Daryn Pittman Declared Winner Of National Open

Cannon Comes Up Light At Scales Giving Pittman His 3rd Win Of 2010 At Selinsgrove

SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Daryn Pittman of Owasso, Okl., was awarded the win in the 10th Annual NRG Controls North National Open for 358-360 sprint cars Saturday night at Selinsgrove Speedway when the car driven by Pat Cannon of Etters, who took the checkered flag, was disqualified for being about five pounds under the minimum weight requirement of 1,475 pounds.

The $8,000 win in the 35-lap Open was the third of the season for Pittman at Selinsgrove at the wheel of the Lelands.com No.27, having also won both of the track’s 410 sprint car races in May and July. Pittman is a pre-race favorite going into the Jim Nace Memorial National Open for 410 sprint cars at the track on Sept. 18.

The record purse of nearly $36,500 drew a record field of 48 entries (20 360s and 28 358s) for the race. Jason Shultz of Carlisle, who was racing with a 358 motor, set fast time with a lap of 17.800 seconds for the Fast Tees Fast Time Award in Memory of Jim Nace $100 bonus. Logan Schuhart of Hanover won the C-main, while Kevin Nouse of Lewisberry won the Mach I Chassis B-main.

TJ Stutts of Liverpool, who led the first 10 laps of the A-main, earned a $500 bonus from Mach I Chasis for being the highest finishing driver in a 358 sprint car (7th), while Colby Womer of Mt. Pleasant Mills, who started 25th and finished 12th, received the $200 Sprint Ace hard charger bonus.

Jason Schmidt of Port Royal won his second feature of the season in the 15-lap pro stock race.

Selinsgrove Speedway will present a program of 358 sprint cars, late models, pro stocks, and roadrunners at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11. Track gates will open at 5 p.m.

Polesitter TJ Stutts stormed into the lead at the start of the 358-360 sprint car Open. On the first lap, fourth-place starter Phil Walter passed second-place starter Jason Shultz for the runner-up position. The caution flag unfurled on lap two for debris on the speedway.

When the race resumed, Stutts and P. Walter see-sawed for the lead, while seventh-place starter Pat Cannon advanced to third and on lap five passed P. Walter for second. Another caution flag for debris on lap 10 regrouped the field as third-place starter Stevie Smith, who was racing fifth at the time, withdrew with mechanical problems on his race car.

On the restart, Stutts and Cannon exchanged passes for the lead. Racing out of the turn four to complete the 11th lap, Cannon took the lead, while Stutts, 11th-place starter Davie Franek, fifth-place starter Daryn Pittman, and P. Walter raced in the top five.

By lap 17, the leaders began to encounter slower traffic, allowing Pittman to move into second and set his sites on Cannon. On lap 24, the caution came out when P. Walter’s car did a 360-degree spin and kept moving, only to hit the wall and stop on lap 25.

On the 27th circuit, after exchanging the lead through turns one and two, Pittman took the front spot with an inside pass racing out of turn four. With five laps remaining, Pittman was leading Cannon, Franek, 13th-place starter Aaron Ott, and 15th-place starter Blane Heimbach.

With four laps remaining, the red flag stopped the race when Shultz’ car flipped hard in turn three. Shultz escaped injury. On the final restart, Cannon remained in striking distance, then reclaimed the lead using the outside lane racing off turn four on lap 33.

At the finish, Cannon took the checkered flag by one second ahead of Pittman, only to have Pittman declared the winner of the race after Cannon’s race car came up lite by about five pounds in the post-race inspection.

Franek was credited with second, followed by Ott, Heimbach, and Mike Walter.

SELINGSROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY:
358/360 Sprint Cars - 48 Entries
35-Lap A-Main: 1) 27 Daryn Pittman (declared winner; $8,000) 2) 28F Davie Franek ($5,000) 3) 25 Aaron Ott ($3,400) 4) 12 Blane Heimbach ($3,100) 5) 63 Mike Walter ($2,550) 6) 21L Trevor Lewis 7) 23M TJ Stutts 8) 56 Nate Snyder 9) 00 Kevin Nouse 10) 17B Steve Buckwalter 11) 77 Derek Locke 12) 19 Colby Womer 13) 14 Matt Heimbach 14) 37 Scott Flammer 15) 1W Tim Wagaman 16) 71 Jessica Anderson 17) 55 Jimmy Layton 18) 3 Pat Cannon (DQ for being lite at scales) 19) 22T Matt Boland DNF 20) 1 Jason Shultz DNF 21) 5 Phil Walter DNF 22) 7 Joey Borich DNF 23) 79 Davey Sammons DNF 24)
22 Bryn Gohn DNF 25) 1Z Stevie Smith DNF

Heat Winners: Nate Snyder, Derek Locke, Pat Cannon, Stevie Smith, Phil Walter B-Main Winner: Kevin Nouse C-Main Winner: Logan Schuchart