NASCAR Star Dave Blaney and Green Flag Sprints Visit Central PA Speedway to Kick off Sharon Nationals

9/3/04

Bill Walker

NASCAR Star and World of Outlaw Sprint Champion Dave Blaney made his first ever trip to Central PA Speedway Friday for Fan Appreciation and Autograph night giving the fans a double dip of Dave by first signing autographs and then climbing behind the wheel of the new Green Flag Sprint division to go wheel to wheel with division regulars to kick off the Sharon Nationals. Blaney contacted close friend and CPS General Manager Ken McLaughlin Thursday afternoon and made him aware of his intentions. Friday evening McLaughlin said, “It’s truly an honor for Central PA Speedway to welcome a driver and champion the stature of Dave Blaney to our facility.”

With Mother Nature finally giving the area a reprieve from threatening bad weather, Central PA Speedway saluted fans and drivers alike on the Fan Appreciation and Autograph, Labor Day Special. Picking up victories this evening would be Rod Jones in the Green Flag Sprints, Todd Mathews in the Shortway Services Inc. Pro Street Stocks, Dwayne Taneyhill in the Budweiser Late Models, Shawn Reimert in the Stocker Chevrolet Subaru Small Block Modifieds, Chad Bender in the Lias Tire Pure Street Stocks and Denny Weisgarber in the Pepsi Chargers.

First onto the racing surface would be the Green Flag Sprints with Dave Blaney and Rod Jones, on the front row. With the green waving Jones grabbed the top spot as Blaney and Jim Rasey gave chase. With a caution for debris on the track, Blaney took the opportunity to head to the pits to replace a tire that was quickly going down. Once back under green Skip Daugherty took up the second position and tried to work his way around the leader but time ran out for Daugherty as Jones went on to pick up the victory in his first ever Green Flag Sprint race. Rounding out the field were Daugherty, Guy Griffin, Blaney, Rasey and Goob Schuler. The big news involving the Green Flag Sprints was that they will be a weekly division at Central PA Speedway in 2003.

Next onto the racing surface would be the Shortway Services Inc. Pro Street Stocks as newcomers Jimmer Bookwalter and Ron Gregory showed the way to starter Alan Luzier’s green flag. Bookwalter jumped to the point as soon as the flag waved in front of Dayton Nixon and Tom Williams. On lap number four the proverbial big one was touched off when Nixon nearly lost the handle on his ride and stacked up several competitors behind him eliminating six machines for the evening. Once racing resumed Denny Fenton quickly disposed of Bookwalter and took the lead looking to lengthen his point advantage. With just five laps to go Fenton broke something in the rear end and he was done for the night. On the restart Bookwalter would show the way till contact between him and Nixon would send him around and to the pits. Todd Mathews picked up the lead, got a good jump on the start and cruised to his fist ever victory at Central PA Speedway.

The Budweiser Late Models rolled trackside with Eddie Connor on the pole flanked by Shawn McGarvey. McGarvey immediate took the lead hoping for a victory to close the point gap between him self and current point leader Dwayne Taneyhill and with Taneyhill starting back in the tenth position, it seemed to be a good bet. On lap number three Jerry Redden made the move by McGarvey and looked like he was the man to beat on this night. Reddens night would come to an abrupt end by a flat tire with just five circuits remaining. The 8P of McGarvey would show the way for the next three laps till Taneyhill made a bold move on the high line to take the lead away. From there Taneyhill never looked back in picking up the victory. Chasing Taneyhill at the line were, McGarvey, Connor, Bernie Whiteford (up from fourteenth starting) and Tim Fedder.

The Stocker Chevrolet Subaru Small Block Modified King of the Mountain Challenge was next to roll onto the racing surface and with one thousand dollars up for grabs it carried an anything goes atmosphere. Mike Stine and Mark Frankhouser would show the twenty two car field to the starter’s stripe for twenty laps of racing. At the onset Frankhouser set sail and seemed to leave everyone in his wake. Cautions on laps seven and nine appeared to be the only thing that could slow Frankhouser on this night or racing. While working lap fifteen Frankhouser suffered the same fate as Jerry Redden had in the previous feature and was forced to the pits with a flat tire. This turn of events gave the lead to Shawn Reimert; Jimmy Holden worked the low side of Reimert through three and four but caused a caution and had to tail the field. Bob Garvey would be next to take up the chase but Reimert was just too fast on this occasion and picked up the victory in front of Garvey, Andy Priest, Gary Smoker and Barry White.

Next on the blocks would be the Lias Tire Pure Street Stocks for their twelve lap main event. Rob Bailey and Jason Bainey would bring the field to the starter’s stripe and Bainey quickly move out front followed by Bailey and Todd Bainey. By lap number four, tenth place starter Chad Bender had moved to the second position and a lap later moved by Bainey for the lead when he bobbled in turn four. Once out front Bender built a sizable lead but a caution on with just two laps to go bunched the field and gave J. Bainey a shot at the victory. With green again displayed Bender was able to hold off Bainey to garner the victory. Rounding out the top five behind Bender were J. Bainey, Mike Duck, Bailey and Frank Geiser.

The festivities at intermission for Fan Appreciation and Autograph night saw hundreds of fans flood the front stretch seeking the signatures of their favorite drivers. NASCAR Star and WoO champion Dave Blaney partook in the festivities signing as many autographs as time would allow. As a special treat for the young fans Denny Fenton and Jason Bainey teamed up to give away a boys and a girls bicycle to two lucky children. We would like to thank all of our drivers and fans for making this event an overwhelming success.

Next weeks racing action 9/10 will see a regular night of racing for all five divisions. Gates open at 5:00 PM with racing at 8:00 PM. The following week, September 17th and 18th will be the North East Region Championships in which all divisions will be racing for and increased purse. Budweiser Late Models will race for $5000 to win and $200 to start, Shortway Services Inc. Pro Street Stocks will go for $2500 to win and $1000 to start, Stocker Chevrolet Small Block Modifieds are racing for $1500 to win and $100 to start, Lias Tire Pure Street Stocks will be at $500 to win and $50 to start while the Pepsi Chargers will compete for a $200 pay day along with a $100 bounty on Denny Weisgarber. The winner of the event, as long as Weisgarber finishes on the same lap as the leader will pick up the bounty. If Denny wins the event the bounty money will be his.

During the North East Region Championships there will be a special “Fast and Furious” street car challenge. This competition is open to all licensed drivers in any licensed, inspected and insured street legal vehicles. Two drivers at a time from a rolling start will race one lap around the big bear with the winner advancing to the next round. We will continue until a champion is crowned.

**Proof of insurance, registration, inspection and drivers licensure is required!

Come on down to the BIG BEAR and feed your hunger for excitement!

Be sure to keep tuned to www.centralpaspeedway.com for all of the latest updates.

Special Note: We would like to thank Dave, Dale, the entire Blaney family and Sharon Speedway for allowing Central PA Speedway to be part of the Green Flag Sprints and the Sharon Nationals.

Summary:

Green Flag Sprints:

1.Rod Jones 2.Skip Daugherty 3.Guy Griffin 4.Dave Blaney 5.Jim Rasey 6.Goob Schuler

Shortway Services Inc. of Reynoldsville Pro Street Stocks:

1.Todd Mathews 2.Dayton Nixon 3.Mike Ellenberger 4.Ron Gregory 5.Jimmer Bookwalter 6.Denny Fenton 7.Doug Tibbens 8.Emory Reinhart Jr. 9.Gary Little 10.Ron Mitchell 11.Dan Smeal 12.Tom Williams 13.Lester Hudson 14.Jason Walker

Budweiser Late Models:

1.Dwayne Taneyhill 2.Shawn McGarvey 3.Ed Connor 4.Bernie Whiteford 5.Tim Fedder 6.Derek Byler 7.Bill Davis 8.T.J. Fleck 9.Chris Farrell 10.Jerry Lower 11.Bob McMillen 12.Chad Maney 13.Yvette Hahn 14.Luke Hoffner 15.Jim Parsons 16.Jerry Redden 17.Chuck Kennedy 18.Ray Ferrell 19.Brian Smith 20.Chris Knuth

Stocker Chevrolet Subaru Small Block Modifieds:

1.Shawn Reimert 2.Bob Garvey 3.Andy Priest 4.Gary Smoker 5.Barry White 6.Brad Rapp 7.Bill Krause 8.Mike Butterworth 9.Brent Boyer 10.Ron Butterworth 11.Fay Lumadue 12.Jimmy Holden 13.Steve Williams 14.Mike Stine 15.Mark Frankhouser 16.Bill Washek 17.Greg Luzier 18.Ron Myers 19.Rich Luzier 20.Jerry Bowser 21.Jimmer Luzier 22.Craig Casher

Lias Tier Pure Street Stocks:

1.Chad Bender 2.Jason Bainey 3.Mike Duck 4.Rob Bailey 5.Frank Geiser 6.Todd Bainey 7.Dan Henry 8.Ed Harzinski 9.Sam McClellan 10.Craig Bainey 11.Mike Desch 12.Scott Wise 13.Frank Little 14.Dale Schlinder 15.Donnie Hynd

Pepsi Chargers:

1.Denny Weisgarber 2.Jason Peters 3.Brandon Connor 4.Mark Vail 5.Mike Luzier 6.Matt Woomer 7.Billy Loner 8.Sctt Haines