Ryan Godown Jr. Takes Crate Victory at STSS Mid-Atlantic Championships; Toth Captures Two Points Championships & PIT NOTES

The Short Track Super Series headed back to Georgetown Speedway for their annual Mid-Atlantic Championships to conclude the 10 race South Region points chase and crown the STSS champion and the Georgetown Speedway Points champion in a race that offered the winner $1,500 to close out the 2021 season.

Ryan Godown Jr. came through the field from his 19^th starting position to take the win going away with a 3 second margin of victory over Eric Kormann and Ray Swinehart.

In victory lane Ryan Godown Jr. commented “I was just hoping for a top ten coming into the feature but a win is a win and the car was really good.  I got to thank all my guys and my dad they always give me a good car.  I don’t know if I could have caught Joe without that caution.  It was rough on the bottom and couldn’t tell you how many times I felt the left rear leave the ground and I thought I was going to flip so I moved up a ½ a lane and got better runs off of 2 and 4 up there.”

Joe Toth took the early lead only to fade to an 11^th place finish due to the motor laying down and late cautions; but nonetheless he was able to hold on to his points lead in both the STSS points and Georgetown track points to win both point championships in one day despite having to be pushed into victory lane by a track push truck.

In victory lane Joe Toth noted “Right around lap 11 the motor started to lay down and I was hoping for no cautions.  I think we still could have finished in the top 5 if the cautions did not come out.  But we were able to hang on and I knew I needed to stay out there to get both of these championships and we did our job.  The South Series benefits us since we run most of these tracks more than once a year.  I know we have a good shot every time I race around home at these South Series tracks.  This track is 3 hours away but it always feels like home and I love this track.” 

The 25 lap 602 crate feature saw Joe Toth take an early commanding lead from his 3^rd starting position.  Ryan Godown Jr was also on a hard charge from his 19^th starting position and moved into 2^nd by lap 11.  On lap 18 and the 4^th restart; Godown took the lead and separated from the field while Toth started to fall back through the field as his motor began to go away.  Another driver charging hard to the front was Eric Kormann who finished 2^nd from his 10^th starting position.  Godown drove into victory lane with nearly a 3 second margin of victory over Eric Kormann in 2^nd and Ray Swinehart in 3^rd.

The top ten was rounded out by Joe Toth in second place followed by Ray Swinehart, Brandon Edgar, Sammy Martz Jr, Adam White, Logan Watt, Brandon Watkins, Ryan Simmons and Greg Humlhanz in 10^th place.    

Heat races were won by Joe Toth, Adam White, John McPhee Jr. and Joel Smith.  The consolation was won by Justin Grosso.

Crate 602 Sportsman Feature Finish (25 laps):

  1.)RYAN GODOWN JR, 2.) Eric Kormann, 3.) Ray Swinehart, 4.) Brandon Edgar, 5.) Sammy Martz Jr., 6.) Adam White, 7.) Logan Watt, 8.) Brandon Watkins, 9.) Ryan Simmons, 10.) Greg Humlhanz, 11.) Joe Toth, 12.) Michael White, 13.) Joel Smith, 14.) Sean Weiss, 15.) Richie Walls Jr., 16.) John McPhee Jr., 17.) Ajay Potrzebowski Jr., 18.) Justin Grosso, 19.) Bobby Bracall, 20.) Danny Maher, 21.) Jim Wills, 22.) Tracy Gauger, 23.) Kenny Bock, 24.) Jeff Marker, 25.) Sean Metz, 26.) Zac Weller, 27.) Anthony Tramontana, 28.) Greg Reed and 29.) Shawn McPhee.

Did Not Qualify: Nolan Openshaw, Bernard Joly, Brian Rogers, Trent Van Vorst, Jordon Justice, John Burton, Greg Taylor, David Jenkins

2021 Belmont’s Garage South Region Champion ($1,500): Joe Toth

2021 Georgetown Speedway Crate 602 Sportsman Champion ($750): Joe Toth

602 Crate Pit Notes

Ryan Godown Jr. finished October with a win from a 19^th starting position at the Georgetown mid-Atlantic championships and picked up his second STSS South region 602 crate win of the season.   He started the month off with a 7^th place finish at the SDW at Oswego.  Postrace Ryan noted “We set the car up the exact same way we had it at Oswego and just bolted the American Racers back on the car.  The car was amazing all day from hot laps to feature and we didn’t make any changes all night long.  Once again my guys gave me a great car and I can’t thank them enough.  The 19^th to 1^st was amazing for me.  I was hoping for a top ten finish but the car was so good I was in 10^th by the 3^rd lap.  I knew I a good car when I got to 5^th by lap 8 and then just picked guys off every lap until I got the lead.”

Ryan continued “I learned so much about driving & setup at Oswego and it was definitely a pivotal learning experience from both a driver and car setup perspective.  I’ve been happy with how we’ve ended out season with Oswego and now this race.  It’s all because of my guys and sponsors who do so much for me and I can’t thank enough for making all this happen.  I appreciate each one of them very much.”

Eric Kormann needed another 5 laps to pick up the win.  The veteran has returned to crate racing this fall and has been racking up top 10 and top 5 finishes virtually every outing.  Tonight was not much different as he finished 2^nd from a 10^th starting position.  Postrace Eric noted “I tried everything I could top, bottom and ended up bouncing around, having guys drive through you and hitting the holes.  It was a wild race but patience was the key.  I knew we had a good car and just needed to settle in and get everyone spread out to be able to maneuver on the track.  It played out like I thought but came up a little short.   I’m not use to being here on the front stretch after years of helping Brett build this place up to what it is today.  I drove my butt off and tried the bottom and top but then the top started to come in and was running them down but just ran out of laps.  It’s fun being back behind the wheel.

Ray Swinehart finished 3^rd from a 7^th starting position in the family owned 83.  Ray also drove his 33s spec 358 modified and qualified for the modified feature.  In victory lane Ray noted “I did double driving duty tonight and it was a lot of racing.  We had a good car and just a little front shock issue.  The car had a mind of its own.  This was my first time in the car and we’ve got a couple of things to work on to get it better.”    

Brandon Edgar made his second trip to Georgetown and finished a solid 4^th place.  Brandon commented “We were there last year but basically only ran in warmups and had some issues that ended our race early.  I thought the bottom was good but a long green run proved that wrong and I dropped to 8^th or 9^th.  Once I found the top I soared back towards the front.  All in all good for our first feature at Georgetown.”

Ryan Simmons finished 9^th running through the field from his 28^th provisional starting position.  Ryan reflected “We broke a shock tower in our heat race and the car wouldn’t handle.  In the consolation we didn’t have time to make many changes.  But for the feature we tried a bunch of stuff I have wanted to try all year long.  It worked really well and car felt superfast.  I could put the car anywhere and we did a lot of passing.  I think we had a top 5 car if we had a few more laps.  We got faster lap times as the race went on.  At the STSS shows you usually never have to worry about wrecks because they are the best of the best in the south region in attendance so it’s nice to have a solid run like that after everything that went on early in the heat and consolation.” 

Joe Toth had a dominate car and was on his way to a trifecta of wins on the day when his motor started laying down in the 25 lap feature.  Joe has been on an October winning streak with a October 1 win at Georgetown; Campo Barnes win; a 3^rd at the Speed Showcase 50 at Port Royal followed by a Delaware Championships win last week.  To add to his 3 wins and 3^rd at the biggest STSS crate race of the year he added two championships with his 11^th place finish tonight.  Not many drivers can say they won two season championships in one night but Joe Toth can and won both the STSS South Region point championship and the Georgetown Speedway championship in the same night.

Zac Weller won his heat race and started on the pole and was looking for his first finish at Georgetown.  He had a good run going and was holding in the top 5 when contact on lap 15 caused him to go into the pits and not return for the night.  Zac noted “We were a bit loose but were managing to stay in the top 5 until we had to pull off.”