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Greg Hodnett Tribute At The National Open
Posted by: | CommentsLance Dewease Wins Emotional Williams Grove National Open Worth $56,000
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World of Outlaws
Contact: Anthony Corini
World of Outlaws PR
408-825-3360 | acorini@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
Winner Lance Dewease (Michael Fry Photo)
Lance Dewease Wins Emotional Williams Grove National Open Worth $56,000
MECHANICSBURG, PA – September 29, 2018 – The all-time Williams Grove win leader, Lance Dewease, passed Brock Zearfoss on Lap 24 and never looked back to win his 15th World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series Feature of his career. Dewease, full of emotion in Victory Lane, dedicated the $56,000 Champion Racing Oil National Open win to the late, great Greg Hodnett. Daryn Pittman came from eighth to second with Brian Montieth completing the podium at the famous Williams Grove Speedway.
Zearfoss won the first of two Sears Craftsman Dashes to earn the pole for the 40-Lap Feature alongside Dewease, who won the second Dash. Zearfoss, who scored his first career World of Outlaws win last year at Williams Grove, got a strong start and led the opening lap.
Dewease didn’t let Zearfoss out of his sights, as Brian Montieth passed Brian Brown for third on Lap 7. Zearfoss reached the back of field on Lap 8 and began to maneuver through traffic before the caution flew Brad Sweet and Donny Schatz, as the top two in World of Outlaws in points sat atop turn two, with 12 laps complete. Schatz returned at the rear but Sweet was done for the evening.
The ensuing double-file restart saw Zearfoss maintain control and turn under a Dewease slide job on Lap 15 to retain the lead. Dewease was determined and not going away, chipping away on the bottom at Zearfoss’ lead.
As Zearfoss once again reached traffic, Dewease got a huge run through the middle of turn one to pull even with Zearfoss down the backstretch and take command of the field to lead Lap 24.
At Lap 25, World of Outlaws and Williams Grove officials made the decision to throw the caution flag to prevent a majority of teams from running out of fuel. The decision was based on the fact the air quality was so good and that there were extra parade laps in honor of Hodnett and Johnson.
Following the Open Red, Zearfoss had something break on the car entering turn one and he came to a stop at the end of the frontstretch. Understandably disappointed, Zearfoss walked away from his car under his own power.
Brian Montieth assumed second and threatened Dewease for the lead on the restart running his typical cushion-pounding line.
Daryn Pittman found speed on the bottom and got by Monteith for second on Lap 27.
At this point, Dewease had established he was the class of the field and powered away from the field, navigating traffic with ease. Pittman was formidable and quick, but never got within striking distance of Dewease as the Hall of Famer went on to win his 92nd Feature at Williams Grove and fourth National Open.
“This is for Greg [Hodnett]. This whole week is about Greg. Everyone that knew him knows how great of a racer is, but he was an even better person,” Dewease said holding back tears in Victory Lane. “No one understands how difficult this week has been,” Dewease added somberly. “I wanted this one bad for this team. You always want to run well at this race, we had some bad luck last year,” Dewease said about his Kreitz Racing No.69K team.
Daryn Pittman was strong and finished runner-up at the National Open for the fourth time in his career. “This weekend wasn’t about Posse or Outlaws, it was about honoring Greg and it was great to see Bobbi and Jaxx Johnson as well,” the well-spoken Oklahoman said. “I feel that were at the same pace as the 69K and that’s an accomplishment in its own right,” Pittman said with a grin.
Local fan-favorite Brian Montieth finished third, the best of his National Open career, and was pleased, “We were pretty good, I’m sitting here, real proud.”
Tim Shaffer finished fourth with Ryan Smith completing the top-five. Shane Stewart earned KSE Hard Charger honors coming from 22nd to ninth.
Gio Scelzi was awarded $1300 from the Beerhill Gang as the National Open Rookie of the Year and Chad Trout earned $1527 from Dirt Track Digest and SprintCarUnlimited.com with the ‘Just Missed Award’.
The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series continues its 40th Anniversary Season next Saturday, October 6 at Fulton Speedway in New York during NAPA Super DIRT Week. If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action LIVE on DIRTVision.com!
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 69K-Lance Dewease [2][$56,000]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [8][$12,000]; 3. 21X-Brian Montieth [5][$7,500]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [10][$4,000]; 5. 94-Ryan Smith [12][$3,500]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [4][$3,000]; 7. 11-T.J. Stutts [9][$2,700]; 8. 27-Paul McMahan [15][$2,500]; 9. 2-Shane Stewart [22][$2,200]; 10. 1S-Logan Schuchart [11][$2,100]; 11. O7-Gerard McIntyre [13][$2,000]; 12. 39-Cory Haas [16][$1,650]; 13. 71-Giovanni Scelzi [3][$1,550]; 14. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$1,200]; 15. 51-Freddie Rahmer [28][$100]; 16. 5-David Gravel [19][$1,050]; 17. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [20][$1,000]; 18. 24-Lucas Wolfe [26][$]; 19. 18-Ian Madsen [24][$1,000]; 20. 41-Carson Macedo [18][$1,000]; 21. 19-Brent Marks [23][$1,000]; 22. 1A-Jacob Allen [25][$]; 23. 55K-Robbie Kendall [14][$1,000]; 24. 11K-Kraig Kinser [27][$]; 25. 15G-Jordan Givler [17][$1,000]; 26. 4-Brock Zearfoss [1][$1,000]; 27. 49-Brad Sweet [7][$1,000]; 28. 1-Logan Wagner [21][$1,000];
Lap Leaders: Brock Zearfoss 1-23, Lance Dewease 24-40;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 2-Shane Stewart[+13]
Qualifying Flight-A: 1. 71-Giovanni Scelzi, 16.25; 2. 11-T.J. Stutts, 16.318; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 16.41; 4. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 16.441; 5. 21X-Brian Montieth, 16.483; 6. 5-David Gravel, 16.504; 7. 4-Brock Zearfoss, 16.541; 8. 2-Shane Stewart, 16.546; 9. 49-Brad Sweet, 16.588; 10. 1-Logan Wagner, 16.596; 11. 27-Paul McMahan, 16.606; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen, 16.612; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.625; 14. 99M-Kyle Moody, 16.66; 15. 51-Freddie Rahmer, 16.662; 16. 99-Bud Kaeding, 16.689; 17. 19-Brent Marks, 16.722; 18. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.832; 19. 39M-Anthony Macri, 16.936; 20. W20-Greg Wilson, 16.943; 21. 67-Justin Whittall, 16.992; 22. 27S-Adrian Shaffer, 17.193; 23. 28F-Davie Franek, 17.261; 24. 15G-Jordan Givler, 17.548; 25. 44-Trey Starks, NT
Qualifying Flight-B: 1. 21-Brian Brown, 16.487; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 16.518; 3. 69K-Lance Dewease, 16.538; 4. 15-Donny Schatz, 16.54; 5. 9-Daryn Pittman, 16.556; 6. 94-Ryan Smith, 16.602; 7. 55K-Robbie Kendall, 16.66; 8. 39-Cory Haas, 16.675; 9. 41-Carson Macedo, 16.706; 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 16.728; 11. 18-Ian Madsen, 16.733; 12. 1X-Chad Trout, 16.743; 13. 1W-Chase Dietz, 16.774; 14. 24-Lucas Wolfe, 16.778; 15. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, 16.801; 16. 87-Alan Krimes, 16.846; 17. 7S-Jason Sides, 16.874; 18. 19M-Jac Haudenschild, 16.906; 19. 88-Brandon Rahmer, 16.986; 20. 58-Jim Siegel, 16.998; 21. 35-Justin Henderson, 17.096; 22. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 17.316; 23. 75-Nicole Bower, 17.35; 24. 12W-Troy Fraker, 17.836
Heat #1 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 71-Giovanni Scelzi [1]; 2. 4-Brock Zearfoss [3]; 3. O7-Gerard McIntyre [2]; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 5. 1-Logan Wagner [4]; 6. 39M-Anthony Macri [7]; 7. 99-Bud Kaeding [6]; 8. 27S-Adrian Shaffer [8]; 9. 44-Trey Starks [9]
Heat #2 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 11-T.J. Stutts [1]; 2. 21X-Brian Montieth [2]; 3. 27-Paul McMahan [4]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [6]; 5. 99M-Kyle Moody [5]; 6. 2-Shane Stewart [3]; 7. 28F-Davie Franek [8]; 8. W20-Greg Wilson [7]
Heat #3 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 3. 15G-Jordan Givler [8]; 4. 67-Justin Whittall [7]; 5. 51-Freddie Rahmer [5]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [4]; 7. 5-David Gravel [2]; 8. 48-Danny Dietrich [6]
Heat #4 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 3. 55K-Robbie Kendall [3]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 5. 1W-Chase Dietz [5]; 6. 88-Brandon Rahmer [7]; 7. 87-Alan Krimes [6]; 8. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [8]
Heat #5 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [1]; 3. 39-Cory Haas [3]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [4]; 5. 24-Lucas Wolfe [5]; 6. 58-Jim Siegel [7]; 7. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 8. 75-Nicole Bower [8]
Heat #6 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 69K-Lance Dewease [1]; 2. 94-Ryan Smith [2]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo [3]; 4. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [5]; 5. 1X-Chad Trout [4]; 6. 19M-Jac Haudenschild [6]; 7. 35-Justin Henderson [7]; 8. 12W-Troy Fraker [8]
Sears Craftsman Dash (6 Laps): 1. 4-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. 71-Giovanni Scelzi [2]; 3. 21X-Brian Montieth [4]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 5. 11-T.J. Stutts [3]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]
Dash #2 - Craftsman Club Dash (6 Laps): 1. 69K-Lance Dewease [2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [1]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [6]; 6. 94-Ryan Smith [5]
C-Main (10 Laps) - Top 2 Transfer: 1. 51-Freddie Rahmer [1][-]; 2. 19-Brent Marks [5][-]; 3. 99-Bud Kaeding [3][$150]; 4. 87-Alan Krimes [2][$150]; 5. 19M-Jac Haudenschild [6][$150]; 6. 39M-Anthony Macri [7][$125]; 7. 88-Brandon Rahmer [8][$125]; 8. 58-Jim Siegel [10][$125]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [9][$125]; 10. 67-Justin Whittall [11][$125]; 11. 35-Justin Henderson [12][$125]; 12. 28F-Davie Franek [15][$125]; 13. 27S-Adrian Shaffer [13][$125]; 14. 75-Nicole Bower [16][$125]; 15. 12W-Troy Fraker [17][$125]; 16. 7S-Jason Sides [4][$125]; 17. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [14][$125]; 18. 48-Danny Dietrich [18][$125]; 19. 44-Trey Starks [19][$125]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer: 1. 5-David Gravel [1][-]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2][-]; 3. 1-Logan Wagner [5][-]; 4. 2-Shane Stewart [3][-]; 5. 19-Brent Marks [14][-]; 6. 18-Ian Madsen [4][-]; 7. 24-Lucas Wolfe [10][$300]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9][$250]; 9. 51-Freddie Rahmer [13][$225]; 10. 1X-Chad Trout [6][$200]; 11. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [12][$200]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen [7][$200]; 13. 99M-Kyle Moody [11][$200]; 14. 1W-Chase Dietz [8][$200]
MONEYMAN GRANT CASHES 10K ONCE AGAIN AT THE BURG
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Justin Grant captured his second $10K-to-win USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature in the last three nights Saturday at Lawrenceburg Speedway's 'Fall Nationals.' (Rich Forman Photo)
MONEYMAN GRANT CASHES 10K ONCE AGAIN AT THE BURG
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Lawrenceburg, Indiana.....September 29, 2018 - Justin Grant's wait to win his second USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature of the season didn't take nearly as long as it took to get his first.
Following his first series victory in nearly 16 months on Thursday, the Ione, Calif. native only had to endure two more nights to tally up his next triumph, Saturday's "Fall Nationals" at Lawrenceburg Speedway.
The waiting may be the hardest part, but patience does reap its own rewards in the end. For the second time in three nights, Grant pocketed 10-grand by virtue of his victory in the TOPP Motorsports/TOPP Performance Race Parts - The Bow Foundation/Maxim/TOPP Gaerte.
"It's been a rough year and we can definitely use the money at the Grant household. We're happy to have it," Grant said with a laugh. "To win one race that pays anything against these guys right now is awesome. To win a couple big ones in a single weekend, you can't ask for better than that. I feel like a sprint car driver again. I'm having a blast and remembering why I do this stuff now."
Grant pushed to the lead from his outside front row starting spot around pole sitter Dave Darland on the initial lap, but any early momentum he gained was stifled when C.J. Leary found trouble in turn one on the second lap, sending him into a wild flip and a not-so-graceful landing. Leary, who had earlier set fast time, won his heat and had moved from sixth to fourth on the opening lap, gingerly exited his war-torn machinery and would ultimately have to take a visit for X-rays on his neck and back.
On the ensuing restart, second-running Bacon put his tail up on the fence and used a diamond move to run Grant down like a cheetah tracking down a gazelle, blowing by Grant for the lead midway down the back straightaway. Grant fought back, trying to slide underneath Bacon, but each time, Bacon's diamond shined brighter than 10 karats, pulling away and stretching out his lead until Brandon Spithaler's turn four spin and small flare-up flame brought out the caution on lap 12. Grant now had a reprieve and he wasn't going to let it go to waste.
"I was running the bottom in (turns) three and four and shortcutting it to the cushion, staying out of the holes getting into one," Grant recalled. "But I was kind of hanging off two. I knew I was hanging there, but I didn't know if you could run in above the holes or through the holes into one and two and diamond down. And I knew Leary had gotten into the fence in one, so I figured that's what he had done. So, I was a bit hesitant to try it. When Brady drove by us doing the diamond off two, I followed him for a few laps and figured out how our car wanted to get through there to do it right. I felt like we were nipping at his lead a little bit."
Grant immediately rared back his axe and took his first swing in turn one on the lap 12 restart, sliding up in front of Bacon briefly for the point. Bacon got back by, but Grant had wrapped his lasso to the #99 of Bacon by then. When push came to shove at the exit of turn four on the 13th lap, Grant was there to capitalize and move his way back into the lead.
"On the restart, I was able to get in, slide him and chalk him up," Grant remembered. "He went to block the slider into three and got to bouncing and we were able to sneak by. I felt like his car was a little better in turns one and two and I was freed up enough to run three and four hard and he just got to bouncing. Once we figured out how to use the holes in one and two and get the diamond down off two, I felt really good and I didn't know if anybody had anything for us once we got rolling in that line. I couldn't do it faster than how I was doing it. Every time during the cautions, I started to settle down in the seat and I reminded myself I've got no stake in points in this deal and I really need the money. It's 10-grand to win. If there's a night to hang one in the fence trying to win, this is the night."
As Bacon tussled with Courtney for the second spot, Grant gained some leeway to a one-second-plus lead until lap 22 when lapped traffic came into play. Grant was in expert mode as he navigated through the back part of the field, keeping Bacon at an arm's length distance entering the final five laps.
The distance became closer and nearer, with Bacon cutting the interval to eight tenths, six tenths and, finally, four tenths. On the final lap, Bacon had one more bullet in the chamber as he followed Grant into turn one. However, his right rear caught the outer concrete, took a hop and skip that was enough for Grant to gain back his breathing space, which he used to secure his second USAC National Sprint Car victory of the season (and the weekend) and the 10th of his career, tying him with Tony Stewart for 48th all-time.
'It's been a rough year and we can definitely use the money at the Grant household. We're happy to have it. To win one race that pays anything against these guys right now is awesome. To win a couple big ones in a single weekend, you can't ask for better than that. I feel like a sprint car driver again. I'm having a blast and remembering why I do this stuff now.' - Justin Grant (Ryan Sellers Photo)
After a seven-month dry spell in USAC competition since Grant and TOPP paired up at the beginning of the 2018 season, the two have finally found the recipe for success that so many felt this combo was capable of all along.
"We've been gaining on them a little bit around Indiana Sprint Week time," Grant explained. "The big kick is we found stuff with the cars and got our engine program ripping a lot better. The motors are hitting really hard now and it's just letting me do a lot of stuff that I couldn't do before. I can get in the cushion and I've got enough motor to get myself out of trouble now. Between that, having a few good runs and getting some confidence going, we're feeling like we know what we're doing again."
Bacon finished second ahead of Courtney, Chris Windom and Kevin Thomas, Jr. Windom had to move to a backup car after a violent flip during qualifying in his primary, picking up hard charger honors after racing from 18th to 4th. Thomas, meanwhile, had his point lead clenched up to 34 points over Courtney in second and 62 in front of Windom in third.
Contingency award winners Saturday night at Lawrenceburg Speedway were C.J. Leary (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Carson Short (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Brady Bacon (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Tyler Courtney (Indy Race Parts Semi Winner), Dakota Jackson (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Brian VanMeveren (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier) and Chris Windom (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 29, 2018 - Lawrenceburg Speedway - Lawrenceburg, Indiana - "Fall Nationals"
QUALIFYING: 1. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-13.877; 2. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-13.946; 3. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-13.954; 4. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-13.998; 5. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-14.028; 6. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-14.105; 7. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-14.122; 8. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-14.181; 9. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-14.207; 10. Shane Cottle, 5G, Goacher-14.238; 11. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-14.267; 12. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-14.271; 13. Brian VanMeveren, 24, VanMeveren-14.351; 14. Carson Short, 5B, Briscoe-14.383; 15. Dickie Gaines, 44, Soudrette-14.391; 16. Dakota Jackson, 3, Jackson-14.457; 17. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.506; 18. Justin Peck, 04, Burton-14.535; 19. Nick Bilbee, 17, Bilbee-14.549; 20. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-14.563; 21. Dallas Hewitt, 18H, Keen-14.585; 22. Tyler Thomas, 2E, Epperson-14.741; 23. Tony DiMattia, 50, TDM-14.754; 24. Garrett Abrams, 32A, Abrams-14.808; 25. Brandon Spithaler, 77, Gagliardi-14.942; 26. Frank Rodgers, 11, Rodgers-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Leary, 2. Jackson, 3. Grant, 4. Cottle, 5. Stockon, 6. VanMeveren, 7. T. Thomas, 8. Spithaler, 9. Bilbee. 2:00.05
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Short, 2. Westfall, 3. Andretti, 4. Darland, 5. K. Thomas, 6. Windom, 7. DiMattia, 8. Rodgers, 9. Courtney. NT
CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-5 transfer to the feature) 1. Bacon, 2. Gaines, 3. Hodges, 4. Peck, 5. McDougal, 6. Chapple, 7. Hewitt, 8. Abrams. 1:57.93
INDY RACE PARTS SEMI: (12 laps, top-7 transfer to the feature) 1. Courtney, 2. Windom, 3. Chapple, 4. Hewitt, 5. T. Thomas, 6. Spithaler, 7. Bilbee, 8. VanMeveren, 9. DiMattia, 10. Abrams, 11. Rodgers. 2:58.67
FEATURE: (30 laps - starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Brady Bacon (4), 3. Tyler Courtney (7), 4. Chris Windom (18), 5. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (5), 6. Dave Darland (1), 7. Jarett Andretti (11), 8. Chase Stockon (3), 9. Isaac Chapple (8), 10. Josh Hodges (9), 11. Dallas Hewitt (19), 12. Tyler Thomas (20), 13. Dakota Jackson (13), 14. Nick Bilbee (16), 15. Matt Westfall (14), 16. Justin Peck (15), 17. Jason McDougal (12), 18. Shane Cottle (10), 19. Dickie Gaines (17), 20. Brandon Spithaler (21), 21. C.J. Leary (6). NT
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**Windom flipped during qualifying. Leary flipped on lap 2 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Grant, Laps 2-12 Bacon, Laps 13-30 Grant.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Chris Windom (18th to 4th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Dakota Jackson
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Brian VanMeveren
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Brian VanMeveren
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-K. Thomas-2397, 2-Courtney-2363, 3-Windom-2335, 4-Bacon-2081, 5-Darland-2063, 6-Leary-2043, 7-Stockon-2038, 8-Grant-1947, 9-Robert Ballou-1771, 10-Chapple-1383.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: October 5 - Lake Ozark Speedway - Eldon, Missouri
World of Outlaws
Contact: Anthony Corini
World of Outlaws PR
408-825-3360 | acorini@dirtcar.com
Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article
Winner Gio Scelzi (Paul Arch Photo)
Gio Scelzi Becomes Youngest World of Outlaws Winner in Series History on Night One of the Williams Grove National Open
MECHANICSBURG, PA – September 28, 2018 – On an emotional night in Pennsylvania Posse country, it was neither the locals or Outlaws in Victory Lane, as California phenom Gio Scelzi passed two-time National Open Champion David Gravel to lead Lap 16 and never looked back to win his first career World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series Victory on the opening night of the Champion Racing Oil Williams Grove National Open. Scelzi becomes the youngest driver to ever win a World of Outlaws race at the ripe age of 16 years old. Gravel settled for second with Lucas Wolfe completing the podium.
Gravel won the first of two Sears Craftsman Dashes to the earn the pole for the Feature, which went 27 laps in honor of five-time Williams Grove Track Champion and 1993 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year, Greg Hodnett. Gio Scelzi won the second Dash to start outside the front row.
Gravel got the jump on the initial start and led the opening circuit with Scelzi in tow. Logan Schuchart, while running third, brought out the first caution of the evening, coming to a stop on the backstretch with five laps complete. That set up the first of three double-file restarts. Gravel elected the bottom on this one, putting Scelzi to his outside.
Gravel remained out front on the restart, but it was evident that Scelzi was a threat as he stayed right with the CJB Motorsports No.5 around the paperclip shaped half-mile. 2017 Track Champion Freddie Rahmer maneuvered his way into third from eighth and tried to close in on the lead duo.
Sheldon Haudenschild brought out the caution with 11 laps complete and this time Gravel elected the top on the double-file restart.
Again, Gravel remained out front as Scelzi took a peak underneath for the lead once again.
Carson Macedo, aboard the Jason Johnson Racing No.41, brought out the final caution of the evening on Lap 15. Gravel elected the bottom on the double-file restart, once again giving Scelzi the outside. Gravel entered high into turn one and tried to catch momentum to get a run off of turn two.
Scelzi pitched his Indy Race Parts No.71 hard to the bottom, couldn’t complete the slide job, but maintained speed on the bottom and pulled even with Gravel under the bridge and edged in front heading into turn three.
Scelzi, now in command of the field, powered away to lead Lap 16.
Lucas Wolfe moved by Freddie Rahmer into third and set his eyes on the leaders. For the first time, the leaders would reach lapped traffic as Gio Scelzi’s job was far from done. Scelzi approached traffic and Gravel closed in, looking to steal a win from the young California native.
With two to go, Gravel was within three car lengths as Scelzi continued to run the cushion through traffic. Gravel pitched the car hard into turn three before coming to the White Flag.
With Scelzi carrying speed on the cushion and a lapped on the bottom, there was no room for Gravel to make a last-ditch effort, as Gio Scelzi crossed under the Checkered Flag .732 seconds ahead of Gravel to become the youngest World of Outlaws winner in the Series 40-year history.
“I don’t think I am ever going to believe this one,” Scelzi said in Victory Lane when track announcer Bruce Ellis asked him about the night. “I was so good at the beginning, I was afraid I wouldn’t be any good at the end. David is good here, he’s a two-time National Open winner,” Scelzi, engulfed in positive emotion, said.
“I don’t know what to say, we could work anywhere. Hopefully we can Qualify good tomorrow and see what we can do,” Scelzi, who was grinning cheek-to-cheek, added about his chances tomorrow for the $56,000 payday.
David Gravel settled for second and was understandably disappointed.
“I didn’t know what to do on the restarts, I tried both lanes. When I was on the outside, I didn’t take off as well as I would have liked, so I went back to the bottom to try and protect myself from the slide job,” Gravel said of the pass for the lead. “Congrats to Gio, that first career win is hard to get, especially at Williams Grove,” Gravel added in good spirits. “Tomorrow is 13 more laps and pays a lot more to win, so hopefully we can finish one spot better.”
Lucas Wolfe was the highest finishing local and also applauded young Scelzi, “What a tremendous result for him, congrats to him. It wasn’t a bad night for us, we passed some good cars to get up here and hopefully we can do a little better tomorrow,” Wolfe said.
After Scelzi, Gravel and Wolfe crossed the finish line, Freddie Rahmer and Tim Shaffer got together battling for fourth, resulting in Shaffer ending up backwards at the bottom of turn four, bringing out the Yellow and Checkered simultaneously. Unfortunately for Shaffer, who was a couple hundred feet from a top-five finish, as the cause of the yellow, he was scored as the last car on the lead lap, which was 21st.
Freddie Rahmer officially finished fourth with 12th-starting Shane Stewart completing the top-five. Donny Schatz earned KSE Hard Charger Honors coming from 22nd to complete the top ten.
Logan Schuchart set Quick Time over an outstanding field of 50 cars, worth $327 courtesy of Fast Tee’s. Schuchart generously donated his bonus to Sherry Hodnett. Schatz’s effort also earned him a $500 bonus courtesy of Wicked Cushion, which he generously donated to the Hodnett family as well.
The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series returns to Williams Grove Speedway tomorrow night for the $56,000 to win Champion Racing Oil National Open. Tonight’s results have no bearing on tomorrow’s program. If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action LIVE on DIRTVision.com!
Feature (27 Laps): 1. 71-Giovanni Scelzi [2][$10,000]; 2. 5-David Gravel [1][$5,000]; 3. 24-Lucas Wolfe [5][$3,000]; 4. 51-Freddie Rahmer [8][$2,700]; 5. 2-Shane Stewart [12][$2,500]; 6. 44-Trey Starks [6][$2,200]; 7. 21X-Brian Montieth [3][$2,000]; 8. 49-Brad Sweet [17][$1,800]; 9. 21-Brian Brown [7][$1,600]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz [22][$1,450]; 11. 9-Daryn Pittman [13][$1,300]; 12. 19-Brent Marks [23][$1,200]; 13. 18-Ian Madsen [11][$1,100]; 14. 69K-Lance Dewease [19][$1,000]; 15. 27-Paul McMahan [21][$950]; 16. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [25][$200]; 17. 11-T.J. Stutts [14][$850]; 18. 48-Danny Dietrich [24][$750]; 19. 1X-Chad Trout [27][$25]; 20. 1A-Jacob Allen [10][$700]; 21. 49X-Tim Shaffer [9][$700]; 22. O7-Gerard McIntyre [18][$700]; 23. 39-Cory Haas [26][$]; 24. 55K-Robbie Kendall [20][$700]; 25. 41-Carson Macedo [15][$700]; 26. 94-Ryan Smith [16][$700]; 27. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4][$700];
Lap Leaders: David Gravel 1-15, Giovanni Scelzi 16-27;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz[+12]
Qualifying Flight-A: 1. 18-Ian Madsen, 16.342; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 16.365; 3. 21X-Brian Montieth, 16.404; 4. 24-Lucas Wolfe, 16.409; 5. 55K-Robbie Kendall, 16.418; 6. 5-David Gravel, 16.424; 7. 99-Bud Kaeding, 16.449; 8. 21-Brian Brown, 16.458; 9. 49-Brad Sweet, 16.465; 10. 9-Daryn Pittman, 16.501; 11. 41-Carson Macedo, 16.501; 12. 15-Donny Schatz, 16.51; 13. 4-Brock Zearfoss, 16.536; 14. 19-Brent Marks, 16.563; 15. 39-Cory Haas, 16.563; 16. 33-Jared Esh, 16.656; 17. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.666; 18. 1W-Chase Dietz, 16.667; 19. 39M-Anthony Macri, 16.721; 20. 67-Justin Whittall, 16.832; 21. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 16.891; 22. W20-Greg Wilson, 16.901; 23. 20-Ryan Taylor, 16.978; 24. 27S-Adrian Shaffer, 17.102; 25. 75-Nicole Bower, 17.298
Qualifying Flight-B: 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 16.306; 2. 71-Giovanni Scelzi, 16.41; 3. 51-Freddie Rahmer, 16.429; 4. 44-Trey Starks, 16.454; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen, 16.458; 6. 2-Shane Stewart, 16.46; 7. 11-T.J. Stutts, 16.527; 8. 69K-Lance Dewease, 16.547; 9. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 16.596; 10. 27-Paul McMahan, 16.597; 11. 94-Ryan Smith, 16.626; 12. 7S-Jason Sides, 16.628; 13. 1-Logan Wagner, 16.656; 14. 1X-Chad Trout, 16.694; 15. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 16.721; 16. 58-Jim Siegel, 16.757; 17. 88-Brandon Rahmer, 16.771; 18. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, 16.897; 19. 19M-Jac Haudenschild, 16.961; 20. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.965; 21. 99M-Kyle Moody, 17.001; 22. 28F-Davie Franek, 17.096; 23. 35-Justin Henderson, 17.144; 24. 15G-Jordan Givler, 17.368; 25. 12W-Troy Fraker, 17.585
Heat #1 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 18-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 24-Lucas Wolfe [2]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [4]; 4. 4-Brock Zearfoss [5]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri [7]; 6. 99-Bud Kaeding [3]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [8]; 8. 33-Jared Esh [6]; 9. 75-Nicole Bower [9]
Heat #2 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer [1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [3]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo [4]; 4. 55K-Robbie Kendall [2]; 5. 19-Brent Marks [5]; 6. 20-Ryan Taylor [8]; 7. 67-Justin Whittall [7]; 8. 48-Danny Dietrich [6]
Heat #3 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 21X-Brian Montieth [1]; 2. 5-David Gravel [2]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 5. 39-Cory Haas [5]; 6. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [7]; 7. 1W-Chase Dietz [6]; 8. 27S-Adrian Shaffer [8]
Heat #4 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 2. 44-Trey Starks [2]; 3. 11-T.J. Stutts [3]; 4. 27-Paul McMahan [4]; 5. 19M-Jac Haudenschild [7]; 6. 1-Logan Wagner [5]; 7. 58-Jim Siegel [6]; 8. 12W-Troy Fraker [9]; 9. 28F-Davie Franek [8]
Heat #5 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 71-Giovanni Scelzi [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 94-Ryan Smith [4]; 4. 69K-Lance Dewease [3]; 5. 88-Brandon Rahmer [6]; 6. 1X-Chad Trout [5]; 7. 35-Justin Henderson [8]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]
Heat #6 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer: 1. 51-Freddie Rahmer [1]; 2. 2-Shane Stewart [2]; 3. O7-Gerard McIntyre [3]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [4]; 5. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [6]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [5]; 7. 15G-Jordan Givler [8]; 8. 99M-Kyle Moody [7]
Sears Craftsman Dash (6 Laps): 1. 5-David Gravel [1]; 2. 21X-Brian Montieth [2]; 3. 24-Lucas Wolfe [3]; 4. 21-Brian Brown [5]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4]; 6. 18-Ian Madsen [6]
Sears Craftsman Dash II (6 Laps): 1. 71-Giovanni Scelzi [2]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 3. 44-Trey Starks [4]; 4. 51-Freddie Rahmer [3]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]; 6. 2-Shane Stewart [6]
D-main (8 Laps) - Top 2 Transfer: 1. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [1][-]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [3][-]; 3. 20-Ryan Taylor [5][$125]; 4. 28F-Davie Franek [4][$125]; 5. 35-Justin Henderson [6][$125]; 6. 15G-Jordan Givler [8][$125]; 7. 75-Nicole Bower [9][$125]; 8. 12W-Troy Fraker [10][$125]; 9. 27S-Adrian Shaffer [7][$125]; 10. 99M-Kyle Moody [2][$125]
C-Main (10 Laps) - Top 2 Transfer: 1. 48-Danny Dietrich [3][-]; 2. 1W-Chase Dietz [5][-]; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri [7][$150]; 4. 58-Jim Siegel [2][$150]; 5. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [6][$150]; 6. 11K-Kraig Kinser [10][$125]; 7. 67-Justin Whittall [9][$125]; 8. W20-Greg Wilson [12][$125]; 9. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [11][$125]; 10. 33-Jared Esh [1][$125]; 11. 88-Brandon Rahmer [4][$125]; 12. 19M-Jac Haudenschild [8][$125]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer: 1. 69K-Lance Dewease [2][-]; 2. 55K-Robbie Kendall [1][-]; 3. 27-Paul McMahan [4][-]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [5][-]; 5. 19-Brent Marks [9][-]; 6. 48-Danny Dietrich [13][-]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [12][$300]; 8. 99-Bud Kaeding [3][$250]; 9. 7S-Jason Sides [6][$225]; 10. 1X-Chad Trout [10][$200]; 11. 4-Brock Zearfoss [7][$200]; 12. 1W-Chase Dietz [14][$200]; 13. 1-Logan Wagner [8][$200]; 14. 39-Cory Haas [11][$200]
GAS CITY USAC SPRINT RESULTS: Sept. 28, 2018
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Kevin Thomas, Jr. scored his sixth USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature victory of the year Friday night at Gas City, moving himself into the top-20 all-time in series wins with 23, equaling legends A.J. Foyt and Roger McCluskey. (Rich Forman Photo)
THOMAS A REBEL WITH A CAUSE AT GAS CITY’S JAMES DEAN CLASSIC
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Gas City, Indiana……September 28, 2018 – James Dean was a rebel, one not exactly keen on following the rules. At least that’s how the 1950s movie star’s iconic roles were portrayed on the silver screen.
Friday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway’s “James Dean Classic,” Kevin Thomas, Jr. showed his rebellious side, not being content to follow in second. Instead, he strayed from the path and created his own way to glory for his sixth USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature victory of the year, moving himself into the top-20 all-time in series wins with 23, equaling legends A.J. Foyt and Roger McCluskey.
Thomas ran second behind Isaac Chapple in his Dynamics, Inc./Mean Green – Jonathan Byrd/DRC/Speedway Chevy for the first 25 circuits of the 30-lap feature, but steadily worked the top line until it became his red carpet, then drove around Chapple for the lead with five laps remaining to capture his second career USAC win at the quarter-mile dirt oval and first since 2013.
“Being in the second spot makes you move around, even if you don’t want to, and even if the bottom is the preferred line or the top, whatever it may be,” Thomas explained. “You have to move around and search, maybe use a slower line, but make it faster. We searched and searched and searched, tried two, three, four different times, different lines, different corners. It’s not that we even found the faster line. I think he just slipped up a little bit there in turns three and four and that let us get by. We were just on the right part of the racetrack at the right time.”
Thomas started fourth, yet managed to get up to the front in quick fashion as he and outside front row starter Chapple split around pole sitter Jason McDougal heading into turn one to occupy the top-two spots with Chapple up front and Thomas trailing just behind.
The two would be Elmer’s-glued to each other for the first two-thirds of the event as Chapple worked the middle-to-low line and Thomas danced around, top and bottom, in search of his own groove that would carry him to the front.
By the 19th lap, Thomas’ began to enjoy the fruits of his labor, finally finding consistent bite up top, relentlessly carving out the top groove to close within striking distance of Chapple while heavy lapped traffic loomed. However, the traffic game would be scrapped from the table when Dallas Hewitt spun to a stop off the banking between turns three and four, forcing Thomas to reset his gameplan on the fly.
“We were closing in on traffic pretty fast,” Thomas recalled. “You’re sizing him up when you’re in clean air. When you see lapped traffic, you start thinking other things. Is this line blocked whenever I get there or am I going to have to follow him? You know around about how many laps you have left, at least within two or so. I knew we were closing in on halfway and I started seeing lapped traffic. I didn’t want to get stuck and then have to ride around on the bottom and not be able to maneuver. Then the caution came out and then you have to reset. You have to do what you’ve been doing to get past him. On restarts, we weren’t that good because the top didn’t have the momentum right off the bat, so it took me a minute to get to him. If I follow him and he makes a mistake, then we both make a mistake.”
Once racing resumed, Thomas picked up right where he left off, ripping the top, while Chapple was nearly flawless on the bottom, taking the shortest road travelled in search of his first career series victory, just two races removed following the 2016 series Rookie of the Year’s best career finish of third at Eldora.
All it took was one less-than-perfect corner entry for Chapple and Thomas was there to pounce, driving around Chapple for the point on the outside on lap 26 to snare the lead before cruising away virtually unchallenged for victory while a chaotic final two-lap scramble behind him developed.
C.J. Leary got by Chapple for second with two to go, then McDougal put in his bid to steal away third from Chapple on the final lap. The two seemingly locked horns entering turn three. Still entangled, the seventh-place car of Josh Hodges plowed into McDougal. Chapple broke free and managed to drive away while McDougal and Hodges saw their solid days at the office crumble to a stop on the bottom of turns three and four. McDougal and Hodges were relegated to 18th and 19th place finishes, respectively, as a result. Meanwhile, Dallas Hewitt found himself upside down in turn two, an incident from which he walked away unscathed.
Leary ran second ahead of Chapple, Chris Windom and Chase Stockon to round out the top-five.
Thomas bounced back from a less-than-stellar result the night before at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway where he scored a tenth and saw his point lead vanish. But the Cullman, Ala. driver was jubilant as he got back on the proverbial horse at Gas City, earning his second win in the last four series races after a three-month winless drought. The recent outings have helped him surge to a 37-point lead entering Saturday’s “Fall Nationals” at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway ahead of Tyler Courtney who had a tumultuous night, starting and finishing 17th. Windom sits third, 59 points out of the lead.
Contingency award winners Friday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway were Tyler Courtney (Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner), Isaac Chapple (Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner), Kyle Cummins (Chalk Stix Third Heat Winner), Dustin Ingle (Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner), Matt Westfall (Roger & Barb Tapy 13th Fastest Qualifier), Brady Bacon (Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher) and Kyle Cummins (KSE Racing Products Hard Charger).
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 28, 2018 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana – “James Dean Classic”
QUALIFYING: 1. Chris Windom, 5, Baldwin-11.988; 2. C.J. Leary, 30, Leary-12.016; 3. Kevin Thomas, Jr., 69, Dynamics-12.078; 4. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-12.144; 5. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-12.242; 6. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-12.251; 7. Jason McDougal, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-12.263; 8. Tyler Thomas, 2E, Epperson-12.272; 9. Shane Cottle, 5G, Goacher-12.293; 10. Thomas Meseraull, 00, Meseraull-12.297; 11. Josh Hodges, 74x, Hodges-12.302; 12. Dave Darland, 36D, Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian-12.327; 13. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-12.346; 14. Brady Bacon, 99, Bacon-12.347; 15. Tony DiMattia, 50, TDM-12.382; 16. Carson Short, 5B, Briscoe-12.422; 17. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-12.427; 18. Brian VanMeveren, 24, VanMeveren-12.442; 19. Kyle Cummins, 3c, EZR/Cummins-12.453; 20. Dustin Ingle, 2DI, Ingle-12.493; 21. Clinton Boyles, 57, Hazen-12.495; 22. Dallas Hewitt, 18H, Keen-12.553; 23. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-12.603; 24. Garrett Abrams, 32A, Abrams-12.603; 25. Tyler Hewitt, 97x, One More Time-12.731; 26. Travis Hery, 21H, Hery-12.748; 27. Billy Cribbs, 16, Cribbs-12.782; 28. Shane Cockrum, 24p, Paul-12.900; 29. Luke Harbison, 40, Harbison-13.261; 30. Frank Rodgers, 11, Rodgers-13.312; 31. Jack James, 99J, James-13.353; 32. Bob McMillin, 5m, McMillin-13.358; 33. Jarett Andretti, 18, Andretti-NT.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Courtney, 2. Boyles, 3. Windom, 4. Cottle, 5. Grant, 6. Westfall, 7. T. Hewitt, 8. Harbison. 2:03.21
COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chapple, 2. D. Hewitt, 3. Bacon, 4. Leary, 5. Hery, 6. Meseraull, 7. Rodgers, 8. VanMeveren. NT
CHALK STIX THIRD HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Cummins, 2. K. Thomas, 3. McDougal, 4. DiMattia, 5. Goodnight, 6. Hodges, 7. Cribbs, 8. James. 2:03.79
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Ingle, 2. Darland, 3. Short, 4. Stockon, 5. T. Thomas, 6. Cockrum, 7. Abrams, 8. McMillin. 2:05.02
SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Grant, 2. Hodges, 3. T. Thomas, 4. Westfall, 5. Meseraull, 6. T. Hewitt, 7. Abrams, 8. Cockrum, 9. Cribbs, 10. Hery, 11. Rodgers, 12. Harbison, 13. McMillin, 14. James, 15. VanMeveren, 16. Goodnight. 2:30.38
FEATURE: (30 laps – starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (4), 2. C.J. Leary (5), 3. Isaac Chapple (2), 4. Chris Windom (6), 5. Chase Stockon (3), 6. Dave Darland (12), 7. Kyle Cummins (18), 8. Justin Grant (7), 9. Tyler Thomas (8), 10. Clinton Boyles (20), 11. Shane Cottle (9), 12. Matt Westfall (13), 13. Brady Bacon (14), 14. Carson Short (16), 15. Tyler Hewitt (22), 16. Tony DiMattia (15), 17. Tyler Courtney (17), 18. Jason McDougal (1), 19. Josh Hodges (11), 20. Dallas Hewitt (21), 21. Dustin Ingle (19), 22. Thomas Meseraull (10). NT
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**D. Hewitt flipped on lap 30 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Chapple, Laps 26-30 K. Thomas.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS HARD CHARGER: Kyle Cummins (18th to 7th)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Brady Bacon
ROGER & BARB TAPY 13TH FASTEST QUALIFIER: Matt Westfall
SALDANA RACING PRODUCTS FIRST NON-TRANSFER: Garrett Abrams
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-K. Thomas-2330, 2-Courtney-2293, 3-Windom-2271, 4-Leary-2006, 5-Darland-2003, 6-Bacon-2002, 7-Stockon-1982, 8-Grant-1871, 9-Robert Ballou-1771, 10-Chapple-1334.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 29 – Lawrenceburg Speedway – Lawrenceburg, Indiana – “Fall Nationals”
THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES
Posted by: | CommentsSEPTEMBER 27, 2018
CONTACT: BOB MILLER 443 513 4456
THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES
THUNDER ON THE HILL SEASON FINALE FAST APPROACHING AT GRANDVIEW SPEEDWAY, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13 6 PM
HOUSE OF THUNDER HALLOWEEN PARTY & MODIFIED TRAFFIC JAM, PLUS SPORTSMAN & MASS SPRINTS ON TRIPLE HEADER PROGRAM
BECHTELSVILLE, PA (September 27, 2018) – The scene is set for a haunting Halloween on the Hill at Grandview Speedway with Modifieds as the main event on Saturday, October 13 at 6 PM.
NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series presents Mods at the Madhouse Traffic Jam – the conclusion of the 29th season of Thunder action – featuring three divisions of racing action including a Big-Block vs. Small-Block Modified challenge, the Sportsman division, and the MASS Sprint Cars.
“The Thunder on the Hill Halloween Party is one of my favorite events of the year,” said event co-organizer, Bob Miller. “Fans are not just encouraged but expected to come dressed for the occasion, with awards for the best children and adult costumes.”
The Halloween Party has been an integral part of the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series calendar for over 15 years. The main event features a 40 lap Modified ‘Spooktacular,' includes a sizable $5,000 top prize, and pays handsomely through the full-field of competitors with a $1,000 payday for a tenth-place finish, and $500 to start the feature.
There is no entry fee and no track/series license required to compete in this event. To be eligible for the enhanced payoff, teams are required to pre-enter by calling 443 513 4456.
A special rules package is offered as a ‘treat’ to the region’s competitors, with both American Racer and Hoosier tires allowed for competition, and either Big-Block or Spec Small-Block engines permitted.
The popular Sportsman division is also on the card, competing for a $1,300 top prize for 25-laps of competition on ‘the hill.’ A loosened tire rule is in effect for the Sportsman – competitors are permitted to compete on Hoosier or American Racer rubber. Grandview Sportsman rules are in effect and competitors are permitted to run sail panels. Full rules are available on the Grandview Speedway website.
The MASS Sprint Cars will compete in heat race qualifying action and a 25-lap A-Main. Standard MASS club rules apply to competitors.
‘Joe the Pizza Dude’ will offer up hot, delicious, and FREE pizzas to the rowdiest of race fans before the action kicks off. Make some noise when ‘The Pizza Dude’ comes around, to earn yourself a free pizza!
Fans interested in advance tickets may order them by calling 443-513-4456. Please speak clearly and leave your name and the number of tickets you would like. Tickets may be paid for and picked up at the Will Call Window on race night after 3:00 PM. Advance ticket holders may enter the grandstands at 3:30 PM, one-half hour before general admission tickets going on sale at 4 PM. Advance tickets orders will be available until 9 AM on race day, Saturday, October 13, then general admission tickets go on sale at 4 PM.
General Admission ticket pricing for Saturday, October 13 is $25 for adults, Children 6-11 are $10 and Kids 5 & Under are FREE! Pit Area admission is $35, and a license is not required.
The Pit gates open at 2:00 PM, Advanced ticket holders can enter at 3:30 PM, General Admission gates open at 4:00 PM and the first Green flag flies at 6:00 PM.
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: http://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 29 years of the most anticipated events of the racing calendar year after year. In 131 events, over $4.5 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.
About Grandview Speedway
Grandview Speedway is a high-banked one-third mile clay oval, celebrating their 56th Anniversary season in 2018. 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.
GRANT FINALLY REACHES “THE TOPP” AT SMACKDOWN VII
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Justin Grant captured his first USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory of the year in Thursday night's 'Sprint Car Smackdown VII' at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway. (Travis Branch Photo)
GRANT FINALLY REACHES "THE TOPP" AT SMACKDOWN VII
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Kokomo, Indiana......September 28, 2018 - Fifty-nine races. 482 days. That's how long it had been since Justin Grant last reached USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory lane coming into Thursday night's "Sprint Car Smackdown VII" finale at Kokomo Speedway.
Likewise, it had been 43 races and 398 days since TOPP Motorsports last found victory lane themselves, incidentally enough at the "Smackdown" finale in 2017 with driver Tyler Courtney.
Fittingly, the conclusion of this 40-lap main event came down to Grant and Courtney, but it was Grant who ultimately pulled through to become the first driver in 2018 to win in all three USAC National divisions: Silver Crown, National Sprint and National Midget.
After a tumultuous year that's been plagued by misfortune and a seemingly endless cloud of bad luck, twas time for the turnstiles of fortune to change. Over their last handful of outings, Grant and the TOPP team discovered a little bit of lightning in a bottle, but still, that black cloud remained steadfast, casting a shadow of doubt.
The sun finally broke through those clouds for a change, and shined brightly on the Ione, Calif. native driver and the Rochester, Indiana-based team as they persevered for their first USAC win since pairing up at the beginning of the season.
"These last couple weeks, this TOPP Motorsports car has really been ripping and it's been a lot of fun to drive," Grant explained. "This race has always eluded me. I'm so excited to be up here and so happy to do it for these guys. They've got an awesome racecar. It's about time I lived up to their results from last year. It's been a rough year, but I told a few people this week that if I didn't win a race all year, but I got to win Smackdown, it would all be worth it."
Grant made his initial overture as a prime contender when he was victorious in the "King of the Hill" two-car shootout, which placed him on the pole for the feature. Grant appeared to have a nice jump on the start, yet Dave Darland was able to beat him to the point in turn one. Grant powered back, returning the favor by gracing the low line into turn three, then sliced up in front of Darland to retake the lead. From that point forward, Grant was nearly unattainable, laying down a one-second lead on Darland and the rest of the field in the early stages.
Just past midway, Grant was carving up lapped traffic like a Thanksgiving Day turkey as he dipped low and swung high to split his way through the blockade of racecars. A near close call came just moments later as he slid into turn two near Clinton Boyles. Grant's rear bumper and Boyles' front bumper sliced each other, but neither was worse for the wear and remained on course without harm.
Meanwhile, current third-place runner and defending race winner Courtney played the role of Pacman, chomping the interval down until he was in the same vicinity as Darland on lap 22 where he dove to the bottom, three-wide alongside Darland and Boyles, emerging at the exit of turn two with the second position and seeking the lead as Grant no longer was able to hide.
Once Courtney got to second, he was like Heinz - in catchup mode - as he cut tenths off here and there like a butter knife through a stick of Land O'Lakes. But, suddenly, Courtney's charge was placed on hold. Fifth-running Chris Windom had encountered a flat right-rear tire on his ride, which sent him to the work area for a fresh set of rubber during the night's lone yellow flag.
'It's been a rough year, but I told a few people this week that if I didn't win a race all year, but I got to win Smackdown, it would all be worth it.' - Justin Grant (Travis Branch Photo)
For the lap 30 restart, lapped traffic was clear, and an open track became a warm, welcomed sight. However, Grant and Courtney were separated by the lapped car of Scotty Weir. Grant set sail smoothly, cutting through the middle of the track, then running a consistent line of the top in turns one and two and the bottom in turns three or four while Courtney proceeded to swap lines to take on the challenge of reeling in Grant.
Courtney was only able to make up so much down the stretch as Grant was spot-on lap-after-lap, never missing a beat on his way to a 1.036 second win and a $10,000 payday. Courtney took second ahead of Hard Charger C.J. Leary, Rookie of the Race Jason McDougal and Brady Bacon.
"That's the best I've ever felt at this place," Grant admitted. "The car was on rails. I could use the cushion if I wanted to and I could rip right below it if I felt like it. It was really incredible. It was fun to drive. Lapped traffic had me pretty worried, but I felt like we were pretty good, and I could pick my way through. Restarts had me more worried than anything. Tyler's been a roll this year and a lot of times that momentum will let you do things you normally couldn't do. I was a little worried about holding him off on restarts, but it all worked out."
Contingency award winners Thursday night at Kokomo Speedway were Logan Seavey (Simpson Race Products/Competition Suspension, Inc. First Qualifying Race Winner & Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher), Justin Grant (Capitol Custom Trailers & Coaches King of the Hill Winner), C.J. Leary (KSE Racing Products/Elliott's Custom Trailers & Carts Hard Charge & B & W Auto Mart Pass Master & Chalk Stix/Indy Race Parts Second Qualifying Race), Chris Windom (Weld Cool Move of the Race), Chad Boespflug (STIDA.com Hard Luck Award) and Jason McDougal (Wilwood Brake Kit & Arizona Sport Shirts/Kick-It Rookie of the Race).
Tyler Courtney retook the USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car point lead with 10 events remaining. The Indianapolis, Ind. driver now holds a seven-point advantage over Kevin Thomas, Jr., who finished 10th. Windom is third in the standings, making up a little bit of ground, trailing by 58 points behind Courtney.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 28, 2018 - Kokomo, Indiana - Kokomo Speedway - "Sprint Car Smackdown VII"
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS/COMPETITION SUSPENSION, INC. FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey (#5B Briscoe), 2. Kyle Cummins (#3c EZR/Cummins), 3. Scotty Weir (#22 Simon), 4. Dakota Jackson (#3 Jackson), 5. Carson Short (#5CB Briscoe), 6. Landon Simon (#24 LSR), 7. Brian VanMeveren (#24x VanMeveren). NT
CHALK STIX/INDY RACE PARTS SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary (#30 Leary), 2. Chase Stockon (#32 32 TBI), 3. Jarett Andretti (#18 Andretti), 4. Clinton Boyles (#57 Hazen), 5. Isaac Chapple (#52 LNR/Chapple), 6. Tyler Hewitt (#97x One More Time), 7. Shane Cottle (#5G Goacher), 8. Corey Smith (#66s CS). 2:11.57
CAPITOL CUSTOM TRAILERS & COACHES "KING OF THE HILL" 2-CAR SHOOTOUTS: (3 laps each) Round 1: Jason McDougal (#71p Daigh/Phillips) defeats Tyler Courtney (#7BC Clauson Marshall Newman). Dave Darland (#36D Goodnight/Curb-Agajanian) defeats Brady Bacon (#99 Bacon). Tyler Thomas (#2E Epperson) defeats Kevin Thomas, Jr. (#69 Dynamics). Justin Grant (#4 TOPP) defeats Chris Windom (#5 Baldwin). Round 2: Darland defeats McDougal. Grant defeats T. Thomas. Final Round: Grant defeats Darland.
FEATURE: (40 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (1), 2. Tyler Courtney (5), 3. C.J. Leary (10), 4. Jason McDougal (4), 5. Brady Bacon (6), 6. Chris Windom (8), 7. Dave Darland (2), 8. Tyler Thomas (3), 9. Chase Stockon (12), 10. Kevin Thomas, Jr. (7), 11. Jarett Andretti (14), 12. Dakota Jackson (15), 13. Logan Seavey (9), 14. Kyle Cummins (11), 15. Scotty Weir (13), 16. Carson Short (17), 17. Isaac Chapple (18), 18. Clinton Boyles (16), 19. Tyler Hewitt (20), 20. Corey Smith (23), 21. Brian VanMeveren (21), 22. Shane Cottle (22), 23. Landon Simon (19). NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-40 Grant.
KSE RACING PRODUCTS/ELLIOTT'S CUSTOM TRAILERS & CARTS HARD CHARGER: C.J. Leary (10th to 3rd)
WILWOOD BRAKES 13TH PLACE FINISHER: Logan Seavey
B & W AUTO MART PASS MASTER: C.J. Leary
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1-Courtney-2256, 2-K. Thomas-2249, 3-Windom-2198, 4-Bacon-1959, 5-Darland-1941, 6-Leary-1929, 7-Stockon-1916, 8-Grant-1816, 9-Robert Ballou-1771, 10-Chapple-1261.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: September 28 - Gas City I-69 Speedway - Gas City, Indiana - "James Dean Classic"
