Friday night would be an action pack night that had fans on the edge of the seats. Mother Nature graced us with perfect weather for racing and the track was in excellent shape thanks to Promoter Keith Beach working tirelessly throughout the week. Five divisions were on the book plus The Dirt Modified Nostalgia Tour. 80+ cars were on hand to do battle and start racking up points in each division.
Nick Petrilak celebrated his birthday this weekend in Penn Can Victory Lane Friday night after a full twelve round bout with Kevin Hartnett. The pair would lead the field to green as Alan Rudalavage followed into turn 1. By lap 3 Petrilak and Hartnett were door to door, working inches off of each other through the first eight laps. As the pair rocketed around the speedway, lapped traffic forced both drivers to change lanes multiple times, with each getting slowed up. With Brad Shaffer and Brian Franko racing for position down the backstretch, Hartnett and Petrilak made their moves at the same time, going four wide and using every inch of available racing surface. Petrilak would gain the advantage as he cleared Travis Brockner and Alan Komar, using the pair to wall off Hartnett and find some clean air.
Lap 13 brought out the first yellow as Brett Tonkin made heavy contact while working the inside of lapped traffic in turn 1. Tonkin was fourth at the time and would continue on from the tail of the field. On the restart, Petrilak would fire well on the restart but the field would only complete a lap before Brandon Fritsch ended up in the turn 2 wall. Hartnett would get the jump on the next restart, pulling ahead of Petrilak down the frontstretch, as Brett Tonkin and John Michael Phillips hooked on the back stretch bringing out another yellow. The lap would not be counted as the leaders made it to the backstretch, putting Petrilak back in control.
This time Petrilak changed it up, getting a much better launch after switching to the inside lane and leading by a car length into the first turn. The pair would dart around the speedway with Petrilak defending the bottom until catching traffic again on lap 24. This time Petrilak would use Shaffer to force a check up from Hartnett before making a daring move to squeeze in between Komar and the infield tire. With only two laps left Petrilak hugged the bottom, daring Hartnett to make a move on the top. Hartnett wouldn’t be able to make it work, trailing Petrilak by a half car length at the line as Rudalavage, Malcolm and Brad Szulewski rounded out the top 5.
Feature winner Nick Petrilak takes pride in the work of his crew and said it means just a little more to come out on top after battling with one of the best to ever do it at Penn Can and respects him for that. Petrilak thanked Kevin for racing him cleanly and pushing him to drive better. The biggest challenge of the race came on the restarts as he was in the zone while working lapped traffic. Nick would like to thank his family and friends, NEP Telephone, Sleepy Hollow Turf and Equipment, GRM Excavating and Paving, Hoffman and Trex Coastline. He would also like to wish his mother a Happy Birthday.
Mike Nagel Jr. collected his second win of the young season in the Erik Hines Trucking 602 crate sportsman, Eddie Kudrako and Bread Weaver brought the field to green with Weaver taking control early on. Nagel and Mike Schane would settle into second and third as the outside lane looked strong in the opening laps. Nagel set his sights on the lead early on, chasing down Weaver quickly, taking over the lead with an outside power move as they worked off turn two and down the backstretch. Mike Schane would follow suit as he maneuvered around son Kolyn Shane and Kudrako to move into third. With Nagel beginning to stretch out a lead, Kolyn Schane worked his way into the top 5 just before a lap 11 yellow for Bradley Burman on the backstretch. Ray Leonard would head pit side with overheating issues, vacating a top 5 spot before the field came back to green. Nagel would elect for the high side on the next two restarts, keeping Weaver at bay past the halfway point. It was all Nagel after that as he pulled away from both Weaver and Mike Schane, with Schane getting by Weaver in the closing laps to take the bridesmaid spot. Kolyn Schane and Travis Rooney completed the top 5.
With Nagel returning to victory lane for the second time in three weeks, he was extremely happy with how it happened. The driver of the 7M was not planning on racing this week as they wanted to take a week off to make the car better. He felt that the starts are what really helped him claim the win. He can’t thank car owner Dakota enough for all the work he puts in week after week to give a fast and competitive car. He would like to thank Woodframe Structures LLC, NEP, Snake Creek Marine Inc. and all of his sponsors for their endless support.
Eric Beach has been on a tear to start the season at Penn Can, collecting his third victory in as many weeks. Beach and Brad Chilson led the way as the field ran into early issues. Jordan Towner, Justin Slezak, Cody Fassett and Rich Sharpsteen tangled early while Josh Towner headed pit side with carburetor issues. Beach and Chilson would lead the restart with Beach gaining the top spot. Jason Rhodes would use the low line to slide past Jordan Towner and Sharpsteen to move into fourth. Kyle Spoor, Charlie Gilbert and Rhodes would take it three wide to claim third with Rhodes taking the spot. Lap 2 would see a caution for Charlie Gilbert who went pit side for a left front flat but would return and join the tail of the field. By lap 6 the field would switch to single file restarts, stringing out for the next handful of laps as Jordan Towner moved into third behind Beach and Rhodes. The closing laps would see Beach running away from Rhodes as Charlie Gilbert moved into fourth behind Towner and Adam Gilbert would round out the top 5.
Eric Beach has been on a hot streak for the last three weeks and could not be happier about it as he was not sure how the car would handle after being out of commission for such a long time. Beach had said that the steering had gone in the heat race and they were working hard to get that resolved for the feature. He would like to thank Chad Stone, his dad, wife and son, and Brett Spoor for letting them use his stuff. He would also like to thank his sponsors: Fred’s Refuse, KH Stone, 3 Lakes Stone and Beach Industries.
A & E Tire and Auto Center 600cc modifieds were turning some fast laps last night with Chuck Lohmeyer and Brett Gray bringing the field to green. Gray took the advantage from the outside while Sam Hubbard challenged Darwin Greene Jr for third. Brenton Miller would take advantage of the battling pair the next lap, sliding into third. Lohmeyer would show off his outstanding reflexes the next lap when Ethan Johnson got sideways right in front of the second place running Lohmeyer bringing out the yellow on lap 4. Gray and Lohmeyer would lead the field on the restart with Gray taking the lead again. Teammate to Gray, Brenton Miller would set out to challenge Lohmeyer for second and the two would battle door to door for a lap before Lohmeyer would keep control of the spot. Greene Jr. would look to the inside of Hubbard for third but would not be able to claim the spot. Nate Oropallo would challenge Jeff Baldwin for sixth as the long run stretched out, with Oropallo’s momentum keeping him ahead. The rest of the laps would click off without Gray ever facing any serious challenges, catching lapped traffic just as the checkers flew. Lohmeyer, Miller, Hubbard and Greene Jr completed the top 5.
Gray would make his way to victory lane for the second time this season and was happy to do so. Gray would state that the car was hooked, but started getting loose towards the end and was glad to hang on for the win. He could not praise promoter Keith Beach enough for the track being in such great shape. He would like to thank Gray’s Trucking and Transport, Northern Tier Hydro Wash, Crawn Trucking, Hoffman Health Partners, Moose Wraps, his crew and his son Rhett.
Scott Beach and Josh Wilder brought the Gary's U-Pull It 4 cylinders under the green flag. After running out of fuel last week, Wilder took the opening lead making his bid for redemption. Bryant Beach would slow on the front stretch leading to a restart with one lap in the books. Wilder would use the high side to maintain the lead as Rich Wagner moved past Scott Beach for second. Collin Mills and Jeff Sterling joined the chat as the four way battle for second heated up. When the dust settled, Sterling would settle into second, with the yellow out again on lap 4. Sterling launched well from the inside, taking the lead away. Mills and Wagner pounced as Wagner took over second, Mills to third, and Brian Salmini to fourth. Lapped traffic couldn't slow Sterling down as he cruised to the win, Wagner, Mills, Salmini and Underwood completed the top 5.
Jeff Sterling would roll into victory lane for the second time in three weeks. After having a tough week last week, this was a chance at redemption and was grateful it ended in victory lane. Sterling would state that it was all about hitting his marks and getting a good jump off the restarts. He would like to thank his family and sponsors: Stone Brothers Automotive, Signworks Fleet Graphic Services, Vanteger Towing & Recovery, Beach Industries, McCain Gas and Electric.
The Limited Sportsman were led to green by Dave Heater and Amanda Scholtisek followed by Charlie Towner. Heater would get the early lead, but it would not last as Towner quickly took over the first-place spot. Towner would gain a significant lead over the field and would sail to victory lane. Towner would like to thank his sponsors: Nate Shay Racing, Tanner Mechanical, Glover Boxers Farm, Scentsy by Lisa White and Red Barrel Carburetors.
Penn Can has a busy weekend coming up with its first community night of the season, all Susquehanna County residents are $5 Friday (5/26) with proper ID. The weekend will see the return of crate late models to the Can. Sunday May 28th will bring the NY Penn IMCA Series with sportsman, factory stocks and 4 cylinders rounding out the Memorial Day Special. Be sure to follow The Penn Can Speedway on Facebook to stay up to date on times and events happening at the track.
Stafursky Paving Modifieds
WINNER - 72 - NICK PETRILAK
2.) 5-Kevin Hartnett 3.) 145-Alan Rudalavage 4.) 119-Brian Malcolm 5.) 14Z-Brad Szulewski 6.) 117-Alex Stanton 7.) 22-Alex Tonkin 8.) 1-Darwin Greene Sr. 9.) 127-Frank Yankowski 10.) 27K-Brett Tonkin 11.) 73-Casey Plummer 12.) 88-Alan Komar 13.) 014-Brad Shaffer DNF 23JR-John Michael Phillips, 84Y-Brian Franko, 484-Travis Brockner, 52B-Brandon Fritsch
Erik Hines Trucking LLC 602 Crate Sportsman
WINNER - M7 - MIKE NAGEL JR
2.) 197-Mike Schane 3.) 1A-Brad Weaver 4.) 10K-Kolyn Schane 5.) 54T-Travis Rooney 6.) 14K-Alex Konopka 7.) 711-Ralph Mele 8.) 61-Dave Rosa 9.) 55-Marty Goodwin 10.) 11-Brett Wooster 11.) 7R-Tommy Groover 12.) 44-Jim O’Hara 13.) 70J-Joe Novak 14.) 16-Ned Fitch 15.) 32-Eddie Kudrako 16.) 3R-Ray Leonard 17.) 00-Bradley Burman 18.) 72-Josh Fedo
Factory Stock
WINNER - 617 - ERIC BEACH
2.) 3-Jason Rhodes 3.) 9J-Jordan Towner 4.) 28-Charlie Gilbert 5.) 28X-Adam Gilbert 6.) 19-Darren Davies 7.) 23S-Kyle Spoor 8.) 23B-Brad Chilson 9.) 83T-Rich Sharpsteen 10.) 919-Josh Towner 11.) 78-Cody Fassett 12.) 35H-Justin Slezak
A&E Tire and Auto Service Center 600cc Modifieds
WINNER - 28 - BRETT GRAY
2.) 5-Chuck Lohmeyer 3.) 29-Brenton Miller 4.) 28H-Sam Hubbard 5.) 1JR-Darwin Green Jr 6.) 30NN-Nate Oropallo 7.) 17-Jeff Baldwin 8.) 12J-John Dinniny 9.) 1*-Alan Bibalo 10.) 99K-Phil Burns 11.) 67-Tori Straway 12.) 999-Ethan Johnson
Gary’s U-Pull It 4 Cylinders
WINNER - 56 - JEFF STERLING
2.) 8W-Rich Wagner 3.) 23-Collin Mills 4.) 77-Brian Salmini 5.) 16-Kenny Underwood 6.) 5-Josh Wilder 7.) 354-Andy Bolles 8.) G55-Dakota Fuller 9.) 21-Scott Beach 10.) 22-Davd Benson 11.) 316-Michael Girjatowicz 12.) 32RW-Ronnie Welch 13.) 27RW-Leigh Fuller 14.) Jesse Lovejoy DNF: 5L-Bryant Beach DNS: 21MJ
Limited Sportsman
WINNER - 5T - CHARLIE TOWNER
2.) 88A-Amanda Scholtisek 3.) 711X-Dave Heater