|
By Dino Oberto…. “Keeping Track”
One of the area’s most noted dirt modified teams, Sitler Kline Racing from Berwick, has always fielded top flight cars and drivers with winning results. Across Pennsylvania to New York to Maryland and Delaware, they are always well prepared for battle.
Over the past six years Shawn Reimert was the team driver. He steered the popular Generation II Construction 55 car to a host of victories as well as a track championship at Central PA Speedway in Clearfield. In spite of the great results, Reimert decided to part ways and return to his roots of weekly action at Big Diamond and Grandview Raceways.
As a replacement, Sitler Kline Racing will have another veteran driver behind the wheel as Kevin Hartnett takes over and considering his years of skill it should be no problem of continuing the success which the team has become accustomed to. Harnett makes his team debut on May 2 at Redline Raceway in Granville which ironically is his hometown.
“Everything is going real well. Years ago when we had put Shawn (Reimert) in the car and we were thinking about putting Kevin (Hartnett) in at that time. We stayed in touch over the years and as a matter of fact he moved just a stone throw away from the track and we just thought that it would be a real good idea to have somebody right there in that area. It was a pain in a way for Shawn to have to make that trip all the time.
“So it was really nice to have someone from that area and someone that we knew and somebody that years ago we were going to put in our car,” said team co-owner Tom Sitler.
“I’m really excited to be with those guys. I haven’t been in a race car for about a year and a half so to be able to get a ride after sitting that time off, I’m a lucky guy,” said Hartnett.
“They’re a well established team and have some good people and I’m looking forward to being with them. I want to do well for those guys. They’re well-known and I have almost 18-19 years of driving a car so we should do well together. I’d like to get a couple of wins and be consistent.”
Redline, a flat ¼-mile dirt oval situated in Bradford County, will be the home track for the team which had been running there regularly over the past few seasons. As for Hartnett, however, it will mark his first time racing there.
“Every track has their tough guys and until we get out there we really don’t know what to expect. It’s a tight little paper clip race track and that will be something for me to get use to. I was use to some pretty high speeds down at Grandview and Big Diamond. This is a little bit slower pace,” said Harnett.
It was by coincidence that Harnett relocated and wound up next to a race track. Little did he know he would be calling it his home track this year.
“It’s funny how it all happened. A couple years ago I was living down in Bucks County and I spent a lot of time up there (Granville) hunting and we were just looking for maybe a cabin but we instead came across a house and it was just a coincidence that it was next to the race track,” said Hartnett.
For a number of years the Sitler Kline team had been regulars at closer to home Big Diamond in Minersville. The racing is always fierce there and to be among the front runners you need to be able to foot the bills in order to have the best equipment.
It was for that reason that the team took a more cost effective look at how they race and thus opted to travel more while not having to spend as much to be winners. Redline is a track that fits nicely into their budget.
“I think content would be the best way to describe our reasoning for going there. We had looked into getting another motor and going back to (Big) Diamond but it’s tough to race there,” said Sitler.
“That’s a big factor for us too because we don’t have any humongous sponsors. We do have a few that do a great job of helping us out but we don’t have the big bucks you sometimes need to race down there.
“They're really good people up there (Redline). It’s a family oriented business and they do a good job of running the races. The payoff isn’t what it is at Diamond but again I don’t think you have to put out as much money to run there.”
He also noted how the competition is becoming more challenging.
“It’s getting tougher every year. The first year we went to Redline you had Mike Shane who was the track champion and clearly better than everyone else. They’re now getting guys who are pretty good runners and it gets interesting. It’s a small track and it’s tough to pass.”
Sitler along with Dave Kline, have been partners for years. Mark Luchi is also a key figure. Other crew members include Sitler’s brothers Max, Rich and Scott along with Tom Underwood. They have owned modifieds since 1988. Further back though, they raced with a late model at Selinsgrove.
There is confidence by both driver and crew that they will gel and become a competitive operation in short order.
“We’re just looking to have a really good time. We’d like to have a couple wins and I wouldn’t go any further than that. We just want to get things together with Kevin and see how things work out,” said Sitler.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them in contention for a track championship either. Hartnett, a many time feature winner, has yet to enjoy a title achievement and now that he is with Sitler Kline Racing this could be his best chance yet.
“I’m not going to try and think much about that. I want to get the season going and see what the racing really is like from inside the car. I’d like to get a win out of the way and then work on (win) number two and then see how the season goes and who knows maybe we will be in the hunt for the championship,” said Harnett. |
|
