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RUSSELL KING A SUPER SUB FOR 1ST EVER MERCER WIN IN BRP MOD TOUR; BLAIR & BOOHER SHAIRE LATE MODEL GLORY; #6 FOR JONES IN MOD LITES; COLWELL WINS 1ST EVER IN MINIS
By Mike Leone
August 16, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mercer, PA.For the first time this season, Mercer Raceway Park was blessed with sunny skies and no chance of rain on Saturday for "The Return". Celebrating in the Hoosier Tire victory lane were Russell King-BRP Big-Block Modified Tour, Brian Booher-McElwain Motors FASTRAK Late Model July 12 make-up, Max Blair-McElwain Motors FASTRAK Late Models, Rod Jones-Big Daddy's Speed Center Mod Lites, and Kyle Colwell-M&D Paving Mini Stocks. One hundred five cars were on hand for the four-division show that also included a huge fireworks spectacular presented by Walt's of Mercer Plaza.
It's been fours years now since anyone other than a King has won a Big-Block Modified race at Mercer Raceway Park. Saturday night, the defending BRP Tour champion, Russell King, filled in for his father Rex and scored the 30-lap feature win keeping the family's streak alive with his first career Mercer win. The elder King had won the last three BRP Tour events held at Mercer. The last driver other than a King to win at Mercer was Brian Swartzlander on September 11, 2004- the same year a King didn't win the BRP Tour title.
"It was a lot of fun racing here tonight," expressed the Bristolville, Ohio turned Super Late Model racer following the $1,300 win. "We had the King Bros. Bicknell really hooked up tonight. It was really fun to come back here and race and keep the Kings winning here. We had a good baseline setup, but we win races from the garage, not always the race track. We had a good car and it was an awesome night. I hope Vicki (Emig) gives us a chance to come back here- it's a lot of fun. My dad really wanted to race- he loves this place. He won a lot of races and championships here. It was hard for him to sit this one out, but he's doing well. Dave (Murdick) showed me the top and on that restart I got myself up there and just kind of rode and drove to victory."
Dave Murdick rode the outside past King into the lead at the start of the event. Mercer's defending 358 small-block champion, Garrett Krummert, started sixth and worked his way to fourth past Eric Gabany on lap two. Murdick maintained his lead and was just ready to enter lapped traffic when his father, Carl, spun to bring out the caution with seven laps completed. On the ensuing restart, King blasted to the lead with Krummert moving past Tim Doran for third. King began to stretch out his lead by lap 10 before J.R. McGinley spun to bring out the caution with 12 laps completed.
When racing resumed, Krummert got into Doran in turns one and two allowing ninth starting Gary Smoker to slide by into third. Doran then returned the favor collecting Krummert in turns three and four sending both cars spinning. Under caution, it was a heartbreaker for Gary Smoker, the Tri-City Speedway BRP Tour winner and runner-up in Mercer's 358 small-block points, as he exited the event with a flat tire. This moved eighth starting Tommy Kristyak to third.
Just past the midway point of the event, the battle heated up for second with Murdick trying to fend off Kristyak, Lonny Riggs, and Kevin Hoffman. With 10 laps to go, King stretched his advantage to a straightaway, while the battled continued for second through fifth. Riggs finally worked under Kristyak in turns three and four for third on lap 21. Up front though, King was too much as the last 16 laps spun off green-to-checkered. King's fourth career BRP Tour win came in the King Bros. #65.
Murdick turned in his best effort of 2008 in second holding off Riggs, who was the highest finishing 358 small-block and earned a $200 bonus from Approved Toilet Rentals. Hoffman passed Kristyak on lap 26 to finish fourth. Kristyak dropped to fifth, but did earn the $100 bonus for the highest finishing McCool's Signs & Graphics-lettered car. Tom Mattocks was a strong sixth. Gabany was seventh and earned a $125 bonus from Ron's Lawn Service and McGonigle Ambulance for being the second highest 358 small-block. Jeremiah Shingledecker, Rex King, Jr., and Rick Hall completed the top 10.
Other 358 small blocks receiving bonuses from Ron's Lawn Service & McGonigles were Randy Brown, Steve Barr, and Garrett Krummert. The Mercer 358 small blocks performed well winning the three heat races they were in with Frank Guidace, Smoker, and Gabany victorious. Kristyak won the other heat. Then Smoker earned $150 for winning the six-lap Pitt Stop Pub Dash for the top three Mercer points cars vs. the top three BRP Tour cars. The two B mains were won by Brian Swartzlander and Rex King, Jr. A field of 41 cars was on hand.
Brian Booher kicked off the night winning the 20-lap McElwain Motors FASTRAK Late Model make-up feature from July 12 for his second win with the most dominating effort seen this season. "I didn't have any idea," revealed the Sandy Lake, Pa. driver when asked about his big lead. "I knew I didn't want to slow. There are a lot of fast cars here and the way my luck has been going, I just kept trying to go every lap."
Booher started from the pole position and the only things to slow his run to the checkered flag were two cautions that occurred with two laps completed. By the halfway point, Booher opened up a straightaway lead. Booher fended off lapped traffic on lap 18 and when the checkered flag waved, Booher's margin of victory was nearly nine seconds as the last 18 laps went green-to-checkered. Booher's 34th career Mercer win came in the Terry Hoover-owned, Ed & Jerry's Auto Service/Harry & Tim's Roofing/Brad McEwen Garage Doors/Campbell Heating & Cooling-sponsored #00H.
Kyle Drum, who made his only start at Mercer back on June 4, 2005 in a 360 Sprint Car, was second. The New York racer fell back to fourth, but was able to pass Rusty Moore for third on lap five and drove under Steve Hollabaugh in turn four for second on lap nine. Moore, who started eighth, finished third after passing Hollabaugh on lap 18. Hollabaugh dropped to fourth over 13th starting Bobby Powell. Rounding out the top 10 were Frank Guidace, Max Blair, Dan Angelicchio, Chad Myers, and Tyler Dietz.
Max Blair regained the $10,000 to-win National Weekly Series point lead from his good friend Bobby Powell for the FASTRAK Late Models following his impressive 25-lap win in the $800 to-win McElwain Motors feature. "He (Bobby Powell) kind of pulled one on me," acknowledged the Centerville, Pa. 18-year-old when asked about Powell winning at Dog Hollow Speedway on Friday night. "He snuck off and went down there, but we got him back tonight. It's nice having dad (Super Late Model standout Robbie Blair) here- makes stuff a whole lot easier and much more fun. My car was real good. I couldn't mess up tonight; if I did, the car saved me."
Powell jumped into the lead from the pole position with Andy Buckley and Drum in tow. Blair, who started eighth, wasted little time moving to the front as he got past Drum on a lap three restart then drove to the inside of Buckley in turn four on lap four for second. Blair started to run down Powell as laps two through nine went non-stop until Mike Anderson, Jr. spun with nine laps completed.
When green replaced yellow, Blair made his move on the restart to lead lap 10. Following another restart with 13 laps completed, Moore, Tom Snyder, Jr., and Guidace all slipped past Powell for second through fourth. Snyder and Moore ran side-by-side for second on laps 22 and 23. Snyder though drove too hard into turn four getting into Moore and looped his mount. This moved Guidace to third for the restart. Back under green flag, Blair led the final two laps for his second Mercer win in the past three weeks in his Specialty Products/Loney Timber/Moody Welding/Eagle Hoist & Winch-sponsored #111.
"Anybody that has anything bad to say about this division really doesn't know what they're looking at," expressed Blair. "People say you can't pass in this class, but the top three cars all came from seventh and on back- that's passing."
Guidace drove under Moore in turn two on lap 24 to finish second and maintained his Mercer point lead. Moore had a great run in third after starting 20th. Powell dropped to fourth with 12th starting Butch Lambert fifth. Sixth through tenth were Chris Haines, Snyder, Drum, Carl McKinney, and Chad Myers. Topping the heat races over the 24-car field were Dan Angelicchio, Haines, and Blair.
One week after getting upside down, Rod Jones returned to victory lane to become the track's top winner of the season with his sixth victory in the 15-lap $300 to-win Big Daddy's Speed Center Mod Lite feature. "There was a lot of bite up top- seems like the Modifieds didn't hurt it too much," explained the West Middlesex, Pa. defending champion. "My car was actually too tight, but I made it work. We had to replace just about every bolt-on part after last week. The ball joint broke on the right front and when it dropped it dug in and I didn't have time to get off the gas."
Making her first start since the end of last year, Angie Grzelak led the first three circuits. On lap five, Grzelak got high in turn four allowing last week's winner, Bud Watson, to take over the top spot. Jones, who started 11th, made his way to third on lap five taking the spot from Terry Young. Shane Pfeuffer brought out the caution with five laps completed. On the restart, Jones darted by Grzelak and then Watson for the lead.
Only one caution would slow Jones from his 16th career Mod Lite win and 18th overall at the track in the Jones Performance #820. Watson was second and the 15-year-old maintained his point lead. Kenny Meadows passed Young on lap 13 to finish third. Young dropped to fourth for his best effort of the year. Levi Spinneweber was fifth. Jones and Alan Knepper won the heats over the 17-car field.
Making just his third start of the season, Kyle Colwell captured the 12-lap M&D Paving Mini Stock feature for his first Mercer win and became the eighth different winner of the season of the fast-growing division. "That wasn't as easy as it looked," stated the Knox, Pa. driver. "That track was good tonight. I like Mercer. We're going to have to start coming back more."
Colwell overtook rookie Tim Callahan and survived challenges from Stephen Laslo for the win in his Myers Water Wells/Colwell Service/S&W Autobody-sponsored #80JR. Laslo, who started sixth, passed Callahan for third on lap two and got past Dan McEwen on lap three for second. Laslo had two shots at Colwell on restarts with 10 laps completed, but just didn't have enough as he settled for his second straight runner-up. Curtis Brown was third ahead of McEwen, who took back the point lead. Ed Haylett was fifth. Heat winners over the 23-car field were Callahan, Laslo, and Colwell. Three new cars brought the count to 44 different competing cars this season after starting with just one car on opening night 2007!
BRP Big-Block Modified Tour (30 laps, $1,300): 1. RUSSELL KING (65) 2. Dave Murdick (61) 3. Lonny Riggs (Black 58) 4. Kevin Hoffman (17H) 5. Tommy Kristyak (26z) 6. Tom Mattocks (69) 7. Eric Gabany (3E) 8. Jeremiah Shingledecker (37MD) 9. Rex King, Jr. (165) 10. Rick Hall (B4) 11. Del Rougeux, Jr. (20D) 12. Randy Brown (67R) 13. Steve Barr (25B) 14. Garrett Krummert (29) 15. Chris Dye (23D) 16. J.R. McGinley (66) 17. Steve Feder (45) 18. Gary Smoker (516) 19. Kevin Green (74) 20. Frank Guidace (1G) 21. Tim Doran (12) 22. Mike Miller (72) 23. Carl Murdick (6) 24. Brian Swartzlander (83) 25. Skip Moore (17M) 26. Ron Eperthener, Jr. (333) DNQ: Mark Frankhouser (03), Les Myers (Hoffman x17), Mike Turner (96), Randy Chronister (71), Shawn Kozar (3K), Howard Duff (812), Brian Sadler (5), Rick Ryder (Snider 189), Mark Rossey (Brown 67J), Rodney Beltz (64), Kevin Bolland (777), Dean Pearson (8J), Brad Rapp (11R), John Buchanan (93), Joe Crawford (25).
McElwain Motors FASTRAK Late Models July 12 Make-up (20 laps): 1. BRIAN BOOHER (Hoover 00H) 2. Kyle Drum (47) 3. Rusty Moore (17M) 4. Steve Hollabaugh (3H) 5. Bobby Powell (Bidwell B1D) 6. Frank Guidace (1G) 7. Max Blair (111) 8. Dan Angelicchio (54) 9. Chad Myers (01) 10. Tyler Dietz (10) 11. Mike Anderson, Jr. (72) 12. Paul Reiser (293) 13. Rusty Cade (47) 14. Bill Vance, Jr. (93) 15. Gary Miller, Jr. (1m).
McElwain Motors FASTRAK Late Models (25 laps, $800): 1. MAX BLAIR (111) 2. Frank Guidace (1G) 3. Rusty Moore (17M) 4. Bobby Powell (Bidwell B1D) 5. Butch Lambert (27) 6. Chris Haines (35H) 7. Tom Snyder, Jr. (1) 8. Kyle Drum (47) 9. Carl McKinney (6m) 10. Chad Myers (01) 11. Steve Hollabaugh (3H) 12. Tom Copeland (98) 13. Dan Angelicchio (54) 14. Rusty Cade (47) 15. Alex Anderson (Woodard 22x) 16. Tyler Dietz (10) 17. Mike Anderson, Jr. (72) 18. Brian Booher (Hoover 00H) 19. Andy Buckley (Robinson 34R) 20. Bill Vance, Jr. (93) 21. Dennis Lunger, Jr. (17L) 22. Steve D'Apolito (84)-DNS 23. Paul Reiser (293)-DNS 24. Gary Miller, Jr. (1m)-DNS.
Big Daddy's Speed Center Mod Lites (15 laps, $300): 1. ROD JONES (820) 2. Bud Watson (15) 3. Kenny Meadows (Teague 10T) 4. Terry Young (98) 5. Levi Spinneweber (10s) 6. Kotie Kirkbride (97N) 7. Garrett Krummert (Spinneweber 20s) 8. Alan Knepper (Lawson 70x7) 9. Bill Stivason (116) 10. Chad Yeager (7) 11. Lynn Knepper (10) 12. Angie Grzelak (57) 13. George Englert (11x) 14. Shane Pfeuffer (Lawson 40L) 15. Mark Marcucci (8M) 16. Mikey Hay (22) 17. Todd Canter (Teague 9T).
M&D Paving Mini Stocks (12 laps): 1. KYLE COLWELL (80JR) 2. Stephen Laslo (55) 3. Curtis Brown (67) 4. Dan McEwen (44) 5. Ed Haylett (8-ball) 6. Jerry Batcher (Blazczak 7) 7. Shannon Heberling (H1) 8. Wally Stearns, Jr. (33) 9. Sam Kloos (62K) 10. Kyle Crawford (14c) 11. Troy Lehnorth (46) 12. Scott Gilliland (27) 13. Rudolph Troples (28) 14. Dan Nagy (17B) 15. Dillon Kineston (19) 16. Bill Fuchs (10) 17. Tyler Powell (36) 18. Pete Blazczak (77) 19. Tim Callahan (Stewart 26T) 20. Cody Colwell (67R) 21. Dillon Barr (15) 22. John Shannon (14)-DNS 23. James Edison (48)-DNS.
Upcoming Events:
8/23 Sprints, Mods, FASTRAK Late Models, Mod Lites, & Mini Stocks. Free general admission for all Butler County residents presented by McClymonds Supply & Transit & Armstrong. $5 admission for all automotive service/truck repair employees and $5 for their significant others, and $15 for families presented by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply
8/30 No racing.
9/05 (Fri) "Open Wheel Shootout" presented by FireDEX of Butler. Bill Emig Memorial for Mods ($1,500), Sprint Cars ($1,500), Limited Sprints, Micro Sprints ($300), Mod Lites ($300), & Mini Stocks. Anderson Bros. Tool Corp Night. Note: racing begins at 7:30 p.m. (Rain date Sunday, September 7)
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.mercerracewaypa rk.com for the latest.
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