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Cottle Charges from 23rd to Win Selinsgrove Silver Crown Debut
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Shane Cottle won his first USAC Silver Crown race in nearly 13 years in Sunday night's Bill Holland Classic at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway. (Dallas Breeze Photo)
COTTLE CHARGES FROM 23RD TO WIN SELINSGROVE SILVER CROWN DEBUT
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania (August 9, 2020).........A stumbling engine in qualifying, a last row starting spot and an accident with 43 laps remaining that resulted with him backwards against the guardrail with a flat tire - those were just a few of the mountains Shane Cottle overcame to reach victory lane in Sunday night's inaugural Bill Holland Classic at Pennsylvania's Selinsgrove Speedway.
It took Cottle every bit of the 74-lap distance to reach the pinnacle of the night as he worked his way around race-long leader C.J. Leary on the white flag lap to conquer his second career USAC Silver Crown victory, and his first in nearly 13 years, aboard the Curtis Williams/Jack's Auto Body - Duncan Oil - Kercher Engines/Maxim/Kercher Chevy.
By doing so, Cottle became the newest record holder of the longest duration between USAC Silver Crown victories. It had been 12 years, 11 months and 8 days since the Kansas, Ill. driver raced to victory at the Du Quoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds in 2007. The record prior to Sunday night was the nearly 10-year span between Ron Shuman's wins in 1982 and 1992.
Marking the first time the USAC Silver Crown season opener was held in the month of August since 1979, the majority of the first 30 circuits saw pole sitter Leary leading the way with outside front row starter Justin Grant giving constant chase to Leary, who had earlier set fast time during Fatheadz Eyewear Qualifying for the first time in four years at neighboring Pennsylvania track Williams Grove Speedway in 2016.
On the 31st lap, however, major trouble ensued for 11th running Cottle who had a left rear tire go down on the front straightaway. In the ensuing melee, Cottle spun backwards into the inside front straightaway guardrail while the lapped car of Dave Berkheimer flipped upside down before a small fire erupted from the car. The fire was extinguished, and Berkheimer escaped without injury.
At the same time, Cottle exited the car, standing on the front straightaway mulling over the situation which provided him nary a shred of confidence to continue in the race.
"I was really upset," Cottle recalled. "I actually wasn't even going to change the tire. I told the crew, 'you know what, heck with it. We're going to the back and it's kind of hard to pass.' They said 'nope, we're changing it, get back in there.'
Forced to restart from the tail after working halfway up through the field, with the new left rear affixed to his ride, Cottle went back to work on his mission.
"Luckily, we barely got back in there," Cottle said. "It took me a little while to not get so mad and to where I was driving a little smoother. Once I did that, I started picking them off."
While Leary and Grant had controlled the pace throughout, by the 52nd lap, Chris Windom, Brady Bacon and Kevin Thomas Jr. had reeled in the top-two to make it a five-man breakaway. Fourth-running Bacon, who had earlier won the night's preceding USAC Rapid Tire East Coast Sprint Car feature, slipped under Windom for the third spot in turn three.
As Windom slipped up off the bottom, Thomas got his right front wheel beneath Windom's left rear and the two made contact, knocking out the front end on Thomas' car and sending to him a stop in turn four, thus concluding his evening.
Grant took a major run at Leary for the lead with an attempted slider on the lap 52 restart, which didn't quite stick, as the pair continued their dominance at the front of the pack. Leary was able to distance himself to great comfort to a nearly two second lead as the laps wound down.
With seven laps remaining, a succession of yellows involving flat right rear tires wreaked havoc on several top-ten contenders, including Kyle Robbins, Windom, Jake Swanson, Kody Swanson and, ultimately, second running Justin Grant who fell by the wayside on a restart with four laps remaining. However, Cottle was reassured by his eye in the sky that he was good to go.
"I kept asking the crew, are there any cords showing yet," Cottle revealed. "I could see all the guys in front of me and their cords were showing. They said, 'nope, no cords yet. Just keep her going and just try to maintain the tire underneath you.'"
There, with four to go on a restart, the running order was Leary, Bacon and a suddenly surging Cottle, who didn't remain in third for long as he blitzed under Bacon for second on the bottom of turn four with three laps remaining, then rapidly advanced on Leary.
Coming to the white flag, Cottle used a substantial run off the second turn to race around the outside of Leary entering turn three for the lead. Simultaneously, the returning car of Grant stopped on the front straightaway to bring out the yellow, sending Leary back to the front with Cottle second for a green-white-checkered finish. At that point, Cottle had an inkling that, while he was going to give everything he had to get past Leary, he was going to receive the same treatment from Leary to keep him behind.
Cottle, with a right rear tire with which he estimated as maybe having 'just a couple more laps left,' took the show into his own hands, squaring up Leary through turns three and four coming to the white flag, then swinging to the outside to rip around him to lead at the stripe by a car length before making a beeline to the bottom of turn one to take away the bottom from Leary.
"When he got out of the rubber and got in the slick, I just stayed in the rubber and rolled around him," Cottle remembered. "His tire didn't have much left in it. Luckily, we had just enough to carry us on around him."
From there, it was smooth sailing for Cottle, who raced to a 0.774 sec. victory over Leary while career-best series finishes were earned by Kyle Robbins (3rd), and first-time Silver Crown entrants Bryan Gossel (4th), Carmen Perigo (5th) and Kyle Cummins (6th).
Bacon, running 3rd coming off the final corner on the final lap, experienced a flat right rear tire just short of the line, dropping him back to 7th while a similar fate befell 4th running Logan Seavey in his first series start, dropping him to 10th in the final tally.
Cottle's victory from the 23rd spot ranks as the 8th furthest back any driver has started to win a Silver Crown race, the most positions overcome to win since Rich Tobias Jr.'s Du Quoin triumph from 25th in 2003. Kenny Irwin Jr. owns the top-two ultimate hard-charging performances in Silver Crown history, coming from the 28th position to win at both the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 1995 and Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1997.
Cottle's victory from the 23rd spot ranks as the 8th furthest back any driver has started to win a Silver Crown race, the most positions overcome to win since Rich Tobias Jr.'s Du Quoin triumph from 25th in 2003. (DB3, Inc. Photo)
The win also marked the first for the Curtis Williams-owned team in USAC Silver Crown competition, a regular team on the entire trail since 2014, and for whom Cottle has made his 29 most recent series starts beginning with the 2015 season.
"Curtis, he's a good ol boy and (crew chief) Malcolm (Lovelace), they've been trying for years," Cottle said. "I'm just happier than a lark that I was able to do it for them."
Arizona's Casey Buckman escaped injury after enduring a wild flip on the opening lap of Sunday night's feature that also involved David Byrne. Buckman finished 24th and Byrne 23rd.
Sunday's race was the debut for the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series at Selinsgrove Speedway, which had previously hosted just a single USAC-sanctioned race in its history - a 1971 National Sprint Car event won by Mitch Smith.
USAC Silver Crown has now visited the state of Pennsylvania on 15 occasions with 15 different winners taking the checkered flag since 1971. Three other past PA winners were in Sunday night's starting field, Windom, Swanson and Bacon, all of whom had previously won with the series at Williams Grove.
The 74-lap Bill Holland Classic feature signified the first ever racing event held at Selinsgrove Speedway on July 20, 1946, won by 1949 Indianapolis 500 winner and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee, Bill Holland.
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USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: August 9, 2020 - Selinsgrove Speedway - Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania - 1/2-Mile Dirt Oval - Bill Holland Classic
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-21.676 (New Track Record); 2. Justin Grant, 91, Hemelgarn-21.867; 3. Brady Bacon, 6, Klatt-21.897; 4. Jake Swanson, 10, DMW-21.956; 5. Carmen Perigo, 52, Stehman-21.958; 6. Logan Seavey, 22, Prestige Worldwide-21.964; 7. Matt Westfall, 54, Westfall-22.139; 8. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9, Dyson-22.231; 9. Chris Windom, 17, Goodnight-22.266; 10. Kody Swanson, 20, Nolen-22.274; 11. Shane Cockrum, 53, Five Three-22.325; 12. Chad Kemenah, 15, Hampshire/Kemenah-22.444; 13. Kyle Cummins, 69, Pink 69-22.467; 14. Ronnie Wuerdeman, 33, Wuerdeman-22.539; 15. David Byrne, 40, Byrne-22.567; 16. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-22.571; 17. Kyle Robbins, 7, KR-22.891; 18. Mike Haggenbottom, 24, Haggenbottom-23.014; 19. Bryan Gossel, 06, Gossel-23.041; 20. Travis Welpott, 18, Welpott-23.309; 21. Casey Buckman, 74, Buckman-23.793; 22. Dave Berkheimer, 31, Berkheimer-23.965; 23. Shane Cottle, 81, Williams-24.307; 24. Jake Simmons, 3, Simmons-NT.
FEATURE: (74 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Shane Cottle (23), 2. C.J. Leary (1), 3. Kyle Robbins (17), 4. Bryan Gossel (19), 5. Carmen Perigo (5), 6. Kyle Cummins (13), 7. Brady Bacon (3), 8. Shane Cockrum (11), 9. Matt Goodnight (16), 10. Logan Seavey (6), 11. Kody Swanson (10), 12. Mike Haggenbottom (18), 13. Ronnie Wuerdeman (14), 14. Travis Welpott (20), 15. Chris Windom (9), 16. Justin Grant (2), 17. Jake Swanson (4), 18. Chad Kemenah (12), 19. Kevin Thomas Jr. (8), 20. Matt Westfall (7), 21. Dave Berkheimer (22), 22. Jake Simmons (24), 23. David Byrne (15), 24. Casey Buckman (21). NT
**Casey Buckman flipped on lap 1 of the feature. Dave Berkheimer flipped on lap 31 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-72 C.J. Leary, Laps 73-74 Shane Cottle.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMP CAR SERIES POINTS: 1-C.J. Leary-73, 2-Shane Cottle-70, 3-Kyle Robbins-64, 4-Bryan Gossel-61, 5-Carmen Perigo-58, 6-Kyle Cummins-55, 7-Brady Bacon-52, 8-Shane Cockrum-49, 9-Matt Goodnight-46, 10-Logan Seavey-43.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-79, 2-Tanner Thorson-76, 3-Shane Cottle-59, 4-Logan Seavey-57, 5-Cannon McIntosh-57, 6-Justin Grant-52, 7-Kyle Cummins-48, 8-Daison Pursley-48, 9-Robert Ballou-45, 10-Andrew Layser-44.
NEXT USAC SILVER CROWN RACE: August 15, 2020 - Salem Speedway - Salem, Indiana - .555-Mile Paved Oval - Joe James/Pat O'Connor Memorial
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: C.J. Leary
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Shane Cottle (23rd to 1st)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Ronnie Wuerdeman
Brian Brown Triumphant With Lucas Oil ASCS At Sage Fruit Ultimate Challenge
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ASCS National Sprint Series
Brian Brown Triumphant With Lucas Oil ASCS At Sage Fruit Ultimate Challenge
Bryan Hulbert – OSKALOOSA, Iowa (August 9, 2020) Winning for the third time with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network at Oskaloosa’s Southern Iowa Speedway, Brian Brown captured Sunday’s $4,000 prize at the Sage Fruit Ultimate Challenged presented by STC.
Winner Brian Brown (Richard Bales Photo)
Earning the pole through the night’s Heat/Qualifier format, Brown’s first jump to the lead was short-lived as a four-car incident with Watt, Covington, McCarl, and Crockett saw the No. 95 and No. 5j flipping while Crockett’s car ended up on fire. Helped from the car by Jordon Mallett as crews arrived on the scene, everyone was able to walk away unharmed.
Taking off again, Brown opened a sizable advantage before the caution on Lap 7 for Austin McCarl, who retired with rear-end issues.
Back to green for the final time, Brown opened things up on the field. Seemingly untouchable through the first 20 revolutions, the closing laps saw the Casey’s General Stores/Impact Signs No. 21 start picking through lapped traffic. Allowing California’s Dominic Scelzi to inch closer and closer, Brown was dealing with the car getting tight as he paced around the backmarkers.
To the white flag with Dominic Scelzi making up nearly 1.5 seconds on the FVP No. 21, the pair were coming up on one final slower car. Using the proximity of the lapped car to his advantage, the Scelzi Enterprises No. 41 drove deep into the final two turns for the lead. Sliding across Brown’s nose off the fourth turn, the Missouri shoe was able to pull low off on the straightaway and retake the point by 0.305-seconds.
“I was having a little trouble there when I got close enough to Harli [White] that I wasn’t close enough to pass, but I was close enough to be in dirty air,” explained Brown.
“Sometimes when you’re in second, you can take a flyer and try different lines that maybe isn’t working of me and whatnot, but I saw him come across and my car had been good enough still to be able to cut down, and it did where I was able to get the drive off and get the win.”
Scelzi in second marks the second time since Thursday that the Scelzi Enterprises No. 41 has been on the podium with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network. His best finish with the series, Scelzi was chased the line by Pennsylvania’s Brock Zearfoss, who battled early with Shane Golobic. Grabbing fourth in the NOS Energy Drink No. 17wg, the top-five was made up by Colby Copeland
Trey Starks moving up six positions to sixth. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. crossed seventh with Tim Kaeding eighth. Scott Bogucki from 13th made it to ninth with Sawyer Phillips moving forward seven spots for tenth.
A field of 45 drivers was on hand for the Sage Fruit Ultimate Challenged presented by STC. Originally a $3,000 to win show, Country Builders boosted the payout to $4,000 to win. Hoosier Tire of Knoxville handed out tires to SCE Gaskets Heat Race Winners, which included Colton Heath, Garet Williamson, Austin McCarl, Harli White, and Dominic Scelzi. Qualifier wins went to Tim Kaeding, Brian Brown, and Shane Golobic. BMRS B-Features were topped by Sawyer Phillips and Matt Covington.
Ayrton Gennetten was the night's Hard Charger and picked up a KSE Power Steering Pump. Jack Dover, who took a hard ride in his Heat Race, received a complete set of Wilwood Brakes.
The next event on the ASCS calendar is the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Week powered by Smiley’s Racing Products. The standalone series begins Tuesday, August 11 at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.
For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2020, log onto www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV
Southern Iowa Speedway (Oskaloosa, Iowa)
Sage Fruit Ultimate Challenge
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Car Count: 45
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (Top 30 in Passing Points advance to Qualifiers)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 33-Colton Heath[1]; 2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[4]; 3. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[2]; 4. 17WG-Shane Golobic[6]; 5. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[5]; 6. 63-JJ Hickle[7]; 7. 11-Roger Crockett[9]; 8. 88-Travis Reber[8]; 9. 11F-Colton Fisher[3]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 24-Garet Williamson[2]; 2. 50Z-Zach Chappell[1]; 3. 44S-Trey Starks[3]; 4. 5C-Colby Copeland[7]; 5. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[5]; 6. 24D-Danny Sams III[4]; 7. 44-Chris Martin[8]; 8. 17B-Ryan Bickett[6]; 9. 5H-Michael Faccinto[9]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 17A-Austin McCarl[2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown[3]; 3. 14B-Bailey Sucich[1]; 4. 5J-Jamie Ball[5]; 5. 77X-Alex Hill[6]; 6. 95-Matt Covington[7]; 7. 52-Blake Hahn[9]; 8. 22B-Jesse Baker[8]; 9. 81-Tanner Gebhardt[4]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 17W-Harli White[2]; 2. 1K-Kelby Watt[6]; 3. 28F-Davie Franek[4]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[7]; 5. 28-Scott Bogucki[9]; 6. 24N-Nathan Mills[3]; 7. 29W-Wyatt Wilkerson[8]; 8. 75X-JT Imperial[1]; 9. 53-Jack Dover[5]
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 41-Dominic Scelzi[2]; 2. 51A-Elliot Amdahl[1]; 3. 9-Chase Randall[3]; 4. 27-Carson McCarl[5]; 5. 35M-Tim Kaeding[8]; 6. 1B-Chelsea Blevins[4]; 7. 22X-Riley Goodno[7]; 8. 6-Jett Carney[6]; 9. 14-Jordon Mallett[9]
Hoosier Tire Qualifiers (Top 16 in combined Heat & Qualifier Passing Points advance to the A-Feature)
Qualifier 1 (8 Laps): 1. 35M-Tim Kaeding[1]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[3]; 3. 33-Colton Heath[4]; 4. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[7]; 5. 1K-Kelby Watt[6]; 6. 17W-Harli White[5]; 7. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[9]; 8. 11-Roger Crockett[10]; 9. 14B-Bailey Sucich[8]; 10. 51A-Elliot Amdahl[2]
Qualifier 2 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown[4]; 2. 44S-Trey Starks[1]; 3. 41-Dominic Scelzi[5]; 4. 28-Scott Bogucki[3]; 5. 5J-Jamie Ball[7]; 6. 28F-Davie Franek[2]; 7. 24-Garet Williamson[6]; 8. 52-Blake Hahn[10]; 9. 63-JJ Hickle[9]; 10. 77X-Alex Hill[8]
Qualifier 3 (8 Laps): 1. 17WG-Shane Golobic[2]; 2. 5C-Colby Copeland[4]; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[5]; 4. 17A-Austin McCarl[6]; 5. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[8]; 6. 95-Matt Covington[9]; 7. 27-Carson McCarl[7]; 8. 50Z-Zach Chappell[3]; 9. 9-Chase Randall[1]; 10. 44-Chris Martin[10]
BMRS B-Feature (Top 3 from each advance to the A-Feature)
B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[1]; 2. 11-Roger Crockett[4]; 3. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[3]; 4. 28F-Davie Franek[2]; 5. 77X-Alex Hill[7]; 6. 22X-Riley Goodno[10]; 7. 14B-Bailey Sucich[5]; 8. 1B-Chelsea Blevins[9]; 9. 6-Jett Carney[12]; 10. 29W-Wyatt Wilkerson[8]; 11. 81-Tanner Gebhardt[14]; 12. 22B-Jesse Baker[11]; 13. 51A-Elliot Amdahl[6]; 14. 75X-JT Imperial[13]; 15. 5H-Michael Faccinto[15]
B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington[1]; 2. 63-JJ Hickle[6]; 3. 27-Carson McCarl[2]; 4. 52-Blake Hahn[4]; 5. 9-Chase Randall[5]; 6. 24D-Danny Sams III[8]; 7. 17B-Ryan Bickett[11]; 8. 14-Jordon Mallett[12]; 9. 88-Travis Reber[10]; 10. 24N-Nathan Mills[9]; 11. 11F-Colton Fisher[14]; 12. 50Z-Zach Chappell[3]; 13. 44-Chris Martin[7]; 14. 53-Jack Dover[13]
Sawblade.com A-Feature
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown[1]; 2. 41-Dominic Scelzi[2]; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[3]; 4. 17WG-Shane Golobic[5]; 5. 5C-Colby Copeland[4]; 6. 44S-Trey Starks[12]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[7]; 8. 35M-Tim Kaeding[10]; 9. 28-Scott Bogucki[13]; 10. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[17]; 11. 52-Blake Hahn[23]; 12. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[21]; 13. 17W-Harli White[14]; 14. 24-Garet Williamson[16]; 15. 63-JJ Hickle[20]; 16. 33-Colton Heath[8]; 17. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[11]; 18. 14-Jordon Mallett[24]; 19. 17A-Austin McCarl[6]; 20. 1K-Kelby Watt[9]; 21. 5J-Jamie Ball[15]; 22. 95-Matt Covington[18]; 23. 11-Roger Crockett[19]; 24. 27-Carson McCarl[22]
Lap Leader(s): Brian Brown 1-30
Hard Charger: Ayrton Gennetten +9
High Point Driver: Brian Brown
Provisional(s): Blake Hahn (Points); Jordon Mallett (Points)
2020 Driver Standings (Top 15): 1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 1,377; 2. Roger Crockett 1,247; 3. Harli White 1,231; 4. Blake Hahn 1,152; 5. Matt Covington 1,126; 6. Scott Bogucki 1,121; 7. Jordon Mallett 1,097; 8. Dylan Westbrook 1,044; 9. Garet Williamson 990; 10. Alex Hill 966; 11. Danny Sams 956; 12. Chase Randall 929; 13. Travis Reber 847; 14. Ryan Bickett 844; 15. Dominic Scelzi 610;
2020 A-Feature Winner(s): Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – 4 (2/29 – Canyon Speedway Park; 6/25 – Caney Valley Speedway; 6/27 – I-30 Speedway; 7/17 – U.S. 36 Raceway); Matt Covington - 1 (2/28 - Canyon Speedway Park); Brad Sweet – 1 (3/6 – Merced Speedway); Andy Forsberg – 1 (3/8 – Petaluma Speedway); Harli White – 1 (7/11 – Riverside International Speedway); Austin McCarl – 1 (8/6 – Knoxville Raceway); Lynton Jeffrey – 1 (8/7 – Knoxville Raceway); Kerry Madsen – 1 (8/8 – Knoxville Raceway); Brian Brown – 1 (8/9 – Southern Iowa Speedway);
ASCS Online:
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Video Broadcast: www.racinboys.com
Live-Scoring (Where Applicable): MRP Live
Cozze Captures First New Egypt Speedway Mod Win In A Decade; Bitner Bags USAC East Main
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New Egypt Speedway
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New Egypt Speedway
Route 539, New Egypt, NJ
Track Phone: 609-758-1900
Website: www.newegyptspeedway.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/newegyptspeedwayofficial
Twitter: www.twitter.com/nesspeedway
Pete MacDonald email: pmacdonald11@hotmail.com
Cozze Captures First New Egypt Speedway Mod Win In A Decade; Bitner Bags USAC East Main
New Egypt, NJ - Frank Cozze returned to New Egypt Speedway Modified Victory Lane for the first time in almost a decade on Saturday night aboard the Dave Renaldo owned No. 401. The two-time Modified track last graced New Egypt Speedway victory lane on September 4, 2010.
Steve Davis led the Vahlco Wheels Modified field to the green-flag but it would be Kory Fleming leading lap number one. The first yellow flag of the event flew with a lap completed for Jimmy Horton in turn number four. On the restart Cozze shot to second and began to stalk Fleming for the lead. The second caution of the event flew on lap five for Matt Stangle stopping in the short shoot heading into turn three. When green replaced yellow Cozze shot to the outside of Fleming in turn one and emerged the leader on the backstretch. Debris was the cause of caution number three on lap seven.
Cozze jumped back out to the lead with a new challenger in PJ Oliver for the lead. Once out in front Cozze would maintain the lead until the yellow flew again on lap 14, this time for Cale Ross who had spun in turn one.
Again Cozze shot out to the lead on the restart, but he would then have a new second-place man in Dakota Kessler who dove to the inside of Oliver as the field entered turn one. Kessler would remain in the runner-up spot for the next six laps as now David VanHorn entered the picture as Cozze’s latest challenger.
As the laps started to wind down, Cozze would reach lapped traffic on lap 23 with VanHorn on his horse trying to catch Cozze at a frantic pace. At the two-to-go signal VanHorn appeared to be closing in on Cozze but he would run out of time as Cozze scored his first star in the New Egypt Speedway win column since September 4, 2010 and his 27th overall at the Route 539 speed plant. VanHorn would come home second with Billy Pauch Jr., Dakota Kessler and PJ Oliver completing the top five.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve been here. This has always been home, this the place I love coming to. The fans are the greatest here, I think,” said Cozze post race. “It feels good to finally have the monkey off our back. I gotta thank Dave Renaldo, we’ve had a rough couple weeks and he’s gotten us everything we need. I can’t thank the guys on my team, they all worked so hard. It was a good win tonight.
Mark Bitner led wire-to-wire in USAC East Coast Sprint Car competition but it would not come as easy as that sounded. Bitner led the field to the green but before a lap would be completed JR Berry would spin in turn number three. When the green flag flew again, Bitner jumped back out to the lead with the best battle on the speedway being for second between Kyle Lick, Ryan Watt and Chris Allen Jr. Allen would rim-ride his way to second and begin his chase of Bitner who now was roughly a half a straightaway out in front.
With Bitner now entering lapped traffic on lap 15, that allowed Allen to close up right to the tail tank of Bitner as the two weaved in and out of lapped traffic all while battling for the race lead. Entering turn three Allen threw his No. 71 machine hard into the corner trying to drive around Bitner but he was not able to make it stick and slipped up the race track allowing Bitner to pull back away. The yellow flag flew for the final time on lap 23 when David Swanson came to a stop in turns one and two setting up a green-white-checkered finish. When racing resumed Allen threw everything he had at Bitner but it would be to no avail as Bitner picked up the win at what is considered to be his “home track” Allen would be the runner-up followed by Ryan Watt, a hard charging Billy Pauch Jr. and defending USAC East Coast Sprint Car champion Steven Drevicki.
Howie Finch picked up his first career Sportsman win aboard his Ice Less LLC No. 4 machine and the first for a 604 Crate Motor. Finch took over the lead from race long leader Jimmy Amato and never looked back. Ryan Heim would finish second followed by Dan Fleming in third who utilized a 602 Crate, David Burns and Joseph Brown.
Shanon Mongeau was the victor in the Street Stock event, he was followed to the stripe by Bill Liedtka, Brian Ludwig, Spider Ensinger Sr. and Sean Wall.
Paul Mancini won the Lyons Construction/Metal Fab Rookie Sportsman event.
New Egypt Speedway returns to action next Saturday night August 15th with Ladies Night. All ladies will receive ½ price general admission. In action will be the Vahlco Wheels Modifieds, Sportsman, Ice Less LLC Crate Modifieds, Street Stocks and the Lyons Construction/Metal Fab Rookie Sportsman. Plus, there will be Powder Puff races held at the end of the night for the ladies.
Pit gates will open at 4pm, grandstands at 5pm with hot laps hitting the speedway at 6pm and racing firing off at 7pm promptly. Adult (16+) admission will be $20, Seniors (65+) will be $18, Teens (12-15) & Military w/ID are $10 with Kids 11 & Under being FREE!.
For more information call the New Egypt Speedway office at 609-758-1900, email Nesoffice@comcast.net or visit www.newegyptspeedway.net
New Egypt Speedway, which is New Jersey’s premier dirt racing facility, is located on Route 539 just minutes from Six Flags Great Adventure and the New Jersey Turnpike. A racy 7/16-mile D-shaped dirt oval, New Egypt Speedway serves Garden State race fans with some of the best competition in the country. New Egypt’s state-of-the-art facilities feature daylight-quality lighting and excellent sightlines from any seat in the house. The grandstands are fully wheelchair accessible with wide, clear, and well-groomed walkways. Concession facilities serve up everything from Jersey Burgers to ice cream treats at family-friendly prices.
For more information, visit online: www.newegyptspeedway.net, “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/newegyptspeedwayofficial, or follow us on Twitter @nesspeedway.
New Egypt Speedway Results 8/8/20
Vahlco Wheels MODIFIEDS
Feature (30 laps): 1. Frank Cozze 2. David Van Horn 3. Billy Pauch Jr. 4. Dakota Kessler 5. PJ Oliver 6. John McClelland 7. Ryan Krachun 8. Mike Butler 9. Dominick Buffalino 10. Danny Bouc 11. Wade Hendrickson 12. Bryan Kuhl 13. Davey Sammons 14. Cale Ross 15. Matt Stangle 16. Billy Osmun 17. Jimmy Horton 18. Chris Grbac 19. Rocco Infante 20. Steve Davis 21. Craig Mitchell 22. Kory Fleming 23. Frank Venezia 24. Blaine Bracelin 25. Brandon Grosso 26. Geoff Quackenbush
USAC EAST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES
Feature (25 laps): 1. Mark Bitner 2. Chris Allen Jr. 3. Ryan Watt 4. Billy Pauch Jr. 5. Steven Drevicki 6. Kyle Lick 7. Ed Aiken 8. Ryan Quackenbush 9. Alex Yankowski 10. Bill Unglert 11. Bruce Buckwalter 12. Rich Mellor 13. Mick D’Agastino 14. JR Berry 15. Jonathen Swanson 16. Zach Burd 17. David Swanson 18. Heidi Hedin 19. Ken Nealis 20. Lee Kaufman
SPORTSMAN
Feature (20 laps): 1. Howie Finch 2. Ryan Heim 3. Dan Fleming 4. David Burns 5. Joseph Brown 6. Kevin Borden 7. Ryan Krishinski 8. Mason Magee 9. Jimmy Amato 10. Matt Miller 11. Glenn McIntyre 12. Matt Ellery 13. John Criscione 14. Amanda Buchel 15. Nick Trapasso 16. Jim Avery 17. Frank Frasco 18. Will Dupree 19. Marty Resnick 20. Jim Housworth 21. Gary Bozowski 22. Bob Lineman Jr. 23. Paul Mancini 24. Art Liedl 25. Tom Princiotta
STREET STOCKS
Feature (15 laps): 1. Shanon Mongeau 2. Bill Liedtka 3. Brian Ludwig 4. Spider Ensinger Sr. 5. Sean Wall 6. Chris Felber 7. Drew Brocklebank 8. Todd Dige 9. Dennis Seeley 10. Art Liedl
Lyons Construction/MetalFab ROOKIES
Feature (8 laps): 1. Paul Mancini 2. Mason Magee 3. Jim Avery 4. Gary Bozowski 5. Amanda Buchel DNS: Will Protinick
WALL STADIUM RESULTS AUG. 8
Posted by: | Comments
Wall Stadium
DATE OF EVENT: Aug. 8, 2020
DATE OF RELEASE: Aug. 7, 2020
CONTACT: Jeff Gravatt
BLAKE BARNEY GRABS CAREER FIRST WALL MODIFIED WIN
WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. ~ Driving the bright red No. 14 for “Team 14,” one of the most famous and successful racing teams in Wall Stadium Speedway's 70 year history, Blake Barney of Jackson raced to his career first Modified stock car victory in the 40-lapper on Saturday night. Barney's victory came on the evening when the speedway's loyal followers honored the memory of photographer JJ Lane who passed away from natural causes during the off season.
Tyler Truex of Mayetta jumped to the early lead as Brick's Dom Fattaruso ran second. Barney had advanced to third by the ten lap mark and vaulted into second just past halfway. Lap 30 offered the final caution of he event when Robert French of Howell and Holmdel's Andrew Krause tangled in turn three. Lining up to the outside of Truex on the rolling restart, Barney made the outside lane work and powered to the lead for good.
Truex crossed the finish line second, but lost the position when it was found during post race inspection that his team had mistakenly bolted on a tire that was not recorded in the team's tire bank. That elevated Howell's Jimmy Blewett to second, with defending champ Steven Reed of Jackson, Fattaruso and Brick's Eddie McCarthy rounding out the top five.
“I want to thank my mother, my father and grandfather for all they have done for me,” Barney said in the winner's circle. “I knew that I was stepping into some big shoes when I started to drive this car. It is an honor to drive for a team that has had so many great drivers. The car is working real well on the outside here. I knew if I could get up to second I would have a chance.”
With just one early caution flag slowing the test, Neptune City's Bryan O'Shea used power and handling to race from an 11th starting spot to win his third straight 25-lapper for the Factory Stocks. Early race leader Kevin Flores of Brick and Howell's Brian Osborn crossed the finish line second and third but lost those spots after post-race inspections. Billy Both of Rahway and Howell's John Carpenter then wrapped up the top three, while Mike Montano of Freeport, N.Y. and Scott Riggleman on Manchester were fourth and fifth.
After suffering through bad fortunes in the first two events of the season, Jarret DiGiantomasso raced to victory in the Sportsman 25-lapper. Brick's Robert Sutphin was runner-up, with Manahawkin's Jake Nelke, Lanoka Harbor's Jonathan Laureigh and Neil Rutt III of Edison third through fifth.
Mike Alcaro took the lead on an early restart and raced on to his first Legend Cars 25-lap win of the year. Waldwick's Quinn Trimmer, Little Silver's Peter Bruno, Colin Milroy and Eugene Drew were second through fifth.
Buddy Sload won the 25-lap main event for the traveling TQ Midgets with Joey Bailey, Ryan Tidman, Kyle Taraska and Jeff Kott the remainder of the top five.
The 2020 Saturday night regular season continues this Saturday (August 15) evening with the Modifieds competing in the annual running of the 125-lap Garden State Classic. Factory Stocks, 4 Cylinder Stocks and Limited Late Models will also see action in 25-lap main events. The pit area will open at 12:30 p.m. Grandstands will open at 4:30 p.m., qualifying starts at 5:30 p.m. and main event action starts at 7:00 p.m.
Current plans call for Saturday night racing action to continue through early October with schedule details at www.wallspeedwayracing.com.
Wall Stadium is located on Route 34 in Wall Township, N.J., just one mile north of Garden State Parkway exit 98 and Interstate 195 exit 35B. The speedway hotline number is 732-681-6400 and email address is ckmotorsports@aol.com.
RACE RESULTS
MODIFIED FEATURE – 40 Laps – 1. BLAKE BARNEY, JACKSON, 2. Jimmy Blewett, 3. Steven Reed, 4. Dom Fattaruso, 5. Eddie McCarthy, 6. Ron Frees, 7. Derek Hopkinson, 8. Joey Merlino, 9. Andrew Krause, 10. Tommy Martino, 11. Jason Treat, 12. Glenn Slocum, Jr., 13. Kevin Davison, 14. Robert French, 15. Mike Brennan, DQ Tyler Truex
FACTORY STOCK FEATURE – 25 Laps – 1. BRYAN O'SHEA, NEPTUNE CITY, 2. Billy Both, 3. John Carpenter, 4. Mike Montano, 5. Scott Riggleman, 6. Elliott Wohl, 7. Tom Rajkowski, 8. Gary Burton, 9. Nick Catone, 10. Robert Ptaszynski, 11. Matt Badessa, 12. Robert Stack, 13. Cody Geist, 14. Nancy Riggleman, 15. Nick Kilmer, 16. Brian DeSarno, DQ Kevin Flores, DQ Brian Osborn
SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 25 Laps – 1. JARRET DIGIANTOMASSO, JACKSON, 2. Robert Sutphin, 3. Jake Nelke, 4. Jonathan Laureigh, 5. Neil Rutt III, 6. Eric Lane, 7. Rob Anderton, 8. Jimmy Wolcott, 9. Jeffrey Loesch, 10. Dave Bailey, 11. Tomas Stainionis, 12. Carsten DiGiantomasso, 13. Rob Schultz
LEGEND CARS FEATURE – 25 Laps - 1. MIKE ALCARO, WEST MILFORD, 2. Quinn Trimmer, 3. Peter Bruno, 4. Colin Milroy, 5. Eugene Drew, 6. Bryan Gardella, 7. Eric Green, 8. Joe Przybylinski, 9. Steven Woytysiak, 10. Roger Nickerson, 11. Lianne Sharry, 12. Phil Bogdan
Double Duty In USAC Sprint & Modified At New Egypt Speedway
Posted by: | CommentsKyle Larson Reigns At I-55 To Claim Ironman Title
Posted by: | Comments
World of Outlaws
Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
Winner Kyle Larson (Trent Gower Photo)
SPECTACULAR IRONMAN: Kyle Larson Reigns At I-55 To Claim Ironman Title
The 55-lap barn burner at I-55 saw multiple lead changes and drivers giving their all
PEVELY, MO – Aug. 8, 2020 – Rain was minutes away. The laps still showed five to go. Kyle Larson led with a hungry and determined Sheldon Haudenschild pushing his car to its limits to steal the lead and claim another Ironman title at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.
Larson already had a hard-enough time wrestling his own car around the fast 1/3-mile track. The cushion was unforgiving if not treated with care and 55 laps gave no pleasure to tired arms. He’s made winning look easy in 2020, but to win the Ironman 55 he had to prove his worthiness of the title.
Holding on with the might and skill of a seasoned driver every time his right rear tire and the cushion disagreed on space, Larson committed to the high line of the track to make the most speed in the closing laps. At the same time, Haudenschild worked any line he could to gain an advantage on the Finley Farms #57.
His effort couldn’t match Larson’s, though. The Elk Grove, CA driver brought the crowd to their feet and opened a hole in the sky by winning his first Ironman 55 title Saturday night with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the $20,000 top prize.
“That was hard work,” said Larson, who looked to have just finished running a marathon. “A wild racetrack. I’m normally pretty calm after racing but my heart rate is still going. That was wild. You can’t say enough about everyone who helps out on this team. I tore up a car at Huset’s (Speedway) last week and these guys worked their asses off all week to get it ready.”
The Silva Motorsports crew put together a brand-new car for Larson after he wrecked the one he has dominated the year with at Huset’s. His first race in the new car was during the Friday night prelude to the Ironman and there appeared to be some bugs to still work out as Larson finished sixth – he hadn’t finished worse than second in his last five starts with the Series.
Those bugs only lasted a night as Larson and his team returned to form when the Ironman title was on the line. He qualified third, won his Drydene Heat Race and then dominated the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.
However, the early events were baby steps compared to the grueling and spellbinding marathon he had to run in the 55-lap Feature.
Larson led the first four laps of the Feature but bicycled off the cushion in Turn 4 and allowed second-place Jacob Allen to close on him. Allen then dove underneath Larson entering Turn 3 and slid in front of him to officially take the lead on Lap 5.
Allen said earlier in the day he needed to eat his Wheaties to be able to hang on for 55 laps around the fast-tacky track. He proved he did by initially pulling away from Larson after taking the lead. However, Larson closed back in on the Drydene #1A in traffic. Allen continued to prove his strength by holding off attacks by Larson lap after lap.
While they battled, Shane Stewart, in third, closed in. With 39 laps still to go, Stewart launched his Indy Race Parts #71 under both Larson and Allen in Turn 1 and sped down the backstretch with the lead.
For the next 34 laps, Stewart – the 2015 Ironman – held command out front. Behind him, Allen, Larson, Haudenschild and two-time Ironman champion Rico Abreu brawled for second. Larson nearly saw his night come to an end while battling with Abreu for second.
Abreu threw his car underneath Larson entering Turn 1, feeding Larson his right rear and sending the white #57 up the track and into the cushion. Larson’s rear end bounced off the cushion, sending his car sideways and facing the inside wall. He perfected a brilliant save and only lost one position to Haudenschild.
“I was so tight,” Larson said. “I felt good early out in clean air. The cushion was getting bigger and I was getting tighter. Jacob (Allen) got by. I was just praying the track would come to us. Wasn’t quite sure. I felt like at times I’m good. Then I’d get closer to people and I’d get really tight. It made it easy to make mistakes. Even when I wasn’t tight. The track did finally come to us.”
Soon after, a caution came out for Hunter Schuerenburg stopping on track. When the race resumed, Abreu jumped the cushion in Turn 4, bouncing around like a bucking bull. That allowed Haudenschild and Larson get by.
With 20 laps to go, the track conformed to Larson’s liking. He was able to put his car back on the cushion and rip the top. That led him back by Haudenschild for second and then to Stewart’s pumper with 10 laps to go.
Charging down the front stretch with a head of steam, Larson launched underneath Stewart going into Turn 1 and slid in front of him to reclaim the lead on the exit of Turn 2. Haudenschild also made his way by Stewart four laps later and then aimed to hunt down Larson.
With rain minutes away, the laps still showing five to go and Larson out front with a hungry and determined Haudenschild behind him, the conclusion to the Ironman left everyone at the edge of their seat.
Larson’s Ironman win is his 13th career World of Outlaws victory – tying him with Brooke Tatnell and Terry McCarl for 34th on the all-time wins list – and his fifth win of the year – second at I-55 this year.
Haudenschild’s runner-up finish concluded a solid weekend for the Wooster, OH driver and his Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing as they won Friday night and gained points in the championship battle. Haudenschild is fifth in points – 80 points back from leader Brad Sweet.
“We came here to win and gave our best effort,” Haudenschild said. “Congratulations to Larson and his team. They’ve been really good. So has my team. Hats off to my guys, Nickolas. Ripper and Drew. They’ve been busting their ass and working hard to win these races. We wanted to get this NOS Energy Drink #17 in the winner’s circle, but we’ll take a second.”
Stewart, who had to settle for third, said he feels like he gave the race away.
“My car was so good,” said Stewart, of Bixby, OK. “I knew the track was going to change a little bit, but that cushion was so gnarly. I did hit it wrong a few times. It wasn’t from a lack of effort from my guys. We work so hard. We don’t race full-time but every time we show up, we’re competitive.”
Points leader and reigning champion Brad Sweet finished 10th, allowing the four drivers behind him in points to close in. Ten-time Series champion Donny Schatz and Logan Schuchart are now tied for second – 20 points behind Sweet.
For Larson, points are of no concern. He's happy collecting trophies and celebrating with confetti and the occasional rain shower in Victory Lane.
UP NEXT
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to Knoxville Raceway for “The One and Only” three-day event, Aug. 13-15, which includes the $50,000-to-win Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank on Saturday. Get tickets by clicking here. https://mpv.tickets.com/?agency=WRG_SNG_MPV&orgid=52711&packageId=56017&packageListId=56016#/event/PKG/seatmap/?selectBuyers=false&minPrice=110&maxPrice=110&quantity=2&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=true&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false
If you can’t make it to the track, you can still watch all three days of racing live on DIRTVision.
Race Results: 8/8/20 – Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 – Ironman 55
NOS Energy Drink Feature (55 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [1][$20,000]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2][$6,000]; 3. 71-Shane Stewart [4][$3,750]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [5][$3,250]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$2,750]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [3][$2,500]; 7. 2-Carson Macedo [9][$2,400]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [12][$2,300]; 9. 41-David Gravel [8][$2,200]; 10. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$2,100]; 11. 83-Daryn Pittman [16][$1,700]; 12. 39-Sammy Swindell [10][$1,400]; 13. 96-Parker Price-Miller [15][$1,300]; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser [13][$1,200]; 15. 13-Paul McMahan [18][$1,100]; 16. 7S-Jason Sides [21][$1,000]; 17. 70-Cale Thomas [11][$1,000]; 18. 23B-Brian Bell [17][$1,000]; 19. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [19][$1,000]; 20. 51B-Joe Miller [20][$1,000]; 21. 21-Carson Short [23][$1,000]; 22. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [14][$1,000]; 23. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [22][$1,000]; 24. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [24][$1,000];
Lap Leaders: Kyle Larson 1-4, 48-55; Jacob Allen 5-17; Shane Stewart 18-47;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 83-Daryn Pittman[+5]
Qualifying – 1. 71-Shane Stewart, 10.165; 2. 49-Brad Sweet, 10.178; 3. 57-Kyle Larson, 10.187; 4. 41-David Gravel, 10.199; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen, 10.203; 6. 24-Rico Abreu, 10.216; 7. 15-Donny Schatz, 10.218; 8. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 10.243; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 10.271; 10. 39-Sammy Swindell, 10.305; 11. 96-Parker Price-Miller, 10.325; 12. 83-Daryn Pittman, 10.332; 13. 2-Carson Macedo, 10.341; 14. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, 10.346; 15. 70-Cale Thomas, 10.349; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 10.35; 17. 7S-Jason Sides, 10.389; 18. 13-Paul McMahan, 10.404; 19. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg, 10.409; 20. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 10.433; 21. 23B-Brian Bell, 10.451; 22. 99-Skylar Gee, 10.5; 23. 33M-Mason Daniel, 10.513; 24. 51B-Joe Miller, 10.582; 25. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 10.583; 26. 21-Carson Short, 10.586; 27. 49J-Josh Schneiderman, 10.602; 28. 35-Zach Hampton, 10.609; 29. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 10.652; 30. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 10.748; 31. 6-Bill Rose, 10.762; 32. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 10.967
DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 71-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [4]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [3]; 5. 23B-Brian Bell [6]; 6. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 7. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [7]; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson [8]
DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 3. 39-Sammy Swindell [3]; 4. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [4]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [5]; 6. 21-Carson Short [7]; 7. 99-Skylar Gee [6]; 8. 9K-Kyle Schuett [8]
DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 3. 70-Cale Thomas [4]; 4. 96-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 5. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [5]; 6. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [7]; 7. 33M-Mason Daniel [6]; 8. 6-Bill Rose [8]
DRYDENE Heat #4 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 2. 41-David Gravel [1]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [3]; 5. 51B-Joe Miller [6]; 6. 35-Zach Hampton [7]; 7. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [5]; 8. 2K-Kevin Ingle [8]
DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [3]; 4. 71-Shane Stewart [4]; 5. 24-Rico Abreu [6]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [8]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet [7]; 8. 41-David Gravel [5]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [1][]; 2. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [2][]; 3. 21-Carson Short [3][]; 4. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [4][]; 5. 99-Skylar Gee [7][$300]; 6. 33M-Mason Daniel [8][$250]; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9][$225]; 8. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [6][$200]; 9. 35-Zach Hampton [5][$200]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [11][$200]; 11. 9K-Kyle Schuett [10][$200]; 12. 2K-Kevin Ingle [12][$200]
Courtney Caps Eastern Midget Week with Lanco Score
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Tyler Courtney won the 2020 Eastern Midget Week finale on Saturday night at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway. (DB3, Inc. Photo)
COURTNEY CAPS EASTERN MIDGET WEEK WITH LANCO SCORE
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Newmanstown, Pennsylvania (August 8, 2020).........Sometimes, in the ups and downs of life, you just need a bump in the right direction to get you going where you need to go.
In Saturday night's Eastern Midget Week finale at Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, Tyler Courtney received just that early on while running 4th in the 40-lap feature when he encountered a bit of a bumpy road entering turn one.
As Courtney slowly coasted, the trailing car of Justin Grant smacked into the back of Courtney's car, which then fired back up and Courtney drove away before he ultimately took the lead from Tanner Carrick on the 14th lap, then thwarted off several challenges from Buddy Kofoid to win the event.
Courtney's fourth win in his last five USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget starts came aboard his Clauson-Marshall Racing/NOS Turbo - ZMax/Spike/Stanton SR-11x.
"I ended up hitting the kill switch and it killed the car," Courtney revealed of the incident. "When I bounced, I hit the switch, then Grant hit me, and I was looking down to figure out what happened. I flipped the switch back on and kept going, and he stopped there. I got lucky there, but sometimes you've got to be more lucky than good and I'll take it anyway I can get it."
Courtney started 6th in the 22-car field after earlier setting the fastest time in both hot laps and qualifying. Tanner Carrick, meanwhile, raced from his pole starting position to the lead at the start while outside front row starter Chris Windom bounced off the turn two guardrail and slipped to 4th behind Chase Johnson and Courtney.
Shortly after his boost from Grant, Courtney nearly saw positional disaster strike again, nearly spinning out in turn four, as the competition raced by, slipping back from 4th in no time flat. However, a timely stoppage just a tick of the second hand later helped him at just the right time as Kenney Johnson, making his season debut with the series, flipped in turn one. He was okay.
Shortly thereafter, once racing resumed, Courtney pulled off a two-for-one special in turn four on the sixth lap, racing first by Windom then Chase Johnson in one fell swoop to surge from 4th to 2nd. Johnson spun three laps later on lap nine to halt what would've been a career-best run, yet he still charged back to finish a respectable 8th in the final rundown.
On the 11th lap, Courtney slid his way past Carrick for the race lead in between turns three and four. Carrick countered back underneath Courtney with Carrick's right rear and Courtney's left front brushing sidewalls. Courtney took a couple steps back from Carrick and reloaded for another shot on the 13th lap.
Instead of sliding Carrick, this time, Courtney shadowed Carrick on the topside between turns three and four. Down the front straightaway, Carrick and Courtney were rear bumper to chrome horn. Courtney hopped and skipped off the bottom of turns one and two and launched to the race lead on the 14th circuit past Carrick.
Nearing midway, the top-two of Courtney, and now Buddy Kofoid, separated themselves from the rest of the field by nearly a half-lap as Courtney fished through the back end of the field utilizing the top shelf to work his way around lapped traffic.
On the 31st lap however, series point leader Windom glanced off the turn two wall, ending his evening after running 6th. He'd finish 16th and see his USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget point lead of 74 dwindle to just 31 at night's end.
Following a yellow for 7th running Dillon Welch's turn four spin with seven laps remaining, Kofoid took a major run at Courtney for the number one spot, sliding into turn three with a full head of steam right up into Courtney's lane up against the outer guardrail in turn four. However, Courtney never blinked, never backed off, and kept his foot on the loudpedal to race his way back around Kofoid to retain the lead for good.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't flinch," Courtney admitted. "At this point in the season, you've got to go for everything when you're running for the championship. If we would've crashed there, it is what it is; we're going for the win. Once I squeaked by Buddy there, I knew that was going to kill his momentum. So, I knew if I could squeak by him there, he'd be all chocked up getting off four there. There weren't many laps left there, so I just needed to make those perfect and not make any mistakes and get ourselves to the finish line first."
Tyler Courtney, (Indianapolis, Ind.), earned his 18th career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget win, which moved him past Jay Drake, Tanner Thorson & J.J. Yeley on the all-time series win list & into a tie for 37th with Dave Steele.
(DB3, Inc. Photo)
The same driver that was 4.5 tenths quicker than everybody else in hot laps and 2.5 tenths quicker in qualifying was 1.074 seconds better than his closest competition Saturday night at Lanco, turning the best lap of the race just three laps from the end to defeat Kofoid, Cannon McIntosh (from 15th), Carrick and KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Tanner Thorson (from 19th).
The Indianapolis, Indiana native's 18th career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory moved him past Jay Drake, Tanner Thorson and J.J. Yeley on the all-time series win list and into a tie for 37th all-time with Dave Steele.
After a rough patch in June and mid-July that saw Courtney tally finishes of 21st and 22nd in consecutive races and fall back to 4th in the series standings, he's now won four of five, with the only non-winning performance in that stretch being a 2nd place finish, putting him directly in the hunt for another USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget championship after winning the title last year.
"Coming off two championship, you kind of have a different mindset," Courtney explained. "During those championships, I've had ups and downs like I've had this year. You have to take yourself and reset, bring your team together and let them know, 'hey, this isn't the end.' You've got to dig down deep and find out how bad you really want it. I think we have."
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 8, 2020 - Lanco's Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway - Newmanstown, Pennsylvania - 1/8-Mile Dirt Oval - Eastern Midget Week
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-10.662; 2. Buddy Kofoid, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-10.927; 3. Chase Johnson, 25, Malloy-10.958; 4. Dillon Welch, 81x, Tucker/Boat-10.966; 5. Justin Grant, 5, Petry-11.059; 6. Chris Windom, 89, Tucker/Boat-11.103; 7. Daison Pursley, 9, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.245; 8. Tanner Carrick, 35, Petry-11.248; 9. Robert Dalby, 4, Dalby-11.325; 10. Cole Bodine, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-11.419; 11. Andrew Layser, 82, Tucker/Boat-11.429; 12. Jeff Champagne, 46x, O'Rourke-11.439; 13. Alex Bright, 29, Seymour-11.495; 14. Cannon McIntosh, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-11.501; 15. Emerson Axsom, 15, Petry-11.509; 16. Kevin Thomas Jr., 72, Heffner-11.509; 17. Kyle Cummins, 3G, Styres-11.564; 18. Steve Buckwalter, 12, Heckman-11.609; 19. Tanner Thorson, 19, Hayward-11.615; 20. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-11.656; 21. Kenney Johnson, 46, Johnson-11.809; 22. Kevin Woody Jr., 0, Buckwalter-11.956; 23. Jimmy Glenn, 07, Glenn-12.235; 24. Shannon Mausteller, 5A, Mausteller-12.302; 25. Steve Craig, 55, Craig-12.586; 26. Glenn Waterland, 11c, Waterland-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Tyler Courtney, 3. Alex Bright, 4. Cole Bodine, 5. Tanner Thorson, 6. Dillon Welch, 7. Daison Pursley, 8. Kevin Woody Jr., 9. Steve Craig. 1:56.414
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Tanner Carrick, 2. Cannon McIntosh, 3. Justin Grant, 4. Buddy Kofoid, 5. Ethan Mitchell, 6. Andrew Layser, 7. Jimmy Glenn, 8. Glenn Waterland, 9. Kyle Cummins. NT
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Chris Windom, 2. Chase Johnson, 3. Robert Dalby, 4. Steve Buckwalter, 5. Kenney Johnson, 6. Jeff Champagne, 7. Shannon Mausteller. NT
INDY RACE PARTS/INDY METAL FINISHING SEMI: (10 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Daison Pursley, 2. Dillon Welch, 3. Andrew Layser, 4. Kyle Cummins, 5. Emerson Axsom, 6. Jimmy Glenn, 7. Jeff Champagne, 8. Glenn Waterland, 9. Shannon Mausteller, 10. Steve Craig. 2:21.355
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tyler Courtney (6), 2. Buddy Kofoid (5), 3. Cannon McIntosh (15), 4. Tanner Carrick (1), 5. Tanner Thorson (19), 6. Daison Pursley (9), 7. Justin Grant (3), 8. Chase Johnson (4), 9. Cole Bodine (11), 10. Robert Dalby (10), 11. Dillon Welch (8), 12. Kyle Cummins (17), 13. Ethan Mitchell (20), 14. Emerson Axsom (16), 15. Jeff Champagne (13), 16. Chris Windom (2), 17. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 18. Steve Buckwalter (18), 19. Andrew Layser (12), 20. Jimmy Glenn (22), 21. Kenney Johnson (21), 22. Alex Bright (14). NT
**Kenney Johnson flipped on lap 5 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Tanner Carrick, Laps 14-40 Tyler Courtney.
USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-1,119, 2-Tyler Courtney-1,088, 3-Buddy Kofoid-1,056, 4-Tanner Thorson-1,047, 5-Cannon McIntosh-944, 6-Tanner Carrick-838, 7-Daison Pursley-783, 8-Cole Bodine-725, 9-Andrew Layser-663, 10-Justin Grant-619.
OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Chris Windom-79, 2-Tanner Thorson-76, 3-Logan Seavey-57, 4-Cannon McIntosh-57, 5-Justin Grant-52, 6-Daison Pursley-48, 7-Robert Ballou-45, 8-Andrew Layser-44, 9-Kyle Cummins-41, 10-Chase Stockon-39.
NEXT USAC MIDGET RACE: August 22, 2020 - Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis - Brownsburg, Indiana - .686-Mile Paved Oval - 70th Night Before the 500 (Non-Points Special Event)
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Tyler Courtney
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Tanner Carrick
AutoMeter Third Heat Winner: Chris Windom
Indy Race Parts / Indy Metal Finishing Semi Winner: Daison Pursley
Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer: Glenn Waterland
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Tanner Thorson (19th to 5th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Ethan Mitchell
