Modified Mania Provides Three Great Finishes At Lernerville

Sarver, PA (July 26, 2015) ‘Modified Mania’ took to the action track on a beautiful Friday night for racing. Late race drama was the theme of the night as restarts proved to be the deciding factor in multiple events. Rex King Jr. stole the $2,000 payday in the Diehl Big Block Mods after a caution on the white flag lap erased a huge lead for Mat Williamson. Ryan Montgomery drove from fourth to the victory on a late race restart in the RUSH Late Model makeup feature. Jacob Hawkins went unchallenged to victory in the Renegade Modified Tour event, as did Adam Hilton in the RUSH Sportsman Modified tour feature. To round out the evening, Joey Zambotti scored the first Pic-A-Part Sportsman victory of his career after late race drama occurred between Wayne Carbo and Corey McPherson going for the win.

Diehl Automotive DIRTcar Northeast Modifieds

A pair of Kings made up the front starting row of the 30-lap event, with Rex Jr. racing to the early advantage over his father. Carl Murdick and Shawn Fleeger tangled on the backstretch on lap one to slow the early pace. Rex Jr. once again took right to the cushion and held the early lead with Rex Sr. in tow. Steve Feder, Mat Williamson and Kevin Bolland battled for third in the early laps, but Williamson got the best of the battle and took third on lap four off the inside line. Garrett Krummert’s attempted slide job on Feder did not end well for either driver, as both went off the track in turns three and four to bring out the yellow on lap six.

Yellows continued to fly, seemingly in two lap intervals on laps eight and ten. Williamson was able to get by King Sr. which allowed him to pull alongside King Jr. on the lap eight restart. King Jr. chose the bottom, but it was Williamson who charged from the outside to the lead.

Williamson quickly extended his lead once again on the lap 10 restart by utilizing both the high and low grooves. By lap 20, Williamson had a straightaway lead over King Jr., while Dave Murdick, King Sr. and last starting Erick Rudolph battled for third.

Williamson looked destined to record his third straight victory but on the white flag lap, Jeremiah Shingledecker spun to erase his five plus second lead. Williamson again chose to start on the outside on the restart, which had worked flawlessly in the prior restarts. However, this time it did not. King Jr. used the moisture off the bottom to pull even with Williamson down the frontstretch and then slid into the lead going into one and two. Williamson crossed over to regain the lead down the backstretch coming to the white flag lap, but when his car failed to find traction on the inside of three and four coming to the white flag, King Jr. charged outside to the lead and stole one from the St. Catharines, Ontario driver.

King Jr. picked up $2,000 for his efforts, Williamson settled for second, while King Sr., Rudolph and Murdick rounded out the top five.

Top 10:
1 Rex King Jr.
2 Mat Williamson
3 Rex King Sr.
4 Erick Rudolph
5 Dave Murdick
6 Kevin Bolland
7 Steve Feder
8 Mike Turner
9 Tom Winkle
10 Rick Regalski

Renegade of Dirt E-Mods

Jacob Hawkins charged to a commanding early lead from the outside pole in the 25 lap feature. His brother Jared quickly followed suit, taking second from Derrick Ramey on a lap one restart.

After two early yellows, the racing went uninterrupted the rest of the way. The Hawkins brothers quickly gapped the field as both had over a straightaway lead over 3rd place. Jacob rode the cushion around the Action Track and went unchallenged to the victory; although lap traffic did make things interesting at times for the Fairmont, WV driver.

Jared was able to keep Jacob in his sights but could not mount any serious challenge for the victory. Ramey held off David Scott, the former Lernerville Sprint Champion and many time Late Model winner, for the third spot at the finish, while New York’s Rich Michael Jr. came from 12th to finish fifth.

Top 10:
1 Jacob Hawkins
2 Jared Hawkins
3 Derrick Ramey
4 David Scott
5 Rich Michael Jr.
6 DJ Cline
7 Shon Flanary
8 Evan Taylor
9 Lance Elson
10 Jonathan Taylor

Sweeney RUSH Sportsman Modifieds

Pole sitter Jordan Eck took the early lead in the 20 lap feature, but by lap two, he had his hands full with Brandon Ritchey and Adam Hilton closing. Ritchey attempted to pass to the outside of Eck, but it was Hilton who used the moisture off the bottom to take the lead on lap three just prior to a caution for Rocky Kugel and Kole Holden.

On the restart, Hilton jumped out to a commanding lead, as the Buffalo, NY driver had his #3A glued to the bottom. Brandon Ritchey cleared Eck and Nick Ritchey for second, but would spin in turn two on lap six.
Yellows plagued the middle portion of the 20-lap event, but Hilton proved strong on each restart, while Nick Ritchey rode in 2nd and Rocky Kugel battled his father Larry for third.

Hilton continued to ride the bottom groove following the final lap 13 restart. Nick Ritchey tried to mount a charge on the outside but was no match for Holden. Nick Ritchey rode home second followed by Larry and Rocky Kugel. Holden, (who won the RUSH Sportman Modified engine giveaway prior to the feature), charged to finish fifth after the earlier caution.

Top 10:
1 Adam Hilton
2 Nick Ritchey
3 Larry Kugel
4 Rocky Kugel
5 Kole Holden
6 Justin Shea
7 Jim Bryce
8 Brandon Ritchey
9 Jerry Schaffer
10 Josh Deems

Sweeney RUSH Late Models

26 of the region’s best crate late model drivers returned to the Action Track for their makeup feature from July 3rd. John Waters and Daryl Charlier paced the field to green with Waters taking the early advantage on the outside. Fourth starting Corey McPherson quickly moved to second on the outside as well, while sixth starting Max Blair charged on the inside to take third.

By lap six, lap traffic was already a factor for the lead trio of Waters, McPherson and Blair. Waters powered his #11L machine between two lap cars on lap nine to extend his lead. The next lap, McPherson slid high off the cushion in turn one. Blair had nowhere to go and the two drivers made contact which allowed Blair to take second from McPherson. At the halfway point, Waters held nearly a 3/4 straight lead over Blair, Charlier and McPherson. Meanwhile, back further in the field, Ryan Montgomery, Kyle Lukon, Tommy Schrinhofer, and Alan Dellinger were under a blanket battling for fifth.

Third running Charlier suffered a flat tire on lap 21 to bring out the race’s only caution. Seemingly the theme of the night, this caution was the deciding factor and erased a sizeable lead for Waters. Waters chose the outside on the restart, with Blair to his inside. The two drivers battled hard for the advantage going into turns one and two, which caused both cars to push up the track. This allowed Montgomery, who restarted fourth to slide under both to lead lap 22.

Waters fought back the next lap with a slider off turn two to momentarily hold the lead. However, Montgomery would retake the lead at the white flag and then charged hard off turn two to score the win in dramatic fashion. Dellinger slid into second at the white flag after Blair and Waters again made contact on the last lap. Waters scored a disappointing third after dominating the first 21 laps, while Schrinhofer charged to take fourth on the final lap over Blair. Montgomery came from the 11th starting spot for the victory, while Dellinger drove from 13th to finish second.

Top 10:
1 Ryan Montgomery
2 Alan Dellinger
3 John Waters
4 Tommy Schirnhofer
5 Max Blair
6 Corey McPherson
7 Jason Knowles
8 Matt Latta
9 Russ Byler
10 Eric Wilson

Millerstown Pic-A-Part DIRTcar Sportsman

The 20-lap Sportsman feature saw Wayne Carbo and Joey Zambotti on the front row. Zambotti held the lead on lap one, but it was Carbo who pulled a slider off turn two for the lead the following lap. The race continued to run green through the halfway point, with Carbo maintaining the lead over Zambotti. Jim Fosnaught and Corey McPherson, (who was pulling double duty in the C33 after running the #60 RUSH Late Model), battled side by side for third for many laps, but it was McPherson who took third for good on lap 11. Zambotti’s car began to push several times in the middle stretch of the race; which allowed Carbo to extend his lead.

Carbo’s three-second lead was erased on lap 18 as Adam Lipinski spun to bring out the caution. This set up a restart with Carbo on the inside and Zambotti on the outside. Zambotti was able to get a decent restart to hold pace with Carbo, but as the battle intensified, both drivers pushed high off turn two. This allowed McPherson to make it three-wide for the lead and ultimately take it coming to the white flag. Carbo mounted a challenge from the outside and then would make contact with McPherson, sending his car into the front stretch wall and spinning in front of the field.

McPherson made a remarkable recovery to keep the car going in the right direction, which allowed him to keep the lead on the ensuing restart. Carbo was sent to the rear of the field for rough driving following the incident. McPherson’s front end was badly damaged, which setup an interesting Green/White/Checkered restart. On the restart, McPherson pounded the cushion and looked to have the lead on the outside coming to the white flag. However, he would push way high off turn four, allowing Zambotti to move into the lead on the inside. Zambotti held the point from there, taking advantage of the late race drama to score his first Lernerville Sportsman victory. McPherson managed to drive his damaged car to come home second, while Fosnaught took third, Brandon Wearing made a charge to fourth and Bob Lipinski came from 10th to finish fifth.

Top 10:
1 Joey Zambotti
2 Corey McPherson
3 Jim Fosnaught
4 Brandon Wearing
5 Bob Lipinski
6 Bob Egley
7 Mark Sanders
8 Terry Young
9 Joe Kelley
10 Scott Byers

Contact: Lernerville Speedway
Eric J. Westendorf, Public Relations Director
(724) 664-1075 / ewestendorf@dirtcar.com
Race Report provided courtesy of Gary Heeman / www.TheDirtNetwork.blogspot.com
Photos Courtesy of Christine Stivason / Stivason Photos