The Daily Item from Sunbury, Pennsylvania • C4

Page C4 The Daily Item Friday, May 2, 2008 Motorsports By Shawn Wood For The Daily Item DUNCANNON If a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, then Bryan Hayberger has just taken a big one. Hayberger, the defending adult cage flathead go-kart champion at the Selinsgrove Raceway Park, recently took part in a tryout in North Carolina for a spot with Laf- ferty Motorsports, a multi- level NASCAR racing team based in Concord, in hopes of racing in NASCAR some day. Hayberger, an 18-year old senior at Susquenita High School who also attends Cumberland Perry Area Vocational Technical School for diesel technology in the afternoon, began racing back in 2002 after attending a race with his neighbor, Jeff Gill, who raced go-karts. His first win came near the end of the 2002 season and since then racked up five track titles in six years. He is fourth on the all-time win last at Penns Creek Raceway Park with 28.

Bryan has three titles at Path Valley, one at Penns Creek and last title at Selinsgrove Raceway Park came in his first full season at the track. went to the races with Jeff a couple of times and decided that I was going to get into Bryan said. Before getting into racing, Bryan played basketball from fourth to ninth grade. He still follows the sport today, as Tim Duncan of the Spurs is his favorite player. His test session with Laf- ferty Motorsports came about when he found a racing classified site online with the Lafferty Motorsports listing for a driver development op- portunity.

saw the ad and called them to find out what it was all about, what I need to do and then after talking with my mom and dad, we decided to go down and give it a try, he said. was too good of an opportunity to pass on. Brian The Daily Item Bryan Hayberger has won go-kart championships at Se- linsgrove Raceway Park and Penns Creek and hopes to take his talent to NASCAR some day. Brian The Daily Item Bryan Hayberger races his go-kart at Selinsgrove Raceway Park this season, but hopes his opportunity at Lafferty Motorsports gets him a shot to race stock cars on asphalt. been wanting to move up for two years, but we been able to do so with the lack of The test would come at Tri-County Motor Speedway, a fast high- banked asphalt facility just north of Hickory, N.C.

The original test was slated for the third-mile oval historic Hickory Motor Speedway, but it was rained out. test went well to start with but it did end up with a spin, but overall Bryan has what we are looking for in a driver: drive, determination and said Lafferty Motorsports owner Chris Lafferty. definitely a good kid. He has a good atti- tude and a good-hearted kid. I believe got drive and Yet when the spin oc- curred, to Bryan, it appeared that his tryout was all for not.

The spin occurred when Bryan got up out of the groove in turn one and looped the truck around, without hitting anything. guess I got too high on the track and the truck pretty much snapped around on he said. thought I had blown the chance and I was pretty upset, but Chris said I was still going to be in the really tore him up when he Lafferty said. it was a misunderstanding of words that led him to believe that his chances to get into the program were done. It was his way he carried him- self after the spin that led me to believe this is someone I can work with.

I thought the test went pretty Bryan said. really accustomed to that big of a vehicle yet and looking to set lap times. I just keep progressing throughout the day. It was night and day from when I first went out to the last time I went Making the jump from go-karts to a truck is a big step and not that Bryan mind racing on the half-mile at Selinsgrove, but raced the go-karts on the asphalt and liked the sensa- tion you get from it. like the G-force effect of he said.

I kind of like asphalt a little more. a NASCAR fan and Dale Jr. is my favorite driver. We kind of drive alike. both pa- tient and we wait to the end and then go all a truck, sitting on the left side and tying to figure out how far you can go on the right side without running out of Bryan said of the biggest difference from going from a go-kart to the truck.

Bryan has made the pro- Go-kart driver gets chance to move up SHORT-TRACK RACING STANDINGS SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY 358 sprints Rank, Driver Points 1. Pat Cannon 1,310 2. Dave Calaman 1,220 3. Blane Heimbach 1,170 4. Davey Franek 1,130 5.

Mike Walter 1,070 6. Larry Kelleher 940 7. Jeff Furlong 880 8. Colby Womer 840 9. Phil Walter 820 10.

Scott Flammer 815 Late models Rank, Driver Points 1. Dustin Hoffman 920 2. Brett Schadel 860 3. Eric Hons 850 4. Jeff Rine 820 5.

Steve Campbell 785 6. Tony Adams 730 6. Gary Beward 730 8. Bobby Croop 720 9. Kenny Trevitz 710 10.

Jeff Smith 665 Pro Stocks Rank, Driver Points 1. A.J. Stroup 1,450 2. Troy Miller 1,390 3. Jason Smith 1,280 4.

Brad Mitch 1,225 5. Chad Davis 1,195 6. Scott Landis 1,180 7. Frank Reisser 1,100 8. Jace Cresswell 1,070 9.

Peanut Heintzelman 1,040 10. Shaun Miller 1,035 Roadrunners Rank, Driver Points 1. Keith Bissinger 1,370 2. Ricky Bender 1,115 3. Tim Campbell 1,020 4.

Doug Minium Sr. 1,010 5. Nathan Engle 935 6. Chris Herman 920 7. Mike Kiehl 900 8.

Butch Shaffer 850 8. Brian Johnson 850 10. Mark Spencer 840 PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY 410 sprint Rank, Driver Points 1. Todd Shaffer 505 2. Mike Wagner 440 3.

Alan Cole 435 4. Mike Erdley 425 4. Todd Hestor 425 6. Cale Grubb 410 7. Rick Lafferty 390 8.

Mark Smith 380 9. Greg Hodnett 375 10. Bill Brian 370 Late Models Rank, Driver Points 1. Scotty Haus 545 2. Matt Parks 440 3.

Tim Wilson 435 4. Scott Flickinger 400 5. Nick Dickson 380 6. Dan Stone 365 7. Eric Zembower 345 7.

Mitch Hack 345 9. Bob Dunn 330 10. Matt Murphy 320 Pro Stocks Rank, Driver Points 1. Tim Krape 545 2. Dan Berry 500 3.

Terry Naugle 475 4. Jim Palm 470 5. Devin Frey 430 6. Derick Garman 410 7. Cliff Peffer 315 8.

Brian Towsey 265 9. John Heane 225 10. Tom Krape 210 WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY 410 sprints Rank, Driver Points 1. Fred Rahmer 1,070 2. Greg Hodnett 980 3.

Chad Layton 975 4. Brian Leppo 950 5. Mark Smith 895 6. Brian Montieth 890 7. Cody Darrah 880 8.

Lance Dewease 790 9. Todd Shaffer 765 10. Doug Esh 755 358 sprints Rank, Driver Points 1. Pat Cannon 540 2. Dave Calaman 470 2.

Aaron Ott 470 4. Cory Haas 450 5. Danny Massey 430 6. Chad Criswell 420 6. Scott Geesey 420 6.

Adam Wilt 420 9. John Westbrook 320 10. Todd Rittenhouse Jr. 300 LINCOLN SPEEDWAY 410 sprints Rank, Driver Points 1. Fred Rahmer 2,370 2.

Brian Montieth 2,185 3. Chad Layton 2,175 4. Doug Esh 2,160 5. Niki Young 2,090 6. Cris Eash 2,020 7.

Alan Krimes 2,005 8. T.J. Stutts 1,910 9. Cody Darrah 1,790 10. Aaron Ott 1,700 358 sprints Rank, Driver Points 1.

Brad McClelland 640 1. Nate Hammaker 640 3. Chad Criswell 635 3. Billy Dietrich 635 5. Brian Eichelberger 615 6.

Jimmy Layton 600 7. Scott Geesey 595 8. Gerard McIntyre, Jr. 590 9. Keith Prutzman 585 10.

Tim Wagaman 580 BIG DIAMOND RACEWAY 358 modifieds Rank, Driver Points 1. Jeff Strunk 300 2. Duane Howard 295 2. Terry Meitzler 295 4. Ryan Grim 275 5.

Billy Pauch Jr. 265 6. Ryan Watt 255 6. Rick Laubach 255 8. Doug Manmiller 250 9.

Kevin Hirthler 220 10. Ray Swinehart 215 Sportsman modifieds Rank, Driver Points 1. Kyle Weiss 365 2. Brad Brightbill 330 3. Jordan Umbenhauer 295 4.

Mike Loney 255 5. Josh Biever 245 5. Kevin Smith 245 7. Steven Hughes 230 8. Billy Moyer Jr.

220 9. Clay Butler 215 9. Patrick Cozze 215 Roadrunners Rank, Driver Points 1. Kevin Holland 360 2. Kevin Olenick 340 3.

Elvin Brennan 315 4. Chris Holland 300 5. Jeremy Becker 280 ARDC MIDGETS Rank, Driver Points 1. Randy Monroe Jr. 137 2.

P.J. Gargiulo 130 2. Brett Arndt 130 4. Frank Polimeda 125 5. Andy Martin 114 6.

Dave Shirk 110 7. Billy Pauch Jr. 108 8. Tracy Readinger 102 9. Nick Wean 93 10.

A.J. Ernesto 92 SUPER SPORTSMAN TOUR Rank, Driver Points 1. Frankie Herr 1,000 2. Carmen Perigo Jr. 840 3.

Derek Locke 790 4. Russ Mitten 780 5. Mike Enders 770 5. Jason Fry 770 7. Scott Dellinger 760 8.

Rick Barr 720 9. Rich Eichelberger 705 10. Duaine Smith 670 UNITED RACING COMPANY Rank, Driver Points 1. Curt Michael 352 2. Chris Coyle 309 3.

Dave Ely 297 4. Brian Seidel 296 5. Becca Anderson 287 6. Robbie Stillwaggon 283 7. Randy West 281 8.

Davey Sammons 269 9. Ed Aikin 255 10. Jason Clauss 251 HAGERSTOWN SPEEDWAY Late Models Rank, Driver Points 1. Roy Deese Jr. 400 2.

Jim Yoder 358 3. Kirk Ryan 355 4. Billy Wampler 354 5. Nathan Durboraw 327 6. Paul Crowl 322 7.

Alan Sagi 315 8. Jamie Lathrdum 310 8. David Williams 310 10. Scott LeBarron 309 Late Model Sportsman Rank, Driver Points 1. Pete Weaver 390 2.

Scott Palmer 368 3. Dylan Yoder 360 4. Kyle Lear 351 5. Jerry Bard 346 ALL STARS Rank, Driver Points 1. Lance Dewease 1,365 2.

Dale Blaney 1,249 3. Randy Hannagan 1,220 4. Brian Paulus 1,214 5. Paul McMahan 1,180 6. Greg Wilson 1,179 7.

Brock Mayes 1,168 7. Brian Ellenberger 1,168 9. Brandon Martin 1,095 10. Bob Felmlee 1,034 WORLD OF OUTLAWS Sprint cars Rank, Driver Points 1. Craig Dollansky 893 2.

Jason Meyers 876 3. Donny Schatz 857 4. Joey Saldana 825 5. Kerry Madsen 782 6. Terry McCarl 774 7.

Steve Kinser 767 8. Tim Shaffer 762 9. Chad Kemenah 747 10. Jason Sides 746 WORLD OF OUTLAWS Late Models Rank, Driver Points 1. Billy Moyer 935 2.

Josh Richards 909 3. Steve Francis 905 4. Rick Eckert 895 5. Darrell Lanigan 879 5. Chub Frank 879 7.

Shannon Babb 857 8. Clint Smith 843 9. Shane Clanton 839 10. John Blankenship 793 gression in go-karts from junior cage to adult cage to running the flat 330 division. So far in 2008, things have gone well for Bryan.

While like to be more com- petitive in lap time, still learning a new go-kart. the first one he has bought with his own money. Bryan already has a win at Penns Creek and is seventh in the points. He has several top-10 finishes as Selinsgrove. Flat 330s are prob- ably the most competitive class at Selinsgrove this Bryan said.

Bryan is sponsored by New Look Power Wash and Bupp Decals. His crew consists of dad David, his mother Mary and his friend Gill. Along with this test session, his introduction to stock car racing with Lafferty Motors- ports has included an in-shop session (marketing, driver awareness) and meeting with his parents, which according to Chris Lafferty, revealed that, would be a good candidate to work want to prepare him for a local show at Hickory Motor Chris Lafferty said of next step in the program. here to help drivers make the climb up the ladder, what here Bryan is slated to be back down in North Carolina sometime following gradua- tion for another test. At this time, Bryan is focusing on a career as a race car driver and is not planning to attend college.

that can Bryan said, as he wants to learn about being a diesel mechanic and work on trucks if his racing career pan out. His dad has been a truck driver for 30 years. right now, I just want to focus on racing and the His next test will come at Hickory Motor Speedway, the same track where his favorite driver Dale Jr. cut his teeth. Chances are, he spin out this time.

By The Daily Item SELINSGROVE With the first month of the 2008 racing season completed, the Selinsgrove Speedway will present several special events during May. The annual pro stock 20 is slated for May 10, while United Racing sprint car Jack Gunn Memo- rial Challenge race is the 17th. The speedway will host two complete racing events on the half-mile oval over the Memorial Day holiday. A regular four-division show of 358 sprint cars, late models, pro stocks and roadrunners is slated for the 24th while the 410 sprint cars will return on the 25th for the Keystone Cup Series. The month closes out with a regular racing program on the 31st.

AUTOGRAPH AND CAMERA NIGHT Fans are invited to arrive early on Saturday night at the Wil- liams Grove Speedway to meet the Super Sportsman and four-cylinder drivers who will have their cars on display in the infield beginning at 4:30 p.m. The first 100 families in the infield will receive a dispos- able camera while the first 100 fans aged 16 and under will receive a T-shirt that can be used to collect autographs. The super sportsman divi- sion will be joined by the lim- ited late models, street stocks and four-cylinders Saturday night. STORM WATCH: The 19th season of the Thun- der of the Hill series at the Grandview Speedway kicks off Wednesday, May 21, with an open-wheel doubleheader featuring the opening night for the 2nd annual Keystone Cup series for 410 sprint cars along with the ARDC midgets. The series returns on June 3 with another open-wheel doubleheader when the United States Auto Club sprint cars begin their second annual eastern swing.

be joined by the ARDC midgets. There are two events in July with the 410 sprint car PA Speedweek and 358 modifieds show on the 1st while the 11th annual Traffic Jam 100 for the DIRTcar big block modifieds is set for the 16th. The 5-25s feature-only pro- grams will be held Aug. 12 and the finale on Oct. 18.

The August program will feature the big block modi- fieds, 358 modifieds, 600cc sprints, Legends and 600 modifieds. The October finale features the URC sprint cars, ARDC midgets, 358 modifieds, Legends, 600 modifieds and the Garden State Vintage Stock Cars. MONEY MONTH: The month of May will be a sprint car delight at Williams Grove Speedway. No less than six sprint car dates are scheduled with the sprint car share that May to be a busy month at Selinsgrove Speedway AREA NOTEBOOK Please see NOTES, C5.