Under a cool evening sky the Late Model Division proved to be another interesting race of “survival of the fittest.” Much like last week’s event, a six car wreck managed to remove a large portion of the field leaving the win up for grabs. Mike Higgins in his third visit to Mountain Speedway this season claimed his first win in a Late Model followed by Glenn Heckman. The Street Stock Division came right down to the finish where in a side-by-side battle; Rich DiMarco crossed the line first over Frank Reakes. This is DiMarco’s second feature win of the 2007 season. Ricky Ross Jr. continued his point lead and domination of the series, capturing his eleventh win of the season. Travis Fisher held off the challenges of Eric Wink for his tenth season victory, extending his point lead. Finally in the FRCCA ran their regularly scheduled event as well as a make-up race producing the same results. Greg Honeycutt wins both of their events followed by Kirk Davis in second.
Nineteen Late Model drivers came prepared to race the feature event so three heat races were run to set the field up. In Heat #1 the #454 of Mike Radocha Jr. held the lead for the first few laps. Joe Hoffman in his #20 machine was on the move early however. Hoffman got around Radocha for the lead by lap four and pulled away from the pack. Hoffman wins Heat #1. On the start of Heat #2, the #8 of Paul Tuthill got loose coming out of turn four and spun around. The #15 of Joe Brown, who had been scheduled to start second but opted to begin in the back of the field, made a nice save avoiding Tuthill. All the cars were lined back up for a complete restart and they got underway quickly. The #D11 of Mike Sweeney held the lead for most of this race but was heavily challenged by the #19 of Larry Fisher. On lap six Sweeney and Fisher were side by side for the lead and by lap seven Fisher took the top spot. Coming around to take the checkered flag, Fisher got a little loose coming out of turn four almost losing the car but got it straight to win Heat #2. The #95 of Joe Kehrli took the lead on the start of Heat #3. The battle for position in this one was for second between the #28 of Roger Maynor and the #40 of Todd Geist. Maynor and Geist went side by side several times throughout the race. Geist would get the second spot followed by Maynor in third when it was all said and done. Kehrli would win Heat #3 with a half a track advantage over the field.
The Late Model Feature event began with the #454 of Mike Radocha Jr. on the pole and he would lead lap one as the event got underway. As the field began lap two, problems ensued for the #40 of Todd Geist who had such a strong showing in the heat races earlier. He would spin around and come to rest against the wall in turn two. The #15 of Joe Brown took the lead on lap two as the feature resumed. The #19 of Larry Fisher running in second wanted the lead off of Brown. In attempting to gain the lead, Fisher made contact with Brown spinning him around in turn two and bringing out the caution flag. Both cars would restart in the rear of the field. This gave the lead back to Radocha. Two laps later, Fisher scraped the wall on the front stretch as he tried to make his way back up to the front, spinning the car around in turn one drawing another yellow flag out. The caution flag would come out on lap ten for a spin by the #8 of Paul Tuthill who spun in turns three and four. The #95 of Joe Kehrli would spin around in turn four after minor contact with the D11 of Mike Sweeney in turn four drawing out the yellow flag again. On lap nineteen, #20 Joe Hoffman got into the #28 of Roger Maynor as they battled for position and the two of them got sideways. The #316 of Jerry Brighthaupt becomes involved when he has nowhere to hide from it. Kehrli would have problems again with just five laps to go, spinning in turn two and bringing out the caution flag. As the field came down the front stretch for the restart, the race leader #454 of Mike Radocha Jr. broke spilling oil all over the track and turned it into an ice rink. Radocha spun into the wall hard in turn one. The oily track claimed several cars that could do nothing but hang on and the red flag was waved. The #316 of Jerry Brighthaupt, the #20 of Joe Hoffman, the #19 of Larry Fisher, the #11A of Tony Volpe, and the #39 of John Loftus would all have their evening cut short by five laps. The #3 of Colin Dempster spun as he tried to avoid becoming a casualty and was able to continue on. This incident removed the top four cars out of contention giving the lead to fifth place #51 Mike Higgins. Higgins was able to hold off the strong challenge of the #69 of Glenn Heckman and win his first ever Late Model Feature event.
The Street Stocks used two heat races to set up their Saturday night feature event. Heat #1 was led early by the #71 of Mike Schadder. Frank Reakes in his #14 captured the lead off of Schadder on lap four and took off. Schadder then had his hands full dealing with the #81 of Eric Danyluk. Danyluk wanted second but Schadder was able to hold him off and made him settle for third. Reakes won Heat #1. The #461 of Rich DiMarco led the race for Heat #2 right from the first wave of the green flag. The yellow flag would wave on lap three for debris in turn four which was the rub-rail off of DiMarco’s car. The race would get back underway and DiMarco would win Heat #2.
The Street Stock Feature event got underway with fourteen cars eager for the win. The #461 of Rich DiMarco sat on the pole to start the race. On lap four, the #50 of Bobby Hunsicker Jr. and the #19X of Jimmy White Jr. made contact with each other on the back stretch. Hunsicker’s car ended up with a left flat front tire and he spun off the track on the front stretch after contact with the #81 of Eric Danyluk as he tried to limp around and get out of the way. No caution flag was needed. At the halfway point, DiMarco had nearly a half a track advantage over the whole field. The yellow flag would wave for the first time on lap fourteen when the #12 of Brian Sones would get together with the #10 of Paul Frantz coming out of turn two. Sones would spin around nearly collecting the #14 of point leader Frank Reakes. As DiMarco continued to run away from the field the real battle was for second place. With five laps to go, the #81 of Danyluk and the #14 of Reakes would be fighting side by side for the second spot. On lap twenty one, the #71 of Mike Schadder spun off the track on the front stretch with no caution flag waving. On lap twenty four, the yellow flag would wave for the #13 of CJ Lehmann who spun it around into the wall in turn one. With one lap to go to complete the feature and the field tightened up, Frank Reakes and Rich DiMarco would be set up for an exciting finish. DiMarco was still in the lead but Reakes was able to get underneath him in an attempt to take the lead and the win. DiMarco held him off and with half a car lengths advantage he would win his second Street Stock Feature event.
The Thriller Division Heat #1 was led to the green flag by the #2AM of Marissa Nelmes in her green Mac Brothers Racing machine. Nelmes would lead lap one but point leader Ricky Ross Jr. got around her and took the lead away on lap two. Ross would lead the rest of the race and win Heat #1. Nelmes would come in second followed by the #830 of Kevin Makarewicz. The #68 of Scott Adams who has been strong all season long would miss this first heat race after his engine expired earlier during practice. The #61 of Harry Sager would start the race in first for Heat #2. As the green flag waved, Sager had the #25 of Steve Shultz all over his bumper as Shultz tried to take the lead away. Shultz would be successful on lap three in getting the lead off of Sager. Sager would finish in second followed by the #98 of Jeff Owler in third, the #17 of Josh Oswald in fourth, and the #96 of Kyle Heckman in fifth.
As the Thrillers lined up to begin their Feature event, pole sitter #13 Chris Rasley would have to pit prior to the start to replace the gas cap on his machine. He would make it back out for the start but began in the rear. This put the #61 of Harry Sager on the pole. When the green flag waved, Sager would have the lead over the #2AM of Marissa Nelmes. On lap one the caution flag waved for a spin by the #34 of Wayne Lowe in turn two. Point Leader #99 Ricky Ross Jr. was all over Sager’s bumper for the lead by lap four. Lap five was a side by side battle around the track between Sager and Ross and on lap six Ross won that battle and the lead of the race. Lowe would bring out the next caution flag as he spun again in turn two on lap nine. The Mac Brothers Racing machines displayed their strength throughout the race as all three cars battled for the top five positions. The last yellow flag waved on lap eighteen as the #17 of Josh Oswald and the #96 of Kyle Heckman got together and go sideways in turn one. This caution set up a green-white-checkered finish which Ross had no problem with. Ricky Ross Jr. would win his eleventh feature event of 2007.
The 4 Cylinder Thriller Feature began with the #22 of Jess McGlynn on the pole. As the field took the green flag, the #57 of Eric Wink took over the lead by the completion of lap one. The #63 of Nikki Wachs started the race in last place but was charging her way through the field early. On lap six of her charge, she would make contact with her teammate Jess McGlynn and both cars got sideways in turn four. Wachs and McGlynn straightened their cars out quickly, needing no yellow flag. On lap nine, the #8 of Travis Fisher worked his way around the leader Wink, taking the lead for himself. Wink would stay glued to his bumper, but would never get back around Fisher. After loosing ground in her advances, Wachs would make it back up to fourth. She tried every lane but would be unsuccessful in getting the third spot off of the #29L of Gene Lash. Wink would finish in second, Lash held on for third, Wachs settled for fourth and McGlynn got her third top five finish coming in fifth. Travis Fisher wins this feature event making it a total of ten feature wins for the 2007 season.
The FRCCA were back at Mountain Speedway this past Saturday. First up for them was a make-up feature that was rained out on June 16, 2007. The heat race run on June 16th began with the #14 of Pat Chiado on the pole. By the completion of lap one, the #52 of Kirk Davis took over the lead. The yellow flag waved on lap two when the #42 of John Tedesco and the #20 of John Smyles collected and spun between turns three and four. On lap six the #50 of Greg Honeycutt would get around leader Davis and claim the win for Heat #1. This gave Honeycutt the pole starting position for the delayed feature event that ran this past Saturday. Honeycutt led the field to the start followed by Kirk Davis. The only caution flag waved on lap eight for a spin on the back stretch by the #88 of Bob Lima. Honeycutt would win this make-up feature followed by Davis in second.
Next up for the FRCCA Division would be their heat race to determine the line up for the regularly scheduled event. The #50 of Greg Honeycutt would once again start in the pole position and lead the field through lap one. Behind him was a great battle for third between the #52 of Kirk Davis and the #35 of Jim Peruto. The caution flag waved on lap four for a spin by the #66 of Bill Goodrow in turn three. On lap six the yellow would wave again for a spin in turn two by the #50T of Fred Schroeder. As Honeycutt came around for the checkered flag and the win for this heat race, Peruto would lose it coming off turn four and spins across the finish line. Peruto would end up fifth for his finish. Oscar Pacheco would come in second followed by Kirk Davis, and John Tedesco.
Winning the heat race put the #50 of Greg Honeycutt on the pole for the FRCCA feature event. As the race got underway, the #20 of John Smyles would spin out on the back stretch on lap one. Smyles would quickly get going with no need for the yellow flag. The only caution flag waved on lap twelve for the #42 of John Tedesco. Tedesco was challenging Honeycutt for the lead and had a great run going into turn one. Tedesco took it a little too high however, and spun around as he entered turn two. Honeycutt retained the lead and would win this FRCCA feature event.
Final Results:
Late Model Feature: 1 – Mike Higgins, 2 – Glenn Heckman, 3 – Joe Brown, 4 – Mike Sweeney, 5 – Geno Steigerwalt, 6 – Dave Luff, 7 – Roger Maynor, 8 – Joe Hoffman, 9 – Colin Dempster, 10 – Paul Tuthill, 11 – Joseph Burns, 12 – Joe Kehrli, 13 – Jerry Brighthaupt, 14 – John Loftus, 15 – Mike Radocha Jr., 16 – Tony Volpe, 17 – Larry Fisher, 18 – Jim Yamelski, 19 – Todd Geist
Street Stock Feature: 1 – Rich DiMarco, 2 – Frank Reakes, 3 – Jimmy White Jr., 4 – Brian Wozniak, 5 – Brian Sones, 6 – Paul Frantz, 7 – Robert Fink, 8 – Bill Balliet, 9 – CJ Lehmann, 10 – Mike Schadder, 11 – Eric Danyluk, 12 – Brian Hughes, 13 – Dan Cascioli, 14 – Bobby Hunsicker Jr.
Thriller Feature: 1 – Ricky Ross Jr., 2 – Harry Sager, 3 – Jeff Owler, 4 – Steve Shultz, 5 – Kevin Makarewicz, 6 – Mike Moyer Jr., 7 – Josh Oswald, 8 – Marissa Nelmes, 9 – Kyle Heckman, 10 – Mike O’Byrne, 11 – Wayne Lowe, 12 – Chris Rasley, DNS – Scott Adams
4 Cylinder Thriller Feature: 1 – Travis Fisher, 2 – Eric Wink, 3 – Gene Lash, 4 – Nikki Wachs, 5 – Jess McGlynn, 6 – Paul Frantz, 7 – Jimmy White Jr., 8 – David Sokol, 9 – Justin Hughes
FRCCA Feature: 1 – Greg Honeycutt, 2 – Kirk Davis, 3 – John Tedesco, 4 – Oscar Pacheco, 5 – Jim Peruto, 6 – Bob Lima, 7 – Bill Goodrow, 8 – John Smyles, 9 – Dani Jackson, 10 – Fred Schroeder
FRCCA Make-Up Feature from 6/16/07: 1 – Greg Honeycutt, 2 – Kirk Davis, 3 – Oscar Pacheco, 4 – Jim Peruto, 5 – Bob Lima, 6 – Dani Jackson, 7 – Bill Goodrow, 8 – John Smyles, 9 – Fred Schroeder, 10 – John Heckman, 11 – John Tedesco