The calendar indicates that the Full Moon for this month will occur on Saturday, July 31st but if you stopped by the Lernerville Speedway on Friday, July 23rd you might have thought the Full Moon was a few day early. After a rather cloudy day the sun came out to provide the fans with a comfortable evening. Things were going along very well until the first Sprint Car heat race hit the speedway. Before one lap was completed Gary Kriess Jr. flipped in turn four and landed in the catch fence. Although the Troy Preston #1P was heavily damaged, Kriess was uninjured. It did however take a few minutes for the speedway safety crew to figure out how to get the car removed from the fence.
The racing action resumed with Chad Hill taking the lead and the “Pizza King” appeared to be headed to a heat race victory with Lady Luck intervened. Hill was about to lap the slower car of Matt Kriess when the two got together flipped violently in turn one. Both drivers were shaken and although it took a few minutes for them to emerge from their damaged vehicles they were also uninjured. After a successful start to the season Hill has certainly been bitten by Bad Luck in the past few weeks as he has destroyed two cars; hopefully Good Luck will be back with the 44 team very soon as Chad is scheduled to ace at the Knoxville nationals in a few weeks. Chad is one of the best up and coming drivers in Western PA and always greats his fans with a smiling face. If you get the chance stop by his business, Sirena Pizza, which is located in the Franklin Village Shopping Center in Kittanning, PA. The shop is decorated with racing memorabilia and the pizza is great as well!!
Jamie Smith held on for the win to capture his first checkered flag of the season at Lernerville. Business commitments have kept Smith from being a weekly competitor at the track this season but it certainly was good to see the bright red and yellow #5 back at the track.
The “Upside Down Club” welcomed newcomer, Karl Baker, of York, PA as its newest member in the second Sprint Car heat race. Baker cut the third turn corner a little tight and ended up flipping several times. Once again only the car was damaged and baker was able to make repairs and compete in the feature event. Ed Lynch Jr. picked up the victory in heat race #2 and Indiana Invader,
Cameron Dodson, got the win in heat race #3, which fort7unately went off without any red flags.
The Sprint Car Feature saw Mike Shearer jump into the lead from his front row starting position. As Shearer set his sights on the victory Ed Lynch Jr. quietly worked his way into second place and took over the lead on Lap 13. Lynch went on to capture his eighth Lernerville victory of the season and appears to be on his was to capturing the 2004 divisional points championship as well. Shearer held on for second with Rod George finishing third. Jody Keegan, who has been a regular visitor to Western PA this season, finishing fourth for his best Lernerville finish to date with Jamie Smith completing the top five.
The real story of the Sprint Feature finish was Dan Shetler. Shetler and Smith were racing for fifth place and Shetler got pinched into the front stretch wall as the two were about to cross the finish line. Shetler made contact with the wall and cartwheeled to a sixth place finish!! Shetler also struck the supports of the flagstand bending them in the process. I have been attending the races at Lernerville my entire life and this is the first time that I remember such extensive damage done to the flagstand. Head Starter, Spanky Hall, and his assistant Donny Gallagher never flinched and quickly displayed the red flag to warn the rest of the field of the accident. A few years ago I saw a similar accident at the Fremont Speedway and both the flagman and his assistant jumped off of the flagstand without displaying the red flag or the red light!! On that evening if it were not for the outstanding driving ability of Byron Reed, who brought the entire field to a top, I shutter to think of the consequences. Shetler was the fifth and thankfully last sprint to flip this past Friday evening so maybe now you can understand why I said there must have been a “Full Moon” over Lernerville Speedway on July 23rd.
By the way the track crew did a great job repairing the starter’s tower so that the racing action could continue. I do feel sorry for Tom Roenigk, who in addition to being one of the race coordinator’s this year is also the track maintenance foreman. Roenigk has replaced much of the front straight fence this season as Chad Kemenah tore down a portion in May and Bob Puz tore down another section a few weeks ago. I guess we all know where Tom will be this week! I also want to applaud Tom and his crew for all their hard work and the thankless hours they spend getting the speedway ready for each Friday’s racing action.
As the season heads into August be sure to get out and visit some of the fine tracks in the Tri-State area. I will be returning to Lernerville this Friday and I hope it is a quiet and uneventful night of racing action. Remember that news, notes and comments are always welcome at sprintcarfan@zoominternet.net.
On Tuesday, July 20th it was off to the Lernerville Speedway for the running of the Silver Cup XII. Although a 30% chance of scattered showers were forecast no rain fell at the Sarver oval. Definitely a huge accomplishment as it seems every time the World of Outlaws visit Lernerville the rain comes along as well. The controversy over ownership of the series has been dominating the racing headlines and it appeared as though only a skeleton crew of officials made the trip to Lernerville. I guess time will tell if Boundless Motorsports can overcome the loss of Bobby Jackson and Richard Day among others.
PA Posse member Greg Hodnett set the fast time of the evening at 12.951 and was the only driver in the 12 second bracket. Hodnett and the Apple Chevrolet crew are a great combination and definitely have the talent and equipment needed to run with and beat the World of Outlaws.
Local drivers Rob Eyler and Chad Hill each won their respective heat races so a tip of the hat to both of these drivers!! Eyler brought home a very respectable 16th place finish but unfortunately Hill had mechanical problems and ended up in the 25th position. Hopefully the “Pizza Man” can get back on track this Friday. I also noticed that Hill is already pre-registered for the Knoxville Nationals so “Good Luck” to one of the nicest drivers who is also one of the hardest chargers on the local circuit as he tackles the best sprint car drivers in the business!!
The feature event got off to a rocky start as the on track World of Outlaws officials had a difficult time realigning the field after an accident involving Craig Dollansky on the initial start. It appeared as though neither of the WoO on-track officials had much experience in this capacity and it took quite a few laps and the intervention of Lernerville Pit Steward, Smokey Schempp, to get the cars lined up correctly. A tip of the hat to Smokey as he is one of the best speedway officials around!!
Mark Kinser jumped into the lead as the feature got underway but his cousin, Steve, took over on lap 14. It was another Steve and Sammy showdown as Sammy Swindell moved into second placed and slowly reeled in the leader. Swindell made his move for the lead on lap 24 and he then pulled out to a comfortable lead and went onto a convincing win. After being the so called “Bad Boy” on the WoO circuit Swindell seems to have mellowed a bit in recent years and he was quick to credit his son, Kevin and Larry Smith Jr. for the victory. Seems as though both crew members are 15 and 16 years old respectively so I would say they did a great job!!
It is hard to believe that August is rapidly approaching so I am going to try and make a few more road trips before the regular season draws to a close. Be safe in your racing travels and remember that news, notes and comments are always welcome at sprintcarfan@zoominternet.net.
