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Mitten Wins Final Sportsman Race of 2022; Edkin Nabs Championship

YORK HAVEN, Pa.: Russ Mitten went through a gamut of mixed emotions in the aftermath of Saturday’s Super Sportsman main event at BAPS Motor Speedway.

On one hand, Mitten just polished off a dominating performance in the 25-Lap feature on Herr’s Chips Night at the speedway, earning his sixth win of the season. The downside was that it wasn’t enough to win the championship.

Still, you couldn’t argue with the speed. The Newville, Pa., ace had it early and often in an impressive romp from 10th to the front to secure the victory.

“We had a really good year, and I’m pretty happy,” Mitten said. “Obviously, I’m really disappointed about having a year like that and not winning the championship. I said some things [afterward] you shouldn’t and let my emotions take over. It caused a little bit of a raucous there that I’m not really proud of.

“I think we actually won by six seconds. What Kolten [Gouse] did with the track at intermission, coming out with the grater, it widened it out that you could race. It was heavy and wet and narrow, and he came out with the grater, and it really helped.”

Scott Dellinger finished second, with 12th-place starter Kenny Edkin completing the podium. The finish by Edkin was good enough to lock up the Super Sportsman championship.

Edkin finished the title march with four wins in 15 events. He also polished off an impressive 14 top five and 14 top-10 finishes.

“I’m definitely proud of the accomplishment,” Edkin said. “This season was a little different than past seasons. In 2019 and 2020, we came out of the gate swinging hard and won a lot of races. We won nine races in 2019 and seven in 2020, so we were dominant, and I don’t think you can argue with our stats.

“This year was more like a Frankie Herr-style championship run. I made noise when I needed to make noise, and we were just consistent. I would win a bunch of races and then junk a car trying to make something happen, or the wrong place at the wrong time. We didn’t have that this season.”

Edkin was consistent again, but Mitten was better on this night. And it didn’t take long for the Sportsman 100 champ to get to the front.

Mitten got an incredible start and was sixth after the first lap. He continued to pound the top and drove into second by the end of the fourth circuit.

“I was afraid at first, like, ‘Man, it’s going to be hard to get up through there and race,’” Mitten said. “Coming out with the grater really widened things out so you could race.

“The car ... it was just on point. The motor, the car, everything, it was just perfect, and I was able to drive up through those guys pretty easy. When I got to second, I knew I had the fastest car and was more patient than getting to that point. I knew I had the car to win, and I didn’t want to do something dumb.”

Mitten didn’t wait too long. He followed Steve Fannasy, who grabbed the top spot on Lap 2, for the next four circuits before pulling the trigger on the high side of Turn 4 to wrestle the lead away on Lap 9.

Once out front, Mitten distanced himself from the field. His car was balanced and worked in all grooves, which allowed him to take the win by 5.761 seconds at the finish.

“I was rolling around there pretty much wide open in three and four and moving around in one and two,” Mitten said. “I was running the top and then ran the bottom some, just feeling it out to see if something was changing.

“Obviously, when you are out front, you don’t know who is close to you. I was around the top in three and four the whole race, but one and two, I moved to the bottom because it felt faster down there. It started to go away, and I went back to the top and used momentum the rest of the race.”

In the Creekside Auto Sales 358 Late Model main, Charles Potts started on the pole and captured the 20-Lap victory. It was his first win of the season.

Despite starting in the No. 1 position, Potts fell behind Wes Bonebrake on the initial start. Potts didn’t slip far and stayed close enough to make the winning pass on the fourth circuit.

Potts led the rest of the way to take the win. D.J. Mease came up to second, with Travis Mease, 11th-place starter Shawn Shoemaker, and Scott Palmer completing the top five.

Seth Kearchner charged from eighth to the front to capture what turned out to be an entertaining Gene Latta Ford Central Pa. Legends feature. It was his first win of the season in the division.

Mike Racine started on the pole and led the first eight laps before Kearchner took over at the front of the field. Racine was involved in an incident on Lap 14.

Shawn Abney chased Kearchner but settled for second. Lincoln Kearchner, Robert Stough, and Travis McClelland completed the top five.

In Superior Extreme Stock action, Sam Rial carved his way to the front in nine laps and went on to score his eighth win of the season at the speedway.

Ty Huntsberger led the first eight laps, before Rial, who started 10th, blew by. Brian Rehbein, Bob Scott Jr., Patrick McClane, and Keith Bissinger completed the top five.

BAPS SUPER SPORTSMAN

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 77-Russ Mitten[10]; 2. 30-Scott Dellinger[9]; 3. 75-Kenny Edkin[12]; 4. 383-Steve Fannasy[3]; 5. 00-Troy Rhome[5]; 6. 7-Timmie Barrick[11]; 7. 3B-Mike Enders[6]; 8. 222-Jay Fannasy[8]; 9. 360-George Riden III[2]; 10. 2M-Matt Ondek[16]; 11. 71K-Tyler Wolford[15]; 12. 21R-Jamie Rickert[17]; 13. 32-Gene Eppley[13]; 14. (DNF) 14-Nate Young[4]; 15. (DNF) 318-Davey Walsh[1]; 16. (DNF) 5D-Luke Deatrick[14]; 17. (DNF) 91-Lanny Hake[18]; 18. (DNF) 35-John Edkin[7]; 19. (DNF) 6S-Shane McConnell[19].

Lap Leaders: Davey Walsh (1), Steve Fannasy (2-8), Russ Mitten (9-25)

Super Sportsman Heat #1 (8 Laps): 1. 3B-Mike Enders[6]; 2. 383-Steve Fannasy[4]; 3. 222-Jay Fannasy[8]; 4. 35-John Edkin[7]; 5. 77-Russ Mitten[9]; 6. 318-Davey Walsh[2]; 7. 32-Gene Eppley[1]; 8. 71K-Tyler Wolford[5]; 9. 21R-Jamie Rickert[10]; 10. 91-Lanny Hake[3].

Super Sportsman Heat #2 (8 Laps): 1. 7-Timmie Barrick[1]; 2. 14-Nate Young[4]; 3. 00-Troy Rhome[5]; 4. 30-Scott Dellinger[8]; 5. 360-George Riden III[3]; 6. 75-Kenny Edkin[9]; 7. 5D-Luke Deatrick[6]; 8. 2M-Matt Ondek[7]; 9. (DNF) 6S-Shane McConnell[2].

CREEKSIDE AUTO SALES LATE MODELS

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 5-Charles Potts[1]; 2. 18-Derrick Mease[3]; 3. 116-Travis Mease[6]; 4. 44-Shawn Shoemaker[11]; 5. 86-Scott Palmer[4]; 6. 37F-Wes Bonebrake[2]; 7. 2-Dan Zechman[14]; 8. 21-Joey Hoffer[16]; 9. 13X-Ben Whitaker[17]; 10. 99-Chad Smith[9]; 11. 21M-Matt Murphy[13]; 12. 15-Jared Miller[10]; 13. 94-Brandon Bard[7]; 14. ONE-Chuck Schutz[19]; 15. NINE-Ross Leinbach[15]; 16. 88C-Chuck Cox III[12]; 17. 23-Lane Snook[24]; 18. (DNF) 41-Jake Moser[22]; 19. (DNF) 17-Tony Hippensteel[8]; 20. (DNF) 5W-Travis Horan[21]; 21. (DNF) 19-Bobby Beard[5]; 22. (DNF) 5H-Dustin Hollinger[20]; 23. (DNF) 96-Matt Adams[18]; 24. (DNF) 20-Colin Knaub[23].

Lap Leaders: Wes Bonebrake (1-3), Charles Potts (4-20)

Late Model Heat #1 (8 Laps): 1. 86-Scott Palmer[1]; 2. 5-Charles Potts[3]; 3. 94-Brandon Bard[5]; 4. 15-Jared Miller[7]; 5. 21M-Matt Murphy[4]; 6. 21-Joey Hoffer[9]; 7. 5H-Dustin Hollinger[2]; 8. ONE-Chuck Schutz[10]; 9. X4-Lou Egrie[8]; 10. 4-Kyle Moser[6].

Late Model Heat #2 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Derrick Mease[2]; 2. 19-Bobby Beard[6]; 3. 17-Tony Hippensteel[1]; 4. 44-Shawn Shoemaker[7]; 5. 2-Dan Zechman[3]; 6. 13X-Ben Whitaker[9]; 7. 5W-Travis Horan[8]; 8. (DNF) 72C-Mike Ciezobka[5]; 9. (DNS) 556-Eric Cronise.

Late Model Heat #3 (8 Laps): 1. 37F-Wes Bonebrake[1]; 2. 116-Travis Mease[2]; 3. 99-Chad Smith[6]; 4. 88C-Chuck Cox III[3]; 5. NINE-Ross Leinbach[7]; 6. 96-Matt Adams[8]; 7. 41-Jake Moser[5]; 8. 20-Colin Knaub[4]; 9. 23-Lane Snook[9].

Late Model B-Main (8 Laps): 1. ONE-Chuck Schutz[4]; 2. 5H-Dustin Hollinger[1]; 3. 5W-Travis Horan[2]; 4. 41-Jake Moser[3]; 5. 20-Colin Knaub[5]; 6. 23-Lane Snook[7]; 7. X4-Lou Egrie[6]; 8. 4-Kyle Moser[8]; 9. 72C-Mike Ciezobka[9]; 10. (DNS) 556-Eric Cronise.

SUPERIOR HOMES EXTREME STOCKS

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 11-Sam Rial[10]; 2. 54-Brian Rehbein[3]; 3. 47-Bob Scott[2]; 4. 47P-Patrick McClane[17]; 5. 11B-Keith Bissinger[8]; 6. 65H-Ty Huntsberger[1]; 7. 41-Jason Townsend[9]; 8. 25J-Nathan Romig[5]; 9. 97-Donnie Broderick[11]; 10. 57-Ronnie Buck[12]; 11. 7-Jordan Fulton[15]; 12. 9-Matt Adams[19]; 13. 91-Will Long[14]; 14. 6G-Gordie Marshall[13]; 15. 33-Michael Goodwin[6]; 16. 98-Richard Daughtrey[18]; 17. (DNF) 5-Tyler Knaub[7]; 18. (DNF) 11D-Dustin Pietrak[20]; 19. (DNF) 45-Ernie Posey[22]; 20. (DNF) 7F-Hunter Fulton[4]; 21. (DNF) LAZY8-John Wright[16]; 22. (DNF) 12-Bryan Hare[23]; 23. (DNS) 11G-Dave Goode.

Lap Leaders: Ty Huntsberger (1-8), Sam Rial (9-20)

Extreme Stock Heat #1 (8 Laps): 1. 33-Michael Goodwin[1]; 2. 7F-Hunter Fulton[8]; 3. 47-Bob Scott[9]; 4. 5-Tyler Knaub[5]; 5. 41-Jason Townsend[6]; 6. 97-Donnie Broderick[3]; 7. 6G-Gordie Marshall[10]; 8. 7-Jordan Fulton[4]; 9. 47P-Patrick McClane[12]; 10. 9-Matt Adams[2]; 11. 11G-Dave Goode[11]; 12. (DNS) 12-Bryan Hare.

Extreme Stock Heat #2 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Sam Rial[1]; 2. 25J-Nathan Romig[2]; 3. 54-Brian Rehbein[7]; 4. 65H-Ty Huntsberger[5]; 5. 11B-Keith Bissinger[11]; 6. 57-Ronnie Buck[3]; 7. 91-Will Long[6]; 8. LAZY8-John Wright[8]; 9. 98-Richard Daughtrey[4]; 10. 11D-Dustin Pietrak[10]; 11. (DNF) 45-Ernie Posey[9].

GENE LATTA FORD CENTRAL PA LEGENDS PRESENTED BY BAKER DOOR COMPANY

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 30K-Seth Kearchner[8]; 2. 26-Shaun Abney[2]; 3. 31-Lincoln Kearchner[3]; 4. 07-Robert Stough[10]; 5. 51-Travis McClelland[21]; 6. 14W-Stephen Wurtzer[12]; 7. 27-Logan Carbaugh[15]; 8. 9-Rick Hartwig[4]; 9. 11R-Scott Musselman[13]; 10. 39-Wayne Dutterer Jr[16]; 11. 7-Preston Alleman[19]; 12. 54-Roy Warehime Jr[23]; 13. 55X-Richie Dobson Jr[20]; 14. 5-Brian Rampmeyer[14]; 15. 79S-Michael Stoppard[18]; 16. 1-Denny Willey[22]; 17. 19S-Steve Seibert Jr[9]; 18. 90-Scott Spidle[11]; 19. (DNF) 30-Justin Wagaman[17]; 20. (DNF) 70-Mike Racine[1]; 21. (DNF) 80-Wes Alleman[5]; 22. (DNF) 18J-Jorjie Sweger[6]; 23. (DNF) 16-Tyler Kaylor[24]; 24. (DNF) 119-Brady Arndt[7].

Lap Leaders: Mike Racine (1-8), Seth Kearchner (9-15)

Legend Heat #1 (8 Laps): 1. 26-Shaun Abney[2]; 2. 31-Lincoln Kearchner[4]; 3. 119-Brady Arndt[1]; 4. 11R-Scott Musselman[7]; 5. 30-Justin Wagaman[6]; 6. 1-Denny Willey[8]; 7. 16-Tyler Kaylor[5]; 8. 57-Luke Stiles[3]; 9. (DNF) 13W-Vincent Wenrich[9].

Legend Heat #2 (8 Laps): 1. 18J-Jorjie Sweger[8]; 2. 90-Scott Spidle[3]; 3. 19S-Steve Seibert Jr[4]; 4. 5-Brian Rampmeyer[6]; 5. 79S-Michael Stoppard[2]; 6. 13-Caleb Masse[1]; 7. 25N-Chris Nicoll[7]; 8. 7H-Hunter McElroy[5].

Legend Heat #3 (8 Laps): 1. 07-Robert Stough[8]; 2. 80-Wes Alleman[2]; 3. 14W-Stephen Wurtzer[6]; 4. 27-Logan Carbaugh[4]; 5. 7-Preston Alleman[1]; 6. 17-Cory Phillips[7]; 7. 25-Eric Hurst[3]; 8. (DNS) 51-Travis McClelland.

Legend Heat #4 (8 Laps): 1. 30K-Seth Kearchner[3]; 2. 70-Mike Racine[1]; 3. 9-Rick Hartwig[6]; 4. 39-Wayne Dutterer Jr[7]; 5. 55X-Richie Dobson Jr[2]; 6. 54-Roy Warehime Jr[8]; 7. 00-Eric McClane[5]; 8. (DNF) 75-Carl Graves[4].

Legend B-Main (8 Laps): 1. 51-Travis McClelland[13]; 2. 1-Denny Willey[1]; 3. 54-Roy Warehime Jr[4]; 4. 16-Tyler Kaylor[5]; 5. 17-Cory Phillips[3]; 6. 00-Eric McClane[8]; 7. 13W-Vincent Wenrich[11]; 8. 25-Eric Hurst[7]; 9. 13-Caleb Masse[2]; 10. 7H-Hunter McElroy[10]; 11. 57-Luke Stiles[9]; 12. (DNF) 25N-Chris Nicoll[6]; 13. (DNS) 75-Carl Graves.

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