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LUTZ WINS THRILLING DUEL AGAINST CARBERRY AT GRANDVIEW
BECHTELSVILLE, PA
By ERIKA PALMAI WAGNER

Scott Lutz, of Jonestown, PA earned his trip to victory lane on Saturday at Grandview Speedway after being pressured by second place running Tommy Carberry for majority of the twenty-five lap feature event. Carberry, the point leader heading into the night’s event, who was rim-riding his way around the famed 1/3 mile high banked speedway took over the lead as the field was crossing the start-finish line for the white flag, but it was short lived after he came into contact with the outside guard rail going down the back stretch, which handed over the top spot back to Lutz who would take home the victory.

“I really just drove as hard as I could,” Lutz said. “When the top started to go away for me, I thought to myself that my only shot was getting around the lap cars and getting them in between us, but that actually almost cost me the race in the final laps there. I know he had gotten by me but when we got to the back stretch on that final lap, I dove in front of the lap car and that’s how I got back passed him before he had made some contact with the outside wall”.

The field was inverted by nine, putting Eddie Wagner and Scott Lutz on the front row. As the field came around to take the green flag, it was Lutz who shot to the lead heading into turn one. Rick Stief, who started in fourth challenged Wagner for second almost immediately, but Wagner would overcome and continued in the runner up spot, while trying to regain his lead from Lutz.

The leaders caught up to heavy lapped traffic by lap four, with Tommy Carberry, driving his Integrity Auto Body number 28 aggressively on the high side, quickly taking second from Wagner on lap nine.

“I was able to go anywhere on the race track, my car was really good,” said Carberry. “I felt really confident in lapped traffic because of how well my car was handling and I was able to pass cars very quickly which helped me get to second as soon as I did”.

With the first caution on lap twelve displayed for Tyler Reinhardt who spun in turn four, and a red flag coming out for Rick Stief who made contact with the backstretch wall causing him to flip on his side after the restart, it would be the birth of a showdown between Lutz and Carberry, who eventually led the field to the green in double file restart formation.

Lutz would come out on top once again on that restart, with Carberry putting heavy pressure on him as he drove “high wide and handsomely” around the speedway in an attempt to take the lead from Lutz who showed that patience and a calm demeanor would keep him out front.

“I think we both felt really confident running through lapped traffic, and it showed because either of us missed a beat when we were driving through it, that’s for sure,” Carberry commented on the lead cars racing with the slower traffic in tow.

With a final red flag pausing the event on the fourteenth circuit, due to a flipping Stefanie Carberry after making contact with the outside guardrail in turns one and two as she was also advancing positions while “rim riding” around the high groove of the speedway in sixth place, the field was subjected to a single file restart with Lutz taking off with Carberry not far behind.

From that point on, the last ten laps of the feature would be a crowd pleaser, with Lutz and Carberry slicing and dicing through the field, utilizing all parts of the track, making it three wide at times between lapped traffic, with similar racing going on with third and fourth placed Mark Bitner and Tim Tanner Jr., as well as fifth and sixth place running Austin Bishop and Dave Brown.

“You never know with these guys, and I’ve never had to the chance to run with MASS this year, so I’m not really familiar with how their driver run and where they run, so It was quiet an adventure trying to maneuver lapped traffic throughout the race,” mentioned Lutz.

With two laps remaining, with the end in near sight, Carberry made his move heading into turns three and four around Lutz who ran up on a lapped car, allowing Carberry to cruise pass them around the high side.

“I got by Lutz on the top going in between a lapped car, coming to one to go, and the top started going away with six or seven laps to go, and I was really close up on the fence and coming out of two he got back underneath the lapped car,” Carberry explained. “I think my right rear grabbed a hold of the wall, and it must have slapped the front end, and I went to turn it into three on the top and I drove it in there hard, and It just went straight and stuffed it in the fence.”

Crossing the checkered flag to capture his first Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series win in his first attempt would be Scott Lutz, followed by Mark Bitner, Tim Tanner Jr., Austin Bishop and Dave Brown Jr. Carberry would officially finish in fifteenth.

“We usually run with the Laurel Highlands Sprint Series, and we actually won last week up at Hesston Speedway,” said Lutz. “We really enjoyed running with MASS tonight, I’m looking forward to coming back out to Grandview in September, now especially after this win tonight.”

There were twenty-five MASS 305 Sprint Cars in attendance for the Thayer Performance Parts and Engines sponsored night, with three heat race triumphs going to rookie Austin Bishop, Tim Tanner Jr., and Stefanie Carberry and the “last chance” B-Main qualifying race going to Keith Andersen. Thayer Performance gave two Racesaver Spec Hoosier Right Rear tires to the top two hard chargers which were Tom Carberry and Bobby Butler who both advanced six positions in the feature. The Bitner Automotive “Lightning Fast Time of the Night” award went to Austin Bishop who ran a fast time of 13.505 during his heat race.

On Saturday, July 8th, the Engler Machine and Tool Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series will be making their way back into the Garden State, as they race at Bridgeport Speedway. Stay tuned for more information on this event. For more info on what’s going on with the Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series, please visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/midatlanticsprintseries/ or visit our website at www.masprintseries.com.

MASS FEATURE (25 LAPS):
SCOTT LUTZ, Mark Bitner, Tim Tanner, Austin Bishop, Dave Brown, Jon Haegele, Scott Frack, Eddie Wagner, Brendon Poff, Joe Kay, Jeff Geiges, Bobby Butler, Rick Stief, Keith Andersen, Tommy Carberry (DNF), Sam Lieberman, David Bonner, Tom Carberry, Craig Pellegrini, DNF: Stefanie Carberry, Zack Burd, Tyler Reinhardt, Tim Smolenyak, Bobby Scherff 
DNQ: Terry Schaffer
​
CSI Shocks B-Main: $50 Keith Andersen
Heat 1, CSI: Austin Bishop $50
Heat 2, Freiberger Excavating: Tim Tanner Jr. $50
Heat 3, Professional Design Services: Stefanie Carberry $50
Todd's Performance: Terry Schaffer $25 
DMI Hard Luck Award: Tommy Carberry $25
Bruce's Auto Body Hard Charger: Bobby Butler $25  
Kelly Fuels: Scott Lutz, Tim Tanner, Austin Bishop - 5 Gallons of Fuel
​Thayer Performance Burning Rubber Bonus: Bobby Butler & Tom Carberry
Freiberger Excavating “Fan Favorite” Bonus: Sam Lieberman $25

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TANNER CAPITALIZES ON DARLING’S MISFORTUNE TO WIN INAUGURAL MASS EVENT AT DELAWARE INTERNATIONAL
DELMAR, DE
By ERIKA PALMAI WAGNER

Tim Tanner Jr. of Doylestown, PA had Lady Luck on his side on Saturday before claiming his first feature win of the season on Saturday at Delaware International Speedway after race leader Kevin Darling came to a sudden stop with just a lap remaining of the twenty-five lap A-Main event. Tanner, who started second alongside Tommy Carberry, led early in the race, surviving two red flags before succumbing the top spot to Darling on lap five.

“The track was really rough tonight, and I had a hard time getting comfortable in the car,” Tanner admitted. “I was trying to run around the bumps, but what I found out after working through lapped traffic was that the fastest way around the track was actually going through the holes. Once I found my groove to where I was comfortable, I was actually able to gain on Kevin, but I don’t think we had anything for him”.

With Carberry and Tanner starting on the front row, a full field of twenty-four cars took the green flag with the leaders racing side by side for the lead going into turn one. Carberry would resume the lead with Tanner and third place starting Kevin Darling closely following behind until the first caution was displayed for Ryan Stillwaggon who spun off of the embankment in turn one.

Moments after the race was restarted, a red flag was displayed when chaos erupted at the rear of the field for two cars that tangled and flipped viciously in turns three and four.  Bobby Scherff (56) and Bronzie Lawson IV (4B) were involved in the wreck, but thankfully they walked away uninjured.  Unfortunately, their cars could not say the same as they suffered minor but race ending damage.

With Tanner grabbing the lead from Carberry once the race resumed, the 9D of Darling would work the outside groove, eventually exchanging spots with Carberry for second. On lap five, a second red flag was brought out for Bobby Sandt, who slid to a stop in turn three after a fire erupted in his cockpit, because of a broken fuel line. Safety crews quickly extinguished the fire, but Sandt and his father, who ran out on the track to aid his son, were both transported to the local hospital after suffering minor burns in the incident.

Tanner and Darling would battle for the lead after the green flag waved once again, with Darling taking over first by utilizing the high side just as he did to gain second. Darling appeared to be untouchable by mastering multiple restarts and lapped traffic while maintaining a sizable lead over Tanner who was also holding his own over the third-place car of Carberry.

“As the race progressed and after we were able to get some laps in after all of those cautions, lapped traffic wasn’t really that big of an issue because they were holding their own,” said Darling. “We planned on running the bottom, so we added gear. But the bottom ended up getting used up by the races before us so I moved to the middle and found some bite. I like running the top at DIS, but with the new track layout, it’s just too far around to make any time. I checked the bottom occasionally to make sure it wasn’t taking rubber. If it did, then that’s where I would have stayed”.

With the white flags waving on lap twenty four, race leader Kevin Darling came to a rolling stop in turns one and two after engine issues forced him to retire prematurely. Tanner and Carberry would now line up nose to tail preparing for the last lap showdown. Carberry attempted to pass Tanner around the outside, but he was unable to complete the pass. Crossing the finish line first was Tanner, followed by Carberry, Brendon Poff, Jeff Geiges, and Joe Kay completed the top five.

“The last time I ran at DIS was twenty years ago in a Big-Block Modified, and we ran well then,” Tanner said. “I was excited to come back here this weekend with MASS and run at this track that was home to URC for so many years in the past. It’s a great track and even though it’s a long haul, I would love to come back here in the future”.

Tanner, who currently sits second in the championship points just one point behind Tommy Carberry, attributes his win to his dedicated crew, family and sponsors that support him each week. Sponsoring the number 18 Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series Sprinter are PWD Lubricants, Martelli’s Metal Fab, Richboro Beer & Soda, Champion Tire, Marianne’s Diner, D&I Construction, Steve’s Collision, Scarlet Oaks Wholesale Nursery, National Water Management, Tanner Brother’s Dairy and Mike’s Mobile Truck Repair.

Next up on the Engler Machine & Tool Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series schedule is ‘Pack the House Night’ at Bridgeport Speedway on Saturday, June 17th. For more info on what’s going on with the Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series, please visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/midatlanticsprintseries/ or visit our website at www.masprintseries.com.

FEATURE (25 LAPS): TIM TANNER, Tommy Carberry, Brendon Poff, Jeff Geiges, Joe Kay, Rick Stief, Eddie Wagner, Scott Frack, Bryant Davis, Ryan Stillwaggon, Stef Carberry, Dave Graber, Zack Burd, Bobby Butler, Harris Kohen DNF: Kevin Darling, Jamie Kostic, Craig Pellegrini, Daren Bolac, Bobby Sandt, John Webster, Bobby Scherff, Bronzie Lawson IV, Matt Smith

COMPETITION SUSPENSION INC HEAT #1 ($50 Cash & $50 CSI Gift Certificate): Rick Stief
FREIBERGER EXCAVATING HEAT #2 ($50 Cash): Brendon Poff
PROFESSIONAL DESIGN SERVICES HEAT #3 ($50 Cash): Kevin Darling
PROFESSIONAL DESIGN SERVICES NATIVE BONUSES ($50 Cash each):
Top New Jersey Native: Tommy Carberry
Top Pennsylvania Native: Tim Tanner
Top Delaware/Virginia Native: Kevin Darling
Top North/South Carolina Native: Daren Bolac

DMI Ticket Recipients: Tim Tanner, Tommy Carberry, Brendon Poff, Jeff Geiges, Joe Kay, Eddie Wagner, Zack Burd, Jamie Kostic, Bobby Sandt, Scott Frack
$25 DMI Gift Certificate (3): Tim Tanner, Kevin Darling, Scott Frack
BITNER AUTOMOTIVE LIGHTENING FAST TIME AWARD ($25 CASH): Kevin Darling
BRUCE’S AUTO BODY HARD CHARGER AWARD ($25 CASH): Dave Graber
THAYER PERFORMANCE BURNING RUBBER HARD CHARGER BONUS: Dave Graber
KELLY FUELS 5 GALLONS FREE FUEL: Tim Tanner
VALDERSERE HARD LUCK AWARD ($100 Cash): Bronzie Lawson IV
Todd’s Performance $25 Gift Certificate: Stef Carberry & Dave Graber
Worst Pill Draw $25 Cash: Craig Pellegrini
Bruce’s Auto Body 15th Sign in: Rick Stief

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INCLIMENT WEATHER HALTS RACING AT GRANDVIEW, MASS RAIDS DELAWARE INTERNATIONAL ON JUNE 10TH

BECHTELSVILLE, PA
By ERIKA PALMAI WAGNER
Twenty-Six Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series competitors were eagerly ready to take part in the Thunder on the Hill Racing Series events at Grandview Speedway on Sunday. But with the forecast drastically take a turn for the worse, officials were forced to cancel the ‘Triple Thunder Thriller’ event.

“We were really happy with the number of teams that supported us today, even with threat of rain,” Eddie Wagner, Regional Director of MASS said. “The quality of talent we had in the pits tonight was sure to shape up to be a great night of racing, that’s for sure. I can’t thank the Thunder on the Hill management and officials enough for trying to make a go at it, and for including us in their show tonight.”

Fans, drivers and teams who attended Sunday’s rained out event can use their wristbands for any future Thunder on the Hill event “of equal value or they may pay the additional fee for a show of great value” as per the Thunder on the Hill website. The Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series will be back for a Thunder on the Hill event on October 14th for the ‘Madhouse Halloween Party’.

With Big Diamond Speedway cancelling the June 2nd appearance of the MASS 305 Sprint Cars due to rain outs plaguing their season and special events that they’ve had to continuously postpone, the series will shift their focus on its first ever race at Delaware International Speedway on Saturday, June 10th.

“We are really excited for our first ever appearance at Delaware International,” Wagner stated. “I’ve raced myself at DIS when I ran with URC a few years ago, and I think this track is the perfect place for Sprint Cars. The surface is very racy to where you can use both the top and bottoms of the speedway to your advantage, making the show always exhilarating for the fans and the drivers as well”.

For upcoming details on the next event at Delaware International Speedway and news on what’s happening with the Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series, please visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/midatlanticsprintseries/ or visit our website at www.masprintseries.com.

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BROWN WINS WIRE TO WIRE PASS/MASS CO-SANCTION SHOWDOWN AT SUSQUEHANNA
YORK HAVEN, PA
By ERIKA PALMAI WAGNER

“Downtown” Dave Brown took the checkered flag this past Saturday night at Susquehanna Speedway for the ninth time in his career over Tyler Reeser, Cale Reagle, Darren Miller, and Kyle Ganoe. Saturday’s event at Susquehanna marked the first co-sanctioned Racesaver 305 event between the Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series and PA Sprint Series on the 2017 schedule. Brown was one of sixteen MASS registered drivers who made the haul out to the Central Pennsylvania speedway, in efforts to take on the talents of the PA Sprint Series.

“Everything went well from the start tonight,” said the twenty-six-year-old Aston, PA native. “We pulled a good number that helped us start up front in the heat race, which is always a big help. The car was great for the heat and with just a few adjustments for the feature to make the car work on a dry-slick track with the help of my friends at Newlin Bar Service, we were good enough to get the job done!”

Thirty-four cars took part in four eight-lap qualifying heat races, with five cars transferring from the heat to the a-main. Dave Brown, Tyler Reeser, Dave Grube and Kyle Ganoe were all credited with wins in the qualifying events, also earning them $50 cash from heat race sponsors CSI Shocks, Freiberger Excavating and Professional Design Services. The B-Main was won by Nick Sweigart, who also took home a $50 gift certificate to CSI Shocks for his efforts.

At the start of the twenty-lap feature event, Cale Reagle and rookie Austin Bishop brought the field around for the green flag, with Reagle taking control of the lead immediately by the time they reached the flag stand. Bishop, who jumped to the high side of the multi-groove speedway, tried to challenge the leader for the front running spot a lap later, but he was unable to complete the pass, so he settled back into second.

Brown, who started in fourth, advanced quickly into third and began catching ground on second place utilizing the very top of the race track.

“After looking at the track and watching the midgets, I knew there was a lane up close to the wall that had not seen much traffic, so I basically had to work that groove in for a few laps, and it began to work,” noted Brown. “When I got to the second-place car, I noticed that Austin was running that line as well, but I think my car was a little bit better than his, so I was able to get a slider in around him in turns three and four, and after that we were able to focus on the leader”.

By the half way point with ten laps down, Reagle caught up to lapped traffic, with Brown lurking closely behind. On lap eleven, Brown passed Reagle for the lead, again applying his strategy to that ultra-high groove that was working so well for him the entire race. Running away with the lead with over a half a straight away gap on the top five, Brown said “a balance of aggressiveness and patience” is what he attributed to his success in maneuvering through lapped traffic.

“With most of the field leaving the top side open, it was less patience and more of a ‘hammer down’ mindset that I was thinking when getting around the slower cars,” Brown said. “I just knew the top was the fast way around and I wasn’t going to move down to try and pass any lap cars, just in case there was someone close behind”.

In the closing laps of feature, twenty-one-year-old PASS regular Tyler Reeser moved into the top three by running a similar line that leader Dave Brown was using. On the last lap, Reeser stole second from Reagle, while “rim riding” around the outside wall in hopes to gain enough ground to make for an exciting finish.

“The bottom of the track was actually pretty decent, and I was able to pass a few cars down there on my way to the front,” Reeser said. “The top just had more momentum because of the cushion and with that being as good as it was, it really helped me mainly for the same reason Dave said and that’s because a lot of people don’t use it, so who ever does use it can see it as an open window”.

“I’m not sure how much more time I needed, but were we both in lapped traffic, and that plays a huge roll in things,” Reeser explained. “I think a caution would have been the best thing to see for me”.

“I just have to thank my dad, my buddy Damian, Newlin’s Bar Service who has been a huge help in getting my car set-up right this year,” Brown thanked in a post-race interview. “All of my sponsors, Ennis Burner’s and Fuel Service, Beck Welding and Fabrication, and D. Capps Carpentry. Everyone and anyone who helps me out, just know that you guys make it possible for me to be competitive and able to what we’ve done tonight”.

On Sunday, May 28th the Engler Machine and Tool Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series will be making their first of four appearances at Grandview Speedway. Stay tuned for more information on this event. For more info on what’s going on with the Mid-Atlantic Sprint Series, please visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/midatlanticsprintseries/ or visit our website at www.masprintseries.com.

PA/MASS IMCA SPRINTS ( 34 Cars ):
1) 44x Dave Brown 2) 5T Tyler Reeser 3) 99 Cale Reigle 4) 9c Darren Miller 5) 0 Kyle Ganoe 6) 17A Colby Dice 7) 11 Austin Bishop 8) 14 Kyle Craker 9) 99 Stefanie Carberry 10) 67 Ken Duke Jr. 11) 8D Scott Ellerman 12) 3D Dave Grube 13) 83 Billy Ney 14) 28 Tommy Carberry 15) 9s Rick Stief 16) 77J Jeff Geiges 17) 18 Tim Tanner Jr. 18) 9B Brendon Poff 19) 39x
Scott Frack 20) 8 Nick Sweigart 21) 20 Stephanie Dodson 22) 50 Jay Krout 23) 4c Cody Hackenberry 24) 92 Alex Potosky ( DNF )

DNQ: 70 Eddie Wagner, 77 Andrew Hake, 56 Bobby Scherff, 0 Harris Kohen, 2 Erin Statler, 15B Bryant Davis, 13 Kurt Knepper, 57v David Bonner, 94D Logan Diehl, 777 Doug Snow
 
Lap Leaders: 99 Reigle (1 - 11), 44x Brown (12 - 20)
​
CSI Shocks B-Main: $50 Nick Sweigart
Heat 1, CSI: David Brown $50
Heat 2, Freiberger Excavation: Tyler Reeser $50
Heat 3, Professional Design Services: Dave Grube $50
Heat 4, Professional Design Services: Kyle Ganoe $50
Todd's Performance: David Bonner $25 
DMI Hard Luck Award: Bryant Davis $50
Bruce's Auto Body Hard Charger: $25, Kyle Craker (19th to 8th) 
Kelly Fuels: Dave Brown 5 Gallons of Fuel