Grant Adams holds off Gene Knaub in “358” late model thriller; Socks claims first Lincoln win in super sportsman

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA , 4/13/13 – Denver’s Alan Krimes came from seventh starting spot to claim his first win of the year in the 25-lap “410” sprint car feature at Lincoln Speedway Saturday night.

“We’ve been fast the last three weeks. I thought we had the car to beat last week and the week before that,” said Krimes upon exiting his Conestoga Valley Garage/Krimes Racing Engines #87 in victory lane, “A couple late yellows there killed us. We were lucky enough to get to the front first tonight.”

“The yellows were hurting us again tonight,” added Krimes, “I don’t know if the tires were sealing over or what, but every time the yellow came out, my car would get worse and worse. I know J.J. was behind us, and he’s been going real good pretty much every week. I was hoping there was some lapped cars between me and him, but apparently there wasn’t. We got a restart and I saw his front end down in three and four. I already had the wing all the way back, so I just ran around the top and hoped I didn’t see anybody. Luckily, we came away with it.”

Krimes took to the high side to get around sixth-starting Adam Wilt and fourth-starting J.J. Grasso in the first two turns and cross fifth by the end of the first lap. He then drove by both third-starting Gerard McIntyre, Jr. and fifth-starting Danny Dietrich to move into third following a third-lap restart, and caught second-starting Tim Glatfelter for the runner-up spot on lap four. Two laps later, Krimes grabbed the top spot from polesitter and race-long leader Robbie Kendall with a low-side move in turns three and four.

Though Krimes led the rest of the way, torrid racing between Brian Montieth, Danny Dietrich, and Fred Rahmer for fifth had the fans on their feet between laps nine and 12. It was on that lap that J.J. Grasso re-entered the picture after passing Kendall for second. Caution flags on laps 16 and 18 kept Grasso close until the end.

“There’s a lot of good guys running real good this year. I saw the 25 on the board there, and he’s been tough. I heard he’s going to URC when they start their season, and I’m not going to be sad to see him go!”

The 16^th-lap caution involved the spinning cars of Brian Montieth, Brent Marks, and Cole Duncan. All three of those drivers have won races at Lincoln in 2013. Montieth and Duncan were unable to continue, and Mark joined the rear. The 18^th-lap caution was for the spinning car of Jordan Mackison in turns one and two.

Grasso settled for second, with eighth-starting Jim Siegel coming on strong late in the race to finish third. Rahmer and Kendall completed the top five. Sixth through tenth were Danny Dietrich, 13^th-starting Logan Schuchart, Glatfelter, 22^nd-starting Billy Dietrich, and Wilt.

Heats for the 26 “410” Sprinters were won by Marks, Duncan, and Montieth, with Jordon Mackison winning the consolation.

Defending Lincoln/Trail-Way Precise Racing Products champion Grant Adams held off the repeated challenges of opening night winner Gene Knaub to win a 20-lap “358” late model thriller.

An inversion of six put Adams on the pole for the start. He led the first nine laps, while fifth-starting Knaub and third-starting Brad Shank racing side-by-side. Shank nudged under Adams to be scored the leader at the half-way point.

Adams reclaimed the lead in the next two turns, and both Knaub and Steve Clabaugh caught Shank for second and third by the end of lap 11.

Knaub gave it everything he had over the final two laps, but Adams crossed less than a car length ahead under the checkered. Clabaugh was third, followed by Shank and Sam Gallagher.

Heats for the 16 “358” Late Models were won by Pat Beard and Knaub.

Hagerstown’s Dave Socks claimed his first-ever Lincoln win in the 25-lap super sportsman feature. He started on the front row and chased polesitter Steve Wilbur the first 21 laps before making the race-winning pass.

Eighth-starting Frankie Herr caught Wilbur for second with two laps to go, but finished .84-seconds behind the winner. Wilbur crossed third, with Scott Geesey and Scott Dellinger completing the top five.

Ryan Wilson comes from eighth to claim “358” sprint car win; Walls wins wild thundercar feature

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA , 4/6/13 – For a driver who once won a dozen races in a row in the Pigeon Hills, the past three years has no doubt seemed like an eternity to Fred Rahmer.

But Lincoln’s ten-time track champ and all-time winner got the monkey off his back in claiming Saturday night’s “410” sprint car feature at Lincoln Speedway.

Among those in attendance was famous motorsports journalist Dick Berggren, who was in town for the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing’s spring open house, where he was to deliver the keynote address for the dedication of the museum’s library in the name of Chris Economaki.

Handicapping put Rahmer ninth in the starting lineup, but J.J. Grasso (who was supposed to start fifth) opted for the rear, moving Rahmer up to seventh. As polesitter Robbie Kendall led the first six laps, Rahmer raced into fourth by the end of the second lap, and he was still running there when fourth-starting Cory Haas took the lead from Kendall on the back stretch of lap seven. Both Adam Wilt and Rahmer passed Kendall to move into second and third respectively on lap 8, and Rahmer drove under Wilt on lapped traffic on lap 11.

Rahmer closed on Haas the next four laps, and made the race-winning pass on the back stretch of lap 16. Sixth-starting Alan Krimes caught Haas for second on lap 18, one lap before the only caution of the event came out for Haas, who hooked the back bumper of the lapped car of invader Mark Cole (of Lebanon, NH), with both cars coming to a stop on the front stretch.

Rahmer and Krimes ran first and second the rest of the way, with Rahmer’s final margin of victory a scant .66 seconds. It was Rahmer’s 168^th career Lincoln win, but first since May 1, 2010.

Wilt, eighth-starting Jim Siegel, and ninth-starting Brian Montieth completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten were Brent Marks, Logan Schuchart, Billy Dietrich, Jason Leffler, and Kendall.

Heats for the 23 “410” Sprinters were won by Montieth, Grasso, and Marks.

Maytown’s Ryan Wilson came from eighth starting spot to claim his second career Lincoln win in the 20-lap “358” sprint car feature. Wilson went to the top side to advance to third by the end of the first lap. He caught Chase Dietz for the runner-up spot a lap later, just before the caution came out for a three-car melee on turns one and two.

Wilson around polesitter and race-long leader Austin Hogue exiting turn four of lap five, and led the rest of the way, becoming the third winner in three events this year.

Eric Tomecek also went to the top to come from 12^th starting spot into second by lap eight. Though he closed on Wilson in lapped traffic over the second half of the race, he was never able to mount a serious challenge. Tomecek settled for second, with Hammaker coming on strong late to cross third. Hogue was fourth, followed by 19^th-starting Tyler Ross.

Sixth through tenth were Jeff Rohrbaugh, Matt Mountz, Jay Galloway, Matt Findley, and Brie Hershey.

Heats for the 25 “358” Sprinters were won by Hogue, Tomecek, and Tim Wagaman, with Ross winning the consolation.

Gettysburg’s Brian Walls picked up his first win of 2013 in winning the 20-lap Thundercar feature. Walls, who started ninth, chased down the race leaders, polesitter Jamie Zentmyer, and seventh-starting Jimmy Combs, to make it a three car battle for the leader by the fourth lap. A couple laps later defending track champ Duane Watson joined them to make it a four-car battle. Combs got by Zentmyer for the lead on the ninth lap, but Watson and Walls were on his bumper.

On the 11^th lap, contact between Watson and Combs sent them into a wild spin down the frontstretch, collecting several other cars along the way. Josh Angle took the hardest hit and was pounded by several cars and came to a stop in the middle of the track with fluids draining everywhere.

Walls was able to make it through the crash and assumed the lead on the restart with Zentmyer in second. Watson and Combs were able to restart with damage at the rear.

Walls held off Zentmyer the rest of the way to record his 11^th career win at Lincoln Speedway with Zentmyer second, Roy Warehime third, Todd Miller fourth, and Mikey Guise fifth. Completing the top-10 were Combs, Danny Beard, Brian Diehl, Jason Townsend, and Duane Watson.

Bittinger best of “358” sprints; Rick Miller wins Central PA Legends feature

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA , 3/30/13 – Brent Marks is the man to beat so far this season at Lincoln Speedway.

Marks assumed the lead when Logan Schuchart hit the spinning car of Ryan Slothower in turns three and four of lap four, and went on to become the first repeat winner of 2013 in Saturday’s 30-lap, $4,000-to-win “410” Spring Championship event.

“What a great year so far,” said Marks upon exiting his BAPS Auto Paints and Supply/Creekside Auto Sales/Fredericksburg Eagle Hotel/Memtec Services/KC Automotive #19M in victory lane, “This track was awesome again tonight. I love these types of tracks that are slick like this. These guys just work so hard, and everything pays off. I’m very grateful for this moment.”

An eight-car inversion at the front of the field put Marks on the inside of row two for the start. Marks drove under front row starter Adam Wilt at the start, and was running second when Schuchart knocked a tire off his left rear wheel trying to squeeze between the wall and Slothower and was forced to the pits.

From there, he led the rest of the way, much of it through lapped traffic during the middle stages of the race.

A Scott Geesey spin with four laps to go set up a dramatic finish, with Alan Krimes and Brian Montieth restarting on Marks’ back bumper.

“I was keeping an eye on it (the scoreboard),” said Marks, “I got caught up behind (Jason) Leffler there in traffic, and it was so hard to get by. The track got so high, and it was so hard to get a run. The track was pretty treacherous there at the end, and I knew it was too far around the top to run the top on the restart, so I went to the bottom and hoped to gain some car lengths on them and set sail. It was a lot of fun tonight.”

Montieth caught Krimes for the runner-up spot on lap 29, but was unable to catch Marks, who crossed 1.294 seconds ahead of the four-time track champ for his seventh career Lincoln win.

Krimes settled for third, with Fred Rahmer and Wilt completing the top five. Sixth through tenth were Billy Dietrich, Cory Haas, Jim Siegel, Schuchart (who came from the back), and J.J. Grasso completing the top ten.

Heats for the “410” Sprinters were won by Schuchart, Krimes, and Marks, with Nicole Bower winning the consolation. Fast time in time trials was set by Siegel over the 25-car field with a one-lap time of 13.434 seconds (100.491 MPH).

Mike Bittinger started on the pole and led every lap of the 20-lap “358” sprint car feature. Defending track champ Tim Wagaman started second and ran there the entire race, with sixth-starting Niki Young, 10^th-starting Jeff Rohrbaugh, and lady driver Brie Hershey rounding out the top five. Sixth through tenth were 12^th-starting Rodney Westhafer, Shane Hoff, 16^th-starting Tim Berkheimer, 22^nd-starting Matt Mountz, and Jay Galloway.

Heats for the 30 “358” Sprinters were won by Rohrbaugh, Chase Dietz, and Bittinger, with Ted Thomas winning the consolation.

Spring Grove’s Rick Miller held off the challenges of Tim Henry and Bob Stough to claim his first career Lincoln win in the 15-lap Central PA Legends feature. Miller started on the outside of the front row and wrestled the lead from polesitter Chad Ernst on the second lap. He led the rest of the way, despite heavy late-race pressure from sixth-starting Henry and eighth-starting Stough.

Ernst crossed fourth, with Blaine Leppo coming from 17^th-startng spot to finish fifth.

Knaub comes from 11^th to claim season opener for 358 late models; Watson wins thundercar “Spring Thaw 20”

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA , 3/23/13 – “This ranks up there with all the wins of my whole career,” said a jubilant Cole Duncan after claiming his first career Lincoln win in the 25-lap “410” sprint car feature Saturday evening.

“I want to thank all you fans for coming out,” said Duncan after exiting his Bobby Labonte Racing #22 in victory lane, “The only place in the country that would pack a place when it’s 35 degrees is Central Pennsylvania. That’s why it’s so fun to come out here and race. The promoters that put this race on…everywhere else cancelled, we had plenty of options to go to, but we decided to come here because it’s’ the only place racing.”

The win came one day after the Lockbourne, Ohio racer’s 21^st birthday, and Duncan became the 200^th different winner in sprint car competition in Lincoln history.

Points handicapping placed Duncan on the pole for the feature event, and he led every lap, despite heavy late-race pressure from opening day winner and four-time track champ Brian Montieth as the two raced through heavy lapped traffic.

Montieth, who started tenth, advanced to fourth by the end of the first lap and caught Greg Hodnett for the runner-up spot on lap seven. At the time, Duncan hit lapped traffic for the first time.

A red flag for the flipping cars of Billy Pauch, Jr. and then Jason Leffler put Montieth on Duncan’s back bumper for the ensuing eighth-lap restart.

Duncan pulled away over the next seven laps until lapped traffic again became a factor. Montieth closed and pulled alongside Duncan in nearly every turn just before the final caution of the race came out on lap 18 for Logan Schuchart, who came to a stop on the back stretch.

“He (Montieth) kept poking his nose under there, and I kept telling myself that I don’t care what he does, I’m not lifting. He raced me clean. That was awesome. If he wouldn’t have raced me clean, we probably would have both been hanging in the catch fence, because I wasn’t gonna lift to win at this place.”

On the final restart, third-place Brent Marks (who started 12^th), attempted a slider on Montieth, giving Duncan the space he needed to pull off the upset win. Montieth closed again on the final lap, but couldn’t pull off the pass in the final turns to the checkered.

Duncan’s win was worth $3,300, thanks to a $100 contribution from John Gleim, Jr. Restart Raffle winner Kevin Strausbaugh, who gave his winnings to Duncan in memory of his father Thomas, who passed away Sunday after attending Lincoln races weekly for 40 years.

Marks crossed, followed by Fred Rahmer and Hodnett. Sixth through tenth were Danny Dietrich, Cory Haas (racing the car he crashed opening day), J.J. Grasso, Jim Siegel, and Lance Dewease.

“There’s no better local competition than Central PA,” said Duncan, “To come beat these guys, I don’t care if I started on the pole or not, that was a lot of fun. I just respect all these guys so much. To win here is awesome!”

Heats for the 27 “410” Sprinters were won by Alan Krimes, Jim Siegel, and Brent Marks.

Gene Knaub came from 11^th starting spot to claim the season opening win in the 358 late model division.

The Superior Homes #1 came on late to track down Jake Jones and become the event’s fourth different leader in turns three and four of lap 15.

Outside front row starter Brad Shank led the first two laps before spinning in turn two. That handed the lead over to polesitter Bernie Beard, who paced the field until Jones caught the “X” car on lap five. Jones led the next laps before Knaub drove under the Miller Auto Parts #43 to take the lead for good.

Knaub moved into fourth on lap seven, caught Paul Cursey for third on lap 11, and then drove by Beard for the runner-up spot on lap 11, all under green flag racing conditions.

Jones settled for second, with Cursey crossing third, and Beard and Chase Billet rounding out the top five. Kyle Lear, 22^nd starting Grant Adams (who was unable to start his heat), Cam Zeigler, Travis Mease, and Ron Coleman completed the top ten.

Heats for the 25 “358” Late Models were won by Lear, Knaub, and Billet.

Defending track champ Duane Watson started on the pole by luck of the draw and led every lap, including a one-lap dash to the checkered, in the season-opening “Spring Thaw 20” for the thundercars.

It was Watson’s 38^th career win in the Pigeon Hills, and was worth $500.

Brian Walls finished second, with Todd Miller, Jimmy Combs, and Danny Beard completing the top five.

Heats for the 14 Thundercars were won by Watson and Miller.

(Click on headline link above for full story & results)
LINCOLN MOVES TO NIGHT RACING NEXT SATURDAY

Marks sets all-time10-lap track record; Three snow squalls can’t beat Lincoln on week 2

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA , 3/2/13 –Third-generation driver Jim Siegel held off the challenges of10-time track champ Fred Rahmer and new 10-lap track record holder Brent Marks to score his eighth career Lincoln win Saturday afternoon.

After a rough 2012, Siegel’s $3,200 win was his first in the Pigeon Hills since September 3^, 2011.

Siegel started beside polesitter Cory Haas on the front row and, after a restart following a Greg Hodnett flip on the front stretch on the initial start, yielded to the faster Haas entering turn one of the first lap. He was still running second when Haas tangled with lapped traffic and flipped over the wall in turns three and four of lap 15. Haas was uninjured, but his second flip in two weeks took out the traffic light and catch fence below the Coors Light scoreboard.

“It’s really a shame, this was Cory’s race. He was better,” said Siegel upon exiting his Mason-Dixon Vault Company/C.H Folks and Son Feeds #59 in victory lane, “I’m tired. I was just trying to log some laps and knock the rust off. It’s so tough to come out on a track that’s pretty fast and aggressive like this. I did kind-of show him the top down there, and he moved up. He was better than me. He was manhandling that thing. It’s a shame he tore that thing up. My dad’s raced a long time, and he would a put a foot in my butt if I would not have listened to the ‘move over’ flag. It’s disheartening that that much equipment got tore up.”

Siegel assumed the lead, with seventh-starting Marks and 12^th-starting Rahmer in tow. Rahmer shot around Marks on the restart, and closed on Siegel as the leaders entered lapped traffic with five laps to go. Marks hung around as well, and actually drove under Rahmer for second in turn two of lap 24, but the caution came out for defending champ Dan Dietrich, who blew a tire on the front stretch while running fourth.

Siegel held off both Rahmer and Marks over the final two laps to become the second winner in as many races in the Pigeon Hills.

“I haven’t won here in a while,” said Siegel, “It feels like forever. The Goodyear tire just wasn’t our deal. I’m really happy to see Hoosier back. As long as it’s been for me, I’m sure it’s been close to that long for Fred, and he’s hungry as ever. You never know what you’re going to get with him. You have to be on your toes, and thank God it was only two laps at the end and not five or ten.”

J.J. Grasso came from ninth starting spot to cross fourth, with Logan Schuchart completing the top five. Sixth through tenth were Scott Geesey, opening day winner Brian Montieth, Adam Wilt, Alan Krimes (who came from the back after damaging a tire during the Hodnett flip), and Lance Dewease.

The show was delayed by 45 minutes when three snow squalls forced master track preparer Fred Putney and his crew to run the track in three times. It showed, as the super fast surface saw the sprinters turning laps faster in the qualifying events than the one-lap track record. And to top it off, Brent Marks drove the fastest ten laps in speedway history, including the old track pre-weight rule record. His ten-lap time of 2:12.817 was five second faster than the post-weight rule record and was faster than the all-time 10-lap record of 2:12.905 set by Brian Leppo in June of 2008.

Heats for the 27 Sprinters were won by Rahmer, Marks, and Grasso, with Ryan Smith winning the consolation.

Lincoln swings back into action next Saturday (3/9), when the 358 sprint cars join the 410 sprints in their 2013 season opener. It’ll be the final 2:00 p.m. start, with gates opening at noon.

To get all the latest news, results, schedule changes and rule changes, visit Lincoln Speedway's website at http://www.lincolnspeedway.com to stay up-to-date on all the action or pending weather conditions at Central Pennsylvania's "Premier" Saturday night race track - The Fabulous Lincoln Speedway.

Sat., March 2, 2013

LINCOLN SPEEDWAY

Abbottstown, PA

LAWRENCE CHEVROLET 410 SPRINTS

Feature (25-Laps) - 1. 59-Jim Siegel ($3,200); 2. 20S-Fred Rahmer; 3. 19M-Brent Marks; 4. 25-JJ Grasso; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart; 6. B52-Scott Geesey; 7. 21-Brian Montieth; 8. 15-Adam Wilt; 9. 87-Alan Krimes; 10. 27-Lance Dewease; 11. 0-Rick Lafferty; 12. 17-Niki Young; 13. 92-Ryan Smith; 14. 48-Danny Dietrich; 15. 4-John Rudisill; 16. 1080-Jordon Mackison; 17. 15AW-April Wilson; 18. 11C-Cory Haas (DNF); 19. 14-Gerard McIntyre, Jr. (DNF); 20. 22-Cole Duncan (DNF);21. 95-Hunter Mackison (DNF); 22. 21A-Will Rose (DNF); 23. 1A-Jacob Allen (DNF); 24. 39-Greg Hodnett (DNF). No Time

Lap Leaders – Cory Haas (1-14), Jim Siegel (15-25)

1st Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 20S-Fred Rahmer; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich; 3. 87-Alan Krimes; 4. 21A-Will Rose; 5. 4-John Rudisill; 6. 15-Adam Wilt; 7. 29-Ryan Wilson; 8. 92-Ryan Smith; 9. 1080-Jordon Mackison. No Time

2nd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 19M-Brent Marks; 2. B52-Scott Geesey; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart; 4. 59-Jim Siegel; 5. 27-Lance Dewease; 6. 0-Rick Lafferty; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen; 8. 15AW-April Wilson; 9. 2W-Glenndon Forsythe. Time – 2:12.817 (New 10-Lap Track Record. Topping all-time record of 2:12.905 set by Brian Leppo on 6/14/2008)

3rd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 25-JJ Grasso; 2. 11C-Cory Haas; 3. 39-Greg Hodnett; 4. 21-Brian Montieth; 5. 95-Hunter Mackison; 6. 22-Cole Duncan; 7. 14-Gerard McIntyre, Jr.; 8. 17-Niki Young; 9. 8-Billy Dietrich; DNS – 7C-JB Cunningham. Time – 2:13.034

Consolation (10 Laps/6 to qualify) – 1. 92-Ryan Smith; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen; 3. 14-Gerard McIntyre, Jr.; 4. 17-Niki Young; 5. 1080-Jordon Mackison; 6. 15AW-April Wilson; 7. 2W-Glenndon Forsythe (DNF); 8. 29-Ryan Wilson (DNF); DNS-8-Billy Dietrich, 7C-JB Cunningham. No Time

2013 LINCOLN SPEEDWAY 410 SPRINT & 358 SPRINT TIRE RULE

All tires used must be the Hoosier spec tires as follows:

Front Tires

Part #31 - 131 85/8.0-15 D12

Part #31 - 132 85/8.0-15 D15, D20

Left Rear Tires

Part #38 - 137 15.0/90-15 H12

Part #38 - 147 15.0/92-15 H12, H15

Part #38 - 157 15.0/94-15 (SH) H12

Part #38 - 159 15.0/94-15 H12, H15

Part #38 - 167 15.0/96-15 H12, H15

Right Rear Tires

Part #38 - 221 105/16.0-15 H15, H20, Medium

• The 105/16-15 right rear can be utilized on current 16”, 17”and 18” wide wheels.
• Factory development on the 105/16-15 has been conducted on a 17” wide wheel so the recommended wheel width is 17”.
• The minimum recommend width is 16” and maximum is 18”.Part #38 - 231 105/18.0-15 Hard (Emergency Tire)

410 Sprints ONLY - The same right rear tire must be used for the entire racing program including qualifying, heat and feature events. Cars competing in the Consolation or B-Main may use a different tire for that event but use their heat race tire for the feature.

• Tire change between events results in car being moved to the rear of the starting line-up for the next race. Tire compound may be changed.
• There will be a onetime exemption per team for a tire change occurring after a qualifying event. The same compound must be used. When taking this exemption, a Lincoln Speedway official must be notified before the change.
• The one tire per racing program rule will not be in effect for day shows.

Maximum wheel diameter is 15 inches. Right rear wheel maximum width is 18 inches and left rear maximum is 15.25 inches.No plastic or carbon fiber wheels permitted. Wheel covers must be securely fastened.

ATTENTION 358 SPRINT TEAMS 358 Sprint teams will have two (2) 358 sprint shows to use their old tires at the start of the 2013 racing season. If a show is postponed or canceled, they may then use them in the next show run until two (2) completed 358 racing programs are completed. Following the first two (2) completed 358 Sprint racing programs, the stated tire rule for 2013 will be in full effect.

Download entire Lincoln Speedway 2013 Rulebook in PDF format.

All 2013 updated rules and specifications have been highlighted with Red Text. UPDATED 4/22/2013

Opening day fans get $2 discount for week number two

ABBOTTSTOWN, PA , 2/23/13 – The driver known as “The Edge” took to the middle and bottom to claim his third “Icebreaker 30” win in the past five years at Lincoln Speedway Saturday afternoon.

“I can say more about this team,” said Montieth in victory lane, “I haven’t seen these guys since Christmas. Today was the first time I sat in this car. Everything’s where I need it to be, and it’s like we never left off.”

Montieth finished fourth in his heat and drew pill #7 for the feature start, but advanced to fourth after a crash took out the cars of Cory Haas and Hunter Mackison just in front of the starters stand at the drop of the green. Haas flipped several times and was shaken up, but was able to walk back to the pits done for the day. Also involved was outside front row starter Gerard McIntyre, Jr., who went to the pits for repairs. Glenndon Forsythe went to the pits to have Haas’ top wing removed from his car, and J.J. Grasso opted to the rear for the restart after sustaining front and top wing damage. Hunter Mackison was the other flip victim in the incident and was also done for the day.

On the restart, new front row starter Scott Geesey, driving the Paul Stein #B52, grabbed the lead from polesitter Alan Krimes. A caution flag for Jordan Mackison (who stopped in turn four) turned into a red when 2012 opening day winner Adam Wilt flipped into the catch fence and came back onto the track in turn two.

The single-file restart saw Geesey led Krimes, Montieth, Fred Rahmer, and Logan Schuchart, with Montieth catching Krimes for the runner-up spot on lap 8. Montieth then closed on Geesey and made the race-winning pass in turns one and two of lap 9.

From there, Montieth checked out on the field, crossing 6.873 seconds ahead of Krimes, who caught Geesey at the line to finish second.

“I’m just glad I didn’t use as many tear-offs as I thought I was going to have to,” said Montieth, “I had to run with my shield open just so I could see. Everything fogged up. I don’t know. It’s February and we’re racing…so I guess we’ll take it.”

Rahmer (driving the Bob Sell #20S) and defending champ Danny Dietrich (who flipped in his heat and started last in the feature) crossed fourth and fifth.

Completing the top ten were Ryan Wilson, Brent Marks, Ryan Smith (in the John Pinter #92), and Logan Schuchart (who suffered a flat tire in the closing laps and failed to reach the finish line).

Heats for the 17 Sprinters were won by McIntyre and Krimes.