Point Battles Are Real Heading Into Action Track USA Championship Night on Wednesday
Story By: BARRY ANGSTADT / ACTION TRACK USA – KUTZTOWN, PA – Championship Night at Action Track USA, on the Kutztown Fairgrounds, will be highlighted by fierce competition for the titles in each of the speedway’s four weekly divisions. And the point battles are real…
In the All Pro SpeedSTR class, Cole Stangle, from Whitehouse Station, NJ, holds a scant 45 point advantage over Billy Pauch Jr. and Bobby Butler, who are tied for second in the standings. Pauch is a four-time SpeedSTR point champion at Berks County’s Baddest Bullring, while Stangle and Butler are searching for their first point crowns in Kutztown.
If either Pauch or Butler win the feature on Wednesday night, Stangle must finish second or third to secure the title. If Pauch or Butler finish second, then Stangle needs to place seventh or better.
Mathematically speaking, there are still seven drivers who could walk out with the championship on Wednesday, although Pauch, Butler, and Matt Janisch (55 points behind) have the best shot at unseating Stangle from the top of the heap. Dan Schumaker, Tim Buckwalter, and Dustin Morris will need lots of help in their efforts to win the SpeedSTR points battle.
In the Hyper Racing 600 Sprint division, it is Buckwalter—who is seeking his third track title in this class—leading Kyle Lick by 69 points. If Lick records his second win of the season on Wednesday, Buckwalter must finish seventh or better to claim the championship. If the scenario occurs where Lick wins and Buckwalter finishes eighth, then Lick wins the crown by one point!
Should Lick be the runner-up in Wednesday’s point finale, then Buckwalter needs to place 12th or better to earn the point title.
They are the only two drivers with a mathematical chance to win the 600 Sprint championship.
Brett Bieber, already a four-time Action Track USA champion in the All Star Slingshot class, leads Tyler Ulsh by 95 points with Amanda Angstadt and Patrick Weiss still in title contention as well.
Just like the other divisions, there are many variables and different scenarios that could play out, but, if Ulsh notches his third win of the season on Wednesday, then Bieber needs to finish 12th or better to claim championship number five.
Angstadt, also a two-time winner this year and Weiss, who scored his first Action Track USA triumph this season, need a large car count and bad nights by Bieber and Ulsh in order to have a realistic chance at the title, but anything is possible.
The Junior Slingshots boast the tightest point chase as Hannah Kormann, from Carneys Point, NJ, heads into the point finale with a slim 17 point margin over surging Landon McNichol, the race winner on August 17. Two-time winner Lilly Esterly is 92 points in arrears and Jon Severn is 132 points behind. Billy Pauch III needs a large field of cars and Kormann to be a DNQ in order to have a shot at the championship.
If McNichol wins, he is the champ, no matter where Kormann winds up. If McNichol crosses the finish line in second, then Kormann must be third in order to secure the Junior Slingshot point crown.
The drama is real, the excitement will be off the charts, and the racing is always intense at Action Track USA on the Kutztown Fairgrounds!
Warm-ups begin at 6:15, with opening ceremonies and qualifying events immediately following the hot lap sessions. Grandstand gates open at 5:00 p.m.
