Hagerstown Speedway

Union Bridge resident Howard Williams got his first-ever semi-late victory at Lincoln Speedway in Hanover, Pa., last weekend.Williams' June 6 win wasn't the only one for area drivers.Jeff Shepard of Upperco placed second in the super sprint feature and Randy Zechman of Westminster was fourth in the semi-late feature behind Williams.* Cris Eash, a Hanover, Pa., resident formerly of Woodbine, made it three wins out of the last four attempts at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway June 6. Eash also was fourth in the super sprint last Sunday at Susquehanna Speedway.

The season has concluded for Trail-Way Speedway in Hanover, and Hampstead resident Greg Messersmith captured the 8-Cylinder Stocks with 487 points.Messersmith used a sixth-place finish on Oct. 2 at Trail-Way to clinch the championship in the points standings. He was the top area driver in the point standings, but he didn't have the only superb showing.Mike Stull of Westminster was second in the Micro Sprints with 688. Stull was also fourth in the feature race and won the heat.Westminster's Brad McClelland was third in the feature race and fourth in the point standings with 649.Steve Owings, also of Westminster, was the final area driver for the Micros with a sixth-place finish in the point standings with 478.In the 8-Cylinder stocks, Gregory Richardson of Sykesville was 10th in the overall points (291)

Area auto racing schedules include:* Hagerstown Speedway, Hagerstown: Today will be the rescheduled Turbo-Blue limited late models, Starr Performance semi-lates, pure stock daredevils and four-cylinder pure stocks.The super sprints will return for the fourth annual Springfest on April 4 for the 25-lap feature. The winner of each race will qualify for the Octoberfest 250. Racing time begins at 2 p.m. with gates opening at 11 a.m. On April 10, late models, limited late models, modified semi-lates, pure stock daredevils and four-cylinder pure stocks will take the track starting at 7 p.m. For more information, call the speedway at (301)

In a week of limited action, Hampstead's Charlie Schaffer placed 13th in the 25-lap late-model feature at Potomac Speedway on March 26.Westminster's Ernie Jones also raced in the feature, but did not finish.Most of the other area tracks postponed their races because of the weather.Schedule of events* Hagerstown Speedway, Hagerstown: Today, the super sprints will return for the fourth annual Springfest in the 25-lap feature. The winner of each race will qualify for the Octoberfest 250. Racing begins at 2 p.m., with gates opening at 11 a.m.On Saturday, the late models, limited late models, modified semi-lates, pure stock daredevils and four-cylinder pure stocks will take to the track starting at 7 p.m.On April 24, it will be the 12th running of the Stanley Schetrompf Memorial with the purse of $20,000.

With most of the speedways closed for the season, action was light last weekend.Westminster's Corky Stull won the Consolation Round for Thundercars at Lincoln Speedway after placing 12th in the feature race and seventh in his heat.Stull was also fourth in the Thunder 8-cylinder stock car feature at Trail-Way Speedway last Sunday.Randy Zechman of Westminster was second in his heat race for the Semi-Lates at Lincoln and was 16th in the feature race.Jesse Wentz of Manchester was eighth in the heat race for Sprint cars at Lincoln.

Gary Stuhler of Westminster, who's having an off year by his standards, turned in a strong weekend on the late-model circuit.Stuhler won track championships at Winchester (Va.) Speedway the past two years and at Hagerstown Speedway in Washington County last year. But he has only won a combined four features at the two tracks this season, plus three during occasional late-model racing at Williams Grove (Pa.) Speedway.He picked up his third win of the year Saturday at Winchester Speedway. Paul Crowl of Upperco was ninth in the same event.

Darren Eash, 31, of Woodbine isn't happy unless he is racing. He loves going fast.Darren, like his younger brother Cris, races sprint cars on the tough central Pennsylvania clay ovals.Darren's been racing since he was 17, when his father took him and his two brothers kart racing. All four raced karts for several years, mostly at the Hunterstown, Pa., oval.Darren Eash and his brothers were successful. He won nearly every event possible in the Yamaha Light division. In his quest for speed, he even raced dual-engine karts.

It was the first victory of the season for Hampstead resident Charlie Schaffer in the late models last Sunday at Winchester Speedway.Schaffer came off of turn 2 to take the lead on lap 21 of the 35-lap feature and never let Will Rowe get closer than one car length.Rick and Ernie Jones, both of Westminster, were seventh and eighth in the same race, with Rick winning a heat.Darren Eash of Woodbine made a late bid to win third place in the 25-lap sprint car feature at Lincoln Speedway last Friday.

Area drivers scored two victories at one track last weekend Corky Stull of Westminster got his first career win in the thundercar division, and Cris Eash, formerly of Woodbine, won the sprint car championship at Lincoln Speedway."

The 1995 racing season officially gets under way this weekend. Here is a brief rundown of area tracks where many Carroll countians compete every week:* Hagerstown Speedway, Hagerstown, Md. The Hagerstown Speedway will have its traditional East Coast Opener today featuring late models and super sprints. Race time is 2 p.m. The half-mile clay oval will have events on Sundays through April 9 before switching to Saturday nights. Its weekly program will feature the late models, the new late-model sportsman, pure stocks and four-cylinder pure stocks.