|
By Mike Leone
August 11, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mercer, PA.Mercer Raceway Park completed the 11th straight program on Saturday night as the following drivers celebrated in the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic victory lane: Rod George-Luxaire Heating & Cooling Wingless Sprint Cars, Eric Gabany-American Racer/Lias Tire Modifieds, Chris Haines-Tire Express-Stocks Cars, Rod Jones-Big Daddy's Speed Center Mod Lites, Bill Fuchs-M&D Paving Mini Stocks, and Don Tarr-Vintage American Race Cars. It was $10 Family Night presented by Armstrong plus the third and final kids bike races took place during intermission presented by Ray's Racing Collectables. The six-division program with bike races was run off in three and half hours.
Rod George entered the night with 112 career wins in his storied Sprint Car career, but never victorious without the wings. That all ended Saturday night as George dominated the non-stop 20-lap Luxaire Heating & Cooling feature for the $1,500 payday. The win was George's eighth of the season at Mercer and milestone northeast-leading 20th overall on the season.
"That was a ball," exclaimed the Kittanning, Pa. racer. "I'm definitely not known to be a good in the non-wing stuff. It helped starting up front, but that was an awesome run. We've been okay in these races, but no confidence at all. Tonight starting up front makes you gas it a little harder. Some of these guys are good without the wing. The track was perfect tonight."
With a pill draw format used, George took advantage of an unusual front row starting position by darting ahead of Joe Butera on the start, while Tom Quarterson used the outside to race pass Charlie Holben and Butera for second. On lap two Holben, western Ohio invader Mike Miller, and May 19 wingless winner Arnie Kent passed Butera for third, fourth, and fifth. Holben pressured Quarterson and got under the veteran second-generation racer on the inside of turns one and two on lap four to make the pass for second.
On lap five, Miller drove hard into turn four trying to get under Quarterson, but the two made contact allowing Kent to fly past both for third, while Miller's momentum carried him past Quarterson. The trio put on a great battle for third for the majority of the event. On lap eight, Kent slipped high off turn four allowing Miller back by for third. Meanwhile, up front George pulled away each lap and began working lapped traffic on lap 11. George was able to clear the back-markers and entered more traffic on lap 14. George struggled to lap Davey Jones allowing Holben to close slightly, but once George made the move he again opened up a comfortable lead.
The laps ticked off caution-free as George recorded his 15th career Mercer win in the Dr. John Crawford III/Notary Express/Ankle & Foot Care-sponsored #4. Holben followed an excellent third place finish at Lernerville Speedway on Friday night, by finishing runner-up for his best Mercer effort since a second on May 24, 2003. Kent and Miller battled nearly the entire event running side-by-side. On the final lap in turn four, Kent got a great run off the top and shot to the inside of Miller. Kent carried his momentum to edge Miller in a photo finish for third. Miller was fourth in his first ever appearance driving the George Kissel #320. Quarterson dropped to fifth in his first race in the Jeff Rudzik #49. Completing the top 10 were Gale Ruth, Jr., Mike Dehner, Danny Holtgraver, Brent Matus, and Butera. Heat winners were Ruth and George. Ohio wingless ace Cody White had a strong run going in his heat, but the steering broke sending his sharp-looking #26 into the turn four wall ending his night.
Eric Gabany came into Saturday night with just 9 feature starts in 13 appearances since his debut on August 18 of last season. Two weeks ago, Gabany recorded his first career top five with a fourth place effort. On Saturday night, the former dirt bike racer put together a near flawless performance leading from green-to-checkered in the non-stop 20-lap American Racer/Lias Tire Modified feature.
"I knew I couldn't mess up and I tried to keep it going," explained the Mercer, Pa. driver. "There were quite a few lapped cars and I was catching them fast, but I didn't do too bad- just a couple mistakes. John Jones has really helped me out with the car and the Gabanys built the motor."
Gabany started from third and was able to pass Matt Reeher and central Pa. driver Mark Frankhouser on the opening lap. Frank Guidace, who started fourth, passed Reeher for third on the initial lap then worked past Frankhouser for second on lap three. Point leader Garrett Krummert and Frankhouser put on a good battle for third racing side-by-side from laps four through seven with Krummert finally getting by with an inside move in turns three and four on lap seven.
Gabany had to deal with lapped traffic starting on lap nine, while back through the field Gary Smoker was charging to the front. Smoker started 11th and entered contention on lap 10 when he passed Jimmy Holden for fourth. Gabany continued to impress everyone running a smooth, fast line disposing of lapped cars without too much problem. Guidace began to close on the leader in traffic on lap 15 and 16, but Gabany wasn't to be denied as the rookie racer collected his first career win in his Atlantic Timberframes/Suhrie Industrial Supply/Mustang Bar/E&E Welding-sponsored #3E. Gabany became the division's eighth different winner of the season in a race that went non-stop in 5:55.66. Defending champion Guidace came home second still in search of his first win of the season, while third place Krummert extended his point lead and still has never won a race in his career. Smoker was fourth over Rodney Beltz. Completing the top 10 were Jimmy Holden, Reeher, Frankhouser, Kevin Green, and Jr. Baker. Heat winners were Krummert and Beltz.
Like Gabany, Chris Haines is another racer that entered racing late last season. Haines has been competing nearly weekly at Mercer and Tri-City Speedway and has been improving steadily especially of late with four top five finishes in his last five starts at Mercer. On Saturday night, Haines improved on a career best fourth place effort by winning the 15-lap Tire Express Stock Car feature for a career first win.
"I've been hoping this day was going to come this year, but I wasn't sure because I was running out of time," stated the Sandy Lake, Pa. resident. "I couldn't be happier. I have a lot of winners on my side helping me out each week. That's what's made the difference, Car has been running and handing good and we finally had a good night."
Stock Car rookie Russ Byler overtook Bill Vance, Jr. on the opening lap for the early lead, while Rick Norco took second from Vance. Haines started fifth and took over third from Vance on lap two. Haines worked on Norco and finally made the pass for second on the inside of turn three on lap six. With the laps ticking off caution-free, Haines ran down Byler and made the winning move going under the leader in turn one on lap nine. The two ran side-by-side on laps 9 and 10 with Haines having the advantage just before the first and only caution for Vance, who spun with 10 laps completed.
When racing resumed, Haines took off and led the final five non-stop laps in his Lakeview Fertilizer/Jerry Lucas Auto-sponsored #35H. The action was hot and heavy back through the pack. It was a three-car race for second with sixth starting Shaun Hooks and 12th starting Brian Booher getting past Byler for second and third on lap 14. Hooks was able to edge Booher for his fourth runner-up finish of the season. Booher's three-race win streak ended with a third. Byler dropped to fourth for his third top five of the season. Andy Buckley was fifth. Booher and Buckley won the heats.
After struggling for more than a month with five new winners, Rod Jones of West Middlesex, Pa. returned to victory lane for his division-leading seventh win of the season in the 15-lap Big Daddy's Speed Center Mod Lite feature backing up Friday night's special win at Raceway 7.
Jarred Barclay raced out to the early lead, while rookies Tom Klein passed rookies Alan Knepper and Matt Snow for second. It was three-wide for second on lap five with Jones advancing from fourth to second. Following a restart with five laps completed, Jones made the winning move on Barclay, while seventh starting Kenny Meadows also was able to get past Barclay for second. Jones pulled away for his ninth career win at the track in the Dave Jones-owned, Jones Performance-sponsored #820. Meadows raced home second. Mark Marcucci, who started 12th, put a slider on Klein on lap 13 to finish third. Klein dropped to a career best fourth. Angie Grzelak followed her fifth at Raceway 7 with another fifth. Heat victors were Jones and Todd Canter.
Bill Fuchs won his third 12-lap M&D Paving Mini Stock feature in the night's third non-stop event. The Greenville, Pa. driver inherited the lead on lap four when leader Dillon Barr slowed. Fuchs then dominated the 4:39.74 timed event and was never challenged in his #10. Mike Mathieson and 10th starting Mike Anderson (Jr.) swapped second back and forth with Mathieson getting the spot for good on lap nine. Anderson took over the point lead with his third place finish and Lucas Sprouse not in action. Dan Nagy was fourth over Pete Wearing. Heat winners were Mathieson and Barr.
Don Tarr of Transfer, Pa. won the annual 15-lap exhibition feature for the Vintage American Race Cars in a race that had six lead changes. Tarr started seventh in his 1937 355 Chevy-powered #28 coupe and made the winning move on lap 13 from Mike Mason, who ended up finishing second. Third through fifth were John Lawhorn, Ed Lewber, and Chuck Dillon. The heat was won by Lawhorn.
Luxaire Heating & Cooling Wingless (410) Sprint Cars: 1. ROD GEORGE ($1,500) 2. Charlie Holben 3. Arnie Kent 4. Mike Miller 5. Tom Quarterson 6. Gale Ruth, Jr. 7. Mike Dehner 8. Danny Holtgraver 9. Brent Matus 10. Joe Butera 11. Davey Jones 12. Richard Reinhart 13. Cody White-DNS.
American Racer/Lias Tire (358) Modifieds: 1. ERIC GABANY 2. Frank Guidace 3. Garrett Krummert 4. Gary Smoker 5. Rodney Beltz 6. Jimmy Holden 7. Matt Reeher 8. Mark Frankhouser 9. Kevin Green 10. Jr. Baker 11. Ryan Haney 12. Greg Davis 13. Rick Kress 14. Dillon McElrath 15. Rick Hall-DNS 16. Lonny Riggs-DNS.
Tire Express Stock Cars: 1. CHRIS HAINES 2. Shaun Hooks 3. Brian Booher 4. Russ Byler 5. Andy Buckley 6. Rick Norco 7. Rod Laskey 8. Tim Deutsch 9. Randy Wyant 10. Terry Wheeler 11. Bill Vance, Jr. 12. Mike Dobrick 13. Jim Flaherty 14. Matt Wagner.
Big Daddy's Speed Center Mod Lites: 1. ROD JONES 2. Kenny Meadows 3. Mark Marcucci 4. Tom Klein 5. Angie Grzelak 6. Jarred Barclay 7. Todd Canter 8. Bill Stivason 9. Lynn Knepper 10. Kotie Kirkbride 11. Alan Knepper 12. Wilbur Juillerat 13. Matt Snow 14. Levi Spinneweber 15. J.J. Metheney 16. George Englert-DNS.
M&D Paving Mini Stocks: 1. BILL FUCHS 2. Mike Mathieson 3. Mike Anderson (Jr.) 4. Dan Nagy 5. Pete Wearing 6. Josh Verrill 7. Ed Haylett 8. Skinny Hall 9. Rudolph Troples 10. John Shannon 11. Leland Haylett 12. Sam Kloos 13. Dillon Barr 14. Braden Bice.
Vintage American Race Cars: 1. DON TARR 2. Mike Mason 3. John Lawhorn 4. Ed Lewber 5. Chuck Dillon 6. Norm Foose 7. Mike Swaim.
Upcoming Events:
8/18 Sprints, Mods, Stocks, Mod Lites, & Mini Stocks. All students $1 plus hot dogs, fries, popcorn, and sods $1 for everyone presented by Coca-Cola. Free general admission for all Beaver County residents.
8/25 Bill Emig Memorial presented by M&M Insurance featuring Modifieds for $2,000 to-win plus Sprints ($1,500), Stocks ($500), Mod Lites ($300), & Mini Stocks ($60). National Riffle Association Night- $5 for card-carrying members and $5 for their significant other.
9/1 No Racing
Gates open at 4:30 with hot laps at 6:15 and racing at 7 p.m.
Mercer Raceway Park is located minutes from both Interstate 79 and 80 just off Route 19 on Fairground Road in Mercer, Pa. Dirt track racing and quality family entertainment are presented weekly late March through early October. The office in New Bedford, Pa. is open year-round late mornings and after 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information call the office at 724-964-9300 or the track on race day at 724-662-1310. Check out our website at www.mercerracewaypark.com for the latest.
|
|
