RPW Exclusive: Andy Bachetti Doubles Up Saturday At Lebanon Valley; Completes A Career-First Weekend Sweep

Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – WEST LEBANON, NY – Andy Bachetti did it again Saturday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway.
However, he did something this weekend he’s been craving to do for a very long time.
On multiple occasions, the defending Modified track champion has captured both the Big Block and 358-Modified feature event wins on the same evening and last night, he did it again, passing Brandon Lane on lap 12 of the DIRTcar Big Block race and Ryan Larkin on lap 18 of the 358 event.
These two victories helped him to go undefeated on the weekend as the Sheffield, MA driver also recorded his second win of the 2024 season at the Accord Speedway on Friday evening.
“This is just unbelievable,” Bachetti said. “We did a trifecta this weekend. We’ve never been able to do that and that was on my mind tonight and we got it done.”
The start to the 2024 season hasn’t exactly been up to Bachetti’s standards as he’s only recorded one win a piece in each class, but on Saturday, that all changed.
“The track was really good tonight,” he said. “I just can’t say enough about this whole race team. Things are gelling and we’re clicking right now and that’s what it takes.”
Saturday night was extra special for the Big Block Modified drivers as it was the 12th annual JC Flach Memorial and Bachetti understands just how special it is to win on the night honoring his fallen competitor.
“JC was an awesome guy,” he said. “He’s definitely missed and it’s truly an honor to win on his night. Hats off to the entire Flach family for what they do to make this whole evening so special.”
In the main event, Bachetti started in ninth and made quick work of the cars in front of him, using an unusually low line in the corners to make moves. Several drivers took advantage of it, but the Bachetti machine seemed to make it work the best.
“The car has just been working really good,” he said. “We were able to get to the front rather quick, running places and making moves most guys just didn’t seem to be and it worked out for us.”
Even though he’s done it before, being able to capture both victories on Saturday night still put a smile on Andy’s face.
“To do the double, I mean, we’ve done it a couple of times, but to do it again tonight is great,” he said. “Honestly, you just take each race as it comes and that’s all you really can do. At the end of the day, my hat is off to my team.”
Kolby Schroder charged to the runner-up spot at the finish from his 13th starting position, continuing to show the strength of his Steve’s Auto Repair 99 team. John Virgilio did almost the same, going 11th to third at the end while current Big Block Modified point leader Brett Haas wasn’t to be outdone. He advanced this #55 11 spots in 30 laps to come home fourth and Kyle Armstrong rounded out the top five.
After Saturday night’s feature, the top seven drivers in points, Haas, Schroder, Bachetti, Marc Johnson, Keith Flach, Armstrong and Virgilio, are only separated by 38 points with the top two, Haas and Schroder, only having two markers between them.
In 358-Modified action, it appeared as if Ryan Larkin was the car that might make it to victory lane. However, Bachetti had other plans and used that same extreme low line to make several key moves to get to the front.
He was able to rapidly close on the Larkin 39 under a long green flag run and drove around his fellow Berkshire County Massachusetts resident on lap 18 and held on the rest of the way for the victory.
“Hats off to Ryan and his whole team for that run tonight,” Bachetti said. “They had a really good race car. He got to lap traffic and he went to the bottom, giving me a little bit of room to get to him. That was all it took.”
As stated, Bachetti was using the extreme lower groove to make up ground and get to the front and the move he put on the leader was impressive.
“With as good as he was running, I had to do something,” he said. “The guys in this class are all running so good. You have to do everything you possibly can in order to win these races and tonight, we got it done.”
Larkin drove an amazing race to bring it home it the number two position with Joey Coppola continuing his strong 2024 season on the high banks with a solid third place finish.
Paul Wehnau Motorsports teammates, Jeff Watson and Kyle Sheldon, came home fourth and fifth, respectively.
What can you say about Tim Hartman Jr. in the Sportsman class at Lebanon Valley in 2024 other than he did it again on Saturday night.
Once he got to second, the second-generation standout had to chase down leader Anthony Maxon, making up nearly a three-quarter straightaway lead to take the top spot and go on to remain perfect this season on the high banks.
“This was a tougher one tonight,” Hartman said. “With the traffic early on, I wasn’t able to go where I wanted to. I actually got passed a couple times and thought maybe tonight’s the night we don’t get back to victory lane.”
Then, he regrouped, refocused, made the right moves and drove his number 22 to the front.
“We started to pick cars off,” he said. “It definitely was harder that there weren’t any cautions. Then, I got to second and Anthony was GONE!”
That’s when the power and handling of Hartman’s DKM machine showed.
“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get to him,” he said. “The car just got really good the farther we went into the feature and I just was trying different lines to see where I could catch him. I picked the best one and fortunately I was able to run him down.”
Maxon came home with a career-best second place finish on the night but it was Hartman who now has won eight consecutive features events, dating back to last season.
Can the 22 team be stopped?
Karl Barnes had a career night two, bringing his 307 home in third with Ray Hall Jr. fourth and Ricky Davis completing the top five.
Nick Hilt was able drive from third on late-race restart in the 20-lap DIRTcar Pro Stock feature to pass both Chad Jeseo and Zach Sorrentino on the same lap and grab the lead.
After being involved in a multiple car accident in the midway point of the feature, driver 17 then led the rest of the way and went on to score his first win of the 2024 season.
“We work hard for this every week and try to get it done,” Hilt said. “I was two points away from Chad (Jeseo) entering tonight so I was really trying to beat him. We put a new tire on the right rear tonight and it just really hooked up and we got the win.”
Late in the race, Sorrentino tried everything he could to get back around Hilt but to no avail. The Averill Park, NY pilot was able to fend off all challenges once he was out front.
“This race was just a lot of fun, having to go to the back and driving through the field,” he said. “Hopefully we can do it again and get back to victory lane.”
Sorrentino had to settle for a hard-fought second with Dave Stickles getting around Jeseo late for third. Shawn Perez Jr. was fourth with Tommy Dean completing the top five.
Brian Walsh captured his second Limited Sportsman feature win of the 2024 season after a spirited battle with Owen Lewis for the top spot. Lewis retired from the event before the finish but Walsh kept hi nose clean and went on to score the victory.
John Santolin came home second with Jasen Brewer completing the podium.
Dave Striebel Sr. drove around his son, Dave Jr., in a family affair to score the Super Street Stock feature event win while Jon Sheppard was victorious in the Four-Cylinder main.
DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 4-Andy Bachetti[9]; 2. 99-Kolby Schroder[13]; 3. 74V-John Virgilio[11]; 4. 55H-Brett Haas[15]; 5. 11A-Kyle Armstrong[10]; 6. 42S-Kyle Sheldon[8]; 7. 60-Brian Berger[7]; 8. 33-Brandon Lane[2]; 9. 21-Ryan Darcy[4]; 10. 43F-Keith Flach[12]; 11. 98-Eddie Marshall[21]; 12. 9-Marc Johnson[14]; 13. 74H-JR Heffner[17]; 14. 115P-Matt Pupello[19]; 15. 115-Montgomery Tremont[3]; 16. 10C-Ryan Charland[18]; 17. 96-Rob Maxon[1]; 18. 91M-Josh Marcus[20]; 19. (DNF) 7T-Timothy Davis[16]; 20. (DNF) 55K-Mike King[6]; 21. (DNF) 88D-Olden Dwyer[5]; 22. (DNF) 45X-Wayne Jelley[22]; 23. (DNF) 23C-Tommy D’Angelo[23]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 96-Rob Maxon[1]; 2. 21-Ryan Darcy[2]; 3. 42S-Kyle Sheldon[4]; 4. 43F-Keith Flach[6]; 5. 99-Kolby Schroder[7]; 6. 7T-Timothy Davis[5]; 7. 115P-Matt Pupello[3]; 8. 45X-Wayne Jelley[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 60-Brian Berger[3]; 2. 33-Brandon Lane[1]; 3. 88D-Olden Dwyer[2]; 4. 9-Marc Johnson[7]; 5. 11A-Kyle Armstrong[5]; 6. 74H-JR Heffner[6]; 7. 98-Eddie Marshall[4]; 8. 23C-Tommy D’Angelo[8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Andy Bachetti[4]; 2. 115-Montgomery Tremont[1]; 3. 55H-Brett Haas[7]; 4. 55K-Mike King[2]; 5. 74V-John Virgilio[5]; 6. 10C-Ryan Charland[6]; 7. 91M-Josh Marcus[3]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 55H-Brett Haas, 00:20.297[23]; 2. 74V-John Virgilio, 00:20.366[1]; 3. 74H-JR Heffner, 00:20.376[12]; 4. 42S-Kyle Sheldon, 00:20.432[6]; 5. 4-Andy Bachetti, 00:20.443[8]; 6. 60-Brian Berger, 00:20.522[14]; 7. 43F-Keith Flach, 00:20.534[21]; 8. 98-Eddie Marshall, 00:20.558[22]; 9. 11A-Kyle Armstrong, 00:20.599[17]; 10. 99-Kolby Schroder, 00:20.625[11]; 11. 21-Ryan Darcy, 00:20.635[3]; 12. 55K-Mike King, 00:20.653[5]; 13. 7T-Timothy Davis, 00:20.654[2]; 14. 45X-Wayne Jelley, 00:20.776[7]; 15. 96-Rob Maxon, 00:20.779[20]; 16. 88D-Olden Dwyer, 00:20.803[13]; 17. 10C-Ryan Charland, 00:20.823[9]; 18. 33-Brandon Lane, 00:20.860[10]; 19. 115P-Matt Pupello, 00:20.952[4]; 20. 91M-Josh Marcus, 00:21.080[15]; 21. 115-Montgomery Tremont, 00:21.255[16]; 22. 23C-Tommy D’Angelo, 00:21.780[19]; 23. 9-Marc Johnson, 00:25.518[18]
DIRTcar 358 Modifieds
A Feature 1 (24 Laps): 1. 4-Andy Bachetti[7]; 2. 39-Ryan Larkin[4]; 3. 94-Joey Coppola[12]; 4. 22-Jeff Watson[6]; 5. 44-Kyle Sheldon[10]; 6. 17H-Brett Haas[11]; 7. 7CT-Donny Travaglin[3]; 8. 14-Lorne Browe[9]; 9. 1-Jason Herrington[8]; 10. 3-Kim Lavoy[2]; 11. 6R-Ryan Heath[17]; 12. 7S-Michael Sabia[13]; 13. 12S-Brian Sandstedt[1]; 14. 46-Dillon Gannon[14]; 15. 81D-Anthony Dicarlo[16]; 16. 57-Ray Hall Jr[15]; 17. 435-Chris Bisson[18]; 18. 12C-Peter Carlotto[5]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Andy Bachetti[5]; 2. 17H-Brett Haas[7]; 3. 12S-Brian Sandstedt[1]; 4. 3-Kim Lavoy[2]; 5. 12C-Peter Carlotto[4]; 6. 14-Lorne Browe[6]; 7. 6R-Ryan Heath[9]; 8. 46-Dillon Gannon[3]; 9. (DNF) 81D-Anthony Dicarlo[8]
Heat 2 (7 Laps): 1. 39-Ryan Larkin[3]; 2. 1-Jason Herrington[5]; 3. 94-Joey Coppola[7]; 4. 22-Jeff Watson[4]; 5. 44-Kyle Sheldon[6]; 6. 7CT-Donny Travaglin[2]; 7. 435-Chris Bisson[9]; 8. 7S-Michael Sabia[1]; 9. 57-Ray Hall Jr[8]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 94-Joey Coppola, 00:20.797[12]; 2. 4-Andy Bachetti, 00:20.984[9]; 3. 17H-Brett Haas, 00:21.115[15]; 4. 44-Kyle Sheldon, 00:21.136[6]; 5. 14-Lorne Browe, 00:21.276[11]; 6. 22-Jeff Watson, 00:21.296[7]; 7. 1-Jason Herrington, 00:21.360[16]; 8. 39-Ryan Larkin, 00:21.427[1]; 9. 12C-Peter Carlotto, 00:21.431[5]; 10. 7CT-Donny Travaglin, 00:21.516[14]; 11. 3-Kim Lavoy, 00:21.517[8]; 12. 81D-Anthony Dicarlo, 00:21.538[3]; 13. 12S-Brian Sandstedt, 00:21.700[4]; 14. 46-Dillon Gannon, 00:22.130[10]; 15. 6R-Ryan Heath, 00:22.218[18]; 16. 435-Chris Bisson, 00:22.359[17]; 17. 7S-Michael Sabia, 00:22.617[2]; 18. (DNS) 57-Ray Hall Jr
Sportsman
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 22H-TIM HARTMAN[8]; 2. 96-Anthony Maxon[1]; 3. 307-Karl Barnes[2]; 4. 57-Ray Hall Jr[5]; 5. 21D-Ricky Davis[3]; 6. 76-Mike Arnold[9]; 7. 7S-Michael Sabia[7]; 8. 85-Justin Gozzi[4]; 9. 7C-Brady Cordova[6]; 10. 711X-Connor Crane[11]; 11. 399-Nick Giardini[10]; 12. 4NY-Keith Johannessen[13]; 13. 22-Mike Engwer[14]; 14. 112-Joseph Mennite[12]; 15. 34-Dylan Grogan[16]; 16. 23-Alex Bell[15]
Heat 1 (7 Laps): 1. 96-Anthony Maxon[1]; 2. 307-Karl Barnes[2]; 3. 21D-Ricky Davis[3]; 4. 57-Ray Hall Jr[4]; 5. 76-Mike Arnold[5]; 6. 34-Dylan Grogan[8]; 7. 711X-Connor Crane[7]; 8. 399-Nick Giardini[6]
Heat 2 (7 Laps): 1. 22H-TIM HARTMAN[7]; 2. 7C-Brady Cordova[4]; 3. 85-Justin Gozzi[3]; 4. 7S-Michael Sabia[5]; 5. 23-Alex Bell[8]; 6. 112-Joseph Mennite[1]; 7. 4NY-Keith Johannessen[6]; 8. 22-Mike Engwer[2]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 22H-TIM HARTMAN, 00:22.163[3]; 2. 57-Ray Hall Jr, 00:22.337[14]; 3. 7S-Michael Sabia, 00:22.600[5]; 4. 76-Mike Arnold, 00:22.657[8]; 5. 7C-Brady Cordova, 00:22.679[6]; 6. 711X-Connor Crane, 00:22.681[13]; 7. 21D-Ricky Davis, 00:22.764[11]; 8. 85-Justin Gozzi, 00:22.890[1]; 9. 399-Nick Giardini, 00:22.994[12]; 10. 22-Mike Engwer, 00:23.046[9]; 11. 4NY-Keith Johannessen, 00:23.058[7]; 12. 96-Anthony Maxon, 00:23.076[4]; 13. 23-Alex Bell, 00:23.104[15]; 14. 307-Karl Barnes, 00:23.110[10]; 15. 112-Joseph Mennite, 00:23.114[2]; 16. 34-Dylan Grogan, 00:23.316[16]
DIRTcar Pro Stock
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 17-Nick Hilt[10]; 2. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[9]; 3. 55-David Stickles[3]; 4. 25-Chad Jeseo[7]; 5. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr[14]; 6. 413-Tom (Tommy) Dean[6]; 7. 62-Rocco Procopio[2]; 8. 32-Richard Spencer[11]; 9. 311-Brian Keough[12]; 10. 177-Chris Stalker[1]; 11. (DNF) 78-Paul LaRochelle[4]; 12. (DNF) 29-rick duzlak[8]; 13. (DNF) 14J-Johnny Rivers Jr[13]; 14. (DNF) 09-Shawn Perez Sr[5]; 15. (DNS) 4-Michael Dianda
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 78-Paul LaRochelle[3]; 2. 09-Shawn Perez Sr[2]; 3. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[5]; 4. 29-rick duzlak[4]; 5. 25-Chad Jeseo[7]; 6. 177-Chris Stalker[1]; 7. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr[6]; 8. (DNS) 4-Michael Dianda
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 413-Tom (Tommy) Dean[3]; 2. 62-Rocco Procopio[1]; 3. 55-David Stickles[2]; 4. 311-Brian Keough[6]; 5. 14J-Johnny Rivers Jr[7]; 6. 32-Richard Spencer[5]; 7. 17-Nick Hilt[4]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino, 00:23.994[1]; 2. 78-Paul LaRochelle, 00:24.279[7]; 3. 09-Shawn Perez Sr, 00:24.429[2]; 4. 55-David Stickles, 00:24.432[8]; 5. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr, 00:24.433[14]; 6. 311-Brian Keough, 00:24.538[12]; 7. 413-Tom (Tommy) Dean, 00:24.559[4]; 8. 14J-Johnny Rivers Jr, 00:24.645[10]; 9. 32-Richard Spencer, 00:24.923[13]; 10. 177-Chris Stalker, 00:24.962[5]; 11. 4-Michael Dianda, 00:25.662[11]; 12. (DNS) 29-rick duzlak; 13. (DNS) 62-Rocco Procopio; 14. (DNS) 17-Nick Hilt
Limited Sportsman
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 43-Brian Walsh[7]; 2. 6S-John Santolin[3]; 3. 25B-Jasen Brewer[4]; 4. 04-Chris Humes[9]; 5. 00-Colby Kokosa[5]; 6. 1-Kevin Groff[12]; 7. 128-Kent Clark[10]; 8. 143-Scott Zehnacker[8]; 9. 10-Ray Royals[6]; 10. 19-Owen Lewis[1]; 11. 03-Harold Robitaille[2]; 12. (DNS) 09-Braxton Martin
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 143-Scott Zehnacker[5]; 2. 43-Brian Walsh[4]; 3. 19-Owen Lewis[1]; 4. 128-Kent Clark[6]; 5. (DNF) 25B-Jasen Brewer[3]; 6. (DNF) 09-Braxton Martin[2]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 03-Harold Robitaille[1]; 2. 10-Ray Royals[3]; 3. 6S-John Santolin[2]; 4. 04-Chris Humes[4]; 5. 00-Colby Kokosa[5]; 6. 1-Kevin Groff[6]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 143-Scott Zehnacker, 00:22.950[1]; 2. 19-Owen Lewis, 00:23.035[2]; 3. 03-Harold Robitaille, 00:23.053[9]; 4. 10-Ray Royals, 00:23.401[4]; 5. 09-Braxton Martin, 00:23.550[8]; 6. 25B-Jasen Brewer, 00:23.658[3]; 7. 43-Brian Walsh, 00:23.683[10]; 8. 6S-John Santolin, 00:23.731[6]; 9. 04-Chris Humes, 00:24.090[7]; 10. 1-Kevin Groff, 00:25.966[11]; 11. (DNS) 00-Colby Kokosa; 12. (DNS) 128-Kent Clark
Super Street Stock
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 273-Dave Streibel[5]; 2. 73-David Streibel[6]; 3. 5X-Jeff Meltz[4]; 4. 08-Lou Gancarz[7]; 5. 77-Jim Dellea[8]; 6. 89-Kerianne Vandenburg[3]; 7. 76-Franklin Smith[1]; 8. 27-Ray Hall Sr[2]; 9. (DNF) 22-Rob Partidge[9]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 273-Dave Streibel, 00:26.322[7]; 2. 77-Jim Dellea, 00:26.489[9]; 3. 89-Kerianne Vandenburg, 00:26.514[3]; 4. 22-Rob Partidge, 00:26.519[6]; 5. 27-Ray Hall Sr, 00:26.882[1]; 6. 08-Lou Gancarz, 00:27.185[8]; 7. (DNS) 76-Franklin Smith; 8. (DNS) 5X-Jeff Meltz; 9. (DNS) 73-David Streibel
4 Cylinder Single & Dual
A Feature (10 Laps): 1. 99D-Jonathan Shepherd[4]; 2. 07D-Gary Malloy[3]; 3. 19D-Brian Blanck[2]; 4. 191D-Chris Danylieko[1]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 99D-Jonathan Shepherd, 00:27.647[1]; 2. 19D-Brian Blanck, 00:30.038[4]; 3. 191D-Chris Danylieko, 00:30.787[3]; 4. (DNS) 07D-Gary Malloy