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."
Tomecek grabbed the lead at the outset with Rittenhouse on his bumper over the first six laps before the caution waved for Danny Dietrich broke and hit the inside guardrail on the frontstretch.
On the restart, Rittenhouse continued to dog the Jack Giambalvo Motor Company #11T, diving Tomecek for the race lead on the back stretch of lap nine.
Rittenhouse lead the rest of the way, crossing .84-seconds ahead of Tomecek following a last-lap caution for a spinning Kevin Nagy on turn two. Rittenhouse became the 11th different winner in 13 "358" Lincoln sprint races in 2007, and the 53rd different "358" sprint winner in Lincoln history.
Chad Trout came from eighth starting spot to finish third.
Cory Haas secured his second straight and unprecedented fourth track title with his fourth-place finish.
Derek Locke completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten were Adrian Shaffer, Scott Geesey, Glenndon Forsythe, Keith Prutzman, and Jeff Rohrbaugh.
Dale Hammaker, who won at Trail-Way Friday night, started dead last in the Championship event, and advanced to 15th at the finish to win the Trail-Way Speedway/Lincoln Speedway 358 Sprint "Shoot-out" for the best two-night finish of any driver who competed at both tracks during the weekend.
358 Sprint heats were won by Tim Wagaman, Haas, Billy Dietrich and John Barnett.
Matt Boland won the B-Main while Bob Anderson won the C-Main.
Fast time in time trials over the 51-car field was set by Boland with a one-lap time of 14.927-seconds (90.440 MPH).
Spring Grove’s Mike Spangler came from sixth starting spot to grab the lead from outside front row starter and race-long leader Derrike Zirkle on lap nine and drive away to an impressive 2.90-second win in the 25-lap season finale for "358" late models. It was Spangler’s second win of the year in the Pigeon Hills.
Travis Mease took second from Zirkle on lap 12 and held off repeated challenges from Shaun Jones and Tyler Hershey to finish second. Jones’ third-place finish was good enough to win the tight season-long Lincoln points battle by a mere ten points over fifth-place finishing Bobby Beard. Hershey, who crossed fourth, finished fourth in points 25 points behind Jones. Jerry Bard, who entered the night with a five-point lead, finished third in points after crossing eighth in the feature.
Heats for the 23 "358" Late Models on hand were won by Hershey and Spangler.
Hanover’s Neil Smith finally found his way back to victory lane by winning the 20-lap thundercar feature. Smith, who started ninth, grabbed the lead from polesitter and race-long leader Craig Wagaman on the eighth lap and never looked back in picking up his third win of 2007. The win, his first since registering two consecutive wins back in April, helped him maintain his slim point lead over Duane Watson in his quest to defend his 2006 track title.
Smith took the checkered by a whopping 4.04-seconds over Wagaman to register his 41st career thundercar win, second on the all-time win list to Bernie Beard (72 wins).
Watson kept pace with Smith in the season-long battle for the track championship by finishing third, with Mike Slaybaugh fourth and Smoke Christine fifth. Completing the top-10 were Ronnie Thomas, Sam Gallagher, Al Crammer, Mike Zeigler Jr. and Scott Fisher.
Heats for the 18 Thundercars on hand were won by Wagaman and Crammer.
Next Saturday night, September 15th, at 6 PM, the Super Sportsman will compete in their most prestigeous event - the 33rd ANNUAL LAWRENCE CHEVROLET SPORTSMAN 100. Joining them will be the Street Stocks and Thundercars. Racing action will get underway with time trials for the super sportsman at 6 PM. Gates will open at 4 PM.
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.
RACE RESULTS
Saturday - September 8, 2007
LINCOLN SPEEDWAY
Abbottstown, PA
358 SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP:
Feature (25 Laps) - 1. 23-Todd Rittenhouse ($1,500); 2. 11T-Eric Tomecek; 3. 7C-Chad Trout; 4. 39-Cory Haas; 5. 77-Derek Locke; 6. 21-Adrian Shaffer; 7. 91-Scott Geesey; 8. 4R-Glenndon Forsythe; 9. 28-Keith Prutzman; 10. 7V-Jeff Rohrbaugh; 11. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 12. 66N-Nate Hammaker; 13. 8D-Billy Dietrich; 14. 6-Brad McClelland; 15. 66-Dale Hammaker; 16. 22T-Matt Boland; 17. 27-Jay Galloway; 18. 1-Tim Wagaman; 19. 25-Aaron Ott; 20. 1J-Jake Raudabaugh; 21. 15B-John Barnett; 22. 45-Kevin Nagy; 23. 2J-Billy Johns (DNF); 24. 88-Danny Dietrich (DNF). No Time
Lap Leaders - Eric Tomecek (1-8), Todd Rittenhouse Jr. (9-25)
1st Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) - 1. 1-Tim Wagaman; 2. 66-Dale Hammaker; 3. 23-Todd Rittenhouse Jr.; 4. 27-Jay Galloway; 5. 2J-Billy Johns; 6. 8D-Billy Dietrich; 7. 22T-Matt Boland; 8. 5X-Ricky Stonebraker; 9. 1W-John Westbrook; 10. 65-Cale Griffin; 11. 6S-Bill Sherman; 12. 5-Adam Lawrence (DNF); 13. 2-Paul Hively III (DNF). No Time
2nd Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) - 1. 39-Cory Haas; 2. 77-Howie Locke; 3. 91-Scott Geesey; 4. 7C-Chad Trout; 5. 15-Adam Wilt; 6. 5C-Dan Carrozza; 7. 22D-Jeff Young; 8. 38-Mike Ressler; 9. 51N-Nick Palmerino; 10. 21D-Elvin Diller III; 11. 55-Brian Eichelberger (DNF);
3rd Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) - 1. 8D-Billy Dietrich; 2. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 3. 88-Danny Dietrich; 4. 11T-Eric Tomecek; 5. 4R-Glenndon Forsythe; 6. 45-Kevin Nagy; 7. 15-Adam Wilt; 8. 67-Jason Cherry; 9. 5T-Mike Bittinger; 10. 01-Rick Horn; 11. 50-Jimmy Strausbaugh; 12. 85-Brian Montieth (DNF). No Time
4th Heat (10 Laps/5 to qualify) - 1. 15B-John Barnett; 2. 21-Adrian Shaffer; 3. 6-Brad McClelland; 4. 7V-Jeff Rohrbaugh; 5 66N-Nate Hammaker; 6. 18-Jessie Morrison; 7. 81B-Bob Anderson; 8. 25-Aaron Ott; 9. 28J-Chad Jumper; 10. 33T-Todd Spangler; 11. 28-Keith Prutzman (DNF); 12. 28H-Billy Heltzel, Jr. (DNS); 13. 75-Nicole Bower (DNS). No Time
C-Main (10 Laps/2 to advance to B-Main) - 1. 81B-Bob Anderson; 2. 5X-Ricky Stonebraker; 3. 38-Mike Ressler; 4. 01-Rick Horn; 5. 33T-Todd Spangler; 6. 5-Adam Lawrence; 7. 28H-Billy Heltzel Jr.; 8. 50-Jimmy Straubaugh; 9. 6S-Bill Sherman; 10. 51N-Nick Palmerino (DNF); DNS - 85-Brian Montieth, 5T-Mike Bittinger. No Time
B-Main (12 Laps/4 to qualify) - 1. 22T-Matt Boland; 2. 28-Keith Prutzman; 3. 25-Aaron Ott; 4. 45-Kevin Nagy; 5. 80-Todd Reed; 6. 15-Adam Wilt; 7. 22D-Jeff Young; 8. 5X-Ricky Stonebraker; 9. 81B-Bob Anderson; 10. 5C-Dan Carrozza (DNF); 11. 18-Jessie Morrison (DNF); 12. 67-Jason Cherry (DNF); 13. 23B-Jim Bewley (DNF); 14. 65-Cale Griffin (DNF); 15. 28J-Chad Jumper (DNF); 16. 1W-John Westbrook (DNF); DNS - 21D-Elvin Diller III, 55-Brian Eichelberger. No Time
Time Trials - 1. 22T-Matt Boland, 14.927 (90.440 MPH); 2. 7C-Chad Trout, 14.939; 3. 4R-Glenndon Forsythe, 14.950; 4. 66N-Nate Hammaker, 15.055; 5. 1W-John Westbrook, 15.117; 6. 39-Cory Haas, 15.177; 7. 88-Danny Dietrich, 15.181; 8. 28-Keith Prutzman, 15.183; 9. 23-Todd Rittenhouse Jr., 15.187; 10. 77-Derek Locke, 15.279; 11. 11T-Eric Tomecek, 15.414; 12. 21-Adrian Shaffer, 15.421; 13. 27-Jay Galloway, 15.432; 14. 91-Scott Geesey, 15.451; 15. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr., 15.487; 16. 28J-Chad Jumper, 15.516; 17. 1-Tim Wagaman, 15.552; 18. 5C-Dan Carrozza, 15.598; 19. 8D-Billy Dietrich, 15.621; 20. 15B-John Barnett, 15.628; 21. 80-Todd Reed, 15.640; 22. 1J-Jake Raudabaugh, 15.681; 23. 15-Adam Wilt, 15.703; 24. 25-Aaron Ott, 15.751; 25. 2J-Billy Johns, 15.755; 26. 21D-Elvin Diller III, 15.759; 27. 67-Jason Cherry, 15.770; 28. 7V-Jeff Rohrbaugh, 15.786; 29. 65-Cale Griffin, 15.819; 30. 23B-Jim Bewley, 15.952; 31. 45-Kevin Nagy, 15.963; 32. 6-Brad McClelland, 16.018; 33. 2-Paul Hively III, 16.019; 34. 55-Brian Eichelberger, 16.036; 35. 5T-Mike Bittinger, 16.038; 36. 18-Jessie Morrison, 16.038; 37. 66-Dale Hammaker, 16.047; 38. 22D-Jeff Young, 16.068; 39. 01-Rick Horn, 16.086; 40. 81B-Bob Anderson, 16.166; 41. 5X-Ricky Stonebraker, 16.366; 42. 38-Mike Ressler, 16.402; 43. 85-Brian Montieth, 16.553; 44. 33T-Todd Spangler, 16.764; 45. 5-Adam Lawrence, 16.770; 46. 51N-Nick Palmerino, 16.782; 47. 50-Jimmy Strausbaugh, 17.072; 48. 28H-Billy Heltzel Jr., 17.110; 49. 6S-Bill Sherman, 17.441; 50. 75-Nicole Bower, NT; 51. 84C-Chad Criswell, NT.
358 LATE MODELS:
Feature (25-Laps) - 1. 28-Mike Spangler; 2. 116-Travis Mease; 3. 1J-Shaun Jones; 4. 74-Tyler Hershey; 5. 23-Bobby Beard; 6. 1-Gene Knaub; 7. 9W-Steve Weikel; 8. 26-Jerry Bard; 9. 17-Jake Lettick; 10. 81S-Craig Wagaman; 11. 51-Dave Graber; 12. 08-Zach Kauffman; 13. 19-Matt Nailor; 14. 116D-Derrick Mease; 15. 21-Derrick Zirkle; 16. 78-John Ebersole; 17. 1K-Bruce Kane; 18. 11-Dave Sokoloski (DNF); 19. 7-Pat Beard (DNF); 20. 2-Chad Myers (DNF); DNS - 77B-Daryl Burkholer, 1W-Mike Walls, 10H-Fred Harden. No Time
Lap Leaders - Derrick Zirkle (1-8), Mike Spangler (9-25)
1st Heat (10 Laps) - 1. 74-Tyler Hershey; 2. 51-Dave Graber; 3. 116-Travis Mease; 4. 2-Chad Myers; 5. 1-Gene Knaub; 6. 9W-Steve Weikel; 7. 23-Bobby Beard; 8. 78-John Ebersole; 9. 7-Pat Beard; 10. 81S-Craig Wagaman; 11. 1K-Bruce Kane; 12. 10H-Fred Harden (DNF). No Time
2nd Heat (10 Laps) - 1. 28-Mike Spangler; 2. 17-Jake Lettick; 3. 26-Jerry Bard; 4. 1J-Shaun Jones; 5. 21-Derrick Zirkle; 6. 08-Zach Kauffman; 7. 116D-Derrike Mease; 8. 11-Dave Sokoloski; 9. 77B-Daryl Burkholder (DNF); 10. 19-Matt Nailor (DNF); DNS - 1W-Mike Walls. No Time
THUNDERCARS:
Feature (20 Laps) - 1. 1B-Neil Smith; 2.-30-Craig Wagaman; 3. 3W-Duane Watson; 4. 61M-Mike Slaybaugh; 5. 35-Smoke Christine; 6. 21-Ronnie Thomas; 7. 81S-Sam Gallagher; 8. 9-Al Crammer; 9. 21A-Mike Zeigler, Jr.; 10. 20-Scott Fisher; 11. 33-Gino Comi; 12. 6X-Daryl Groft; 13. 61-Shawn Miller (DNF); 14. 1E-Greg Emlet, Jr. (DNF); 15. 1-Greg Feltch (DNF); 16. 54W-Roy Warehime, Jr. (DNF); 17. 60-Danny Beard (DNS); 18. 129-Kenny Auston (DNS). Time - 7:08.62
Lap Leaders - Craig Wagaman (1-7); Neil Smith (8-20)
1st Heat (8 Laps) - 1. 30-Craig Wagaman; 2. 3W-Duane Watson; 3. 21A-Mike Zeigler, Jr.; 4. 1B-Neil Smith; 5. 61M-Mike Slaybaugh; 6. 20-Scott Fisher; 7. 6X-Daryl Groft; 8. 54W-Roy Warehime, Jr. (DNF); 9. 129-Kenny Austin (DNF). Time - 2:48.02
2nd Heat (8 Laps) - 1. 9-Al Crammer; 2. 33-Gino Comi; 3. 35-Smoke Christine; 4. 81S-Sam Gallagher; 5. 21-Ronnie Thomas; 6. 61-Shawn "Sleeper" Miller; 7. 1E-Greg Emlet Jr.; 8. 1-Greg Feltch (DNF); DNS - 60-Danny Beard. No Time
