9/6/2023
Charleston Speedway
Freaky 40 presented by McHugh’s Double Drive-Thru sees NEW winner, Gabe Menser; Danny Schwartz Wins DIRTcar Modified--
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
9.2.2023 CHARLESTON SPEEDWAY: CHARLESTON, IL
Freaky 40 presented by McHugh’s Double Drive-Thru sees NEW winner, Gabe Menser; Danny Schwartz Wins DIRTcar Modified; Randy Smyser continues Streak; Devon Webb wins FIRST EVER DIRTcar Hornet feature--
The 4th running of the Freaky 40 for Topless DIRTcar Pro Modified presented by McHugh’s Double Drive-thru lived up to every ounce of the anticipation!! Heading into the event, 3x winner Deece Schwartz looked to be the favorite. He showed he was up to the challenge by qualifying FAST Time with a time of 15.488 collecting the $100 bonus made possible by Chris Roe and Gail Swango. Guy Taylor, looking for one spot better than his 2nd place finish in 2022, qualified 2nd with a time of 15.616. Third fast qualifier, Gabe Menser, is not a competitor you take for granted and he showed why with a 3rd fast time of 15.618. With 35 Topless DIRTcar Pro Modified cars signed in and qualified, heat races were up next. Four heat races, top four from each qualifying for the Feature, with the remaining 19 being relegated to 2 B-Main feature events. Heat race #1 should have seen fast time qualifier, Deece Schwartz starting P1, but because he was not in staging at the proper time, he was forced to start in the back. He was clearly displeased, as were the fans; but the rules state if you are late to staging, you lose your starting position. Deece, while displeased, without incident, fell to the rear, accepting the penalty like a true champion. He knew he had a fast car, and the crowd was in for a real treat….8 laps later, the checkered flag fell as Deece Schwartz crossed the line first, WINNING Heat #1! What a sight. Heat #2 would see Guy Taylor and Brayden Doyle go back and forth for the top spot, with Guy Taylor picking up the win. Heat #3 would see Gabe Menser fend off a charging John Nethery, picking up Heat #3 win. The final Heat would see the second most number of cars passed to win, as Dalton Ewing drove from his 4th starting spot to pick up Heat #4 win. Heat races in the books, top 16 set, time for the B-mains to set the rest of the field. B-Feature #1 would give the fans a treat as Kasey Schrock held off the charge from Taryn Page to win B-Feature #1, while JD Carter Evans who started P5 in B-Feature #2 would find himself passing Drew Schwartz at the mid race point and never look back as JD Carter Evens picked up the win in B-feature #2. 22 cars from their heats, and B-features were locked into the 40 lap Feature. Karson Evans who is sitting 11th in Charleston Speedway points, and Ethan Orman who is sitting 13th in Charleston Speedway points, both earned a provisional starting position and would be the final 2 to make up the 24-car starting field. 24 cars, 40 laps, and the fans were in for a REAL treat! The race started off with a McHugh’s Double Drive-thru pace truck, and a 4 wide salute to the fans, that was quickly followed with the green flag; and the race was on. Pole sitter Deece Schwartz jumped out to an early lead and looked poised to pick up the win in the 4th Freaky 40; however, on lap 9 his engine would let go and leave him sitting with no power. With the defending winner sidelined, the remaining 23 competitors would duke it out for the next 31 laps. Brayden Doyle, who is currently 2nd in Points, having won 5x already this year, started P6 but found himself in P2 by lap 11. Doyle seemed to be stalking Guy Taylor who took the lead on lap 12, but as with Schwartz, Doyle would succumb to mechanical failure on lap 29 and find himself sidelined in the pits. The caution would fly for the last time on lap 30, Guy Taylor who took the lead on lap 12 had only 10 more laps to pick up the $1,000 payday! However, Gabe Menser who started in P3 had been quietly riding inside of the top 5 all race long, found himself in 2nd by lap 24. When the green flag flew after the lap 30 caution, Menser was ready to pounce. 2 laps later on lap 32 Menser would wrestle the lead from Taylor and although the 2 would go back and forth, Menser never gave it back. Lap 40 the checkered flag fell as the #44 of Gabe Menser escorted the field across the line becoming only the 2nd other winner of the Freaky 40 for Topless DIRTcar Pro Modifieds presented by McHugh’s Double Drive-thru!! Guy Taylor was forced to settle for 2nd yet again, while A.J. Cline, who started P8 finished his move forward in the 3rd position. The #12B of Brandon Bollinger would collect the $100 bonus for being the Hard Charger with his 16th starting spot to 4th place finish! Rounding out the top 5 was the #40J of John Nethery who started P7. The 40-lap event saw 3-and-4 wide racing, movers and shakers, comers, and goers. Fans got every bit of the show they paid for as the drivers put on one spectacular race! After 40 laps, only 3 competitors failed to complete the race, this race was impressive in every way. Special Thanks to the following partners:
April Watts with McHugh’s Double Drive-thru
Chris Roe and Gail Swango with Jax Mobile Detailing
Howie Cordes
Gary Rentfro with A1 Custom Concrete
Blake Furry with Furry Overhead Doors
Geno Watts with Geno’s 24/7 Sewer and Drain Cleaning
Chad Evans with Affordable Towing
Billy Knippenberg III with Cyclone Graphics
Wendy Varda with Legacy Graphics and Trophies
Randy Smyser with Smyser Motorsports
Without these fine partners, the event would be nowhere near the success that it is. Without the fans….NONE of it would matter. Thank you so much to each and every person that made their way out the support this annual event, YOU ARE WHY WE DO IT….THANK YOU! We can try and tell you how great the racing was, hopefully you were there and know exactly what we are talking about, but in case you weren’t, you can see what you missed right here: https://youtu.be/pReTiWXZglM?si=JAk2No9xThUUFHHm
Moving to the The DIRTcar Modified division where 17 cars checked in. Competitor Ryan Hamilton returned to try and better his previous 4th and 2nd place finishes. He looked to be off to a GREAT start by qualifying quick time with a time of 14.455. Danny Schwartz qualified right behind Hamilton in 2nd with a time of 14.557, while Rob Fuqua qualified 3rd with a time of 14.648. Qualifying fast time allowed the youngster, Ryan Hamilton, the P1 starting position in Heat #1 where he would fend off the challenge from Kenny Carmichael Sr. and win Heat #1. The veteran, Danny Schwartz, started P1 in Heat #2 and 8 laps later he would pick up the win over his son, Deece Schwartz. The feature would see youth push the veterans, and look to win the day, with Hamilton leading lap 1 all the way through lap 18. However, the wisdom of the veteran knows that the only lap that pays is the last lap. Danny Schwartz showed he still has plenty left in the tank by snatching the lead from Hamilton on lap 18 and continued to lead the laps that matter the most. Hamilton would hang on to finish 2nd for the 2nd time this season. Deece Schwartz would round out the top 3, with Kenny Carmichael Sr. finishing 4th and Kasey Schrock finishing out the top 5. Although the DIRTcar Modified event was late in the schedule, the track prepared by Brad Agney and his guys provided for side-by-side, wheel-to-wheel action all throughout the night. The DIRTcar Modified division Hard Charger award went to Ed Kuhn with his 14th to 8th place effort. Kasey Schrock’s 5th place finish left him leading points, with Deece Schwartz 7 points back in 2nd and Kenny Carmichael Sr. 22 points back in 3rd. Don’t miss a single minute of the action as the 2023 Championship Points Battle goes down to the wire! The DIRTcar Modified drivers always put on an outstanding race and if you weren't able to attend in person, you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/EaHkfzFW0wE?si=aHUwXp8zo8K3L80u
While the points battle is tightening up in the DIRTcar Modified division, the DIRTcar Factory Stock division has Randy Smyser stretching his lead out to 14 points over Steve Nolen by winning his 8th straight feature event in a row, bringing his 2023 win total to a whopping 10 feature wins!! The event started with Lee Joseph Hall qualifying fast time with a time of 16.539, followed by Randy Smyser with a time of 16.634 and Wally Kerst with 3rd quick time with a time of 16.869. Lee Joseph Hall would earn the Feature pole position by winning Heat #1, while Randy Smyser would start alongside of him due to his Heat #2 win. As soon as the green flag dropped, the front row ran the first lap wheel-to-wheel with Smyser leading lap #1. The caution flew as the leaders entered turn #1, so Lee Joseph Hall would be forced to line up behind Smyser for the restart. When the green flew again, Randy Smyser took advantage of the clean air and extended his lead to just over 3 seconds over Lee Joseph Hall when the 15-lap feature ended. Lee Joseph Hall would settle for 2nd, while Josh Bonewitz clawed his way to finish 3rd. Steve Nolen would better his 6th place starting position by 2, to finish 4th and John Strawser finished 5th from his 8th place starting position. Randy Smyser finds himself 14 points in the lead over Steve Nolen, while Mike Reitz is 63 points back in 3rd. We have a DOUBLE points night on deck next, so the points battle is anything but FINISHED! The DIRTcar Factory Stocks are exciting to watch at The Charleston Speedway and if you want to see what you are missing, click to watch their feature here: https://youtu.be/hc3FNOohAU0?si=pPVVxJ367PGbqjvU
Last but certainly not least. We love celebrating 1st time winners and Saturday was one of those special nights in the DIRTcar Hornet division. Among the 14 competitors was DIRTcar National point leader, Jimmy Dutlinger, along with DIRTcar West Region Points leader, Lynn Lash, but neither of these two had what it took to out run the hungry youngster of the #28W car. The night would start out on the right foot for Devon Webb by winning Heat #1 giving him the coveted pole starting position in the Feature. Danny White Jr. would win Heat #2 and allow him to start alongside Devon Webb. The youngster out of Charleston, IL would take the early lead and not let go easily. However, on lap 10, Jimmy Dutlinger came up to the challenge and took the lead. The top spot very quickly became a 3-way fight between Jimmy Dutlinger, Devon Webb, and Lynn Lash. The race would come down to the last few inches of the 12-lap feature. Jimmy Dutlinger would have to settle for 3rd, 0.121 seconds back from the leader, while Lynn lash would barely come up short to finish 2nd only 0.086 seconds behind the FIRST TIME WINNER, Devon Webb! It was an INCREDIBLY close race. It was the last race of the night, but without a doubt, one of the most exciting finishes. Jimmy Dutlinger’s 3rd place finish has him 9 points ahead of Jaekob Durbin and 40 points ahead of Lynn Lash. The DIRTcar Hornets are a very exciting division that races every week as The Charleston Speedway and if you weren’t lucky enough to see the race in person, you can see it here: https://youtu.be/hsWcACTLw0Q?si=i1RLIm28aPsHFGJ0
If our last few events are any indication of how our last few remaining events of the 2023 season will be; YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS ANY OF THEM!! Our next race on the 2023 schedule is the DOUBLE DOWN SIZZLER for Double Championship Points set for September 16, 2023! The drivers leading the points NEED to have a GREAT run on Double Points night in order to extend their lead. While those in 2nd and 3rd realize if there is any chance of taking over the top spot, they must run better than the points leader. The pressure cooker will be turned up just a little bit more as the season draws to a close, I promise you will regret missing one minute of the action at The Charleston Speedway!
Here are your fast time qualifiers from 9/2/23;
DIRTcar Modified, #58 Ryan Hamilton; 14.455
DIRTcar Pro Modified, #121 Deece Schwartz; 15.488
DIRTcar Street Stock, #17 Bobby Beiler; 15.482
DIRTcar Factory Stock, #90 Lee Joseph Hall; 16.539
DIRTcar Pro Late Model, #55 Anthony Tucker; 14.780
Your run down of Heat Race Winners for 9/2/2023
DIRTcar Modified: #58 Ryan Hamilton & #21D Danny Schwartz
DIRTcar Pro Modified: #121 Deece Schwartz & #4T Guy Taylor & #44 Gabe Menser & #27E Dalton Ewing
DIRTcar Street Stock: #14 Megan Erwin & #55 Zane Reitz
DIRTcar Factory Stock: #90 Lee Joseph Hall & #X Randy Smyser
DIRTcar Pro Late Model: #55 Anthony Tucker
DIRTcar Hornet: #28W Devon Webb & #58W Danny White Jr
Here are the Feature Winners for 9/2/2023:
DIRTcar Modified #21D Danny Scwartz
DIRTcar Pro Modified #44 Gabe Menser
DIRTcar Street Stock #14 Megan Erwin
DIRTcar Pro Late Model #10C Colby Eller
DIRTcar Factory Stock #X Randy Smyser
DIRTcar Hornets #28W Devon Webb
DIRTcar Street Stock Feature, where Megan Erwin fends off the challenge from Bobby Beiler to win her 3rd feature at The Charleston Speedway can be watched by clicking here:
https://youtu.be/U2v-InJuzg8?si=yzRB03zshD-GRriu
Sparks flew in the DIRTcar Pro Late Model division and if you weren’t fortunate enough to see it live and in person, click here to see what you missed: https://youtu.be/8LUCVxDYbZU?si=9hNpkGcCmm1DfUMO
ALL Video credits to Zack Carter.
Be sure to check out, and purchase a few of the MANY photos that were taken at the Speedway right here:
https://srldesigns.smugmug.com/
ALL Photo credits to SRL Designs.
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON…………..AT THE CHARLESTON SPEEDWAY!!!
#chuckvegas
Submitted By: Sonny Ross
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