GEORGE MAKING A HABIT OF LATE-RACE WINNING PASSES IN SPRINTS; FIRST WINS FOR HALL, HOLTGRAVER, & THOMPSON IN MODS, MICROS, & STOCKS; #2 FOR BISH, SR. IN STRICTLIES
By Mike Leone
June 11, 2005
Mercer, PA…Mother Nature had already claimed six events thus far this season at Mercer Raceway Park, and it looked like she was going to make it number seven Saturday Night. But the heavy rains split just miles to the east and west of the track as light showers fell over the speedway during the completion of the Modified feature and while the Sprints were lining up for their feature.
After waiting out a 45-minute rain delay, racing resumed and the entire five-division program was still completed in less than four hours. Celebrating in the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic victory lane were Rod George-Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Cars, Rick Hall-Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf Modifieds, Danny Holtgraver-Tommy Gale Trailers 270 Micro Sprints, Andy Thompson-Tire Express Stock Cars, and Curt Bish, Sr.-Maurer’s Trading Post Strictly Stocks.
Rod George is beginning to make a habit out of late-race winning passes. For the third time in the past four races, George worked his way to front and made a pass for the win in the closing laps of the event. The latest victim was good friend Rob Eyler in the 20-lap Luxaire Heating & Cooling feature.
“I thought Rob (Eyler) had that one tonight,” stated the Kittanning, Pa. point leader from victory lane. “I told his mother tonight I’d like to see him win one, but I sure wasn’t going to let him have it. I’ll tell you what, I have to commend the track crew for getting this track back in shape so fast after the rain. It was unbelievable- there was a cushion and you could run the bottom, which was good for us. I have the best crew chief in western Pa. in Rick Libeccio.”
Eyler jumped out in the lead from the pole position with Doug Stanley following and Bob Felmlee moving ahead of Tom Quarterson on the first lap. The three set a fast pace distancing themselves from the field as it appeared one of them would score their first win of the season. George, who started 10th, entered the picture on lap seven when he drove under second place point man Scott Bonnell to crack the top five.
Lapped traffic came into play on lap nine and Mike Shearer joined the threesome up front on lap 10 making it a four-car battle for the lead. Felmlee went upstairs in turns three and four on lap 13 and made a daring move in lapped traffic to take second from Stanley, while George got past Shearer for fourth just before newcomer Dan Kuriger brought out the caution.
The caution was good news for George. When racing resumed, Eyler got a great start on Felmlee and Stanley. Lap 15 saw George duck under Stanley for third and now appeared he had a shot at the win. Two laps later, George stuck his mount on the bottom of turns one and two making a great pass of Felmlee for second.
George ran down Eyler and was all over the leader. On lap 19, Eyler struggled to get past the lapped car of newcomer Leonard Ripper, Jr. as George bolted by both taking the lead coming off turn two. George led the final two circuits and has doubled his career win total at Mercer this season as Saturday’s win was his sixth in his Delp Family Powder Coating/Ankle & Foot Care/Stanley-sponsored #4. Despite all the rainouts this season, it was George’s seventh win on the western Pa. circuit this season as he also has three wins at Tri-City and one win at Lernerville Speedway.
Finishing second through sixth with their best finishes of the season were Eyler, Felmlee, Stanley, Brian Ellenberger, and Kevin Andrusky. Rounding out the top 10 were Bonnell, Charlie Holben, Arnie Kent, and Dave Wagner. Topping the heats over the 21-car field were Stanley and Quarterson.
It was experience over youth in the 20-lap Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf Modified feature. Young Jimmy Holden appeared headed to his first ever Mercer win, but the veterans were able to get through lapped traffic better in the closing stages as it was point leader Rick Hall of Stoneboro, Pa. scoring his first win of the season. With light rain falling for the majority of the second-half of the event, the victory lane interview was cancelled.
Holden started the event in third and passed Bill Adams and Steve Barr for the lead on the first lap. Hall, who started eighth, took fourth from Mike Anderson on lap five then made a great move on the backstretch to get by both Steve Toth and Adams for second on lap six.
Hall ran down the teenage racer and was all over the leader with seven laps to go. Holden did a great job maintaining his lead, but on lap 16 got blocked by the lapped car of Rick Kress allowing Hall and Adams to drive by on the backstretch for the first two spots.
Hall went on for his 22nd career win in the Skinny Hall-owned, Campbell’s Asphalt/Hall’s Safety Equipment/Grove City Dodge/Thomas Construction/Maxwell Tire-sponsored #B2 as he’s now scored wins in three different modified classes at Mercer with wins in the big blocks, sportsman, and now 358s.
Adams was a strong second. The battle for third in the final three laps was intense. Gary Smoker got past Holden for the spot on lap 18 and Brian Fink followed taking fourth on the final lap in his first start. Holden dropped to a disappointing fifth after leading the first 15 laps. Sixth through tenth were Anderson, Ron Eperthener, Jr., Barr, Matt Reeher, and Rich Whitney. Heat race winners were Anderson, Fink, and Garrett Krummert over the 28-car field.
Sixteen-year-old Danny Holtgraver scored his first ever Mercer win in leg two of the five-race Tommy Gale Trailers 270 Series for the Micro Sprints. After leading the first six laps of the first show, Holtgraver wasn’t to be denied on Saturday night as he dominated the event from start to finish taking the $500 victory.
Holtgraver started the 15-lap event from third and was able to get past Jeff Bacha on the first lap for second. Holtgraver’s winning move came on lap two when he passed Mike Mecklem for the top spot. Holtgraver survived three cautions and was never challenged as he became the 10th different winner in 11 races held for the Micro Sprints over the past nine seasons. Holtgraver’s win came in the Dan Holtgraver-owned, West View Motors/Bumper-to-Bumper Auto Parts-sponsored #D4.
Second-generation racer George Hobaugh had a fine run coming from sixth to place a career best second after passing Mecklem for the spot on lap 13. Doug Karlene got past Mecklem for third on lap 14 to record his best ever Mercer finish. Also recording their best career Mercer finishes were J.J. Metheney in fourth and Mecklem in fifth. Steve Dunmire, Hobaugh, and Holtgraver won the heat races over the 27-car field.
Andy Thompson has a pair of seconds and a pair of third places finishes this year, but has come up just shy of scoring the win. Thompson ended that on Saturday night taking the non-stop 15-lap Tire Express Stock Car win. “I’ve settled for second a lot, I’m not a rough driver,” stated the Mercer, Pa. victor. “It’s nice to be back in the point lead. I should have never lost it.”
Chris Brown passed pole-sitter Mark Sanders on the opening lap as Terry Wheeler and Andy Buckley followed. Buckley, who started eighth, quickly raced to the front as he drove around Wheeler off turn four for second on lap three. Buckley was all over Brown on laps four and five.
On lap six, Brown pushed high in turn four jumping the cushion allowing Buckley and 10th starter Thompson to move by. With five laps to go, Thompson was on Buckley. The two raced side-by-side on laps 13 and 14 never touching with Buckley on top and Thompson on the bottom. Thompson nosed ahead to lead lap 14 and got by for good on the final lap as he took the checkered flag first in a race that went non-stop in 5 minutes and 17 seconds.
The win was Thompson’s third of his career in his #5. Buckley was a season-best second as Wheeler, 11th starting Norman, and 13th starting Booher rounded out the first five. Heat winners were Thompson and Wheeler over the 15-car field.
The Bishs continued their dominance of the Strictly Stock division. This time it was Curt Bish, Sr. of Titusville, Pa. winning his second of the season and giving the father-son duo five of the six wins this season. Lauren Simmons took the lead on the opening lap when she passed Patrick Heckman and William Morrison III. Simmons opened up a comfortable lead as the laps ticked off. Bryan Shaffer came from eighth to second on lap two before slowing and exiting the race on lap four. This moved ninth place starter Bish, Sr. into second.
The defending Maurer’s Trading Post “Redneck Racers Shotgun Series” Champion ran down Simmons and made the winning move off the outside of turn four on lap eight. Simmons didn’t let Bish, Sr. get away as she nearly regained the lead on lap 11, but Bish had just enough momentum to maintain the lead and went on for his 13th career victory in his A&C Buffet/4 Your Car Connection/Dennis Baker Construction-sponsored #B1. Simmons matched a career best finish from opening night 2004 with a second as Carl Ealy, Bish, Jr., and Heckman completed the top five. Simmons won her first ever heat race, while Ealy took the honors in the second heat over the 12-car field.
Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Cars: 1. ROD GEORGE 2. Rob Eyler 3. Bob Felmlee 4. Doug Stanley 5. Brian Ellenberger 6. Kevin Andrusky 7. Scott Bonnell 8. Charlie Holben 9. Arnie Kent 10. Dave Wagner 11. Chad Levingston 12. Aaron Shaffer 13. Gale Ruth, Jr. 14. Bryan Grove 15. Jeremy Cook 16. Leonard Ripper, Jr. 17. Carl Bowser 18. Mike Shearer 19. Dan Kuriger 20. Tom Quarterson 21. Mike Dehner.
Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf (358) Modifieds: 1. RICK HALL 2. Bill Adams 3. Gary Smoker 4. Brian Fink 5. Jimmy Holden 6. Mike Anderson 7. Ron Eperthener, Jr. 8. Steve Barr 9. Matt Reeher 10. Rich Whitney 11. Kevin Green 12. Fred Sasse 13. Jr. Baker 14. Rick Kress 15. Greg Unrue 16. Jerry Twentier, Sr. 17. Steve Toth 18. Terry Platt 19. Lee Miller 20. Jim Thompson 21. Garrett Krummert 22. Ben Porter 23. Travis Shingledecker 24. Andy Priest 25. Lonny Riggs-DNS 26. Kevin Hoffman-DNS 27. Jim Rombold, Jr.-DNS 28. Travis Bell-DNS.
Tommy Gale Trailers 270 Micro Sprints: 1. DANNY HOLTGRAVER ($500) 2. George Hobaugh 3. Doug Karlene 4. J.J. Metheney 5. Mike Mecklem 6. Mike Himes 7. Jeff Bacha 8. Todd Hoover 9. Jim Myers 10. Mike Crane 11. Matt Gardina 12. Jimmy Arnold 13. Nate Stein 14. Eric Williams 15. Adam King 16. Ken Downer 17. John Dohmen 18. Chris Best 19. Dave Hawkins 20. Jay Groves 21. Rob Felix 22. Brian Riddle 23. Ed Zimmerman 24. Russ Byler 25. Mikey Schall 26. Nick Leech 27. Steve Dunmire-DNS.
Tire Express Stock Cars: 1. ANDY THOMPSON 2. Andy Buckley 3. Terry Wheeler 4. Gary Norman 5. Brian Booher 6. Chris Brown 7. Ryan Moyer 8. John Reiser 9. Tony Spaghetti 10. Tom Moore 11. Mark Sanders 12. Terry Kroner 13. Shaun Hooks 14. Joe Lockhart-DNS 15. Billy Vance, Jr.-DNS.
Maurer’s Trading Post Strictly Stocks: 1. CURT BISH, SR. 2. Lauren Simmons 3. Carl Ealy 4. Curt Bish, Jr. 5. Patrick Heckman 6. Paul Reiser 7. Jim Boring 8. Randy Ealy 9. Olivia Eperthener 10. William Morrison III 11. Bryan Shaffer 12. Vaughn Cook-DNS.