Watson closes on Smith for points lead with fifth thundercar win of ‘07

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA, 9/22/07 - A second-place run in his qualifying event is the only thing that kept Lucas Wolfe from a perfect night in the 19^th Annual Hank Gentzler Memorial Manufacturers Appreciation Race at Lincoln Speedway Saturday night.

The second-generation racer from Mechanicsburg set fast time in time trials, picked pill #0 for the inversion, started on the pole, and claimed the $4,000 top prize in the 25-lap feature for 410 sprinters.

Counting the $250 fast time award from Wings Unlimited, $75 for a second-place finish in his heat, the $4,000 for winning, and a $2,200-prize package given to each of the 24 feature starters by Hank’s Performance Products of York, Wolfe’s take on the night was in excess of $6,500.

After an inversion of five for each of the heats, the only thing that kept Wolfe from claiming the $500 Hank’s Perfect Performance Award was a second-place finish to Doug Esh in his qualifying run.

And for a while, it didn’t look like he’d even win the feature.

Wolfe led lap one from the pole, but then outside front row starter Cory Haas, the 2007 Lincoln "358" sprint champ, went to the wall to drive around the Allebach #5W through turns three and four of lap two to take the point. Haas led the next 15 laps before Wolfe reclaimed the lead in lapped traffic exiting turn four of lap 17.

But closing on the leaders was sixth-starting and 2007 track champ Fred Rahmer, who followed Wolfe by Haas and was scored second by the end of lap 18. Rahmer then drove under Wolfe for the race lead on lap 19. But Wolfe turned up the wick a lap later, and drove back around the ten-time track champ on lap 21.

"I was trying hard not to over-drive the car," said Wolfe in victory lane, "It’s easy to do here.Once Fred got by me, I had to push harder and harder and I found a little bit of something. Fred got held up by some lapped cars, and that let me get by him. Once I was out there, I figured it would be pretty hard for him to get back by me again, but you can never count him out, he’s always there until the end. It was a good win for us tonight."

Smith wins second in-a-row, fourth of the year in thundercars; Sites victor in street stocks

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA, 9/15/07 - It sure beats sitting at home and drinking beer.

That’s what J.R. Fry was doing the last time the super sportsman ran the "Sportsman 100" at Lincoln Speedway.

The Summerdale driver started on the pole and spotted outside front row starter Russ Mitten the lead on lap one. He took the lead with a low-side move exiting turn four of the second lap, and led the rest of the way, picking up $1,000 in lap money to go with the $4,000 top prize.

"The car was running great," said a jubilant Fry in victory lane, "Everyone’s biggest concern was that for the past two years, I’ve been sittin’ on the couch drinkin’ beer while these guys were racing. Then Dane and Eric called me up and asked me if I’d come back and race again. They thought ‘Can you make it the whole race?’ I was a little worried there, but when you have a car that handles like that, it’s easy to drive."

One thing that helped was timely cautions, which seemed to occur every time the Dane Hursh-owned #22H caught lapped traffic.

Red flags came out twice in the first two laps. Rick Barr was taken for a checkup after suffering a back or shoulder injury when his #00 hopped the cushion and hit the outside wall on the initial start. Bobby Hockenberry brought out the red on turn three of lap two.

Fry pulled away to a 1.26-second lead over third-starting Frankie Herr by the time he hit lapped traffic for the first time on lap 24. And he literally hit the lapped traffic, spinning Stan Wanner in turn one.

After four caution laps, Fry again pulled away to a 1.51-second lead over Herr by lap 34. Defending "Sportsman 100" winner Rich Eichelberger, who started sixth, dropped from the field on lap 30 while running fourth. Fry’s lead was 1.7 seconds when he hit lapped traffic on lap 38. Again a caution came out and cleared the track for the leaders.

Weekend 358 sprint Trail-Way/Lincoln "Shoot Out" goes to Dale Hammaker;
Spangler wins feature, Jones wins title in Lincoln "358" late models; Smith wins thundercar main

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA, 9/8/07 - Second generation racer Todd Rittenhouse Jr. picked a good night to earn his first career Lincoln Speedway "358" sprint car feature.

Rittenhouse started third, grabbed the lead from polesitter and race-long leader Eric Tomecek on the ninth lap, and then, without brakes, held off the best 358 sprint drivers in Central Pennsylvania to win the Annual 25-lap, $1,500-to-win 358 Sprint Championship race. The win, his first at Lincoln Speedway in 358 sprint competition, was actually his second overall victory at the Pigeon Hills oval. Rittenhouse won the first time he ever raced at Lincoln, a United Racing Club event several years ago at the 3/8th-mile high-banked oval.

"If I’d have needed my brakes, I would have been in trouble," said Rittenhouse in victory lane, "I’ve been out here for three or four years struggling on a dime, and it finally paid off."

"When I won the URC feature here, victory lane rained out. So I’m really glad to be here again," added Rittenhouse, who finally got those Lincoln victory lane photos. He thanked car owner Marty McCabe, who he said elevated his racing career and cousin Brian Love of his pit crew for supporting him.

"I’m like an average-Joe tenth-place driver," said Rittenhouse, "and they keep coming with me. This is for them."