Three-hour rain delay and lengthy 410 sprint feature force postponement of "358" sprints, thundercars
ABBOTTSTOWN, PA, 8/2/08 - It was a night like never seen before in the Pigeon Hills.
And when it was over, Abbottstown’s Mike Bittinger was standing on his top wing with a checkered flag in hand after scoring his first-ever sprint car win at Lincoln Speedway.
Bittinger drove around leader Adam Lawrence on a lap 22 restart and drove away to a 1.76-second win in a bizarre race that saw five red flags take out most of the leading contenders. The final restart came after leaders Craig Keel and Cris Eash both collided and flipped in turn two. That the last of the red flags in an event which ended at 2:00 a.m. after a three-hour rain delay caused by two successive thunderstorms just after the gates opened.
"I never drove that hard in my life," said a jubilant Bittinger in victory lane, "I knew on that restart...’Go bonkers, you’re either going to wreck or win.’ It worked out."
Red flags waived three times in the first two laps, first for a double-flip by Bobby Howard and Chris Weiss in turn one on the initial start. The second red flag involved a triple flip by Aaron Ott, Brian Montieth, and A.J. Michael. All told, seven cars were involved. Montieth made repairs during the red and returned to racing, only to spin twice more, once while battling Adam Lawrence for second on lap 14, and then retiring for good with front-end damage on lap 16.
The third red flag came out when race leader Pat Cooper flipped in turn four near the completion of lap two. In between the second and third red flags, second row starters Doug Dodson and "Big Block" Weaver tangled in turn four.
After the Cooper flip, Lawrence assumed the race lead but couldn’t hold off sixth-starting Craig Keel, who drove around the Trailer Guard #5 in turn two. Keel led the remainder of the event until he and Eash got together on lap 22.
Lawrence again assumed the lead, with 15th-starting Nick Schlauch, Jr. second and Bittinger third. The Apex Fence #12 drove around Schlauch in turn two and then took it to the cushion to get around Lawrence for the race lead on turn four.
"I’ve been out here doin’ this stuff for 12 years, but a lot of it was nerves," said Bittinger, "You have some big boys that race here and maybe it helped that some of them weren’t here tonight. I was relaxed and took what I thought I could get and it worked out."
"I want to credit my partner Trevis Tyree (from Apex Fence)," added Bittinger, "He has always stuck behind me. I think he believed in me more than I did. We kept plugging away and he helped me out the best he could. And Shane Smith...this is his motor in the car. It’s a ten-year-old motor!
Niki Young came from 11th starting spot to pass both Schlauch and Lawrence over the final three laps to finish second, with Lawrence settling for third, Schlauch fourth, and Scott Geesey fifth. The only other cars which finished the race were Chad Jumper, John Rudisill, and 23rd-starting Jimmy Reppert. Credited with ninth and tenth were Keel and Eash.
Heats for the 27 "410" Sprints were won by Dodson, Weaver, and Bittinger, with Cory Haas winning the consolation.
The rain delay and lengthy 410 sprint feature forced Lincoln promoters to postpone the remainder of the show. The "358" sprint feature will be made up as part of next Saturday’s three division ARCH Night show.
Heats for the 39 "358" Sprints were won by Cale Griffin, Denny Gross, Austin Reed, and Colt White. Twin consolations were won by Jeff Rohrbaugh and Kevin Nagy.
The make-up date for the thundercar feature is yet to be determined.
Heats for the 24 thundercars were won by Brian Walls, Danny Beard, and Kyle Martin.
Next Saturday night, August 9th Lincoln Speedway will once again have all three regular point division s on hand . The three division show will feature the Cindy Rowe Auto Glass 410 Sprints who will be running a regular handicapped show, but will only be awarding 100 appearance points out of respect for those that choose to compete in the Knoxville Nationals.
The 358 Sprints will be running in the second night of the two-night Trail-Way Speedway/Lincoln Speedway Shootout plus the make-up feature from tonight (8/2).
The Thundercars will round out the evening’s racing action with gates opening at 5:30 PM and heat race action getting underway at 7:30 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 - August 2, 2008
LINCOLN SPEEDWAY
Abbottstown, PA
CINDY ROWE AUTO GLASS 410 SPRINTS
Feature (25 Laps) - 1. 12-Mike Bittinger ($3,000); 2. 10N-Niki Young; 3. 5-Adam Lawrence; 4. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr.; 5. 45-Scott Geesey; 6. 28-Chad Jumper; 7. 4-John Rudisill; 8. 97-Jimmy Reppert; 9. 9-Craig Keel (DNF); 10. 17E-Cris Eash (DNF); 11. 6W-Josh Wells (DNF); 12. 21-Brian Montieth (DNF); 13. 11C-Cory Haas (DNF); 14. 8-Steve Petry (DNF); 15. 43-Doug Dodson (DNF); 16. 26-Pat Cooper (DNF); 17. 55-Jimmy Layton (DNF); 18. 3B-Randy Baughman (DNF); 19. 23-Todd Zinn (DNF); 20. 25-Aaron Ott (DNF); 21. 45-AJ Michael (DNF); 22. 69-Shawn Weaver (DNF); 23. 49-Bobby Howard (DNF); 24. 29-Chris Weiss (DNF). No Time
Lap Leaders - Pat Cooper (1), Craig Keel (2-21), Mike Bittinger (22-25)
1st Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 43-Doug Dodson; 2. 17E-Cris Eash; 3. 9-Craig Keel; 4. 6W-Josh Wells; 5. 23-Todd Zinn; 6. 49-Bobby Howard; 7. 97-Jimmy Reppert; 8. 8-Steve Petry (DNF); 9. 47J-Jeff Busby (DNF). Time - 2:17.710
2nd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 69-Shawn Weaver; 2. 5-Adam Lawrence; 3. 3B-Randy Baughman; 4. 45-Scott Geesey; 5. 25-Aaron Ott; 6. 21-Brian Montieth; 7. 11C-Cory Haas; 8. 28-Chad Jumper; 9. 63-Josh Weller. Time - 2:20.807
3rd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 12-Mike Bittinger; 2. 26-Pat Cooper; 3. 10N-Niki Young; 4. 4-John Rudisill; 5. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr.; 6. 45-A.J. Michael; 7. 29-Chris Weiss; 8. 55-Jimmy Layton (DNF); 9. 61-Chris Wainwright (DNF). No Time
Consolation (5 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 11C-Cory Haas; 2. 29-Chris Weiss; 3. 28-Chad Jumper; 4. 55-Jimmy Layton; 5. 97-Jimmy Reppert; 6. 8-Steve Petry (DNF); 7. 63-Josh Weller (DNF); DNS - 47J-Jeff Busby, 61-Chris Wainwright. Time - 1:10.119
KEIZER ALUMINUM WHEELS 358 SPRINTS
Feature (20-Laps) - Postponed until August 9th
1st Heat (10 Laps/4 to qualify) - 1. 65-Cale Griffin; 2. 28H-Billy Heltzel; 3. 16M-Craig Myers; 4. 6-Brad McClelland; 5. 7V-Jeff Rohrbaugh; 6. 22T-Matt Boland; 7. 15-Adam Wilt; 8. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 9. 99M-Kyle Moody; 10. 6S-Bill Sherman. Time - 2:38.90
2nd Heat (10 Laps/4 to qualify) - 1. 01A-Denny Gross; 2. 51N-Nick Palmerino; 3. 81B-Bob Anderson; 4. 75-Nicole Bower; 5. 84C-Chad Criswell; 6. 66-Dale Hammaker; 7. 88-Danny Dietrich; 8. 15B-John Barnett; 9. 66N-Nate Hammaker; 10. 97-Brie Hershey. Time - 2:33.91
3rd Heat (10 Laps/4 to qualify) - 1. 34-Austin Reed; 2. 4U-Nathan Berwager; 3. 8D-Billy Dietrich; 4. 1-Tim Wagaman; 5. 45N-Kevin Nagy; 6. 9-Craig Laudermilch; 7. 11T-Eric Tomecek; 8. 22E-Kevin Eshelman; 9. 01-Rick Horn (DNF); DNS - U1-Billy Heltzel III. No Time
4th Heat (10 Laps/4 to qualify) - 1. 45-Colt White; 2. 50-Tim Berkheimer; 3. 5X-Ricky Stonebraker; 4. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe; 5. 23-Todd Rittenhouse Jr.; 6. 55E-Brian Eichelberger; 7. 13-Jen Yinger; 8. 23B-Jim Bewley; 9. 91-Scott Geesey (DNF). No Time
1st Consolation (10 Laps/4 to qualify) - 1. 7V-Jeff Rohrbaugh; 2. 84C-Chad Criswell; 3. 66-Dale Hammaker; 4. 22T-Matt Boland; 5. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 6. 15-Adam Wilt; 7. 66N-Nate Hammaker; 8. 99M-Kyle Moody; 9. 97-Brie Hershey; 10. 6S-Bill Sherman; 11. 15B-John Barnett; 12. 88-Danny Dietrich (DNF). No Time
2nd Consolation (10 Laps/4 to qualify) - 1. 45-Kevin Nagy; 2. 23-Todd Rittenhouse Jr.; 3. 55E-Brian Eichelberger; 4. 91-Scott Geesey; 5. 9-Craig Laudermilch (DNF); 6. 22E-Kevin Eshelman (DNF); 7. 13-Jen Yinger (DNF); 8. 11T-Eric Tomecek (DNF); DNS - 23B-Jim Bewley, 01-Rick Horn, U1-Billy Heltzel III. No Time
THUNDERCARS
Feature (20-Laps) - Postponed until a date yet to be determined
1st Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 2W-Brian Walls; 2. 21-Ronnie Thomas; 3. 20-Scott Fisher; 4. 7M-Doug Bennett; 5. 1X-Scott Yount; 6. 21N-Larry Neiderer; 7. 57-Brad Shank; 8. 15-Dave Reever, Jr. (DNF). Time - 2:38.30
2nd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 60-Danny Beard; 2. 93-Mikey Guise; 3. 25-Sam Gallagher; 4. 1E-Greg Emlet, Jr.; 5. 61M-Mike Slaybaugh; 6. 61-Hurricane Menges; 7. 53-Josh Ulrich; 8. 54J-Jimmy Combs (DNF). Time - 2:43.16
3rd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 54-Kyle Martin; 2. 9-Al Crammer; 3. 81J-Jamie Zentmyer; 4. 33-Gino Comi; 5. 35C-Dave Crone; 6. 77-Justin Mong; 7. 6M-Joe Racine (DNF); 8. 00-Barry Rinehart (DNF). Time - 2:45.02
