RICK LAUBACK & DUANE HOWARD SPLIT TWIN 20’S, GET FIRST 2002 WINS

Bridgeport, NJ – A couple of veteran Pennsylvania drivers got their first wins of the 2002 season at New Jersey’s fastest dirt track, when Rick Lauback and Duane Howard split the fan favorite Twin Twenty lap features for the big block modifieds at Bridgeport Speedway on Saturday night. Richlandtown PA’s Laubach won the opening twenty-lap main event, while Oley PA’s Howard charged from his ninth starting spot to take the nightcap feature for the mighty modifieds. Woolwich, NJ’s Bob Sarkisian picked up his second victory of the season, winning the twenty-lap Bridgeport sportsman feature race. For the third time in a row, and the fourth time this season, Bridgeport ¼ mile micro sprint graduate Kevin Nagy won the twenty-lap Bridgeport Winged Sprint A-Main.

The opening modified feature race saw two-time Bridgeport Sportsman champion Stephan Durand shoot out to the early lead from his pole position starting spot. A ten car pile up in turn three, that took out the middle of the pack, eliminated any lead that the Mahwah, NJ resident had built up, but on the restart the 2001 Modified Rookie of the Year again pulled away from the field. While Durand had the lead, Rick Laubach and Ben Hatt were hooked up in a battle for second place that saw the pair run nose to tail for five laps, before Laubach worked his way past the Sinking Spring, PA resident to get the runner up spot. Laubach had the Auger Manufacturing #93 flying around the big 5/8th mile clay oval, and with five to go was right on the rear bumper of Durand’s Thornton’s Gulf #5. Laubach made his move in turn three, charging past Durand for the lead and coming down the homestretch to lead lap sixteen. While Laubach was pulling away with two to go, 2000 champion Wade Hendrickson worked his way into second place and tried to hunt down the leader. With Hendrickson closing in, Laubach had enough of a lead to get his first win of the season, with Hendrickson a few car lengths behind for the runner up spot. Durand and Hatt held on for their best finishes of the year, while Steve Bottcher’s first ride in the Way Buff Farms #24 yielded a fine fifth place finish.

The second twenty-lap modified feature had a strange beginning, when Don Radd, who was starting on the pole, used the Michael Brothers #51M as a weapon against outside polesitter Jimmy Horton. Before getting the green flag, Radd bumped and banged his racer against Horton’s Miles Concrete #901. Radd was warned about his actions, and then proceeded to try and run over Horton’s front end, causing track officials to disqualify Radd and remove him from the race. Track management will make further decisions about fines, penalties, and suspensions against Radd and the Michael Brothers team for this ugly display of sportsmanship. When the race finally started, Horton pulled out to the lead, with sixth starting Ricky Elliott in second place by the second lap. Horton seemed to be on his way to his one-hundredth career Bridgeport Speedway win, but all eyes were on the Big Spring Car Wash #126 and Duane Howard, as he was closing in on the leaders from his ninth starting spot. With Starter Dennis Weir giving the halfway signal to the field, Howard flew by Elliott and then Horton to take over the lead. Four laps later, 2001 champion Doug Hoffman worked past Horton for second place, but did not have enough power to cut into the leader’s margin. With one to go, Hoffman retired from the race with a flat tire, and Howard had his first win of the year at Bridgeport. Horton held on to second place after Hoffman dropped out, with Elliott and Hendrickson filling out the top five. Kevin Hirthler, Durand, and Hatt won the eight lap qualifying heats, while Paul Weaver won the consolation race.

After a couple of spin outs caused a delay in the completion of the first lap of the Bridgeport Sportsman feature, Bob Sarkisian charged out to the lead of the twenty-lap event by the second circuit around the big 5/8th mile clay oval. Sarkisian had the Superior Scaffolding #47 really glued to the slick speedway and pulled away from the rest of the field. With Sarkisian playing hide and seek with the pack, runner up Joe Masiado had his hands full holding off Sam Wescott, who has switched rides, moving from his own #51 to the Pete Clark Auto Body #026. At the halfway mark, Wescott finally worked his way by Masiado and his #43, and tried to cut into the huge lead that Sarkisian had built up. A couple of laps later, two-time feature winner Richie Pratt got the Klair #34 past Masiado for third place, and began putting the pressure on Wescott. Wescott and Pratt were racing each other so hard that they were actually catching Sarkisian, and began closing in on the leader. At the finish, Sarkisian had his second win of the year, and eighth of his career, with Wescott holding off the charging Pratt for the runner up spot. Masiado, who finished fourth for his best ever finish, failed the post race tech inspection and was disqualified. This moved 2002 point leader Billy Harris to fourth place, with Dan Cogdill, the feature winner from two weeks ago, completing the top five. In victory lane, Sarkisian said, “We made some last minute changes when we saw how slick the track was getting, and it worked out well. “ When asked about Wescott closing in on the final laps, Sarkisian said, “You couldn’t see him, but I could hear him and I knew he was there. That was about as hard as I could run the car without spinning it around. It was really a good race!” Qualifying heats were won by Steve Lindale, Masiado, and Dennis Price, while Judd Mills and Tom Miller took the two consolation races.

The Bridgeport Winged Sprint A-Main was a caution plagued event, that had to be cut short two laps of its scheduled twenty laps, after it appeared that the high speed racers couldn’t get a hold onto the dry slick speedway. Pole sitter Mike Donaghy pulled out to the lead, but for the first half of the race, there were four yellow flag periods and one red flag stop that kept the Grandinetti #23 from getting any kind of a lead. Mechanical problems forced Donaghy to the infield on the thirteenth lap, again bringing out the yellow flag, and 2000 champion Steve Fleetwood, who started ninth, took over the lead. Fleetwood appeared to run out of fuel after leading lap seventeen, and coasted into the pits just after crossing the start-finish line for lap eighteen. Moments later, the red again would come out for a three car flip in turn two that involved Joe Howe, John Wyers, and Joe Butts Jr. All three drivers were okay, and Kevin Nagy, who had been putting pressure on Fleetwood for six laps, was declared the winner after leading the last lap. Point leader Shane Smith, who was right on Nagy’s rear bumper, finished second, with Matt Beasley, Gary Mondschein, and Chip Brown completing the top five. Donaghy and Greg Lotosky won the qualifying heats for the Jasper Racing Engines sprinters.

NOTES: For the first time, this coming Saturday night’s racing program will see action on both the 5/8th and ¼ mile speedways, with the powerful 600 Micro Sprints competing on the new quarter mile track, in addition to the modifieds, sportsman, and sprinters, who will race on the big track as they normally do…Modified point leader, Wade Hendrickson, recovered from his tough night at the last show run two weeks ago, to post a second and a fourth place finish in the two features…Ben Hatt had his first ever top five finish in the opening twenty-lapper, and was on his way to another great run in the nightcap, when mechanical ills forced him out of the race with one lap to go, while running in sixth place…Carl Koehn took a nasty flip down the front straightaway in his #83 during the sportsman consolation race. Koehn walked away from the accident shaken, but uninjured…One of the red flag stops during the Bridgeport Sprint A-Main was for Ron Karnbach, who took a wild ride along the backstretch fence in front of the pit grandstands. Karnbach’s Dengler Demolition #66 rode up on the fence, leaving a long trail of sparks before flipping over on the track. Karnbach also walked away from this scary crash…Lehighton, PA’s Steve Bottcher appeared to feel right at home in the Way Buff Farms #24 modified, finishing fifth in both features. This team could prove to be a force to reckon with as they get to know each other…For more information on Bridgeport Speedway events log onto the Internet and head to www.bridgeportspeedway.com or call the track office during regular business hours at 856-467-4408.

Bridgeport Speedway Results – Saturday, May 25, 2002

MODIFIEDS

Heat 1 – Hirthler, Lauback, Iles, Adams, Howard, Glisson

Heat 2 – Durand, Bottcher, Hendrickson, Barone, Stonebraker, Schultz

Heat 3 – Hatt, Truppi, Infante, Hoffman, Franz, Hieber

Consi – P.Weaver, Elliott, Radd, Horton, W.Weaver, Dekutoski

Modified Feature #1 – 20 Laps

Rick Lauback, Wade Hendrickson, Stephan Durand, Ben Hatt, Steve Bottcher, Duane Howard, Doug Hoffman, Kevin Hirthler, Ricky Elliott, Brian Truppi, Don Barone, Mike Franz, Jimmy Horton, Don Radd, Jared Schultz, Paul Weaver, Joe Dekutoski, Dave Adams, Carmine Infante, Butch Glisson, Mike Iles, Dave Stonebraker, Danny Hieber, Wayne Weaver

Lap Leaders – Durand: 15, Lauback: 5

Modified Feature #2 – 20 Laps

Duane Howard, Jimmy Horton, Ricky Elliott, Wade Hendrickson, Steve Bottcher, Kevin Hirthler, Joe Dekutoski, Jimmy Chester, Dave Adams, Stephan Durand, Mike Franz, Paul Weaver, Danny Hieber, Don Barone, Ben Hatt, Doug Hoffman, Rick Laubach, Bob Gibbons, Dave Stonebraker, Butch Glisson, Brian Truppi, Jared Schultz DNS – Infante, Iles, W.Weaver DQ- Radd

Lap Leaders – Horton: 9, Howard: 11

SPORTSMAN

Heat 1 – Lindale, Sarkisian, Roberts, DiNatale, Britt, DiMedio

Heat 2 – Masiado, Harris, McDonnell, Klingmeyer, Cogdill, Lozorak

Heat 3 – Price, Wescott, Burkhart, Forte, Pratt, Hirthler

Consi 1 – Mills, Lineman, Kormann, Briggs

Consi 2 – Miller, K.Collins, Malcolm, Tinnes

Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps

Bob Sarkisian, Sam Wescott, Richie Pratt, Billy Harris, Dan Cogdill, Frank McDonnell, Mario DiNatale, Dennis Price, Steve Lozorak, Ron Roberts, Steve Lindale, Kevin Collins, Bruce Hirthler, Judd Mills, Andy Burkhart, Bob Lineman Jr, Eric Kormann, Mike DiMedio, Jim Britt, Mark Forte, Bill Briggs, Mark Malcolm, Joe Tinnes, Tom Miller, Bill Klingmeyer DQ- Joe Masiado

Lap Leaders: Sarkisian: 20

BRIDGEPORT WINGED SPRINTS

Heat 1 – Donaghy, Karnbach, Fleetwood, Smith, Schmidt, Strubble

Heat 2 – Lotosky, Butts, Durbin, Wyers, Mondschein, Nagy

Bridgeport Sprint A-Main – 20 Laps

Kevin Nagy, Shane Smith, Matt Beasley, Gary Mondschein, Chip Brown, Bob Adams, Mares Stellfox, Mike Piersig, David Brown, Jeff Mueller, George Coffin, Harry McConnell, Steve Fleetwood, Warren Durbin, Joe Butts Jr, John Wyers, Joe Howe, Mike Donaghy, Jack Curtis, Steve Strubble, Ron Karnbach, Keith Anderson, Greg Lotosky, Steve Schmidt

Lap Leaders – Donaghy: 12, Fleetwood: 5, Nagy: 1