SWEDESBORO, NJ – Robbie Stillwaggon announced at the end of the 2018 season that he had retirement on his mind after his win at Bridgeport, but his need for speed and much success as the coveted 5/8ths speedway could not keep him away from the 2019 finale for the Capitol Renegade United Racing Club. After a lapped car ruined his chances at a weekend sweep the night before, Stillwaggon dominated the 25-lap feature on Saturday, November 9, 2019 giving the 2012 champion his 13th URC win.
Once again 21 cars signed in to compete in the final race on the Big Ole’ 5/8ths at Bridgeport Speedway on what would be another cold night. This race would not only mark the end of an era on Bridgeport’s 5/8ths speedway for the United Racing Club but would also mark the end of the 2019 season. As the sun went down, so did the temperatures; but the racing action was just starting to heat up. Another perfect track saw Ryan Smith go quick time in hot laps with a lap of 17.146. The heat races saw lots of passing as well as some fast laps as Adam Carberry topped Smith’s time in hot laps with a lap of 16.959 giving him the quickest lap of the night.
After the redraw was settled, the Stillwaggon brothers would lead the field to the green flag with Ryan starting first, and older brother Robbie starting to his outside. At the drop of the green flag Robbie Stillwaggon shot to the lead and looked as though he was picking up where he left off on Friday before his incident with a lapped car. Ryan Stillwaggon fell in behind his brother as JJ Grasso, Ed Aikin, and Josh Weller rounded out the top 5. The red flag soon would fly as Tyler Ross, who was running seventh, snapped a rear axle sending him flipping through the air in turn one on lap 2. Ross would exit the car under his own power and appeared to be ok, but his car would retire to the pit area for the remainder of the night.
Robbie Stillwaggon chose the outside on the restart and once again shot out to the lead. However, the green flag laps were short lived as Mark VanVorst ran into issues and came to a stop on the racing surface bringing out the yellow flag. This time, Robbie Stillwaggon chose the inside for the restart, putting his brother Ryan to his outside. This time, Ryan rocketed around his brother and took the lead for one lap before Robbie regained the top spot. “I was never worried about Ryan,” Robbie said after the race, “but he showed me the top which helped me later in the race.” The yellow flag would once again fly on lap 11 when Ryan Smith came to a stop on the raceway. Robbie did not want to make the same mistake as the restart prior, so he chose the top side which gave him the lead. Josh Weller was able to take advantage of the restart and get around Ryan Stillwaggon for second, with JJ Grasso in fourth fresh off his Friday night win.
The caution would come out on lap 19 for Austin Bishop who slowed on the front straightaway after a piece of his car came off. The field would get set to go back green with Robbie Stillwaggon at the point, Weller in second, and Grasso in third. The final caution would fly on lap 22 for Jason Cherry setting up the final restart of the night – this time single file. Things got interesting during the last lap in the top 5 as cars began to run out of fuel but it was Robbie Stillwaggon who crossed the line first for the 13th time in his URC career. Josh Weller finished second, with Lucas Wolfe, JJ Grasso, and Ryan Stillwaggon rounding out the top five.
“I knew we would be good at Bridgeport from years past” said Stillwaggon, “we spent a lot of time at Bridgeport in the micro days so to win there is always special – but to be able to say you won the last sprint car race on the 5/8ths is special.” The Stillwaggon boys have had a lot of success at Bridgeport and always seem to be fast, Robbie credits the RPM chassis they run as well as “the same shock package… and a really great setup” for all the speed they show. As far as 2020 plans, the 2012 champion says he has “no plans to run or not run…. We will play it by ear.”
Robbie would like to thank his dad, mom, wife Danielle and his baby girl, Riley, who was born in mid- September, as well as his Uncle Fred, Mikey, Dilhole Dad, and his little brother for helping him get into victory lane.
The hard charger for Saturday night went to the 2019 United Racing Club Champion, Chad Layton who started from the 18th position and worked his way to a solid seventh to round out the year. Robbie Stillwaggon, Lucas Wolfe, and Troy Betts were the winners of the three heat races. The United Racing club would also like to thank Betts Garage, as well as Quality Auto Body for coming on board and sponsoring the Big Track Classic – Midge Miller Memorial weekend.
Robbie was not the only winner for the weekend as JJ Grasso was able to win the overall weekend with a first-place finish on Friday, and a fourth-place finish on Saturday giving him a weekend average finish of 2.5. For winning the Midge Miller Memorial weekend – Grasso was presented with a hand-crafted metal trophy made by Cold Hard Art. “Historical” is how Grasso described winning the Midge Miller Memorial, “the 5/8ths has been around since before I was born and to be on the list as a 5/8ths winner is pretty amazing. To top that off winning the custom-made Midge Miller Trophy makes it even more special.” After coming off a win, Grasso was asked if he felt any pressure, “of course there was some sort of pressure,” Grasso said, “we had a lot of obstacles before even getting to the track repairing the damage from my mishap with the lap car Friday night.” Grasso seemed to be impressed by the uniqueness of the trophy and will be “taking it to work Monday morning to show all my friends. I would like to put it on my mantle but it is heavy so we will have to work on a permanent home.”
JJ would like to thank his family and friends as well as Kenny Eldreth and Eldreth Construction, his dad, Shag, Donny, and Glen. He would also like to thank Dave Betts and his father-in-law, Larry Wilson, for helping rebuild the motor mount at the last minute. These people were pivotal to his success this weekend and he would not have been able to win the Midge Miller Memorial without them.
The United Racing Club also crowned the 2019 champion – Chad Layton on November 9. Article on his championship season with Ritter Racing coming soon! This wraps up the 71st season for the United Racing Club and the club is already looking forward to 2020. Races are currently in the process of being booked and sponsors are being sought. The 2019 banquet will be held December 7, 2019 honoring our series champion as well as all the other racers, teams, and sponsors that make this club great. Continue to follow the United Racing Club on social media in the off season to see what 2020 has in store. Thank you for a great season!
Photo credit Chad Warner
RESULTS – NOVEMBER 9, 2019
HEAT 1 (8 LAPS): 1. 89-Robbie Stillwaggon, [1]; 2. 25-J.J. Grasso, [3]; 3. 11-Ryan Stillwaggon, [6]; 4. 5-Tyler Ross, [4]; 5. 7X-Steve Buckwalter, [7]; 6. 5Z-Zack Burd, [5]; 7. 706-Mark Sasso, [2]; (DNS) 5Q-Ryan Quackenbush,
HEAT 2 (8 LAPS): 1. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, [2]; 2. 63-Josh Weller, [3]; 3. 7-Ed Aikin, [1]; 4. 55-Dallas Schott, [4]; 5. 71-Chris Allen Jr., [6]; 6. 83-Larry McVay, [5]; 7. 67C-Jason Cherry, [7]
HEAT 3 (8 LAPS): 1. 22-Troy Betts, [2]; 2. 47-Adam Carberry, [4]; 3. 11A-Austin Bishop, [1]; 4. 72-Ryan Smith, [6]; 5. 5G-Curt Michael, [5]; 6. 35-Chad Layton, [7]; 7. 34-Mark Van Vorst, [3]
FEATURE (25 LAPS): 1. 89-Robbie Stillwaggon, [2]; 2. 63-Josh Weller, [6]; 3. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, [9]; 4. 25-J.J. Grasso, [4]; 5. 11-Ryan Stillwaggon, [1]; 6. 5G-Curt Michael, [15]; 7. 35-Chad Layton, [18]; 8. 7X-Steve Buckwalter, [13]; 9. 22-Troy Betts, [8]; 10. 71-Chris Allen Jr., [14]; 11. 83-Larry McVay, [17]; 12. 7-Ed Aikin, [3]; 13. 55-Dallas Schott, [11]; 14. (DNF) 67C-Jason Cherry, [20]; 15. (DNF) 706-Mark Sasso, [19]; 16. (DNF) 11A-Austin Bishop, [5]; 17. (DNF) 5Z-Zack Burd, [16]; 18. (DNF) 72-Ryan Smith, [12]; 19. (DNF) 34-Mark Van Vorst, [21]; 20. (DNF) 47-Adam Carberry, [7]; 21. (DNF) 5-Tyler Ross, [10]; (DNS) 5Q-Ryan Quackenbush,
- Casey Robicheau on Nov 11, 2019
- Article Date: 11/9/2019 by Casey Robicheau