PATH VALLEY SPEEDWAY EXCEEDS 125 DRIVERS FOR 2025 SEASON OPENER
By Judy McGee Timmons
Path Valley Speedway scheduled their season opener race on Sunday, April 13th, after two consecutive Saturday night rainouts, and filled the pits with over 125 drivers signing in for the 2025 season’s first race.
The Macri Concrete 600 Sprints were ready for action as they entered the oval for their first feature event. Dakota Sheaffer & Maverick Kauffman were in the front line on green, but early cautions would reset the lineup after several drivers went to the rear. Sheaffer maintained his lead, while Kauffman, Brent Shearer, Brian Kramer, & Chase Robinson relined for the top five runners. As the midrace lap approached, the top challengers began to shift positions, as Cole Dewease pulled into fifth, Shearer moved into second, Kramer advanced to third, & Kauffman ran the top five spot, till Robinson regained his momentum, passing Kauffman. The action at the front between Sheaffer & Shearer was heading for a showdown as the racers were wheel to wheel, with Shearer gaining an advantage point, taking the lead, as third place runner, Brian Kramer, followed Shearer by Sheaffer to pull into second. Heath Walton was bringing his racer to the top five, passing Dewease & Sheaffer to claim third place. Sheaffer maintained his fourth-place spot, with Dewease finishing in fifth as the checkered flag waved for Shearer. Brent Shearer had the best lap time at 11.810 seconds, & the best speed, traveling 76.207 MPH.
The Cordell Construction Late Models were escorted to the green by D.J. Myers & Brandon Little for their 25 lap feature event. Myers pulled to the lead with Shyann Smith moving into second, before a caution flag waved for Jaxton Garman & Trenton Beasom, who got together between turns one & two, resulting in both moving to the back of the line.
Myers, Smith, Brandon Little, Lane Snook & Taylor Farlling were sitting in the top five spots on the restart, with Little & Snook going into door to door action for third, before another caution flag waved for Michael Blazer, after his racer turned sideways in turn two. Blazer took his ride to the rear as Cayden Ranck exited the oval after three laps. Myers, Smith, Snook, Little & Farlling remained in the top five for six laps & two cautions, for Blazer, who lost a tire, & Trenton Beasom, who got out of shape in turn four, relocating to the back of the reline. At midrace, the top three runners were front to back, pulling away from their competitors. Snook pulled beside Smith in attempts to pull to second, but Smith held her place while putting the pressure on Myers. A caution flag came out when Beasom & John Moser got together in the turn two infield, resulting in both rides entering the pits, with fifteen laps complete. The restart tightened the entire lineup as Myers, Smith, Snook, Farlling, Little, Dalton Bachman & Kyle Moser were now inches apart as the flag waved green, the top drivers holding their positions for the final 10 laps, with the exception of one advancement by Bachman, who passed Little, giving him the top five spot with four laps to go. Myers took the win, but second place finisher, Shyann Smith, logged the best lap speed, traveling 70.219 MPH and the best lap time at 12.817 seconds.
The Cisney’s Auto Parts 4 Cylinder Thunder Car feature brought 24 cars to the oval, with Kevin Bard & Charlie Stallman at the front. Bard took the lead, with Stallman putting immediate pressure on the leader, while Cameron Defenderfer, Cheyenne Ingram & Robert McQuade pulled into the top five. Austin Betz’s racer got into the frontstretch infield, putting him to the back, as Bard led the restart ahead of Stallman, Defenderfer, Ingram & Aaron Updegraff, where they raced for three laps before Updegraff passed Ingram to take fourth, & the racer of Nick Barthalow, who came from tenth starting position, also pulled by Ingram, taking control of fifth place. A double caution slowed the racers when Brittany Arcq got into the turn four infield, joining the rear, & Dustin Moore having issues in turn one, from which he retired to the pits. Charlie Stallman, who was running second, got his racer into the turn two infield, putting him to the end of the line. On the restart, the competitors were bumper to bumper, as Bard continued his hold on the lead, but immediately had Updegraff at his side after passing Defenderfer & claiming second place. The second half of the feature was an action-packed race with a constant battle between Bard & Updegraff. Ronnie Buck, Kenny Yoder & Justin Rasp, were working their way to the front, with Buck passing Barthalow & Defenderfer to collect the fourth place spot. Yoder & Rasp also moved by Barthalow, making their way to the sixth & seventh place positions with four laps remaining. Bard & Updegraff were still engaging in a front-end battle, while Ingram, Buck & Defenderfer maintained their top five places. The last lap was soon to be logged with Bard at the front, but Updegraff took the inside on the frontstretch, taking the win in the final seconds. Bard, Ingram, Buck & Defenderfer followed for the top five finishers. Aaron Updegraff had the best speed lap at 61.915 MPH & best lap time at 14.536 seconds.
The Kathy Baker Coldwell Banker Realty Modifieds were next on the racing agenda as Ray Knable & Kirk Baker escorted the racers to the green. Knable, Baker, Spike Moore, Mike Corbin & Sam Reeder were in the top five at the completion of the first lap, but Moore passed Baker to move to second, & Reeder raced his ride past Arden Fedder to take control of fifth. Brad Long got his racer into the infield, then drove it to the pit area for the evening. Knable pulled away from second place runner, Spike Moore, gaining a challenging distance between them, with Kirk Baker, Mike Corbin & Arden Fedder running in the top five. Corbin & Baker were wheel to wheel at the halfway mark, with Corbin gaining the position & taking control of third, while Baker remained in fourth & Fedder maintained the top five till the checkered. Knable had the best lap speed, traveling at 68.823 MPH & a best lap time at 13.077 seconds.
The T.A. Ward Construction sponsored “Claybreaker” race scheduled for April 5th, became a reality on Sunday, with T.A. Ward posting $500.00 to win for the 270 Micro Sprint Feature Event.
Brad Cowan & Brett Kauffman led the 24-car field to the green, with Cowan taking the lead, followed by Kauffman, Bradyn Kuhn, Craig Myers & Cory Myers. Jordan Knable’s racer got into the turn one & two infield, with one lap complete, putting him to the rear as Cowan led on the restart. At the wave of green, Cory Myers got his ride sideways on the frontstretch, putting the fourth-place runner to the end of the reline. Fifth place starter, Billy Logeman, pulled by Cowan & Kauffman on the restart, to take the lead as Craig Myers & Colton McAndrew moved into the top five. Cameron McClure & Eric Christman slowed the field when cautions were shown, putting Logeman at the front of the reline, as Craig Myers moved to second, ahead of Cowan, Kauffman, & Colton McAndrew. The caution detained the racers again when Jordan Knable had problems in turn four, while Nash Lucas came to a stop in his ride out of turn one, retiring both competitors to the pits. On the restart, Logeman, Craig Myers, Kauffman & Cowan remained at the top with Parker Lucas pulling into the fifth spot, then on to fourth, after passing Cowan, where they remained for five laps. Bradyn Kuhn took control of fifth place, followed by Cory Myers, who had returned to sixth place from the rear of the circuit. Thirteen laps were complete when misfortune came to the top racers of Parker Lucas & Brett Kauffman, when Lucas got sideways out of turn two, going to the rear, & Kauffman being pushed to the pit area. Logeman led Craig Myers, Kuhn, Cory Myers, & Colton McAndrew as the top five on the restart, with Cory Myers moving by Kuhn to take third on the next lap. Fifth place runner, Colton McAndrew, left the oval with two laps to go, advancing Aidan Crouse to fifth, where they remained till the finish. Logeman was presented the T.A. Ward Construction sponsored $500.00 check for his win in victory lane. Logeman also had the best lap speed, traveling at 78.699 MPH and the best lap time at 11.436 seconds.
The Randy Burkholder Racing Supplies Strictly Stock Division entered the raceway as the final feature of the evening, with Rusty Garlock & Matthew Duvall at the helm. Garlock took the lead on green as Duvall held second & Tiana Anderson, Bruce Long & Shane Flaherty followed for the top five. The first five laps put six racers to the pits when Braxton Bush & Jaymen Goss made contact, then Raymond Goss stopped in turn one, Jason Goss & Jason Goss Jr., entered the pits and Corbin Rosenberry lost a tire out of turn two.
The restart had Garlock, Duvall, Anderson, Shawn Williamson, & Flaherty at the top till lap seven when Bruce Long passed Flaherty to claim fifth, where they ran for ten laps till J.T. Matney passed Long, taking the top five position as Garlock collected the win. Garlock had the best lap speed, racing at 62.457 MPH and the best lap time at 14.410 seconds.