Spithaler Cruises to Victory Lane in Speedweek Opener

Shippenville, PA (May 31st, 2023) – Twenty-five cars packed the pits at Knox Raceway in Knox, PA on a night that marked the third consecutive running of Western PA Speedweek following a 20 year hiatus. In an almost mirror image of the FAST series race at Knox just two and a half weeks ago, Brandon Spithaler walked away with the $3,000 win on the fast 1/3rd mile oval.

Based on early results in and around the region, it was inarguable that Brandon Spithaler would be among the favorites upon entry into the first round of Western PA Speedweek at the revived Knox Raceway. Once it became evident early in the night that the track would have some character, it became even more clear that the Evans City, PA driver could be considered the standalone odds-on favorite.

As feature time rolled around with 24 cars taking the green flag, it was Dan Kuriger who jumped to the point from his pole starting position. A first lap caution for Sye Lynch, who spun to a stop in Turn #1 after making contact with another car, quickly reset the field for a second attempt at going green. Kuriger again grabbed the holeshot with George Hobaugh, Michael Bauer, Spithaler and Mark Smith closely behind. However action was quickly halted again on with one lap in the books when Darin Gallagher found himself flipping wildly off the topside of the track. Gallagher was reported to be okay, though the same couldn’t be said for his #12 machine.

After returning to green, Brandon Spithaler quickly moved past George Hobaugh to claim the second position, and immediately set his sights on the race leader. After a slicing and dicing through lapped traffic, with a couple failed attempts at overtaking the lead, Spithaler finally snuck under Kuriger right at the line as the cross-flags were being given on Lap 13.

From there, it was no looking back for Brandon Spithaler as his lead over the Rochester, PA driver (Kuriger) increased seemingly every lap. When the dust finally settled after Lap 25, Spithaler found himself well over half a lap ahead of the rest of the field, with the win officially clocking in at a 10.729-second gap ahead of the 2nd place Kuriger. Michael Bauer, Mark Smith, and Ryan Smith completed the rest of the top five.

Bradley Howard claimed the $200 ‘Rustler Sales & Service Hard Charger’ award with a net gain of eight spots. This becomes even more impressive when considering that Howard was penalized to the rear of the field after stopping on the track and requiring a second push-off. The penalty spots were not included in his passing total.

Michael Bauer was awarded the $250 ‘Knox Bakery Fast Qualifier’ award after setting quick time over the 25-car field with a fast lap of 13.707 seconds.

Darin Gallagher, Mark Smith and Ryan Smith were the Mobile Bail Bonds heat race winners.

Brandon Spithaler also earned an extra $100 as part of the Lockhart ‘Jackpot Award’ for being the highest finishing driver displaying the Lockhart Raceway decals.

Darin Gallagher was awarded the $50 hard luck after flipping out of the feature after one completed lap while running in the ninth position.

During pre-race festivities, Ryan Smith was randomly drawn for the Hoosier Tire certificate, and Bill Jones, Jr received a new gas can from title sponsor Mark McIver from Schaeffer’s Specialized Lubricants.

Teams, fans and officials will now turn their attention to Round #2 of Western PA Speedweek on Thursday night, June 1st at Dirt’s Monster Half-Mile known as Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway for another $3,000 to win affair. Pit gates open at 4pm, with the driver’s meeting slated for 6:15pm with practice, qualifying and racing to follow.

FEATURE FINISH (25 Laps): 1. 22-Brandon Spithaler [3][$3000]; 2. 08-Dan Kuriger [1]; 3. 46-Michael Bauer [4]; 4. 19R-Mark Smith [5]; 5. 6R-Ryan Smith [8]; 6. 40-George Hobaugh [2]; 7. 6-Bob Felmlee [6]; 8. 2-A.J. Flick [12]; 9. 23JR-Jack Sodeman, Jr [14]; 10. 49H-Bradley Howard [18]; 11. 11-Carl Bowser [15]; 12. 3-Denny Peebles [11]; 13. 13-Brandon Matus [17]; 14. 12J-Bill Jones, Jr [16]; 15. 27-Zach Morrow [19]; 16. X7-Andy Cavanaugh [21]; 17. 29-Dan Shetler [13]; 18. 5-John Walp [20]; 19. 20B-Cody Bova [7]; 20. 58-Kyle Colwell [23]; 21. 33-Brent Matus [22]; 22. 12-Darin Gallagher [9]; 23. 23-Darren Pifer [24]; 24. 42-Sye Lynch [10]; 25. 27K-Ricky Peterson [25] Hard Charger: 49H-Bradley Howard [+8]; Lap Leaders: Dan Kuriger (1-12); Brandon Spithaler (13-25)

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Western PA Speedweek is brought to you by Schaeffer’s Specialized Lubricants together with J.S. Bova Excavating along with the support of the A-Main Podcast, Bill McCandless Ford, Bowl-O-Drome Family Bowling Center, Classic Ink USA, Hobaugh’s Auto Parts, Kistler Racing Products, The Knox Bakery, Legends of Seneca, Lockhart Raceway, McClung Auto Body, Mobile Bail Bonds, Rustler Sales and Service, Superior Interiors Dustless Hardwood Refinishing, Rod Squad Fishing Charters, Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic, The Dirt Network, and Fox’s Pizza Den of Mercer.