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By Eric J. Westendorf
Sarver, PA (May 11, 2007) When the Friedman’s Supermarkets Late Model Feature begins; your eyes can’t help but scan the field to see where Alex Ferree’s Butler Pre-Owned/ADC #4 Rocket Chassis is starting. But so far in 2007 you don’t have to look too far to see where he finished. Five races into the season, Ferree, of Saxonburg, has four wins and a second place finish. Every week since opening night he has started from the sixth row. Per track rules, he has started 12th after each win, and started 11th after the only feature he did not win. Despite the middle of the pack starting positions, Alex has put on a weekly clinic on how to move forward in a hurry. He wasted no time getting to the front, jumping to seventh by lap two. A lap four red flag temporarily delayed Ferree’s forward march as Dane Laraway (#1L) of Irwin did what can only be described as a “racecar handstand” between turns one and two as the car became near perfectly vertical on it’s rear end before slamming back on the hood and roof of the car. Laraway was a bit sore and disappointed but left the track under his own power. Four laps later Ferree was up to fifth. Then, one by one, he put the top five in his dust on his way back to Victory Lane for the second week in a row and fourth time this season. Dave Hess Jr. (#44) of Waterford led laps 10-17, but could not hold off the furious charge of Ferree who blew by Hess on the topside of turn two on lap 18. Sarver native Ken Schaltenbrand (#29) brought out a caution on the white flag lap and then again on the first lap of the restart. Hess could not take advantage of the two green-white-checker situations and had to settle for second. Nick Jones (#15) of Pittsburgh recovered from early miscue to finish third. Matt Lux (#21) of Franklin started ninth and steadily moved forward to come home fourth. Gary Lyle (#10) of Hyde Park held off defending Track Champion Lynn Geisler (#1C), Jared Miley (#H1), and Mike Blose (#5) for a hard fought fifth place finish. Heat races were won by Keith Barbara (#17) of Pittsburgh, (who suffered a flat left rear tire on lap eight while running in the top five), Alex Ferree and Nick Jones
Rumbling onto the Action Track second tonight were the Ferrante Motor Cars Modifieds. For the second time this season Brian Swartzlander (#83) of Leechburg held off his racing rivals and piloted his Budweiser/MEI sponsored Big Block Modified to Victory Lane. But the road to the front wasn’t a clear path for Smilin’ Brian. Points leader Kevin Bolland (#777) from New Brighton, Del Rougeux (#20D) from Frenchville, Dave Murdick (#61) from Slippery Rock, and Jim Weller Jr. (#31) from Hubbard, OH all started in front of him. Starting seventh, Swartzlander quickly made his way to the front, taking the lead from Weller on lap seven. Weller would retake the lead on lap nine, only to lose it for good on lap ten. Both Weller and Bolland made Swartzlander earn the win, never allowing him a lead of more than three to four car lengths. The win is Swartzlander’s second on the season and 50th of his illustrious career at Lernerville Speedway. Bolland and Weller swapped second place more than once, with Bolland prevailing to finish second. Del Rougeux who led the first two laps of the race, but faded during the middle laps, regrouped and passed Weller for third on lap 24. Weller actually finished fourth after running most of the race in second place. Tom Winkle (#28) from Mars patiently made his way from a ninth place start to round out the top five. Mike Turner (#96) from Butler and Weller won their respective heat races.
Another Lernerville Icon who often has to start from the middle of the pack and carve his way through the competition, not to mention lapped cars, is All-Time Commercial Truck & Trailers Sprint Car Feature Winner Ed Lynch Jr. (#2L) of Apollo. By virtue of last week’s feature win, “The Apollo Rocket” started 12th on a track that was becoming increasingly more difficult to pass on. By lap 11 Lynch had only advanced to eighth, but all of the sudden the car seemed to hookup with the track. By lap 17 he was all over the back of leader Scott Bonnell (#3B) of Fairview. Bonnell started on the outside of the front row and led the first 22 laps of the feature. Lynch made a bold move between Bonnell and a lapped car entering turn three, slid up the track in front of Bonnell in turn four, and nearly knocked down the wall below the flagstand. A caution wiped out the lead change, but not for long. On lap 23 Lynch blew past Bonnell to take the lead and cruised on to Victory Lane for his third win of the season and 86th All-Time, (85 in a sprint car). Bonnell held on to finish a rock solid second place. Three cars did battle for the third spot for most of the race. Reigning Track Champion Kevin Schaeffer (#9) from Kittanning finished in the third position but not without a fierce battle from both Rod George (#4) also from Kittanning and Dan Shetler (#98) from Johnstown. Lynch was joined by Gary Rankin (#16) from Renfrew and Ralph Spithaler Jr. (#56) from Evans City in winning heat races.
The Main Event tonight featured the Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks. Much like Ferree, Swartzlander, and Lynch, Six-Time Pure Stock Track Champion Joe Kelley is no stranger to Lernerville’s Victory Lane. Tonight’s win was his second of the season and 24th All-Time. Kelley (#66) of Greensburg is now just three wins behind Bruce Milbert and five wins away from tying Scott Bochek for the all time Pure Stock lead. Although he started fifth, (the highest starting position of any feature winner tonight), the four cars who started ahead of him were all capable of winning. Back-to-Back Reigning Champion Butch Lambert (#27), 2007 Feature Winner Paul Schreckengost (#3S), Jason Fosnaught (#J19) and Terry Young (#28Y) are all worthy competitors and any of them can win on any given night. Kelley wasted little time charging to the front, taking second on lap two and passing Lambert for the lead on lap four. Lambert of Mars followed Kelley the whole way home, but never seriously challenged for the lead. Mike Pegher Jr. (#09) of Wexford worked his way from the seventh starting position to continue his strong start to the 2007 season and finish third. Jason Fosnaught ran a solid race, running third most of the race before giving way to the hard charging Pegher, thus settling for fourth. Greg Beach (#33X) of Chicora methodically made his way from the tenth starting spot to finish in fifth place. Kelley, Pegher, and Bob Lipinski (#55L) of Pittsburgh claimed heat race wins.
Up next is the first invasion of the reformed World of Outlaws Sprint Cars. The drivers who split off and raced the NST series last year, the likes of 20-Time Outlaw Champion Steve Kinser and “The Dude” Danny Lasoski, are back on the Outlaw trail in 2007. In all 27 cars are traveling with the Outlaws leading into this weekend. 2006 Champion Donny Schatz and Kasey Kahne’s driver Joey Saldana are in a furious battle for the points lead. Heading into tonight’s action, Schatz had a 9-point lead with four wins and 12 top-fives. Saldana has 5 wins and 11 top-fives. And don’t count out Ed Lynch Jr. He’s been tuning and testing these past 2 weeks on his way to Victory Lane and would love nothing more than to back up his 2002 Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup XI win with another upset of the best Sprint Car drivers in the world! Factor in 10-15 locals, a few PA Posse drivers from Central PA, a handful of All-Stars looking to shake down for the fast-approaching June 5 All Star Circuit of Champions race, and Tuesday could be one of the best Sprint Car fields and some of the best racing action in years!
You still have time to call and reserve your Firecracker 100 tickets and camping before they sell out. 41 cars are registered so far, with more drivers joining the list daily. More than 100 cars are expected and seats are selling fast. Don’t be left standing in the aisles, call (724) 353-1511 and purchase yours today!
Race Results 5/11/07
Commercial Truck & Trailer Sprints Feature (25 Laps)
1. (2L) Ed Lynch Jr., Apollo
2. (3B) Scott Bonnell, Fairview
3. (9) Kevin Schaeffer, Kittanning
4. (4) Rod George, Kittanning
5. (98) Dan Shetler, Johnstown
6. (11) Scott Priester, Rimersburg
7. (56) Ralph Spithaler Jr., Evans City
8. (10) Carl Bowser, Sarver
9. (42G) Charlie Holben, Cabot
10. (16) Gary Rankin, Renfrew
11. (33) Brent Matus, Wampum
12. (08) Dan Kuriger, Freedom
13. (76) Davey Jones, Warrendale
14. (D4) Danny Holtgraver, Pittsburgh
15. (59) Terry Bowser, Sarver
16. (6) Shelia Rankin, Renfrew
17. (15) Arnie Kent, Wampum
18. (4K) Bill Kiley, Cabot
19. (23) Jack Sodeman Jr., Butler
20. (25) Mike Shearer, Freeport
21. (7) Rick Reinhart, Freedom
22. (3) Joe Butera, Wampum
23. (96) Lindsey Enscore, North Washington
Heat Race Winners: Gary Rankin, Ralph Spithaler Jr., Ed Lynch Jr.
Friedman’s Supermarkets Late Models Feature (25 Laps)
(4) Alex Ferree, Saxonburg
(44) Dave Hess Jr., Waterford
(15) Nick Jones, Pittsburgh
(21) Matt Lux, Franklin
(10) Gary Lyle, Hyde Park
(1C) Lynn Geisler, Cranberry Twp.
(H1) Jared Miley, South Park
(5) Mike Blose, Dayton
(4J) John Mollick, Toronto, OH
(97) Ben Satterlee, Rochester Mills
(2S) Sam Stile, Charleroi
(29) Ken Schaltenbrand, Sarver
(88) Chuck Sarver, West Sunbury
(3) Dan Swartzlander, Freeport
(66) Todd Bachman, Natrona Heights
(4J) John Garvin Jr., Sarver
(40) Dutch Davies, Warren
(7X) Herman Bertolini, Creighton
(17) Keith Barbara, Pittsburgh
(S1) Rick Strong, Chamberville
(17T) Tom Kitchen, Saltsburg
(5E) Mike Clise, Frostburg, MD
(1L) Dane Laraway, Irwin
(67) Jim Kurpakus, Leechburg
Heat Race Winners: Keith Barbara, Alex Ferree, Nick Jones
B-Main: Ken Schaltenbrand
Ferrante Motor Cars Modifieds Feature (25 Laps)
(83) Brian Swartzlander, Leechburg
(777) Kevin Bolland, New Brighton
(20D) Del Rougeux Jr., Frenchville
(31) Jim Weller Jr., Hubbard, OH
(28) Tom Winkle, Mars
(61) Dave Murdick, Slippery Rock
(38) Phil Evans, Greensburg
(96) Mike Turner, Butler
(66) JR McGinley, Fairmount City
(6) Carl Murdick, Butler
(17M) Skip Moore, Jackson Center
( 3K) Shawn Kozar, harmony
(45) Steve Feder, Butler
(34) John Durci, Sarver
(2) Mark Flick, Apollo, DNS
Heat Race Winners: Mike Turner, Jim Weller Jr
Advance Auto Parts Pure Stocks Feature (15 Laps)
1. (66) Joe Kelly, Mt. Pleasant
2. (27) Butch Lambert, Mars
3. (09) Mike Pegher, Wexford
4. (J19) Jason Fosnaught, Creighton
5. (33X) Greg Beach, Chicora
6. (28Y) Terry Young, Butler
7. (54) Wayne Carbo, Saxonburg
8. (3S) Paul Schreckengost, Butler
9. (30) Bob Egley, Kittanning
10. (380) Pat Hanley, Plum
11. (4) Jake Ayers, Elkton, MD
12. (12) Shawn Thorn, Murrysville
13. (55L) Bob Lipinski, Pittsburgh
14. (17) Chuck Gebauer, Cheswick
15. (20J) Jim Fosnaught, Bairdford
16. (17R) Stan Riggle, Ford City
17. (7) Eric Piotrowski, Cranberry Twp.
18. (74) Paul Petrovich, Gibsonia
19. (25) Brett McDonald, Saxonburg
20. (1) Randy Hanovick, Mars
21. (84R) Todd Puz, Cheswick
22. (9R) John Garvin Sr., Sarver
23. (5) Don McClure, Sarver, DNS
24. (38R) Nick Reges, Butler
Heat Race Winners: Joe Kelley, Mike Pegher J., Bob Lipinski
Car Counts:
Total 81
Sprints 23
Late Models 29
Modifieds 15
Pure Stocks 24
Coming Events
May 15 World of Outlaws Sprints “First Commonwealth Bank Clash”
May 18 Fab Four Racing Armed Forces Appreciation Night
May 25 Fab Four Racing (Pittsburgh Circle Track Club Night)
June 29/30 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Firecracker 100, Uncle Sam 30
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