KING HOLDS OFF BURLEY FOR BRP MOD TOUR WIN; VANPELT INVADES & CONQUERS 358 MODS; LUX DRIVES TO E-MODS WIN; ALEY & BISH, JR. WIN STOCKS & STRICTLIES AT MERCER
By Mike Leone
May 21, 2005
Mercer, PA…After losing three of the last four weeks of rain, Mercer Raceway Park was finally able to complete its fourth show of the 2005 campaign on Saturday night. The first special event of the season, “Modzilla,” was presented by Hovis Auto & Truck Supply as Rex King-BRP Big-Block Modified Tour, Billy VanPelt-Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf (358) Modifieds, Matt Lux-E-Mods, Willie Aley-Tire Express Stock Cars, and Curt Bish, Jr.-Maurer’s Trading Post Strictly Stocks celebrated in the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic victory lane. Ed Bordt of Sewickley, Pa. won round two of “The Gladiator Series” Demo Derby.
Ten years ago Rex King was the Big-Block Modified Champion and April 26, 1997 was the date of his last Mercer victory. On Saturday night, King returned to victory lane at his old stomping grounds with a wire-to-wire win holding off New York standout Todd Burley in the 30-lap $1,200 to-win BRP Tour-sanctioned event for the big blocks.
“We’ve had a lot of seconds and thirds, but it’s tough to get wins when you look at the competition,” stated the Bristolville, Ohio veteran, who was runner-up the night prior at Central PA Speedway. “I thought about the outside, but no one had gotten by me so I chose the inside for the restarts.”
King blasted around pole-sitter Rob Kristyak for the lead at the start, while Kevin Bolland moved ahead of Brian Swartzlander for second. Bolland and Kristyak battled for second swapping the position back and forth as seventh starter Burley closed on the two. Burley made the inside work to his liking as he passed Bolland for third on lap nine and Kristyak for second off turn four on lap 11.
Bolland didn’t give up as he raced back by Kristyak for third on lap 16 and was able to pass Burley one lap later for second. The battled raged for second as King continued to tick off the laps up front. Burley finally got by Bolland for good on lap 21. With five laps to go, Burley began to chew off the deficit. Each lap Burley closed in on King, but it appeared King was going to hold on as the white flag waved; however, Carl Murdick spun in turn two in front of the leaders and brought out the caution.
King was able to protect the bottom in the one-lap shootout to the checkered flag taking his 10th career win in the KMB, Inc.-owned, Cintas/Alltel/R.D. Banks Chevrolet-sponsored #65. Burley was second in his first ever appearance as Bolland was third. Billy VanPelt crossed the line in fourth with his 358 small-block with Andy Priest completing the top five after starting 14th. Rounding out the top 10 were Jeremiah Shingledecker, Mark Flick, Bob Dorman, Steve Young, and Chanda Reitz. Heat winners over the 33-car field were Dave Murdick, King, and Tom Mattocks. Les Myers won the B main.
Making his first ever appearance, Billy VanPelt invaded and conquered the competition to score the win in the 20-lap Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf (358) Modified feature. “We decided to take a night to come down here,” explained the Westfield, Pa. driver. “I just won the last two at Woodhull (Raceway) and was leading the points, but we want to run the T3 All-Star Series event here at the Little Guy Nationals.”
Brad Rapp took the early lead from pole-sitter Don McKnight at the start of the event. Lonny Riggs quickly made his presence known as he raced from the sixth starting spot into second past Kevin Hoffman and McKnight on lap two. Four cars tangled bringing out the caution with four laps completed and Riggs exited the event under yellow ending his shot for three consecutive wins. This moved Hoffman to second and VanPelt up to third after starting ninth.
When racing resumed, VanPelt darted under Hoffman for second on lap five. One lap later it was a three-car race for the lead as Rapp, VanPelt, and Hoffman were three-wide coming out of turn four. Hoffman edged ahead of VanPelt and Rapp to lead the sixth lap. The three continued to battle for the top spot on lap seven, but Hoffman got high and slipped off the backstretch allowing VanPelt to move by both Hoffman and Rapp into the lead.
Laps 5-17 went caution-free allowing VanPelt to pull away by the halfway point. Rapp, who has a pair of runner-ups at Sportsman’s and Central PA Speedways, appeared primed to add another fine second place finish to his resume, but looped his mount on the 18th circuit bringing out the event’s final caution.
When racing resumed, VanPelt drove off and wasn’t challenged over the final laps for the $800 win in the Ted White-owned, TWR Transport/Mullen-sponsored #2. “We brought both small-block cars and decided to run the 12-car with the big blocks,” stated VanPelt. “I was tickled to get fourth in that and then to come right back out here and win this is a testament to the crew. I’ve always been treated with a lot of respect down here and I have a lot of respect for the other guys. I sure enjoyed this trip down here this weekend hopefully the fans got a good show.”
Hoffman was second for the second time this season. Point leader Rick Hall came from seventh to place third as Garrett Krummert and Bill Adams were fourth and fifth. Sixth through tenth were Ron Eperthener, Jr., Mike Anderson, Jim Rombold, Jr., Matt Reeher, and Rapp. Taking the heat races over the season-high 26-car field were Riggs, Steve Toth, and Scott Kay.
Matt Lux made a name for himself in the Stock Car ranks as he scored nine victories and ended his Stock Car career winning the Little Guy Nationals on October 21, 2000. Since then, Lux has been competing in the Late Model class. Late last year, Lux picked up a ride in Scott Bidwell’s E-Mod. Lux came out of the gates this season with two wins at Tri-City Speedway and added a third Saturday night by winning the 20-lap $500 to-win feature after passing Russ Dunn in the closing stages.
“It feels good to be back,” expressed the Franklin, Pa. racer. “We had a span between laps 12 and 16 where I had a tough time getting around Jimmy (Frontz) and making it stick. I put on softer tires than I think everyone else and I may have burned them up trying to make the pass. My shield was fogging up and I was just trying to make it to the end.”
Last year’s “Little Guy Nationals” winner Russ Dunn took off in the early lead with Frontz holding second. Lux started back in 11th and made his way into contention on lap 11 when he passed Bob McCann for third. Lux worked on Frontz for second and made the pass on lap 14. With five laps to go it was a three-car race for the lead with Dunn trying to hold off Lux and Frontz. On lap 17, Lux made the winning move getting under and past Dunn off turn four.
Lux went on for his 10th career Mercer win in the Fame RV Center/Maloney Tool& Mold/Eddie’s Foot longs-sponsored #21 and became the 10th different E-Mod winner in 13 races run. Dunn held off Frontz for second. Howard Fraley and Rick Robinson were fourth and fifth. Heat wins went to Scott Stiffler, Lux, and Jeff Haefke over the 27-car field. Shawn Domhoff won the B main.
Willie Aley ended the 2004 season winning the Stock Car Consolation B feature at the Little Guy Nationals. Aley made his season debut on Saturday night and scored an upset career first win in the 20-lap $500 to-win Tire Express Stock Car event. “Long race,” expressed the Fredonia, Pa. driver. “I was getting tired and I don’t like restarts. (Andy) Thompson runs the bottom pretty good. I figured I had to stay down there.”
Gary Robinson took off with the early race lead, while Aley moved ahead of Chris Brown for second on the opening lap. Robinson maintained his lead for the first half of the race with the hungry pack of racers right on his tail. Aley finally made the pass stick coming out of turn four on lap 11. Thompson, who started back in 12th, crept into competition getting by Gary Norman for third then nipped Robinson at the start-finish line for second on lap 14. Thompson caught Aley on lap 17 and was all over the leader in the closing laps. Thompson tried everything, but Aley had just enough in his #9 for the win.
Thompson has now finished second or third in all four events this season and continues to lead the points. Norman and Terry Kroner passed Robinson for third and fourth in the closing stages as Robinson dropped to fifth at the finish. Heat winners over the season-high 32-car field were Mike Aley, Brian Booher, and Willie Aley. Dave Ferringer won the B main.
Opening night winner and current point leader, Curt Bish, Jr., won his second of the year in the 12-lap Maurer’s Trading Post Strictly Stock feature. Bish came from the ninth starting spot and passed Carl Ealy on lap five for the lead. Once in front, Bish was never challenged for his sixth career win his Dennis Baker Construction/Comfortmaker/Leonardos Restaurant-sponsored #00. Ronnie Boyd charged from 11th and passed Curt Bish, Jr. on lap 10 to finish second. Third through fifth were Bish, Sr., Jay Adams, and Jack Falk, who made his return to racing for the first time since 1967. Bish, Sr. and Bryan Shaffer won the heats over the 14-car field.
BRP Big-Block Modified Tour (30 laps): 1. REX KING ($1,200) 2. Todd Burley 3. Kevin Bolland 4. Billy Van Pelt 5. Andy Priest 6. Jeremiah Shingledecker 7. Mark Flick 8. Bob Dorman 9. Steve Young 10. Chanda Reitz 11. Russell King 12. Tom Mattocks 13. John Boyer, Jr. 14. Dean Pearson 15. Rodney Beltz 16. Les Myers 17. Rick Hall 18. Carl Murdick 19. Rob Kristyak 20. Frank Guidace 21. Dave Murdick 22. Brian Swartzlander 23. Joe Crawford 24. Jeremy Paup 25. Del Rougeux, Jr. DNQ: Mike Turner, Doug Fleeger, Mike Kelley, Mike Miller, Lee Miller, Jim Weller, Jr., Alan Dellinger, George Hobaugh.
Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf (358) Modifieds (20 laps): 1. BILLY VANPELT ($800) 2. Kevin Hoffman 3. Rick Hall 4. Garrett Krummert 5. Bill Adams 6. Ron Eperthener, Jr. 7. Mike Anderson 8. Jim Rombold, Jr. 9. Matt Reeher 10. Brad Rapp 11. Kevin Green 12. Mark Flick 13. Rick Ryder 14. Rick Kress 15. Ben Porter 16. Chad Yeager 17. Don McKnight 18. Scott Kay 19. Lonny Riggs 20. Steve Barr 21. Steve Toth 22. Chris Dye 23. Gary Smoker-DNS 24. Travis Bell-DNS 25. Jr. Baker-DNS 26. Travis Shingledecker-DNS.
E-Mods (20 laps): 1. MATT LUX ($500) 2. Russ Dunn 3. Jim Frontz 4. Howard Fraley 5. Rick Robinson 6. Bob McCann 7. Bruce Powell 8. Jeff Haefke 9. Jim White, Jr. 10. Tom Rhoades 11. Andy Sweetland 12. Bill Westlake 13. Bill Thomas 14. Richard Stiffler 15. Ed Wilson 16. Mike Smith 17. Shawn Domhoff 18. Brian Douglas 19. Rod Artman 20. Scott Stiffler 21. Jeff Johnson 22. Herm Myers 23. Daryl Charlier 24. Scott Jones-DSQ DNQ: Jim Abbott, Paul Phillips, Jeff Hassay.
Tire Express Stock Cars (20 laps): 1. WILLIE ALEY ($500) 2. Andy Thompson 3. Gary Norman 4. Terry Kroner 5. Gary Robinson 6. Doug Iorio 7. Ryan Moyer 8. Brian Booher 9. Andy Buckley 10. John Reiser 11. Tony Spaghetti 12. Dave Willoughby 13. Terry Wheeler 14. Tim Deutsch 15. Randy Sprouse 16. Dave Ferringer 17. Bill Vance, Jr. 18. Rusty Moore 19. Craig Fraser 20. Chris Brown 21. Mike Aley 22. Rick Norco 23.Tim Zuschlag 24. Cody Smith DNQ: Tom Fox, Scott Malone, Bruce Milbert, Steve Hall, Clyde Roberts, Mike Smith, Jr., Ed Cornell, Mark Sanders.
Maurer’s Trading Post Strictly Stocks (12 laps): 1. CURT BISH, JR. 2. Ronnie Boyd 3. Curt Bish, Sr. 4. Jay Adams 5. Jack Falk 6.Wearne Cook 7. Carl Ealy 8. Lauren Simmons 9. Jim Boring 10. Randy Ealy 11. Paul Reiser 12. Patrick Heckman 13. Bryan Shaffer 14. Jon Mabry.