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Despite some inclement weather, tons of fans turned out for Inaugural Pittsburgh Mills Race Car Show. On display from Thursday-Saturday March 6-8, some of the area’s finest race cars drew hundreds of fans to the beautiful and sprawling Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. The inclement weather also resulted in a dozen cars having to cancel at the last minute, but the cars that were on hand were certainly car show worthy. The five cars, (The 66 Late Model of Todd Bachman, the D4 Sprinter of Danny Holtgraver, the #1C of Lynn Geisler, the 83 Modified of Brian Swartzlander and the 380 Street Stock of Pat Hanley), representing the Fab Four divisions just outside of Macy’s were just the tip of the iceberg, as 28 cars were on display during the show.
As a way to honor the works of art that were on display, the local media, track officials and most importantly the fans voted on the best looking cars from each of the Fab Four divisions. The local media and track officials voted on the “Best in Show” regardless of division. By a narrow margin, five-time Lernerville Speedway Late Model Track Champion Lynn Geisler won the award over Danny Holtgraver and Gary Lyle. The car on display was actually Lynn’s PPMS car, but a Late Model is a Late Model, and Lynn’s famed #1Cochran Rocket looked faster than ever, and it never moved all weekend!!
Voting was every bit as competitive in the Fan Favorite Award, contested online at Lernerville.com. Fans were encouraged to vote for their favorite car/driver from each division. Last Year’s “Best in Show” Award winner from the Clearview Mall Car Show Danny Holtgraver (Commercial Truck & Trailer Sprint Car) and five-time Lernerville Speedway Track Champion Brian Swartzlander (Ferrante Motor Cars DIRTcar Modified) won easily, as they were uncontested in their respective divisions. Gary Lyle, (who almost won the Best in Show Award), beat out Todd Bachman for Fan Favorite in the Friedman’s Freshmarkets UMP Super Late Models.
The biggest surprise of the weekend was Bryan Wagner’s upset win as the Fan Favorite in the Advance Auto Parts UMP Street Stock division. With no disrespect intended toward Wagner or his sparkling #56, there was a plethora of Street Stocks on display, and each was sharper than the other. Bryan won by a wide margin, leaving Pat Hanley and Bob Egley in his wake, tied for second. Honorable mention goes to Wayne Carbo, Chuck Gebauer, and Bryan Shaffer. Bryan Wagner’s #56 is pictured below, courtesy of Stivason Photos. To view more, log on to StivasonPhoto.com.
Next week, some of these same cars and a host of cars that have yet to be seen by the public, will be on display at the Clearview Mall in Butler, PA. The show will begin Thursday March 13 and wrap up Saturday March 15. Both the Best in Show and Fan Favorite Awards will be given out again for this new car show.
Weather permitting, on track action will begin in less than two weeks with the Test & Tune Session on Saturday March 22. Real, live racing action is scheduled to ensue the following Friday Night March 28. Let’s hope Mother Nature is as much of a race fan as all of those who turned out for this weekend’s Pittsburgh Mills Race Car Show!! |
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