RPW Exclusive: Andy Bachetti Scores Big Block Mod Win As Lebanon Valley Beats Mother Nature

Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – WEST LEBANON, NY – At 6pm Saturday afternoon, many wouldn’t have believed that racing would take place at Lebanon Valley Speedway thanks to Mother Nature.

By just a little after 10pm, not only was their racing on the 5/8-mile track but they had completed every single feature of the seven-division program and everyone was on their way home.

One driver that was extremely happy that the races got in was defending DIRTcar Big Block Modified champion Andy Bachetti. Bachetti made quick work of his competition from his 13th starting spot and grabbed the point from leader Marc Johnson at the halfway mark.

That was a spot that the Sheffield, MA driver would never relinquish as Bachetti went on to score his first win of the 2025 season.

“Getting back to victory lane here is a feat in itself with the way the weather’s been so far this year,” Bachetti said. “Everyone here at the Valley has been working so hard to get this new track right and hopefully we can get some sun to dry this place up and it’ll be in a little better shape.”

Even though the new quick way around the Valley has been the inside line, Bachetti found a way to make the outside work in turns three and four and very nearly made a three-wide move for the lead around Johnson and leader Eddie Marshall at the 1/3-mark of the feature.

The hole closed up and Bachetti had to regroup but the no. 4 was going places that others weren’t and that was how he was able to make his way to the front.

“The race track is tricky and you have to be cautious with what you do here,” he said. “This car was pretty good tonight so that helped us to get up front.”

Bachetti acknowledge that things he’s done in the past to get to the win are different than he has to do now so it’s forced him to change his driving style quite a bit.

“This place is definitely different,” he said. “It’s wider. I liked the bottom a little bit more tonight than I liked the top so that’s why I chose it but there was something on the high side when I needed to go up there.”

Johnson held on top score a well-deserved second place finish on the night with Kyle Armstrong getting around Kyle Sheldon on a late restart to score third at the end of the main event. Sheldon was fourth and John Virgilio completed the top five.

The race was halted on the 11th circuit for an accident on the backstretch between the top two finishers in the main event on opening night, Kolby Schroder and Brett Haas. Both cars sustained damage (Schroder in the rear end and Haas a collapsed front end) and Schroder’s no. 99 darted to the inside and made serious contact with an opening to the pit area.

The car then flipped up onto its side, coming to rest atop the jersey barrier. Schroder got out of the car under his own power with a limp but was assisted to the ambulance to be checked out.

Haas was able to return to the race, several laps down after his team made repairs, and came home with a 16th place finish, picking up six spots and roughly 12 extra points than he would have if he didn’t return. Those six positions may make a difference as the points season winds down.

While Haas didn’t get the finish he wanted in the Big Block feature, he did grab the best finishing position in the 358-Modified main event as the Pittsfield, MA driver parked the Jim Winchell-owned #17 in victory lane.

Haas was able to power his way under leader Michael Sabia on the ninth lap of the feature and never faced any challenges the rest of the way to take the victory for the first time this season.

“I’m so happy to win for the entire team because of all the hard work they put into this car,” Haas said. “Jim trusted me to drive this thing and I’m glad I was able to reward that trust with a win.”

Haas acknowledged that in the weaning laps he believed some serious issues might have derailed his shot at victory.

“The torque arms weren’t even attached to this thing at the finish,” he said. “They broke with about three to go I believe and I thought I had a flat tire. Luckily, we held on.”

Over the off-season, the team changed their chassis program, making the switch from PMC to Bicknell and it only took Haas two races to get back to victory lane.

“We really tried to step up our Small Block program for 2025,” he said. “We went with a Bicknell and it’s really good. Tonight, I didn’t know how good we were but this car was a pleasure to drive.”

Bachetti came home second when the 24-lap main event was over after starting in the fourth spot. However, that isn’t a true representation of his night.

Bachetti very nearly put his no. 4 on its roof going for second on the second lap and lost several positions in the process.

Two laps later, while running in sixth spot, Bachetti steered down the track to avoid making contact with Haas and the 35 of Chris Curtis hopped over the front end of Andy’s mount.

He went to the pits for repairs and returned to the race, putting on a charge through the field to get him back to second at the finish.

Kyle Sheldon had another great run Saturday to score his second top five of the night by bringing the Paul Wehnau-owned 44 home third ahead his Wehnau Snap-On sponsor teammate, Jeff Watson, who had another impressive run to finish fourth.

This was Watson’s second top five to start the season as the Sheffield, MA driver is off to the best start of his 358-Modified career. Sabia completed the top five.

Saturday was the 13th annual Andrew Sherman $2,000-to-win Sportsman feature and when the 20-lapper was complete, a first-time winner stood in victory lane.

Nick Giardini has finished second on multiple occasions since making the full-time switch to the Valley over the last few seasons and Saturday night, he put it all together, leading every lap and having to hold off Joey Scarborough in a one-lap dash to the finish.

“I knew they were there but I chose the line that had worked pretty well for me on that restart (inside),” Giardini said. “The track was really good for us tonight and I have no complaints. This is great to finally get a win here at the Valley.”

Scarborough crossed the line second with Dylan Grogan, Alex Bell and Michael Sabia completing the top five.

Tim Hartman Jr., who had won the last three Andrew Sherman Memorial events, was never given the chance to compete for a fourth-straight as he was knocked out of the main on a first lap accident.

The front end collapsed in the MRP no. 22 during the accident which also saw Ray Hall Jr., Craig Wholey, Anthony Maxon and Karl Barnes all retire from the event.

If you want another first-time winner, look no further than the DIRTcar Pro Stock feature. That’s where you’ll find Rocco Procopio.

Procopio started on the pole, lost the top spot to Paul Larochelle on lap three but then regain the point by driving around the no 78 when the lap counter clicked halfway.

“I’m not use to running the bottom here,” Procopio said. “That was a big change for me.”

Driver no. 62 held on the rest of the way, even fending off a serious challenge from Chris Stalker and Tommy Dean on a restart with just two laps remaining to take the checkers.

I saw that caution with two-to-go and Chris Stalker on my inside,” he said. “I thought ‘this was it’ but we were able to hold on.”

You could tell there was a big feeling of relief within Procopio now that he’s a winner in the Pro Stock division.

“I’m so glad we were able to finally get it done,” he said. “I was starting to worry that I wasn’t going to be able to.”

Dean got around Stalker on the last lap to capture the second place finishing position with last race’s winner, Frank Twing, fourth and Larochelle fifth.

Speaking of first-time victors, let’s add one more to the night. Brandon Lemaire drove his no. 756 to a win in the Limited Sportsman division ahead of Brian Walsh and Frank Twing, Jr.

“The car was great tonight,” Lamaire said. “My dad had it on rails. It was a little rough out there but we made it work. I really have to thank everyone that helped to get me to this point.”

John Santolin finished fourth and Garrett Biagiarelli completed the top five.

Jeff Meltz Sr. put an end to Anthony King’s two-race win streak to start the 2025 Street Stock season at the Valley by scoring the win. Dave Striebel, Sr. came home in second with Bob Sleight, Hannah Stalker and King rounding out the top five.

Jason Peck (Dual Cam) and Stephen Burka (Single Cam) captured wins in the 4-Cylinder feature.

DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 4-Andy Bachetti[13]; 2. 9-Marc Johnson[7]; 3. 11A-Kyle Armstrong[11]; 4. 44-Kyle Sheldon[5]; 5. 74V-John Virgilio[6]; 6. 98-Eddie Marshall[1]; 7. 43F-Keith Flach[10]; 8. 74H-JR Heffner[3]; 9. 115P-Matt Pupello[16]; 10. 33-Brandon Lane[4]; 11. 55K-Mike King[9]; 12. 91M-Josh Marcus[22]; 13. 250-Alan Houghtaling[19]; 14. 115-Montgomery Tremont[21]; 15. 35-Chris Curtis[12]; 16. 55H-Brett Haas[14]; 17. 22J-Bubba McPhee[18]; 18. 10C-Ryan Charland[8]; 19. 42-Guy Sheldon[20]; 20. 96-Rob Maxon[23]; 21. 99-Kolby Schroder[15]; 22. 716-Danny Tyler[17]; 23. 22E-Mike Engwer[2]; 24. 21-Ryan Darcy[24]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 74V-John Virgilio[3]; 2. 35-Chris Curtis[7]; 3. 22E-Mike Engwer[1]; 4. 115P-Matt Pupello[6]; 5. 91M-Josh Marcus[5]; 6. 55H-Brett Haas[8]; 7. 10C-Ryan Charland[4]; 8. 250-Alan Houghtaling[2]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 98-Eddie Marshall[1]; 2. 99-Kolby Schroder[8]; 3. 9-Marc Johnson[3]; 4. 33-Brandon Lane[2]; 5. 43F-Keith Flach[6]; 6. 716-Danny Tyler[7]; 7. 42-Guy Sheldon[5]; 8. 96-Rob Maxon[4]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 74H-JR Heffner[1]; 2. 44-Kyle Sheldon[2]; 3. 11A-Kyle Armstrong[6]; 4. 4-Andy Bachetti[7]; 5. 55K-Mike King[5]; 6. 22J-Bubba McPhee[4]; 7. 115-Montgomery Tremont[3]; 8. 21-Ryan Darcy[8]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 99-Kolby Schroder, 00:20.564[3]; 2. 55H-Brett Haas, 00:20.591[11]; 3. 35-Chris Curtis, 00:20.649[14]; 4. 74V-John Virgilio, 00:20.732[19]; 5. 11A-Kyle Armstrong, 00:20.791[22]; 6. 44-Kyle Sheldon, 00:20.804[8]; 7. 9-Marc Johnson, 00:20.908[15]; 8. 4-Andy Bachetti, 00:20.925[7]; 9. 43F-Keith Flach, 00:20.944[21]; 10. 74H-JR Heffner, 00:20.988[18]; 11. 33-Brandon Lane, 00:21.215[4]; 12. 42-Guy Sheldon, 00:21.235[6]; 13. 98-Eddie Marshall, 00:21.254[9]; 14. 22J-Bubba McPhee, 00:21.255[20]; 15. 10C-Ryan Charland, 00:21.350[17]; 16. 716-Danny Tyler, 00:21.446[24]; 17. 22E-Mike Engwer, 00:21.464[1]; 18. 55K-Mike King, 00:21.508[10]; 19. 250-Alan Houghtaling, 00:21.619[12]; 20. 96-Rob Maxon, 00:21.652[2]; 21. 91M-Josh Marcus, 00:21.672[13]; 22. 115P-Matt Pupello, 00:21.682[16]; 23. 115-Montgomery Tremont, 00:22.460[5]; 24. 21-Ryan Darcy, 00:22.461[23]

DIRTcar 358 Modifieds

A Feature 1 (24 Laps): 1. 17H-Brett Haas[11]; 2. 4-Andy Bachetti[4]; 3. 44-Kyle Sheldon[6]; 4. 22-Jeff Watson[12]; 5. 7S-Michael Sabia[1]; 6. 39-Ryan Larkin[9]; 7. 3-Kim Lavoy[8]; 8. 82-Brian Peterson[14]; 9. 7C-Brady Cordova[5]; 10. 7CT-Donny Travaglin[3]; 11. 518-Guy Sheldon[7]; 12. 94-Joey Coppola[10]; 13. 519-Joe Pravia[15]; 14. 35-Chris Curtis[13]; 15. 72-Ray Hall Jr[16]; 16. 250-Alan Houghtaling[2]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 44-Kyle Sheldon[2]; 2. 518-Guy Sheldon[4]; 3. 82-Brian Peterson[6]; 4. 22-Jeff Watson[7]; 5. 39-Ryan Larkin[5]; 6. 7CT-Donny Travaglin[3]; 7. 250-Alan Houghtaling[1]; 8. 519-Joe Pravia[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7S-Michael Sabia[1]; 2. 4-Andy Bachetti[2]; 3. 17H-Brett Haas[6]; 4. 35-Chris Curtis[7]; 5. 94-Joey Coppola[5]; 6. 7C-Brady Cordova[3]; 7. 3-Kim Lavoy[4]; 8. 72-Ray Hall Jr[8]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 17H-Brett Haas, 00:21.367[9]; 2. 22-Jeff Watson, 00:21.403[14]; 3. 35-Chris Curtis, 00:21.514[3]; 4. 44-Kyle Sheldon, 00:21.584[8]; 5. 7S-Michael Sabia, 00:21.630[13]; 6. 39-Ryan Larkin, 00:21.923[5]; 7. 3-Kim Lavoy, 00:21.935[4]; 8. 518-Guy Sheldon, 00:21.951[12]; 9. 7CT-Donny Travaglin, 00:22.008[10]; 10. 519-Joe Pravia, 00:23.144[16]; 11. 4-Andy Bachetti, 00:23.145[2]; 12. 94-Joey Coppola, 00:23.146[6]; 13. 7C-Brady Cordova, 00:23.147[11]; 14. 72-Ray Hall Jr, 00:23.148[15]; 15. 250-Alan Houghtaling, 00:23.149[7]; 16. 82-Brian Peterson, 00:23.150[1]

DIRTcar Sportsman

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 399-Nick Giardini[3]; 2. 11VT-Joey Scarborough[4]; 3. 34-Dylan Grogan[9]; 4. 23-Alex Bell[14]; 5. 7S-Michael Sabia[6]; 6. 22-AJ Albreada[17]; 7. 7C-Brady Cordova[10]; 8. M2-Shawn McPhee[2]; 9. 711C-Chris Crane Jr[12]; 10. 711X-Connor Crane[8]; 11. 10JR-John Leiby SR[18]; 12. 6-Pat Mann[16]; 13. 19-Owen Lewis[5]; 14. 96-Anthony Maxon[7]; 15. 98-Craig Wholey[15]; 16. 22H-Tim Hartman Jr[13]; 17. 57-Ray Hall Jr[11]; 18. 307-Karl Barnes[1]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 399-Nick Giardini[2]; 2. 307-Karl Barnes[1]; 3. 96-Anthony Maxon[4]; 4. 711C-Chris Crane Jr[6]; 5. 22H-Tim Hartman Jr[8]; 6. 19-Owen Lewis[3]; 7. 57-Ray Hall Jr[7]; 8. 98-Craig Wholey[5]; 9. 22-AJ Albreada[9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7S-Michael Sabia[3]; 2. 34-Dylan Grogan[5]; 3. 11VT-Joey Scarborough[2]; 4. 711X-Connor Crane[4]; 5. 23-Alex Bell[8]; 6. 7C-Brady Cordova[6]; 7. M2-Shawn McPhee[1]; 8. 10JR-John Leiby SR[9]; 9. 6-Pat Mann[7]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 34-Dylan Grogan, 00:22.388[5]; 2. 23-Alex Bell, 00:22.400[10]; 3. 7S-Michael Sabia, 00:22.430[9]; 4. 7C-Brady Cordova, 00:22.457[2]; 5. 22-AJ Albreada, 00:22.460[15]; 6. 11VT-Joey Scarborough, 00:22.521[1]; 7. 711X-Connor Crane, 00:22.624[18]; 8. 711C-Chris Crane Jr, 00:22.719[17]; 9. 399-Nick Giardini, 00:22.722[7]; 10. 96-Anthony Maxon, 00:22.851[4]; 11. 19-Owen Lewis, 00:22.916[8]; 12. M2-Shawn McPhee, 00:23.064[11]; 13. 307-Karl Barnes, 00:23.225[13]; 14. 6-Pat Mann, 00:23.278[12]; 15. 10JR-John Leiby SR, 00:23.858[16]; 16. 57-Ray Hall Jr, 00:23.857[3]; 17. 22H-Tim Hartman Jr, 00:23.856[14]; 18. 98-Craig Wholey, 00:23.855[6]

DIRTcar Pro Stock

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 62-Rocco Procopio[1]; 2. 413-Tom (Tommy) Dean[7]; 3. 177-Chris Stalker[9]; 4. 317-Frank Twing[12]; 5. 78-Paul LaRochelle[2]; 6. 55-David Stickles[4]; 7. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[8]; 8. 32-Richard Spencer[13]; 9. 09-Shawn Perez Sr[6]; 10. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr[5]; 11. 51-Jason Meltz[11]; 12. 29-rick duzlak[3]; 13. 120-Dave Kokindo[10]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 55-David Stickles, 00:24.388[10]; 2. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino, 00:24.487[2]; 3. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr, 00:24.620[3]; 4. 09-Shawn Perez Sr, 00:24.780[5]; 5. 78-Paul LaRochelle, 00:24.800[13]; 6. 62-Rocco Procopio, 00:24.990[8]; 7. 32-Richard Spencer, 00:25.353[11]; 8. 120-Dave Kokindo, 00:25.436[9]; 9. 413-Tom (Tommy) Dean, 00:25.599[4]; 10. 29-rick duzlak, 00:25.748[12]; 11. 51-Jason Meltz, 00:25.747[7]; 12. 177-Chris Stalker, 00:25.746[1]; 13. 317-Frank Twing, 00:25.745[6]

Limited Sportsman

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 756-Brandon Lemaire[9]; 2. 43-Brian Walsh[1]; 3. 1-Frank Twing Jr[8]; 4. 6S-John Santolin[14]; 5. 77-Garrett Biagiarelli[6]; 6. 313-Cam Van Zandt[2]; 7. 1G-Kevin Groff[4]; 8. 42K-Kamden Duffy[15]; 9. 41-Dalton Gamache[12]; 10. 03-Harold Robitaille[10]; 11. 48-Ray Royals[13]; 12. 716A-Allison Swartz[16]; 13. 09-Braxton Martin[5]; 14. 04-Chris Humes[7]; 15. 69-Dakota Green[11]; 16. 27-Dylan Holmes[3]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 756-Brandon Lemaire, 00:22.634[11]; 2. 43-Brian Walsh, 00:22.931[3]; 3. 1-Frank Twing Jr, 00:22.951[8]; 4. 6S-John Santolin, 00:23.058[12]; 5. 69-Dakota Green, 00:23.095[13]; 6. 313-Cam Van Zandt, 00:23.202[6]; 7. 27-Dylan Holmes, 00:23.221[4]; 8. 09-Braxton Martin, 00:23.280[2]; 9. 1G-Kevin Groff, 00:23.498[7]; 10. 77-Garrett Biagiarelli, 00:23.567[14]; 11. 42K-Kamden Duffy, 00:23.655[5]; 12. 04-Chris Humes, 00:23.858[10]; 13. 41-Dalton Gamache, 00:23.951[15]; 14. 716A-Allison Swartz, 00:27.651[16]; 15. 03-Harold Robitaille, 00:27.652[9]; 16. 48-Ray Royals, 00:27.653[1]

Street Stock

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 5X-Jeff Meltz[8]; 2. 273-Dave Streibel[6]; 3. 8-Bob Sleight[12]; 4. 17-Hannah Stalker[2]; 5. 7-Anthony King[9]; 6. 3-Peter Huntoon[3]; 7. 46-Doug Sterling[5]; 8. 76-Franklin Smith[1]; 9. 73-David Streibel[7]; 10. 33-Evan Denue[4]; 11. 89-Kerianne Vandenburg[10]; 12. 4-Michael Dianda[11]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 7-Anthony King, 00:26.773[6]; 2. 17-Hannah Stalker, 00:26.959[2]; 3. 89-Kerianne Vandenburg, 00:27.615[7]; 4. 46-Doug Sterling, 00:27.783[4]; 5. 33-Evan Denue, 00:29.046[5]; 6. 4-Michael Dianda, 00:29.047[3]; 7. 5X-Jeff Meltz, 00:29.048[1]

4 Cylinder Single & Dual

A Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 0D-Jason Peck[2]; 2. 8S-Stephen Burka[3]; 3. 84S-Henry Morris[4]; 4. 250D-Morgan Houghtaling[1]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 0D-Jason Peck, 00:27.864[4]; 2. 8S-Stephen Burka, 00:29.242[2]; 3. 84S-Henry Morris, 00:31.438[1]; 4. 250D-Morgan Houghtaling, 00:31.437[3]