay Barton completed the top five.

Craig Parrill drove to his fourth Pure Stock win of the 2017 season. Parrill had close to a straightaway advantage at the finish line over Sean Dawson, last week’s winner Brandon Churchey, Michael Warrenfeltz, and fifth place finisher Wayne Hawbaker.

Tyler Emory wired the field in the Late Model Sportsman feature to score his first career win at the Hub City oval. Emory held off a fast-closing Kyle Lear through lapped traffic at the conclusion of the 20 lap feature event to pick up the victory. Lear settled for second, while Justin Weaver, Alan Sagi, and Barry Miller finished in the top five.

Dylan Rutherford picked up his third Hobby Stock win of the season. He was followed by Jonathan Raley, Jamie Mills, Jeff Dillon, and Davey Gross, Jr. at the finish.

Feature Results:

Super Late Model – 1. Trever Feathers, 2. Andy Anderson, 3. Gary Stuhler, 4. Rodney Walls,  5. Kenny Moreland, 6. Marvin Winters, 7. Kyle Lee, 8. Jason Miller, 9. Reese Masiello, 10. Brad Omps, 11. Matt Parks, 12. Roy Deese, Jr., 13. D.J. Myers, 14. Chad Myers, 15. Brian Tavenner, 16. Kirk Baker, 17. Steve Gibney, 18. Travis Stickley, 19. Randy Burkholder, 20. Scott Palmer

Late Model Sportsman – 1. Tyler Emory, 2. Kyle Lear, 3. Justin Weaver, 4. Alan Sagi, 5. Barry Miller, 6. Craig Smith, 7. Paul Cursey,Jr., 8. James Lichliter,9. Frankie Gordon, 10. Kurt Zimmerman, 11. Ronnie Bottenfield, 12. Michael Walls, 13. Justin Jesmer, 14. Dale Murphy, 15. John Rowland, 16. Joe Westerman, Jr., 17. Eddie Cornett, 18. Larry Neiderer, 19. Bruce Kane, 20. Kris Holliday

Pure Stock – 1. Craig Parrill, 2. Sean Dawson, 3. Brandon Churchey, 4. Michael Warrenfeltz, 5. Wayne Hawbaker, 6. Jamie Zentmyer, 7. Nick DiBella, 8. William Crook, 9. Ed Pope, 10. Brian Swiger, 11. Shane Wilt, 12. Frank DiBella, 13. Jeremy Mills, 14. Dwayne Snyder, 15. Tom Wakefield

Hobby Stock – 1. Dylan Rutherford, 2. Jonathan Raley, 3. Jamie Mills, 4. Jeff Dillon, 5. Davey Gross, Jr., 6. Ralph Hansberger, 7. Willie Ling, 8. Rodney Miner, 9. John Catlett, 10. Bryan Neff

Crate Late Model – 1. Allen Brannon, 2. Transtan Stoner, 3. Clinton Hersh,  4. Gunnar Kerr, 5. Lindsay Barton, 6.Mike Franklin, 7. Levi Crowl, 8. Brian Luttrell, 9. Zach Price, 10. Timmy Booth, 11. Cory Lawler, 12. Steve Lowery

Crate Late Models, Sagi Tribute to Cap off June

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As we roll into the summer stretch during our 70th Anniversary season, Hagerstown Speedway caps off the month of June with three shows sure to please the racing fan.

Crate Late Models join the card with our regular divisions over the next two races on June 10 and June 17, making each night an action-packed, exciting 5 division lineup at no extra cost to the race fan.

Then on June 24, we are proud to present the Frank Sagi Tribute in honor of the former longtime “Voice of the Hagerstown Speedway”.

To celebrate the night of tribute to the late Frank Sagi, numerous retired drivers will be appearing at the track. Denny Bonebrake, Buddy Armel, Larry Gorman, Sam Nalley, Jeff Robinson, Buck Rees, Larry Hines, Ben Milliken, Ronnie Byers, Buddy Harbaugh, Jim Spence, J.T. Spence, and Jeremy Miller will be on hand to see “Who’s got the Hot Shoe” on this special night at “The Capitol of Dirt Track Racing”.

Gates open at 5pm, and race time is set for 7pm each night. General admission is $15, Students/Seniors/Military $10, kids age 12 and under are free, and pit admission is $30.

For more information, call (301) 582-0640.

Weaver Takes Checkers on Fan Appreciation Night

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By Brett Rose

HAGERSTOWN, MD- Late Model Sportsman teams were the headlining division on Fan Appreciation Night at Hagerstown Speedway, and Justin Weaver picked up the 20 lap LMS feature win last Saturday night.

Weaver started on the pole, but quickly had company in three-time 2017 LMS winner Kyle Lear in hot pursuit. Lear caught Weaver, and took the lead briefly before a caution flag waved on lap 8.

Lear didn’t get a great restart, and Weaver took the helm once again. Lear fell back to third, while Michael Walls began his hunt toward Weaver. Walls then engaged in a battle with Lear for second, allowing Weaver to pull away.

Weaver drove to his first win of the season at Hagerstown, and his 24th career LMS victory over Walls, Lear, fifteenth-place starter James Lichliter, and Alan Sagi.

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure there halfway through. It took Kyle (Lear) blowing by me there up on the top to realize that’s where I needed to be, but that’s sometimes how it works out. It feels good, man. We knew this car was good from the get-go everywhere we’ve been. It’s been awesome to drive.” said Weaver.

Brandon Churchey passed Sean Dawson for the lead in the Pure Stock feature event on the third lap after a restart from a multi-car pileup following the initial green flag.

Once Churchey got out front, he pulled away to his first career Pure Stock win. Dawson held off Craig Parrill to finish second, while Jamie Zentmyer and Wayne Hawbaker rounded out the top five.

Capping off Fan Appreciation Night was the Hobby Stock division, and Jamie Mills wired the field for his second feature win of the season. Dylan Rutherford nipped Bryan Neff at the finish line for second, while Davey Gross, Jr. and James Speelman completed the top five.

Notes: Both the Pure Stock and Late Model Sportsman feature races were quickly stopped for red flag incidents before the first lap was completed. Several cars were mangled up, but all drivers involved walked away.

With Super Late Models having the night off, the three division show was wrapped up by 9:30pm.

Our next race on June 10 returns with a regular lineup plus Crate Late Models.

Feature Results

Late Model Sportsman – 1. Justin Weaver, 2. Michael Walls, 3. Kyle Lear, 4. James Lichliter, 5. Alan Sagi, 6. Donnie Farling, 7. Ronnie Bottenfield, 8. Paul Cursey, Jr., 9. Matt Murphy, 10. Ryan Walls, 11. Eric Irvin, 12. Frankie Gordon, 13. Sean Merkel, 14. Brad McGinnis, 15. Dale Murphy, 16.Curtis Dunn, 17. Taylor Farling, 18. Joe Westerman, Jr., 19. John Rowland, 20. Justin Jesmer, 21. Barry Miller, 22. Elwood Sord, 23. Jason Sarver

Pure Stock- 1. Brandon Chruchey, 2. Sean Dawson, 3. Craig Parrill, 4. Jamie Zentmyer, 5. Wayne Hawbaker, 6. Tom Wakefield, 7. Frank DiBella, 8. Doug Hoffman, 9. Shane Wilt, 10. Jeremy Mills, 11. Brian Swiger, 12. Dickie Tharp, 13. Danny Atherton, 14. Nick DiBella, 15. William Crook, 16. Bryan Kerns, DNS- Marshall McMullen

Hobby Stock- 1. Jamie Mills, 2. Dylan Rutherford, 3. Bryan Neff, 4. Davey Gross, Jr., 5. James Speelman, 6. Willie Ling, 7. John Catlett, 8. Joe Rodgers, 9. Rodney Miner, DNS- Gary Cekovich

Eckert Grabs Hagerstown LM Speedweek Opener

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By Brett Rose

HAGERSTOWN, MD – 55 Super Late Models checked into the pit area on beautiful spring evening at Hagerstown Speedway, and it was York, Pennsylvania’s Rick Eckert that ran the table to grab the checkered flag of the 40 lap, $4,000-to win Appalachian Mountain Dirt Late Model Speedweek lid-lifter last Wednesday night.

Eckert used a night off from his World of Outlaws Late Model Series commitments in his Paul Crowl-owned No.7E to set a quick time at a lap of 17.961 seconds around the Hub City half/mile oval before winning his heat race.

Prior to the feature, the redraw was held on the frontstretch which put Virginia driver Walker Arthur on the pole to pace the field at the beginning of the race.

Arthur thwarted off the challenges of Eckert and Trever Feathers over the first eight laps in a nose to tail battle before the trio raced three-wide for the lead.

Feathers settled into the lead with Eckert in tow by the fourteenth circuit, and began to stretch his lead while lapping traffic until a caution flag unfurled on Lap 22 for the stopped car of Dylan Yoder.

On the restart, Eckert was all over the rear of Feathers and made the pass for the lead on Lap 25. By this point, Mason Zeigler worked his way up into the mix and got by Feathers for the runner-up spot on Lap 29.

That was as far as anyone else could get as Eckert pulled away to over half a straightaway lead over Zeigler, and he went the rest of the way to claim his spot in victory lane.

“Yeah, that’s fun. You know, everybody was doing a good job running their own line and this race track widened out beautiful to where it was multi-lanes and we could just cross over a lane and luckily it was that wide because I needed all of it to make any time with the way I had my car. I really need to work on a bit, but we’ll take it.” Eckert said.

Crossing the line in the top five behind Eckert and Zeigler at the finish were Jason Covert, Feathers, and Jeff Rine.

In the Pure Stock division, racing under an open competition/home track rules format, it was Craig Parrill defending the home turf against the outsiders, taking his third feature win of the season. Parrill pulled away from Sean Dawson over the second half of the 15 lap feature event.

Following the top pair and completing the top five at the checkers were Keith Koontz, Brandon Churchey, and Greg Hainsey.

Notes: Eckert flirted with the track record of Dan Stone’s 17.90 set a few years ago. It was impressive due to time trials limited to a single lap, and his late draw for his time trial attempt.

Kyle Hardy was back in the Shawn Martin No.3v after a driving stint in the Indiana-based Jim Beeman No.99. Hardy won the first of two B-Mains, and finished 16th in the feature.

Gary Stuhler, who has been dominant all season at Hagerstown, squeaked into the show and claimed the final qualifying spot in the second B-main. He went on to record a 14th place finish in the feature.

Tyler Hershey was the hard charger winner, moving up to finish 10th from his 22nd place start.

Feature Results

Super Late Models- 1. Rick Eckert, 2. Mason Zeigler, 3. Jason Covert, 4. Trever Feathers, 5. Jeff Rine, 6. Austin Hubbard, 7. Walker Arthur, 8. Kenny Pettyjohn, 9. Marvin Winters, 10. Tyler Hershey, 11. Roy Deese,Jr., 12. Bryan Bernheisel, 13. Matt Cosner, 14. Gary Stuhler, 15. Gene Knaub, 16. Kyle Hardy, 17. Kyle Lee, 18. Jared Miley, 19. Waylon Wagner, 20. Mike Lupfer, 21. Nick Dickson, 22. Chad Hollenbeck, 23. Dylan Yoder, 24. Dan Stone, 25. Andy Fries

 

Pure Stocks – 1. Craig Parrill, 2. Sean Dawson, 3. Keith Koontz, 4. Brandon Churchey, 5. Greg Hainsey, 6. Michael Warrenfeltz, 7. Tony Catlett, 8. Ed Pope, 9. Shane Wilt, 10. Wayne Dutterer, 11. Frank DiBella, 12. Nick DiBella, 13. Brian Swiger, 14. Dickie Tharp, 15. Jamie Zentmyer, 16. Davey Gross, Jr.