Macungie,
PA - Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie, Pa provided the setting
on Saturday, January 10, as a crowd of 220 gathered to salute the 2014
champions of Speedway Entertainment's three Touring Divisions, along
with the top point earners at the JeffreyHogueRealtor.com Action Track
USA.
The Pauch family of Frenchtown, NJ certainly enjoyed the festivities, as
Billy Pauch Sr. was crowned USAC SpeedSTR National Champion while his
son, Billy Jr., accepted the hardware and cash for his SpeedSTR point
title at Action Track USA. The elder Pauch was also named as the
SpeedSTR division's Driver of the Year.
"At this point in my career, I'm only concerned with winning races,"
said Billy Pauch Sr. "But this championship is special because these
cars are so difficult to drive...they're a handful, and all the drivers
will tell you that. But that makes them fun to drive, and the caliber of
the competition in this class is unbelievable. I get to race against my
heroes like Kenny Brightbill and Jeff Strunk, so that makes it (the
National Championship) pretty special, too. And I'll tell you what, you
can make money racing these cars. An entire SpeedSTR, race ready, is
about $18,000, and we race for $2,000 or $3,000 to win every week.
That's why I'm involved in this division."
Joining Pauch Sr. as the Speedway Entertainment National Champions for
2014 were Dylan Hoch (All Star Slingshots) and Damon Paul (Junior
Slingshots). Both teens were well-spoken and poised as they addressed
the banquet attendees and posed for photos.
Hoch, from Mertztown, Pa, thanked his sponsors and family for all their
support and assistance throughout the season. He rallied late in the
year and clinched the National Tour's title by winning the Fall Jamboree
at Grandview - which was the final race of the campaign. "I'm so pumped
up and anxious for the new season," related Hoch, "I just want to get
out there and try to win this thing again."
Paul, the driver from Stony Point, NY, credited his dad for working
tirelessly on his No. 144 so it was always fast and ready for battle on
the Junior Slingshot Tour. Paul triumphed in four of the Junior Tour's
nine events in 2014. During his championship speech, the diminutive but
charismatic racer revealed his plans for '15...he'll move up to the All
Star Slingshot Class and also make his debut in a SpeedSTR at Action
Track USA.
The All Star Slingshots Regional Tour Champions were also recognized at
Saturday's awards gala. Picking up the big hardware and cash prizes were
Louden Reimert (Mid-Atlantic Silver); Dylan Hoch (Mid-Atlantic Gold);
Brian Toby (Empire); and Jim Chisholm (Great Lakes). Larry Raifsnider
was saluted as the Slingshot Speedweek Champion.
Hoch was named as the All Star Slingshot Driver of the Year, while Paul
received the same award in the Junior Slingshot division.
The S.E. Rookies of the Year included Tim Buckwalter (SpeedSTR's); Jared
LaBagh (All Star Slingshots); and Kyle Smith (Junior Slingshots).
Rich Tobias, President of Speedway Entertainment and Action Track USA,
completed his second season as a race promoter along with partner Doug
Rose at the oval located on the Kutztown Fairgrounds. Their weekly
classes - SpeedSTR's, Wingless 600cc Sprints, and All Star Slingshots -
produced another year of outstanding competition and constant
wheel-to-wheel action during the Wednesday night racing programs.
After a close runner-up finish in the 2013 point standings, Billy Pauch
Jr. claimed the '14 USAC SpeedSTR title. He narrowly defeated his dad,
Billy Sr., for the crown, as both father and son notched three victories
to lead all other drivers in the SpeedSTR division.
"To be successful in racing, you've got to surround yourself with good
people. I've got a great car owner in Bob Lesko and a great crew...they
are the reason I'm standing here right now," summed up Pauch Jr.
Jay Hartman of Flagtown, NJ registered his second consecutive point
title in the always exciting and extremely popular Pioneer Pole Building
Wingless 600cc Sprint class. He and brother Jeff have now captured the
last five track championships on the Kutztown clay in the Wingless 600cc
division. Hartman was best in class as 107 drivers earned points in
2014, and 13 Wingless 600cc features produced nine different winners.
Another of the Action Track USA's point chases that went right down to
the wire occurred in the NAPA Auto Parts All Star Slingshot division.
The Rockaway Rocket, Danny Buccafusca, prevailed on the final night of
racing to win his second straight point crown at the Berks County
speedway. Driving Randy Smith's S&S Speedways No. 55, Buccafusca
outpointed Larry Raifsnider and Brett Bieber for the title.
The Junior Slingshots competed at Action Track USA on five occasions
during the '14 slate of events, with Damon Paul winning the last four of
those races. That was more than enough to wrap up the Junior Slinger
track championship, a nice compliment to his Junior National title.
Jeffrey Hogue, who owns the naming rights to the hugely successful oval,
addressed the crowd and thanked Tobias and Rose for all their hard work
and efforts to make the Wednesday night events so popular with racers
and fans. He pledged his continued support because he's loved the sport
ever since he attended races at the Reading Fairgrounds as a youth. "I
was hooked immediately, and I've been a dirt track fan ever since," he
admitted.
Rich Tobias also presented his annual "State of Speedway Entertainment
Address", stating that there will be some cosmetic changes to the
facility in Kutztown and the entry to turn three (at the end of the
backstretch) has been widened to hopefully lessen the chances of cars
being "pinched" into the wall at that point.
Tobias also expressed his admiration for all of the 2014 Champions and
thanked all of the race teams for their support of Speedway
Entertainment and Action Track USA. He expressed great optimism over the
growth of the SpeedSTR division as orders for new cars - from drivers
who have terrific credentials in other classes - continue to pour in to
S.E. Headquarters in Myerstown, Pa.
While details of the 2015 Action Track USA schedule will be released at
the upcoming Motorsports Show in Oaks, Tobias did inform the banquet
attendees that the Wingless 600cc Sprints will have three events that
will pay $1,000 to win.
The complete schedule will be available at Motorsports 2015 and on the speedway's website, www.actiontrackusa.com.
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