By Kurt Bettler
Swedesboro, New Jersey (October 30, 2026)………Chelby Hinton made his debut in the Hogue Racing Enterprises No. 39 a pretty good one.
The Dubberly, Louisiana native captured the victory during Friday night’s Malley Pool Water Non-Winners Showdown at Swedesboro, New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park. The event was open to any driver who had never before won a USAC East Coast Sprint Car Presented by Baer Den Farms feature event in their career.
Hinton, the newly crowned USAC Silver Crown Max Papis Innovations Rookie of the Year, started third and made his way to the lead on the sixth circuit of the 20-lap non-points special event feature.
The inversion for the feature was six with Jared Kreider starting on the pole. The initial start went yellow for a spin involving Olivia Thayer and Mick D’Agostino. During the yellow, Kreider’s car had a mechanical issue, ending hope for an upset win.
On the restart, Jonathan Swanson led the way, while Kyle Spence and Hinton slid their way towards the front. On lap six, Hinton made the race winning move on Swanson, and Hinton set sail, utilizing the very top of the 4/10-mile dirt oval.
Kyle Spence snagged second from Swanson and brought Joe Kata with him to take over third.
As the laps wound down, Hinton was not to be denied as he found his first sprint car triumph. He is now in contention for the Sandoe’s Fruit Market $2,000 weekend sweep bonus if he can find the stage in Saturday’s $2,500-to-win Baer Den Farms season closer.
Spence took second with Kata third. Early race leader Swanson and fast qualifier Ronald Helmick rounded out the top five.
On a breezy and gorgeous evening, 20 USAC East Coast Sprint Cars were on hand. Kata led the first round of qualifying with a lap of 16.057 seconds. The second round of time trials saw Helmick go fast time with a 16.205 second lap.
USAC EAST COAST SPRINT CARS PRESENTED BY BAER DEN FARMS RACE RESULTS: October 30, 2026 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey – Non-Points Special Event
FIRST ROUND QUALIFYING: 1. Joe Kata, 10, Kata-16.057; 2. Ronald Helmick, 22, Helmick-16.094; 3. J.R. Fulper, 67, Fulper-16.173; 4. Kyle Spence, 42, Fraker-16.375; 5. Jared Kreider, 24, Haggenbottom-16.439; 6. Rick Lafferty, 02, Lafferty-16.544; 7. Chelby Hinton, 39, Hogue-16.613; 8. Tyler Brehm, 51, Brehm-16.683; 9. Scott Frack, 39x, Frack-16.921; 10. Jonathan Swanson, 17J, Swanson-17.128; 11. David Swanson, 117, Swanson-17.501; 12. Shane Braxton, 35, Braxton-17.543; 13. Olivia Thayer, 39T, Thayer-17.833; 14. Mick D’Agostino, 91D, D’Agostino-17.846; 15. Dan Malley, H20, Malley-17.877; 16. Greg Shepsis, 75, Shepsis-18.122; 17. Gary Huston, 44, Huston-18.951; 18. Heidi Hedin, 3H, Hedin-20.048.
SECOND ROUND QUALIFYING: 1. Ronald Helmick, 22, Helmick-16.205; 2. Joe Kata, 10, Kata-16.494; 3. Kyle Spence, 42, Fraker-16.535; 4. Chelby Hinton, 39, Hogue-16.544; 5. Jonathan Swanson, 17J, Swanson-16.622; 6. Jared Kreider, 24, Haggenbottom-16.660; 7. Brenden Hires, 2, Danner-16.684; 8. Rick Lafferty, 02, Lafferty-16.772; 9. Tyler Brehm, 51, Brehm-16.916; 10. J.R. Fulper, 67, Fulper-16.918; 11. David Swanson, 117, Swanson-17.045; 12. Scott Frack, 39x, Frack-17.062; 13. Greg Shepsis, 75, Shepsis-17.284; 14. Mick D’Agostino, 91D, D’Agostino-17.393; 15. Shane Braxton, 35, Braxton-17.480; 16. Olivia Thayer, 39T, Thayer-17.665; 17. Dan Malley, H20, Malley-17.849; 18. Sean Case, 9c, Case-18.371; 19. Gary Huston, 44, Huston-18.568; 20. Heidi Hedi, 3H, Hedin-18.644.
MALLEY POOL WATER NON-WINNERS SHOWDOWN FEATURE: (20 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chelby Hinton (3), 2. Kyle Spence (4), 3. Joe Kata (5), 4. Jonathan Swanson (2), 5. Ronald Helmick (6), 6. Brenden Hires (7), 7. Tyler Brehm (9), 8. J.R. Fulper (10), 9. Rick Lafferty (8), 10. David Swanson (11), 11. Mick D’Agostino (14), 12. Scott Frack (12), 13. Heidi Hedin (20), 14. Dan Malley (17), 15. Gary Huston (19), 16. Sean Case (18), 17. Shane Braxton (15), 18. Jared Kreider (1), 19. Greg Shepsis (13), 20. Olivia Thayer (16). NT
NEXT USAC EAST COAST SPRINT CARS PRESENTED BY BAER DEN FARMS RACE: October 31, 2026 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey