|
Two Perfects Tens, 777 Jackpot, and Lipinski Three-peats.
Fire, EMS, Police raffle raises $200 for Fallen Heroes Fund
Sarver, PA (May 22, 2009) A hot, steamy afternoon, that felt more like the Fourth of July than Memorial Day weekend, paved the way to a perfect early summer evening. Speaking of perfect, both Gary Lyle in the #10 Late Model and Carl Bowser in the #10 Sprint scored emotional, crowd-pleasing victories. Kevin Bolland’s #777 hit the jackpot with a dominant performance in the Modifieds, while “The Polish Prince” Bob Lipinski drove the Mean Green Machine to Sheetz Victory Lane for the third straight week! During the course of the Fire/EMS/Police Night, lightbarsforsale.com raffled off a light bar with all proceeds being donated to the Fallen Heroes Fund in Pittsburgh. Thanks to the generosity of these brave men and women, over $200 was donated!
Longtime veteran and 1998 Track Champion Gary Lyle has made it known that he fully intended to hang it up after the 2008 season. But destiny got in the way when Lyle won the 2008 Racers For Tots Rocket Chassis raffle at Challenger last fall. The car was adorned with his familiar #10 and Lyle felt a calling to field the car with the hopes of making another trip to Victory Lane. That destiny was fulfilled last night at Lernerville Speedway as Lyle scored a heartwarming victory in the Friedman’s Freshmarkets DIRTcar Late Models after a hard fought battle with Doug Horton. Lyle (#10 of Hyde Park) started third and took the lead from Michael Norris on the second lap. Lyle fought back Horton (#46 of Brewster Mills, WV) for the next 15 laps and regained the lead by way of voided passes for the lead by Horton as a hand full of cautions slowed the race in the middle stages. Horton eventually, but only temporarily, took the lead on lap 18 and looked to have the car to beat. But a hungry Lyle would not be denied his fate and powered back, rocketing off of turn four coming to the white flag to retake the lead. When the checkered flag waved, it was the #10 Racers For Tots Rocket Chassis crossing under it first for Lyle’s first win since 2002.
Doug Horton drove another stellar race in the Bobby Lake Motorsports mount to take second place, his fourth top five in as many attempts. Alex Ferree (#4 of Saxonburg) raced home third and is inching ever closer to his first win of the season. The white hot Gregg Satterlee (#22 of Rochester Mills) came from the 12th starting spot to finish fourth and in doing so retains the division points lead with a 26 point margin over Alex Ferree. Five-time Track Champion Lynn Geisler (#1C of Cranberry Twp.) recovered from a third lap caution, in which he had a lot of help spinning in turns three & four, to finish a very solid fifth. Finishing positions sixth through ten went to Jared Miley, Mike Johnson, Tony Burke, Todd Bachman and Mason Zeigler. John Flinner and John Mollick provided some mid-race excitement as the two drivers made contact in turns three & four and both sailed sideways over the top of the cushion. They exchanged words while stopped on the front straightaway and rolled pitside together, but neither returned to the race thereafter. Heat races were checkered by Geisler, Flinner and Ferree.
The Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Modifieds rumbled onto the speedway next with most of the big hitters in rows three through six. Dean Pearson jumped into the lead on the opening lap from the second row, then his second starting row make Phil Evans Jr. took the lead. After an early DNF in last week’s feature, Kevin Bolland was on a mission last night. On the lap three restart, Bolland (#777 of New Brighton) looked like he was shot out of a cannon, moving up one spot on each of the next three laps before taking the lead from Evans (#38 of Greensburg) on lap six. Once in front, Bolland stretched his lead to almost half a straightaway until a caution slowed the field on laps 12 and 16 allowing Two-time Defending Track Champion Brian Swartzlander to restart alongside the leader. By lap 21, Bolland had stretched his lead almost a half straightaway again and appeared to be on cruise control with Sheetz Victory Lane in sight; but one final caution provided a green-white-checkered restart. Bolland, however, would not be denied the victory and held off Swartzlander and a hard charging Dave Murdick to take his second feature win of the season at Lernerville Speedway.
Despite the win, Bolland did not make up much ground in the Bud Points chase, as Brian Swartzlander (#83 of Leechburg), Dave Murdick (#61 of Slippery Rock), Jeremiah Shingledecker (#37MD of Polk) and Del Rougeux Jr. (#20D of Frenchville) rounded out the top five. The Bud Points chase in the Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Modifieds is the closest of any of the Fab Four Divisions and these five drivers are separated by just 15 points from first to fifth! Finishing positions six through ten went to Tom Winkle, Jim Weller Jr., Phil Evans Jr., Mike Turner and Mike Miller. Heat race victors were Swartzlander and Murdick. Up next for the Diehl Mods is next week’s BRP
Sarver’s own Carl Bowser took a long trip over the winter to race on the other side of the world and he cashed in all of his frequent flier miles last night with a dominant performance in his family owned #10 sprinter. At the drop of the green flag of the Commercial Truck & Trailer DIRTcar Sprint feature, Bowser slipped back a few spots from his outside pole starting position as Bob Felmlee (#6F of Seneca) blasted into the lead. Felmlee’s run of bad luck continued as he had trouble clearing lapped traffic on the back straightaway and took a violent flip before coming to rest on the back straightaway. Bowser inherited the lead as he had clawed his way back to second by lap five. Bowser was riding the top cushion at both ends of the track and was visibly faster than everyone else who was running mostly around the bottom or middle of the multi-groove racing surface. Scott Priester (#11 of Rimersburg) tried to pass Bowser with a slide job in turns one & two, but bobbled just enough in turn two to allow Bowser to blast around him on the topside and down the back straightaway. Bowser approached lapped traffic on circuit 14, but cleared them with ease, allowing him to stretch his lead to almost a full straightaway by lap 18. Dan Shetler (#7K of Windber) rolled to a stop on the front straightaway instead of pulling into the infield, allowing the field to nose up to Bowser’s tail with four laps to go. Mike Lutz (#8 of Mercer) appeared to have engine issues on the lap 22 restart and rolled into the pits while running third. Last week’s feature winner Rod George (#4 of Kittanning) made a late run at Bowser, but could not catch the Kangaroo Kid as he powered his way to his first win at Lernerville Speedway since August 18, 2006. A jubilant “Carl’s Crew” came to Sheetz Victory Lane to help celebrate the win with Bowser and his family.
Rod George extended his points lead with his fourth straight top two finish of the season. Scott Priester had another strong run to finish third, while Kevin Schaeffer (#9 of Kittanning) recorded his fifth straight top five finish of the season by crossing the stripe fourth. Brent Matus (#33 of Wampum) scored his best finish of the 2009 season in fifth. The CTT Top Ten rounded out with Ohio youngster Cole Duncan, Charlie Holben, Jack Sodeman Jr., Danny Holtgraver and Dan Shetler. Heat races were won by Sodeman, Shetler and Felmlee.
With three features in the bag, but still perfect weather conditions, a large portion of the crowd stuck around to watch the Advance Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman feature. The loyal fans were not disappointed as “The Polish Prince”, as dubbed by Track Announcer Dow Carnahan, pulled off the Three-peat by steering his Mean Green Machine to Sheetz Victory Lane for the third week in row. Like he did last week, Bob Lipinski (#55L of Pittsburgh) had to come from twelfth on the starting grid and didn’t take the lead until late in the race. Shawn Thorn (#12 of Vandergrift) started on the pole and led the first four laps before giving way to Six-time Track Champion Joe Kelley and Defending Track Champion Bob Egley whom put on a whale of a show for the lead during the next nine laps; swapping the lead multiple times before Kelley (#66 of Mt. Pleasant) got stuffed into the inside of the back straightaway by a lapped car. The resulting caution put the lead back into the hands of Egley (#30 of Kittanning) with Wayne Carbo and Bob Lipinski ready to attack. Lipinski took second on the restart and set his sights on Egley. Egley and Lipinski drag raced down the straightaways and were door-to-door in the turns just like last week. But Lipinski blasted low out of turn two to take the lead for the first time on lap 17. A caution on the final lap set up another crowd-pleasing green-white-checkered restart, which saw Egley take the lead momentarily, but Lipinski ultimately prevailed for his third straight feature win. He was joined in Sheetz Victory Lane by an ever-growing “Gang Green” fan following.
Bob Egley settled for second for a second straight week. Wayne Carbo (#54 of Saxonburg), whom had his car on display last weekend at Kennywood Park’s Motorsports Day sponsored by the Pittsburgh Circle Track Club, finished third. Paul Schreckengost (#3S of Creighton) finished fourth, while early leader Shawn Thorn rounded out the top five. The AAP Top Ten rounded out with Bryan Shaffer, Joe Kelley, Kevin Haas, Ryan Moyer and Mike Miller. Pat Hanley was running in the top ten and moving forward, but had a lot of help spinning in turns three & four coming to the white flag, resulting in a disappointing 14th place finish. Heat race winners were Carbo, Kelley and Corey McPherson.
As mentioned above, next week’s Fab Four Racing program will be highlighted by the BRP Modified Tour. The following week, Friday June 5, is an O’Reilly All Start Circuit of Champions Sprint Car show with UMP Pro Late Models and Advance Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman also in competition. June 12 will mark the return of the Lernerville Speedway Mid-Season Championships and the second Fab Four Family Fun Night. June 19 is our Holiday Races featuring Fab Four Racing and an awesome fireworks display. Then the biggest racing weekend of the season will close out the month of June with the conclusion of the Showdown in Sarvertown on Thursday June 25, then the Crown Jewel two-day spectacular on Friday-Saturday June 26-27 the 3rd Annual Firecracker 100 presented by GottaRace.com.
Race Results
May 22, 2009
Commercial Truck & Trailer DIRTcar Sprint Feature (25 Laps)
(10) Carl Bowser, Sarver
(4) Rod George, Kittanning
(11) Scott Priester, Rimersburg
(9) Kevin Schaeffer, Kittanning
(33) Brent Matus, Wampum
(22) Cole Duncan, Lockbourne OH
(15) Charlie Holben, Cabot
(23JR) Jack Sodeman Jr., N. Jackson OH
(D4) Danny Holtgraver, Pittsburgh
(7K) Dan Shetler, Windber
(3) Pete Miller III, Port Vue
(43) Garrett Krummert, New Castle
(4K) Bill Kiley, Cabot
(1R) Gale Ruth Sr., Pleasantville
(O1) Robbie Bartchy, Slickville
(3J) Joe Butera, Wampum
(26) Ryan Lynn, Hollidaysburg
(96) Lindsay Enscoe, Petrolia
(8) Mike Lutz, Mercer
(08) Dan Kuriger, Freedom
(6F) Bob Felmlee, Seneca
(16) Gary Rankin, Renfrew
(6) Shelia Rankin, Renfrew
DNS: (56) Ralph Spithaler, Evans City
DNS: (5L) Jeremy Cook, Grove City
Heat Race Winners: Jack Sodeman Jr, Dan Shetler, Bob Felmlee
Friedman’s Freshmarkets DIRTcar Late Models Feature (25 Laps)
(10) Gary Lyle, Hyde Park
(46) Doug Horton, Uniontown
(4) Alex Ferree, Saxonburg
(22) Greg Satterlee, Rochester Mills
(1C) Lynn Geisler, Cranberry Twp.
(H1) Jared Miley, South Park
(2J) Mike Johnson, Imperial
(23) Tony Burke, Sarver
(66) Todd Bachman, Natrona Heights
(25Z) Mason Zeigler, Uniontown
(0Z) Fred Zeigler, Uniontown
(25B) Mark Booth, Irwin
(67) Bob Wearing Jr., Sarver
(J4) John Garvin Jr., Sarver
(48) John Flinner, Zelienople
(4J) John Mollick, Toronto OH
(88) Chuck Sarver, West Sunburry
(72) Michael Norris, Sarver
(72B) Jim Kurpakus, Leechburg
DNS: (1J) Dave Murdick, Slippery Rock
DNS: (21M) Tony Musolino II, Pittsburgh
Heat Race Winners: Lynn Geisler, John Flinner, Alex Ferree
Diehl Auto Group DIRTcar Modified Feature (25 Laps)
(777) Kevin Bolland, New Brighton
(83) Brian Swartzlander, Leechburg
(61) Dave Murdick, Slippery Rock
(37MD) Jeremiah Shingledecker, Polk
(20D) Del Rougeux Jr., Frenchville
(28) Tom Winkle, Mars
(31) Jim Weller Jr., Hubbard OH
(38) Phil Evans Jr., Greensburg
(96) Mike Turner, Butler
(72) Mike Miller, Chicora
(45) Steve Feder, Butler
(6) Carl Murdick, Butler
(23D) Chris Dye, Grove City
(29E) Erik Martin, Evans City
(88) Shawn Fleeger, Butler
(29D) Dustin Martin, Evans City
(8J) Dean Pearson, Harrisville
DNS: (007) Gene Kirila, Transfer
DNS: (69X) Dennis Slater, Butler
Heat Race Winners: Brian Swartzlander, Dave Murdick
Advanced Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman Feature (20 Laps)
(55L) Bob Lipinski, Pittsburgh
(30) Bob Egley, Kittanning
(54) Wayne Carbo, Saxonburg
(3S) Paul Schreckengost, Creighton
(12) Shawn Thorn, Vandergrift
(77S) Bryan Shaffer, New Castle
(66) Joe Kelley, Mt. Pleasant
(48) Kevin Haas, Sarver
(13X) Ryan Moyer, Portersville
(87) Mike Miller, Chicora
(7) Eric Piotrowski, Cranberry Twp.
(1) Randy Hanovick, Mars
(78) John Watson, Apollo
(380) Pat Hanley, Monroeville
(35) Jeff Walters, Evans City
(C33) Corey McPherson, Tarentum
(13M) Mark Marshall, Portersville
(5) Don McClure, Sarver
(55S) Robert “Dr. Bob” Lipinski, Butler
(29B) Scott Byers, Butler
(28Y) Terry Young, Butler
(32) Mark Sanders, Lowellville OH
(74) Paul Petrovich, Gibsonia
(2) Dave “Brew” Baker, Elderton
(20J) Jim Fosnaught, Bairdford
DNS: (25) Brett McDonald, Saxonburg
DNS: (8C) Fred Casagni, Vandergrift
DNS: (21) Jeff Miller, Natrona Heights
Heat Race Winners: Wayne Carbo, Corey McPherson, Joe Kelley
Car Count Total: 93
Commercial Truck & Trailer Sprints: 25
Friedman’s Freshmarkets Late Models: 21
Diehl Auto Group Modifieds: 19
Advanced Auto Parts Sportsman: 28
Upcoming Events:
5/29 – BRP Modified Tour plus, “Fab Four” Racing (Bowser Pontiac Night)
6/5 – All Star Sprints, Pro Late Models (crates), DIRTcar Sportsman
6/12 – “Fab Four” Racing (Friedman’s Freshmarkets Night) (Mid-Season Championships all Divisions) (“Fab Four” Family Fun Night)
|
|
