SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Pat Cannon of Etters led flag-to-flag for his dominating victory in Saturday night’s 25-lap Joe Whitcomb Memorial for 358 sprint cars at Selinsgrove Speedway. For Cannon, driving the Highlands’ Tire Service No. 3, the $1,771 win was his seventh in nine starts at the track and the 17th of his career at the Snyder County oval.
Nicole Bower of Camp Hill was the night’s fast qualifier with a one-lap time of 18.038 (106 mph). Bower made history at the track by becoming the first female driver to set fast time in qualifying for a sprint car race. She bested a strong field of 43 drivers who competed to honor the memory of the late Joe Whitcomb, who succumbed to injuries he sustained in a sprint
car racing accident at the speedway in 2003.
Polesitter Pat Cannon powered into the lead at the start of the sprint car feature and streaked away from the field, while second-place starter Matt Boland held down the runner-up position.
On the second circuit, sixth-place starter TJ Stutts drove by fourth-place starter Colby Womer for the third position.
By lap seven, Cannon began to lap cars in the field as he rocketed around the lightning-fast half-mile oval. Stutts advanced to second on the ninth lap and attempted to catch Cannon in heavy lapped traffic.
The race was stopped on lap 15 when 16-year-old Logan Schuchart flipped out over the speedway’s third-turn guardrail. Schuchart escaped injury. During the stoppage, Stutts went to the pit area, attempted to rejoin the field, then withdrew from the race on lap 16 with mechanical problems.
With five laps remaining, current point leader and 15th-place starter Nate Snyder stormed into the third position. At the checkered flag, Cannon won by a convincing 11-second margin of victory over Boland, Snyder, seventh-place starter Matt Heimbach, and Womer.
358 Sprint Cars – 43 Entries
25-Lap Joe Whitcomb Memorial: 1) 3 Pat Cannon 2) 22T Matt Boland 3) 56 Nate
Snyder 4) 14 Matt Heimbach 5) 19 Colby Womer 6) 77 Derek Locke 7) 16H Matt
Horst 8) 37 Scott Flammer 9) 63 Mike Walter 10) 1W Scott Geesey 11) 4R
Davie Franek 12) 23M Tom Wise 13) 8 Bill Dietrich 14) 28 Chuck Paige 15) 12
Blane Heimbach 16) 7 Joey Borich 17) 71 Jessica Anderson 18) 2 Chris Borich
19) 66 Ryan Kissinger 20) 2T TJ Stutts 21) 21 Shannon Mausteller 22) 10
Jeff Furlong 23) 11W Logan Schuchart 24) 21T Kevin Nouse 25) 97 Brie
Hershey
Heat Winners: Scott Flammer, Mike Walter, Nate Snyder, Chris Borich
Consolation Winners: Logan Schuchart, Davie Franek
Time Trials: 1) Nicole Bower 18.038 2) Colby Womer 18.039 3) Scott Geesey
18.124 4) Matt Boland 18.126 5) Pat Cannon 18.144 6) Matt Horst 18.236 7)
Josh Beard 18.249 8) TJ Stutts 18.277 9) Matt Heimbach 18.291 10) Tom Wise
18.315 11) Phil Walter 18.366 12) Derek Locke 18.380 13) Scott Flammer
18.394 14) Mike Walter 18.416 15) Shannon Mausteller 18.435 16) Blane
Heimbach 18.448 17) Jessica Anderson 18.491 18) Bill Dietrich 18.524 19)
Nate Snyder 18.559 20) Chris Borich 18.564 21) Chuck Paige 18.567 22) Nyle
Berkes 18.568 23) Kevin Nouse 18.617 24) Brie Hershey 18.635 25) Logan
Schuchart 18.639 26) Ryan Kissinger 18.672 27) Alan Spriggle 18.695 28)
Jeff Furlong 18.698 29) Charlie Anderson 18.714 30) Mark Manieri Jr. 18.714
31) Mike Ressler 18.801 32) Ricky Stonebraker 18.816 33) Jordan Frontz
19.002 34) John Troxell 19.029 35) Kyle Pruitt 19.078 36) Austin Reed
19.105 37) Bob Anderson 19.506 38) Joey Borich 20.084 39) Johnny Hagen
20.155 40) George Streaker Jr. 20.288 41) Davie Franek 18.567 (Penalized)
42) Ryan Hanson No Time 43) Elvin Diller No Time
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