Andy Bachetti Scores 1st Lebanon Valley Win of 2025

Andy Bachetti Scores 1st Lebanon Valley Win of 2025

Saturday night was another battle against the atmosphere at Lebanon Valley Speedway.  Despite that, Andy Bachetti was able to charge up from 13th on the grid to take the lead from Marc Johnson on lap 14.  From there, he held on to take his first win of the year.

“The big block was good tonight,” Bachetti said after the race. “I was picking and choosing the right lane in order to get past.  Marc [Johnson] had a good car, Eddie [Marshall] had a good car.  We got lucky.”

Bachetti won by 1.633 seconds over Johnson.  Kyle Armstrong was third, then Kyle Sheldon and John Virgilio.

Eddie Marshall started from pole and led early on.  Johnson was able to drive up to second early on, while Bachetti quickly got up to fourth.

The scariest moment of the night occurred on lap 11.  Virgilio got loose exiting turn 2 and hit Brett Haas.  The contact broke the right front on Haas’ car.  Kolby Schroder suffered a rear end failure after contact with Haas, then spun into the inside wall at an opening and got on his side.  Schroder was sore afterwards, but otherwise ok.

Marshall came under pressure from both Johnson and Bachetti afterwards. On lap 13, Johnson was able to make the move for the lead and Bachetti was able to follow past.  A lap later, Bachetti dispatched Johnson for the lead.

 From there, Bachetti had to hold on through a couple of restarts to take his first win of the year.

In the 358 Modifieds, Michael Sabia started from pole after winning his heat race.  He was able to lead early on while there was trouble further back.  Bachetti and Chris Curtis collided to bring out a caution on lap 3.  Both cars were damaged and required work in the pits, but would resume.

Haas was very quickly early on and moved up from 11th on the grid to get into second.  From there, he battled Sabia for the lead.  On lap 10, Haas was able to snatch the advantage away and began to pull away.

The lead was over five seconds when Brady Cordova stopped in turn 4 to bring out the yellow with seven laps to go.  On the restart, Guy Sheldon spun in turn 4 to bring out another yellow, collecting Joey Coppola in the process.

On the restart, a recovering Bachetti was able to take second from Kyle Sheldon and tried to run down Haas.  Despite a torque arm breaking on his car with three laps to go, Haas was able to hold on for the win.

Haas won by 2.956 seconds over Bachetti.  Sheldon was third, then Jeff Watson and Sabia.

The Sportsman class competed in the 13th Annual Andrew Sherman Memorial, a special race with $2000 on the line for the winner.  This year, there would be a new winner.

Karl Barnes started from pole, but lost the advantage on the first lap to Nick Giardini.  Shortly afterwards, Barnes triggered a stack up in turn 4 involving himself, Tim Hartman Jr., Ray Hall Jr., Pat Mann and Connor Crane.  Hartman, Barnes and Hall were all out on the spot.  As Hartman had won the last three Sherman memorials, that meant that new blood would be hoisting the trophy.

Giardini had to deal with Vermont’s Joey Scarborough for much of the feature.  Early on, Scarborough pressured Giardini for the lead. Eventually, the veteran was able to pull out a two-second lead.

Owen Lewis stalling in turn 2 brought out a late caution and set up a one-lap shootout.  From there, Giardini was able to hold on to win the Andrew Sherman Memorial for his first career win.  Scarborough was second, then Dylan Grogan, Alex Bell and Sabia.

In Limited Sportsman, the feature had trouble truly getting underway due to a number of spins.  Once that was overcome, Brian Walsh was able to take the lead from pole sitter Cam Van Zandt on the first lap.

Braxton Martin took the lead away from Walsh on lap 4 and appeared to have the pace necessary to win.  However, on lap 10, Martin brushed the wall in turn 4.  That allowed Brandon Lemaire to take over the lead. Shortly afterwards, Martin’s tire went down to bring out the yellow. He would eventually finish 13th.

 From there, Lemaire was able to hold on to claim his first career victory by 1.176 seconds over Walsh.  Frank Twing Jr. was third, then John Santolin and Garrett Biagiarelli.

The Pro Stock feature started off with Dave Kokindo losing control on the initial start and hitting the inside wall.  He was out, but out on the spot.

Rocco Procopio started from the pole, but he lost the advantage to Paul LaRochelle on lap 4.  Undaunted, Procopio was able to keep the pressure on LaRochelle.  Eventually, Procopio was able to take the lead back on lap 10.

Once back out front, Procopio was able to pull away.  Cautions due to Rick Duzlak having a suspension issue and a crash for Shawn Perez and Zach Sorrentino brought the field, but Procopio was able to hold on for his first career Pro Stock win.  Tom Dean was second, then Chris Stalker, Frank Twing and Dave Stickles.

In Street Stock, Jeff Meltz Sr. claimed victory.  Jason Peck won the 4-Cylinder feature, while Henry Morris won in Single-Cam.

Madsen Overhead Doors Military Appreciation Night Modified Feature

Results (30 laps): 1) Andy Bachetti, 2) Marc Johnson, 3) Kyle Armstrong, 4)Kyle Sheldon, 5) John Virgilio, 6) Eddie Marshall, 7) Keith Flach, 8) JR Heffner, 9) Matt Pupello, 10) Brandon Lane, 11) Mike King, 12) Josh Marcus, 13) Alan Houghtaling, 14) Montgomery Tremont, 15) Chris Curtis, 16) Brett Haas, 17) Bubba McPhee, 18) Ryan Charland, 19) Guy Sheldon, 20) Rob Maxon, 21) Kolby Schroder, 22) Danny Tyler, 23) Mike Engwer, 24) Ryan Darcy

358 Modified Feature Results (24 laps): 1) Brett Haas, 2) Andy Bachetti, 3) Kyle Sheldon, 4) Jeff Watson, 5) Michael Sabia, 6) Ryan Larkin, 7) Kim Lavoy, 8) Brian Peterson, 9) Brady Cordova, 10) Donny Travaglin, 11) Guy Sheldon, 12) Joey Coppola, 13) Joe Pravia, 14) Chris Curtis, 15) Ray Hall Jr, 16) Alan Houghtaling

Sportsman 13th Annual Andrew Sherman Memorial Results (20 laps): 1) Nick Giardini, 2) Joey Scarborough, 3) Dylan Grogan, 4) Alex Bell, 5) Michael Sabia, 6) AJ Albreada, 7) Brady Cordova, 8) Shawn McPhee, 9) Chris Crane Jr., 10) Connor Crane, 11) John Leiby Sr., 12) Pat Mann, 13) Owen Lewis, 14) Anthony Maxon, 15) Craig Wholey, 16) Tim Hartman Jr., 17) Ray Hall Jr., 18) Karl Barnes

Limited Sportsman Feature Results (15 laps): 1) Brandon Lemaire, 2) Brian Walsh, 3) Frank Twing Jr., 4) John Santolin, 5) Garrett Biagiarelli, 6) Cam Van Zandt, 7) Kevin Groff, 8) Kamden Duffy, 9) Dalton Gamache, 10) Harold Robitaille, 11) Ray Royals, 12) Allison Swartz, 13) Braxton Martin, 14) Chris Humes, 15) Dakota Green, 16) Dylan Holmes

Pro Stock Feature Results (20 laps): 1) Rocco Procopio, 2) Tom Dean, 3) Chris Stalker, 4) Frank Twing, 5) Paul LaRochelle, 6) David Stickles, 7) Zachary Sorrentino, 8) Richard Spencer, 9) Shawn Perez, 10) Shawn Perez Jr., 11) Jason Meltz, 12) Rick Duzlak, 13) Dave Kokindo

Street Stock Feature Results (20 laps): 1) Jeff Meltz Sr., 2) Dave Streibel, 3) Bob Sleight, 4) Hannah Stalker, 5) Anthony King, 6) Peter Huntoon, 7) Doug Sterling, 8) Franklin Smith, 9) Dave Streibel Jr., 10) Evan Denue, 11) Keri VanDenburg, 12) Michael Dianda
4-Cylinder Feature Results (10 laps): 1) Jason Peck, 2) Stephen Burka, 3) Henry Morris, 4) Morgan Houghtaling