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Nov 28 - Turkey Derby - Wall Speedway -8

WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. ~ Rowan Pennick of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. and Jimmy Blewett of Howell split 100-lap main events for Modified stock cars during Turkey Derby stock car racing at Wall Stadium Saturday. The northeast season finale program was witnessed by one of the largest gatherings in recent memory. In the tour type Modified race, Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa. led the first 39 laps before Pennick took the lead with a pass in the outside lane. Pennick then paced the 26-car field through lap 83 when Blewett took the top spot. Pennick stayed on Blewett’s rear bumper for the following laps, but Blewett’s good fortunes were running out as his No. 66 started to spray oil. Soon Blewett was sent to the pit area because of the problem and Pennick regained the lead.
Pennick’s final ten laps were not easy, however, as Pete Brittain of Oakhurst hounded him to the finish. Howell’s Jamie Tomaino, Jon McKennedy and Anthony Sesely of Matawan wrapped up the top five. “Jimmy (Blewett) was running real strong until the end when he had that oil problem. Then Pete (Brittain) ran me real hard but clean to the very end,” Pennick said. “This is great. The car was great and this is a race that I really wanted to win.” In the companion 100-lapper for the speedway’s weekly Red Bank Sleep Shoppe Modified division, Blewett was at the top of his game as he jumped to the early lead. Blewett paced the 24-car field until he pitted for new tires on lap 53. That handed the lead to Brittain who paced the pack until he stopped for new tires on lap 69. Sesely then took command, but Blewett was soon on his bumper before making the winning pass with just 24 laps remaining. At the checker flag it was Blewett, Sesely, Pennick, Chas Okerson of Freehold and Toms River’s Tim Arre.“After the disappointment in the first feature, this wins feels pretty good,” Blewett said. “We ran a Dodge motor here all season and won a lot of races with it. Now we have a Chevy in there and it runs just as strong.”


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Nov 6-7 - North South Shootout - Modified

MYERS GOES BACK-TO-BACK IN NORTH SOUTH SHOOTOUT

The South rose again at the 7th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout on Saturday night as Burt Myers of Walnut Cove, NC, successfully defended his North-South Shootout championship. It was the second straight victory for Myers in Shootout Modified competition at the annual event. By virtue of his victory Myers earned $13,080 in prize money and contingencies.
Matt Hirschman of Northampton, PA, made history with his victory in the SK-Type Modified event on Saturday. Hirschman, a previous Tour Modified victor, became the first driver to win in both the Tour-Type and SK-Type Modifieds. Just days after losing his son in a tragic accident, Jeff Fultz of Troutman, NC, bested a talent-laden field of Super Late Models to score the WearCrete North-South Shootout victory. Dave Steele of Tampa, FL was victorious in the Tampa Bay Area Racing Association (TBARA) Sprint car debut at the Shootout. A pair of NJ natives combined to take the Vintage action at the Shootout. Pete Brittain of Oakhurst, NJ, and Anthony Colosimo of Red Bank, NJ were winners in Vintage Modified and Vintage Sportsman divisions respectively. With his victory on Saturday night, Burt Myers became the second driver to score back-to-back Shootout Tour-Type Modified victories. He now joins the late John Blewett III and Matt Hirschman as two-time winners of the event. Myers took the lead from Matt Hirschman on lap eight and would never be headed. Quick work by his pit crew during a mandatory pit stop at lap 70 had Myers in position to win the event. Myers dominated the competition by leading 118 of the 125 lap race.
An incident on lap four that began with contact between the leaders, pole sitter Chuck Hossfeld and Matt Hirschman, caused a chain reaction that collected a number of cars including contenders Hossfeld and Les Hinckley. George Brunnhoelzl III, Eric Beers, Bobby Grigas, and Ted Christopher were among others involved. On the restart Myers sat second. It only took a handful of laps before taking the lead. Over the later portion of the event Myers was chased by Rowan Pennink but never really challenged. Newly crowned Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion Brunnhoelzl was on the move; looking to be a serious contender for the win. His progress was halted when a flat tire sent him to pit road. Brunnhoelzl put on a show working his way back toward the front. Doug Coby recovered from an early race incident to run inside the top three. Myers went on to score a popular win in front of a solid and clearly Southern skewed crowd. Pennink continued his strong 2009 season with a runner-up finish. The hard-charging Coby earned a podium finish in third. Matt Hirschman and Jamie Tomaino completed the top five.
A total of 44 Modifieds attempted to qualify for the John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout. Matt Hirschman of Northampton, PA, a two-time Shootout Modified winner, jumped aboard the Bob Horn #58 SK-Modified to make history. Hirschman came out on top of a highly competitive main event to win the SK-Type Modified 50-lapper; becoming the first driver to double up in Shootout competition.
In the SK-Type Modifieds it was a duel of the double-duty drivers. Pole sitter Ryan Preece, driving the #99 usually piloted by Woody Pitkat, and Hirschman duked it out for the lead for much of the race with Ronnie Silk in tow. The two went wheel-to-wheel lap after lap as first Silk and then Coby lurked. A classic dual for the win was thwarted when Preece went spinning on lap 42. The spin left Hirschman on his own as he went on to score the victory. The strong Shootout performance by Doug Coby started with a runner-up finish in the SK-Type Modified main event.
Ted Christopher had problems with his #00 early in the race forcing him down pit road. After restarting deep in the pack, Christopher methodically picked his way through the field and to a third-place finish. Steven Reed, who was presented with the Racing Electronics SK Bonus as the highest finishing SK only driver, came home in fourth. Silk faded in the closing laps to finish in the fifth position.
The Super Late Models are not a rare sight at Concord Speedway but the 7th Annual North-South Shootout provided some variety to the full-fendered division. The WearCrete Diamond Concrete Polishing 125 saw some new faces as the CRA Super Series hosted race teams from as far away as Canada, California, Michigan and Tennessee and from as close by as Charlotte, NC, to take part in the event. Local and sentimental favorite Jeff Fultz of Troutman, NC, proved to be the class of the field as he took the lead on lap 53 and never looked back.
A crowd of crew members, fans, and well-wishers greeted Fultz at the start finished line after he took down the victory. The well-deserved and much need victory was capped off by a series of impressive burnouts. Fultz was racing with a heavy heart after an automobile accident claimed the life of his son only days prior.
ohn VanDoorn chased Fultz to the checkers. Early leader and Fultz teammate Cassius Clark also posted a podium finish. Hometown driver Preston Peltier of Concord, NC, finished fourth. Showing a talent beyond his years, 13-year old Chase Elliott used poise and patience to complete the top-five . Brian Ickler, driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports had a disappointing performance to finish 19.

7th Annual John Blewett III Memorial Town & Country Ford North-South Shootout ™
presented by Cabarrus County Visitors Bureau & Capital Bank

MODIFIED FEATURE FINISH: 1. #1 Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, NC; 2. #93 Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Station , PA ; 3. #19 Doug Coby, Milford , CT ; 4. #60 Matt Hirschman, Northampton , PA ; 5. #99 Jamie Tomaino, Howell , NJ ; 6. #28 George Brunnhoelzl III , Mooresville , NC ; 7. #58 Eric Goodale, Riverhead, NY; 8. #36 Jimmy Zacharias, Candor, NY; 9. #66 Pete Brittain, Oakhurst , NJ ; 10. #11 Anthony Sesely, Matawan , NJ ; 11. #25 Zane Zeiner, Bath, PA; 12. #12 Keith Rocco, Wallingford, CT; 13. #88 Woody Pitkat, Stafford Springs, CT; 14. #3s Daren Scherer, Binghamton, NY; 15. #659 Danny Bohn, Huntersville , NC ; 16. #42 Dave Pecko, Vandling , PA ; 17. #31 Gene Pack, Myrtle Beach , SC ; 18. #21K George Kent, Elmira, NY; 19. #44K Rick Kluth, Brockport , NY ; 20. #40P Ryan Preece, Kensington , CT ; 21. #45B Eric Beers, N. Hampton , PA ; 22. #3M Jeff Malave, S. Windsor, CT; 23. #4 Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, NC; 24. #6 Josh Nichols, Cleveland, NC; 25. #00 Ted Christopher, Plainville , CT ; 26. #47 Andy Seuss, Hampstead, NH; 27. #2 JR Bertuccio, Statesville, NC; 28. #40F Frank Fleming, Mount Airy, NC; 29. #8 Earl Paules, Palmerton, PA; 30. #22 Chuck Hossfeld, Lockport , NY ; 31. #06 Les Hinckley , Windsor Locks, CT; 32. #09 Bobby Grigas III , Marshfield, MA; 33. #79 James Civali, Meriden, CT

By Shawn Courchesne on November 7, 2009 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) CONCORD, N.C. -
In 2008 Burt Myers proved that Southern Modified drivers had what it took to beat out their Northern brethren.

Last year Myers became the first Southern driver in the six years of the North-South Shootout at Concord Speedway to win the Tour Type Modified feature. Saturday Myers showed that his 2008 Southern rising was no fluke. Myers, of Walnut Cove, N.C., held off Whelen Modified Tour regulars Rowan Pennink and Doug Coby over the late stages to win the North-South Shootout 125 at Concord Speedway.
"We are in the South, this is Concord, this is our place," Myers said. "I love racing against those Northern guys. I was so proud to be the first Southern guy to win it and I'm even prouder to be the first Southern guy to win it twice." Pennink, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., was second and Coby, of Milford, third. Myers, who started fourth, had the dominant car all race, leading from the eighth lap on. "We really thought about changing this car when we unloaded Thursday," Myers said. "We contemplated and we put it on the truck. We thought it about changing it on Friday and then we put it on the truck. It was a struggle with these guys to convince them to leave it alone. We got it just right like we did last year." Myers was leading the race when the seventh caution of the day flew on lap 71 after Coby spun from second place. The yellow sent all the lead lap cars down pit road. Pennink came to the pits in sixth but a quick stop had him rolling before anybody. But it was some strategy and a quick pedal foot that allowed Myers to stave of Pennink's attempt at a pit road overtaking. When Myers came into the pits he realized if he came in the box straight he would get pinned into the stall when Ryan Preece, pitting in front of him, came in at angle. So Myers got proactive, setting his front end at an angle pointing out in the box to avoid getting blockaded.
"I really felt [my crew was] going to have to back me up to get out so I dumped the clutch and whipped that thing around there like I did," Myers said. "It worked."Pennink look ready to roll by Myers' pit stall, but at the last moment Myers gunned it out of the box and just in front of Pennink to lead the race off of pit road.
"I thought I had him beat there," Pennink said. "I didn't want to go too fast down pit lane and get yelled at. I was thinking 'Just keep it on the outside of him' but then he just did a burnout and pulled right in front of me. I figured I'd back off and not wreck the racecar on pit lane." Said Myers: "That was very pivotal. Our car was probably better than his but you know track position was very critical. If he had beat me out of the pits I don't know if we'd be in victory lane right now. Hats off to my guys, they got me out front and made my job a lot easier." Coby rallied quickly from his spin, working his way back to third by lap 87. "Something was going on with the front of the car," Coby said. "It started vibrating the more I ran. Everything got so bound up. Something happened [when I spun], I was paying more attention to the front, I think when I tried to correct it the car just slid around. It was weird. Coming back through, it was good for 25-30 laps and then the same thing came back." From lap 90 to 110 Pennink and Coby each looked like they might have something for Myers, but over the final 15 laps the defending champion was able to pull away. "When I first got out behind him I was just letting him go to see if he would burn out his tires and I was saving," Pennink said. "Then with about 30 to go I went for it and I just didn't quite have enough." The early stages of the race proved tedious with six cautions and two red flag periods over the first 20 laps. Pole-sitter Chuck Hossfeld wrecked while battling for the lead with Matt Hirschman on lap five, collecting a number of the event's top contenders, including Ted Christopher and Preece. Pennink sustained front end damage in the lap five wreck. "For the car in that condition I thought we gave him a pretty good run for his money there in the end," Pennink said. Hirschman then wrecked on lap eight just after Myers passed him for the lead.

Nov 6-7 - North SOuth Shootout - SK MODIFIED

By Shawn Courchesne on November 7, 2009 5:06 PM CONCORD, N.C.

- Three weeks ago SK Modified team owner Bob Horn of Norwalk was ready to scraps plans for a scheduled trip to North Carolina for the North-South Shootout.
Saturday Horn was standing in victory lane at Concord Speedway with his car and the fill in driver that earned him victory. Matt Hirschman jumped at the opportunity to take Horn's car for a ride and made the most of it by winning the 50-lap SK Modified feature at the seventh North-South Shootout at Concord Speedway in Concord, N.C.
It was the first SK Modified victory at the North-South Shootout for Hirschman, of Northampton, Pa., who won the Tour Type Modified main event in 2006 and '07.
Horn had planned to have Ron Silk of Norwalk behind the wheel, but when Silk decided to race for car owner Ed Partridge it left Horn driverless. "He hooked up with [Partridge] and I didn't have a driver," Horn said. "We just weren't going to come down. Then I got together with Matt and that's all it took." Hirschman had raced Horn's car one time previously at the Budweiser Modified Nationals at the Waterford Speedbowl in 2008. "I knew this was a good car," Hirschman said. They've had a fast car here before. My North-South Shoout is really [the 125-lap Tour Type Modified event], but for these guys, this is their big event and I just feel so great for them." Doug Coby of Milford was second and Ted Christopher of Plainville third. Hirschman started second behind Ryan Preece of Berlin but went to the lead on lap 12. Preece was able to get back to the front on a lap 35 restart but Hirschman returned the favor on a lap 43 restart and held on to the top spot the rest of the way. Coby moved to second on the same restart. A lap after losing the lead Preece spun going into the dog-leg backstretch corner, allowing Christopher to move to third.

1. Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa.
2. Doug Coby, Milford
3. Ted Christopher, Plainville
4. Steve Reed, Freehold, N.J.
5. Ron Silk, Norwalk
6. Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
7. Rick Kluth, Brockport, N.Y.
8. Keith Rocco, Wallingford
9. Ron Yuhas Jr., Groton
10. Shawn Carrig, Little Falls, N.J.
11. Woody Pitkat, Stafford
12. Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa.
13. Ryan Preece, Berlin
14. Gerry Gradl Jr., N/A
15. T.J. Zacharias, Candor, N.Y.
16. Patrick Emerling, Orchard Park, N.Y.
17. Dan Kurzejewski, Mansfield, Pa.
18. Gary Young Jr., Burlington, N.C.
19. Kerry Malone, Needham, Mass.
20. Craig Dolphin, North Tonawanda, N.Y.
21. Anthoney Sesely, Matawan, N.J.
22. Mike Speeny, Newtown, Pa.
23. Jimmy Zacharias, Candor, N.Y.

Matt will be doing double duty at the NSS; driving the Hirschman 60 and the Bob Horn 58 SK. Both cars will be sponsored by DMC Auto Exchange. Matt drove the car in Bud Nationals at Waterford in 2008. Car sat on pole with Ron Silk at last years shootout

October 31 - Mahoning Speedway - rain

October 25 - Wall Speedway
BLEWETT AND SESELY POCKET BIG CASH
IN WALL STADIUM’S “COMERFORD MEMORIAL” SUNDAY

Jimmy Blewett of Howell and Anthony Sesely of Matawan each pocketed an unprecedented $6,600 for winning 66-lap tour type Modified feature races during the “Tommy Comerford Memorial” Sunday afternoon at Wall Stadium. Riches were also spread through each 24-car field as a total purse of $40,000 was offered. In the opening 66-lapper, Les Hinckley of Windsor Locks, Conn. and Tommy Farrell of Neptune wrestled for the lead early swapping the top spot on restarts while Blewett ducked into the pit area several times for adjustments on his No. 66 Comerford tribute car. Tim Arre of Toms River and Danny Bohn of Huntersville , N.C. also got into the lead battle later on as Blewett marched to the front. The turning point in the race came with just 12 laps to go when Hinckley and Bohn pushed high in turn two while battling for the lead and Blewett dove low to take the lead and eventual win. Matt Hirschman of Northampton , Pa. also raced through the hole to grab second, while Keith Rocco of Wallingford , Conn. , Hinckley and Ray Evernham of Huntersville , N.C. wrapped up the top five. In the second tour Modified 66-lapper, Sesely and Justin Gumley of Colts Neck fought for the lead in the early going. Soon Earl Paules of Palmerton , Pa. took his turn at the front before Sesely took command for good. Hirschman had a great day as he raced to his second straight runner-up finish, while Rocco grabbed his second straight third place run. Gumley and Paules wrapped up the top five. In support division action Kevin Davison of Howell was the class of the field in Calabreeze Pools Sportsman division action as he swept a pair of 25-lappers. In the first race, rain postponed from September 26, Kevin Eyres of Colts Neck nailed down the 2009 driving title by finishing second, while Mike Smith of Wall, Andrew Krause of East Brunswick and Randy MacConnell of Toms River were third through fifth. In the second race, Smith chased Davison across the finish line, with Matt Przemielewski Toms River , Ken Green of Farmingdale and Tom Kearns of Howell wrapping up the top five. Jon Meyer of Toms River also had a great day sweeping a pair of 20-lappers for the Flanagan Retail Development Factory Stocks. In the first race, Howell’s Elliott Wohl actually crossed the finish line first, but when his car failed a post race inspection the win went to Meyer. Flemington’s Tom Fratesi was the runner-up, with Bryan Flanagan of Hazlet, Steve Lynch of Aberdeen and Tim Flanagan of Hazlet third through fifth. Former champ Rob Longo of Wall was the runner-up in the second race, while Roy Farfel of Wall, Union ’s Joey Helberg and Joe Constandi of Flemington were third through fifth.
Carl Thomas of Tinton Falls nailed down the 2009 Street Stock championship by winning the rain postponed 25-lap feature. Ralph Gargiulo of Allenwood was second, with Jackson ’s Howie Conk third. Conk came back to win the nightcap over Thomas and Beachwood’s Bill Vanderveen. Zach Alspach of Willingboro made a trip back from New Mexico , where he attends college, worthwhile by winning the 25-lapper for the Legend Cars. Brian Spencer, Derek Hopkinson of Toms River, Kenny Van Wickle and Bobby Baltera completed the top five.

1ST MODIFIED FEATURE – 66 Laps – 1 JIMMY BLEWETT, HOWELL, 2. Matt Hirschman, 3. Keith Rocco, 4. Les Hinckley, 5. Ray Evernham, 6. Earl Paules, 7. Justin Gumley, 8. Anthony Sesely, 9. Rich Kuiken, 10. Danny Bohn, 11. Tony Ferrante, 12. Tommy Farrell, 13. Danny Sammons, 14. Tim Arre, 15. Ken Woolley, Jr., 16. Steven Reed, 17. Pete Brittain, 18. Jim Willis, 19. John Markovic, 20. Rusty Smith, 21. Andy Walko, 22. Kevin Flockhart, 23. Billy Weichert, 24. Jimmy Zacharias
2ND MODIFIED FEATURE – 66 Laps – 1. ANTHONY SESELY, MATAWAN, 2. Hirschman, 3. Rocco, 4. Gumley, 5. Paules, 6. Flockhart, 7. Ferrante, 8. Farrell, 9. Woolley, 10. Arre, 11. Sammons, 12. Willis, 13. Evernham, 14. Zacharias, 15. Brittain, 16. Smith, 17. Bohn, 18. Markovic, 19. Hinckley, 20. Blewett, 21. Reed, 22. Kuiken, 23. Walko, 24. Ken Darch


October 11 - Sundance Speedway- King of the Mountain 5
Earl Paules Cashes in at Sundance with Huge King of the Mountain Win
By: Gene Ostrowski
St. Johns, PA- For the first time in ten seasons of racing during Sundance Vacations Speedway’s “King of the Mountain” annual showdown a repeat winner was born. Palmerton’s Earl Paules pitted for fresh rubber on lap 100 and took the race lead with 32 laps remaining to cash in with the $5000 payday to win the prestigious event. Mike Nichols inherited the race lead on lap 16 and never looked back as he rolled to his first Street Stock victory at the speedway and Robert Fink scored his first season-ending event in the FWD main. Capping off a championship season, Scott Hubler took the INEX Legends top honors. Eric Beers set the quickest time of the afternoon during time trials and the fastest fifteen Modified time trailers were locked in for the 150-lap main event. Matt Hirschman drew the pole position when the top ten fastest drivers redrew for starting positions. Hirschman led the opening lap at the drop of the green over Zane Zeiner, John Fortin, Justin Gumley and Larry Fisher. Drivers began to settle into position and make a run before the competition yellow on lap 75 for fuel. Prior to the mandatory yellow, Gumley overtook Hirschman for the race lead on lap 57. Hirschman regained the lead when Gumley pitted for tires during a lap 61 yellow flag. Earl Paules had worked his way into the second spot, just ahead of Zeiner and Anthony Sesely. It didn’t take long for Paules to jump to the outside and overtake Hirschman on lap 67. Following pit stops by several drivers at the halfway mark, Paules led over Pete Brittain, Brian DeFebo, Jimmy Zacharias and Justin Bonsignore, who started back in twenty-first. With the green flag back out and without pitting for fresh tires as of yet, Paules held the point, but Fortin became the new race leader on lap 89. The first of three yellow flags flew when Paules lost grip and spun in turn four. Paules headed pit side for service and was forced to restart from the tail of the field. The second lap 100 yellow waved when Bobby Jones, Hirschman, Beers and DeFebo spun in turn one. Beers suffered the worst damage from contact with the fence, which forced him to retire from the event. Fortin remained out front with Andy Walko glued to his bumper, followed by Zeiner, Rusty Smith and Nick Pecko. Paules wasted no time and made a strong run back toward the front and was scored in the fourth spot on lap 111. Paules worked over Walko to take the second spot and then challenged Fortin for the lead on lap 118. With Paules in command, Fortin ran second, followed by Bonsignore, Zeiner and Hirschman. Bonsignore overtook the second spot with ten laps remaining and ran out of time if he had anything for Paules. Paules drove off to the $5000 payday over Bonsignore, Fortin, Zeiner and Hirschman. The win also earned Paules a guaranteed starting spot in the years Turkey Derby at Wall Stadium and also a guaranteed starting spot in the seasons North/South Shootout in Concord, NC. Kyle Ebersole finished seventh in the event, which was good enough to take the track points

Modifieds (150-Laps) 1. EARL PAULES 2. Justin Bonsignore 3. John Fortin 4. Zane Zeiner 5. Matt Hirschman 6. Jim Zacharias 7. Kyle Ebersole 8. Rusty Smith 9. Brian Defebo 10. Larry Fisher 11. Nick Pecko 12. Russ Frantz 13. Todd Baer 14. Andy Walko 15. Bobby Jones 16. Lewis Hallock 17.Daren Scherer 18. David Schneider 19. Brian Romig 20. Anthony Sesely 21. Barry Callavini 22.Eric Beers 23. Pete Brittain 24. Harry Buchman 25. Rob McCormick 26. Justin Gumley 27. Tommy Flanagan 28. Marissa Niederauer DNQ: Matt Higgins, Ken Vogel, Jr., Dave Sapienza, Lenny Fischer, Billy Weichert, Ken Darch, Adam Horwith

October 4 - Twin State Speedway - Win
But the car was DQ'd for a carburetor infraction

DORE AWARDED WIN AT TWIN STATE FOLLOWING INSPECTION
When Sanford, Maine, driver Jacob Dore, a mechanical engineering student at the University of New Hampshire left Twin State Speedway, Claremont, NH., Sunday evening, he was pleased with his solid performance, finishing second in the 112 lap “Ricky Miller Memorial Race” to winner Matt Hirschman, Northampton, PA. the 20 year old Dore had just driven his best race to date competing against some of the top names the True Value Modified Racing Series offers. When Dore left his classes at UNH on Monday, he learned he was awarded the top spot and his first ever TVMRS win.
Following a post race inspection Sunday night it was determined by series officials on Monday afternoon, a violation of rules had taken place by the winning team of long-time owner/driver, Gary Casella. The technical violation resulted in a disqualification and the victory awarded to Dore, the second place finisher. Hirschman, the 2009 ROC modified champion, drove a great race filling in for regular Casella team driver Rowan Pennink who was committed to another series. Hirschman won the Miller Memorial in 2008. Dore, a strong candidate for Koszela Speed rookie of the year honors, showed his strength when he took the lead on lap 31 and held it until lap 62. The former All-Star Speedway regular stayed in the hunt throughout the race competing strong with Jon McKennedy, Sean Bodreau, Dwight Jarvis, Hirschman, and Kenny Barry. “We had fun, we knew we could compete,” said Dore while doing homework Monday night. “We might have had a shot at Matt if we did not have that last yellow. It would take me a bit to get the rhythm again after the restart but then again he might have been saving it. When you can compete with a guy like Dwight Jarvis, at his home track, finish ahead of him, its feels good,” Dore agrees that his Twin State run was his best but the race at Beech Ridge Speedway this summer was a turning point in the teams first year. “We had to learn as a team how to run 100 lap races; we raced 40 lap races at All-Star. Once we learned that we got better.”
Dore becomes the second rookie to win a TVMRS race. Bobby Grigas won his first race in 2006 at Waterford, CT. Grigas was later named rookie of the year. As a result of the changes in the finish, Barry will be credited with a second, his best finish with the TVMRS, McKennedy third, Jarvis fourth, and Todd Patnode, fifth. Mike Douglas, Rob Goodenough, Steve Masse, Victor Johnson, and Kurt Vigeant, finished sixth through tenth.
12 cautions slowed the race. It took 1 hour 11 minutes to complete the 112 lap event.
31 race teams entered the 13th race of the season, 12 of the original 24 starters finished on the lead lap
McKennedy’s third place finish widened his point lead over Rob Goodenough to 25 points. Masse moved past Pennink to third place in the standings, 34 points behind McKennedy.
The TVMRS returns to action Saturday and Sunday Oct 10, 11 at the Seekonk Speedway, Seekonk, MA.
Order of Finish: (1) Dore, (2) Barry, (3) McKennedy, (4) D.Jarvis, (5) Patnode,(6) Douglas, (7) Goodenough, (8) Masse, (9) Johnson, (10) Vigeant, (11) Seuss, (12) Bodreau, (13) Hinckley, (14) Alexander, (15) Bateman, (16) Pearl, (17) McClay,
(18) Boniface, (19) J.Jarvis, (20) Holdridge, (21) Riendeau, (22) Dachenhausen, (23) Ianarelli, (24) Hirschman (DQ)

Fall Challenge 2009

CLAREMONT — Matt Hirschman chalked up another win in Sunday’s Ricky Miller Memorial 112 race, his second in as many attempts. The memorial race benefiting David’s House in Lebanon, N.H. and sponsored by Granite State Harley Davidson capped off a weekend full of racing action.
Friday started things off with the four cylinder fury of the Northeast Classic Lites, Sportsmen, Ministocks and a 100-lap Enduro that paid $2,000 to the winner. Sunday was all open wheel action with the Pro4 Modifieds, Nema Midgets and Midget Lites, Pepsi Modifieds and of course the True Value Modified Tour. Saturday was rained out and a rain date will not be scheduled. Hirschman started mid-pack and worked his way forward inch by inch as the front-runners battled each other. By lap 82 there had already been numerous lead changes but there would be just one more as the 25 slipped into the lead and held on to take the checkered flag after 112 laps. Hirschman has had good luck at the Thrasher Road speedplant, with two wins in True Value Modified action and a second place finish when the Whelen Modfieds paid a visit in 2007, the latest win may be the most impressive. Hirschman confessed he hadn’t even sat in the car he would drive until Sunday, making practice sessions ever important.

October 3 - Mahoning Speedway - 3rd and Win

Eric Beers and Matt Hirschman take all the Mahoning Cash Back to Mud Lane

(LEHIGHTON, PA 10-3-09) The stock on Mud Lane in Northampton took a spike Saturday evening thanks to neighbors Eric Beers and Matt Hirschman who each picked up $3000 from winning Hands Three and Four of the Modified 100 Poker Series at Mahoning Valley Speedway. For Beers, who drives for DeLange Racing, it was his second 100 lap win this season and the sixth such time that he has scored a Mahoning century mark run as well as the 26th Modified win at the Lehighton ¼-mile which he still calls his ‘home track.’ Hirschman meanwhile has been trying for years to get a win at the close-to-home speedway. Victory here has always eluded the talented Modified star which is one of the very few tracks that he had yet to conquer.Hand Three of the Poker Series was a continuation from July 25 when after 37 laps the event was postponed due to rain. When the remaining 63 circuits got back underway track point leader John Bennett was the leader over Chip Santee, Beers, Rick Reichenbach and Earl Paulus. Beers moved right behind Bennett and immediately went to work on trying to pass him. Bennett, however, was proving why he is the current Kingpin of Mahoning as would not give Beers any chance to overtake him.The two waged a classic battle as lap after lap Beers would try every type of maneuver to get by but Bennett continued to hold his ground. With 20 laps to go Beers started to look to the inside of Bennett and three laps later he finally had enough power to drive by for the lead. Once in front he stayed smooth and steady.“I’ll tell you what, he (Bennett) was fast. I was just riding him from the get-go and had a tough time getting him. We put on a heck of a show running side-by-side. He kind of slipped up a little bit in (turn) two and I saw my opening there. I got down in the corner and we never touched. It was just a fun race,” said Beers. “I never want to settle for second in any race I’m in. I was just trying to set him up so I could get a good groove to pass him, try to find his weaknesses, pick a spot and get by quick.”Over the final laps Bennett began to slip back as Lonnie Behler, Hirschman and Santee finished ahead of him at the checkered flag. Time trials were held in setting the grid for the second 100-lapper with Hirschman setting fast time at 9.786 seconds. A redraw of the top 12 was then held and Hirschman had some luck go his way when he pulled the pole.Getting the pole was one thing but leading was a whole other issue as Hirschman had a race long bumper full of cars in pursuant of him.
While he defended his line there was the likes of Beers and John Markovic on his tail. The two past Mahoning champs went back and forth with one another while making repeated tries at the leader.That was the tone for most of the race too. Hirschman leading while intense side-by-side action was going on behind him. When Beers and Markovic weren’t on his trail it was Zane Zeiner and Bennett who were putting the pressure on. Zeiner looked as though he was about to make a pass several times but somehow Hirschman found the needed muscle to stay ahead. With ten laps to go Markovic and Beers returned to their runner-up battle but could not make the needed effort to advance any further as Hirschman piloted his J & J Motorsports #59 to the long awaited Mahoning win. “It’s about time. It feels great to get that monkey off my back here. It shouldn’t have taken this long and I don’t know why it did. When I had a great car something always seem to happen and there where nights I didn’t have such a good car and left here disappointed,” said Hirschman. “We had some of the best to deal with. Eric (Beers) has been really dominant here and Johnny (Markovic) has won here so many times and Zane (Zeiner) was coming on real strong at the end and I knew we just had to pick it up to keep them behind me. “I really have to thank my niece Amelia. She drew the pole for me and tomorrow is her second birthday.” This marked the first time that a Hirschman was back in Victory Lane at Mahoning in a regular division race since Matt’s dad, multiple NASCAR Modified champion Tony, won in a Late Model back in 1976. “I’ve definitely taken my ribbing from lack of success here from everybody so I’m glad to finally get a win here. It’s a relief to get one so close to home,” said Hirschman. “Finally. I bust on him all the time that he can’t win here at Mahoning but can everywhere else and he finally got one here,” added dad Tony Hirschman. Markovic was second after an outstanding run. Beers came home a close third with Zeiner and Santee rounding out the top five.

Modified Feature Finish, 100 Laps: 1.Matt Hirschman 2.John Markovic 3.Eric Beers 4.Zane Zeiner 5.Chip Santee 6.John Bennett 7.James Pritchard 8.Brian DeFebo 9.Lou Strohl 10.Matt Wentz 11.Anthony Sesely 12.Earl Paulus 13.Jarred Nace 14.Mike Sweeney 15.Lonnie Behler 16.Andy Szapacs 17.Stacey Brown 18.Matt Higgins 19.Rick Reichenbach 20.Don Wagner 21.Austin Kochenash 22.Ryan Russo Did not qualify: Todd Baer, Billy Swartz, Bill Teel

Modified Feature Finish, (7/25) 100 Laps: 1.Beers 2.Behler 3.Hirschman 4.Santee 5.Bennett 6.DeFebo 7.Reichenbach 8.Baer 9.Pritchard 10.Wagner 11.Szapacs 12.Paulus 13.Higgins 14.Strohl 15.Russo 16.Tom Flanagan

Sept 20 - Dunn Tire - US OPEN - 1

RoC Modifieds: Hirschman Wins US Open and RoC Title

The Western New York racing finale, Dunn Tire Raceway Park’s US Open, attracted the best of the best competition in the north east United States to the historic facility this past weekend. Matt Hirschman won an exciting Modified feature event and also captured the overall Race of Champions Modified Tour Points Championship. The headline event of the weekend was the final scheduled event – the Race of Champions Modified 100 lap feature. Tom McGrath redrew the pole position and was joined on the outside row by Earl Paules. Jim Storace, Rusty Smith, Sege Fidanza, and Jan Leaty followed the front row to the green flag. McGrath’s lead was short lived as Paules dove under him and took the lead on lap one. A quick yellow flag on lap six produced a double file restart and Paules once again took the lead. The field quickly settled in single file as the top six cars of Paules, Fidanza, McGrath, J. Leaty, Matt Hirschman, and Smith ran nose to tail. On lap 12 Fidanza made the move for the lead, going under Paules in turn three and coming out as the race leader. A yellow flag on lap 20 saw the first round of pit stops for the optional right rear tire. Most of the leaders stayed out and when the race went green again Fidanza led Paules, McGrath, and J. Leaty. By lap 25 Hirschman had moved up to second while J. Leaty ran third. Hirschman began looking high and low on Fidanza, looking for any way around the leader. Hirschman’s opportunity came on lap 27 as he powered under Fidanza coming out of turn four and took the lead. The field once again settled in single file until the yellow flag appeared once again on lap 38. The pits were a busy place as J. Leaty, and a number of other top ten cars pitted. The top four of Hirschman, Fidanza, McGrath, and Smith stayed out and at halfway ran in positions one through four. Just at the halfway point the yellow caution flag was displayed and the pits were re-opened. Hirschman, Fidanza, Smith, and Mike Leaty – who had been running fifth – all ducked into the pits. The single file restart now had McGrath leading the pack while TJ Potrzebowski, Jim Storace, and Erick Rudolph followed. McGrath held his lead but the cars with fresher tires were on the move up through the field. By lap 70 Hirschman was back up to fifth. A late race yellow on lap 74 saw McGrath give up the lead and head pitside, handing the lead over to Potrzebowski. On lap 77 J. Leaty took advantage of his fresher tires and passed Potrzebowski for the lead. Hirschman followed and the battle for the lead soon began. Hirschman was all over J. Leaty and on lap 94 was able to capitalize on lap traffic, taking the lead away from Leaty. After clearing Leaty and lap traffic, Hirschman took off and built a considerable lead as the race wound down. Hirschman crossed the finish line first and was followed by Jan Leaty and TJ Potrzebowski. The race marked the first time that a father son duo has won the Modified US Open event, with Matt’s father Tony winning one of the very first US Open Modified events. The Modified race was also significant in that it was the last race for veteran driver Sege Fidanza. Fidanza has decided to retire after an illustrious career that includes ten Lancaster Modified Championships.

Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Tour Series Offiicial Results
Dunn Tire Raceway Park
9/20/09

1. Matt Hirschman
2. Jan Leaty
3. T.J. Potrzebowski
4. Erick Rudolph
5. Sege Fidanza
6. Rusty Smith
7. Tom McGrath
8. Karl Hehr
9. Jeff Hamman
10. Dave Wollaber
11. Bob Reis
12. Eric Beers
13. Mike Leaty
14. Billy Putney
15. Mark Tychoniewicz
16. Jim Storace
17. Billy Burd
18. Rick Kluth
19. Earl Paules
20. Daryl Lewis, Jr.
21. Doug Reaume
22. Jimmy Zacharias
23. Tom Wiest
24. Daren Scherer
25. Terry Zacharias

September 13 - Oswego - The RoC - 20th

Oswego, NY… The 59th Sunoco Race of Champions came to a conclusion Sunday evening at the Oswego Speedway with a majority of those in attendance leaving with a smile on their face. That smile was brought to the faces of many as one of the good people in this sport of auto racing captured the most prestigious event of the year.
East Aurora, NY driver Billy Putney won his first Sunoco Race of Champions 200 as he inherited the lead during a yellow flag period on lap 127 when the last few cars that hadn’t pitted did so at this time. Putney then led the final 72 laps holding off the constant challenges of first JR Kent and then Earl Paules to claim the $10,000 feature win. Paules who won the TJ Toyota / Waite Toyota Modified All – Star race the night before ended up second with defending race winner Tony Hirschman coming home in third. Ted Christopher brought a Zacharias Racing entry home in fourth and Jan Leaty ended up in fifth. At this race a few years ago Danny Cascioli found himself being towed out of the Oswego Speedway for unsportsmanlike actions during the Super Stock feature. This year Cascioli behaved himself to win the French’s Auto Parts sponsored 75 lap feature. Cascioli took the lead on a lap nine restart and survived numerous restarts to claim the win. Chris Daughtery was second with Chip Wannamaker in third, his teammate Lorin Arthofer, III was fourth and Dylan Terry ended up fifth.Eric Beers and Matt Hirschman brought the 34 car starting field to green with Beers getting the lead over Chuck Hossfeld, Hirschman, Erick Rudolph, and Tony Hirschman.With the sun starting to set every time there was a double file restart whoever was on the outside of the front row would lose that spot to the third place starting car. From the start of the race until lap 32 Hossfeld and Matt Hirschman did the exchanging of second on three spate occasions.
Defending race winner Tony Hirschman snookered young Rudolph on a lap 24 restart to get fourth. But Rudolph showed Tony who was boss as he retook fourth one lap later, finally Tony got fourth for good after a lap 32 restart.With a mandatory pit stop needing to take place after lap 50 a yellow on lap 54 saw a flurry of pit activity which included JR Kent, Billy Putney, Mike Leaty, and Rick Kluth among the ten cars that pitted at this time. On the restart Matt Hirschman got the jump on Beers to get the lead but it was short lived as Beers returned the favor two laps later. Hossfeld got past Matt for second on lap 61 and the top five stayed the same until lap 79 when another yellow would come out.This time Hossfeld, Jan Leaty, Tony Hirschman, Rudolph, Earl Paules, Rowan Pennink were among 15 cars that pitted. Beers held the lead with Matt Hirschman in second, Ted Christopher in third, Tommy Farrell, III in fourth, and Andy Walko in fifth. These five cars at this point were the only ones not to make their mandatory pit stop. Matt Hirschman finally got the lead on lap 88 and just after he took over a huge pileup in turn one brought out the red flag. Many cars that had just pitted were involved and were lucky that they had good brakes and didn’t receive too much damage.The top five would remain the same until lap 98 when Christopher got past Beers for second but Eric returned the favor seven laps later. JR Kent who was the first in line of cars who pitted moved into fifth on lap 106. The winning pass of the race took place on lap 110 as Billy Putney made a bold outside turns one and two pass of Kent to go from sixth to fourth. Five laps later Putney moved into third with Kent in fourth and Earl Paules now taking fifth.A yellow on lap 126 saw the pits open for pit stops on lap 127 and at this time the five remaining cars pitted for their mandatory stop. Beers suffered mechanical problems which forced him to pit on the next lap and ended up losing two laps making repairs.
When the race returned to green flag conditions Putney held the lead over Kent who was doing his best to hold off Paules, Tony Hirschman, and James Civali who had pitted four times earlier to get his problems figured out. After being run all over the track Paules muscled his way past Kent for second on lap 134 and set his sights on Putney who had built up a comfortable lead. Tony Hirschman was next to muscle his way past Kent to take third on lap 143. With fifty laps to go Putney was still in command followed by Paules and Tony Hirschman. Hossfeld moved into fifth on lap 154 and into fourth seven laps later.Christopher took fifth on lap 176 and set his sights on the front as he battled with Hossfeld for fourth.
The final yellow of the event came out with six laps to go as Hossfeld spun in turn four. The final five laps were anti climatic as Putney held some strength in reserve for the end of the race as he claimed the popular win. Qualifying for the 35 car field saw Hossfeld set quick time in time trials with a lap of 17.481. The heat races were won by Jim Storace, Dave Wollaber, and Sege Fidanza.
NOTES; The quickly running weekend came to a grinding halt Sunday morning as a no percent chance of rain became lake effect showers that delayed the racing program nearly three hours. RoC would like to thank the racers, track safety crew, and parking lot packers for helping in drying the track. Wilbur Hebing who was slated to start seventh in the feature scratched after hot laps due to motor issues. In the Modifieds the top five times redrew for the first five starting spots in the feature while times six, seven, and eight were placed in positions ten, eleven, and twelve for the feature. Todd Geist was in the second Earl Paules entry.

59TH SUNOCO RACE OF CHAMPIONS DART ASPHALT MODIFIED TOUR RACE REPORT

FINISH; Billy Putney, Earl Paules, Tony Hirschman, Ted Christopher, Jan Leaty, JR Kent, Rusty Smith, James Civali, Rowan Pennink, Andy Walko, Kyle Ebersole, TJ Potrzebowski, Jim Storace, Rick Kluth, Doug Reaume, Mike Leaty, Chuck Hossfeld, Eric Beers, Tom McGrath, Matt Hirschman, Daryl Lewis, Jr., Erick Rudolph, Tommy Farrell, III, Chris Risdale, Daren Scherer, Sege Fidanza, Tommy Cloce, Jimmy Zacharias, Dave Wollaber, Pete Brittain, Chris Zacharias, Mark Tychoniewicz, Rick Zacharias, Ron Smith.
DNS; Wilbur Hebing.
LAP LEADERS; Beers ( 1 – 58 ) M. Hirschman ( 59 – 60 ), Beers ( 61 – 87 ), M. Hirschman ( 88 – 127 ) Putney ( 128 – 200 ).
LAP MONEY WON; Beers - $7,443, Putney - $4,200, M. Hirschman - $3,000.
DART MACHINERY AWARD $1,500 SET OF HEADS; Ebersole.
GATER RACING NEWS DRIVER BONUS DRAWING $500; Kent.
GATER RACING NEWS BEST APPEARING CAR & CREW AWARD; Lewis.
HOOSIER RACING TIRE HARD LUCK AWARD; Brittain ( 7th to 30th ).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE HARD CHARGER AWARD; Kent ( 26th to 6th ).
TOM BALDWIN HARD CHARGER AWARD $500; Kent.
CHUCK BOOS AWARD $100; Geist.
LAST CAR RUNNING ON LEAD LAP $100; Hossfeld.
ZACHARIAS FAMILY RACING AWARD $100; Lewis.

September 12 - Oswego - The RoC All Star Race

September 6 - Sundance Speedway- 1

Matt Hirschman prevails at Sundance
Trying to get geared up for the 10th annual “King of the Mountain” and the $5000 to win prize, Matt Hirschman, of Northampton, scored his first victory of the season Sunday in the Modified main event at Sundance Vacations Speedway. Zane Zeiner, of Bath, bested the field in a wild Late Model feature and Mountaintop’s Paul Morgan, Jr. notched his first win of the season in the Factory Stock division. Ian Cummens held off his sister, Alison, en route to his first TQ Midget feature at the facility.
Barry Callavini sat on the pole and took the early race lead in the 40-lap Modified main event. Callavini was scored as the leader with one lap complete, with Dave Schneider, Alan Creveling, Todd Baer and Brian DeFebo in tow. Drivers wasted no time and advanced positions. First, Baer got by Creveling and Schneider to move into second. Zane Zeiner advanced to third after starting in tenth and Kyle Ebersole followed through for fourth by the third circuit.
DeFebo worked his way back into the top five and help the third spot behind Callavini and Zeiner on lap five. Meanwhile, Matt Hirschman overtook Baer for the fourth spot. Both Zeiner and DeFebo blasted underneath Callavini on lap six and Hirschman followed into third shortly after. With Zeiner in command, Hirschman overtook DeFebo for the runner up spot on lap 16 and set his sights on the leader. Three laps later Hirschman made the pass for the lead after running door to door in dramatic fashion with Zeiner.
Ebersole began to work the back bumper of DeFebo for third. The duo ran hot and heavy for a number of laps before DeFebo allowed Ebersole to slip underneath him in turn two on lap 28. However, DeFebo got a run on Ebersole in turn three and made contact with Ebersole. The end result was a spin by Ebersole and both drivers were sent to the rear of the field for the restart. Green flag racing resumed Hirschman drove off to his first victory of the season at the speedway over Zeiner, Bobby Jones, Baer and Callavini.
Todd Baer and Barry Callavini won heat races
Modifieds (40-laps) 1. MATT HIRSCHMAN 2. Zane Zeiner 3. Bobby Jones 4. Todd Baer 5. Barry Callavini 6. Kyle Ebersole 7. Nick Pecko 8. Brian DeFebo 9. Lenny Fischer 10. David Schneider 11. Brian Romig 12. Geary Rinehimer 13. Jim Bojohnny 14. Allan Creveling


September 5 - Oswego - RoC - 7
from Matt: "had a good run until getting caught up in a lap car crash. Recovered to finish 7th and win the RoC regular season championship!"

JAN IS GETTING HOT AT THE RIGHT TIME AS HE WINS HIS SECOND CONSECUTIVE ROC MODIFIED FEATURE

In all forms of sport when the big events are on the line there is a very good chance that a veteran in this sport will be in contention for the big win. After going through a winless season until mid August veteran Jan Leaty showed on Saturday night at the Oswego Speedway that he is back in the hunt for a feature win every time he races. After winning the RoC event back on August 14th at Spencer in a dominating fashion. Saturday night Jan made it look just as easy as he won the Parts Plus sponsored 100 lap feature by following the rules of the race, getting a great pit stop, and having an outstanding running racing machine. Jan who started fourth dropped back to sixth on lap 53 as the leading pack of cars entered heavy lap traffic. While in heavy lap traffic an accident took place involving three of the five cars in front of him. During this yellow flag period several drivers pitted during a closed pit and when the pits were opened the two drivers in front of Jan passed the 25 mile per hour pace vehicle in the pits. After all of this the field was brought the red to sort out the running order and Jan found himself in fourth. When the race resumed on lap 57 Jan made quick work of the cars in front of him as he moved up to the outside groove to take third on lap 62. Jan then passed Wilbur Hebing for second on lap 68 and one lap later Jan motored around leader Dave Wollaber exiting turn four to grab the lead he would never give up. Hebing challenged for the lead a couple of times and when that happened turned up the wick and made his lead even bigger. Chasing the top two across the stripe was Rowan Pennink, Rusty Smith, and TJ Potrzebowski. “ We had a crappy start in the heat and made the most of that and then started fourth in the main “ said the $3,500 victor. “ The car was pretty decent all night but after the pit stop the other guys were just in my way that is how good the car was. “ Jan spoke about his great crew and the confusion that took place around the lap 54 pit stop. “ A couple of guys made the mistake of pitting when they weren’t suppose to pit and a couple of guys made the mistake of passing the pace vehicle on pit road when we could pit. I just don’t understand how they can do that kind of stuff and expect it to work. But my crew they’re the best as I came into the pits fourth and they got me out first of the cars who pitted and that was the difference. “
“ It’s hard to make that mistake of pitting at the wrong time “ said Jan. “ I don’t know if they don’t have their one way radio hooked up right or their spotter is not listening to race control. But there is no excuse not to follow race procedures as they haven’t changed over the years here. “ Jan turned his attention to the pit stop and the new right rear tire that was put on. “ The car was slowly going away as we had that long green run at the beginning. At first the car was tight then it went to neutral and then it went to loose. There is always that consideration to hang out there and not pit, but I said to the crew during the green that we would have to pit. We pitted and put the same stuff back on the car with the same sized tire and the car was mint. “ “ We were missing a little piece earlier in the year “ said Jan when talking about his early in the season struggles. “ Changing the cam before the Spencer race was the final piece in the puzzle and now we’re running like we should be running. You need the whole combination to be working properly to be successful and when one piece is off or missing; you’re not going to be up front and winning like we are now. “ Jan finally spoke about the gaggle of lap traffic in front of the leaders on lap 53 which saw him drop back, but he avoided the wreck that happened one lap later. “ What I was trying to do was plan out ahead of me all the time. Other words don’t put yourself in a position where you have no way out. I was trying to keep lanes open all the time to have a way out just in case I needed to. That wreck in turn two that a couple of guys in front of me got into and I didn’t because they didn’t have a way to get out of it and I did a have way out. “ Wilbur Hebing who ended up second which saw him receive the All – Star Race birth next week has had a rough year to date. “ All year we’ve struggled with stuff breaking or missing the setup “ said Wilbur. To get back on track Wilbur talked to two veteran drivers that got him back on track. “ During the week I talked with Jan and he helped me with some stuff. We were fast in practice tonight and after that I went over to talk to Tony Hirschman and he gave me some tips and they lasted the whole race. “
“ I finally had some breaks go my way, a little luck, and the tires lasted ( he didn’t pit ). I couldn’t be happier “ summed up Wilbur. First time on the RoC Series this year Rowan Pennink was on hand to tune up for this week’s Sunoco RoC. “ We had a couple of small carburetor problems earlier in the day but we got the figured out “ said Rowan. “ I was pretty happy with the car as it was good right out of the trailer; we’ll make a couple of changes to make it faster for next week. “
Qualifying heats for the 27 car field saw heat wins go to Pennink, Matt Hirschman, and Eric Beers.

STEEL PALACE NOTES: Accomplished asphalt racing veteran Davey Hamilton drove the Horwith Freightliner number 9 as a teammate to Eric Beers. Davey in his first time in a Modified had a rough night as he spun into the infield pit road during the heat race and got tangled up in the lap 54 accident. Todd Geist ran the second Earl Paules entry on this night. Paules had a terrible evening with numerous carb problems. No driver had a tougher night than Billy Putney. Putney broke the driveline in hot laps and in the first lap of the heat was bumped into the back stretch wall doing considerable damage. In the feature Billy was about to pit during the closed pit, backed up and stayed on the track gaining 15 positions. Billy then raced his way into third and was challenging for second when the right front hub broke ending his long and frustrating evening. Marilyn and Don Toal have raised $15,643 in lap money for this week’s 59th Sunoco Race of Champions Modified event. With his seventh place finish Matt Hirschman claimed the Regular Season Point Title by ten over Rusty Smith.

RACE OF CHAMPIONS DART ASPHALT MODIFIED TOUR
REGULAR SEASON RACE #5

FINISH; Jan Leaty, Wilbur Hebing, Rowan Pennink, Rusty Smith, TJ Potrzebowski, Pete Brittain, Matt Hirschman, Erick Rudolph, Daren Scherer, Tommy Farrell, III, Eric Beers, Jim Storace, Mike Leaty, Dave Wollaber, Mark Tychoniewicz, Kyle Ebersole, Doug Reaume, Tom Kinsella, Billy Putney, Jeff Hamman, Chuck Hossfeld, Davey Hamilton, Earl Paules, Rick Kluth, Todd Geist, Tom Wiest, Ron Smith.
LAP LEADERS; Ru. Smith ( 1 – 10 ) Rudolph ( 11 – 53 ), Ru. Smith ( 54 ), Wollaber ( 55 – 68 ), J. Leaty ( 69 – 100 )
DART MACHINERY AWARD SET OF $1,500 HEADS; J. Leaty.
GATER RACING NEWS DRIVER BONUS DRAW $500 ( SPENCER ); Ru. Smith.
GATER RACING NEWS DRIVER BONUS DRAW $500 ( OSWEGO ); Pennink.
HOOISER RACING TIRE HARD CHARGER AWARD; Hebing ( 21st to 2nd ).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE HARD LUCK AWARD; Hamman ( 6th to 19th ).

August 30 - Sundance Speedway - Regular Show - 2nd

Compared to his first career Modified win earlier in the season, Lehighton’s Bobby Jones had his work cut out for him Sunday at Sundance Vacations Speedway. With an impressive outing, Jones held off Matt Hirschman and Rusty Smith to earn his second win of the season. Twenty cars lined up for the start of the 40-lap Modified main event and polesitter, Nick Pecko, led the opening laps over Todd Baer, Barry Callavini, Kyle Ebersole and Bobby Jones.The red flag waved when Amber Levandowski got out of shape in turn four. Trying to get the car righted, she came across the track and collected Lenny Fischer and Paul Skodachek. Skodachek hit the front stretch wall very hard with the driver’s side of the car, but luckily he did not appear to be injured. Green flag racing resumed and Callavini overtook Pecko for the race lead. Jones followed through as well and on the following lap he challenged Callavini for the top spot.Very quietly, Matt Hirschman, Rusty Smith and Brian DeFebo began to work toward the front of the field. On lap 13 Hirschman got by Callavini for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Smith and Hirschman rounded out the top five.
The caution flew on lap 23 when Brian Romig, Geary Rinehimer, Jr. and Jim Bojohnny tangled in turn two. Callavini surrendered the third spot and took his mount pit side.Jones held off his competition once green flag racing resumed. Hirschman tried to gain on the leader and Smith waited for Hirschman to slip up so that he could jump into second. DeFebo held fourth, followed by Kyle Ebersole. DeFebo’s day came to a quick end on lap 29 when his car began to overheat. The exchange moved Pecko back into the top five.Despite the talent behind him, Jones stayed out front and took his second victory of the season over Hirschman, Smith, Ebersole and Pecko.
Heat race victories went to Kyle Ebersole, Nick Pecko and Geary Rinehimer, Jr
Modifieds (40-laps) 1. BOBBY JONES 2. Matt Hirshman 3. Rusty Smith 4. Kyle Ebersole 5. Nick Pecko 6. Brian Romig 7. Todd Baer 8. Geary Rinehimer Jr 9. David Schneider 10. Jerry Woody 11. Barry Callavini 12. Lenny Fischer 13. Brian Defebo 14. Harry Buchman 15. Wayne Szerencsits 16. Jim Bojohnny 17.Tom Casagrande 18. Paul Skodacek 19. Amber Levandowski DNS: Lewis Hallock


August 22 - Mahoning - Rain

August 19 - Bristol - NASCAR Tour - 39th

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Donny Lia overcame a late-race miscue to capture the inaugural UNOH Perfect Storm 150 at Bristol Motor Speedway Wednesday night. Lia led 40 of the final 43 laps en route to his second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win of the season. He jumped a restart on lap 138 and briefly lost the lead to Ted Christopher when race officials ordered him to give his advantage back. However, Lia drove back by Christopher three laps later to take the lead for good. Lia, who won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June, beat Christopher to the line by 3.126 seconds in the first event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.” Ryan Preece finished third while George Brunnhoelzl III was the top finishing NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour driver in the combination race. Woody Pitkat rounded out the top five. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour proved once again to be strong in the combination race format, which sees both Tours compete for one purse, but receive points based on their finish against other drivers on their tour. Including Lia and Christopher, eight of the top 10 cars across the line were from the Whelen Modified Tour. Brunnhoelzl will be credited with first-place points and a win for the Whelen Southern Modified Tour standings. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Todd Szegedy, Rowan Pennink, Ed Flemke Jr., Burt Myers and Erick Rudolph. It appeared to be Christopher’s race to win the majority of the race. Fastest in the first two practice sessions, the defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion led the first 107 circuits. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman finished 28th and 37th, respectively. Newman was caught in an accident on the second lap of the race and Kahne retired on Lap 100 with engine failure. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will next race Saturday, Aug, 29 at Chemung (N.Y.) Speedrome. The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified will also return to the track Saturday, Aug. 29 at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTSFin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points Total Award Status

1 7 4 Donny Lia Mystic Missile Dodge 150 180 $9,500 Running
2 1 36 Ted Christopher Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet 150 170 5,100 Running
3 5 3 Ryan Preece Reynolds Auto Wrecking Chevrolet 150 165 3,500 Running
4 2 28 George Brunnhoelzl, III Oval Speed/Fibrwrap/PT Ford 150 S180 2,500 Running
5 13 88 Woody Pitkat Ramar-Hall/TSI Harley-Davidson Chevrolet 150 160 3,000 Running
6 3 2 Todd Szegedy UNOH/Wisk/Snuggle Ford 150 155 2,500 Running
7 9 93 Rowan Pennink Monk Mechanic Hand/N.E. Race Fuels 150 150 2,250 Running
8 17 10 Ed Flemke, Jr Ron Bouchard Autos/Kleer Trimboards 150 146 2,000 Running
9 12 1 Burt Myers Capital Bank/JRC Investments Ford 150 S170 1,650 Running
10 21 59 Erick Rudolph Original Pizza Logs/Prime Tyme Chevrolet 150 142 1,664 Running
11 4 47 Andy Seuss Advance Auto Parts/Q Racing Oil/Stuart Auto 150 S165 1,000 Running
12 30 58 Eric Goodale * Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet 150 138 1,400 Running
13 10 38 L W Miller John Baker Plumbing & Heating/Sink Tower 150 S160 975 Running
14 15 46 Eric Beers Cape Cod Aggregates/J&R Pre-Cast Chevrolet 150 134 1,750 Running
15 31 09 Bobby Grigas, III Triple-G Scaffold Services Chevrolet 150 130 1,875 Running
16 23 52 Chris Pasteryak Furnace & Duct Supply Chevrolet 150 127 1,300 Running
17 22 99 Jamie Tomaino Ideal Racing Chevrolet 148 124 1,275 Running
18 28 14 Bobby Hutchens, Jr Team Texas Driving School Chevrolet 147 S155 850 Running
19 6 23 Brian Loftin L&R Transmissions/QMF Metal Chevrolet 147 S150 825 Running
20 37 21 Richard Savary Alloy Wheel Repair/Pine Hill Service Chevrolet 147 121 1,950 Running
21 8 40 Frank Fleming Nelson Ford/Pro Health Center Ford 146 S146 800 Running
22 36 68 Johnny Bush J.B. Stone Setters/Mehner Racing Chevrolet 146 118 1,200 Running
23 18 25 John Smith Tutterow Surveying/Rick's Home Chevrolet 146 S142 800 Running
24 24 44 Rich Kuiken, Jr Flowmasters Testing & Balancing Chevrolet 145 S138 800 Running
25 19 16 Michael Stefanik Diversified Metals/Sanderson-MacLeon Pontiac 123 115 1,300 Engine
26 32 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Chevrolet 108 112 1,200 Clutch
27 14 6 Jason Myers Capital Bank/Moorefield & Trantham Ford 103 S134 800 Engine
28 39 98 Kasey Kahne Mowhawk Northeast/N.E. Race Fuels Chevrolet 100 109 800 Engine
29 16 31 Gene Pack Comtech Solutions/Wings-N-Things Chevrolet 88 S130 800 Accident
30 26 97 Bryan Dauzat O.B. Builders/Intrafitt Chevrolet 85 S127 800 Accident
31 11 12 Jimmy Blewett TS Haulers/Blewett Recycling Chevrolet 74 106 1,250 Vibration
32 27 17 Glen Reen Reen Orthodontics/Pep Boys Chevrolet 73 103 1,650 Accident
33 25 79 Ronnie Silk Hill Enterprises/Coors Light/Sunoco Pontiac 39 100 1,150 Engine
34 33 33 Wade Cole Perf. Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan's Oil Chevrolet 37 97 1,150 Overheating
35 29 8 Glenn Tyler Sypher Const./Financial Fed. Credit Chevrolet 24 94 1,150 Engine
36 35 9 Jake Marosz Middlesex Auto Center Chevrolet 20 91 1,150 Engine
37 38 7 Ryan Newman Aggressive Hydraulics Chevrolet 1 88 1,150 Accident
38 20 02 Buddy Emory RCS Construction/Ship On Site Chevrolet 1 S124 750 Accident
39 34 50 Matt Hirschman RBS Corp./DMC Auto Exchange Chevrolet 1 85 1,150 Accident
40 40 91 James Civali Hill Enterprises/Coors Light/Sunoco Pontiac 1 82 750 Accident

RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: None, Qualifying Rained Out
Failed to Qualify: None
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 3 mins, 18 secs Average Speed: 75.782 mph Margin of Victory: 3.126 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 2-13 (Multi-car accident in Turn 3); 74-79 (Car #17 spins on backstretch); 88-96 (Car #31 spin in Turn 2); 131-137 (Rain). 4 for 3
laps.Lap Leaders: Ted Christopher 1-107, Donny Lia 108-139, Ted Christopher 140-142, Donny Lia 143-150.
Total Laps Led: Ted Christopher 110, Donnyy Lia 40. 3 changes involving 2 drivers.

CONTINGENCY AWARDS
NWMT COCA COLA MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: Richard Savary, 21 Alloy Wheel Repair/Pine Hill Service Chevrolet
NWMT MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD: Bobby Grigas, III, 09 Triple-G Scaffold Services Chevrolet
NWMT ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD: Glen Reen, 17 Reen Orthodontics/Pep Boys Chevrolet
NWMT WHELEN ENGINEERING WINNER OF THE RACE AWARD: Donny Lia, 4 Mystic Missile Dodge
NWSMT MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: Eric Beers, 46 Cape Cod Aggregates/J&R Pre-Cast Chevrolet
NWSMT MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD: Burt Myers, 1 Capital Bank/JRC Investments Ford

by Polly Reid

Donnie Lia from Jericho, NY rallied to pass Ted Christopher for the lead with 7 laps remaining, pulling away from the field in the closing circuits to claim the inaugural NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour UNOH Perfect Storm at Bristol Motor Speedway. “We had a great car all day long, I can’t thank my guys enough,“ said Lia about his Bob Garbarino owned Mystic Missile. “For me, it was a matter of not making any mistakes because we had such a great race car. I didn’t want to give it away which I almost managed to do. But we were able to get back around Teddy and get the win. Awesome day, couldn’t be any happier. I really have to thank everyone here at the racetrack, everyone involved with putting this on for us. I just hope we put on a good show for everybody.” It could have been the one that got away for Donnie Lia who recovered from a restart penalty. After jumping the final restart with about a dozen laps to go, Lia dropped back to second. Lia was not to be denied and stormed back, passing Christopher and pulled away from the pack crossing the finish line for the checkers with a 3.126 second lead over Christopher. “I jumped the restart there so it got me more amped up to get back around because it would have been pretty bad to give away a race like that. My guys work too hard, Bob Garbarino puts too much into this, they give me everything we need to go out and run good. I make mistakes, I’ll be the first to admit it so this was kind of a redemption. Hopefully we can continue, move forward and win some more races.” “I won a Truck race last year and that was probably the biggest for me but this means more to me. The first race at Bristol for the modifieds and we had so many people watching, so many eyes on us that I hope it was a good race and I’m happy that we won, that was just the icing on the cake right there. Again, I have to thank the track and the University of Northwestern Ohio and Whelen Engineering, it is a great Series to race in.” Christopher dominated the first half, untouchable in the first 75 laps but when the checkers flew, Christopher crossed for second. Reporting being a little loose when coming in for the mandatory 10 minute pit stop, after new tires and adjustments, Christopher led the field back to green. “We closed up stagger like we wanted to do” Christopher said about his Al-Lee Installations Chevrolet, “but I never would have thought we would have gotten that tight up off. I thought I was going to knock the wall down.” Christopher hoped it was a good show for the fans. “I thought it was going to be ugly in the beginning because they had that first wreck like on lap 2 and I was like this is going to take forever and ever but then it went long to the half way. I thought it was pretty good. I don’t think this was bad at all and I think it could be even better again. Unfortunately it turned out to be a good race where I got passed, but hey, what are you going to do? It was a good points day. I hope they invite us back.” After back to back wins, Ryan Preece finds himself back on the podium taking down a strong third. “Fun, Superman ride,” said Preece about running at Bristol. “If it was a 155 lap race we might have been able to get Teddy but getting third, it’s a lot better than I thought. I was trying to survive Bristol like everyone said and we did survive, a good points day. My car, even in practice we were better on the long the run.” During the break, the crew made some adjustments. “We put a round of wedge in it, tightened up the car a little bit. My crew they do an awesome job on making the right adjustments every week and the motor we have, Performance Technology that Reynolds Auto Wrecking gave us was great, I have to thank them and everybody who helps support us.” I want to come back now. I wasn’t going to say anything until after the race. Now, I want to come back.” “It was a real good run for us,” said George Brunnhoelzl, III who finished fourth. “Fortunately we started from the outside front row. We struggled a little bit on the restarts, our car took a couple of laps to come in but once it came in I could run with just about anybody. The guys worked real hard on the car, we had a lot of practice, made a lot of changes. It was good race car, it was fun, it’s always fun to run at Bristol, it was a pretty good race other than some of the lap traffic, but for the most part it went very smoothly. It was a good show for the fans and hopefully they’ll have us back next year.” Sponsored by UNOH, Todd Szegedy of Ridgefield, CT was the biggest threat to Christopher in the first segment with his UNOH, Wisk/Snuggle Ford, the pair running nose to tail through the long green run. “I expected a good clean race. I didn’t expect to be able to maneuver as good as we were able to, that was the unknown.“ Szegedy said a cylinder dropped at about the half way mark, but knew shortly after the opening circuits, the motor was ‘lazy’. “Our car was awesome, we just lost the motor. It’s amazing we lost the motor and still finished sixth.” When running side by side with Christopher, Szegedy said, “I would have went right around him on the outside, I went in wide open and never lifted going on the outside and I shoved the nose that was just enough for him to get up around me again. But we were suffering before that. We were hurting on restarts, the motor was slowly starting to go. I can’t believe it didn’t blow up.” Szegedy continued, “I’m happy with a top ten, disappointed we haven’t had a win yet. We need to get some wins.” “First time coming here, we just wanted to come out with a good finish,” said Erick Rudolph who started the day 21st and ended with a 10th place. “I’m real happy with it, real proud of the guys, they deserve this as much as anyone they worked hard. Rudolph, from Ransomville, NY in the Original Pizza Logs/Prime Tyme Chevrolet like many others, hopes the modifieds return to Bristol.
What you didn’t see on TV;
Mike Stefanik in the Diversified Metals/Sanderson-MacLeon Pontiac started 19th and methodically worked his way through the field up to fifth by lap 115. One of the fastest cars in the early practice session, Stefanik without a doubt was on track to make a run for the leaders when his motor blew, his ride done for the night. The disappointment was more than evident from Stefanik when he climbed out of the car, once again robbed of a top finish by something not in his control.
Watching from the stands, 9 time NWMT winner Tim Connolly was on hand to see the NASCAR Whelen Modifieds take to the high banks of Bristol for the first time. Connolly admits to getting the itch to get behind the wheel again. While no news to report at this time, stay tuned on that one.

August 14: Fri Spencer 100 RoC -3rd

By JR KENNERUP
It’s a fact that when the Race of Champions Dart Asphalt Modified Tour races at the Spencer Speedway there is a pretty good chance that a Leaty will be in victory lane at the end of the night.
Back in June at the first race held at the track this year Mike Leaty stole the spotlight from his dad Jan as he raced to the feature win. On Friday night Jan paid his son and 22 other competitors back big time with some lucky draws which led to him dominating the 100 lap feature on this night. Jan drew outside pole for his heat which he won and pulled the pole for the feature. In the feature Jan led the first 50 laps before the entire field with the exception of Tommy Cloce and Pete Brittain all pitted. Jan came out third on the track after the pit stop and regained the lead on lap 59 with an outside turn four pass of Brittain. Jan basically put it on cruise control form that point but he was challenged over the final 23 laps by T J Potrzebowski for the $3,000 win. Defending RoC champion Matt Hirschman finished third with Rusty Smith in fourth and Eric Beers in fifth. Jan Leaty and Eric Beers brought the 24 car field down to green with Jan out dragging Eric to get the lead they were followed by Mike Leaty, TJ Potrzebowski, and Earl Paules. With all drivers knowing that they would have to pit to get a new right rear tire sometime during the race, many drivers focused on lagging behind the field. With only one caution period taking place in the first 47 laps some drivers decided at that point it was time to start moving to the front. Mike Leaty and Potrzebowski drove around the Beers machine to take second and third respectively on lap 48. Just after this took place the yellow lights came on and everyone knew pit stops were going to happen. With caution laps counting pit lane opened up just after the halfway point as 23 of the 24 competitors brought their cars down pit road. Pete Brittain who hung around at the back of the pack did a drive through and picked up 15 positions. Tommy Cloce who did not pit assumed the lead followed by Brittain, Jan Leaty, Mike Leaty and Beers. When the race resumed under green on lap 53 Cloce on used tires pushed up the track in turn one and this allowed Brittain and Jan Leaty to get by. Cloce was dropped back to fifth on the next lap as Mike Leaty and Beers both got by. Up front Brittain was trying his best on used tires to hold off Jan Leaty for the lead. Entering turn three on lap 58 Jan jumped to the outside groove to pull even with Brittain and exiting turn four the Brittain car wiggled and this gave Jan the lead. The wiggle by Brittain caused the final caution period of the race as when he corrected he nearly spun out the car out. This caused the rest of the field on new tires to bottle up and the resulting contact saw Mike Leaty slam into the turn four outside wall on the driver’s side door. Mike emerged from his wrecked race car uninjured as the foam blocks that are placed at this point in front of the wall did their job. The strong runs of Tim McMullen and Chuck Hossfeld also ended at this point as they were also involved. When the race resumed on lap 64 Jan Leaty held the lead over Beers, Wilbur Hebing, Potrzebowski, and Billy Putney. Defending RoC Champion Matt Hirschman started to make his presence felt as he moved into fifth on lap 67. With Potrzebowski battling Hebing for third and Hirschman closing in on this battle TJ pulled off two successive turn two inside passes to keep Hirschman at bay. The first pass by Potrzebowski occurred on lap 73 as he moved into third. After Hirschman moved into fourth on lap 75 followed by Rusty Smith who took fifth from Hebing a three car battle for third now turned into a four car battle for second as the trio caught Beers. Potrzebowski then pulled off his second consecutive inside turn two pass on lap 77 as he took second from Beers. It took Hirschman three additional laps to make the pass of Beers and one lap later Smith took fourth. With the race staying under green flag conditions Leaty and Potrzebowski opened up a huge advantage over Hirschman as these two veteran drivers were going to decide who was going to win the race. Even as the top two cars raced in heavy lap traffic over the final ten laps Hirschman still didn’t have enough time to track down the leading duo. At the checkers Jan Leaty in for the popular home town win over Potrzebowski, Hirschman, Smith, and Beers who held off Rick Kluth at the line for fifth. Qualifying for the 24 car field saw heat wins go to Jan Leaty, Mike Leaty, and Putney.
SPENCER SPOTLIGHTS; A second pace vehicle was used to keep pit road speed at 25 mph during pit stops. Many drivers before the feature expressed concerns over this but in the end the move worked wonders as pit lane was a much safer place for all pit crews and officials. The truck which hauls the cars of Eric Beers and Chip Santee broke down in Clarks Summit, Pa. and after a new truck was summoned both cars arrived at the track after hot laps. Don Stevens was wheeling the second Rick Kluth owned car. For the first time in a long time both John Markovic and Matt Clemens missed the show.

RACE REPORT RACE OF CHAMPIONS DART ASPHALT MODIFIED TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RACE # 1
FINISH; Jan Leaty, T J Potrzebowski, Matt Hirschman, Rusty Smith, Eric Beers, Rick Kluth, Billy Putney, Earl Paules, Daren Scherer, Daryl Lewis, Jr., Jim Storace, Tommy Cloce, Pete Brittain, Chip Santee, Mark Tychoniewicz, Wilbur Hebing, Kyle Ebersole, Mike Leaty, Chuck Hossfeld, Jeff Hamman, Tim McMullen, Doug Reaume, Tom Wiest, Don Stevens.
LAP LEADERS; J. Leaty (1 - 50), Cloce (51 - 53), Brittain (54 - 58), J. Leaty (59 - 100).
DART MACHINERY AWARD SET OF $1,500 HEADS; Wiest.
HOOISER RACING TIRE HARD CHARGER AWARD; Hirschman (21st to 3rd).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE HARD LUCK AWARD; M. Leaty (3rd to 18th).

August 8: Sat Wall Twin 50’s - 1st Feature- 5th, 2nd Feature-3rd

WALL TOWNSHIP, N.J. ~ Veteran stock car drivers Pete Brittain of Cream Ridge and Jimmy Blewett of Howell each raced to victory in twin 50-lap main events for tour type Modified stock cars in front of a large crowd at Wall Stadium Saturday night. While Brittain led every lap of the first race to take the win, Blewett raced from the rear of the 22-car field to win the second race after an early crash sent him to the pit area for repairs.
When Brittain rocketed to the lead in the first Modified race, Anthony Sesely of Matawan was his first challenger as Blewett rode third. Blewett advanced to second on a lap seven restart and then wrestled with Brittain the rest of the way. Sesely held a tight third to the finish, while invaders Ted Christopher of Plainfield, Ct. and Matt Hirschman of Northampton, Pa. were fourth and fifth.
“I have to thank the crew and Don Ling for this win,” said Brittain after his first win at the track since 1990. “Jimmy (Blewett) gave me all I could handle, but he drove me like a gentleman all the way.”
The second Modified 50-lapper was wild from start to finish. After a lap three restart crash sent Blewett to the pit area for repairs, Earl Paules of Palmerton, Pa. led until his motor blew on the front stretch on lap 19. Christopher, the reigning NASCAR Modified champion, then took the lead with Jamie Tomaino of Howell on his bumper. On the ensuing restart Tomaino charged to the outside lane in an attempt to pass for the lead, but the duo touched and Tomaino’s car slammed the guard rail before Hirschman’s mount drove over the top of Tomaino’s car on the backstretch. No injuries were reported.
Sesely was Christopher’s next challenger on the following restart, but when Sesely dove low for the pass Christopher blocked his path and Sesely spun from contention.
But multi-time 2009 winner Jimmy Blewett was on a mission.By lap 20 Blewett had climbed from last to third and quickly raced past Colts Neck’s Justin Gumley for second. Blewett then needed just a few laps to size up Christopher before diving to the inside lane to take the lead on lap 25. From that point on it was all Blewett for the win, with Gumley, Hirschman, Brian Cranmer and Sesely completing the top five.
“He wasn’t going to come into my house and do that,” Blewett said after the race in reference to the controversial driving style of Ted Christopher. “How’d I get by him? I booted the booter!
“I have to thank everyone who works on the car for this one. It was wrecked pretty bad after that early crash. They fixed it and made it run pretty fast.”

1ST MODIFIED FEATURE – 50 Laps – 1. PETE BRITTAIN, CREAM RIDGE, 2. Jimmy Blewett, 3. Anthony Sesely, 4. Ted Christopher, 5. Matt Hirschman, 6. Steven Reed, 7. Jamie Tomaino, 8. Earl Paules, 9. Tony Ferrante, 10. Kyle Ebersole, 11. Brian Cranmer, 12. Marc Rogers, 13. Andy Walko, 14. Justin Gumley, 15. Dave Cranmer, 16. Tim Arre, 17. Amber Levandowski, 18. Todd Baer, 19. Ryan Russo, 20. Steve Whitt, 21. Rich Ely, 22. Tom Cottrell

2ND MODIFIED FEATURE – 50 Laps – 1. JIMMY BLEWETT, HOWELL, 2. Gumley, 3. Hirschman, 4. Brian Cranmer, 5. Sesely, 6. Brittain, 7. Christopher, 8. Ebersole, 9. Reed, 10. Dave Cranmer, 11. Rogers, 12. Cottrell, 13. Russo, 14. Ferrante, 15. Baer, 16. Tomaino, 17. Paules, 18. Levandowski, 19. Arre, 20. Walko, 21. Whitt




August 2: Sun Chemung 150 - Postponed due to rain


July 25 Sat Mahoning 100 - postponed to Aug 22 with 37 laps run

From Matt: "I wanted to use the first half of the race to feel out the car and make adjustments if necessary and then try racing to the front during the second half. After moving up to 8th I felt the car needed a slight adjustment to the rear stagger and I pitted just before the rain moved in. I think we would have had a good car later in the race but now we will never know. Now the race is going to be more of a regular Saturday night shootout when it resumes in August. It should be exciting!"

(LEHIGHTON, PA 7-25-09) 37-laps into the Hand Three Modified 100 Poker Series race at Mahoning Valley Speedway, rains hit the area and put an abrupt halt the event as well as all remaining features. The race will be restarted on August 22 when the Hand Four Poker Series event takes place. The remaining 63 laps will be run and a complete program of time trials, heats and 100-lap feature, along with all other tracks classes. The night began with Matt Hirschman turning the fastest lap in time trials at 9.843-seconds. A redraw of the top 12 in time trials then took place and for the outset of the feature James Pritchard, Jr., and Tom Flanagan shared the front row. At the drop of Dick Brown’s race commencing green Flanagan shot past Pritchard for the opening lap lead.
He firmly held the spot while a host of others shuffled their way through the pack. Pritchard kept pace with Flanagan while Earl Paules and Lou Strohl had a side-by-side duel for third. Paules surged by Strohl and then got past Pritchard by lap 15 and immediately began his pursuit on Flanagan. Ninth starting John Bennett had emerged into the top five by lap 13 and was having a hard fought battle with Chip Santee. At 30 laps Flanagan and Paules where still a close one-two while Santee, his teammate Eric Beers and Bennett diced it out for third. Two laps later a caution waved for Pritchard who spun in turn four. Under the yellow Paules made an unscheduled pit stop which then elevated Lonnie Behler into the top five. On the restart Bennett, who was lined up on the outside of Flanagan, rocketed past and took over the lead. Behind him the shuffling was still going on amongst the rest of the pack including Santee, Flanagan and Beers who all exchanged spots. Rick Reichenbach also raced his way to the front five. On lap 37 the caution was back out after Keith Mellars spun in turn three. As others avoided him, not so lucky were Brian DeFebo and Paules who got collected in the incident. Paules again had to dive into the pits, this time to change a left rear tire. While under the yellow the weather then took a change for the worse as the rains came and although after about an hour of waiting things out, it was too far gone to try and save the track, thus putting a halt to the rest of the program. As it stands the race will pick up with 63-laps to go on August 22 with Bennett leading over Santee, Flanagan, Beers and Reichenbach.


Two races, two different states, two different series against a different group of competitors.

On Wednesday night the car was just a little too tight. At Seekonk, Matt thought about going for the lead on the outside of Stefanik but to put it down in front of him would have given him 50/50 odds that there would have been contact. So rather than ruin the night Matt settled in and finished 5th.

From Dunn Tire Speedway:
Started 9th & finished 9th. Tried some new things that obviously didn't work out. Also track wasn't as good as normal for passing. Could have been worse but not a very positive night for our RoC season. On to Mahoning with J&J then back to RoC with the 60 at Chemung.

Matt


July 18 Sat Lancaster 75 RoC - 9

The feature event of the evening rounded out the nights events – the Race of Champions Modified Tour 75 lap event. Twenty-six cars were slated to start the feature, with the top twelve starters having redrawn after the qualifying heats. Mike Leaty started from the pole position and was joined on the front row by TJ Potrzebowski. With the drop of the green, Leaty and Potrzebowski raced side by side into turns one and two, with Leaty emerging at the leader by the time the field made a full circuit around the speedway. The field settled in for a long green flag run as Leaty paced the field. Leaty began opening up a lead on Potrzebowski while Eric Beers, Earl Paules, Jim Storace, Chuck Hossfeld, and Tom McGrath were strung out behind him. Lap 26 saw the first yellow flag of the night as Wilbur Hebing spun in turn one. The caution period saw literally half the field pit for a fresh right rear tire. Mike Leaty emerged back out on the track first, beating the other 12 cars that had pitted. Up front however, Potrzebowski had opted to stay on track and had inherited the race lead. Paules, Storace, and Matt Hirschman followed in second, third, and fourth. The field looked a little bit more restless as they approached the halfway point of the race and teams prepared for their second half race strategy. However, before the race could reach the halfway point, a large backstretch crash on lap 33 changed the complexion of the race for some competitors. Involved in the crash were McGrath, Erick Rudolph, Dave Wollaber, Billy Putney, and numerous other teams. After a lengthy clean-up the race resumed with a single file restart with Potrzebowski, Paules, Hossfeld, Jimmy Zacharias, Sege Fidanza, Jan Leaty, and Rusty Smith leading the way. At the halfway point, Potrzebowski, Paules, and Hossfeld had started to separate from the rest of the pack, while the teams that had taken tires on lap 26 had started to move up through the pack. Hossfeld ran in third while Jan Leaty took control of third, Mike Leaty followed in fourth, and Rusty Smith ran fifth. A brief yellow flag on lap 43 saw the rest of the competitors who had not pitted for a tire head pitside. At this point in the race the only car that hadn’t pitted was the leader Potrzebowski. On older tires than the rest of the field Potrzebowski had quite a task ahead of him to stay in the lead. Hossfeld began applying heavy pressure to the leader but was unable to complete the pass as Potrzebowski hung onto the top spot. Behind the top two, a battle for position was being waged by Jan Leaty, Mike Leaty, and Rusty Smith. As Mike Leaty looked for a way around his father, Smith was all over the younger Leaty for position. Smith managed to get by Mike Leaty on lap 55 and set his sights towards the front of the pack. Just three laps later Smith passed Jan Leaty and now ran third, with just Hossfeld and Potrzebowski ahead of him. With just under ten laps to go in the feature, Smith passed Hossfeld for second and was challenging for the lead when the yellow flag came out on lap 69 for Rick Kluth who had struck the backstretch wall. After a lengthy yellow flag cleanup period, the race was restarted with a single file lineup. Potrzebowski, Smith, Hossfeld, Jan Leaty, and Mike Leaty lead the field to the green, but temporarily as another yellow flag appeared on lap 69. The ensuing restart turned out to be the last of the night though. Just one lap later, on lap 70, Smith dove under Potrzebowski and took command of the race. Hossfed and Jan Leaty quickly did the same, relegating Potrzebowski back to fourth. With just two laps to go, Smith had checked out on the field and went on to capture his first ever win at Dunn Tire Raceway Park.

RACE OF CHAMPIONS MODIFIED TOUR FEATURE FINISH (7/18/09): RUSTY SMITH, Chuck Hossfeld, Jan Leaty, TJ Potrzebowski, Mike Leaty, Eric Beers, Earl Paules, Daren Scherer, Matt Hirschman, Jimmy Zacharias, John Markovic, Jim Storace, Mark Tychoniewicz, Jeff Hamman, Daryl Lewis Jr., Rick Kluth, Billy Putney, Sege Fidanza, Doug Reaume, Karl Hehr, Erick Rudolph, Tom McGrath, Dave Wollaber, Wilbur Hebing, Ricky Knapp
Heat Winners: J. Leaty, M. Leaty, Paules

RUSTY SMITH PUTS ON LATE CHARGE

TO WIN CHILLY DUNN TIRE RACEWAY PARK RoC 75
On a night that felt more like October than July, Rusty Smith survived a wild race to capture the Race of Champions DART Asphalt Modified Tour 75 on Saturday night at Dunn Tire Raceway Park . It was his first career win at the Lancaster oval. “It ended up being a good night for us,” smiled the jubilant winner after the race. “We were just taking it easy today and sometimes when you do that you get lucky and things turn out right. We drew an awful spot when we got here and that gave us the idea to drive around a little bit to see how things were going to play out. We were just biding our time. We had a pretty good idea of when everybody would pit and we were going to pit when they did, which obviously worked in our favor. On the restarts guy were tip-toeing into the corners and I was just driving it in on the outside and it was sticking out there. For some reason guys were running right on the bottom on the restarts and then moving to the outside after about ten laps. I just stuck with the groove we raced in every lap and that’s how we were able to pick them off.
“I don’t have a lot of experience at this track. I’ve haven’t been here in two years and probably only raced here seven times in all, without much success. But this is a newer car with a big engine in it. We run mostly small tracks where you don’t need a $40-50,000 engine. Last year we made the decision to put a lot of money into a big engine and it paid off tonight. “I think we have some momentum going for us now. If we had pitted in the last race at Spencer I think we had a chance to win that race too but we don’t run up there very often and we didn’t know the right strategy. We had a big lead and thought if we just took it easy we would win but that backfired on us. “We’re coming up on a busy stretch of races in the next few weeks and we’re on building up a hot streak. We came off a dominant tenth place finish at Spencer then we finished third last week at Wyoming County , and now we knocked them down here tonight. We’re pretty excited and can’t wait to get to the next race.” After the redraw for starting positions in the feature, second generation racer and polesitter Mike Leaty of Williamson , New York grabbed the early lead in a side-by-side battle with T.J. Potrzebowski. Eric Beers settled into third ahead of Earl Paules and Jim Storace to round out the top-five. A caution on lap 26 for a spin by Bill Hebing sent several cars to the pits for tires. T.J. Potrzebowski took over the lead followed by Earl Paules, Jim Storace and Matt Hirschman. A major backstretch pileup involving Tom McGrath Erick Rudolph, Dave Wollaber, Billy Putney and several others brought out the next caution on lap 33. When the race resumed Potrzebowski continued to lead Paules and Hossfeld with Jimmy Zacharias and Sege Fidanza moving into the lead group. By the halfway point in the race were opening up a margin over the other cars as the teams with fresher tires from their lap 26 pit stop moving toward the front. Hossfeld was now second followed by Jan Leaty, Mike Leaty and Smith. A brief caution on the 43rd circuit saw the rest of the cars headed to pit road for a fresh tire, with only Potrzebowski choosing to remain on the track. His worn tires were slowing his pace and Hossfeld was making a run at the lead. But Potrzebowski clung tight to the top spot. Behind the two leaders, Jan was being pushed hard by his son for third with Smith looking for an opening. The junior Leaty fell back a position on lap 55 as Smith was on the move. Three laps later the father suffered the same fate as his son and Smith took over third and focused on the leaders. Hossfeld began to fall off the pace as Smith moved into the runner-up position and began to close in on Potrzebowski. The leader had his hands full until Rick Kluth slammed into the backstretch wall on the 69th circuit. After a long cleanup the green was briefly waved but caution was back out before a lap could be completed. This was the final caution of the race. It took Smith just one more lap to blast into the lead. His move to the inside opened a lane for Hossfeld and Jan Leaty who took advantage, dropping the former leader to fourth. Smith was the dominant figure over the remaining laps and took the checkered flag first, then headed to Victory Lane . Hossfeld held onto second ahead of Jan Leaty, Potrzebowski and Mike Leaty. Hossfeld gave his team credit for his second place finish. ““The way I see tonight’s race is that T.J. Potrzebowski was so fast. I tried to run with him and it was just too fast and I probably ran my car too hard too early and suffered the consequences. Otherwise I think my team was the class of the field. I talked to Rusty Smith and he said he pitted when we did and I think he was further back and not running his car hard. I figured we would outlast him and we didn’t. But we ended up second. I think I have the best team and my Hutter motor probably one of the best I’ve ever had. I just think Rusty was too fast for us tonight. “Kenny Troyer joined our team a few weeks ago as the crew chief and he’s been doing a very good job. My car has been really on the mark. The rest of the team has been working hard to keep up with our schedule. We ran Sunday at Spencer in the NASCAR Tour race, then Wednesday at Seekonk in an open race, and now back here with the RoC Tour tonight. That’s a lot of work to keep up for guys will full-time jobs and I’m proud of all that. I feel like I’ve got the most professional guys with me for guys that aren’t doing this professionally. With them and the support we get from Jerry Gradl Motors we’re as good as we can be.”
“That wasn’t a lot of fun out there tonight,” admitted the senior Leaty. “It seemed like a marathon, really. There was a half-hour in the car before we even got on the race track, and then the race turned out to be a little bit if a battle for survival. My car was good and our strategy was about right, but we got beat by a couple of guys (Rusty Smith and Chuck Hossfeld) that were running well, too. Congratulations to Rusty and his team for their win. They’re a great bunch of guys and they were on fire at the end of the race. We couldn’t do anything with them. We might have been a little better than Chuck at the end but he had the spot and wasn’t going to give it up. My son Mike was up there behind me and sniffing me around a bit and I thought he would stick right with me to the end, but I guess that T.J. (Potrzebowski) cut in front of him so he lost one position to end up fifth. All in all, third was a good night for us and a good night for the Leaty family with a pair of top-five finishes. Best of all, both cars are in one piece.”

by Jim Blacroch
Prior to Saturday night’s 75-lap DART Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Tour Rusty Smith of Oxford, N.Y., made a dramatic drive from the rear of the field to pass T.J. Potrzebowski with just a couple of laps remaining to capture the 75-lap go at the Dunn Raceway Park speed plant near the city of Buffalo. It was Smith’s second with the RoC Tour. His first came at Wyoming County a couple of seasons ago. The fashion in which Smith was able to accomplish the victory was incredible. Smith put on a fresh right rear tire and drove past some of the best competition the series has to offer to score the victory including Jan and Mike Leaty, Chuck Hossfeld and ultimately Potrezbowski in the closing laps to stand in victory lane. “The track was good tonight and we just made the right decision on when to pit and the car was great,” offered Smith from victory lane. “We’ve been running stronger and this just shows that we’ve been doing our homework to compete with the guys on this Tour. Tonight feels great and we’ll take it.” Cool, windy and cloudy conditions greeted the 25 teams in attendance, which provided tough conditions for the fans in attendance, but with little to no rain in the forecast the event forged on. Mike Leaty drew the pole flanked by Potrzebowski. Potrzebowski turned out to be the dominant car in the event leading the majority of the way.
Several cars pitted just prior to lap 25 for there one tire and began to try and race their way back into contention while Potrzebowski was on cruise control at the front of the field. A major incident occurred on lap 33 when Ricky Kluth was forced into a three wide situation exiting turn two as some chaos began collecting Erick Rudolph, Tom McGrath, Billy Putney, Darryl Lewis, Jr., Dave Wollaber and Mark Tychonewicz. The accident was wild looking and ended the night for Rudolph, McGrath and Hehr. Once racing resumed, things to settle down a bit, with Earl Paules making his way into contention in second and Chuck Hossfeld working his way up to third. Hossfeld was able to move into second once Paules headed pitside and begin his bid for the top spot. Potrzebowski was able to keep Hossfeld at bay for much of the second half of the race. Smith’s drive to the front began as he entered the top-five just past the lap 40 mark, but it really wasn’t until there was about 10-to-go that Smith truly flexed his muscle. A late caution only delayed the inevitable as with just three to go Smith pounced and never looked back. “We were able to take it easy tonight and sometimes that works out for you,” stated Smith following the event, who started 17th. “We didn’t have a good draw and we just rode around and that ended up being to our advantage tonight.” Smith continued on his limited experience at the Lancaster oval. “I don’t have a lot of experience here. It’s been nearly two years since I’ve been here and I’ve only probably raced here six or seven times. I know it isn’t much, but this is a new car with a much better engine in it and it showed tonight. The tracks that we typically run, you really don’t need this kind of horsepower, but we knew if we were going to follow the series that we would so we committed to making that investment and the results were definitely there tonight. We should have had a similar result at Spencer but we just didn’t have the strategy right and it bit us.” “We feel like we have some momentum going,” smiled Smith. “We ran well at Spencer, finished tenth, which should have been better and then we backed that up with a third at Wyoming. We’re pretty excited and can’t wait to get to the next race.” Hossfeld finished second, with Jan Leaty third and Potrzebowski fourth. Mike Leaty rounded out the top-five finishers. Both Leaty’s won heat races with Jimmy Zacharias being awarded the third heat race victory when Potrzebowski was penalized for jumping two positions at the start. The next event for the DART Race of Champions Asphalt Modified Tour is the first championship event at the Chemung Speedrome on Sunday, August 2nd with a 150 lap event.
HOSSFELD LOOKS STRONG ON HOME TURF
Chuck ‘The Hotshoe’ Hossfeld ran strong at Lancaster. Strong enough to look like he was going to run away with the victory at times, but in the end he had to settle for second.
"We missed by just a little tonight, but it’s been a marathon for us,” Hossfeld began. “We ran last Sunday at Spencer in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour show and finished third, which I’m very proud of. Seekonk on Wednesday and we didn’t get the results we necessarily wanted, but then we’re right back here tonight. That’s a challenge for a team that doesn’t have anyone full-time and I have to thank all of my guys for their dedication. The results really showed how much effort they are willing to put in. I’m very proud and happy for them. Sure, I wish we could have gotten them a win, but we’ll take it.”
Hossfeld has had some changes within his team.
“Kenny Troyer joined us as the crew chief a few weeks back and that’s working out great,” smiled Hossfeld. “He knows the cars and we seem to communicate well and it’s been good. We’re just going to keep moving forward with our program from here.” Hossfeld’s intention is to run a schedule that works around his work and personal schedule. “We have some tough stretches scheduled,” offered Hossfeld. “This was one of them and we didn’t miss a beat. We’ll take next weekend off and regroup and then we’ll go from there.”
LEATY FAMILY HAS GOOD NIGHT AT DTRP
Father and son – Jan and Mike Leaty ran together for much of the event at Lancaster.
Jan looked like he was up to his old tricks and was going to make it back to victory lane using tire management and a solid pit strategy, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“First, hats off to Rusty and all of his guys, they are a great bunch,” offered Leaty. “Our game plan was pretty close, but we got beat out by a couple of guys (Rusty and Chuck). Rusty was tough at the end of the race and we just didn’t have as much as him. The good news is that both cars are straight and are going in the trailer.”
Mike Leaty was a little more disappointed.
“I should be happy with a top-five, but I’m not, because I feel like I took a car capable of winning and finished fifth with it,” the younger Leaty related. “In the end, I could have got by TJ, but there was no point in wrecking for fourth, so we’ll take fifth. I just wanted a little better result tonight, but things are going good, so we can’t complain too much.”
HEY NOW! YOU’RE AN ALL STAR!!!
At the driver’s meeting Andrew Harpell announced the formation of an All-Star 30-lap shootout event as a part of the Race of Champions weekend. The event will take place on Saturday before the 200. It will be a 30-lap event. Here are the details from the official Race of Champions release:

BINGHAMTON, NY…The excitement is building for the 59th running of the Sunoco Race of Champions Weekend at Oswego Speedway September 11th, 12th and 13th. A new format will include the first running of the T.J. Toyota/Waite Toyota Modified All-Star 30 lap special on Saturday of the weekend.
The T.J. Toyota/Waite Toyota Modified All-Star 30 lap special will pit sixteen of the northeast’s top Modified chauffeurs in a wheel to wheel battle that could determine the top five starting spot in Sunday’s Sunoco Race of Champions Modified 200. The drivers in the All-Star Event will be comprised of all the RoC Dart Asphalt Modified Tour feature winners in 2009 along with RoC Qualifier winners at different facilities in the northeast.
Jimmy Blewett won the first Modified All-Star Event qualifier back on Saturday, May 9th at the Wall Stadium Speedway. An impressive list of drivers has already been assembled to this point with a number of Modified All-Star Qualifiers still remaining. Joining Blewett with Modified All-Star spots are: Ted Christopher, Chuck Hossfeld, Earl Paules, Mike Leaty, Matt Hirschman, Chris Pasteryak, Rusty Smith and Defending Sunoco Race of Champions 200 winner Tony Hirschman.
The 30 lap Modified All-Star event will see the winner earning $2,000 along with the opportunity draw a pill that could determine the Sunday Modified 200 starting grid. Three pills will be available to the top five finishers of the All-Star event. The top five drivers will be guaranteed in the Sunoco Race of Champions Modified 200, should the top five drivers decide as a group to draw one of the three pills they could start either – 1st through 5th, 6th through 10th or 11th -15th on Sunday. Should they opt not to draw a pill they would then be a part of the standard qualifying procedure on Sunday. If the top five drivers draw a pill they are locked in those starting spots that are drawn.
The entire Modified All-Star field will receive at least $200 to take the green and a free Hoosier Racing Tire for their participation. The winner will earn $2,000 with second place paying $1,000 in the 30 lapper.
After the Saturday racing program fans and drivers are invited to take part in a Saturday night pit party that will include live music and live racing on a big screen television for those in attendance.
OTHER QUICK NOTES FROM DTRP

- Noticeably absent was Pete Brittain. Brittain has competed in each event so far this season.
- Ricky Kluth took a hard shot in the feature. It was good to see him okay following the crash, but some serious repair was required for his 2Qwik machine.
- 25 cars towed to Dunn Tire Raceway Park in Lancaster where the series champion will be crowned in September at the annual season ending US Open.

July 15 Wed Seekonk 100 Open Show - 5

By Denise Dupont:
The fifth annual Seekonk Open Wheel Wednesday Modified Madness event was won by Chris Pasteryak in his fourth attempt. Pasteryak challenged modified great Mike Stefanik for the lead after a late race caution shrunk Stefanik’s advantage. Stefanik’s car was definitely tuned in for the outside groove and could not hold off Pasteryak’s outside advances on the lap 85 re-start. “It felt really good. I have watched Mike Stefanik win races. To drive around him at Seekonk, I just never thought that I would be doing that.” Pasteryak just drove the car and it brought him where he needed to be at the end of the night, winner’s circle, every driver’s dream. “I did not really consciously make an effort to save the tires,” said Pasteryak reflecting on the race. “The car just was getting better and better as the race went on. Normally it gets worst and worst. It just got better and better. I was almost laughing to myself the whole time. It was funny because I could not believe it. I kept waiting for something to go wrong.”Pasteryak started his late race charge on lap 80 and almost saw it come to an abrupt end as a car stopped just before turn three and the leaders. “I just could not believe it when Spencer just stopped there coming out of two. (On lap eighty-seven Ken Spencer, III, stopped just before turn three with his car unable to re-fire. This brought out one of the last late race cautions.) I thought that we were all done then. I knew I had really been squeezing on it especially to get around Stefanik and then trying to get myself some room to get away from him.”Pasteryak’s mind raced on during the caution reevaluating his strategy and plan. “I was wondering if I should have waited that last little bit. Jon and Jimmy were there. They are the masters of being patient. You can just see it. Where do they run the best at? Lee. There I just go out and burn this thing up and they just save it and they are better at the end. They got a one at the end and we were able to get some ground on them. Had there been another major caution, I do not know if I could have held them off or not.”Jon McKennedy followed Pasteryak up though the pack to the front and across the finish line for second. “We had a good car. It was a little bit too tight. We started ninth and the car was a little bit too tight at the end.”After couple of weeks of tough luck in the True Value Modified Racing Series, Jon McKennedy has managed to maintain a ten point lead over Rob Goodenough. The #73 team brought their car to Modified Madness hoping for a victory but they had a great run and McKennedy showed why he is currently the point leader in the TVMRS. The last two weeks our luck was tough, but tonight it was not bad. I had a chance to get under him (Chris Pasteryak), but I had nothing for him. The car was actually better up on the outside. Down on the inside I was just too tight. I needed the whole track to really run the car.”It appeared that the outside groove was the place to be during the Modified Madness show at Seekonk. “If I were to have to pick a groove, the outside was where the car was more comfortable. The last fifteen laps I knew it was going to be a close race. Coming in second is not bad. “Congratulations to Chris. He ran an awesome race. He did a great job at the end.” McKennedy said after passing inspection. “The car is in one piece and we can go on to Oxford with a really good car and I am looking forward to it.” Continuing on his roll of good finishes, Jimmy Kuhn, Jr. made it three for three as he brought the #72 car in for a podium finish during Modified Madness at Seekonk. “It was awesome and almost unbelievable. That is the kind of car that contended out there for the win three times in a row. I could not ask for anything more than that.” As some leaders prayed for no cautions, other wished there was at least one more out there. “I needed another re-start to get under Jon. Jon was protecting the bottom and I needed to get down on the bottom. So if they had another re-start I figured I could get under him.” Still smiling from ear to ear, Kuhn expressed his satisfaction with his third place finish with the open modified show. “I cannot ask for anything better than this. The car as been great and it showed at the end of every race. We won Lee and then this race here at Seekonk. We have shown what we have been capable of. We have been right there in the run. You cannot ask for anything more than that. It is just awesome.”Modified veteran driver Mike Stefanik could just feel the prize money in his hand as he piloted around the cement palace in the lead on lap eighty-three. He was in command. Then just as he was counting the $10,000 booty, a caution came out and stole the money from him. “We saved a little bit when the #43 was leading the race. Then when we got the opportunity to the outside I figured we would try to clear him. My car was better up high then it was on the bottom. Fortunately for us the #43 car got a little loose and but we had nothing left. I got it (the car) by him and I thought that we were not in bad shape. We were driving away from the #52 car (Chris Pasteryak) and then the caution came out. I did not like starting on the bottom. The car was not that good on the bottom as it was on the outside.”Last year’s winner Matt Hirschman returned to Seekonk Speedway for a run at making it two in a row. But his car was just short of making the grade. “It was not from a lack of effort. We just missed it (the setup) by a little bit and abused the tires trying to keep the lead and make Kirk work hard to get the lead. We both used up a lot at the beginning. We just did not have enough at the end. I almost passed Stefanik to get the lead. If I got in front of him at that point, I could have stayed in front of him for the lead.” In the end Hirschman rounded off the top five as he took the checkered flagWhen all was said and done, race teams went home from Seekonk with their notes, lessons learned and strategies ready to plan for 2010 and a return to Seekonk for the Open Wheel Wednesday race and prize money.