PORT ROYAL
 Joey Hershey came within less than a half mile of winning his first career 410 Sprint car feature Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway.

 But Chad Layton’s final lap slide job in turn two was good enough for Layton to secure his first win of the season at the Port in the 25-lap 410 Sprint car feature.

 Hershey led from the start, withstood several cautions but was unable to keep the Harrisburg driver at bay on the final lap.

 “I didn’t think I was gonna get Tyler Hershey,” said Layton, who actually passed Joey Hershey for the win. “The laps were winding down and I was just trying to be smart but it took everything we had to get by him.”

 Layton started eighth in the Dave Middleswarth owned sprinter and was the only car doing any passing during the event as he raced into fifth spot by the sixth lap.

 Layton took fourth spot on lap 12 and moved by Craig Robinson just before a caution slowed the field at the mid-way mark of the race.

 Layton blasted by Dave Hahn on the restart for the second spot but was unable to gain any ground on Hershey, who is in remission from Hodgkins disease. Hershey maintained a four-car length advantage over Layton during the final nine laps but Layton was able to make the final lap run.

 “If I would have tried it any other way, which I did prior to that, it just wasn’t gonna happen,” Layton said about trying to pass on the low side of the speedway. “There was nothing I could do to drive by smoothly and I really had to wing it in there and try and break his momentum a little bit. I seen him come back underneath me.”

 Hershey managed to get back alongside Layton going down the backstretch but slammed the door on the young Greencastle driver in turn three.

 Hershey was second over Hahn, Robinson and Todd Shaffer with Mike Erdley, Rick Lafferty, Daryn Pittman, Mike Wagner and Cliff Brian completing the top 10 finishers.

 The night was marred by a very scary crash at the start of the first 410 sprint car heat when front row starters Michael Heckman and Rod Stroup made contact. Stroup’s car careened into the wall and instantly became a target by the rest of the field. Stroup was hit several times before coming to rest in turn one. Paramedics took their time in removing the Evandale veteran and actually removed the seat from the car with Stroup in it. He was then airlifted to Geisinger Medical Center complaining of neck and back pain.

 Tim Gray won the 20-lap late model feature.

 Sprint car heats were won by Hahn and Hodnett, who dropped out of the feature with motor problems.