Montieth scores third of the year in "410" sprint make-up; Watson wins third in thundercars
ABBOTTSTOWN, PA , 5/23/09 - Just mentioning the name Cody Darrah will lead to a skip of-a-beat in the hearts of many of his young female fans.
Saturday night, Darrah made everyone’s heart skip a beat on lap 10 of the Keystone Cup Series "A" Main at Lincoln Speedway. Darrah went to the cushion and drove around both second-place Alan Krimes and leader Stevie Smith during a wild-three car race for the lead through lapped traffic. Darrah was able to gather it back in to lead lap 10, then sorted his way through heavy lapped traffic the final 20 laps to score his fourth career win in the Pigeon Hills.
"It was pretty tough there with Krimes running the bottom and Stevie running the top. There wasn’t much room to pass, but we finally did it," said Darrah upon exiting his J&K Salvage/Eichelberger’s U-Pull-It #89 in victory lane, "Whether you’re leading or working through lapped traffic, there’s always something going on. Racing here at Lincoln is just awesome!"
"I don’t know man," added Darrah, "With Stevie out there getting that early lead, you know, it makes me nervous. All I gotta do is tell myself to calm down and get my wheels under me and let these shocks and this motor do their job. The crew is doing an awesome job. They put the car under us, and it’s about time we get one of these!"
The only caution of the 30-lap event came out for a three-car tangle involving Chris Knopp, Josh Wells, and Danny Dietrich in turns one and two of lap three. The final 28 laps went non-stop, and Darrah’s final margin of victory was 2.74 seconds.
Other than Darrah’s daring pass for the lead, the highlight of the event was wheel-to-wheel action involving drivers racing for second through sixth.
Smith and Krimes battled for second the last 20 laps, with Smith edging Krimes at the line. Doug Esh, Fred Rahmer, and defending champ Brian Montieth all battled for fourth over the last 20 laps, with Esh holding off Rahmer and Montieth crossing sixth. Seventh through tenth were Adam Wilt, Brian Leppo, Mark Smith, and Niki Young.
Darrah’s win was worth $5,000 and moved him into second in the Keystone Cup Series point standings with 493. Smith’s second-place finish, combined with a second-place finish at Grandview and wins at Hagerstown and Williams Grove, kept him comfortably in front of the Keystone Cup Series points with 671.
Rahmer (461), Esh (444), and Mark Smith (439) were third through fifth in points after the Lincoln Keystone Cup event.
Heats for the 410 sprinters were won by Mark Smith, Justin Henderson, and Cory Haas, with Brian Leppo winning the B-Main.
Fast time in time trials over the 29-car field was set by Brian Leppo with a one-lap time of 13.385-seconds (100.859 MPH). Leppo failed to qualify in his heat and started ninth in the "A" Main.
Brian Montieth claimed his third win of the season in the completion of the May 16th "410" sprint feature. Pat Cooper, who was the leader with two laps complete when the rains came last week, was not present, so Josh Wells assumed the lead for the restart, with John Rudisill, Montieth, Chris Knopp, and Chad Trout second through fifth when the race was resumed.
Actually, Montieth’s race-winning move may have come last week, when he came from 10th starting spot to fourth by the end of the first lap.
"We were just good enough to win," said Montieth in victory lane, "I got to start up front. I had to make the moves last week in case it did rain."
Montieth got around Rudisill for second on the restart, and then drove around Wells for the race lead in turns three and four of lap five. Montieth led the rest of the way, but needed a timely 20th-lap caution to negate a Cody Darrah pass exiting turn two. A caution for Trout put Montieth back in the lead, and Rahmer promptly drove under Darrah for second on the restart.
"I knew he (Darrah) was going to be tough because of the earlier race. He showed me the bottom in one and two, so that’s where I had to go."
Montieth drove away the final five laps for a 1.67-second win, the 12th of his Lincoln career. Rahmer settled for second, with Darrah third, Brent Marks (who restarted 15th) fourth, and Doug Esh fifth after making an motor change following the Keystone Cup feature. Sixth through tenth were Wells, Knopp, Cris Eash, Alan Krimes, and Cory Haas.
Duane "Hollywood" Watson came from 11th starting spot to grab the lead from Will Walls on lap 10 and drive away to his third win of the year in the 20-lap thundercar feature. Watson’s margin of victory was 1.2 seconds over Danny Beard, with Todd Miller, polesitter Scott Yount, and Rick Weaver third through fifth. Completing the top ten were Jimmy Combs, Mike Slaybaugh, defending track champ and point leader Sam Gallagher, Larry Neiderer, and Justin Mong.
Heats for the 23 Thundercars were won by Weaver, Will Walls, and Watson.
Next Saturday night, May 30th, the Lawrence Chevrolet 410 Sprints and the Keizer Aluminum Wheels 358 Sprints will be joined by the Central PA Legends. Rounding out the evening will be a spectacular Fireworks display. Racing action gets underway at 7 PM, with gates opening at 5 PM and hotlaps at 6:30 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 - May 23, 2009
LINCOLN SPEEDWAY
Abbottstown, PA
3RD ANNUAL KEYSTONE CUP SERIES
LAWRENCE CHEVROLET 410 SPRINTS
Feature (30 Laps) - 1. 89-Cody Darrah ($5,000); 2. 1-Stevie Smith; 3. 87-Alan Krimes; 4. 39-Doug Esh; 5. 51-Fred Rahmer; 6. 21-Brian Montieth; 7. 15-Adam Wilt; 8. 71-Brian Leppo; 9. 7M-Mark Smith; 10. 98-Niki Young; 11. 19M-Brent Marks; 12. 59-Jimmy Siegel; 13. 11C-Cory Haas; 14. 17E-Cris Eash; 15. 88-Danny Dietrich; 16. 17-Pat Cannon; 17. 7-Keith Kauffman; 18. 22Z-Justin Henderson; 19. 6W-Josh Wells; 20. 5-Adam Lawrence; 21. 6K-Chris Knopp; 22. 4-John Rudisill; 23. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr. (DNF); 24. 39T-Tim Glatfelter (DNF). No Time
Lap Leaders - Stevie Smith (1-9), Cody Darrah (10-30)
1st Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 7M-Mark Smith; 2. 7-Keith Kauffman; 3. 1-Stevie Smith; 4. 21-Brian Montieth; 5. 17E-Cris eash; 6. 17-Pat Cannon; 7. 71-Brian Leppo; 8. 4-John Rudisill; 9. 71X-Bill Stine; 10. 39T-Tim Glatfelter. Time - 2:21.361
2nd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 22Z-Justin Henderson; 2. 98-Niki Young; 3. 89-Cody Darrah; 4. 39-Doug Esh; 5. 6W-Josh Wells; 6. 19M-Brent Marks; 7. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 8. 43-Doug Dodson (DNF); 9. 7C-Chad Trout (DNF). No Time
3rd Heat (10 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 11C-Cory Haas; 2. 51-Fred Rahmer; 3. 59-Jim Siegel; 4. 88-Danny Dietrich; 5. 87-Alan Krimes; 6. 15-Adam Wilt; 7. 6K-Chris Knopp; 8. 5-Adam Lawrence; 9. 65-Johnny Mackison, Jr.; 10. 22-Greg Hodnett (DNS). Time - 2:30.552
B-Main (12 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 71-Brian Leppo; 2. 4-John Rudisill; 3. 6K-Chris Knopp; 4. 39T-Tim Glatfelter; 5. 5-Adam Lawrence; 6. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 7. 71X-Bill Stine; DNS - 65-Johnny Mackison Jr., 43-Doug Dodson, 7C-Chad Trout. Time - 2:32.265
Time Trials - 1. 71-Brian Leppo, 13.385 (100.859 MPH); 2. 39-Doug Esh, 13.521; 3. 87-Alan Krimes, 13.623; 4. 1-Stevie Smith, 13.663; 5. 89-Cody Darrah, 13.681; 6. 65-Johnny Mackison Jr., 13.722; 7. 21-Brian Montieth, 13.745; 8. 43-Doug Dodson, 13.788; 9. 15-Adam Wilt, 13.789; 10. 17-Pat Cannon, 13.802; 11. 98-Niki Young, 13.808; 12. 59-Jim Siegel, 13.810; 13. 7M-Mark Smith, 13.844; 14. 6W-Josh Wells, 13.855; 15. 51-Fred Rahmer, 13.894; 16. 7-Keith Kauffman, 13.907; 17. 22Z-Justin Henderson, 13.918; 18. 11C-Cory Haas, 13.932; 19. 17E-Cris Eash, 13.935; 20. 19M-Brent Marks, 13.936; 21. 88-Danny Dietrich, 13.975; 22. 4-John Rudisill, 13.999; 23. 7C-Chad Trout, 14.025; 24. 6K-Chris Knopp, 14.149; 25. 39T-Tim Glatfelter, 14.390; 26. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr., 14.444; 27. 5-Adam Lawrence, 14.733; 28. 71X-Bill Stine, 14.781; 29. 22-Greg Hodnett, NT.
5/16 Make-up Feature (25 Laps) - 1. Brian Montieth ($3,000); 2. 51-Fred Rahmer; 3. 89-Cody Darrah; 4. 19M-Brent Marks; 5. 39-Doug Esh; 6. 6W-Josh Wells; 7. 6K-Chris Knopp; 8. 17E-Cris Eash; 9. 87-Alan Krimes; 10. 11C-Cory Haas; 11. 59-Jimmy Siegel; 12. 98-Niki Young; 13. 22Z-Justin Henderson; 14. 15-Adam Wilt; 15. 71-Brian Leppo; 16. 16-Gerard McIntyre Jr.; 17. 39T-Tim Glatfelter; 18. 7C-Chad Trout (DNF); 19. 4-John Rudisill (DNF); 20. 7M-Mark Smith (DNF); 21. 43-Doug Dodson (DNF); 22. 26-Pat Cooper (DNF); 23. 25-Daryn Pittman (DNF); 24. 47J-Jeff Busby (DNF). No Time
Lap Leaders - Pat Cooper (1-2), Josh Wells (3-4), Brian Montieth (5-25)
THUNDERCARS:
Feature (20-Laps) - 1. 3W-Duane Watson; 2. 60-Danny Beard; 3. 3-Todd Miller; 4. 92-Scott Yount; 5. 70-Rick Weaver; 6. 54J-Jimmy Combs; 7. 61-Mike Slaybaugh; 8. 25-Sam Gallagher; 9. 21N-Larry Neiderer; 10. 77-Justin Mong; 11. 53J-Josh Ulrich; 12. 57Z-Dan Zechman; 13. 18-Bob Johnson; 14. 9-Al Crammer; 15. 33T-Jeff Wilson (DNF); 16. 21W-Will Walls (DNF); 17. 57-Brad Shank (DNF); 18. 93-Mikey Guise (DNF); 19. 1Z-Don Zechman (DNF); 20. 44-Dave Mantegna (DNF); 21. 54-Kyle Martin (DNF); 22. 33-Gino Comi (DNF); DNS - 6-Nate Topper. No Time
Lap Leaders - Scott Yount (1-4), Al Crammer (5-6), Will Walls (7-9), Duane Watson (10-20)
1st Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 70-Rick Weaver; 2. 25-Sam Gallagher; 3. 54J-Jimmy Combs; 4. 54-Kyle Martin; 5. 61-Mike Slaybaugh; 6. 77-Justin Mong; 7. 33J-Jeff Wilson; 8. 44-Dave Mantegna. Time - 2:41.31
2nd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. 21W-Will Walls; 2. 60-Danny Beard; 3. 9-Al Crammer; 4. 92-Scott Yount; 5. 53J-Josh Ulrich; 6. 33-Gino Comi; 7. 18-Bob Johnson; 8. 57Z-Dan Zechman (DNF). Time - 2:40.43
3rd Heat (8 Laps/6 to qualify) - 1. Duane Watson; 2. 3-Todd Miller; 3. 1Z-Don Zechman; 4. 93-Mikey Guise; 5. 57-Brad Shank; 6. 21N-Larry Niederer; 7. 6-Nate Topper (DNF). Time - 2:41.61
