Sean Merkel Scores Late Model Opening Win For 2023 At BAPS Motor Speedway

Story By: KALI LANDIS / BAPS MOTOR SPEEDWAY – YORK HAVEN, PA – There was a time when Sean Merkel was a major player in the Creekside Auto Sales 358 Late Model division at BAPS Motor Speedway.

It’s not that Merkel struggled or didn’t have a ride after finishing second in the 2019 point standings. Instead, he strayed away from the speedway in favor of running at other venues and taking in other interests.

That doesn’t mean Merkel has lost his touch at the York Haven, Pa., facility. The Boyertown ace showed that Saturday night, when he outran Zach Kauffman and Jed Latshaw to capture the 20-Lap season opener for the class.

“I don’t think we made it here at all last year, and it feels good to start the season off with a win,” Merkel said after he climbed from his car. “A lot of hard work went in this Winter. I got a new car from Bernheisel, so I want to thank Jim, Brandon, and Brian for all the hard work that goes into Lazer Chassis.

“This is a good piece. I noticed the other week when we were here for practice that these new Lazer cars … they are awesome. It’s not hard to drive them. You just need to keep them smooth, and it just works out. I’m excited for this year.”

Kauffman started on the pole and jumped out front. His pace was slowed twice on Lap 3 when Travis Horan stopped in Turn 1.

Merkel, who started on the outside pole, stayed close to the leader through the first four circuits. He started to run the outside in the third and fourth corner, and it allowed him to take the lead on the fifth circuit.

“I don’t know whose decision it was to juice up the outside down there in three and four, but thanks,” Merkel said after his third-career BAPS Motor Speedway triumph. “That was awesome.”

Latshaw slipped past Kauffman three laps later and gave chase. He caught a caution on Lap 8, but that was as close as he would get. Merkel was too much over the rest of the race distance and took the win by .686 seconds.

Kauffman settled for third behind Merkel and Latshaw. Matt Murphy and seventh-place starter JR Toner completed the top five in the entertaining main event.

In the FXG Sign and Label/Dickey’s 602 Modified feature, Adam White started on the outside pole and led the entire 20-Lap distance to claim the victory.

There was one caution in the event. Randy Stoudt, who started third, remained 1.5 seconds back after the Lap 4 incident, but he slowly chopped into White’s lead. By the time Lap 18 was scored, he was only .690 seconds behind.

The lead continued to dwindle, but White did just enough to secure the win. At the finish, he was .359 seconds ahead of Stoudt. Mike Schane finished third, followed by Talan Carter and Michael White.

The Gene Latta Ford Central Pa. Legends were also on the program, and Seth Kearchner outlasted Stephen Wurtzer to punch his ticket to Victory Lane.

Wurtzer started fourth on the grid but got to the lead on the opening lap. Kearchner, who started on the pole, never dropped any lower than second and climbed back into the lead on Lap 9. He led the rest of the way, earning the win by .502 seconds.

Preston Alleman finished third in the main event. Bill Diehl and Josh Schrum completed the top five in an event that featured seven caution periods.

Hunter Fulton started on the outside pole and blasted by pole-sitter Keith Bissinger on Lap 2 before speeding away to victory in the 20-Lap Superior Homes Extreme Stock feature.

Patrick McClane, Sam Rial, Michael Goodwin, and Tyler Knaub completed the top five. Fifteenth-place starter Donnie Broderick was sixth.

In the Miller’s Racing Parts Street Stock feature, Brian Walls made it look easy by leading all 20 circuits. He was followed by Brian Boughter, Jim Palm, Aaron Beard, and Brandon Wanner.

BAPS Motor Speedway
York Haven, Pa.
Saturday, April 8, 2023
For Immediate Release

CREEKSIDE AUTO SALES LATE MODELS

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 118-Sean Merkel[2]; 2. 25-Jedadiah Latshaw[3]; 3. 08-Zach Kauffman[1]; 4. 21M-Matt Murphy[4]; 5. 11T-JR Toner[7]; 6. 12M-Tyson Mowery[8]; 7. 62-Devin Frey[18]; 8. 116-Travis Mease[10]; 9. 41-Jake Moser[21]; 10. 15-Jared Miller[11]; 11. 37F-Wes Bonebrake[19]; 12. X4-Lou Egrie[24]; 13. 77-Matt Adams[23]; 14. 4-John Moser Jr[13]; 15. 18-Derrick Mease[12]; 16. 48-Kyle Nicholas[22]; 17. 24-Justin Williams[20]; 18. 4M-Kyle Moser[17]; 19. (DNF) 5-Charles Potts[9]; 20. (DNF) 58M-Maddox Smith[14]; 21. (DNF) 54-Cole Slanker[16]; 22. (DNF) NINE-Ross Leinbach[5]; 23. (DNF) 5W-Travis Horan[15]; 24. (DNF) 3B-Coleby Frye[6].

Lap Leaders: Zach Kauffman (1-4), Sean Merkel (5-20)

Late Model Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 21M-Matt Murphy[1]; 2. NINE-Ross Leinbach[3]; 3. 18-Derrick Mease[5]; 4. 5-Charles Potts[9]; 5. 4-John Moser Jr[7]; 6. 54-Cole Slanker[10]; 7. (DNF) 40-Tommy Slanker[4]; 8. (DNF) 41-Jake Moser[2]; 9. (DNF) 77-Matt Adams[8]; 10. (DNS) 14-Kyle Saylor.

Late Model Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 118-Sean Merkel[1]; 2. 12M-Tyson Mowery[3]; 3. 11T-JR Toner[6]; 4. 3B-Coleby Frye[9]; 5. 58M-Maddox Smith[2]; 6. 4M-Kyle Moser[7]; 7. 48-Kyle Nicholas[4]; 8. 24-Justin Williams[10]; 9. 18T-Bailey Tolson[5]; 10. (DNS) 54J-Jimmy Combs.

Late Model Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 25-Jedadiah Latshaw[2]; 2. 15-Jared Miller[4]; 3. 116-Travis Mease[7]; 4. 08-Zach Kauffman[3]; 5. 5W-Travis Horan[1]; 6. 62-Devin Frey[10]; 7. 37F-Wes Bonebrake[8]; 8. 14A-Lucas Adams[5]; 9. X4-Lou Egrie[6]; 10. 37B-Brandon Eveler[9].

Late Model Consolation (8 Laps): 1. 37F-Wes Bonebrake[2]; 2. 24-Justin Williams[3]; 3. 41-Jake Moser[9]; 4. 48-Kyle Nicholas[1]; 5. 77-Matt Adams[10]; 6. X4-Lou Egrie[6]; 7. 14A-Lucas Adams[4]; 8. 18T-Bailey Tolson[5]; 9. 25M-Marc Berzowski[12]; 10. 37B-Brandon Eveler[7]; 11. (DNF) 14-Kyle Saylor[11]; 12. (DNS) 40-Tommy Slanker; 13. (DNS) 54J-Jimmy Combs.

FXG SIGN & LABEL/DICKEY’S BARBECUE 602 CRATE SPORTSMAN

Feature (20 Laps): Adam White (1-20)

Lap Leaders: 1. 15-Adam White[2]; 2. 97-Randy Stoudt[3]; 3. 197-Mike Schane[6]; 4. 1JR-Talan Carter[1]; 5. 43-Michael White[8]; 6. 77H-Jordan Henn[7]; 7. 72-Ray Woodall[9]; 8. 32-Tom Princiotta[5]; 9. 53-Joey Vaccaro[16]; 10. 17-Bobby Kupp[10]; 11. 54-Chase Rehbein[13]; 12. 44-Bob Stough[4]; 13. 10K-Kolyn Schane[12]; 14. 59K-Dakota Kohler[14]; 15. 78-Troy Conrad[17]; 16. 28X-Zachery Cook[18]; 17. B4-Tim Borror[15]; 18. (DNF) 57-Mia Guy[11].

602 Crate Sportsman Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 197-Mike Schane[3]; 2. 77H-Jordan Henn[2]; 3. 15-Adam White[8]; 4. 32-Tom Princiotta[6]; 5. 72-Ray Woodall[1]; 6. 57-Mia Guy[4]; 7. 54-Chase Rehbein[5]; 8. B4-Tim Borror[9]; 9. 78-Troy Conrad[7].

602 Crate Sportsman Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 97-Randy Stoudt[1]; 2. 43-Michael White[5]; 3. 1JR-Talan Carter[2]; 4. 44-Bob Stough[4]; 5. 17-Bobby Kupp[9]; 6. 10K-Kolyn Schane[3]; 7. 59K-Dakota Kohler[7]; 8. 53-Joey Vaccaro[6]; 9. (DNF) 28X-Zachery Cook[8].

GENE LATTA FORD CENTRAL PA LEGENDS PRESENTED BY BAKER DOOR COMPANY

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 30K-Seth Kearchner[1]; 2. 14W-Stephen Wurtzer[4]; 3. 7-Preston Alleman[8]; 4. 53-Bill Diehl[5]; 5. 1G-Josh Schrum[6]; 6. 80-Wes Alleman[12]; 7. 70-Mike Racine[13]; 8. 19-Travis Perry[11]; 9. 9-Rick Hartwig[20]; 10. 26-Shaun Abney[3]; 11. 17-Cory Phillips[16]; 12. 55X-Richie Dobson Jr[22]; 13. 3-Scott Montgomery[19]; 14. 12-Devin Friese[7]; 15. 13W-Vincent Wenrich[24]; 16. 90-Scott Spidle[23]; 17. 11R-Scott Musselman[15]; 18. (DNF) 27-Logan Carbaugh[14]; 19. (DNF) 7F-Colton Friese[17]; 20. (DNF) 31-Lincoln Kearchner[18]; 21. (DNF) 24R-Brian Rampmeyer[21]; 22. (DNF) 30-Justin Wagaman[10]; 23. (DNF) 54-Roy Warehime Jr[9]; 24. (DNF) 18J-Jorjie Sweger[2].

Lap Leaders: Stephen Wurtzer (1-10), Seth Kearchner (11-15)

Legend Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Travis Perry[1]; 2. 1G-Josh Schrum[5]; 3. 12-Devin Friese[6]; 4. 70-Mike Racine[9]; 5. 7F-Colton Friese[8]; 6. 4-Eli Dodge[2]; 7. 79-Ed Trump[4]; 8. 25-Eric Hurst[7]; 9. 7H-Hunter McElroy[10]; 10. 22-Josh Trump[11]; 11. 54G-Moses Goetz[3].

Legend Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 14W-Stephen Wurtzer[3]; 2. 26-Shaun Abney[4]; 3. 7-Preston Alleman[1]; 4. 27-Logan Carbaugh[7]; 5. 31-Lincoln Kearchner[9]; 6. 00-Eric McClane[2]; 7. 24R-Brian Rampmeyer[5]; 8. 90-Scott Spidle[10]; 9. 49-Ron Dick Jr[6]; 10. (DNS) 25N-Chris Nicoll.

Legend Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 30K-Seth Kearchner[6]; 2. 18J-Jorjie Sweger[4]; 3. 30-Justin Wagaman[3]; 4. 11R-Scott Musselman[1]; 5. 3-Scott Montgomery[2]; 6. 55X-Richie Dobson Jr[10]; 7. 0-Cody Altland[5]; 8. 66-Donald Stoudt[7]; 9. 57-Luke Stiles[9]; 10. (DNS) 98-Casey Stigler.

Legend Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 80-Wes Alleman[1]; 2. 53-Bill Diehl[7]; 3. 54-Roy Warehime Jr[2]; 4. 17-Cory Phillips[3]; 5. 9-Rick Hartwig[8]; 6. 79S-Michael Stoppard[6]; 7. 13W-Vincent Wenrich[5]; 8. M2-Caleb Masse[4]; 9. K4-Jon Kemp[9]; 10. 5-Tyler Rampmeyer[10].

Legend Consolation 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24R-Brian Rampmeyer[4]; 2. 90-Scott Spidle[6]; 3. 00-Eric McClane[2]; 4. 25-Eric Hurst[5]; 5. 4-Eli Dodge[1]; 6. 7H-Hunter McElroy[7]; 7. 79-Ed Trump[3]; 8. 49-Ron Dick Jr[8]; 9. 22-Josh Trump[9]; 10. (DNF) 54G-Moses Goetz[10]; 11. (DNS) 25N-Chris Nicoll.

Legend Consolation 2 (8 Laps): 1. 55X-Richie Dobson Jr[1]; 2. 13W-Vincent Wenrich[4]; 3. 0-Cody Altland[3]; 4. 66-Donald Stoudt[5]; 5. M2-Caleb Masse[6]; 6. K4-Jon Kemp[8]; 7. 5-Tyler Rampmeyer[9]; 8. 79S-Michael Stoppard[2]; 9. (DNF) 57-Luke Stiles[7]; 10. (DNS) 98-Casey Stigler.

SUPERIOR HOMES EXTREME STOCKS

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 7F-Hunter Fulton[2]; 2. 79-Patrick McClane[8]; 3. 11-Sam Rial[6]; 4. 33-Michael Goodwin[3]; 5. 5-Tyler Knaub[5]; 6. 97-Donnie Broderick[15]; 7. 65H-Ty Huntsberger[7]; 8. 11B-Keith Bissinger[1]; 9. 47-Bob Scott[10]; 10. 91-Will Long[13]; 11. 12-Bryan Hare[11]; 12. 7-Jordan Fulton[9]; 13. (DNF) 7JR-Johnny Palm[12]; 14. (DNF) 5N-Matt Ney[4]; 15. (DNF) 4X-Chris Strohecker[17]; 16. (DNF) 35-Gavin Shaffer[14]; 17. (DNS) 45-Ernie Posey.

Lap Leaders: Keith Bissinger (1), Hunter Fulton (2-20)

Extreme Stock Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7F-Hunter Fulton[1]; 2. 5-Tyler Knaub[2]; 3. 33-Michael Goodwin[5]; 4. 5N-Matt Ney[3]; 5. 7-Jordan Fulton[4]; 6. 12-Bryan Hare[8]; 7. (DNF) 97-Donnie Broderick[7]; 8. (DNF) 45-Ernie Posey[6]; 9. (DNS) 4X-Chris Strohecker.

Extreme Stock Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Sam Rial[2]; 2. 79-Patrick McClane[5]; 3. 65H-Ty Huntsberger[3]; 4. 11B-Keith Bissinger[1]; 5. 47-Bob Scott[4]; 6. 7JR-Johnny Palm[7]; 7. 91-Will Long[6]; 8. 35-Gavin Shaffer[8].

MILLER’S RACING PARTS STREET STOCKS

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 2W-Brian Walls[1]; 2. 15-Brian Boughter[2]; 3. 7P-Jim Palm[3]; 4. 60A-Aaron Beard[6]; 5. 64-Brandon Wanner[4]; 6. 6T-Jacob Toney[5]; 7. 60-Danny Beard[7]; 8. 11S-Russ Shoop[8]; 9. 28-Chris Derr[9]; 10. 4J-Jim Jacobs[10]; 11. 22-Mike Derr[12]; 12. 5R-Brian Rohrbaugh[11]; 13. (DNS) 11-Ryan Smith.

Lap Leaders: Brian Walls (1-20)

Street Stock Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7P-Jim Palm[4]; 2. 6T-Jacob Toney[6]; 3. 64-Brandon Wanner[5]; 4. 60-Danny Beard[1]; 5. 28-Chris Derr[2]; 6. 5R-Brian Rohrbaugh[7]; 7. 11-Ryan Smith[3].

Street Stock Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 60A-Aaron Beard[1]; 2. 2W-Brian Walls[2]; 3. 15-Brian Boughter[3]; 4. 11S-Russ Shoop[6]; 5. 4J-Jim Jacobs[5]; 6. (DNF) 22-Mike Derr[4].