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A Night of Firsts at Dirt’s Monster Half Mile - Write Up Results for 5.10.25

Puddles had replaced racing lines across Western Pennsylvania's dirt tracks for much of 2025.

Saturday night told a different story.

The clouds finally retreated, giving way to golden evening light that kissed the clay surface of Dirt's Monster Half Mile.

The weather gods, apparently finished with their tantrum, delivered perfect conditions just as the RUSH Sprint Car Series rolled into town.

Sometimes, the racing gods do reward those who endure.

A night of long-awaited firsts electrified the Monster Half Mile faithful.

Zach Kane (25), from Washington, finally captured his first Rohrich Automotive/Chevy Performance RUSH Late Model victory after a decade of trying.

The young driver led wire-to-wire in the 20-lap feature, etching his name in the record books.

Pleasantville's Gale Ruth Jr (24) broke through his own barrier in dramatic fashion.

After ten years of near-misses, Ruth dominated all 15 laps to claim his first career RUSH Sprint Car feature win.

Pleasant Hills native Stephen Shelpman (17P) found his 2025 rhythm, securing his first Hobby Stock victory of the season for Auto House.
AJ Poljak (36) delivered a masterclass in the Pittsburgh Truck Center Penn Ohio Pro Stock division.

The Baldwin driver crushed the competition with a jaw-dropping nine-second advantage at one point and a half track lead at the checkered flag.
Youth served notice as Anthony Uddstrom (18) graduated to glory on his first night moving up.

The Pittsburgh racer, fresh from the Kehm Oil Young Guns division, immediately announced his arrival by capturing the Crawford Auto Repair Open Four Cylinder feature win.

Ten Rohrich Automotive/Chevy Performance RUSH Late Models were on hand for the first of many Action Events scheduled for 2025.

The field split into two heat races, with Clinton Hersch (16), from Somerset, picking up the win in the first and Zach Kane (25) finishing second to lock himself into the redraw for the 20-lap feature.

Kane pulled the pole position for the main event!

In the second heat, Brandon Burgoon (5X), from McDonald, grabbed the win and was set to start P2, but car trouble left him stuck in the pits with a DNS.

At the start of the feature, Kane (25) jumped out front, with Brodie Oravetz (91), from Oakdale, sliding into second, Hersch (16) holding third, Jacob Billyk (4JR), from New Castle, running fourth, and Chuck Medved (2M), from Imperial, rounding out the top five through lap four.

The top four stayed locked in through halfway, while defending series champion Kassidy Kamicker (72B), from Aliquippa, worked her way into fifth.

With two laps to go, Kane (25) looked set to cruise to victory, but a lap 18 caution slowed the pace and reset the field.

Kane chose the inside for the restart.

On the first attempt, officials called a no-start after Kane left too early.

On the second try, green replaced yellow, and Kane stayed clean, leading the final two laps to pick up his first career Rohrich Automotive/Chevy Performance RUSH Late Model feature win.

Oravetz (91) crossed second, Hersch (16) finished third, Billyk (4JR) held onto fourth, and Kamicker (72B) rounded out the top five.

The RUSH Sprint Car Series drew nine entries, setting up a single heat race showdown.

Ruth Jr (24) powered to the preliminary win, locking himself into the crucial top-four redraw.

When starting positions were revealed, Gibsonia's Zach Morrow (68) landed on the pole for the 15-lap feature. Ruth Jr (24) lined up to his outside in second.
When the green flag flew, Ruth Jr (24) jumped first, beating Morrow into turn one and taking command. Mollick (4J), out of Toronto, Ohio, settled into third and gave chase.

The three locked in up front. Nine laps without a mistake, Ruth Jr setting the pace, Morrow keeping the pressure on, Mollick holding third.

On lap 10, the door finally cracked open.

Mollick drifted high coming out of turn four, slipping wide just enough for Arnie Kent (9) to dive underneath and steal the spot.

Up front, Ruth Jr (24) stayed flawless. Lap after lap, he stretched the lead and never gave Morrow a second chance.

When the checkered flag waved, Ruth Jr (24) scored his first career RUSH Sprint Car Series feature win. Morrow (68) crossed second, Kent (9) grabbed third, Mollick (4J) regrouped for fourth, and Luke Mulichak (55) completed the top five.

The Pittsburgh Truck Center Penn Ohio Pro Stocks saw a single heat race, with AJ Poljak (36) picking up the win.

Emmerson Laboon (114), from Jefferson Hills, looked strong and finished second, while Stephen Shelpman (17S) and Jackson Billyk (5), from New Castle, crossed third and fourth to join Poljak and Laboon in the redraw.
Laboon pulled the pole for the feature, with Billyk lining up to her outside.
Shelpman started third and Poljak rolled off fourth.

When the green flag dropped, Poljak wasted no time.

By lap two, he was out front, with Laboon holding second and Billyk running third.

Laboon’s night ended early when she pulled into the pits on lap eight with engine trouble.

Out front, Poljak put on a show.

By lap eleven, he had stretched his lead to nearly half a track.

With the race going green to checkered in record fashion, Poljak cruised to his first win of the season, building a nine-second advantage at one point.

Shelpman crossed second, Dale Tuche (310) finished third, Nick Kocuba (10) took fourth, and Jacob Billyk (4) rounded out the top five.

The 13 Auto House Hobby Stocks were divided into two heat races, with Stephen Shelpman (17P) picking up the win in the first after climbing behind the wheel of his dad’s car.

Karlee Kovacs (221K), from Carnegie, won the second heat and redrew the pole for the 15-lap feature.

Shelpman lined up to her outside on the front row.

When the green flag dropped, he wasted no time, taking the lead on lap one.
Fifth-starting Kyle Janas (88), from Coraopolis, quickly moved into second, with Kovacs settling into third.

Garrett O’Patchen (25), from Scott Township, broke into third on lap four, then slipped past Janas to take over second on lap five as Shelpman continued to set the pace.

By lap six, Shelpman was already slicing through lapped traffic.
By lap ten, he had built a commanding lead over the field.
Shelpman never looked back.

He led every lap to score another Auto House Hobby Stock feature win.
O’Patchen crossed second, Janas finished third, Leroy Brown (40B) took fourth, and Kovacs rounded out the top five.

Joey Brown Jr (48) finished sixth after slamming the wall in turn four during his heat but battling back to make the feature.

Last but not least, the Crawford Auto Repair Open Four Cylinders ran two heat races, with John Gill (19G), from Burgettstown, winning the first and Young Gun Anthony Uddstrom (18) finishing second.

In heat two, Mike Kelley (6), from New Castle, picked up the win, with Derek Quigley (65Q) claiming the runner-up spot.
Gill (19G) redrew the pole for the feature, with Uddstrom (18) starting to his outside.

At the start of the main event, Gill pulled away early, with Uddstrom settling into second and Curtis Mohney (33M) running third.
The race was slowed on lap six when Jacob Wiser (53) hit the wall between turns one and two.

Gill chose the outside for the restart, but trouble struck one lap later when he had issues in the same spot, bringing out another caution.

Mohney inherited the lead for the restart with eight laps to go, Uddstrom holding strong in second.

On lap ten, Mohney pulled into the pits, handing the lead over to Uddstrom with five laps remaining.

From there, Uddstrom never looked back, leading the final laps to pick up his first career Crawford Auto Repair Open Four Cylinder feature win.

Kelley (6) finished second, Tyler Hollister (69) crossed third, Ray Tichnor (16) took fourth, and Ben Gariglio (83) rounded out the top five.

Racing returns to Dirt’s Monster Half Mile next Saturday, May 17, 2025, as the PA Thunder On The Dirt Vintage Modified Series headlines Nostalgia Night.

The night will also feature an Action Event with the Rohrich Automotive/Chevy Performance RUSH Late Models, Pittsburgh Truck Center Penn Ohio Pro Stocks, Auto House Hobby Stocks, Crawford Auto Repair Open Four Cylinders, and Kehm Oil Young Guns.

Pit gates open at 3 PM, grandstand gates open at 5 PM, hot laps begin at 6 PM, and racing action starts at 7 PM.

Grandstand tickets are just $16.

PPMS is located at 170 Kelso Road, Imperial, PA 15126.

For the full schedule, tickets, and more, visit ppms.com — and don’t forget to join our email list at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/2MigeiA/ppms.

RESULTS

10 entries
Rohrich Automotive/Chevy Performance RUSH Late Models
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 25-Zachary Kane[1]; 2. 91-Brodie Oravetz[4]; 3. 16-Clinton Hersh[3]; 4. 4JR-Jacob Billyk Jr[5]; 5. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[6]; 6. 2M-Chuck Medved[7]; 7. 38-Michael Stephans[8]; 8. 15-Matthew Benard[9]; 9. 77-Tom Klein[10]; 10. (DNS) 5X-Brandon Burgoon

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 16-Clinton Hersh[3]; 2. 25-Zachary Kane[4]; 3. 4JR-Jacob Billyk Jr[2]; 4. 2M-Chuck Medved[5]; 5. (DNS) 77-Tom Klein

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 5X-Brandon Burgoon[1]; 2. 91-Brodie Oravetz[2]; 3. 72B-Kassidy Kamicker[3]; 4. 38-Michael Stephans[5]; 5. 15-Matthew Benard[4]

8 entries
Pittsburgh Truck Center Penn Ohio Pro Stocks
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 36-AJ Poljak[4]; 2. 17S-Stephen Shelpman[3]; 3. 310-Dale Tuche[5]; 4. 10-Nick Kocuba[7]; 5. 4-Jacob Billyk[6]; 6. 5-Jackson Billyk[2]; 7. 114-Emmerson Laboon[1]; 8. (DNS) 08-Jeff Broniszewski

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 36-AJ Poljak[4]; 2. 114-Emmerson Laboon[2]; 3. 17S-Stephen Shelpman[6]; 4. 5-Jackson Billyk[8]; 5. 310-Dale Tuche[3]; 6. 4-Jacob Billyk[5]; 7. 10-Nick Kocuba[1]; 8. (DNS) 08-Jeff Broniszewski

13 entries
The Auto House Hobby Stocks
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 17P-Stephen Shelpman[2]; 2. 25-Garrett O'Patchen[6]; 3. 88-Kyle Janas[5]; 4. 40B-Leroy Brown[3]; 5. 221K-Karlee Kovacs[1]; 6. 48-Joe Brown Jr[11]; 7. 72-Cole Cochran[8]; 8. 64-Tom Anton[4]; 9. 50-Anthony Manganello[7]; 10. 76-Chloie Jones[9]; 11. 56-SADIE SNATCHKO[10]; 12. (DNS) 17-john Greynolds; 13. (DNS) 206-Joe Calvert

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 17P-Stephen Shelpman[4]; 2. 25-Garrett O'Patchen[5]; 3. 64-Tom Anton[1]; 4. 50-Anthony Manganello[3]; 5. 72-Cole Cochran[2]; 6. 56-SADIE SNATCHKO[7]; 7. 17-john Greynolds[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 221K-Karlee Kovacs[4]; 2. 40B-Leroy Brown[2]; 3. 88-Kyle Janas[5]; 4. 48-Joe Brown Jr[3]; 5. 76-Chloie Jones[1]; 6. 206-Joe Calvert[6]

11 entries
Crawford Auto Repair Open Four Cylinders
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 18-Anthony Uddstrom[2]; 2. 6-Mike Kelley[5]; 3. 69-Tyler Hollister[4]; 4. 16-Ray Tichnor[8]; 5. 83-Ben Gariglio[7]; 6. 33M-Curtis Mohney[3]; 7. 19G-John Gill[1]; 8. 44-CAMERON HOLLISTER[9]; 9. 53-Jacob Wiser[6]; 10. (DNS) 65Q-Derek Quigley; 11. (DNS) 11W-Lucas Weaver

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 19G-John Gill[4]; 2. 18-Anthony Uddstrom[5]; 3. 33M-Curtis Mohney[6]; 4. 53-Jacob Wiser[1]; 5. 11W-Lucas Weaver[3]; 6. (DNS) 44-CAMERON HOLLISTER

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 6-Mike Kelley[4]; 2. 65Q-Derek Quigley[1]; 3. 69-Tyler Hollister[3]; 4. 83-Ben Gariglio[5]; 5. 16-Ray Tichnor[2]

9 entries
RUSH Wingless Sprints
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 24-Gale Ruth Jr[2]; 2. 68-Zach Morrow[1]; 3. 9-Arnie Kent[3]; 4. 4J-John Mollick[4]; 5. 55-Luke Mulichak[5]; 6. 23-Charlie Utsinger[9]; 7. 1-Zack Wilson[7]; 8. 29-Brandon Shughart[8]; 9. 63L-Wyatt Long[6]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Gale Ruth Jr[2]; 2. 4J-John Mollick[5]; 3. 9-Arnie Kent[9]; 4. 68-Zach Morrow[4]; 5. 55-Luke Mulichak[3]; 6. 63L-Wyatt Long[1]; 7. 1-Zack Wilson[8]; 8. 29-Brandon Shughart[6]; 9. 23-Charlie Utsinger[7]

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