2018 Hall of Fame Classic Preview

"The Demon" Damion Gardner is a 6-Time USAC/CRA Champion

2018 Hall of Fame Classic Preview

The USAC/CRA is a 410 Sprint Car Series that races in the Southwestern United States, primarily in California.  The non-wing warriors visit Arizona for the second of three times in 2018 and this weekend marks their first trip to Arizona Speedway on their own, without being accompanied by the USAC National Sprint Car Series.  This weekend's races mark the 17th and 18th events of the year and will leave 6 races remaining on the 2018 schedule, when the checkered flag falls on Saturday night.  The Series will return to Arizona Speedway during the first weekend of November as part of The Western World, which is ran in conjunction with the USAC National Sprint Car Series.

The Track

Arizona Speedway is a small, high-banked 3/8th's mile oval in Queen Creek, Arizona, near San Tan Valley

As we mentioned, the USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series will be making their first trip to Arizona Speedway on their own, without being accompanied by the USAC National Sprint Car Series.  This means the series regulars will certainly have a chance to battle for the win, along with some of Arizona's best!

Arizona Speedway is small, high-banked 3/8ths mile track located in Queen Creek, Arizona, near San Tan Valley.  What once started as a small track with no walls and only hosted local racing series, this facility has blossomed into one of the best in Arizona!  Not only hosting the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic, Arizona Speedway also hosts the Wild West Shootout, the Western World and the Copper Classic.

The size and surface at Arizona Speedway provide drivers with options, while also not requiring the biggest wallet or best engine builder.  A typical night at Arizona Speedway sees the fast line right near the wall, when the surface is wet and right near the bottom, when dry and taking rubber.  Overall, I expect the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic to be a spectacular event at one of the best facilities in Arizona!

The Arizona Speedway track surface typically provides drivers with options, from the yuke tires to the wall

The Event

The 2018 Hall of Fame Classic features two nights of racing, where the USAC/CRA 410 Sprint Car Series will be joined by the local San Tan Ford Sprint Car Series, along with Arizona Winged Mini Sprints.  While 2018 marks the first time the Hall of Fame Classic has been held at Arizona Speedway, this event has a very rich history within the Grand Canyon State.

The Hall of Fame Classic is not only an exceptional racing event, it also pays tribute many great race drivers in Arizona, as they are honored after being selected to enter into the Arizona Motorsports Hall of Fame.  This event combines the thrills of watching 410 Sprint Car racing while also paying tribute to some of the sports racing legends within Arizona and the Southwestern United States!

The Hall of Fame Classic began as a SCRA event in 2000 at the famed Manzanita half-mile, in Phoenix.  Since then, it has continued annually for nearly every year, taking only a few years off in 2008-2010, after Manzanita closed a new venue was sought.  Canyon Speedway hosted the Hall of Fame Classic from 2011-2017 and the race was initially ran in conjunction with the USAC National Sprint Car Series, where the late Bryan Clauson was dominant.  More recently, the event was ran as a USAC/CRA event until last year, when the USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series was invited to shine in the spotlight.  "The Demon" Damion Gardner and Phoenix's RJ Johnson join Clauson as other drivers who have won the Hall of Fame Classic more than once, during its existence!

Phoenix's RJ Johnson has won the last two Hall of Fame Classic events held in Arizona

The Drivers

Brody Roa has been extremely consistent in 2018 and enters the Hall of Fame Classic as the USAC/CRA points leader

Brody Roa has been nothing short of spectacular during the 2018 USAC/CRA season, as he enters the Hall of Fame Classic as the series points leader, with 1,145 points.  The 2018 California Sprint Week Champion has 3 wins on the year, to go along with 14 top-5 finishes and 15 top-10's, in 16 races.  His consistent finishes equate to a staggering 3.4 average finish, entering this weekend's action.  While Brody hasn't enjoyed much success at Arizona Speedway (he finished 12th & 6th in both nights of the Western World last fall), he'll look to change all of that during the Hall of Fame Classic, this weekend!

"The Demon" Damion Gardner is a driver that you'll see racing near the front on any given night with the USAC/CRA

Damion Gardner is already one of the most prolific and successful drivers in USAC/CRA history.  "The Demon" enters the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic as a 6-time Series Champion and sits tied with legendary racer, Lealand McSpadden, on the career all-time wins list!  While Gardner has enjoyed 4 wins in 2018, he has not been quite as consistent as Roa, with only 11 top-5 finishes and 13 top-10 finishes entering this weekend's action.  Damion's 5.8 average finishing position ranks 2nd to Brody and he will enter the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic 2nd in the standings, trailing Roa by 44 points.  Gardner will look to etch his name into the record books one more time this weekend, as he looks to become the first driver with 3+ career Hall of Fame Classic victories!

"The Big Game Hunter" Austin Williams enters the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic 3rd in USAC/CRA Series point standings

Son of legendary West Coast racer, Rip Williams, Austin leads the trio of Williams brothers amongst the USAC/CRA point standings.  "The Big Game Hunter" enters this weekend's races 3rd in the standings, 152 points behind Roa and 108 points behind Gardner.  Austin has earned 2 wins in 2018, to go along with 9 top-5 finishes and 13 top-10's, giving him an average finishing position of 6.6.  Williams successfully made both features during last fall's Western World at Arizona Speedway, posting finishes of 18th and 20th, but he'll look for stronger performances during this weekend's Hall of Fame Classic!

Chargin' Charles Davis Jr won the 2003 Hall of Fame Classic and has been dominating the USAC Southwest Series

"The Real American" Matt Rossi is an Arizona driver expected to have a 410 bolted-in for action this weekend!

"The Bull" Tye Mihocko has already competed with the USAC/CRA several times in 2018

"Magic Man" Mike Martin is another local driver who will look for a strong run in the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic

Predictions

I certainly wouldn't be going out on a limb much by picking Damion Gardner, but it's impossible to ignore his sheer dominance and consistency.  Even if "The Demon" doesn't crack victory lane this weekend, you know that he'll be among the top-3 and contending for wins each night!

Logan Seavey will make his USAC/CRA debut during the Hall of Fame Classic, in one of the potent Reinbold machines

New to the USAC/CRA Series, Logan Seavey will be aboard one of the potent Reinbold/Underwood Spike Chassis this weekend.  Keep in mind that T-Mez won night 1 of the Western World at Arizona Speedway last fall, in similar equipment.  Don't be surprised if you see Logan steal the show and possibly a win, this weekend!

Phoenix's RJ Johnson enters the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic having won this event the last two years!

Phoenix's RJ Johnson has teamed with Moose Racing to complete the 2018 USAC/CRA schedule and he enters the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic as the two-time defending champion of this event.  RJ certainly knows his way around Arizona Speedway, so don't be surprised if you see him "park it" during one of the nights this weekend!

Current Point Standings

1. Brody Roa            1,145

2. Damion Gardner  1,101

3. Austin Williams     993

4. Cody Williams       927

5. Max Adams           912

6. Jake Swanson        802

7. RJ Johnson            758

8. Danny Faria Jr.      748

9. Logan Williams     716

10. Chris Gansen       684

2018 Key Statistics

Driver                     Wins       Top-5      Top-10   Avg Finish

Brody Roa               3             14           15          3.4

Damion Gardner      4             11           13          5.8

Austin Williams       2              9            13          6.6

Cody Williams         0              4            12          7.8

Max Adams             1              5            14          6.1  (15 races)

Jake Swanson         0              7            10          8.7  (14 races)

RJ Johnson             0              1             8           10   (15 races)

Danny Faria Jr.       0              7            10          6.9  (12 races)

Logan Williams       0              1             9           11.4

Chris Gansen          0              0             6           13

At The Races With Hunter Exley- Presented by Schaeffer's Oil

Hunter Exley is a 19 year old graduate of the go cart ranks. The son of Heather and Danny Exley, Hunter wants to follow in his dads footsteps. Danny Exley was a successful multi-time track champion at Sharon Speedway and TriCity Speedway.  When the younger Exley got bit by the race bug he started a budding Go-Kart career in the area and found success.  He'd often helped and pitched in on his father's car and got to learn a lot about Open Stocks.  And, once the Go Karts were no longer feeding his appetite,  the decision was made to have Hunter strap into the car and have his dad tune and coach his son as he took on the tough transition from carts to open stocks.

It was an awesome lesson as a father's unselfish act to help further his sons racing career.
On this day, September 15, 2018, the ultra competitive Homak Penn Ohio Street Stock Series was at Lernerville Speedway to take on the local contingent in a $1,000 to win, 25 lap race that drew 47 cars.  Exley had only raced at the track one time before in his old car last season. This season Hunter strapped into a Slider Chassis built by Franklin Pa’s Bobby Whitling, the 2017 Penn-Ohio Pro Stock Champion. Hunter has primarily raced at Sharon and Tri City Speedway’s because they are close to home, however the Exley family made the decision to get out a little more and compete at some different track while supporting Shawn Hook’s Penn Ohio Series.  With any change for a young racer the learning curve can be steep and sometimes frustrating.

Hunter was set to roll off ninth in a loaded heat with multiple proven and veteranrivers on a new track unfamiliar to young Hunter.  He held his own and late in the heat race found himself a little more comfortable the more laps he logged as he came home seventh on a wide open, tacky track which made passing somewhat difficult.

The crew lead by Hunter's father went to work to make the changes needed to get the young driver more comfortable.  For young drivers, communication is a huge key and being able to tell the crew what the car is doing and what they are feeling in the car is a key part to success. Being the set up guy on the very sharp 23Hjr,  Danny Exley focused his attention on the right front of the car after talking to Hunter and the team got the car ready for the B-Main.

Following the race, Hunter missed transferring to the main event as there were only two spots available. Hunter wound up seventh in a race as stacked as his heat race had been,  and again made huge strides in the performance of the race car.

It was clear to see the determination and frustration on the Exley's face after the racing was over.  Sometimes things don’t go a driver's way, but the key to overcoming these frustrations is a great support system and to keep that drive and hunger to want to improve. It helps drive that competitive hunger. And that hunger is clearly in Exley. The support of an awesome family and crew that are all close friends certainly propels Hunter to success.

The final on track action for the team was the Non-Qualifier race with the team starting ninth and ending up fifth.   It was a good night on the whole,  as the team got to put the car in the trailer in one piece and the most important lesson of the night was the over coming bad pill draws and starting positions and the communication between Hunter and his dad.  Exley is very appreciative of his father's dedication to helping his career. “If it wasn’t for my dad I wouldn’t be able to do this," Exley said after all was said and done for the night.

To get to see the dynamic the crew and family have is refreshing. With drivers like Hunter Exley and  the passion and energy that both he and his team bring, this sport is in good hands.

VIDEOS With Hunter Exley:

Check out the interviews with Hunter Exley with our own John McConnell right here:

Video 1: Introduction to Hunter and the crew as they talk about the track, a rough pill draw and other things..

Video 2: B-Main work continues as John and Hunter talk about his father's input and what adjustments might be necessary.

Video 3: Hunter Prepares for the Non-Qualifiers Race and Danny enjoys a hot dog plus sponsor shoutouts

Video 4: Wrap up with Hunter Exley on the night that was from Lernerville Speedway

2018 Pennsylvania Super Late Model Power Poll: Week 26

Hey there race fans, it's Monday so it's time for the weekly update to these rankings.

This week only saw three shows, two unsanctioned specials at Eriez Saturday and Sunday night, and a World Of Outlaws late model show at Selinsgrove Saturday night. The Eriez shows were originally supposed to be Friday/Saturday, but rain on Friday pushed em back to Saturday/Sunday.

I made a mistake in last week's rankings when I scored Raceway 7. I totally forgot the track is actually in Ohio, so it shouldn't have been scored. I have adjusted the rankings accordingly, and I apologize to anybody who may have been confused by it.

This coming weekend sees only 5 points scoring shows, but all off them will be raised purse specials. Thunder Mountain has a two day show, with complete programs each night paying 4k to win on Friday, and 7k to win on Saturday. McKean County Speedway  is also running both Friday and Saturday, paying 2500 and 4k to win. Bedford also has a two day show on Friday and Saturday, but only Saturday has a feature. Winning that feature will net a cool 15 thousand, though. It's the third highest paying race in the state this year.

That said, let's go ahead and get to those rankings.

1. Jeff Rine (9), 123 points. Jeff ran fifth at Sleinsgrove Saurday.

2. Max Blair (8), 97 points. Max finished third both nights at Eriez.

3. Dylan Yoder (4). 91 points. 

4.  Jared Miley (5), 69 points. 

4. Jon Lee (5), 69 points. 

6 Michael Norris (10), 66 points. 

7. Coleby Fyre (5), 58 points. 

8. Andy Haus (2), 55 points. 

9. Michael Maresca (3), 52 points. 

9. Mike Marlar (1), 52 points. Mike came home third at Selinsgrove Saturday.


And that's our top ten for this week. Check back next weekend after this coming week's action t see where your favorites end up. With the amount of points that will be scored this week, there could be some pretty wild swings next week!

 

The Story From Lernerville- Sweet Powers Past Schatz and Co.For First Lernerville Win; Bartchy Tops 305 Sprints

Tommy Hein/Hein Brothers Photograpy

Fall arrived at Lernerville Speedway on Saturday night as crisp temperatures greeted a huge crowd on hand for the Commonwealth Clash. And those, combined with a lack of sunshine and recent rains helped produce a fast, racy surface much to the delight of those in attendance. Those same fans were also treated to an action packed main event that saw four different leaders, intense battles in lapped traffic and a late race restart with less than a handful of laps remaining to throw some late race drama into the mix. 

Brad Sweet had a fast car all night it's driver picked the perfect time to make it go just a little faster when it mattered most on Saturday night at The Action track. Sweet moved forward from his fifth starting spot, reeling in and passing one driver ahead of him at a time including World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Cars points leader Donny Schatz en route to his first career victory at Lernerville Speedway.

“I struggled for the first few years of my career at this track, it’s nice to come here and be as fast we’ve been this year," Sweet said in victory lane following his eighth win of the season.  The track was great, there were so many options of where to go in lapped traffic. You could rimride on that thin ledge or get going around the bottom,”

Daryn Pittman brought the field to the green flag in a main event that took a few tries to get rolling as early cautions involving Brent Marks, Justin Henderson, and Shane Stewart all brought out yellow flags in the first three laps. However, once momentum was established in the 35 lap main event, it set a stage for a classic showdown between Pittman, Tim Shaffer, Donny Schatz and Sweet as the four drivers battled for positions for the next thirty laps. 

Tommy Hein Photo

Pittman assumed early control of the field and held the lead early on, holding off front row mate Shaffer on the early restarts. The Aliquippa, PA native would his way around the leader with six laps in the books on a slide job in the first set of turns.  Meanwhile, Schatz and Sweet were swapping the third spot at will just behind the leaders. With Shaffer in lapped traffic, Schatz and Sweet began to close in with every lap while managing to find a way around Pittman. Schatz was able to pull the string on a pass for the lead on lap 22 as he slid Shaffer in turn one for the spot.

“If you’re off a little bit, it’s a ton on the track,” Shaffer said. “I couldn’t run the middle or top, and those guys could run the middle. They have their cars balanced very well, and that’s what we’re working towards going.”

With Schatz aiming for yet another tour win and with the lead in the second half of the race, the stage seemed set for him to claim another Commonwealth Clash title. However, Sweet started to find a bit more speed than Schatz as the laps clicked of in the final third of the main event and managed to pull to Schatz's tail tank on lap 26 and wasted no time in making his way around on lap 28.

Rick Rarer Photo

Once out front, Sweet faced one more restart following a caution with 32 laps down, and left no doubt about whom had the fastest car on this night as he drove away from the field and towards Terry Bowser Excavating Victory Lane. Shaffer would round out the podium while Logan Schuchart completed a strong performance with a fourth place finish.  Hard charger honors went to Danny Dietrich who managed to climb from his 14th starting spot to a sixth place finish.

“I didn’t have much grip and I’m not going to use Brad up or run myself off the track," Schatz said "Luckily, I have these guys behind me and we’ll have more grip next time we come back.” 

In Allegheny Sprint Tour action, Robbie Bartchy led the 20 lap main event early on, holding off strong challenges from Roger Irvine and Tyler Denochik only to succumb to a pass by Jeff Miller on lap 14. Miller looked to have the top spot locked up as he managed to stretch a sizable lead over Bartchy until he jumped the cushion with 18 laps down. Due to time constraints, officials made the decision to checker the main event at that point, giving the win to Bartchy.






World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Cars Main Event- 35 Laps

1. (49) Brad Sweet
2. (15) Donny Schatz
3. (49X) Tim Shaffer
4. (1S) Logan Schuchart
5. (9) Daryn Pittman
6. (48) Danny Dietrich
7. (18) Ian Madsen
8. (5) David Gravel
9. (21) Brian Brown
10. (W20) Greg Wilson
11. (17) Sheldon Haudenschild
12. (11K) Kraig Kinser
13. (35) Justin Henderson
14. (2) Shane Stewart
15. (11) Carl Bowser
16. (07) Gerard McIntyre
17. (7S) Jason Sides
18. (29) Dan Shetler
19. (C1) Clay Riney
20. (2L) Sye Lynch
21. (40) George Hobaugh
22. (08) Dan Kuriger
23. (1A) Jacob Allen
24. (19) Brent Marks

Allegheny Sprint Tour 305 Sprint Cars Main Event- 20 Laps

1. (29B) Robbie Bartchy
2. (6) Tyler Denochik
3. (26) Ryan Lynn
4. (00S) Jimmy Seger
5. (880) Drew Ritchey
6. (4J) Jacob Gomola
7. (83) Larry McVay
8. (12J) Jonathan Jones
9. (21) Chad Hill
10. (27) Vinny Dougherty
11. (22) George Frederick
12. (37) Pete Landram
13. (72) Dave Guss Jr. 
14. (X7) Andy Cavanaugh
15. (99) Ray Sheetz
16. (28) Brian Wright
17. (79W) Will Fleming
18. (41) Matthew Gardia
19. (7) Richard Lawson
20. (57J) Jeff Miller
21. (12) Roger Irvine
22. (88) Greg Dobrosky
23. (12H) Eric Husick-Did Not Start
24. (17K) Steve Kenawell Jr- Did Not Start 
25. (80J) Kyle Colwell- Did Not Start

2018 Pennsylvania Super Late Model Power Rankings: Week 25

Hrey there race fans, It's Tuesday, and I'm gonna update these rankings. I know, I know, I'm supposed to update em every Monday, but yesterday I went to the eye doctor to get an exam and had my eyes dilated. That made it really uncomfortable to look at a monitor, and I figured I'd delay it a day instead of just throwing together a quickly thrown together and poorly spelled mess of a column. 

So as we're now into the post season specials and such, there wasn't really an abundance of races going on this weekend. The only scoring shows were a regular show at Thunder Mountain Friday night, a 5k super late special at Raceway 7 Saturday, a 3k special coupled with a makeup feature at Hummingbird Saturday, and the 3k Kahuna at Roaring Knob Saturday. As always, I couldn't find any full results for the Knob, so if any of ya'll find them out, please let me know so I can reflect them in these rankings. I'm mostly looking for who finished fourth and fifth.

Weather did not affect any of the shows, which was pretty refreshing and quite rare this season. Sadly, the weather for this coming weekend looks pretty pretty blah at this point. There isn't really a whole lot scheduled anyways, so it wouldn't affect to many races, but the one race that really matters is a WoO Late Model Series race scheduled at Selinsgrove Saturday. That series has been affected by rain just as bad as our area has, and with a tight points race coming down the stretch, it would absolutely suck to see 'em lose another show and the points that go along with it.

But I digress, you really read this writeup to find out how the tip ten did this weekend, so let's go ahead and get to those rankings.

1. Jeff Rine (9), 117 points. 

2.  Dylan Yoder (4), 91 points. 

3.  Max Blair (8), 86 points. 

4. Jared Miley (5), 74 points. Jared ran third at Raceway 7 Saturday.

5. Jon Lee (5), 69 points. Jon had a second in the main feature and and a third in the makeup at Hummingbird Saturday.

6. Michael Norris (10), 66 points. 

7.  Coleby Frye (5), 58 points. 

8. Michael Maresca (3), 56 points. Michael took the win at Thunder Mountain Friday, and got fourth Saturday at Raceway 7.

9. Andy Haus (2), 55 points. 

10.  Chris Farrell (5), 50 points. Chris came home third in the main feature and got second in the makeup at Hummingbird Saturday.

And that's our top ten for this week. I should have next week's update up by Monday next week, barring any extenuating circumstances.

The Story From Lernerville: Gordon Tops Penn-Ohio Stocks; McPherson Turns In Classic Performance In Victory; Kenawell Seizes Opportunity; Dietz and Hartman Take Wins

John Stivason/Stivason Photos

The post season parade of special events picked back up again on Saturday night with the running of the annual Autumn-Motive Fest, beneath a canopy of sunny skies and warm temperatures.  Andrew Gordon put the field behind him early and never looked back in the Homak Penn-Ohio Pro Stock main event, earning a win which helped him pull even closer in the standings to series points leader Chris Schneider.

Meanwhile, Corey McPherson picked up right where he left off, turning in another dominant performance in taking home the trophy in the Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar/RUSH Pro Stocks, and in Allegheny Sprint Tour action, Steve Kenawell Jr. picked the perfect time to make his move as he managed his first career victory at Lernerville. In other action, Tyler Dietz and John Hartman each took the wins in the two final features of the night.

Gordon Tops Penn-Ohio Stocks

In a caution marred 25-lap main event, Andrew Gordon found a way to stay out of trouble, and stay as fast as he needed to be en route to his fourth series win of the season.  Joey Zambotti jumped out to the early lead but was unable to get too comfortable with it as three early cautions halted his momentum. Meanwhile, Gordon kept moving forward with authority from his eighth starting spot on each accompanying restart. Joining them up front were Bobby Whitling, Tim Bish and  Bill Hurrelbrink.

With five laps in the books, Zambotti spun in front of the field in turn four as Hurrelbrink inherited the lead. It would be a short lived one for Hurrelbrink as just one lap later, Rusty Martz and 2017 race winner Corey McPherson made contact in turn four to bring out yet another yellow flag. When action resumed, Gordon rocketed to the lead and looked to be in firm command of the field. Meanwhile, Chris Schneider had been making progress towards the front of the field after starting 11th on the grid, passing Bish for the second spot with nine laps down.  Schneider was able to apply pressure to Gordon while working on the bottom groove of the surface.

Gary Heeman Photo

Gordon put his restart skills to good use on three more occasions down the stretch, including a critical restart with three laps remaining following a red flag period as Zambotti and Alan Dellinger. Gordon got a remarkable jump and was virtually uncontested the rest of the way while Ryan Moyer found some speed at the top of the speedway and made his way past Hurrelbrink for the third spot, finishing the race as the highest finishing crate motor entry.


Homak Penn-Ohio Pro Stock Series Main Event (25 Laps)

1. (25G) Andrew Gordon
2. (55) Chris Schneider
3. (16M) Rusty Martz
4. (13X) Ryan Moyer
5. (63) Chris McGuire
6. (299) Kyle Couchenour
7. (C8) Bill Hurrelbrink
8. (08) Jeff Broniszewski
9. (73) Jason Fosnaught
10. (7W) Bobby Whitling
11. (T2) Tyler Thompson
12. (64) Rob Shook
13. (2W) Terry Wheeler
14. (3C) Barry Faris
15. (31) Noah Brunell
16. (84s) Joshua Seippel
17. (30) Bob Egley
18. (1B) Alan Dellinger
19. (20) Tim Deutsch
20. (948) Joey Zambotti
21. (11B) Tim Bish
22. (C33) Corey McPherson
23. (81) Mike Miller
24. (1R) Rod Laskey
25. (28Y) Terry Young
26. (965) Andy Buckley

McPherson Turns In Classic Performance

In the Millerstown Pic-A-Part Pro Stock main event, track champion Corey McPherson got out to the early lead, passing a fast running John Hartman at the lap four mark. Meanwhile, Tyler Dietz, who had penalized earlier in the race and sent to the tail of the field, managed to make his way to third place by lap seven. However, neither Dietz nor a stout looking Noah Brunell could manage to shave McPherson's considerable lead he had accumulated, working feverishly on the top side of the speedway.

McPherson found himself in lapped traffic with six laps to go, but never lost any portion his lead in the waning laps of the race while Dietz made a strong effort to take the second spot away from Brunell on the last set of turns which came up short. Ryan Moyer and Joe Kelley rounded out the top five.

Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar/RUSH Pro Stock Main Event (20 Laps)

1. (C33) Corey McPherson
2. (31) Noah Brunell
3. (27) Tyler Dietz
4. (13x) Ryan Moyer
5. (66) Joe Kelley
6. (30) Bob Egley
7. (25) Brett McDonald
8. (26) Mike Bordt
9. (10) John Hartman
10. (29B) Scott Byers
11. (17) Sam Eichelberger
12. (28Y) Terry Young
13. (21) Jeff Miller
14. (948) Joey Zambotti
15. (35B) Jacob Dietz- Did Not Start
16. (310) Dale Tuche- Did Not Start

Kenawell Makes Most of Opportunity

Jonathan Jones started on the pole of the 20 lap Allegheny Sprint Tour main event alongside Steve Kenawell Jr. and they stayed up front for the entire race. Behind them, Ron Aurand, Roger Irvine and Greg Doborsky looked to make their presence known as they honed in on the leaders.  Irvine slowed with four laps in the books and retired for the evening.

Gary Heeman Photo

When action resumed, Jones and Kenawell set themselves apart from the rest of the field with Jones pounding the topside of the speedway and Kenawell running the bottom. The two were separated by less than a second for the majority of the main event until Kenawell found the perfect opportunity to make a bid for the lead with Jones in lapped traffic on lap 16. Kenawell dipped below the leader and emerged with the lead just past the flag stand and three more circuits remaining. He would hold on for the win while Ron Aurand rounded out the podium. 

Allegheny Sprint Tour 305 RaceSaver Sprint Main Event (20 Laps)

1. (17K) Steve Kenawell Jr.
2. (12J) Jonathan Jones
3. (86) Ron Aurand
4. (88) Greg Dobrosky
5. (79W) Will Fleming
6. (4J) Jacob Gomola
7. (26) Ryan Lynn
8. (27) Vinny Dougherty
9. (R6) Reed Thompson
10. (29B) Robby Bartchy
11. (x7) Andy Cavanaugh
12. (00s) Randy Sterling
13. (41) Matthew Gardina
14. (12) Roger Irvine
15. (22) George Frederick
16. (7) Richard Lawson
17. (34) Glenn Noland

Dietz and Hartman Find Victory Lane

Dietz put his car on the track for a third race and got rewarded as he passed Luke Rutsky with three laps to go tand never looked take the victory in the Penn-Ohio Pro Stock Non-Qualifier's race while John Hartman went flag to flag to earn the win in the DIRTcar/RUSH Pro Stock Non-Winners Race.



Homak Penn-Ohio Pro Stock Series Non Qualifiers Race (15 Laps)

1. (27) Tyler Dietz
2. (22R) Luke Rutsky
3. (25M) Brett McDonald
4. (717) Leigh Wheeler
5. (15) Joe Wrona
6. (23H) Hunter Exley
7. (T6) Michael Miller
8. (67J) Jamie Duncan
9. (20J) Jim Fosnaught
10. (4) Jaob Billyk
11. (54) Wayne Carbo
12. (310) Dale Tuche
13. (54E) Tony Tarrapino
14. (20E) Jordan Eck
15. (12M) Trevor McCann
16. (10) Nick Kocuba


Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar/RUSH Pro Stock Non Winners Race (8 Laps)

1. (10) John Hartman
2. (29) Scott Byers
3. (27) Jacob Dietz
4. (310) Dale Tuche
5. (26) Mike Bordt

2018 Pennsylvania Super Late Model Power Rankings: Week 24

Hey there race fans, it's a very soggy Monday here in Pennsylvania, and that means it's time for this update to the ranking that I keep.

I mention soggy, because the remnants tropical storm Gordon of have been hitting us hard here all weekend, and continue to hit us hard. I actually worry for the DTWC, held at Portsmouth Raceway Park, dude to flooding. If you've never been there, let me explain a bit. The track itself sits in a low lying area a stones throw away from the Ohio river, and tends to get completely flooded when the river swells. Ohio is already soggy from the storm heading through there late last week. Now the same storm is causing the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers to swell to flood stage levels. Those two rivers feed the Ohio, which is already on the high side. PRP is going to flood. I don't expect it to still be flooded out when it comes time to run the DTWC, but they're going to have one hell of a cleanup on their hands.

Okay, now that you know the weather situation, let me explain what it meant for racing in our area over this past scoring week. Just two tracks got their shows in, Thunder Mountain, and Port Royal, who both ran on Friday night, so this update has a fair amount of drivers who did not score.

So here's the rankings.

1. Jeff Rine (9), 117 points. Jeff won at Port Royal.

2. Dylan Yoder (4), 91 points. Dylan ran second at Port Royal

3. Max Blair (8), 86 points. 

4. Jared Miley (5), 69 points. Jared came home second at Thunder Mountain.

5. Michael Norris (10), 66 points. 

6.  Coleby Frye (5), 58 points. 

7.  Jon Lee (5), 56 points. Jon got a third at Thunder Moutain.

8. Andy Haus (2), 55 points. Andy finished third at Port Royal.

9. Bryan Bernheisel (4), 47 points. 

9.  Mike Maresca (2), 47 points. 

And that's the top ten for this week. Check back next Monday to see where your favorites land.

And on a serious note, the them iof this week's writeup is weather, and we're in the season not so affectionately called hurricane season. There's a monster of a hurricane headed straight for the southeast. Let's hope it take a turn north or weakens before is hits the shore

Hardy Honored And Humbled After Connor Bobik Memorial Victory

Derek Bobik Photo

Tyler Bare, winner of the Butch Renninger Memorial at Port Royal Speedway the previous night and Michael Lake lead the stout 24 car field of Zimmers ULMS Super Late Models to the green for the 8th annual Connor Bobik Memorial, a race that has yet to see a repeat winner in it's history thus far.  Mike Maresca starting from his 2nd row starting spot, looked to throw his hat into contention early on with a slider going into turn three.  He emerged with the second spot challenging Lake and Bare but on the next lap Maresca got loose and spun in front of the rest of the field.

Luckily he escaped any damage, went to the pits and returned to tag the field, and was able to make his way back through, earning a top 10 finish on the night. Early on, two drivers found themselves using the same strategy in getting to the front quick as Alex Ferree  and Kyle Hardy both made forward charges from their 12th and seventh starting spots respectively.  The pair challenged Bare for the race lead early on in the action. On lap 11 Hardy took the lead from Bare and Ferree found himself in the second spot

On each of the 6 restarts after cautions,  Bare And Ferree put on a show for the very large crowd in attendance as Hardy was still hammering around the racy surface while keeping an oncoming Ferree at bay.

Derek Bobik Photo

On a lap 31 restart Bare found himself the owner of a flat right rear which ended his night as he pulled the car to the trailer.  The final restart came with five laps to go which allowed Ferree one more shot at Hardy and with two laps to go a noticeable popping was coming from the leader's car.   Ferree was able to close in but it was not enough as Hardy was too strong as he picked up his second win of the year.

Second place Ferree offered an upbeat attitude after the race “At least we have speed in the car and it’s working we just need some luck.”


"Winning a race in the name of a kid  means toand what this the family is pretty cool," Hardy said after the checkered flag waved. "It's crazy."


Video Interview: 3rd Place Finisher Shane McLoughlin

Video Interview: 2nd Place Finisher Alex Ferree

Video Interview: Feature Winner Kyle Hardy

Final Results- ULMS Late Models- 40 Lap Connor Bobik Memorial  $5,000 to win

1. (99) Kyle Hardy
2. (4) Alex Ferree
3. (59) Shane McLoughlin
4. (111) Max Blair
5. (94) Charles Powell
6. (14) Corey Conley
7. (18B) Dave Blazavich
8. (W3) John Wayne Weaver * Hard Charger
9. (84) Andrew Wylie
10 (7mm) Mike Maresca
11. (111d) Matt Lux
12. (28c) Clate Copeman
13. (43) Tom Decker Jr
14. (09) Scott Stein
15. (7) Ryan Claycomb
16. (43a) Tyler Bare
17. (18) Michael Wonderling Jr.
18. (75) Jason Dobson
19. (91) Tommy Beck
20. (27) Michael Lake
21. (11) Curtis Teats
22. (28d)  Bob Gordon
23. (44) Joe Petyak
24  Shawn Claar

Heat Winners: Andrew Wylie, Tyler Bare, Mike Maresca and  Dave Blazavich
BMain Winners: Bob Gordon and Joe Petyak

At The Races Presented by Schaeffer Oil Featuring- Bobby Whitling

Sportsmanship is alive and well in the sport of Dirt Track Racing as witnessed by a selfless action from another competitor recently.

Friday's Penn Ohio Pro Stock Series race and TDNs featured drive Bobby Whitling of Seneca Pa gave us harsh reminder of how unpredictable this sport can be. Whitling is the owner of 92 career wins in three different classes and is also the owner and proprietor of Slider Chassis out of Seneca Pa.  So not only can he drive these complicated race cars, he builds them. Also he is a huge supporter of The Penn Ohio Street Stock Series. The very humble Whitling is often soft spoken and always gets the most out of his equipment not he track.  On this night the series was in night one of a weekend double header and huge points implications were on the line. Going into the weekend Whitling sat 2nd begins points leader Andrew Gordon. Whitling was to roll off 7th in the third heat race.  One lap into the scheduled 8 lap race Whitling slowed scoring off turn 4 and pulled the 7w into the infield.

Video Interview #1- John McConnell with Bobby Whitling

During an interview after the heats were completed, Whitling's motor broke a cam and his night was over.

Then the most unlikely of circumstances happened. Fellow competitor Jesse Brock of Stoneboro Pa offered up his 22b for the veteran Whitling to use for the remainder of the night. Brock is not a consistent follower of the Penn Ohio Series and one unique aspect was involved. Whitling built the 22b owned by Brock. He cleared the car change with Series officials and was able to tag the back of the b main to try and race his way into the feature. It was learned that Whitling was the high point man that wasn’t qualified for the feature so he was gaurenteed a starting spot for the main. So being the competitor he is he tried to race his way into the main event missing by one spot.


Video Interview #2- John McConnell with Bobby Whitling

Upon a pre main interview it was learned about the provisional for the high point guy Whitling and crew set out and made some changes to the new mount they were using for the feature.  Whitling was headed to the starting grid starting 25th and had all intentions of just feeling out the situation and seeing how the race was going.  When the green dropped almost immediately the next decision for Whitling was made by himself.  On lap one of the feature the yellow waved for a car that spun directly in front of Whitling almost causing a multi car incedent.  Whitling pulled the 22b of Brocks to the pit area.

Video Interview #3 John McConnell with Bobby Whitling

Following the main it was learned that Whitling simply didn’t want to tare up the sharp looking loaner car of Brock'ss and settled for a 25th place finish while thinking of his own mount that was in need of much needed attention with the motor issue. Sportsmanship plays a huge role in this sport we all love  And on this night I got to witness two forms of it.  Case in pint. The unselfish act of a fellow competitor willing to lend his mount for the betterment of another driver and in the latter the unselfish way that Whitling took care of someone else’s mount not wanting to risk someone else’s ride.  As long as drivers like Bobby Whitling and Jesse Brock are in the sport I feel the sport will prosper. Thank you both for the lesson of sportsmanship.

The Penn Ohio Street Stock race was won by Chris Schneider propelling him to the pints lead after the Raceway 7 event.

TDN's World 100 Preview!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the grandaddy of all dirt late model races is coming up this weekend, the 48th running of the World 100 at Eldora Speedway. What we're going to do here is give you the skinny on the event and offer a couple predictions at the end. It'll be in our standard five Ws form.

Who? As of this writing, 88 of the very best dirt late model drivers in the country. That number is sure to go up by the time cars hit the track Thursday night, as the pre-entry list is still missing some names you typically see at the big ones at Eldora.

What? Three nights of racing action. Thursday and Friday night's programs mirror each other, and will see time trials, after which the field will be split into an odd and an even group, based on where the drivers time, and each grop will run a full program with heats, consis and a feature. Saturday will see heats based off the results from the two prelim nights, consis, a  couple non qualifiers features, and the main event, the World 100, paying a cool 51 thousand to win, but more importantly, the coveted Globe statue.

Where? Tony Stewart's famed Eldora Speedway, located in Rossburg, Ohio. directions can be found here.

When? Racing for the weekend starts Thursday night at 8:00 PM sharp, and runs Through Saturday night, barring weather issues. A full schedule for the weekend's action can be found here.

Why? Because late models are freaking awesome.

How? If you're looking to participate, it's probably be a good idea to get there sometime Thursday morning so you can get your car through tech and prepared for the night's racing action.

If you're looking to attend as a fan, tickets can still be had for the event via the internet here. Tickets will assuredly be available the day of the show at the gate, but the options might not be there, as the show generally sells out.

If you'd like to see the show, but can't get off work or can't afford to go, don't fret, the event will be broadcast on iPPV from our friends at DirtonDirt.com.

Now that you've got the skinny on the event, here's some predictions for the weekend.

Who will win?

   
Jonathan Davenport. Yes, I know, he's been in a bit of a slump recently, but he's the defending champ of the race. I can't bet against him until somebody beats him.

Who won't win?

 
Brandon Sheepard. Yes, I know, he's got more wins in national touring series races this season than anybody elsse, and has turned many laps at Eldora Speedway over the course of his career, but seriously, that Rocket house car is seriously cursed at Eldora for some reason. Maybe this is the year it finally breaks that curse and wins, but I wouldn't count on it.

Who could shock the World?

 
Kent Robinson. He's been very good at Eldora this year, amnd is currently third in point standings at the track. I see no reason why he couldn't put together a great night on Saturday and come hom 51k richer. World be an amazing story if he did pull it off.

And that's our World 100 preview. I hope we were helpful.

2018 Pennsylvania Super Late Model Power Rankings: Week 23

Hey there race fans, it's time for the update for these rankings I keep for TDN. Yes, I know, I said I'd update them on Monday last week, but after some contemplation, I realized that if I posted them on Labor Day, they'd probably get lost in the shuffle because I'm sure many of you were at a BBQ or doing some stuff with your family. I figured it'd be best if I held them off until today when you're getting back to regular everyday life.

This weekend saw a slate of pretty much all raised purse specials, with the only regular show being Thunder Mountain's show on Friday. Other shows this weekend were ULMS shows at Port Royal (Saturday) and Dog Hollow (Sunday), an Ultimate Northeast show at Eriez Sunday, and an unsanctioned 3k special at Selinsgrove Sunday. Bedford did lose a 5k show they had scheduled on Friday to rain, unfortunately.

So a fair amount of points were scored this week. There were still a handful of drivers in our top ten that did not score, so like always, they just won't have weekend results listed. 


1. Jeff Rine (8), 112 points. Jeff ran third at Port Royal Saturday, and got a fifth Sunday at Selinsgrove.

2. Dylan Yoder (4), 87 points. 

3. Max Blair (8), 86 points. Max came home fourth at Dog Hollow Sunday.

4. Michael Norris (10), 66 points. 

5. Jared Miley (5), 65 points. 

6.  Coleby Frye (5), 58 points. Coleby picked up the win at Selinsgrove Sunday.

7. Jon Lee (5), 53 points. 

8.  And Haus (2), 52 points. Andy came home third at Selinsgrove Saturday.

9. Bryan Bernheisel (4), 47 points. 

9. Michael Maresca ( 2), 47 points. 

And that's the first ten names on the spreadsheet this week. Check back next Monday to see where they shake out after this coming weekend's action.

2018 World 100 Pick'Em Contest presented by DirtOnDirt.com

It's that time of year! The Annual World 100 is about ready to roll at Eldora Speedway and we are back once again with our Annual pick'em contest!

It's free to play, and enhances your enjoyment of the three day festival of speed plus there's prizes courtesy of our great friends at DirtOnDirt.com! 

Here's how to play!

1. You will click a link at the bottom of the page directing you to our entry page. 
2. You will enter your name/alias and other entry information
3. You will select one driver from Tier 1, two drivers from Tier 2 and two from Tier 3
4. You will then enter a response to our tiebreaker question. 

Point System: 

For Preliminary Nights: 

Even or Odd feature win = 30 points
Top 5 - 20 points
Top 10- 15 points
Top 15- 10 points
Make the show- 5 points
Heat win- 10 points
Quick Time (Overall) = 25 points

For Saturday (Final) Night:

Win- 50 points
Top 5- 30 points
Top 10- 20 points
Top 15- 15 points
Make the show- 10 points

Prizes:

1st: Complimentary 6 month Subscription to DirtOnDirt.com
2nd: $50 Visa Gift Card
3rd: $25 Visa Gift Card

So that's pretty much it, free, simple and fun!

To enter our Annual World 100 Pick'Em Contest simply CLICK HERE!

Good Luck and thanks for playing!!