Mercer Raceway Park Chiller Thriller 2016

The Mercer Raceway Park lid lifter was presented Saturday in front of a near capacity crowd. As the temperatures cooled off in the evening, the racing action heated up. The main attraction was the BRP Modified Tour ‘Big Blocks vs. 358’s’ for $1,800 to the winner. Other participating divisions were Crate Late Models, UEMS E-Mods, & Street Stocks. Here’s a recap of the action from MRP.

Rex King Jr.

The front row of Rex King Jr. and Eric Gabany lead the field to the green, and it was Gabany that shot out to an early lead. He lead the first 12 laps until 7th place starting Erick Rudolph drove past him off turn 4 to assume command. King Jr. faded back, seemingly to let Gabany and Rudolph battle hard and to save his tires. Once Rudolph was totally clear of Gabany, he set sail and had a significant lead. However, several incidents slowed the pace allowing King Jr. to make his move. On lap 23 King Jr blasted past Gabany and two laps later the pace was slowed for Rex King Sr. who had a flat tire. On the restart King Jr. got an excellent restart and pulled to the outside of Rudolph and made the pass for the lead. The caution flag flew a lap later for a multiple car incident in turn 4. King Jr. held an almost straightaway lead after the green until lap 33 when action was halted due to significant contact between Brian Swartzlander and Tommy Mattocks. After the restart King Jr. once again pulled away from Rudolph to take the checkered.

Notes:

-Defending BRP champion, Rex King Sr. had a night to forget. He was involved in several on-track tangles and had to pit for a flat tire.

-Mark Flick, who hasn’t raced full-time since 2010, returned to Modified racing. Mark has been helping his son, 2015 Lernerville Sprint Car champion AJ, with his racing career. The car is owned by fellow Modified driver Rick Regalski.

-34 BRP Modifieds entered the pits

-Heat races were taken by Kevin Bolland, Ron Cartwright Jr., King Jr., & Mike Bowman. Shayne Pierce won the B-Main.

Top 10

1. Rex King Jr.

2. Erick Rudolph

3. Eric Gabany

4. Randy Chrysler

5. Vic Coffee

6. Kevin Bolland

7. Shannon Whaley

8. Garrett Krummert

9. Mark Flick

10. Michael Maresco

David Scott

UEMS Modifieds
‘Slow Ride’ David Scott took the win in the UEMS Modified race. The race was halted before for a lap could be completed for a multi-car incident in turns 3 & 4. Sixth place starter Will Thomas broke loose and spun in front of traffic. Most cars continued, except Shawn Shingledecker who took the worst of the accident. In the late stages of the race, Scott had to hold off Rich Michael Jr. Scott escaped the challenges of Michael Jr. and collected $1,000 for his efforts.

Top 10

1. David Scott

2. Rich Michael Jr.

3. Mike Potosky

4. Dan Davies

5. Josh Ferry

6. Carl McKinney

7. Will Thomas

8. Jacob Eucker

9. Troy Johnson

10. Daryl Charlier

Max Blair

Crate Late Models

Max Blair was the class of the field in the Crate Late Model feature. Matt Latta lead early on, only to be passed by Dennis Lunger. On Lap 4 Blair took the lead off of Lunger and checked out. The racing behind Blair was intense as Latta, Alan Dellinger and Will Thomas all battled it out for top-5 spots.

Top 10

1. Max Blair

2. Matt Latta

3. Will Thomas

4. Alan Dellinger

5. Mike Pegher Jr.

6. Dennis Lunger

7. Damian Bidwell

8. Dave Lyon

9. Wyatt Scott

10. Steve Hollabaugh

Brent Johnson

Open Stocks

1. Brent Johnson

2. Randy Wyant

3. William Hurrelbrink

4. Leigh Wheeler

5. Rob Shook

6. Jackson Humanic

7. Dave McMannus

8. Rod Lasky

9. Westley McGray

10. Pat Fielding