SHEARER HOLDS OFF LYNCH FOR THRILLING SPRINT WIN IN MERCER OPENER; SMOKER WINS FOR 3RD STRAIGHT TIME IN MODS; BOOHER & BISH, JR. WIN STOCKS & STRICTLIES
By Mike Leone
April 9, 2005
Mercer, PA…After two weeks of postponement, Mercer Raceway Park opened the 2005 season on a beautiful Saturday night as the championship point races began. Celebrating in the Hoosier Tire Mid-Atlantic victory lane were Mike Shearer-Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Cars, Gary Smoker-Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf Modifieds, Brian Booher-Tire Express Stock Cars, and Curt Bish, Jr.-Maurer’s Trading Post Strictly Stocks.
Mike Shearer’s quest to make a run for his first championship got off to an ideal start as the second-generation racer held off western Pennsylvania’s best in Ed Lynch, Jr. and Rod George to win the thrilling 20-lap Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Car feature.
“They (Lynch and George) were on mind,” revealed the Freeport, Pa. victor. “I just concentrated on being smooth and not beating myself after stinking it up last night. I didn’t want to do it two nights in a row. I’m getting more experienced and comfortable (racing in lapped traffic) and you just have to learn timing- that’s the biggest thing.”
Jason Dolick took command of the event at the start with his 360 as Shearer and Doug Stanley followed. George, who started eighth, quickly cracked the top five moving past Mike Linder and Jack Sodeman, Jr. on laps two and three for the fourth spot. Dolick caught traffic on lap four and by lap five it was a four-car race for the lead with Dolick trying to hold off Shearer, Stanley, and George.
Shearer’s winning move came on the fifth circuit when he got under Dolick racing off turn four to nose ahead to lead the lap. Two laps later, George made a great move in lapped traffic ducking under and past Stanley and Dolick for second on lap six. Just as Lynch began to pressure Stanley and Dolick for third, Stanley got crossed up in turn three spinning to bring out the first caution.
Lynch was now fourth on the grid for the restart and was able to dispose of Dolick for third on lap eight. George then closed in on Shearer and the two ran side-by-side between laps 9-12 with Shearer on top and George on the bottom. As Shearer and George battled for the lead, Lynch caught the pair on lap 12 and then two laps later Rob Eyler made his presence known making it a four-car race for the lead on lap 14.
On lap 17, Lynch drove hard to the inside of George in turn one and made the pass for runner-up stick. Lynch set his sights on Shearer and quickly caught the tail tank of the leader. Lynch was all over Shearer in the closing three laps, but Shearer was able to prevail through lapped traffic for the exciting win.
Shearer’s first two career wins came back on June 20 and 21 of 2003 when he doubled up winning at both Lernerville and Mercer, but had since been shutout of victory lane until Saturday night. “It feels good to get one out of the way and we don’t have to wait all year to see if we’re going to win one,” stated the winning driver of the Billy Shearer-owned, Alternative Power Sources/Young’s Towing/VAS Custom Exhaust-sponsored #25.
George edged Eyler for third. Jack Sodeman, Jr. completed the top five. Rounding out the top 10 were Scott Bonnell, Dolick, Linder, Stanley, and Chris Shuttleworth. Heat winners over the 25-car field were Sodeman, Lynch, and Bonnell.
Picking up right where he left off in 2004 by winning the last two features, Gary Smoker came out of the gate swinging by winning the 20-lap Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf Modified feature. “It felt good,” expressed the Mercer, Pa. winner. “I had it on cruise control and it hooked up real good tonight. There’s a lot of good competition and there will be a lot of good racing this year. I have to thank my Lord Jesus Christ. He rides with me all the time. I just give him the praise and glory for the win.”
The early laps of the event saw front row racers Lonny Riggs and Bill Adams race side-by-side for the lead with Adams on the bottom and Riggs on top. Ron Eperthener, Jr. quickly made his way to the front from his ninth starting spot taking third away from Lee Miller on lap three as Smoker and Rick Hall followed. Following a caution for a spin by Rick Kress on lap five, leader Riggs exited the event and handed the lead to Adams with Eperthener and Smoker now up to second and third.
When racing resumed, the battle now raged for second with Smoker and Eperthener racing side-by-side. Eperthener got high on lap seven allowing Smoker and Hall to go past for second and third. Following a caution with 13 laps completed, Smoker used the outside lane to edge past Adams to lead lap 14. One lap later, Eperthener regained third from Hall
Smoker survived two more cautions and a pack of four hungry racers right behind him to capture his 31st career win in the D&D Racing-owned, MBMR, Inc./Mito Insulations, Do-All Electronics/Savolskis CPA-sponsored #516. Adams was second edging Eperthener, Steve Toth, and Hall. Rounding out the top 10 were Mike Anderson, Steve Barr, Matt Reeher, Jim Thompson, and Jeff Stuchel. Heat victors over the 21-car field were Barr and Riggs.
Brian Booher drove an impressive race and kept Shaun Hooks at bay in the closing laps to win the 15-lap Tire Express Stock Car feature. “I talked to the crew and told them that if we could get off the corners, we’d win a lot of races,” stated the Sandy Lake, Pa. driver. “We worked a lot on getting the car to go through the corners and that seems to be where everyone loses ground. I just have to thank the Hoover boys and the crew- I just drive the car.”
Andy Thompson set the early pace with Shaun Hooks trailing. Booher, who started sixth, moved ahead of Rick Norco, Ryan Moyer, and Tony Spaghetti on the opening lap. Booher progressed to second on lap three when he snuck under Hooks for second off turn four. On lap five, Thompson slipped high off the backstretch allowing Booher to close in. Thompson came back onto the track in turn three and the two made contact with Booher prevailing through turn four.
By lap nine, Booher opened up some ground with half-straightaway lead over Thompson and Hooks. With five laps to go, Thompson and Hooks ran side-by-side and did so until the first and only caution of the event for debris with 12 laps completed. With Booher still leading, Thompson and Hooks resumed their battle racing side-by-side once again. Finally on lap 14, Hooks had enough to take over runner-up. The 2002 champion made one last ditch effort at Booher through turns three and four on the final lap, but Booher had enough for the opening night win.
Booher’s eighth career win came aboard the Terry Hoover-owned, Ed & Jerry’s Auto Service/Harry & Tim Roofing-sponsored #00H. Thompson was a close third as Andy Buckley nipped Doug Iorio at the line for fourth. Topping the heat races over the 30-car field were Booher, Hooks, and Thompson. Bill Lanigan won the B main.
Curt Bish, Jr. rounded out the night’s racing by scoring the victory in the 12-lap Maurer’s Trading Post “Redneck Racers Shotgun Series” for Strictly Stocks. “There’s going to be a little more competition this year and that’s going to make it more fun,” expressed the Oil City, Pa. winner.
Bish, Sr. and Bish, Jr. made up the front row with Bish. Jr. taking command. Carl Ealy, who raced Stock Cars in 2004, passed both Bishs for the lead coming out of turn four on lap five. The trio battled the remainder of the race. Just when it appeared Ealy had a shot at his first career win, he got high coming out of turn two on lap 11, which allowed Bish, Jr. to regain the lead. Bish, Jr. led the final two laps for his fifth career win in his Dennis Baker Construction/Comfortmaker/Leonardos Restaurant-sponsored #00. Ealy was a career best second edging Bish, Sr. Lauren Simmons came from ninth to place fourth over Bryan Shaffer. Heat winners were Wearne Cook and Randy Ealy over the 10-car field.
Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Cars: 1. MIKE SHEARER 2. Ed Lynch, Jr. 3. Rod George 4. Rob Eyler 5. Jack Sodeman, Jr. 6. Scott Bonnell 7. Jason Dolick 8. Mike Linder 9. Doug Stanley 10. Chris Shuttleworth 11. Jeff Banyas 12. Charlie Holben 13. Ricky Ferkel 14. Tony Beaber 15. Jared Zimbardi 16. Bob Felmlee 17. Dave Wagner 18. Brent Matus 19. Mike Palmer 20. Curt Shuttleworth 21. Joe Butera 22. Bob Bennett 23. Paul Kapuchuck 24. Tom Quarterson-DNS 25. Arnie Kent-DNS.
Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf (358) Modifieds: 1. GARY SMOKER 2. Bill Adams 3. Ron Eperthener, Jr. 4. Steve Toth 5. Rick Hall 6. Mike Anderson 7. Steve Barr 8. Matt Reeher 9. Jim Thompson 10. Jeff Stuchel 11. Kevin Green 12. Rick Ryder 13. Lee Miller 14. Rick Kress 15. Ben Porter 16. Jr. Baker 17. Lonny Riggs 18. Greg Unrue, Jr. 19. Kevin Hoffman-DNS 20. Brian May-DNS 21. Garrett Krummert-DNS.
Tire Express Stock Cars: 1. BRIAN BOOHER 2. Shaun Hooks 3. Andy Thompson 4. Andy Buckley 5. Doug Iorio 6. Gary Norman 7. Dave Ferringer 8. Terry Wheeler 9. Tony Spaghetti 10. Bill Lanigan 11. Tim Deutsch 12. Ryan Moyer 13. Rick Norco 14. Cody Smith 15. Bruce Redman 16. Rod Laskey 17. Bill Vance, Jr. 18. Tom Moore 19. Randy Sprouse 20. Steve Hall 21. Terry Kroner 22. Thomas Fox 23. Mike Aley 24. Tim Zuschlag DNQ: Clyde Roberts, Mark Sanders, John Reiser, Tom Liberatore, William Smiley, Chris Brown.
Maurer’s Trading Post Strictly Stocks: 1. CURT BISH, JR. 2. Carl Ealy 3. Curt Bish, Sr. 4. Lauren Simmons 5. Bryan Shaffer 6. Randy Ealy 7. Wearne Cook 8. Dave Gottschalk 9. Paul Reiser 10. Patrick Heckman-DNS.