By Shawn Brouse
Mechanicsburg – Steve Buckwalter led flag to flag to pick up the 410 sprint car victory at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night, taking $5,000 for his 13th career win at the oval.
In the 25-lap 358 sprint Summer Series event, Zach Newlin lost the lead late but reclaimed the top spot to nab the second win of his career at the oval.
The 25-lap 410 sprint car feature was marred by a vicious first turn crash involving Justin Whittall and TJ Stutts as they raced for position inside the top 10.
As the pair raced down the frontstretch with five laps complete, they touched wheels as they reached maximum speed at the end of the straightaway.
The result saw Stutts flip multiple times, ending up in the middle of turn one while Whittall flipped high up and into the catch fence and then out of the speedway near the track office before landing near a tree.
Stutts made his way back to the pit area while Whittall was transported to a local hospital for observation.
The leader was chased by Austin Bishop throughout the race while Devon Borden and Jeff Halligan battled for the third spot, exchanging the position multiple times.
Buckwalter withstood a total of four restarts during the event but was able to pull comfortably away from Bishop each time action resumed.
In the end the Royersford driver took the victory by .885 seconds ahead of Bishop.
Borden finally got the best of Halligan for third with five laps to go.
Halligan was fourth followed by Troy Wagaman Jr.
Sixth through 10th went to Freddie Rahmer, Lucas Wolfe, Cameron Smith, Aaron Bollinger and Ryan Newton.
It was Australian racer Newton’s first ever race at the speedway.
Heats went to Buckwalter, Whittall and Wolfe.
Rahmer was the PA Dyno Hard Charger.
Second starter Chris Frank led the first nine laps of the 358 sprint main before third starter Zach Newlin drove into the lead.
Seventh starter Kody Hartlaub was the driver on the move during the late stages of the race, taking second with 10 laps to go.
Hartlaub then ran down Newlin to take his turn at the lead.
He shot by Newlin in the first and second turns on lap 21 before Newlin regained his composure and reclaimed the spot in turn three.
After the wake-up call, Newlin pulled away to the win over Hartlaub.
After starting 11th, Doug Hammaker finished third followed by Frank and Derek Locke.
Sixth through 10th went to Logan Rumsey, Steve Owings, Justin Foster, Matt Findley and Cody Phillips.
Heats went to Hammaker, Phillips and Rumsey.
Locke was the PA Dyno Hard Charger.
Newlin became the fourth winner in as many races at the track this season.
Feature Finishes:
410 sprints, 25 laps: 1. Steve Buckwalter, 2. Austin Bishop, 3. Devon Borden, 4. Jeff Halligan, 5. Troy Wagaman Jr., 6. Freddie Rahmer, 7. Lucas Wolfe, 8. Cameron Smith, 9. Aaron Bollinger, 10. Ryan Newton, 11. Kyle Moody, 12. Ryan Timms, 13. Nash Ely, 14. Kody Hartlaub, 15. Kody Lehman, 16. Danny Dietrich, 17. Steve Downs, 18. Troy Fraker, 19. TJ Stutts, 20. Justin Whittall, 21. Jarrett Cavalet, 22. Ricky Dieva, 23. Tyler Reeser
358 sprints, 25 laps: 1. Zach Newlin, 2. Kody Hartlaub, 3. Doug Hammaker, 4. Chris Frank, 5. Derek Locke, 6. Logan Rumsey, 7. Steve Owings, 8. Justin Foster, 9. Matt Findley, 10. Cody Phillips, 11. Cody Fletcher, 12. Frankie Herr, 13. Tim Glatfelter, 14. Kyle Keen, 15. Tyler Rutherford, 16. Brady Dillon, 17. Scott Fisher, 18. Chase Gutshall, 19. Preston Lattomus, 20. Greg Foster, 21. Jayden Wolf, 22. Shane Yost, 23. Ashley Capetta
DNS: Chad Criswell
DNQ: Adin Daniels