Archive for Short Track
Matt Sheppard Scores First Career Ransomville Win at Summer Nationals
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Super DIRTcar Series
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Contact: Clayton Johns
DIRTcar Racing PR
(289) 314-5186 | cjohns@dirtcar.com
Matt Sheppard Scores First Career Ransomville Win at Summer Nationals
Extends Series Win Streak to Three Races
RANSOMVILLE, NY - August 8, 2017 - Matt Sheppard was the third and final leader after he took the point position from Billy Decker on lap 49 and led the remaining 52 laps to win his third straight Super DIRTcar Series race in the 33rd Summer Nationals at Ransomville Speedway on Tuesday night. The victory was also Sheppard's first career win at Ransomville and prevented rival Stewart Friesen from winning the event for the third straight year at his childhood track.
"I've won a lot of races at a lot of different racetracks, but Ransomville was never one of them," Sheppard said in Victory Lane. "We were so close last year. Me and Stewie (Friesen) had a heck of a battle (last year). It just feels great to finally get to Victory Lane here, especially in such a special event."
Billy Decker threw everything he had at Sheppard to try and retake the lead off the final restart with five laps to go, but fell 0.923 seconds short of a victory. Decker did manage to win an extended battle with Larry Wight to extend his point lead, which was just two markers entering the event. Ransomville regular Erick Rudolph and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top-five.
"Certainly, you like to win, but we'll take it," Decker said. "The Page Trucking car was pretty good. (I was ) dicing it out there heavy in lapped traffic. That was getting dicey, I'll tell ya. The fans saw a pretty good race out there. We'll take it."
The 100-lap race began with local pilot Kenny Wills III on the pole and Jimmy Phelps to his outside. Phelps led the opening lap and paced the field through a trio of cautions in the first 30 laps before Decker made his bid for the top spot. Decker seized a lap 32 opportunity when Phelps bobbled on the cushion in turn two, allowing the No.91 to race to the bottom of the track and take the lead.
It was brief, however, as Phelps retook the point the following lap, but remained under siege from Decker until the two drivers exchanged the lead again on laps 38 and 39. On lap 40, Sheppard got past Phelps for second and set out to track down Decker.
The caution waved again on lap 41 when Keith Flach slowed in turn four. When the race resumed on lap 47, Friesen jumped to third while Sheppard continued to pressure Decker. On lap 49, Sheppard made the decisive move of the race when he drove under Decker in turn four to claim the lead.
Over the final 52 laps, Sheppard pounded his No.9s against the cushion in turns one and two, but tried both the inside and outside lanes in turns three and four as he navigated through the traffic.
"It was a fine line up on the wall," Sheppard said. "It was a little closer to the wall than I like to run, but that's just part of the deal here at Ransomville. I'm just very fortunate. A lot of people got messed up on the bottom on restarts early, but my car was good enough early I could maintain and not lose any spots. It seemed like the longer the race went, the better we got."
Wight jumped into the top-three off a lap 62 restart and then spent the better part of the final 35 laps dueling side-by-side with Decker for second. Wight lost the battle on lap 86 when he went off the track in turn two trying to avoid contact with a lapped car. It was the second time in the race Wight had to take evasive action to quickly avoid serious problems. Earlier in the race, he hit the outside wall and all but destroyed the body on the right side of the car. Regardless, Wight was happy with the run.
"We're happy with it," Wight said. "That's just sheet metal. The main components of the car were fine and the car still handled alright. We can bang that out and patch it up for tomorrow and give it another run."
Sheppard was able to outpace Decker in clean air over the final 10 laps, but restarts on laps 93 and 95 forced him to hit his marks as Decker lurked within five car lengths each time.
Wight was the race's KSE Hard Charger, advancing seven positions from 10th to 3rd. Decker was the Fast Qualifier with a lap of 16.151 seconds around the 3/8-mile oval. Decker, Wight Sheppard and Max McLaughlin claimed heat race wins. McLaughlin was also the recipient of the Speedy First Aid Hard Luck Award after a he slowed on lap 57. He was able to race his way back to 14th, but lost out on a top-10 finish.
Ransomville's 358 Modified weekly points leader Ryan Susice won the Last Chance Qualifier. McLaughlin and Mike Mahaney were eligible for the 811 Dig Safely New York redraw bonus award if either could win from the eighth or eleventh starting positions, but were unsuccessful.
The Super DIRTcar Series returns to action on Wednesday, August 9 at Merrittville Speedway for the rescheduled Bob St. Amand Memorial 100. Race time is 7:00pm with Hot Laps and qualfiying taking place beforehand at 6:15pm. For additional event information, visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com.
Super DIRTcar Series Statistical Report – 33rd Summer Nationals at Ransomville Speedway – Ransomville, NY –August 8, 2017
Feature (100 Laps) – 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [5]; 2. 91-Billy Decker [3]; 3. 99L-Larry Wight [10]; 4. 25-Erick Rudolph [6]; 5. 44-Stewart Friesen [7]; 6. 19-Tim Fuller [4]; 7. 88m-Mike Mahaney [11]; 8. 42p-Pat Ward [13]; 9. 42-Pete Bicknell [16]; 10. 21a-Peter Britten [14]; 11. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [2]; 12. 20-Brett Hearn [12]; 13. 38s-Ryan Susice [21]; 14. 6h-Max McLaughlin [8]; 15. 109-Billy Whittaker [9]; 16. 20m-Jeff McGinnis [19]; 17. 43-Keith Flach [17]; 18. 111-Allan Wills [27]; 19. 37s-Tommy Flannigan [26]; 20. 26-Rick Richner [22]; 21. 22-Brandon Walters [18]; 22. 8-Rich Scagliotta [15]; 23. 27-Jim Zimmerman [24]; 24. 56-Steve Schumacher [25]; 25. 21-Kenny Wills III [1]; 26. 7-Scott Kerwin [23]; 27. 11s-Steve Lewis Jr. [28]; 28. 55c-Steve Cotriss [20]; 29. 678-John Smith [29]; 30. DNS 7m-Mike Maresca
Qualifying Group 1 - 1. 91-Billy Decker, 16.151; 2. 88m-Mike Mahaney, 16.436; 3. 42p-Pat Ward, 16.601; 4. 19-Tim Fuller, 16.612; 5. 38s-Ryan Susice, 17.062; 6. 43-Keith Flach, 17.314; 7. 27-Jim Zimmerman, 18.622; 8. 111-Alan Wills, No Time
Qualifying Group 2 - 1. 99L-Larry Wight, 16.402; 2. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 16.533; 3. 21a-Peter Britten, 16.663; 4. 20-Brett Hearn, 16.744; 5. 22-Brandon Walters, 17.112; 6. 26-Rick Richner, 17.519; 7. 678-John Smith, 18.119; 8. 26g-Scott George, 18.306
Qualifying Group 3 - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 16.626; 2. 109-Billy Whittaker, 16.938; 3. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 16.980; 4. 21-Kenny Wills III, 17.337; 5. 20m-Jeff McGinnis, 17.413; 6. 37s-Tommy Flannigan, 17.437; 7. 7-Scott Kerwin, 17.689; 8. 7m-Mike Maresca, No Time
Qualifying Group 4 - 1. 6h-Max McLaughlin, 16.709; 2. 25-Erick Rudolph, 16.751; 3. 44-Stewart Friesen, 16.900; 4. 42-Pete Bicknell, 17.214; 5. 55c-Jesse Cotriss, 17.678; 6. 777-Tyler Willard, 17.718; 7. 11s-Steve Lewis Jr., 18.031; 8. 56 Steve Schumacher, 18.514
Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 91-Billy Decker [1]; 2. 88m-Mike Mahaney [2]; 3. 19-Tim Fuller [4]; 4. 42p-Pat Ward [3]; 5. 43-Keith Flach [6]; 6. 38s-Ryan Susice [5]; 7. 27-Jim Zimmerman [7]; 8. 111-Alan Wills [8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 99L-Larry Wight [1]; 2. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [2]; 3. 20-Brett Hearn [4]; 4. 21a-Peter Britten [3]; 5. 22-Brandon Walters [5]; 6. 26-Rick Richner [6]; 7. 678-John Smith [7]; 8. 26g-Scott George [8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [1]; 2. 109-Billy Whittaker [2]; 3. 21-Kenny Wills III [4]; 4. 8s-Rich Scagliotta [3]; 5. 20m-Jeff McGinnis [5]; 6. 7-Scott Kerwin [7]; 7. DNF 37s-Tommy Flannigan [6]; 8. DNF 7m-Mike Maresca [8]
Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 6h-Max McLaughlin [1]; 2. 25-Erick Rudolph [2]; 3. 44-Stewart Friesen [3]; 4. 42-Pete Bicknell [4]; 5. 55c-Jesse Cotriss [5]; 6. 56-Steve Schumacher [8]; 7. 11s-Steve Lewis Jr. [7]; 8. DNS 777-Tyler Willard [6]
Last Chance Qualifier 1 (10 Laps – All Transfer to A-Feature) – 1. 38s-Ryan Susice [1]; 2. 26-Rick Richner [2]; 3. 7-Scott Kerwin [3]; 4. 27-Jim Zimmerman [5]; 5. 56-Steve Schumacher [4]; 6. 37s-Tommy Flannigan [7]; 7. 111-Alan Wills [9]; 8. 11s-Steve Lewis Jr. [8]; 9. 678-John Smith [6]; 10. DNS 26g-Scott George; 11. DNS 7m-Mike Maresca; 12. DNS 777-Tyler Willard
CONTINGENCY WINNERS: VP Racing Fuels ($50 Cash): Pat Ward; Fast Qualifier ($100 Cash): Billy Decker; Bicknell Racing Products ($100 Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; Cometic Gasket ($50 Cash): Jeff McGinnis; Comp Cams ($50 Cash): Peter Britten; Comp Cams ($50 Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; Edelbrock ($50 Cash): Peter Britten; Fox Racing Shocks ($50 Cash): Erick Rudolph; JE Pistons ($50 Cash): Stewart Friesen; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Jeff McGinnis; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Brandon Walters; KSE Racing Products Inc. ($50 Product Certificate): Larry Wight (+7); MSD Ignition ($50 Cash): Matt Sheppard; MSD Ignition ($25 Cash): Kenny Wills III; SuperFlow Dynos & Flowbenches ($50 Cash): Jeff McGinnis; Wrisco Aluminum (Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; JRI Shocks ($50 Cash): Max McLaughlin; Dig Safely 811 Redraw Bonus ($100 Cash): N/A; Speedy First Aid Hard Luck Award (Product Certificate): Max McLaughlin; ASi Racewear ($50 Cash): Mike Mahaney.
SEASON WINNERS
Matt Sheppard – 4 (Five Mile Point Speedway on June 11; Autodrome Granby on July 25; Autodrome Drummond on July 26; Ransomville Speedway on August 8)
Billy Decker - 3 (Fulton Speedway on April 29; Outlaw Speedway on June 20; Eldora Speedway on July 18)
Stewart Friesen – 2 (Utica-Rome Speedway on July 2, Weedsport Speedway on July 11)
Ryan Watt – 1 (Bridgeport Speedway on May 16)
Tim McCreadie – 1 (Albany-Saratoga Speedway on June 27)
Larry Wight – 1 (Airborne Park Speedway on July 6)
Peter Britten – 1 (Sharon Speedway on July 20)
The Road to Knoxville
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Thunder on the Hill
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AUGUST 8, 2017
CONTACT: BOB MILLER 443 513 4456
THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES
LEVAN MACHINE & TRUCK EQUIPMENT PRESENT SMOKE ON THE HILL AT GRANDVIEW THURSDAY, AUGUST 17
RYAN SMITH STILL SEARCHING FOR FIRST THUNDER ON THE HILL WIN, JOINED BY TONY STEWART & RICO ABREU
BECTHELSVILLE, PA (August 8, 2017) – The old saying goes ‘there are plenty of fish in the sea’ – but for 29-year-old 410 Sprint Car ace, Ryan Smith, Grandview Speedway is the one that continues to get away.
Smith’s next shot comes on Thursday, August 17 when NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series presents Tony Stewart’s Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Cars at Grandview Speedway. The nationally touring series will join Grandview’s popular Sportsman division for a full night of racing excitement at the 3rd Annual Thunder Cup presented by Levan Machine and Equipment.
“We got lucky, Ryan Smith had a better car than I did,” Speedweek event winner and NASCAR driver Kyle Larson explained in victory lane. Larson dominated the early part of Speedweek competition, but it was Smith who stole the lead – much to the delight of the jam-packed Grandview Speedway – before clipping the outside wall and violently flipping into turn 3.
The PA Speedweek event marked the third consecutive NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill event that saw Smith suffer misfortune while leading.
“The Kunkletown Kid” comes back into Grandview Speedway stronger than ever. He currently sits second in the Arctic Cat All-Star Circuit of Champions series standings and is fresh off a victory at the All Stars event at New York’s Outlaw Speedway.
The best-of-the-best of competition will be on hand on Thursday, August 17 with drivers like Greg Hodnett, Danny Dietrich, Lucas Wolfe, Dale Blaney and Freddie Rahmer – all winners at area race tracks this season; along with All Star standouts Chad Kemenah, Tim Shaffer, Cole Duncan, and Carson Macedo all expected to be on hand; throw in one of the nation’s most popular drivers with Rutherford, CA’s Rico Abreu and action from three-time NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart – and you have one of the strongest fields of the All-Star season.
Grandview’s popular Sportsman division joins the card with a 25-Lap, $1,300-to-win event that will entice racers from all over the region. Some of the pre-entries include Brad Grim, Matt Stangle, Craig Whitmoyer, Mike Lisowski, Kenny Gilmore, Brian Hirthler, TJ Lilly, Brad Arnold and Ken Eckert Jr just to name a few.
Time Trials for the 410 Sprint Cars will open the show on Thursday, August 17 at 7:30 PM. The pit gates will open at 2:30 PM and the Grandstands will open at 5:00 PM. Fans can get up-close to the drivers and their mighty machines with the Low Down and Dirty Meet and Greet kicking off at 5:00 PM.
General Admission Adult tickets are $30, Children ages 6-11 are $10, and Kids under 6 are Free of charge! Pit admission is $35, and no license is required.
Advance tickets are available until Wednesday, August 16 by calling 443-513-4456. Please provide your name, phone number and the number of tickets you will need. Tickets may be paid for and picked up on race night at the Will-Call window after 4 PM. Advance ticket holders may enter the grandstands at 4:30 PM, 30 minutes before the opening of the box office.
Fans following the All Star Circuit of Champions may camp at the Speedway. Campers are asked to park in the turn 4 parking area, there are no hook-ups available, and no box camping allowed. Track officials ask that all fires be contained. There is no fee for camping.
NAPA Auto Parts continues their long run with the Thunder on the Hill Racing Series as the title sponsor joined by Pioneer Pole Buildings, Levan Machine and Truck Equipment and GALCO Business Communications.
Grandview Speedway
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: 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 28 years of the most anticipated events of the racing calendar year after year. In 125 events over $4.2 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, Legends cars, DIRTcar and ROC Modified events. For more information visit: www.thunderonthehillracingseries.com
About Grandview Speedway
Grandview Speedway is a high-banked one-third mile clay oval, celebrating their 55th Anniversary season in 2017. 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 race wear 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. For more information visit: www.grandviewspeedway.com
About the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first 'outlaw' Sprint Car organization of the modern era. After a 10 year stint as owner of the All Stars, Miller passed control of the series to Bert Emick in 1980; a reign that would continue through 2002. Guy Webb then purchased the series from Emick in the summer of 2002 and served as the series President for the next 12 years. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015. For more information visit: www.allstarsprints.com
About Levan Machine and Truck Equipment
Located in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania, Levan Machine & Truck Equipment is a full-service machine shop and custom fabricator – which also offers a full line of truck and trailer equipment including snowplows, salt spreaders, truck body, and frame modifications. Levan also offers installation, repair, and maintenance and fleet management services. For more information visit: www.levanmachine.com
- Super DIRTcar Series
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Contact: Clayton Johns
DIRTcar Racing PR
(289) 314-5186 | cjohns@dirtcar.com
Matt Sheppard Continues Hot Streak With Second Straight Bob St. Amand Memorial Win at Merrittville
Earns Fourth Consecutive Series Win
MERRITTVILLE, ON, CAN - August 9, 2017 - Matt Sheppard drove past Gary Lindberg in the outside lane following a lap 81 restart to take the lead on lap 85 and then paced the final 16 laps to win his second straight Bob St. Amand Memorial 100 at Merrittville Speedway on Wednesday night.
The victory was also his fourth straight with the Super DIRTcar Series and second in as many nights after he also won Tuesday at Ransomville Speedway. Lindberg, a Merrittville weekly 358 (Small Block) Modified regular, gave everything he had to keep pace with Sheppard, but came up 1.203 seconds short of his first career Series victory.
"We have had some really good racecars and some really good luck. That's what it takes," Sheppard said of his four-race win streak. "Going back five races to Sharon, I thought we had a shot at winning that and got a flat tire late in the race. We were pretty good up in Quebec, good again last night and tonight I didn't think we were nearly as good, but we had a little bit of luck."
Sheppard's good luck was at the expense of Erick Rudolph's misfortune during the most dramatic point of the race. Lindberg and Rudolph had broken away from the rest of the pack in the top two spots. As the race reached its final quarter, Rudolph zeroed in on Lindberg amongst the lapped traffic and pulled to his back bumper after erasing a two-second deficit.
However, Rudolph's bid for the lead ended with 81 laps completed when he tried to race under Lindberg, who was running a half groove off the bottom of the track, in turn three. The two drivers made contact in the middle of the corner and the result Rudolph facing the wrong way in front of the field.
The ensuing restart moved Sheppard from third to the outside of the front row beside Lindberg. The Waterloo, NY native made the most of the outside groove and took the lead from Lindberg on lap 85 after a four-lap side-by-side battle on the icy slick track.
"The turning point of that race was when Rudolph tangled and spun around there," Sheppard said of the incident that halted a 51-lap green-flag run. "That kind of reset the field and gave me a little bit of open racetrack. That's kind of what we needed with the Big Block. We needed to keep our momentum up. I got up top and was able to get it rolling and just got it rolling well enough to get around Gary."
While Sheppard held the point, Lindberg kept within striking distance over the next 10 laps until the final caution flag of the race waved with five laps remaining when Fred Carleton rode the outside retaining wall to a stop on the frontstretch. Contrary to most situations, Sheppard was actually happy to see the yellow flag.
"That string of cautions really helped out," Sheppard said. "I would have never got around Gary without the yellow and then I didn't mind seeing that yellow with five to go. It gave me a little bit of open racetrack because I had to use every bit of it and even some more on the front stretch."
Sheppard and many of the drivers resorted to dipping the right-side wheels into the moat on the frontstretch to find grip for the straightaway which was devoid of moisture elsewhere. That same slick track played to the benefit of Lindberg and the other Merrittville Small Block regulars.
"The track conditions helped and so did starting up front," Lindberg said. "I thought I was a sitting duck up there and luckily we held on as long as we did. The guys put a good car under me this week."
Billy Decker completed the podium with a third-place finish. Decker's second top-three result in as many nights extended his point lead over Larry Wight, who finished ninth.
"We're not worried about everybody else," Decker quipped in Victory Lane. "We're just trying to take care of our own program. The Page Trucking car was pretty dogone good tonight. It was tough sledding. The boys at Mike Payne Racing work really hard and Textron's on board. We're having a pretty good year. We had a good run and had a lot of fun."
Prior to the lap 81 caution, the race had run under green conditions since a lap 30 restart. Before the extended run, the race experienced a slower pace than in the second half of the race. The initial start was slowed when Tommy Flannigan and Rich Scagliotta tangled together in turn four before the first lap was completed.
When the race got up to speed, polesitter Max McLaughlin took the lead with Lindberg quickly in tow. As the track slicked off, Lindberg was able to gain more on McLaughlin and was able to take the lead in turn two off a lap 13 restart.
The third caution of the race came on lap 22 when Brett Hearn, Pat Ward and Mark D'Ilario made contact and were collected against the inside wall in turn four. The lap 30 restart allowed Lindberg to build his lead to over three seconds ahead of McLaughlin at the halfway mark.
Rudolph, who ran inside the top-five most of the first half, entered a three-car battle for second with McLaughlin and Sanborn, NY driver Chad Brachmann. Brachmann took second initially on lap 53 before Rudolph took the spot on lap 63.
Rudolph hit his stride at that point and began to reel in Lindberg, who was working flawlessly through heavy lapped traffic. In less than 10 laps, Rudolph erased a two-second Lindberg advantage. Rudolph tried the inside lane in turn two on lap 76 and the two drivers made sight contact on the backstretch. Then, on lap 81, Rudolph's hope for the victory ended with his spin in turn three, but earned him the Speedy First Aid Hard Luck award. He raced back to a 10th-place finish.
McLaughlin was the night's Fast Qualifier with a lap of 16.692 seconds and the winner of heat two. Matt Sheppard, Ryan Susice and Billy Decker also picked up heat race winners. Mark D'Ilario from nearby Vineland, Ont. won the Last Chance Qualifier. Despite his troubles throughout the night, Larry Wight earned the KSE Hard Charger award, racing from 24th to 9th in the main event, an improvement of 15 spots.
For Sheppard, the win was another step in the right direction towards climbing up the points ladder. Entering Wednesday's event, he was 115 points back of Decker.
"All we can do is keep trying to win these races and let the rest take care of itself," Sheppard said in Victory Lane.
Sheppard will get the chance to try for his fifth straight win when the Super DIRTcar Series returns to action on Thursday, August 24 at Ohsweken Speedway for the Triple Crown Showdown.
The event also features 360 Sprint Cars and Crate Late Models with a $25,000 bonus to a driver who can win all three features or a $5,000 bonus if a driver can win the Feature in two divisions. Super DIRTcar Series driver Stewart Friesen will be one driver contending for all three victories. For additional event information, visit www.ohswekenspeedway.com.
Super DIRTcar Series Statistical Report – Bob St. Amand Memorial 100 at Merrittville Speedway – Thorold, ON
Feature (100 Laps) – 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [6]; 2. 28z-Gary Lindberg [2]; 3. 91-Billy Decker [11]; 4. 6m-Mat Williamson [7]; 5. 3-Chad Brachmann [8]; 6. 71-Mike Bowman [13]; 7. 3rs-Ryan Susice [10]; 8. 21a-Peter Britten [9]; 9. 99L-Larry Wight [24]; 10. 25-Erick Rudolph [3]; 11. 6h-Max McLaughlin [1]; 12. 19-Tim Fuller [12]; 13. 15J-Tim Jones [5]; 14. 44-Stewart Friesen [23]; 15. 42-Pete Bicknell [14]; 16. 20-Brett Hearn [20]; 17. 1-Todd Gordon [4]; 18. 38-Scott Wood [16]; 19. 42p-Pat Ward [22]; 20. 16-Brent Beggolo [17]; 21. 43-Keith Flach [19]; 22. 109-Billy Whittaker [28]; 23. 7m-Mike Maresca [26]; 24. 37s-Tommy Flannigan [29]; 25. 96-Fred Carleton [15]; 26. 08-Mark D’Ilario [21]; 27. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [18]; 28. 88p-Shayne Pierce [27]; 29. 8-Rick Scagliotta [25]; 30. DNS 22-Brandon Walters
Qualifying Group 1 - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 16.708; 2. 19-Tim Fuller, 16.904; 3. 16-Brent Beggolo 17.067; 4. 21a-Peter Britten, 17.139; 5. 71-Mike Bowman, 17.169; 6. 08-Mark D’Ilario, DQ; 7. 22-Brandon Walters, No Time
Qualifying Group 2 - 1. 6h-Max McLaughlin, 16.692; 2. 3-Chad Brachmann, 16.779; 3. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 16.974; 4. 25r-Erick Rudolph, 17.011; 5. 42-Pete Bicknell, 17.105; 6. 44-Stewart Friesen, 17.184; 7. 42p-Pat Ward, 17.211; 8. 37s-Tommy Flannigan, No Time
Qualifying Group 3 - 1. 3rs-Ryan Susice, 17.331; 2. 15j-Tim Jones, 17.373; 3. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 17.443; 4. 1-Todd Gordon, 17.485; 5. 43-Keith Flach, 17.486; 6. 96-Fred Carleton, 17.554; 7. 88p-Shayne Pierce, 17.774
Qualifying Group 4 - 1. 91-Billy Decker, 16.823; 2. 38-Scott Wood, 17.082; 3. 99L-Larry Wight, 17.106; 4. 6m-Mat Williamson, 17.232; 5. 109-Billy Whittaker, 17.259; 6. 20-Brett Hearn, 17.312; 7. 28z-Gary Lindberg, 17.442
Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [1]; 2. 19-Tim Fuller [2]; 3. 21a-Peter Britten [4]; 4. 71-Mike Bowman [5]; 5. 16-Brent Beggolo [3]; 6. 08-Mark D’Ilario [7]; 7. 7m-Mike Maresca [6]; 8. DNS 22-Brandon Walters
Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 6h-Max McLaughlin [1]; 2. 3-Chad Brachmann [2]; 3. 25r-Erick Rudolph [4]; 4. 42-Pete Bicknell [5]; 5. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [3]; 6. 42p-Pat Ward [7]; 7. 37s-Tommy Flannigan [8]; 8. 44-Stewart Friesen [6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 3rs-Ryan Susice [1]; 2. 15J-Tim Jones [2]; 3. 1-Todd Gordon [4]; 4. 96-Fred Carleton [6]; 5. 43-Keith Flach [5]; 6. 8-Rich Scagliotta [3]; 7. 88-Shayne Pierce [7]
Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 91-Billy Decker [1]; 2. 28z-Gary Lindberg [7]; 3. 6m-Mat Williamson [4]; 4. 38-Scott Wood [2]; 5. 20-Brett Hearn [6]; 6. 99L-Larry Wight [3]; 7. 109-Billy Whittaker [5]
Last Chance Qualifier 1 (8 Laps – All Transfer to A-Feature) – 1. 08-Mark D’Ilario [1]; 2. 42p-Pat Ward [2]; 3. 44-Stewart Friesen [9]; 4. 99L-Larry Wight [4]; 5. 8-Rich Scaglotta [3]; 6. 7m-Mike Maresca [5]; 7. 88-Shayne Pierce [7]; 8. 109-Billy Whittaker [8]; 9. 37s-Tommy Flannigan [6]; 10. DNS 22-Brandon Walters
CONTINGENCY WINNERS: VP Racing Fuels ($50 Cash): Peter Britten; Fast Time ($100 Cash): Max McLaughlin; Bicknell Racing Products ($100 Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; Cometic Gasket ($50 Cash): Stewart Friesen; Comp Cams ($50 Cash): Erick Rudolph; Comp Cams ($50 Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; Edelbrock ($50 Cash): Larry Wight; Fox Racing Shocks ($50 Cash): Chad Brachmann; JE Pistons ($50 Cash): Chad Brachmann; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Scott Wood; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Keith Flach; KSE Racing Products Inc. ($50 Product Certificate): Larry Wight; MSD Ignition ($50 Cash): Matt Sheppard; MSD Ignition ($25 Cash): Jimmy Phelps; SuperFlow Dynos & Flowbenches ($50 Cash): Scott Wood; Wrisco Aluminum (Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; JRI Shocks ($50 Cash): Scott Wood; Speedy First Aid Hard Luck Award (Product Certificate): Erick Rudolph; ASi Racewear ($50 Cash): Ryan Susice.
SEASON WINNERS
Matt Sheppard – 5 (Five Mile Point Speedway on June 11; Autodrome Granby on July 25; Autodrome Drummond on July 26; Ransomville Speedway on August 8; Merrittville Speedway on August 9)
Billy Decker - 3 (Fulton Speedway on April 29; Outlaw Speedway on June 20; Eldora Speedway on July 18)
Stewart Friesen – 2 (Utica-Rome Speedway on July 2, Weedsport Speedway on July 11)
Ryan Watt – 1 (Bridgeport Speedway on May 16)
Tim McCreadie – 1 (Albany-Saratoga Speedway on June 27)
Larry Wight – 1 (Airborne Park Speedway on July 6)
Peter Britten – 1 (Sharon Speedway on July 20)
Larry Wight – 1 (Airborne Park Speedway on July 6)
BAYSTON BLAZES THE HIGH BANKS FOR FIRST BELLEVILLE VICTORY
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
BAYSTON BLAZES THE HIGH BANKS FOR FIRST BELLEVILLE VICTORY
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Belleville, Kansas.....August 5, 2017 - All year long, the focus for Spencer Bayston and the Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports team has been to win Belleville.
After running second to Chad Boat in the 2016 Saturday night finale, then again to Boat in this weekend's Friday prelim, the target was clear. It included pulling out all the stops, including a new, specially-built chassis designed to take on the Belleville High Banks.
After another weekend of Boat domination, the tide turned when Bayston established new 4-lap and 8-lap track records earlier Saturday, solidifying his position on the pole for the 40-lap main event by defeating Boat head-to-head in the 4-lap dash.
Spencer Bayston celebrates victory in Saturday night's 40th 'Belleville Midget Nationals' at the Belleville (Kans.) High Banks. (Rich Forman Photo)
The stage was set for the Lebanon, Indiana native to rout the 24-car field in a stirring high-wire act up against the fence for 40-straight laps in the 40th annual event to capture his first "Belleville Midget Nationals" victory, a win that was 365 days in the making.
"We've been focused on Boat all year long," Bayston said. "Knowing how good he was last year, we knew we had to be on our game coming into this weekend. We built this car especially for this place and we've been working hard all-year-long to try to build up for this weekend. To bring it home on this night really means a lot."
Right from the start, Bayston blazed a trail in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/IWX - Curb Records - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota that no other driver could keep pace with as he separated from Boat exiting turn two while teammate Tanner Thorson followed in tow, powering by Boat for second heading into turn three. By the third lap, Bayston's advantage was a half-straightaway and, by lap 10, the lead was a full-straight.
Dissimilar from the night before, the track was wide and vast from lap one, up on the rail in classic Belleville style. Bayston stood on the loudpedal, never breaking stride as he threaded the needle through lapped traffic, slicing between Terry Goodwin and Scott Hatton in turn four on lap 15.
Just before halfway, all three Clauson/Marshall Racing cars with drivers Shane Golobic, Tyler Courtney and Justin Grant saw right rear tires go down, putting into question the factor of tire wear in an intense 40-lap contest. Keeping the car as straight as possible up top was the key for Bayston.
"I knew going into it that we'd have to be somewhat careful with our tires," Bayston explained. "Last year, this place wore down on left rears before it started to get cleaned off there up top. I was trying to pace myself and figure out what I need to be doing there. The higher you go, the faster you go here. I could lean on the cushion and keep the car as straight as possible and the wheel spin down."
Conversely, second-running Thorson wasn't as concerned, which he credits to the work his team does in addition to his growing experience behind the wheel of a stock car in races that are 200-300 laps in length in most cases.
"I wasn't too worried," Thorson admits. "I could kind of feel our tires. They're really good and the way our guys groove these things and get them ready for us is pretty awesome. I was just hoping for some rubber there at the end. I'd say I'm a better rubber racer here than I am anything else. I hoped that, in the long run, we would have something to worry about with tire wear and I would've been able to save my stuff and been better at the end. It's something you've got to look at with these longer races. It's something that running stock cars has really helped me with."
On the lap 23 restart, Thorson was finally able to stick with Bayston as the light switched green, shadowing his teammate up on the topside. Thorson remained in racing purgatory, not moving forward or backward as the laps wound down past the three-quarter mark while Thorson took on a bit of a conservation mode in hopes that the track would change in his favor near the conclusion.
'You look into the past with guys like Larson, Bell and even guys that are in our pit area with us, like Jay Drake (a 1996 and 2000 prelim feature winner). There's a long list of very talented drivers who've achieved big things. To put my name up there with those guys, it's a true honor.' - Spencer Bayston ...(Rich Forman Photo)
"The race just kind of came to me," Thorson explains. "I was trying to save my stuff a little bit toward the end. I saw the top was starting to get a little bit black. I was saving my stuff with the hope that if there's rubber, we'd have a little bit more tire, but it didn't work out that way. We had a couple of restarts and we were able to get close. Longer in that run, we got messed up with some lapped cars, but I don't know if we were good enough to pass him. We were only good enough to hang with him for a little bit, but each time, he started to pull away a bit. I just felt like I wasn't in the track as much as I was in the beginning part of the race. Maybe I should've attacked a little harder at the beginning."
As the laps ticked inside ten to go, Bayston carved out another two-tenth increase over Thorson from 0.6 to 0.8 to 1.0 to 1.2 seconds over a four-lap span by lap 36 and appeared to be putting the finishing touches on a masterful performance.
However, with two laps remaining, Terry Goodwin found himself skidding to a stop at the entry of turn one. Sixth-running Ryan Robinson entered turn one with nowhere to go and pitched his mount sideways in an attempt to avoid Goodwin, to no avail. Robinson's right rear contacted the front left of Goodwin, sending Robinson end-over-end into turn one. Robinson climbed out of the car without serious injury.
That set up a two-lap dash to the finish. Under the red flag, Bayston was content with what he had. The car was on a rail, but he felt his teammate had something up his sleeve. Yet, Thorson felt the benefits of the red flag to his race were miniscule.
"I don't know if that red flag helped us at all," Thorson wonders. "I'm never good when it comes to restarts following red flags and yellow flags. I like to keep the green flag pace going. I'm not sure if our right rear tire sealed up or what, but we didn't have as much drive as we did just before that red flag."
A green-white-checkered finish is practically a two-lap qualifying run and Bayston was on the clock from the word 'go.' Incredibly, despite 38-lap old rubber and a track that had seen 38 laps of green flag action, Bayston ripped off his two fastest laps on lap 39 and 40 to seal the deal for the biggest win of his career.
"I ran the first few laps trying to get away and build a big lead," Bayston admits. "On that last red, I knew I really had to break away. For the whole race, I was maintaining, just being patient and smart. I got really comfortable and set it on cruise control, almost. Those last few laps, I was running as hard as I could and as fast as I could. Throughout the race, the car got better and the crew had the thing absolutely spot on. That really tells you the type of team this is."
Bayston provided car owner Keith Kunz with his sixth Belleville Saturday night victory, following in the footsteps of drivers Page Jones (1993), Kevin Doty (1994), Kyle Larson (2011), Christopher Bell (2013), Rico Abreu (2014).
"You look into the past with guys like Larson, Bell and even guys that are in our pit area with us, like Jay Drake (a 1996 and 2000 prelim feature winner)," Bayston begins. "There's a long list of very talented drivers who've achieved big things. To put my name up there with those guys, it's a true honor."
Belleville has become a more comfortable place for Bayston since his 22nd place debut in 2015. Since then, the 18-year-old has scored successive finishes of 4th, 2nd, 2nd and 1st.
"It's a place you have to respect," Bayston laid out. "When I first came here, racing for Bryan Clauson, Kokomo is his place of worship, but this place was also special in his heart. He dominated here and, every time he came here, he was the one to beat. The first year here, we were just trying to get comfortable and didn't run too great. Last year, we were so close and I got so much more comfortable throughout the feature. This year, coming in, I knew we had a really good shot at beating Chad. I have a lot of confidence in this team and the car that they've given me. We've been fast all year long and, to come here to this place, it really is a good feeling to know how fast we truly are."
Reigning USAC National Midget champion Tanner Thorson was knocking all around the podium both Friday and Saturday night in his Keith Kunz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports/JBL Audio - TRD/Bullet by Spike/Speedway Toyota, following up Friday's third-place finish with a runner-up result in Saturday's finale.
"I'm not happy if I don't win," Thorson said point blank. "That's how it is. If I don't win, I'm not happy. We're all here to win and I think that shows how much drive our team has."
Chad Boat's streak of three consecutive Belleville wins came to a close with a third-place finish in his Tucker-Boat Motorsports/PristineAuction.com - K & C Drywall/Spike/Speedway Toyota. After swapping engines following Friday night's victory, Boat found the car to be just a tick off, which, at Belleville, can be the decisive factor in running first, second, third or tenth.
"It's a pretty fine line," Boat said. "If you're just a little off, it rears its head, especially in a 40-lapper. The track took us a little bit by surprise. It was a lot slicker last year and that's where we excelled. Our car was just a little bit too tight all night. I felt like I was just trying to hang on this year, but overall, the car performed pretty well all weekend. We tried to make a couple changes, but on that two-lap run, we knew it was going to be tough. Those guys were just a little better than we were. What we needed to change, we really couldn't change under a red."
Contingency award winners Saturday night at the Belleville High Banks include Chad Boat (Simpson Race Products 1st Heat Winner), Spencer Bayston (Competition Suspension, Inc. 2nd Heat Winner), Jerry Coons, Jr. (Chalk Stix/Indy Race Parts 3rd Heat Winner), Brady Bacon (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger) and Tyler Courtney (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher).
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USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 5, 2017 - Belleville, Kansas - Belleville High Banks - 40th "Belleville Midget Nationals"
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Chad Boat (#84 Tucker/Boat), 2. Ryan Robinson (#21 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson/Marshall), 4. Jeff Stasa (#91 SBR Motorsports), 5. Terry Goodwin (#2G Goodwin), 6. Robert Bell (#71½ Bell), 7. Ashley Oerter (#16 RKO Management), 8. Ryan Oerter (#43 RKO Management). NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Spencer Bayston (#97 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 2. Tanner Carrick (#71K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Shane Golobic (#17w Clauson/Marshall/Wood), 4. Justin Grant (#39BC Clauson/Marshall), 5. Brayton Lynch (#1K RKR), 6. Zach Middleton (#43A RKO Management), 7. Cody Brewer (#96 Central Motorsports). 2:17.56 (New Track Record)
CHALK STIX/INDY RACE PARTS THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Jerry Coons, Jr. (#25 Petry/Goff), 2. Tanner Thorson (#67 Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 3. Brady Bacon (#76m FMR), 4. Holly Shelton (#67K Kunz/Curb-Agajanian), 5. Scott Hatton (#1 Hatton), 6. Ty Williams (#91s SBR Motorsports), 7. Collin Rinehart (#20 Rinehart), 8. Randy Oerter (#48 RKO Management). 2:22.26
POLE DASH: (4 laps) 1. Bayston, 2. Boat, 3. Thorson, 4. Robinson, 5. Coons, 6. Carrick. 1:08.98 (New Track Record)
B-DASH: (4 laps) 1. Golobic, 2. Courtney, 3. Grant, 4. Bacon, 5. Shelton, 6. Stasa. 1:10.80
FEATURE: (40 laps) 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Tanner Thorson, 3. Chad Boat, 4. Jerry Coons, Jr., 5. Brady Bacon, 6. Holly Shelton, 7. Justin Grant, 8. Tanner Carrick, 9. Shane Golobic, 10. Ryan Robinson, 11. Jeff Stasa, 12. Terry Goodwin, 13. Tyler Courtney, 14. Robert Bell, 15. Scott Hatton, 16. Collin Rinehart, 17. Brayton Lynch, 18. Ryan Oerter, 19. Matt Johnson (#85 Central Motorsports), 20. Zach Middleton, 21. Randy Oerter, 22. Ty Williams, 23. Ashley Oerter, 24. Cody Brewer. NT
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**Robinson flipped on lap 39 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-40 Bayston.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Brady Bacon (10th to 5th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Tyler Courtney
NEW USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Bayston-1040, 2-Bacon-1002, 3-Golobic-976, 4-Grant-945, 5-Thorson-936, 6-Courtney-905, 7-Coons-808, 8-Boat-754, 9-Shelton-717, 10-Robinson-671.
NEXT USAC MIDGET NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: August 13 - York Haven, PA - Susquehanna Speedway - "Pennsylvania Midget Week" (With the USAC Eastern Midgets presented by ARDC)
VONDOHREN WINS ROGERS MEMORIAL, FREEDOM 76 CLASSIC TO PAY $30,000 TO WIN
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Grandview Speedway
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NEWS FROM NASCAR SANCTIONED ROGERS FAMILY GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY, Bechtelsville, PA
Event Organizer Kenny Rogers-Assistant Event Organizer Tina Rogers
Track phone: 610.754.7688 – www.grandviewspeedway.com
MEDIA CONTACT: Ernie Saxton @ 215.752.7797 or Esaxton144@aol.com or 267.934.7286 (cell)
Results written by Vicki Gehris
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VONDOHREN WINS PIONEER FORREST ROGERS MEMORIAL FOR THIRD YEAR IN A ROW AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY; CHUCK SCHUTZ AND JOHN MCGOVERN ARE ALSO WINNERS
FREEDOM 76 WILL BE RUN IN MEMORY OF THE LATE BRUCE ROGERS AND PAY $30,000 TO WIN
BECHTELSVILLE, PA. AUGUST 6, 2017 – NASCAR 358 Modified point leader and defending champion Craig VonDohren scored a three-peat and became the only eight-time winner when he won the Forrest Rogers Memorial/Pioneer Pole Buildings 50-lap TP Trailers 358 NASCAR Modified feature for a $10,000 payday on Saturday night at Grandview Speedway in the races broadcast by RCN-TV, Allentown. The race is run in memory of the founder of the speedway.
During the course of the evening it was announced that the September 16th Freedom 76 Modified Classic, the biggest event of the season, would be run in memory of the late track promoter Bruce Rogers, who passed away in April, and will pay $30,000 to win. More details on this very special event will be released shortly.
VonDohren now joins Fred Rahmer, the ’82, ’83 and ’84 winner as the only driver at the 1/3-mile Berks Co. clay oval to win the prestigious event three straight times.
The defending and current point leader, who broke into the winner’s circle last week, didn’t have an easy time since he first had to battle side-by-side with Colt Harris several laps before he moved into first on the 31st lap and the he outran runner-up Mike Gular, who gave it his all several times, finishing second by a narrow 1.696 margin.
In victory lane VonDohren commented, “it was hard, flat-out racing and his crew worked diligently to repair the car after it got tore up in the heat race. The top was the place to be even though it was good on the bottom and I had to mix it up and run the middle while battling with Gular.”
The BRC NASCAR 20-lap Late Model feature was basically all current point leader Chuck Schutz as he ran away and hid since he led from the drop of the green until the wave of the checkered to win his fourth feature in the series.
John McGovern finally had a productive night in NASCAR Sportsman action as everything went in his favor. First he won his qualifying heat and then he held off the continuous challenges of runner-up Dylan Swinehart and third-place finisher Mike Lisowski once they caught him to win his first career ever 25-lap NASCAR Sportsman feature.
All feature winners received monetary awards from T.P. Trailers and also product certificates from VP Racing Fuels providing they met the necessary requirements. For finishing second in the Forrest Rogers Memorial race, Gular received a drum of VP fuel for finishing second.
Modified action saw Bobby Gunther-Walsh lead for two laps before the yellow came out when Addison Meitzler lost a tire and stopped in the fourth turn. Harris powered the Pony Express No. C7 into first on the restart trailed by Brett Kressley, Gunther-Walsh, Steve Swinehart and John Willman.
Coming through the pack from his 16th starting berth was VonDohren behind the wheel of his own Pioneer Pole Buildings/V&M Towing No. 1C picking the competition off one-one-one and at the conclusion of 13 laps he was third.
Brett Gilmore stopped in the bottom of the fourth turn with a flat tire bringing out the caution with 14 laps complete. Harris maintained his position when racing resumed, but there were some tense moments when Brett Gilmore ran the red pit light and came charging out in front of the pack and was racing with them.
Another hairy moment occurred for Harris was when Dan Waisempacher slowed in the fourth turn directly in front of Harris, who did make contact since he had nowhere to go for the 21st lap caution. The incident didn’t deter Harris and he was still first on the restart, but now VonDohren was second putting his bids in for another win.
The red had to be thrown after Ryan Grim, debuting a brand new car, barrel-rolled three times after getting into the third turn infield tire while battling for positions. He was towed back to the pits and after a quick pit stop returned only to go back to the pits. Harris was determined to stay in front, but by this time VonDohren and Gular were second and third making it a three-way battle for first with Kressley and Kevin Hirthler in pursuit.
After Harris and Von Dohren ran door to door for several laps swapping paint on occasion, VonDohren emerged as the new leader on the 31st lap.
The final yellow was on the 37th lap for Kressley sitting in the infield. Earlier he slid into the homestretch infield on the 33rd lap and what many assumed was a mechanical issue. Later it was realized he needed medical attention because the driveshaft broke and hit him in the leg. He limped back to the pits without help trying to walk it off.
The leader continued to be VonDohren with Gular sticking right with him making several bids to overtake him, but to no avail, but Gular still showed determination.
VonDohren shuffled it up a bit deciding which line to run to deter Gular and it must have worked because at the conclusion he was in victory lane followed by Gular, Frank Cozze, Jared Umbenhauer and Duane Howard, who started 14th, 11th, 18th and 20th respectively.
Heats were won by Steve Swinehart, Kyle Weiss, Joe Fanelli and John Willman. Mike Mahaney and Chris Esposito won the consolation races.
The Late Model feature basically had Schutz steal the show as even though there were numerous cautions giving everyone ample opportunity to pass him they couldn’t get the job done and he went on to chalk up his 48th career win chased across the line by Wayne Pfeil, Bryon Sipe, last week’s feature winner; Lou Egrie Sr., returning after missing from action with motor issues and Steve Todorow.
The onset of the Sportsman feature saw McGovern take the early lead with pressure from Steve Young, Derrick Smith, Dean Bachman and Kenny Bock.
On the seventh lap Dylan Swinehart, already a two-time feature winner this year and running fourth, went three-wide on the outside – made the move stick and was now second and took chase after McGovern.
It didn’t take long for Swinehart and Mike Lisowski, mow second and third, to reel McGovern in and make it a three-way battle for first.
Swinehart made several attempts to pass McGovern, but at the same time he had to be concerned that Lisowski wouldn’t get by the two of them.
McGovern kept the fierce competition behind him and went on to capture a well-deserved first win followed closely by Swinehart, Lisowski, Mark McGovern and Jordan Henn, the defending point champion who had a fine run in his second outing after returning from the homestretch accident earlier in the season.
Bock, McGovern and Young won the heats. The consi went to Brad Arnold.
Coming up on August 12th is WNPV Radio Night featuring NASCAR TP Trailers 358 Modifieds, BRC Late Models and Sportsman stock cars with racing starting at 7:30 p.m. Adult admission is just $15 while youngsters 11 and under are admitted free.
WNPV will be giving away three pairs of tickets (value of $94) to Knoebel’s Amusement Park which will include Good for One All Day Handstamp with Wooden Coasters.
What was a huge success last year will happen again on August 12th. Geiswite Creations will be holding their 4th Annual Back to School Giveaway.
As of right now the first 100 school age kids through the gate will receive a folder, notebook, and 2 pencils. There are also some drivers donating backpacks to be raffled off to the kids as well.
Last year was a huge success. Giving away over 125 folder sets, 122 backpacks and over $500 worth of school supplies.
If anyone would be interested in donating anything please call Geiswite Creations at 484-955-4914.
Additional information on racing at Grandview can be had at www.grandviewspeedway.com, Facebook and at 610.754.7688.
RACE RESULTS
T.P. Trailers 358 NASCAR Forrest Rogers Memorial/PPB Modified Feature (50-Laps): 1. Craig Von Dohren, 2. Mike Gular, 3. Frank Cozze, 4. Jared Umbenhauer, 5. Duane Howard, 6. Kevin Hirthler, 7. Jeff Strunk, 8. Kenny Gilmore, 9. Colt Harris, 10. Brian Krummel, 11. John Willman. 12. Addison Meitzler, 13. Kyle Weiss, 14. Mike Mahaney, 15. Doug Manmiller, 16. Eric Biehn, 17. Chris Esposito, 18. Joe Fanelli. DNF: 19. Justin Grim, 20. Bobby Gunther-Walsh, 21. Steve Swinehart, 22. Brett Kressley, 23. Kory Fleming, 24. Tim Buckwalter, 25. Ryan Grim, 26. Dan Waisempacher, 27. Brett Gilmore, 28. Mike Laise. DNQ: Chris Gambler, Clay Butler, Briggs Danner, Ron Seltmann Jr., Heath Metzger, Ray Swinehart, Mark Kratz, Bobby Trapper and Brian Houseknecht.
BRC NASCAR Late Model (20-Laps): 1. Chuck Schutz, 2. Wayne Pfeil, 3. Bryon Sipe, 4. Lou Egrie Sr., 5. Steve Todorow, 6. Jordan Knepp, 7. George Irwin, 8. Andy Cassel, 9. Dirk Rimrott, 10. Steve Wilson, DNF: 11. Brian Shuey, 12. Todd Ravel. DNS: Kyle Merkel, Dallas Breidenbach and Damon Neff.
NASCAR Sportsman Feature (25-Laps): 1. John McGovern, 2. Dylan Swinehart, 3. Mike Lisowski, 4. Mark Kemmerer, 5. Jordan Henn, 6. Craig Whitmoyer, 7. Joe Funk, 8. Kevin Hirthler, 9. Brad Arnold, 10. Derrick Smith, 11. Louden Reimert, 12. Kenny Bock, 13. Steve Young, 14. Ryan Beltz, 15. Kurt Betler, 16. Brad Grim, 17. Jack Butler, 18. Ken Eckert Jr., 19. Nathan Mohr, 20. Jesse Landis, DNF: 21. Dean Bachman, 22. Gary Wagner Jr., 23. Ryan Shupp, 24. Jim Housworth. DNQ: Andy Clemmer, Andy Kreis, Lex Shive, B.J. Joly and Rick Jones.
ERNIE SAXTON COMMUNICATIONS, INC
Public Relations, Sponsorship Consultant
Publisher: Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News
Award winning motorsports journalist
www.saxtonsponsormarket.com
215.752.7797 & 267.934.7286-Esaxton144@aol.com
Clint Garner Finally on Top at Knoxville 360 Nationals; Eric Bridger Victorious in 305’s
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ASCS National Sprint Series
Clint Garner Finally on Top at Knoxville 360 Nationals; Eric Bridger Victorious in 305's
Bill Wright/Bryan Hulbert - KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 5, 2017) - One of the greatest 360 sprint pilots ever at the Knoxville Raceway, and indeed, one of the best sprint car drivers at the "Sprint Car Capital of the World", finally broke through and won the 27th Annual Knoxville 360 Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank. Clint Garner, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota held off the field to win the 25-lap $15,000 event at Knoxville on Saturday night in his fourteenth try at the event.
A fairytale evening for the seven time Knoxville Raceway 360 track champion, the win is not only his first in the Knoxville 360 Nationals but first against the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network. With the addition of Garner to the record books, 140 drivers have taken home a win with the National Tour.
Before a lap could be completed, Friday's preliminary winner, Greg Hodnett spun, in turn, one to bring out the caution flag. He would restart at the tail, while up front, Garner took the point ahead of two-time event winner Wayne Johnson and Aaron Reutzel. Jamie Ball maneuvered by Reutzel for third on lap two.
Garner used the low side, as he and Johnson separated themselves from the field and entered lapped traffic on the tenth circuit. A lap later, Brian Brown, who started 12th, was into the top five. The last caution came with 13 laps in the books as Calvin Landis slowed to a stop without brakes.
Garner led Johnson, Ball, Reutzel, and Brown back to green flag racing. Johnson got a run under Garner at the cone but was shut down into turn one. That sent him up the track, and Ball got by him for second. Meanwhile, Brown jumped by Reutzel into fourth. Johnson would use the low side to shoot back by Ball.
Brown would slide in front of Ball on lap sixteen to take third. Garner continued his mastery up front on the cushion. Johnson would bobble in the marbles on lap 19, and Brown would reel him in. While Garner sailed away up front, Brown took second with four laps to go.
The win was Garner's 33rd career triumph here in the 360 class, second on the all-time list only to David Hesmer. Brown came home second as the hard-charger, ahead of Johnson, Reutzel, and Ball. Christopher Bell, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Jeff Swindell, Tim Shaffer and Hodnett, who recovered from the tail, rounded out the top ten.
Dusty Zomer led the way in the non-stop 15-lap B Main, while Joey Saldana had an impressive drive to win the C. Lee Grosz won the D main. The C main saw the most incidents. Scott Bogucki came to a stop, in turn, one, and collected Matt Egel, who got upside down. Cody Ledger, who had a minor fire after the D main, was also a flip victim in the C. No one was injured.
"It did get to the point where it was the 'win it or wear it' moment," said an emotional Garner in Victory Lane. "I ran the heck out of it. It's just a guessing game out front. You have no clue where everyone else is going and what's happening. I wish I could say it's easy, but it's so hard to do. This is definitely the biggest win of my career. I'm so happy, and there are so many people here. A lot of these guys race for a living and they know how hard I try to keep up with them. They know when I can beat them, it is special. I'm proud to be a working man that races on the weekend. I'm more proud that I just beat a bunch of professionals. I think we were 12th quick in hot laps and there were a lot of questions flying. There was a gear change that we had to make. I'm so proud of my guys."
"Clint has been coming here a lot of years," said Brown. "He has a true sprint car family. His brother, his Dad...I'm envious of him. That's what racing's all about. If I can't win it, I'm glad he was able to. He should have won it three times by now. It was a great effort by our team. I was hoping for one more yellow. Twelfth to second is nothing to hang our head about."
"I suckered (Garner) on the first start. I knew I wouldn't get another chance at it. Then he got the lead. He started running the top, and I felt like I was better than him on the bottom. The caution came out with twelve to go and took the lapped traffic away. I wasn't catching him late in the race, so I went to the top. I just opened the door for Brown there to slide me. We've struggled quite a bit at times in the last seven or eight months. So we can't hang our head about finishing third behind the two guys that probably have more laps here than anyone. Congratulations to Clint. Those guys work hard, and they're good friends of mine."
Eric Bridger led early in the 15-lap 305 feature. The current point leader set sail, ahead of Matthew Stelzer and Ryan Leavitt. The only caution of the event came on lap nine when the fourth place car of Joe Simbro slowed.
Bridger would lead the field back to green, dogged by Stelzer. Kade Higday quickly moved into third. Stelzer would use the cushion to work around Bridger and take the lead with two laps to go. When he missed his mark in the middle of the track on the next lap, however, Bridger would retake the point and the rookie would go on to win his second feature of the year here. Stelzer, Higday, Tyler Glass and Leavitt followed. Kelby Watt, Mike Mayberry, Evan Epperson, Chris Walraven and Rob Kubli completed out the top ten. Bridger set quick time, while Glass and Watt were heat winners.
"I about gave that one away," said Bridger in Victory Lane. "I must have gotten slower. I just got looser and looser. Luckily, we started on the front row and got the job done. That was pretty close. We were able to come out on top. He may have made a mistake in turn three and let me get back to the low side. I just have to thank my crew. I didn't do that last time."
The Lucas Oil ASCS presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network will be off until Sunday, August 20 when the tour hits the "Historic Half-Mile" Missouri State Fair Speedway during the Missouri State Fair. The event is co-sanctioned with the Speedway Motors ASCS Warrior Region presented by Impact Signs, Awnings, and Wraps.
For continued updates on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the seven regional tours that make up the over 150 races across the ASCS Nation in 2017, log onto www.ascsracing.com.
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
Knoxville Raceway - Knoxville, Iowa
27th Knoxville 360 Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Event Count: 91
Pizza Express of Okla. D-Main (Top 9 advance to the C)
D Feature (10 Laps): 1. 4J-Lee Grosz, [1]; 2. 95-Matt Covington, [3]; 3. 71C-Stacey Alexander, [2]; 4. 1J-Danny Jennings, [5]; 5. 9N-Wade Nygaard, [4]; 6. 35L-Cody Ledger, [10]; 7. 52-Blake Hahn, [8]; 8. 25-Dylan Peterson, [12]; 9. 12-James Mosher, [6]; 10. 9M-Ricky Montgomery, [14]; 11. 8M-Kade Morton, [15]; 12. 40H-Howard Moore, [9]; 13. 63-Brooke Tatnell, [17]; 14. 93-Dustin Morgan, [18]; 15. 1B-Ryan Leavitt, [7]; 16. 27B-Patrick Bourke, [16]; 17. 22S-Sean McClelland, [13]; 18. X1-Mason Moore, [19]; 19. 7M-Chance Morton, [21]; 20. 33-Alan Zoutte, [20]; 21. 07-Michael Bookout, [11]; 22. 98-Chris Masters, [22]; 23. 9Z-Jared Goerges, [23]; (DNS) 1A-John Anderson, ; (DNS) 10C-Jeremy Campbell,
Hoosier Tire C-Main (Top 7 advance to the B):
C Feature (12 Laps): 1. 71-Joey Saldana, [3]; 2. 3S-Sammy Swindell, [2]; 3. 17-Tyler Groenendyk, [5]; 4. 10H-Chad Kemenah, [7]; 5. 21AU-Jordyn Brazier, [1]; 6. 55-McKenna Haase, [6]; 7. 14-Tony Stewart, [4]; 8. 17H-Jared Horstman, [10]; 9. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, [14]; 10. 95-Matt Covington, [17]; 11. 99-Skylar Gee, [15]; 12. 4J-Lee Grosz, [16]; 13. 9N-Wade Nygaard, [20]; 14. 25-Dylan Peterson, [23]; 15. 1J-Danny Jennings, [19]; 16. (DNF) 17W-Harli White, [8]; 17. (DNF) 52-Blake Hahn, [22]; 18. (DNF) 77X-Alex Hill, [12]; 19. (DNF) 35L-Cody Ledger, [21]; 20. (DNF) 12N-Cole Duncan, [9]; 21. (DNF) 12-James Mosher, [24]; 22. (DNF) 84-Scott Bogucki, [11]; 23. (DNF) 75AUS-Matt Egel, [13]; 24. (DNF) 71C-Stacey Alexander, [18]
BMRS B-Main (Top 5 advance to the A):
B Feature (15 Laps): 1. 82-Dusty Zomer, [2]; 2. 36-Jason Martin, [6]; 3. 24-Terry McCarl, [5]; 4. 2M-Matt Moro, [1]; 5. 26-Tayler Malsam, [8]; 6. 56N-Davey Heskin, [13]; 7. 71-Joey Saldana, [18]; 8. 22-Rager Phillips, [4]; 9. 5H-Cory Eliason, [10]; 10. 6-Carson McCarl, [3]; 11. 3S-Sammy Swindell, [19]; 12. 9-Ryan Giles, [17]; 13. 35-Skylar Prochaska, [9]; 14. 41-Dominic Scelzi, [16]; 15. 10H-Chad Kemenah, [21]; 16. 3K-Tim Kaeding, [11]; 17. 14-Tony Stewart, [24]; 18. 17-Tyler Groenendyk, [20]; 19. 23S-Stuart Snyder, [15]; 20. 45X-Johnny Herrera, [12]; 21. 44-Chris Martin, [7]; 22. 23D-Devon Dobie, [14]; 23. 55-McKenna Haase, [23]; 24. 21AU-Jordyn Brazier, [22]
Protect the Harvest A-Feature:
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 40-Clint Garner, [1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown, [12]; 3. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [2]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [5]; 5. 5J-Jamie Ball, [4]; 6. 14B-Christopher Bell, [11]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [15]; 8. 94-Jeff Swindell, [14]; 9. 49X-Tim Shaffer, [6]; 10. 27-Greg Hodnett, [7]; 11. 17B-Josh Baughman, [8]; 12. 23-Seth Bergman, [10]; 13. 1M-Danny Lasoski, [18]; 14. 1-Thomas Kennedy, [9]; 15. 55S-Trey Starks, [16]; 16. 82-Dusty Zomer, [20]; 17. 4-Jon Agan, [13]; 18. 3-Nate VanHaaften, [3]; 19. 24-Terry McCarl, [22]; 20. 2M-Matt Moro, [23]; 21. 36-Jason Martin, [21]; 22. 26-Tayler Malsam, [24]; 23. 13V-Seth Brahmer, [17]; 24. (DNF) 70-Calvin Landis, [19]
Lap Leader(s): Clint Garner 1-25
CP-Carrillo Hard Charger: Brian Brown +10
FSR High Point Driver: N/A
Provisional(s):N/A
305 Results, courtesy of Knoxville Raceway:
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 3 laps: 1. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (3), 16.923; 2. 56W, Chris Walraven, Knoxville, IA (13), 17.074; 3. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (1), 17.135; 4. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (5), 17.177; 5. 67, Jon Hughes, Knoxville, IA (2), 17.222; 6. 1B, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (11), 17.265; 7. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (4), 17.301; 8. 21, Evan Epperson, Muscatine, IA (7), 17.313; 9. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (8), 17.355; 10. 24, Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (12), 17.471; 11. 12T, Tyler Glass, Cedar Rapids, IA (9), 17.511; 12. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (10), 17.557; 13. 64, Casey Greubel, Lacona, IA (6), 17.737; 14. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (14), 17.741.
Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:47.8: 1. Tyler Glass (1); 2. Joe Simbro (2); 3. Matthew Stelzer (3); 4. Eric Bridger (6); 5. Jon Hughes (4); 6. Brandon Worthington (5) DNS - Casey Greubel
Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:48.2: 1. Kelby Watt (1); 2. Kade Higday (2); 3. Ryan Leavitt (4); 4. Rob Kubli (7); 5. Mike Mayberry (5); 6. Evan Epperson (3); 7. Chris Walraven (6)
A main (started), 15 Laps, NT:
1. Eric Bridger (1); 2. Matthew Stelzer (3); 3. Kade Higday (7); 4. Tyler Glass (5); 5. Ryan Leavitt (2); 6. Kelby Watt (8); 7. Mike Mayberry (6); 8. Evan Epperson (12); 9. Chris Walraven (11); 10. Rob Kubli (13); 11. Joe Simbro (4); 12. Brandon Worthington (9); 13. Jon Hughes (10) DNS - Casey Greubel. Lap Leaders: Bridger 1-12, Stelzer 13, Bridger 14-15. Hard-charger: Higday.
2017 Lucas Oil ASCS A-Main Winner(s):
Sam Hafertepe, Jr. - 10 (3/17 - Devil's Bowl Speedway; 3/18 - Devil's Bowl Speedway; 4/7 - Texas Motor Speedway; 4/8 - Texas Motor Speedway; 4/15 - Missouri State Fair Speedway; 6/13 - Devil's Bowl Speedway; 6/14 - Lawton Speedway; 6/23 - Skagit Speedway; 6/24 - Skagit Speedway; 7/14 - Black Hills Speedway); Aaron Reutzel - 5 (5/11 - Lakeside Speedway; 6/15 - Creek County Speedway; 6/17 - Lucas Oil Speedway; 6/22 - Skagit Speedway; 7/15 - Black Hills Speedway); Wayne Johnson - 2 (7/7 - Gallatin Speedway; 7/8 - Gallatin Speedway); Jake Bubak - 1 (6/9 - West Texas Raceway); Kyle Bellm - 1(6/10 - Route 66 Motor Speedway); Brian Brown - 1 (6/16 - Randolph County Raceway); Matt Covington - 1 (6/30 - Grays Harbor Raceway); Roger Crockett - 1 (7/1 - Grays Harbor Raceway); Terry McCarl - 1 (7/29 - Knoxville Raceway); Gregg Bakker - 1 (7/30 - Mason City Motor Speedway); Tim Shaffer - 1 (8/3 - Knoxville Raceway); Greg Hodnett - 1 (8/4 - Knoxville Raceway); Clint Garner - 1 (8/5 - Knoxville Raceway);
2017 Lucas Oil ASCS Driver Standings (Top 10):
1. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. 3,363; 2. Aaron Reutzel 3,243; 3. Wayne Johnson 3,118; 4. Matt Covington 3,081 5. Johnny Herrera 3,061; 6. Seth Bergman 3,046; 7. Blake Hahn 2,855; 8. Skylar Gee 2,682; 9. Harli White 2405, 10. Josh Baughman 1,627;
