| Sep 10, 2011, 23:59 | Email this article Printer friendly page |
ABBOTTSTOWN, PA, 9/10/2011 - For those who sat through a three and-a-half hour rain delay, the "358" sprint car championship at Lincoln Speedway was worth the wait.
In what most fans and track officials called the greatest individual performance in the history of "358" sprint car racing in the Pigeon Hills, Hanover’s Logan Schuchart came from 21st starting spot to claim the $2,000 top prize in the 25-lap championship event Saturday night.
And he did it with the help of only one caution flag. By that time (lap nine), the Central PA 358 Sprint Car Point Series leader was already up to eighth.
A poor lap in time trials (24th quick) put Schuchart on the inside of row 11 for the start. Schuchart, who became the first repeat winner in 15 races at Lincoln this year, advanced 13 positions in the first eight laps, entered the top five by passing Austin Hogue on lap 13, caught 11th-starting Niki Young on lap 18, and then got serious.
With four laps to go, Schuchart caught third-starting T.J. Stutts for third. He then wrestled the runner-up spot from Chad Trout in heavy lapped traffic on lap 23. Schuchart spent lap 24 closing on polesitter and race-long leader Pat Cannon, and pulled the race-winning slider through turns one and two of the final lap. Despite slight contact, both Schuchart and Cannon maintained control and finished first and second.
"That was the most fun race I’ve ever been in!" exclaimed the grandson of the famous Bobby Allen in victory lane, "I might have made a little contact with Pat on that final lap, but I knew it was the only chance I had."
"I saw I was in eighth during that caution, and that was the first I realized I had a chance," continued Schuchart, "Coming from that far back is tough, but this car was perfect tonight, and I thank Grandpa and the rest of the crew for another great job."
Third through fifth were Trout, Stutts, and Young. Completing the top ten were Logan Wagner, Tim Berkheimer, Hogue, Nathan Berwager, and Tim Wagaman.
Jeff Rohrbaugh’s 11th-place finish was good enough to secure his second Lincoln track title in the past three years.
Heats for the "358" sprinters were won by Ted Thomas, Brian Wilson, Eric Tomecek, and Logan Schuchart.
Adrian Shaffer won the C-Main, while Cris Eash won the B-Main.
Fast time in time trials over the 46-car field was set by Eash with a one-lap time of 14.526-seconds (92.937 MPH). But then Eash suffered front end damage in his heat, forcing his B-Main start. Eash was able to start seventh for the feature but came to a stop while running fourth in turn two, bringing out the only caution flag of the event.
RACE RESULTSSaturday, Sept 10, 2011
LINCOLN SPEEDWAYAbbottstown, PA
358 SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP
KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS 358 SPRINTS
Feature (25-Laps) - 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart ($2,000); 2. 3-Pat Cannon; 3. 7C-Chad Trout; 4. 23M-TJ Stutts; 5. 65-Niki Young; 6. 6R-Logan Wagner; 7. 50-Tim Berkheimer; 8. 52-Austin Hogue; 9. 85-Nathan Berwager; 10. 1*-Tim Wagaman; 11. 45-Jeff Rohrbaugh; 12. 8R-Michael Ruttkamp; 13. 12-Mike Bittinger; 14. 99M-Kyle Moody; 15. 35-Steve Owings; 16. 8-Billy Dietrich; 17. 23B-Billy Pauch, Jr.; 18. 66H-Doug Hammaker; 19. 19Z-Isaac Sneeringer; 20. 94-Ted Thomas, Jr. (DNF); 21. 29-Ryan Wilson (DNF); 22. 1W-Eric Tomecek (DNF); 23. 10W-Cris Eash (DNF); 24. 16-Aaron Spahr (DNF). No Time
Lap Leaders - Pat Cannon (1-24), Logan Schuchart (25)
1st Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) - 1. 94-Ted Thomas, Jr.; 2. 23B-Billy Pauch, Jr.; 3. 1*-Tim Wagaman; 4. 52-Austin Hogue; 5. 8-Billy Dietrich; 6. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe; 7. 28-Keith Prutzman; 8. 7-JB Cunningham; 9. 88-Aaron Eichelberger; 10. 51N-Nick Palmerino; 11. 0-Steve Storrie (DNF); 12. 10W-Cris Eash (DNF). Time - 2:26.77
2nd Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) - 1. 29-Brian Wilson; 2. 45-Jeff Rohrbaugh; 3. 23M-TJ Stutts; 4. 7C-Chad Trout; 5. 35-Steve Owings; 6. 28-Keith Prutzman; 7. 66H-Doug Hammaker; 8. 91-Adrian Shaffer; 9. 56M-DJ Montgomery; 10. 33-Billy Heltzel, III; 11. 6S-Bill Sherman; 12. 23-Chris Arnold (DNF). Time - 2:28.83
3rd Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) - 1. 1W-Eric Tomecek; 2. 65-Niki Young; 3. 3-Pat Cannon; 4. 85-Nathan Berwager; 5. 99M-Kyle Moody; 6. 1-Brock Zearfoss; 7. 11D-Mike Duncan, Jr.; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen; 9. 99-Jan Luckenbaugh; 10. 21-Scott Fisher; 11. 97-Brie Hershey (DNF). No Time
4th Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) - 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart; 2. 12-Mike Bittinger; 3. 8R-Michael Ruttkamp; 4. 16-Aaron Spahr; 5. 6R-Logan Wagner; 6. 19Z-Isaac Sneeringer; 7. 50-Tim Berkheimer; 8. 69-Travis Willow; 9. 17S-Bob Sell; 10. 00-Shane Smith (DNF); 11. 22T-Matt Boland (DNF). No Time
C-Main (10 Laps/2 to advance to B-Main) - 1. 91-Adrian Shaffer; 2. 69-Travis Willow; 3. 99-Jan Luckenbaugh; 4. 51-Nick Palmerino; 5. 88-Aaron Eichelberger; 6. 6S-Bill Sherman (DNF); 7. 33-Billy Heltzel III (DNF); 8. 21-Scott Fisher (DNF); DNS: 7-J.B. Cunningham; 17S-Bob Sell. No time.
B-Main (12 Laps/4 to qualify) - 1. 10W-Cris Eash; 2. 50-Tim Berkheimer; 3. 66H-Doug Berkheimer; 4. 19Z-Isaac Sneeringer; 5. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe; 6. 11D-Mike Duncan; 7. 0-Steve Storrie; 8. 28F-Matt Findley; 9. 69-Travis Willow; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen; 11. 56M-DJ Montgomery; 12. 1-Brock Zearfoss; 13. 91-Adrian Shaffer; DNS - 97-Brie Hershey, 23-Chris Arnold, 22T-Matt Boland, 28-Keith Prutzman, 00-Steve Storrie. No Time
Time Trials - 1. 10W-Cris Eash, 14.526 seconds (92.937 MPH); 2. 23M-TJ Stutts, 14.567; 3. 3-Pat Cannon, 14.592; 4. 6R-Logan Wagner, 14.592; 5. 52-Austin Hogue, 14.604; 6. 7C-Chad Trout, 14.729; 7. 85-Nathan Berwager, 14.747; 8. 50-Tim Berkheimer, 14.756; 9. 1*-Tim Wagaman, 14.765; 10. 45-Jeff Rohrbaugh, 14.804; 11. 65-Niki Young, 14.815; 12. 8R-Michael Ruttkamp, 14.848; 13. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe, 14.852; 14. 35-Steve Owings, 14.859; 15. 99M-Kyle Moody, 14.910; 16. 16-Aaron Spahr, 14.923; 17. 94-Ted Thomas, Jr., 14.926; 18. 29-Ryan Wilson, 14.930; 19. 97-Brie Hershey, 14.990; 20. 12-Mike Bittinger, 15.018; 21. 23B-Billy Pauch, Jr., 15.020; 22. 23-Chris Arnold, 15.042; 23. 1W-Eric Tomecek, 15.046; 24. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.048; 25. 8-Billy Dietrich, 15.087; 26. 28F-Matt Findley, 15.136; 27. 1-Brock Zearfoss, 15.170; 28. 19Z-Isaac Sneeringer, 15.171; 29. 0-Steve Storrie, 15.213; 30. 56M-DJ Montgomery, 15.228; 31. 11D-Mike Duncan, Jr., 15.240; 32. 22T-Matt Boland, 15.249; 33. 28-Keith Prutzman, 15.252; 34. 66H-Doug Hammaker, 15.257; 35. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.266; 36. 00-Shane Smith, 15.410; 37. 7-JB Cunningham, 15.417; 38. 91-Adrian Shaffer, 15.431; 39. 21-Scott Fisher, 15.605; 40. 69-Travis Willow, 15.617; 41. 88-Aaron Eichelberger, 15.802; 42. 6S-Bill Sherman, 15.844; 43. 99-Jan Luckenbaugh, 15.864; 44. 17S-Bob Sell, 16.234; 45. 51N-Nick Palmerino, 16.372; 46. 33-Billy Heltzel, III, 16.908.
