Kayla Peting and Nathan Aldrich
It was an extremely warm start to Fan Appreciation and Pack The Track night, but it was all worth it as the pits were filling up with a set of objectives on each drivers’ minds as the season is beginning to come to a close. 98 cars were on hand across six divisions and each one of them thankful for the chance to put on a show for fans as the stands would start to fill up. Our drivers certainly did not disappoint as there were door to door battles, three wide fights for the lead and hard driving.
Stafursky Paving Sunoco Race Fuels Modifieds contested three heat races with Devon Zona, Nick Petrilak and Brian Malcolm collecting heat race wins. Brandon Fritsch and Chris Hunsinger cranked up the volume as they brought the field out of turn four to the green flag with Hunsinger leading the way out of turn two. A quick lap 2 yellow for Alan Rudalavage, Matt Cole and Darwin Greene taking some hard hits at the top of turn two resulted in Cole and Rudalavage heading pit side. Fritsch took the inside lane on the restart while Hunsinger again powered to his outside as they came out of turn two while Petrilak took the sixth spot from Bud Phillips. Zona worked the inside of Mike Nagel Sr. on lap 3 but couldn’t complete the pass as the next yellow for Mike Walsh, Art Bray, Casey Plummer and Phillips spinning in turn four, slowed the field.
The restart led to a big wreck when the cars of Malcolm, Nagel, and Zona went three wide and Petrilak ran out of real estate. The resulting pileup included Bill Deckelman, Kenny Sparks, Dan Pompey, Paul Rooney and Kevin Hartnett. With the rash of yellows out of the way Fritsch again put Hunsinger to the outside and the green flag sliced through the air. Hunsinger took the lead as Petrilak took advantage of the closed up cars passing Greene while Zona and Richard Smith battled for sixth. Lap 7 had Malcolm creeping his way forward as he picked off the second spot from Fritsch and set his eyes on Hunsinger for the lead. Petrilak wasn’t done yet as he passed Nagel to enter the top 5 on lap 8 in pursuit of Zona who had just passed Fritsch for third. The battle for tenth heated up as Pompey worked the inside of Brad Schaffer to take the spot on lap 13 making the inside line work to his advantage. The next lap Hartnett would work to Pompey’s inside searching for the tenth spot however Pompey would close the door and the two made heavy contact while staying green. On lap 16 Harnett tried a slider on Schaffer but couldn’t get the rear end clear of Schaffer’s nose as the contact led to Schaffer’s car slowly spinning into the inside of turn two.
Malcolm led the way under the green flag as Hunsinger and Fritsch renewed their battle, this time for fourth while Harnett made a move inside both Greene and Pompey but couldn’t make it stick to take the spot. The following lap Greene would catch the dirt berm in turns 3 and 4 but gathered it back up to prevent the caution while Malcolm crossed the start finish line leaving only 10 laps remaining. By lap 23 Zona was closing in on the leader as Malcolm’s tires finally appeared to be giving up. As the pair came closer together, a turn three spin ended with Walsh facing backwards,and bringing out the final yellow of the feature. Malcolm launched well on the restart while Hartnett used the restart to make his way into the top 5 passing Nagel and then Fritsch to put himself fourth with 3 laps remaining. Malcolm clicked off the remaining laps, leading him to his third win in two weeks followed by Zona, Petrilak, Hartnett, Fritsch, Hunsinger, Pompey, Nagel, Bray and Rooney.
It’s been a strong season for Brian Malcolm and the last 2 weeks have been exceptional taking back to back feature wins at The Penn Can Speedway and a Heath Memorial win at Five Mile Point Speedway just down the road. Brain described the last few weeks as “it’s just been a really fun few weeks, we’ve been on a roll”. With a good crowd on hand for fan appreciation night Malcolm said it was a good night to interact with the fans. He could feel his right rear tire getting hot and going away once the race passed halfway and the final yellow didn’t help his situation as the tire never really came back for him. With a strong car however he felt as long as he didn’t give up the bottom he stood a strong chance and was focused on sticking to hitting his marks. After starting eighth he worked his way to third in the early laps and took over from there. With a few feature wins under his belt at the speedway this season Malcolm has put himself in contention for The American Racer Cup and has a high goal of making it into the top 5 by the end of the season, with only a few races remaining every win moves him up higher. Brian would like to thank his daughter Magda, Troyer Race Cars, Grimm Construction, Smokin Joes, Carl Mehnel Welding, NEP Telephone, Murrey Race Engines, DIG Performance, Davis Powder Coating, his Crew, Dale and Sue Smith and Jim and Deb Edwards.
The Sleepy Hollow Turf and Insinger Performance Sportsman had a full field as Jim O’Hara and Joe Buchanan led the 26 cars to the green. The green would not last as Mike Wicha would spin in turn two and Ned Fitch would head to the infield before heading pit side. The restart would see an original start and as the flag went through the air the front row would go door to door while Brad Weaver would step up to challenge Buchanan for second and ultimately take the position. Alan Komar would quickly follow Weaver and pass Leo McGurrin for fourth. Michael Samony would look to McGurrin’s outside before sliding into fifth. Komar would look to Buchanan’s inside before locking in to the third spot to chase down O’Hara and Weaver. Further in the pack Mike Nagel Jr. would look to the high line to maneuver his way around Moose Gulley for seventh. The next caution would come on lap 4 as K. Walsh in the 13 would spin in turn three.O’Hara would take the inside line with Weaver to his outside as the green would be shown. O’Hara would take the lead while McGurrin would challenge Buchanan on the inside for fourth and claim the spot before the caution would come out on lap 5. Mike Schane, Josh Mondak, Alex Konopka, Mike Wilcha, Jordan Millard, and Eddie Kudrako would all get together in turn two.While the drivers in turn two got straightened out, in turn four Samony, Nagel Jr, Buchanan and Komar would get tangled. O’Hara and Weaver would lead the field to the start, but the green would not last as Nagel Jr would be off pace in turn two. As the green would fly after the caution, O’Hara would take the lead while Chad Sandt passed Ray Leonard for fifth with McGurrin following quickly behind to pass Leonard for sixth. On lap seven, race leader O’Hara would get sideways and would collect Weaver in turn four. The restart would be single file as Komar would lead the field, right off the bat Millard challenged and claimed eighth from Wilcha. Gulley would pull to the infield as Millard continued to move forward to pass Kolyn Schane for sixth.
Lap ten would see McGurrin slow along the backstretch as Kolyn Schane would slow in turn three, which would bring out the yellow. The single file restart once again led by Komar, while right behind him Sandt would take away third from Dusty Barton. Komar would not go unchallenged as last week’s feature winner Ray Leonard would look to his outside, but unable to slide by there Leonard would quickly slide down to Komar’s inside to take the lead. The yellow would come out for the last time on lap fourteen as Wilcha would slow along the front stretch. Leonard would lead the field to green and quickly put some space between them as Konopka would move to Millard’s inside to take fifth. Wilcha would be on a mission as he passed Amanda Scholtisek for eleventh. Konopka would not give up easily as he would try again on the inside of Millard for fifth and the two would go door to door as Konopka would claim the spot. Leonard would catch the tail end of the field on lap twenty-two as Konoka would try to slide past Barton for fourth before the checkers fell. Leonard would take the win and would be followed by Komar, Sandt, Konopka, Mike Schane, Brandon Oleski, Mike Wilcha, Brad Franko and Mondak to round out the top ten. Unfortunately, Dusty Barton would originally cross the line in fourth, but would not pass post race inspection and be disqualified.
Feature winner Ray Leonard visited victory lane for the second week in a row and saluted his crew who have been putting in extra time and work while he has been out of town. With a deep starting spot the early yellows made it hard for Ray to find his rhythm but he knew patience would be key in keeping the car clean. He relishes his battles with Alan Komar as it’s always good, clean, hard racing and with a car that would take him anywhere he wanted Leonard was the “fastest on the track tonight”. Leonard wishes to thank Brian Weaver for his kind words after the race saying “Brian is a legend and it’s cool to hear that from him”. Ray would also like to thank Sleepy Hollow turf, Erik Hines Trucking, A & V Tent Rental, Arlo’s Tavern, Razderk Tinting and Detailing, his wife Cheryl, Billy, and Frog.
A & E Tire and Auto Center 600cc Modified action continued to belong to Brenton Miller as he picked up his eighth feature win of the season. Jeff Baldwin and John Dinniny brought the field to the green flag and pandemonium ensued as Miller, Brett Gray and Jared Green all tried to dart to the front. With Gray working the inside and Miller on the high line the pair took Ali Scutt three wide before Gray bobbled in turn 4 and had to ease out of the throttle. As the trio worked lap 2 Gray would move into third with Scutt fourth and Miller fifth before the slowing car of Tyler Smith brought out the first yellow flag. Baldwin would take the outside as he and Dinniny brought the field back to green. Gray jumped to the inside of Baldwin as Miller moved past on the outside and the Gray’s Trucking teammates went side by side racing for the second spot. By lap 4 Miller had put a car length between him and Gray and pulled up to Dininny to challenge for the lead just as the field was halted for a lap 4 yellow flag when Smith slowed at the top of turn 2. Miller would grab the lead on the restart but Mollie Mroz was unable to get going, coming to a halt at the pit entrance as the field went back under pace speed.Miller held the lead into turn one on the restart before the red flag came out. Nate Orapollo, CJ Jochum and John Glover collided in turn 2 resulting in one car sitting on it’s side.
With the field stringing together some green flag laps it was Miller out front while Chuck Lohmeyer and Scutt traded the fourth spot. Lohmeyer would hold the spot for good after getting past Scutt on the backstretch of lap 6 while the order stabilized and the field began to spread out. Miller caught lapped traffic on lap 12 and cruised around the outside putting a gap between him and Gray until a lap 13 yellow slowed the field for the final time. Miller would get a good launch pulling away from the field and taking the checkered flags with Gray, Green, Lohmeyer, Scutt, Travis Rooney, Shiner, Smith, Larry Furman and Devan Sieben rounding out the top 10. Feature winner Brenton Miller was ecstatic to claim his eighth win of the season and could not be more happy how the season is going for himself and teammate Brett Gray. “The track was in excellent shape which was surprising due to not much rain, but the car was on rails” said Miller. When asked how it was moving through the field, he mentioned how much of a competitor Ali Scutt is becoming and pushes him to do better. Brenton would like to thank the Gray Family, Gray’s trucking, Crawn Trucking, All Things Vinyl by Alicia, Moose Wraps and everyone who helps their race team and also a happy birthday to Valerie Swingle.
A pair of Sunoco Race Fuels Street Stocks diced it up for a 15 lap feature event as Nate Bonham jumped out to the early lead. Current point leader Travis Brockner fell into his rhythm following Bonham for the first five circuits before crossing the line side by side for lap 6. As the duo worked through turn 2 the next lap Brockner made his move, slipping past and holding the lead to the finish line. Brockner gave a lot of credit to Bonham saying the new driver has come a long way over the course of the season and that Bonham is getting better every week. Brockner has had an excellent car all season that allows him to run any line well. Travis would like to thank Michael & Puerschner Construction, Grafix Unlimited, Mootz Tree Trimming, Behrents Performance Warehouse, Bilstein Shocks, Wehrs Racing Products, and Close Racing Supply. He would also like to thank the following people: Ryan, Eric, Mom, Bonham Family, Gram, Grandpa, John and Donna, as well as John and Kathy.
The Factory Stock class had 12 cars take the green with Austin Manzer on the pole and Alicia Towner on the outside. Towner would get the early lead, while behind her Manzer, Charlie Gilbert and Tommy Groover would go three wide for second with Groover taking the spot. However, the lap would be completed and caution would come out for Brad Chilson, Jason Rhodes and Jerry Fassett Jr, who would all spin in turn four and all would tag on at the end of the field. The crowd would see a restart, but another caution would come out on lap two for Justin Slezak who would slow in turn three and eventually come to a complete stop in turn four. The restart would see Towner on the inside line and Groover to the outside with Groover taking the lead. Gilbert would look to the inside of Towner for second while Rhodes would quickly make his way through the field. Slezak would pass Chilson for eight, while Rhodes had made his way back to the front and would pass Towner for third and to hunt down the top two. Rhodes would sneak to Gilberts inside, hoping to take second away to chip away at Groover’s lead. Groover, Gilbert and Rhodes would go three wide in an intense battle for the lead with Groover taking the lead leaving the other two to battle hard.. and On lap eight Groover would catch the tail of the field while Rhodes had finally passed Gilbert to hunt down first. Rhodes would catch Groover and look to the inside, but before any moves could be made a caution came on lap twelve for Fassett Jr who got sideways in turn four and Groover narrowly missed the car. Groover would lead the field on a single file restart, Rhodes would look on the inside of Groover and the two would swap paint and sliders to claim the lead. Rhodes would claim the lead while Gilbert would try to move into second on the inside of Groover. The last caution of the race would come with one to go for debris on the track. It was a one lap shoot out for the drivers and the fans were eager to see the outcome, Rhodes would lead the field and take the checkered followed by Groover, Gilbert, Slezak, Towner, Chilson, Fassett Jr., John Picchio, Manzer and Rick Glover rounding out the top ten.
It’s been a season of peaks and valleys for Jason Rhodes as he and his race team have travelled between speedways navigating a race schedule that features many tracks. Encountering an early setback from some contact Rhodes said “made for an interesting race, with Groover it’s hard to catch him once he’s that far ahead of you but we got it done tonight”. The extreme bottom lane came in for Rhodes late in the race as he was able to find a lot of bite down in the fresh dirt. The key to coming up through the field was patience for Rhodes as he knew he had to wait for the right spots at the right time to get through the field in one piece. Rhodes mentioned the track improved between the heat and feature and was very strong for the end of the night. He would like to thank Nick and Dakota, Mike Fox, Jack, Cardinal Lanes, Short Track Race Car Models, Moose Race Engines, JS Electric, Bodies by Scoobie, Holcomb and Son Firewood, Trackside Products, Slow Car Racing and MR Grafix.
The Gary’s U-Pull It 4 cylinder feature found a first time winner in Dakota Fuller, who would start on the pole with Dave Nixion to his outside. Nixon would take the early lead, with Jeff Sterling looking to the inside of Fuller for second,but was unable to make it stick. A little ways back, Mike Ferris, Scott Miller and D. Newbigging would go three wide for seventh with Newbigging claiming the spot. The first caution of the night would come on lap one for Ferris and Josh WIlder getting together in turn two, but both would rejoin at the end of the field. Nixon would select the outside with Fuller to his inside to take the green. Points leader Andy Bolles would make some fast moves to slide past Fuller and Nixon to take the lead. Jeff Sterling would claim third from Fuller while Scott Beach would look to the inside of Tim Vandermark, but would be unable to make the clinching move. Fuller would look to the inside of Nixon to take away third, but the move allowed Vandermark to take to the highside to get around both drivers. Nwebiggins would claim seventh over Scott Beach, before the caution came out on lap nine for Jeff Sterling spinning in turn four and Vandermark slowing on the frontstretch. The single file restart was led by Bolles to the green, while Wilder would pass Madyson Beach on the inside for eighth. Newbigging would go door to door with Miller for fourth, but Miller would take the spot and would go on to pass Nixon for third. With three to go and a straight away lead, Bolles would slow dramatically which would allow Fuller to take the lead. Fuller would get his first win of the season followed by Miller, Newbigging, Bolles, Rich Wagner, Nixon, J Colwell Sr, Wilder, Madyson Beach and Rob Sterling rounding out the top ten. When asked about his win and how it felt, Dakota Fuller could not have been more thrilled. “The track was excellent” said Fuller and the lack of cautions really helped. He would like to thank his sponsors: Langland’s Pizzaria, Grant’s Auto House, and Tank’s Auto Sales. Also, he would like to thank his crew, mom and dad, as well as his girlfriend.
The weeks continue to dwindle down as the summer is coming to an end, but do not fret as we still have some exciting racing in store. August 13th will be a full show with all our regular divisions: Modifieds, Sportsman, 600cc Modifieds, Factory Stock, Street Stock and 4 Cylinders. However, we will be right back in action on Sunday, August 15th for our Small Car show where there are huge incentives for the 4 cylinder feature and other classes will be present as well. To stay up to date on everything that is going on at the track like us on Facebook at: The Penn Can Speedway and also be sure to check out our new website!
STAFURSKY PAVING SUNOCO RACE FUELS MODIFIEDS
WINNER – 119-BRIAN MALCOLM
2.) 99Z- Devon Zona 3.) 72- Nick Petrilak 4.) 5- Kevin Hartnett 5.) 4B- Brandon Fritsch 6.)15JR- Chris Hunsinger 7.) 11- Dan Pompey 8.)M7- Mike Nagel Sr. 9.) 14B- Art Bray 10.) 54- Paul Rooney 11.)3R- Richard Smith 12.) 1- Darwin Greene Sr. 13.)23p- Bud Phillips 14.)713- Mike Walsh 15.) 014-Brad Schaffer 16.) 90- Bill Deckleman 17.) 111J- Jamie Bedford 18.) 49- Kenny Sparks 19.)73-Casey Plummer 20.)17D- Mike Loney 21.)145- Alan Rudalvage 22.) 24X- Matt Cole 23.) 17- George Kostelonsky
INSINGER PERFORMANCE SLEEPY HOLLOW TURF 602 CRATE SPORTSMAN
WINNER – 3R RAY LEONARD
2.) 88- Alan Komar 3.) 14P- Chad Sandt 4.) 14K- Alex Konopka 5.) 99- Jordan Millard 6.) M1- Mike Schane 7.) 30+- Brandon Oleski 8.) 84- Mike Wilcha 9.) 14A- Brad Franko 10.) 627- Josh Mondak 11.) 32R- Dale Folejewski 12.) 44- Jim O’Hara 13.) 32- Eddie Kudrako 14.) 88A- Amanda Scholtisek 15.) 226- M. Martino 16.)- 10K-Kolyn Schane 17.) 16- Ned Fitch 18.) 70J- Leo McGurrin 19.) 13- K Walsh 20.) 4J- Joe Buchanan 21.) 14M- Moose Gulley 22.) QR1- Brad Weaver 23.) M7- Mike Nagel Jr. 24.) 88S- Michael Samony 25.) 3F- Frank Payne DQ: 57 Dusty Barton
SUNOCO RACE FUELS STREET STOCKS
WINNER – 151 TRAVIS BROCKNER
2.) 41-Nate Bonham
GRIT FACTORY STOCKS
WINNER - 57- JASON RHODES
2.) 7R- Tommy Groover 3.) 28- Charlie Gilbert 4.)35- Justin Slezak 5.) 9X- Alicia Towner 6.) 23B- Brad Chilson 7.) 78- Jerry Fassett Jr. 8.) 74- John Picchio 9.) 617- Austin Manzer 10.) 4- Rick Glover 11.) 1J- Matt Millard 12.) 77C- Carter Bixby
A & E TIRE AND AUTO CENTER 600 c.c. MODIFIEDS
WINNER – 29 BRENTON MILLER
2.) 28-Brett Gray 3.) 35- Jared Green 4.) 5-Chuck Lohmeyer 5.) 108- Ali Scutt 6.) 54T- Travis Rooney 7.) 42- T Shiner 8.) 80- Tyler Smith 9.) 217- Larry Furman 10.) 167- Devon Sieben 11.) 72- John Glover 12.) 777- CJ Jochum 13.)17- Jeff Baldwin 14.) 1JR- Darwin Greene Jr. 15.)12- John Dinniny 16.)- 30NN- Nate Oropallo 17.) 22- Molly Mroz
GARY’S U-PULL IT 4 CYLINDERS
WINNER – G55- DAKOTA FULLER
2.) 2- Scott Miller 3.) 29- D. Newbigging 4.) 354-Andy Bolles 5.)8W-Rich Wagner 6.) 76-Dave Nixon 7.) 301- J Colwell Sr. 8.) 5-Josh Wilder 9.) 5B-Madyson Beach10.) 71-Rob Sterling 11.)F55- Frank Fuller12.) 944-Jeremie Trurizo 13.) 21-Scott Beach14.) 49Z-Shaun Furman15.) 4MK- Sheldon Whitman 16.)107- Tim Vandermark 17.)17- Mike Ferris18.)56-Jeff Sterling