Story By: DINO OBERTO / EVERGREEN RACEWAY – BUTLER TOWNSHIP, PA – For the past two weekends Evergreen Raceway’s attempt to get the annual King of the Green underway was thwarted by rain and yet again on Saturday which was also scrubbed due to inclement weather conditions.
However, Sunday afternoon brought clear skies and although a bit on the breezy side, the first of three days of the 22nd annual King of the Green final took place.
At the top of the line-up was Race #5 of the Evergreen Raceway/Mahoning Valley Speedway Dual Track Series for the 602 Crate Modifieds with a 40-lap feature sponsored by O & S Maintenance of Moscow along with the 4-Cylinder Stocks and the Novice division and in all three features each winner also staked claim to individual class titles.
Neil Rutt III, Micah Adams and Tyler Skordensky were crowned King of the Green race winners as well as division champions in the 602 Crate Modifieds, 4-Cylinder Stocks and Novice’s respectively.
For Rutt, his day and race was a drama filled affair to say the least. He came into the event as the point leader by just six over Evan Rygielski. For the feature he started third and held there in the early going behind Broc Brown and Nick Baer who shared the lead from the outset.
Bear led the first dozen tours until Brown out-gunned him on a lap 12 restart and would then run number one for the next 20 circuits before Carsten DiGiantomasso made contact while attempting to take the lead. Unfortunately for both they went spinning and had to restart from the rear.
Rygielski, who had his own issues with caution incidents but rebounded nicely, was right in the path of them and able to motor by as did Paulie Hartwig III and Rutt who would restart one-two and three thereafter.
With Rygielski as the leader and Rutt sitting back in third and only eight laps to go it was clear the points were going to be very close between them in their pursuit of the championship. However, any chance for Rygielski came to an abrupt end when on the restart he and Hartwig got together that sent him spinning and receiving race ending suspension damage from the hit.
After the field was reset Rutt was now at the front of the pack and for the final eight laps he was turning back the constant efforts of Steve Shultz to win the race and become the 2023 602 Crate Modified champion.
“You just never know how the outcome will be with these 602’s especially when you get not just the track regulars but the outsiders like we had today and we all want to win,” said Rutt.
“Winning the championship is awesome and so is winning King of the Green. I was pushed all the way back to eighth at one point and then when Evan (Rygielski) had got by me and was in the lead I felt we were done but then he and Paulie (Hartwig III) got into with each other and I thought it’s not over and we’re still in this thing,” he continued.
“This is truly an accomplishment for me and this team. Since February my mom has been in the hospital and it’s either I’m at the shop alone and my dad is with her so winning this one is definetley special. I wish she could be here, she loves coming out to the races. She’s doing okay and getting better and this one is for her.”
Shultz got a season best second, Paul Hartwig Jr., was third, with Brian Osborn and Micah Adams rounding out the top five.
“I never expected to get second the way we did. I got shuffled to the back for quite a bit and luckily we missed a couple of wrecks and we then just kept chugging forward and the next thing you know the caution was out with eight laps to go and they showed us in second,” Shultz said.
“We did what we could and stayed on his (Rutt’s) bumper but he was just a little better coming off the corners. It was a decent day for us and we’ll take this and build on it for next season.”
In the 4-Cylinder Stocks Micah Adams capped off an incredible season with his sixth win in nine starts and another dominating performance in the process.
Adams drove to the front with a lap six pass on Johnny Bennett and what has been the case most each time he’s done previously, it was no contest from there on.
Bennett did make several valid tries on restarts to stay with the leader but no sooner where they heading down the back straight Adams was showing his front running prowess that has been his trademark throughout the season.
He went on to notch the victory, his second King of the Green win and his second class title as well.
Although he fell short of Bennett remained solid in second which was his best tally of the year. The always consistent Michal Wambold came from 17th to third while Cody Boehm and Maggie Yeakel competed the top five.
Tyler Skordensky completed his record setting season with the Novice’s gaining a fourth consecutive win and class leading sixth overall.
After overtaking Ella Sones for the lead on lap three there was no looking back as Skordensky went into cruise control the rest of the way. Chaz Takacs, in his first Evergreen stats, was a respectable third.
Skordensky will move up the 4-Cylinder Stocks next season and leaves the Novice division as the top feature winner.
602 Crate Modified feature finish (40 laps): 1. Neil Rutt III, 2. Steve Shultz, 3. Paul Hartwig Jr., 4. Brian Osborn, 5. Micah Adams, 6. Paulie Hartwig III, 7. Carsten DiGiantomasso, 8. MacKenzie Adams, 9. Jaxen Brown, 10. Nick Baer, 11. Brody George, 12. Mike Pollack, 13. Tony Hilliard, 14. Broc Brown, 15. Evan Rygielski, 16. Kaden Rogers, 17. Jayden Harman, 18. Brian Rygielski
4-cylinder Stocks feature finish (40 laps): 1. Micah Adams, 2. Johnny Bennett, 3. Michael Wambold, 4. Cody Boehm, 5. Maggie Yeakel, 6. Jared Frye, 7. MacKenzie Adams, 8. Dave Imler Jr., 9. Robert McNulty, 11. Ralph Boger Jr., 12. Larry Spencer III, 13. Ray Kochin, 14. Tommy Flanagan, 15. Jimmy Ayre, 16. Jacob Knittle, 17. Thomas Flanagan, 18. Jake Kibler, 19. Mallory Kutz, 20. Harry O’Neill
Novice feature finish (20 laps): 1. Tyler Skordensky, 2. Ella Sones, 3. Chaz Takacs, 4. Lexus Kutz, 5. Abby McNulty