Archive for USAC
Buckwalter Blasts to Big Diamond Victory
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Winner Timmy Buckwalter and family.
(Chad Warner Photo)
BUCKWALTER BLASTS TO BIG DIAMOND VICTORY
By: Nick Fillman - USAC East Coast Sprint Cars
Pottsville, Pennsylvania (June 7, 2019).........For the second time in their first four races together, Timmy Buckwalter piloted the Bill Gallagher-owned, Curt Michael-prepared entry into victory lane in Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series action.
The win for Buckwalter kicks off what is a busy schedule for the driver as he will compete in modified action on Saturday at Grandview Speedway before moving on to action next week with the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Series in their annual "Eastern Storm."
Buckwalter was able to maneuver his way to the heat race victory in a duel with Carmen Perigo which would send Buckwalter to the redraw. Timmy drew the second-place position, start him alongside Chandler Leiby.
As the field went to green Buckwalter slid back a couple of positions with Leiby grabbing the early race lead. A caution would quickly fly for Joe Biasi who clipped an infield tire and sent him spinning into the infield ending his night. As the field would go back to green Leiby would again work his way into the lead holding off challenges from Carson Short and Steven Drevicki.
The caution would again fly on lap 9 for Jonathan Swanson and Ryan Quackenbush bunching the field back up. On the ensuing restart Buckwalter would power to the outside around Leiby in turns three and four, taking the lead and looking to run away. Buckwalter would maintain a solid lead while the battle was on for positions two through seven. Steven Drevicki, Leiby, Short, Perigo, Strada, and Chris Allen were all in close competition with no driver feeling in comfortable control of their position. A caution flag would fly again on lap 16 for a spinning Eric Jennings, setting up a restart.
The restart would again see high contention for positions inside the top 10 with Drevicki moving into the second-place position. Other drivers would see highly contested action for spots in the top six. The final caution of the event would fly on lap 22 for Steve Surniak who ended up getting into an infield tire. The restart would be the chance the Drevicki wanted to try and grab the win away from Buckwalter, but it wasn't meant to be as Buckwalter would go on to take the checkers. Steven Drevicki would come home second, Carson Short third, Carmen Perigo made a strong high side move to grab fourth powering to the outside around Strada and Leiby, with Chandler Leiby collecting yet another top five finish.
While the night was great for some, it was bad for others, with some in the in between. The night started off rough for Ryan Quackenbush and Brian Riccio. Quackenbush would have the front end folded up on his machine on lap one, of heat one before collecting Riccio who would go for a series of flips into the infield. Riccio was making just his second start of the season before the flip.
Trevor Kobylarz would make his return to the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Series, following missing the last two events with engine issues. Kobylarz was out to a solid lead in heat race number three before an exploding left rear would end his heat race. Unfortunately, the tire failure broke the shock and other components off the Kobylarz car. The team opted to sit out for the remainder of the night to keep things fresh for the upcoming eastern swing.
Despite the troubles in the heat race for Ryan Quackenbush, and a caution early on in the feature, he would rebound with a solid effort to collect the Scotty Signs Hard Charger award. The New York turned Pennsylvania transplant has had a bit of an up and down season, but the team never quits and works hard to get to every event. They were rewarded with a solid finish and a few extra winnings on Friday night, proving that while they may get down, they're never out.
In their first race together Carson Short, and the Chris Dyson Racing, Sean Michael-prepared entry had a solid night. The team pulled the number one pill for the night and started on the pole of heat one. Carson would cruise to the heat victory before having a strong third place run in the feature event as a great tune up before next week's USAC National Sprint action.
The next event for the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series comes on Sunday, June 30th at the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park where the series will make their inaugural visit.
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USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: June 7, 2019 - Big Diamond Speedway - Pottsville, Pennsylvania
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Carson Short (#20 Dyson), 2. Joey Biasi (#B1 Biasi), 3. Chandler Leiby (#119 Leiby), 4. Bill Unglert (#33B Unglert), 5. Steve Surniak (#1ST Surniak), 6. John Stehman (#23 Stehman), 7. Craig Pellegrini, Jr. (#11A Pellegrini), 8. Ryan Quackenbush (#5Q TQT), 9. Brian Riccio (#09 Riccio). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Mark Bitner (#15 Bitner), 2. Eddie Strada (#42E Strada), 3. Steven Drevicki (#19 Drevicki), 4. Jake Winters (#1J Winters), 5. Austin Bishop (#11 Bishop), 6. Larry McVay (#83 McVay), 7. Heidi Hedin (#3H Hedin), 8. David Swanson (#117 Swanson). NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Timmy Buckwalter (#5G Gallagher), 2. Carmen Perigo (#21 Perigo), 3. Chris Allen, Jr. (#71 Allen), 4. Tyler Brehm (#21R Brehm), 5. Connor Leoffler (#22 Leoffler), 6. Eric Jennings (#32 Neiger/Hamilton), 7. Jonathan Swanson (#17J Swanson), 8. Trevor Kobylarz (#14 Kobylarz). NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-5 transfer) 1. Jennings, 2. Stehman, 3. McVay, 4. Pellegrini, 5. J. Swanson, 6. Hedin, 7. D. Swanson. NT
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Timmy Buckwalter, 2. Steven Drevicki, 3. Carson Short, 4. Carmen Perigo, 5. Chandler Leiby, 6. Eddie Strada, 7. Chris Allen, Jr., 8. Bill Unglert, 9. Connor Leoffler, 10. Mark Bitner, 11. Tyler Brehm, 12. Austin Bishop, 13. Ryan Quackenbush, 14. John Stehman, 15. Eric Jennings, 16. Larry McVay, 17. Jonathan Swanson, 18. Jake Winters, 19. Steve Surniak, 20. Craig Pellegrini, Jr., 21. Joey Biasi. NT
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**Riccio flipped during the first heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Leiby, Laps 10-25 Buckwalter.
SCOTTY SIGNS HARD CHARGER: Ryan Quackenbush (21st to 13th)
NEXT USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT RACE: June 30 - Glen Ridge Motorsports Park - Fultonville, New York
Thorson Triumphs in Frenzied IMW Round at Putnamville
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Tanner Thorson celebrates Thursday night's 'Indiana Midget Week' victory at Lincoln Park Speedway. (Rich Forman Photo)
THORSON TRIUMPHS IN FRENZIED IMW ROUND AT PUTNAMVILLE
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Putnamville, Indiana (June 6, 2019).........There are comeback stories. And then there's the Tanner Thorson comeback story from Thursday night's third round of "Indiana Midget Week" from Lincoln Park Speedway.
With the wounds and scars still readily evident on his body after sustaining a broken left arm and right foot, a cracked sternum, broken ribs and a punctured lung following a multi-car incident on Highway 99 in Modesto, Calif. in March of this year, the Minden, Nevada native delivered a performance that he said is "definitely one I'll remember forever." And is one that will certainly remembered by those who were there to witness it as well.
Thorson used the bottom to capture the lead with just four laps remaining, enduring attack after attack from Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Kyle Larson to earn his 13th career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory, a dream scenario for the 2016 series champ in just his third race back since his injuries three months earlier.
"It's a dream come true again, to be honest," Thorson said. "I sat out for three months just wondering if I was going to be able to do it again. I've been having doubting feelings in my mind and I didn't know if I was going to be okay to run. I knew I probably could've run; I would've just had to change my ways. Obviously, it's hard to do that."
Thorson appeared to be the same driver as before and, perhaps recharged, following Tuesday's IMW opener at Montpelier and Wednesday's race at Gas City where he finished 2nd and 5th, respectively. Thorson had an uphill battle to climb at Lincoln Park, having to start from the 15th position.
"I knew at about lap five that I had a car to win," Thorson admitted. "When you know that in your mind, nothing can stop you at that point."
These truths were not self-evident initially as he remained on the cusp of the top-ten for the first third of the 30-lapper before steadily moving his way through the top half of the field. Early on, it appeared series point leader Tyler Courtney and Thomas Meseraull were on point, running one-two in a pair of lucky sevens and quickly separating themselves from the rest in the opening laps.
The sevens weren't so lucky entering turn one on lap five as Meseraull closed the gap on Courtney and the two made contact, sending Courtney into a spin and forcing Meseraull to stop, knocking them both out of contention for the victory. Meseraull eventually wound up 23rd while Courtney charged back through the pack to take an impressive 7th.
Montpelier winner Logan Seavey inherited the lead for the lap five restart, ringing the topside as Thomas put on the chase through the middle until the 11th lap when series Rookie of the Year contender Andrew Layser flipped between turns three and four, escaping injury.
On the ensuing restart, fifth-running Michael Pickens, who drove to victory during IMW at Lincoln Park in 2017, looped it between turns one and two. It was the second-straight night the Auckland, New Zealand midget racing star saw a front-running bid slip away.
Thomas stayed true to the middle and used a great drive off turn two to blast past defending champ Seavey on the 13th lap where he remained for the next several trips around the 5/16-mile dirt oval with a swarm behind him ready to attack with Seavey remaining close by and Thorson, plus Larson, digging low and high.
With seven laps remaining, Seavey fired the first shot that set forth a wild sequence of events that saw the lead change 13 unofficial times in a six-lap span.
First, on the 23rd lap, Thorson nudged his way past Thomas on the bottom of turn one. Thomas recovered to resume the point momentarily on the back straight. Seavey then fired his Bullet to the bottom of turn three to slide past Thomas. Thomas diamonded off midway through the corner and beat Seavey to the stripe just as Seavey dove low into one and up to the top past Thomas just as Thorson entered the frame on the bottom. Thomas proceeded to slither his way through the gap between Seavey and Thorson exiting turn two to reclaim the top spot. Seavey instantly reloaded and slid past Thomas entering turn three, but Thomas answered by sliding across the nose of Seavey off turn four. Seavey instantly turned left to throw another haymaker at Thomas at the start/finish line, but suddenly Thorson was there inside to make it three-wide at the line at the conclusion of lap 25.
Seavey chose the topside as Thomas shot down off the turn one banking to get a run that would propel him past Thorson midway down the back straightway and into turn three on the 26th circuit. Rinse and repeat, Thorson ably limboed underneath Thomas into turn one on lap 27, but Thomas counter-punched to get back by underneath exiting turn two. Thorson stayed in touch, and off turn four, surged past Thomas once again for the umpteenth time to nip him at the line by a wheel.
Just as soon as one might've thought Thorson had it covered, here arrived an orange streak ripping the high side with Kyle Larson in the seat. Larson used the momentum up top and appeared momentarily to have the edge with as quickly as he was erasing the gap coming to the white flag. Off turn four, however, Thomas slid up in front of Larson's lane on the outside, stifling his charge momentarily as the two made contact while Thorson was a mere two car lengths ahead of them out front.
Larson gave it one last shot on the high line of one and two, but snagged the turn two cushion with the right rear, then landed on the left rear, sending him off the track in a pirouette and a couple of endos toward the billboard that prematurely ended his final IMW run of the week from which he walked away uninjured.
On the green-white-checker finish, Thorson got a strong jump to stretch his lead out to roughly six car lengths, allowing him to go relatively unchallenged the rest of the way while a tussle for second saw Seavey dive into three past Thomas on the final lap to snare second, while Jerry Coons, Jr. utilized the bottom to squeak past Thomas by a bumper for third at the line - his best finish since a third-place run at the Southern Illinois Center in 2017. Chris Windom rounded out the top-five.
The clean, yet hard racing between Thorson, Thomas and Larson was a thrill to witness from the outside and from within the cockpit as well, which Thorson attributes to the respect each of these drivers has for each other.
"I think a lot of it was knowing how they race," Thorson explained. "I'm good buddies with KT and Larson and I've raced with both of them for years. We're going to be aggressive toward each other, but there's also a lot of respect. I respect Kevin Thomas, Jr. and Kyle Larson more than just about anybody in this pit. Those two people out of anybody are the ones that I would prefer to race with day in day out."
Contingency award winners Thursday night at Lincoln Park Speedway were Kyle Larson (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Jason McDougal (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Dave Darland (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Thomas Meseraull (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Jesse Colwell (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Tanner Thorson (ProSource Passing Master/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chad Boat (ProSource Hard Work Award), Holley Hollan (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Kyle Cummins (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 6, 2019 - Lincoln Park Speedway - Putnamville, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - 5/16-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Kyle Larson, 97, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.383 (New Track Record); 2. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.496; 3. Michael Pickens, 1NZ, RMS-12.577; 4. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Hendricks-12.706; 5. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-12.730; 6. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.738; 7. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-12.751; 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-12.765; 9. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.774; 10. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-12.792; 11. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.800; 12. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.816; 13. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-12.839; 14. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.849; 15. Dillon Welch, 81, Tucker/Boat-12.885; 16. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-12.898; 17. Tanner Thorson, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-12.902; 18. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-12.971; 19. Kyle Cummins, 2G, Yeley/Styres-12.991; 20. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-13.003; 21. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-13.006; 22. C.J. Leary, 76m, FMR-13.021; 23. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-13.022; 24. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-13.066; 25. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-13.080; 26. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-13.096; 27. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-13.112; 28. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-13.214; 29. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-13.425; 30. Chris Baue, 9, Baue-13.445; 31. Sam Johnson, 72, Johnson-13.493; 32. Brady Bacon, 1ST, Saucier-13.493; 33. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-13.498; 34. Anton Hernandez, 8JR, Wood-13.747; 35. Michael Koontz, 17x, Koontz-NT; 36. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. McDougal, 2. Thorson, 3. Courtney, 4. Grant, 5. Larson, 6. Golobic, 7. Elledge, 8. Mitchell, 9. Cling. 2:14.82
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Darland, 2. Leary, 3. Seavey, 4. Coons, 5. Carrick, 6. Layser, 7. Hernandez, 8. Baue, 9. McIntosh. NT
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Meseraull, 2. Klaasmeyer, 3. Pickens, 4. Wise, 5. Welch, 6. Johnson, 7. Cummins, 8. Hollan, 9. Koontz. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Colwell, 2. Thomas, 3. Daum, 4. Windom, 5. Boat, 6. Bodine, 7. Hendricks, 8. Gass, 9. Bacon. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Larson, 2. Boat, 3. Golobic, 4. Welch, 5. Carrick, 6. Layser, 7. Cummins, 8. Mitchell, 9. Bodine, 10. Johnson, 11. Cling, 12. McIntosh, 13. Hollan, 14. Elledge, 15. Baue, 16. Hernandez, 17. Koontz. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Tanner Thorson (15), 2. Logan Seavey (6), 3. Jerry Coons, Jr. (1), 4. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (3), 5. Chris Windom (14), 6. Shane Golobic (8), 7. Tyler Courtney (2), 8. Jesse Colwell (10), 9. Zach Daum (17), 10. Jason McDougal (18), 11. Zeb Wise (21), 12. Tucker Klaasmeyer (20), 13. Holley Hollan (23), 14. Justin Grant (11), 15. Michael Pickens (5), 16. Chad Boat (22), 17. Andrew Layser (12), 18. Tanner Carrick (9), 19. C.J. Leary (19), 20. Cole Bodine (24), 21. Kyle Larson (7), 22. Dillon Welch (13), 23. Thomas Meseraull (4), 24. Dave Darland (16). NT
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**Hendricks flipped during the fourth heat. Hollan flipped during the semi. Elledge flipped during the semi. Layser flipped on lap 11 of the feature. Larson flipped on lap 30 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-4 Courtney, Laps 5-12 Seavey, Laps 13-26 Thomas, Laps 27-30 Thorson.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/PROSOURCE HARD CHARGER: Tanner Thorson (15th to 1st)
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Chad Boat
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Holley Hollan
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Kyle Cummins
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-651, 2-K. Thomas-580, 3-Seavey-561, 4-Wise-534, 5-Windom-518, 6-Leary-490, 7-Boat-450, 8-Klaasmeyer-435, 9-Carrick-430, 10-Coons-408.
NEW INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Thorson-221, 2-Seavey-204, 3-Courtney-195, 4-McDougal-181, 5-Golobic-168, 6-Wise-167, 7-Thomas-163, 8-Grant-150, 9-Daum-144, 10-Coons-141.
NEW PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Thorson-18, 2-Wise-18, 3-Daum-14, 4-McDougal-13, 5-Boat-13, 6-Courtney-11, 7-McIntosh-10, 8-Windom-10, 9-Coons-9, 10-Layser-9.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 7, 2019 - Bloomington Speedway - Bloomington, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
THREE BIG NASCAR STOCK CAR FEATURES TOP SATURDAY NIGHT RACING ACTION AT GRANDVIEW
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Grandview Speedway
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NEWS FROM ROGERS FAMILY GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY, BECHTELSVILLE, PA—THE 57TH CONSECUTIVE SEASON OF RACING
Presenting Saturday night NASCAR stock car racing plus a variety of special events. Track office: 610.754.7688
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MARKETING: Ernie Saxton @ 215.752.7797: Email: Esaxton144@aol.com – Cell phone: 267.934.7286
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THREE NASCAR FEATURE RACES AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY SATURDAY
JESSE HOCKETT USAC NATIONAL NON-WING SPRINT RACE AND MODIFIEDS JUNE 11
BECHTELSVILLE, PA JUNE 5, 2019 . . . Saturday night (June 8) racing action at Grandview Speedway will include three NASCAR feature races. The T.P.Truck Equipment Sportsman will race in two 25-lap features as a result of the rain shortened program from last Saturday. And the T.P.Trailers 358 Modifieds will have 28 of the area’s top dirt track racing talents in action. The night is sponsored by long time NASCAR supporter Whelen Engineering.
Looking forward to the Saturday night action is Allentown radio personality Bobby Gunther Walsh. The WAEB-AM morning radio show host is into his 25th year of Saturday night Modified stock car racing at the Bechtelsville banked clay oval.
“We started out slow. There were mechanical issues and the experimenting with a new rear suspension,’’ said the popular racer. “We have gone back to a traditional set up and are doing much better.”
In recent weeks he has put his #65 Modified (the new number honors his dad who raced the number 65 at the old Moc A Tec Speedway) in front at the end of a couple of qualifying heat races and the last time out, before the rains came, he finished second to five time track champion Duane Howard.
“The car, carrying the main sponsorship of LVPG Orthopedics Dr. Eric Lebby and Dr. Thomas Dibenedetto along with more than two dozen sponsors, is more consistent and that makes me more optimistic as we head into the second half of the season,” commented Walsh. “I believe we can have a good season from here on out.”
He hopes the good season gets started on Saturday night.
Racing action gets the green at 7:30 p.m. with the Sportsman feature rained out last Saturday being the first event of the night. That will be followed by a full slate of qualifying events leading into the 30-lap feature for Modifieds and a second 25-lap feature for the Sportsman.
Gates for spectators open at 5:30 p.m. Adult admission is just $15 while youngsters under the age of 12 are admitted free.
The weekly Low Down & Dirty Meet and Greet, starting at 5 p.m. in the main gate area, will feature Modified standout Brett Kressley and Sportsman racer Briggs Danner.
Coming up next at Grandview is the first Thunder on the Hill Series event which will feature the United States Auto Club (USAC) AMSOIL National Tour Non-Wing Sprint Cars topping off their part of the doubleheader show with the $10,000 to win Jesse Hockett Classic. The second part of the night’s racing will feature the 358 Modified stock cars. Adult admission is $30, young people 6 to 11 pay $10 and those really young people 5 and under are admitted free.
Fans are invited to arrive early, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., and be part of the Low Down & Dirty Meet Greet that will feature Sprint standouts such as Robert Ballou, Isaac Chapple, Tim Buckwalter and Joe Biasi.
Racing on Tuesday night will get the green at 7:30 p.m.
Then on Saturday, June 15th, the T.P.Trailers NASCAR 358 Modifieds will be featured in two 30-lap main events along with a T.P. Truck Equipment Sportsman 25-lapper and there will be a full series of qualifying races.
Full information on racing at Grandview can be had by checking in at www.grandviewspeedway.com, Facebook or telephone the track at 610.754.7688.
Seavey Seizes Montpelier Indiana Midget Week Opener
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Logan Seavey celebrates the victory in Tuesday's 'Indiana Midget Week' opener at Montpelier. (Rich Forman Photo)
SEAVEY SEIZES MONTPELIER INDIANA MIDGET WEEK OPENER
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Montpelier, Indiana (June 4, 2019).........He had to wait until the month of June, but Logan Seavey returned to the championship form he used to win last year's USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget title when he arrived at Montpelier Motor Speedway Tuesday night for the "Indiana Midget Week" opener.
It became readily apparent following an incident during his heat race that forced him to restart from the tail. From there, he carved his way through the field to win on a last lap, corner pass. The thread continued into the feature where he had to slide by Zeb Wise not once, but twice, after a yellow forced him into 'Take Two.'
Seavey got to the front on the seventh lap and never surrendered despite having to wade through heavy traffic on a tricky track surface with a swarm of hungry drivers behind him seeking the same promised land for their first time in 2019.
The Sutter, Calif. native drove to his fourth career USAC win along with his first "Indiana Midget Week" triumph just one race after he finally broke through for his first top-five of the season, a second place run in Granite City, Ill. that, in a sense, foreshadowed what was to come at Montpelier after a rough start to his Sophomore USAC season.
"It's been a frustrating start to the year," Seavey admitted. "Really, ever since (roommate and crew chief) Connor (Ridge) and I have been working together, we've just been on kill every time we're at the racetrack. He's really good about that. We just feed off each other's energy and it just makes it a lot of fun to go racing with someone like that. We're just having fun right now, and every time I have fun, I normally run up front. So, it's a good feeling."
Seavey started the 30-lapper from the pole but was beat to the punch in turn one by outside front row starter Wise. Fourth-starting Tanner Thorson, making his first appearance since February after sustaining serious injuries in a highway crash, put in a bid below Seavey for second on the back straightaway, but Seavey was able to clear Thorson by turn three where the high line was the chosen path and track position was imperative right from the get-go.
"It was really tricky out there," Seavey recalled. "I think we all knew the rubber was coming, but just didn't know when. When Zeb beat me on the start, I was kind of surprised, but it was still just a little bit greasy on the bottom. He got a really good start and I was just tracking him from there. I knew our car was a little bit better and I just knew I had to make my move at the right time and not give him any second chances. But, as soon as I did, the yellow came out. That wasn't what we were planning for."
When Thomas Meseraull slowed to a stop atop turn four on the fifth lap, it came just a tick after Seavey used a monster slider to clear Wise for the lead between turns one and two. The resulting yellow negated the move and positioned Seavey behind Wise for the ensuing restart, thus forcing him to re-rack and try the move once more.
Seavey stayed right with Wise for the two laps following the restart and was right on his bumper as the two crossed the stripe. Seavey threw it down to the infield tires in turn one and slid up in front of Wise in turn two before driving away to distance himself from Wise by more than a second at the halfway mark as he split his way through lapped traffic.
Tuesday's win was Logan Seavey's fourth career USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget victory and his first during 'Indiana Midget Week.'
(David Nearpass Photo)
"Once we were able to get back by him again, not too long after that, the rubber came like we were kind of expecting," Seavey remembered. "I was trying to take it easy on the tires. If you run too hard with these things, you can blow the tires right off it. After that, I had to take it easy, try to be smart in lapped traffic and not allow myself to lose the race. The rubber's always tricky, and you never really know what's going on behind you. You just have to run your own race."
Truth is, there was a lot going on behind him, with Wise and a rapidly closing Thorson trying to take advantage of any misstep Seavey might make through traffic as they remained on the rail up top and Seavey dipped down off the line to dispose of the lappers.
"It's tough to decide when you want to do it and when you can time it right," Seavey explained. "The first five, six lapped cars were easy to get by. The track hadn't completely laid rubber yet. When it locked down, that made it really tough. I tried to pull out of line three or four times to get by, which made me kind of rethink my moves. Every time I did that, I probably lost half a second. Do you stay in line and follow them or try to get another car in between you and second place? These are the decisions you have to make. Sometimes you make the wrong ones, but, luckily, everything went smooth tonight."
It did for him, although when Thorson slid by Wise for second with five laps remaining, he was running a tick quicker than Seavey, but Seavey made all the right moves through traffic down the stretch to notch his first victory of the year over Thorson, Wise, point leader Tyler Courtney and Dillon Welch.
Contingency award winners Tuesday night at Montpelier Motor Speedway were Tyler Courtney (Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier), Tanner Carrick (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Logan Seavey (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Zach Daum (AutoMeter Third Heat Winner), Cannon McIntosh (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Jerry Coons, Jr. (ProSource Passing Master/KSE Racing Products Hard Charger), Chad Boat (ProSource Hard Work Award), Michael Pickens (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Noah Gass (Saldana Racing Products First Non-Transfer).
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USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 4, 2019 - Montpelier Motor Speedway - Montpelier, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING: 1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.029; 2. Tanner Thorson, 98, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.046; 3. Shane Golobic, 17w, Wood-14.160; 4. Dillon Welch, 81, Tucker/Boat-14.190; 5. Tanner Carrick, 71K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.199; 6. Logan Seavey, 67, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.199; 7. Justin Grant, 4A, RAMS-14.231; 8. Thomas Meseraull, 7x, RMS-14.268; 9. Jason McDougal, 21KS, Reynolds-14.298; 10. Holley Hollan, 67K, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.331; 11. Zeb Wise, 39BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.338; 12. Dave Darland, 36, RMS-14.413; 13. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 5, Petry-14.465; 14. Michael Pickens, 1NZ, RMS-14.466; 15. Billy Wease, 12, Wease-14.473; 16. Chris Windom, 17BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.488; 17. C.J. Leary, 76m, FMR-14.518; 18. Noah Gass, 20G, Gass-14.551; 19. Jesse Colwell, 71, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.618; 20. Andrew Layser, 47BC, Clauson/Marshall-14.639; 21. Zane Hendricks, 27z, Hendricks-14.644; 22. Tucker Klaasmeyer, 27, Kunz/Curb-Agajanian-14.651; 23. Zach Daum, 5D, Daum-14.726; 24. Kyle Cummins, 1G, Yeley/Styres-14.773; 25. Jerry Coons, Jr., 25, Petry-14.800; 26. Michael Koontz, 17K, Koontz-14.832; 27. Cannon McIntosh, 08, Dave Mac-14.884; 28. Cole Bodine, 15, Petry-14.932; 29. Karsyn Elledge, 1, Tucker/Boat-14.940; 30. Tyler Nelson, 88, Nelson-14.983; 31. Anton Hernandez, 8JR, Wood-14.988; 32. Chris Baue, 9, Baue-15.063; 33. Brady Bacon, 1ST, Saucier-15.752; 34. Ryan Padgett, 98p, Crow-15.830; 35. Oliver Akard, 41, Akard-16.407; 36. Chad Boat, 84, Tucker/Boat-19.097; 37. Sterling Cling, 35, Petry-NT; 38. Ethan Mitchell, 19m, Bundy Built-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carrick, 2. Thomas, 3. Grant, 4. Golobic, 5. Elledge, 6. Hollan, 7. Cling, 8. Koontz, 9. Colwell, 10. Akard. 2:04.77 (New Track Record)
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Seavey, 2. McDougal, 3. Boat, 4. Klaasmeyer, 5. Bodine, 6. Darland, 7. Wease, 8. Hernandez, 9. Welch. NT
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Daum, 2. Courtney, 3. Coons, 4. Pickens, 5. Leary, 6. Bacon, 7. Meseraull, 8. Layser, 9. Nelson. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. McIntosh, 2. Wise, 3. Thorson, 4. Windom, 5. Gass, 6. Baue, 7. Hendricks, 8. Cummins, 9. Padgett. NT
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer) 1. Meseraull, 2. Leary, 3. Welch, 4. Darland, 5. Cummins, 6. Hendricks, 7. Gass, 8. Layser, 9. Koontz, 10. Bacon, 11. Baue, 12. Hollan, 13. Hernandez, 14. Bodine, 15. Nelson, 16. Colwell, 17. Cling, 18. Elledge, 19. Wease, 20. Akard. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Logan Seavey (1), 2. Tanner Thorson (4), 3. Zeb Wise (2), 4. Tyler Courtney (6), 5. Dillon Welch (7), 6. Shane Golobic (5), 7. Jason McDougal (12), 8. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (15), 9. Tanner Carrick (3), 10. Chris Windom (11), 11. Jerry Coons, Jr. (20), 12. Cannon McIntosh (21), 13. Michael Pickens (9), 14. C.J. Leary (13), 15. Chad Boat (22), 16. Zach Daum (17), 17. Zane Hendricks (16), 18. Justin Grant (10), 19. Kyle Cummins (18), 20. Tucker Klaasmeyer (19), 21. Jesse Colwell (23), 22. Dave Darland (14), 23. Andrew Layser (24), 24. Thomas Meseraull (8). NT
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**Cling flipped during qualifying. Darland flipped during the second heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Wise, Laps 7-30 Seavey.
PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER/KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Jerry Coons, Jr. (20th to 11th)
PROSOURCE HARD WORK AWARD: Chad Boat
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Michael Pickens
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Noah Gass
NEW USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Courtney-530, 2-K. Thomas-473, 3-Wise-438, 4-Seavey-436, 5-Leary-411, 6-Windom-409, 7-Boat-386, 8-Klaasmeyer-359, 9-Carrick-351, 10-Coons-341.
NEW INDIANA MIDGET WEEK POINTS: 1-Seavey-79, 2-Thorson-78, 3-Courtney-74, 4-Wise-71, 5-Golobic-64, 6-Welch-63, 7-McDougal-59, 8-Thomas-56, 9-Carrick-56, 10-Windom-48.
PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Coons-9, 2-McIntosh-9, 3-Thomas-7, 4-Boat-7, 5-McDougal-5, 6-Thorson-2, 7-Courtney-2, 8-Welch-2, 9-Windom-1, 10-Daum-1.
NEXT USAC NOS ENERGY DRINK MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 5, 2019 - Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, Indiana - 15th "Indiana Midget Week" - ¼-Mile Dirt Oval
This week at Bridgeport Speedway
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BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY
UPCOMING EVENTS:
6/8: Race Night | Kids Money Scramble
6/12: USAC EASTERN STORM
6/15: Bike Night on the 5/8 mile
Come on out to the Speedway on Saturday, June 8th for some racing action on the Design for Vision/Sunglass Central 3/8 mile at Bridgeport Speedway! Music, good food, moon bounces, activities for the kids at intermission, and of course ACTION PACKED RACING all night long.
Divisions – Spirit Auto Center Big Blocks, South Jersey Overhead Door 602 Crates, Sunbelt Rentals Outlaw Stocks, and 8 cylinders
Pricing – Adults $20, Kids(10-15), and Children 9 and under are FREE
Pit gates open at 4:00pm
Grandstands open at 5:30pm
Racing Starts at 7pm
MORE FAN INFO and FAQ's Visit: www.bpspeedway.com/faq/
USAC EASTERN STORM at BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY
Thunder on the Hill Racing Series News
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Thunder on the Hill
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JUNE 4, 2019
CONTACT: BOB MILLER 443 513 4456
THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES
NAPA AUTO PARTS THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES TO OPEN TUESDAY NIGHT, JUNE 11. . . . . . .
USAC DRIVERS BALLOU, CHAPPLE, BUCKWALTER & BIASI PART OF LOW, DOWN & DIRTY PRE-RACE ACTIVITIES AT GRANDVIEW USAC EASTERN STORM OPENER
BECHTELSVILLE, PA JUNE 4, 2019 . . . . . . . The 13th Annual USAC Eastern Storm will bring the best in the business of non-wing sprint car racing to Grandview Speedway on Tuesday night, June 11 when the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series kicks off its 30th anniversary season. The AMSOIL USAC sprints will bring a field of talent to the “hill” in chase of the $10,000 to win 40 lap Jesse Hockett Classic. Also on the card will be the NASCAR Modifieds chasing a $3,000 payday for the win in their 30 lap feature. The USAC Sprints will open the show with time trials and a series of qualifying events followed by the Modifieds that will take part in qualifying heats and a consolation. Gates open at 5 PM with qualifying getting underway at 7:30 PM.
Advance tickets may be ordered for the Tuesday, June 11 USAC Sprints & Modified show by calling 443 513 4456. Please speak slowly and clearly when leaving a message and be sure to provide your name and number of tickets you will need. Tickets may be paid for and picked up at the WILL CALL Window on race night after 3:30 PM. Advance ticket holders may entitle you to enter the grandstands at 4:30. Adult admission tickets are $30, children 6 to 11 $10 and children five and under will be admitted for free.
Be sure to come out early and be part of the Low, Down & Dirty pre-race activities taking place at the main gate at Grandview Speedway from 5 PM to 6 PM. You’ll have a chance to meet and greet USAC drivers Robert “The Madman” Ballou, Issac Chapple, Timmy Buckwalter and Joey Biasi. The crew of Low, Down & Dirty always ask drivers “the right questions”, far different then the normal interview. You’ll get a great feel for who these drivers really are.
Robert Ballou of Rocklin, CA has never won a Thunder Show at Grandview and he would like to make his first win that $10,000 payday on Tuesday night, June 11. Brady Bacon of Broken Arrow, OK was the winner of the last two USAC events at Grandview and he is on a mission to make it three wins-in-row. Other drivers in chase of the biggest prize of the 13th Annual Eastern Storm include Chad Boespflug, Hanford, CA, Timmy Buckwalter, Douglassville, PA, Issac Chapple, Willow Branch, IN, “Sunshine” Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN, “The Peoples Champ” and sixty-time USAC sprint winner Dave Darland, Lincoln, IN, Justin Grant, Ione, CA, C.J. Leary, Greenfield, IN, Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, Ok, Carson Short, Marion, IL, Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, IN, Kevin Thomas, Jr “KTJ”, Cullman, AL and Chris Windom, Canton, IL just to name a few.
The AMSOIL USAC non-wing sprints come east just once a year and this show at Grandview Speedway is a must see event. These guys make even the time trials exciting, as they bicycle, pull wheelies and send roaster-tails flying high in sky, and that’s with just one car at a time on the race track. The heat races earn the drivers their ticket to start the 40 lap $10,000 to win Jesse Hockett Classic. When the green flag drops in the feature, you won’t know where to watch as the field of twenty-two cars race three abreast, pull off slide jobs, take part in some wheel banging and yes, run countless laps with their rear bumpers inches from the outside boiler-plate. You’ll see all this on the one-third mile high-banked Grandview Speedway on Tuesday night, June 11.
GPS USERS: 43 Passmore Road, Bechtelsville, PA 19505
Located less than a mile off Route 100, 10 miles north of Pottstown, PA
Speedway Phone: 610-754-7688
Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Phone: 443-513-4456
Series Website: www.thunderonthehillracingseries.com
Track Website: www.grandviewspeedway.com
Twitter/Instagram: @TOTHRACING
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thunderonthehill
About Thunder on the Hill Racing Series
The brainchild of Grandview Speedway owner Bruce Rogers, special events promoter Bob Miller, and local driving star Dave Kelly, the Thunder on the Hill Racing Series celebrates 30 years of the most anticipated events of the racing calendar year after year. In 132 events, over $4.6 million dollars has been divvied up among the area's fastest racers. What started as a single 410 Sprint Car event in 1990 has blossomed to feature a variety of racing action including 358 Modifieds, USAC Wingless Sprints, All-Star Circuit of Champions, 360 & 410 Sprint Cars, Sportsman, Late Models, Midgets, Legend Cars, DIRTcar and ROC Modified events. The 2019 30th Anniversary Series of Thunder on the Hill is dedicated to Bruce Rogers.
About Grandview Speedway
Grandview Speedway is a high-banked one-third mile clay oval, celebrating their 57th Anniversary season in 2019. The facility offers free parking, quality food at reasonable prices (be sure to try the french fries), a program book, Grandview Speedway and Thunder on the Hill racewear and great viewing from every seat in the house. Race fans may take part in the Inside/Out promotion, where you can sign up (no charge) to watch warm-ups from inside turn four. Race fans are also invited to victory lane following the racing program and, race fans may enter the pits after the races to meet the drivers. Be ready to enjoy the spine-tingling fireworks salute on the feature event parade lap.
Biasi Dominates Bridgeport for USAC East Coast Win
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Winner Joey Biasi of Mary D, Pennsylvania
(Chad Warner Photo)
BIASI DOMINATES BRIDGEPORT FOR USAC EAST COAST WIN
By: Nick Fillman
Swedesboro, New Jersey (May 26, 2019).........Joey Biasi of Mary D, Pennsylvania wrapped up a dominant weekend by cruising to a convincing win in the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Cars feature event at the Design for Vision, Sunglass Central 3/8ths mile oval at the Bridgeport Speedway.
Biasi started out the weekend by collecting a second place on Friday at the Trail-ways Speedway, and a win at the Path Valley speedway in wingless Super Sportsman Sprint car competition and wrapped up the weekend with another checkered at Bridgeport.
Biasi was able to jump out to the lead from the pole position following the heat race redraw. Biasi was challenged as best as he could by Chandler Leiby in the feature event. A caution for a spinning Craig Pellegrini on lap 2 would bring the field together for a restart. Following the restart, the top two settled in as the feature laps started to wind down and caught the back of the field. As the leaders entered lapped traffic, Leiby would try his best to try and work to the low side of Biasi, especially in turns three and four.
The top two would battle for position through the lapped traffic, with Leiby waiting for Biasi to make a mistake. Timmy Buckwalter who started in the 9th position for the feature event would methodically work his way up through the field to the top five near the halfway point. Buckwalter would utilize the lapped traffic the front of the field was encountering to slide passed Eddie Strada for the third-place position. Unfortunately for Buckwalter and Leiby it would be as far as they could go as Joey Biasi would take the checkers.
The speed for Biasi at Bridgeport is no surprise as Biasi was involved in a heavy battle with Coleman Gulick for last year's inaugural feature event win at the new 3/8ths mile oval but ended up in the second spot. Biasi has been fast all season with the USAC Series since returning from injury. Biasi was injured in a frightening hot lap session crash at the Lincoln Speedway and was left with a broken arm. Biasi was forced to miss the show at Delaware International, but since his return Biasi has collected a top 10, top 4, and now has returned to victory lane.
The string of consistent finishes continues for Steven Drevicki and Chandler Leiby who both would finish in the top five. Drevicki and Leiby are positions one and two in the points standings. Both drivers have also finished in the top five in every feature event so far this season. Drevicki leads the way with two wins, while Leiby is still searching for his first series win, but he is ever so close.
Up next for the Rapid Tire, USAC East Coast Sprint Car Series is a return trip to the Big Diamond Speedway on June 7th for their second show of the year at the Speedway.
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USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: May 26, 2019 - Bridgeport Speedway - Swedesboro, New Jersey
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Mark Bitner (#15 Bitner), 2. Chandler Leiby (#119 Leiby), 3. Bill Unglert (#33B Unglert), 4. Chris Allen, Jr. (#71 Allen), 5. Larry Drake (#8L Drake), 6. Larry McVay (#83 McVay), 7. Kevin Darling (#9D Darling). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Joey Biasi (#B1 Biasi), 2. Eric Jennings (#32 Neiger/Hamilton), 3. Kyle Lick (#8 Lick), 4. Ryan Quackenbush (#5Q TQT), 5. Jonathan Swanson (#17J Swanson), 6. David Swanson (#117 Swanson), 7. Zack Burd (#5z Burd). NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer, top-3 to redraw) 1. Eddie Strada (#42E Strada), 2. Timmy Buckwalter (#5G Gallagher), 3. Steven Drevicki (#19 Drevicki), 4. Mike Thompson (#39 Hogue), 5. Brian Riccio (#09 Riccio), 6. Craig Pellegrini, Jr. (#11A Pellegrini), 7. Heidi Hedin (#3H Hedin). NT
SEMI: (8 laps, top-5 transfer) 1. McVay, 2. D. Swanson, 3. Burd, 4. Hedin, 5. Pellegrini, 6. Darling. NT
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Joey Biasi, 2. Chandler Leiby, 3. Timmy Buckwalter, 4. Eddie Strada, 5. Steven Drevicki, 6. Bill Unglert, 7. Chris Allen, Jr., 8. Mark Bitner, 9. Kyle Lick, 10. Eric Jennings, 11. Ryan Quackenbush, 12. Brian Riccio, 13. Mike Thompson, 14. Kevin Darling, 15. Larry McVay, 16. Larry Drake, 17. Jonathan Swanson, 18. David Swanson, 19. Heidi Hedin, 20. Craig Pellegrini, Jr., 21. Zack Burd. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Biasi.
SCOTTY SIGNS HARD CHARGER: Kevin Darling (21st to 14th)
NEW USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT POINTS: 1-Steven Drevicki-360, 2-Chandler Leiby-342, ,3-Eddie Strada-326, 4-Chris Allen, Jr.-303, 5-Bill Unglert-262, 6-Ryan Quackenbush-235, 7.Eric Jennings-226, 8-Joey Biasi-207, 9-Carmen Perigo-198, 10-Mike Thompson-185.
NEXT USAC RAPID TIRE EAST COAST SPRINT RACE: June 7 - Big Diamond Speedway - Pottsville, Pennsylvania
