Central PA 358 Racing Series: 7/25/10

William McIntyre · at 12:13 PM

WAGAMAN NEW POINTS LEADER

Hanover, PA (07/30/10) – Lapped traffic was a factor in more ways than one in Brad McClelland’s fourth win of the year in the 25-lap “358” sprint car feature at Trail-Way Speedway Friday night.

“That was a bad break for Billy (Dietrich), and good luck for us,” said McClelland after scoring his division-leading 24^th career win, “I saw there were five laps to go, and I thought to myself that I needed lapped traffic. Fortunately, the lapped traffic came to us, and it worked out.”

McClelland started ninth after polesitter Brian Suchy opted for the rear with brake rotor problems. That put Michael Ruttkamp on the pole, and he led the first 21 laps before McClelland drove around him on a 22^nd lap restart.

The final caution of the race was for Dietrich, who started fifth and was running second when the lapped cars of Nick Palmerino and Tim Stallings got together and collected the Racers Used Parts Warehouse #88 in turn two of lap 22. Dietrich was done for the night, and credited with an 18^th-place finish.

Once in front, McClelland drove away from the field.

“The track was beautiful tonight,” said McClelland, “It was good racing!”

Ruttkamp ran the best race of his dirt track career to finish second, with Joe Trone, Jr. crossing third. Second-starting Trevor Little and Keith Prutzman completed the top five.

Sixth through tenth were Tim Wagaman, Mike Bittinger, Randy Whisler, Randy Davis, Jr., and Scott Fisher.

Dale Hammaker threw a rod in his heat and was unable to start the feature. That, combined with Wagaman’s sixth-place finish vaulted Wagaman into the season-long 358 sprint car point series lead.

Also unable to start the feature was Jeff Rohrbaugh, who was driving the Berwager #4U.

Heats for the 23 “358” sprinters were won by Little, Suchy, and Prutzman.

Feature (25 Laps)

1. 6-Brad McClelland; 2. 8R-Michael Ruttkamp; 3. 99-Joe Trone, Jr.; 4. 20-Trevor Little; 5. 28-Keith Prutzman; 6. 1-Tim Wagaman; 7. 12-Mike Bittinger; 8. 64-Randy Whisler; 9. 98-Randy Davis, Jr.; 10. 21-Scott Fisher; 11. B52-Brook Weibley; 12. 10-Zach Euculano; 13. 10W-Brian Bruckner; 14. 33T-Todd Spangler; 15. 18J-Jessie Morrison; 16. 51N-Nick Palmerino; 17. 11D-Mike Duncan, Jr.(DNF); 18. 88-Bill Dietrich(DNF); 19. 59T-Tim Stallings(DNF); 20. 33-Billy Heltzel III(DNF); 21. 27-Brian Suchy(DNF); 22. 66-Dale Hammaker(DNS); 23. 4U-Jeff Rohrbaugh(DNS). No Time.

Lap Leaders- Michael Ruttkamp (1-21), Brad McClelland (22-25).

William McIntyre · at 12:11 PM

Pat Cannon started 12th and took the lead from Kevin Nouse on the fifteenth circuit, then went on to win the 20-lap 358-sprint feature. Nouse, Scott Geesey, Jay Reichart and Blane Heimbach completed the top five. Heats for the 35 358-sprints went to Ricky Stonebraker, Tim Berkheimer, Nouse and Cannon. Jay Galloway won the consolation race.

358-Sprint Feature - 20 laps - 1. Pat Cannon, 2. Kevin Nouse, 3. Scott Geesey, 4. Jay Reichart, 5. Blane Heimbach, 6. Nate Hammaker, 7. Jason Shultz, 8. Logan Schuchart, 9. Jay Galloway, 10. Cory Haas, 11, John Barnett, 12. Matt Boland, 13. Mike Ressler, 14. Brie Hershey, 15. Jimmy Reppert, 16. Amy Ott, 17. Ricky Stonebraker, 18. Chad Trout, 19. Glenndon Forsythe, 20. Eric Tomecek, 21. Tim Berkheimer, 22. Jordon Frontz, 23. Danny Massey, 24. Cody Keller. DNQ: Ted Thomas, Steve Fannasy, Jessica Anderson, Rich Eichelberger, Nicole Bower, Brian Garland, Bob Anderson, Derek Frohlich, Ryan Price, Chad Criswell, Kyle Moody

William McIntyre · at 12:08 PM

Here are the updated Central PA 358 Point Series presented by HTMA standings after last night's racing action at Trail Way & Williams Grove Speedway's.

1. Pat Cannon - 775 pts. (10 win)
2. Dale Hammaker - 548 pts. (2 win)
3. Logan Schuchart - 471 pts. (1 win)
4. Tim Wagaman - 459 pts. (1 win)
5. Blane Heimbach - 424 pts. (2 win)
6. Brad McClelland - 329 pts. (4 win)
7. Scott Geesey - 328 pts. (2 win)
8. T. J. Stutts - 304 pts. (1 win)
9. Nate Snyder - 299 pts. (2 win)
10.Jeff Rohrbaugh - 270 pts. (3 win)
11.Mike Bittinger - 265 pts. (2 win)
12.Cory Haas - 253 pts. (1 win)
13.Kyle Moody - 247 pts.
14.Davie Franek - 224 pts. (1 win)
15.Eric Tomecek - 217 pts. (2 win)
16.Joe Trone Jr. - 215 pts.
17.Chad Trout - 199 pts. (2 win)
18.Colby Womer - 197 pts. (1 win)
19.Jason Shultz - 197 pts. (1 win)
20.Keith Prutzman - 191 Pts. (1 win)
21.Glenndon Forsythe-181 pts.
22.Phil Walter - 164 pts.
23.Billy Dietrich - 150 pts.
24.Troy Becker - 150 Pts.
25.Kevin Nouse - 133 pts.
26.Larry Kelleher - 132 pts.
27.Todd Rittenhouse- 124 pts. (1 win)
28.Brook Weibley - 116 pts.
29.Adrian Shaffer - 115 pts. (1 win)
30.Mike Walter - 112 pts.
31.Ted Thomas - 109 pts.
32.Randy Davis - 108 pts.
33.Randy Whisler - 102 pts.
34.Scott Fisher - 96 pts.
35.Matt Boland - 93 pts.
36.Josh Beard - 92 pts.
37.Mike Duncan Jr. - 90 Pts. (1 win)
38.Brian Bruckner- 89 pts. (1 win)
39.Chad Criswell - 83 pts.
40.Nicole Bower - 80 pts. (1 win)
41.Steve Storrie - 74 pts. (1 win)
42.Billy Johns - 73 pts.
43.Doug Hammaker - 71 pts.
44.Steve Owings - 71 pts.
45.Nate Hammaker - 66 pts.
46.Danny Massey - 63 pts.
47.Jessie Morrison - 60 pts.
48.Jason Clauss - 55 pts.
49.Steve Fannasy - 50 pts.
50.Jay Galloway - 50 pts.
51.Amy Ott - 48 pts.
52.Rich Eichelberger -45 pts.
53.Matt Horst - 45 pts.
54.Bob Beidleman - 45 pts.
55.Tim Berkheimer - 44 pts.
56.Adam Lawrence - 42 pts.
57.Scott Flammer - 42 pts.
58.Jessica Anderson - 42 pts.
59.John Barnett - 40 pts.
60.Trevor Little - 39 pts.
61.Michaek Rttkamp - 35 pts.
62.Derek Frohlich - 35 pts.
63.Brian Garland - 35 pts.
64.Ryan Kissinger - 30 pts.
65.Todd Spangler - 30 pts.
66.Cody Keller - 28 pts.
67.Jordan Frontz - 26 pts.
68.Zach Euculano - 26 pts.
69.Jay Reichart - 25 pts.
70.Matt Heimbach - 24 pts.
71.Derek Locke - 22 pts.
72.Mike Ressler - 18 pts.
73.Joey Borich - 18 pts.
74.Brian Nornhold - 18 pts.
75.Rick Horn - 18 pts.
76.Steven Nederostek -16 pts.
77.Nick Palmerino - 16 pts.
78.Cliff Brian - 16 pts.
79.Mike Erdley - 16 pts.
80.Nyle Berkes - 16 pts.
81.Austin Reed - 14 pts.
82.Brain Suchy - 12 pts.
83.Danny Dietrich - 12 pts.
84.Jimmy Reppert - 12 pts.
85.Nathan Burwager - 12 pts.
86.Peter Bartley - 10 pts.
87.Chuck Paige - 10 pts.
88.Duane Mausteller -10 pts.
89.Cale Griffin - 10 pts.

William McIntyre · at 11:18 PM

Pat Cannon was your winner tonight at Williams Grove Speedway. The top 3 where Cannon, Kevin Nouse, and Scott Geesey.

I will have a full rundown as well as updated points when ever I get the full rundown from the track.

William McIntyre · at 9:37 PM

Brad McClelland was your winner tonight at Trail Way Speedway. Rookie Michael Ruttkamp lead the most of the race but lost the lead on a late restart and finished 2nd. Joe Trone Jr. was 3rd, rookie Trevor Little was 4th, and Keith Prutzman was 4th.

6th through 10th where Tim Wagaman, Mike Bittinger, Randy Whisler, Randy Davis, & Scott Fisher.

William McIntyre · at 4:31 PM

Here are the updated top 10 in points at Trail Way Speedway after this past Friday night's race.

Driver - Points - Pts. Behind

1.Dale Hammaker-537
2.Tim Wagaman-513-24
3.Brad McClelland-500-37
4.Mike Bittinger-470-67
5.Joe Trone -453-84
6.Brian Bruckner-397-140
7.Randy Davis-389-148
8.Troy Becker-383-154
9.Keith Prutzman-377-160
10.Randy Whisler-375-162

William McIntyre · at 4:28 PM

Selinsgrove Speedway has set August 14th as the night they will make up this past Saturday night's postponed 358 feature event.

William McIntyre · at 7:51 PM

This past Friday night at Trail Way Speedway I had the pleasure of awarding Troy Becker with the 2010 Most Popular Driver trophy. Here are some pictures of Troy & myself . A big thank you to Gus Radel for sponsoring the Most Popular Driver award again this season, and I am happy to announce that Gus has already come on board again so we will be able to crown a 2011 Central PA 358 Point Series Most Popular Driver. Congratulations Troy on picking up the award.

Thanks to Trail Way Track photographer Len Cobosco for the pictures.

You can watch the video of Troy receiving his award here - paposseracing.com/index.php?option=com_seyret&view=video&id=1133&videotitle=358+Sprint+Car+Most+Popular+Driver+Award+7-23-10

William McIntyre · at 8:35 AM

Hanover, PA (07/23/10) - While chaos seemed to occur behind him, New Oxford's Mike Duncan kept his Mentzer's Remodeling-Hofbrauhaus No. 11D pointed forward, even as he was wondering if the 25-lap 358 sprint feature Friday night at Trail-Way Speedway would ever end.

"On the scoreboard, it read eight laps and I said, 'Man, it feels like I ran the whole race.' I'm out of shape," he said of the red flag which came that early in the event. However, Duncan, driving only his 13th race in a 358 super sprint - the only race car he's ever driven, held off the field, expanded to 25 cars by track officials to avoid a consolation race, to claim his first career victory.
And Duncan had to celebrate by himself in a sense because two of the third-generation racer's biggest fans, his father and grandfather, were on vacation.

"Actually, my dad's in the hospital with kidney stones and a urinary tract infection, and they're in North Carolina," Duncan said. However, after hearing of Duncan's victory, both will feel much better, if only because Duncan avoided some of the mayhem behind him.

Following a false start, the race's first seven laps included four caution flags. Then, on lap eight, the car of runner-up Scott Fisher rolled in the fourth corner, starting a six-car melee. Before the restart, one of the drivers involved, Kyle Moody, stopped his car on the frontstretch to ask about the track officials' order to go to the rear of the field. As he stopped, his car was struck by the No. 1S of Logan Schuchart, bending the front wing of Schuchart's car and eventually ending his night. Meanwhile, for failure to go to the rear, Moody was relegated to an 18th-place finish.

Meanwhile, Hanover's Tim Wagaman was third on the restart and his first-turn slide job on runner-up Zach Eucolano put him in second. For the rest of the way, interrupted for a final time when Joe Trone Jr. spun on the 16th lap, Wagaman put pressure on Duncan, but he stayed in front.

"I was actually lifting a little bit early going into the turns because I thought if I could lay back, I could let them lapped guys stay ahead of me," Duncan said, "But Timmy showed me his nose and I thought, 'Uh oh, I better get going.'"

Wagaman took second place ahead of track points leader Dale Hammaker, 21st-starting Steve Owings, Brad McClelland, Billy Dietrich, Eucolano, Mike Bittinger, Jessie Morrison and Troy Becker. Moody, McClelland and Duncan won heat races.

RACE RESULTS
358 Sprint Cars
Feature (25 Laps)
1. 11D-Mike Duncan Jr.; 2. 1-Tim Wagaman; 3. 66-Dale Hammaker; 4. 35-Steve Owings; 5. 6-Brad McClelland; 6. 88-Billy Dietrich; 7. 10-Zach Eucolano; 8. 12-Mike Bittinger; 9. 18J-Jessie Morrison; 10. 98B-Troy Becker; 11. 66H-Doug Hammaker; 12. 33T-Todd Spangler; 13. 99-Joe Trone Jr.; 14. 10W-Brian Bruckner; 15. 00-Shane Smith; 16. 3W-Clair Wintermyer; 17. 1S-Logan Schuchart (DNF); 18. 99M-Kyle Moody (DNF); 19. 21-Scott Fisher (DNF); 20. 28-Keith Prutzman (DNF); 21. 01-Rick Horn (DNF); 22. 98-Randy Davis (DNF); 23. 51N-Nick Palmerino (DNF); 24. 33-Billy Heltzel III (DNF); 25. 64-Randy Whisler (DNF). No Time.
Lap Leader- Mike Duncan Jr. 1-25.

William McIntyre · at 8:32 AM

Last night's feature event for the 358 sprint cars has been postponed because of rain that moved into the area. No date has been set for the make up feature but it will be announced next week.

358 Sprint Cars - 32 Entries
25-Lap A-Main: Postponed; Date TBA
Heat Winners: Jason Schultz, Pat Cannon, Cody Keller, Phil Walter
Consolation Winner: Blane Heimbach