TREMONT EDGES OUT CORELLIS IN LEBANON VALLEY BARNBURNER
APRIL 17, 1999
WEST LEBANON, NY- A rain filled day could not keep Lebanon Valley from kicking off their 1999 racing season. Showers continued to hamper the event all evening long, but in the end the fans were treated to a great night of racing action. Kenny Tremont started 1999 exactly where he left off 1998, in victory lane. Steve Brownell was the victor in the 20-lap street stock feature. L & M Motors and Mane Attraction were the evening's sponsors.
Guy Sheldon was the early race leader in the 30-lap modified feature. Mike Ricci was on the charge early taking over the fifth position on lap two. Lap four would see a three-wide battle for the seventh position between J.R. Heffner, Dickie Larkin, and Eddie Marshall. Mike Ricci continued moving up taking fourth on lap five. Sheldon would begin to encounter lapped traffic by lap seven.
The first caution flag flew on lap eight for Chris Soltis who had stopped on the backstretch. Mike Ricci would take third on the restart. Jason Goff was running third when he had to check up. The field started to bunch up behind him and it resulted in a huge melee in turn four. Notables involved included: Billy Decker, Ronnie Johnson, Heffner, Eddie Marshall, Todd Wilkinson and Chris Moore. Many drivers were able to return to the race with little damage. The top five shuffled up quite a bit as a result of the incident. Sheldon was still the leader with Donnie Corellis second, Mike Ricci third, Jason Goff fourth and Dickie Larkin up to fifth.
Kenny Tremont would begin his journey towards the front of the pack taking fifth by lap eleven. Corellis would take the lead in turn three on lap eleven as well. Mike Ricci would take over second on lap twelve. Sheldon would continue to drop back as Tremont took over third on lap 13. A good race for the sixth position between Larkin and Mike King on lap 14 with King holding off Larkin. At the halfway point Corellis was the leader with Ricci second, Tremont third, Sheldon fourth and Goff fifth.
Mike Ricci's good run came to an end on lap 17 as he stopped on the frontstretch with mechanical problems. Billy Decker would also go pitside under the yellow flag and not return. J.R. Heffner was involved with that incident on lap nine was able to work his way back up to sixth by lap 19. Chris Moore would call it a night on lap 19. King and Larkin would to battle for the fifth spot with nine laps remaining in the thirty-lap feature.
Tremont would begin his challenge for the lead on lap 23. Corellis and Tremont raced side by side for the final seven laps. Tremont would duck low but Corellis would hold the advantage on the high side. Tremont was able to get a good run on Corellis going into turn three on lap 28. Tremont was able to grab the lead as the field took the white flag and he would hold off Corellis for the opening day victory. Corellis had a strong second place finish with Sheldon third, Goff fourth and Larkin fifth. Mike King had a great run for sixth and Heffner came back from early adversity to finish seventh. Rounding out the top ten were Jody Tornabene eighth Brian Berger ninth and Tim Dwyer tenth.
The street stocks took to the track for their 20-lap feature as the rain began to fall again. Ray Hall led the first lap of the race but was passed for the lead on lap two by Steve Brownell. Scott Goversten would move up to fourth by lap two. The first yellow flag would fly on lap four for a disabled car on the backstretch. The restart would see Danny Sanchez grab the second running spot. Jim Lagenback and Govertsen would battle for fifth on lap four. Bob Duzlak started deep in the field and was moving up quickly. He was up to sixth by lap six and began to challenge Lagenback for fifth on the very next lap.
The yellow would fly for the second and final time on lap nine for the disabled racer of Ricky Duzlak. The halfway point would see Brownell still out in front with Sanchez second, Ray Hall third, Dave Kokindo fourth and Bob Duzlak fifth. Hall and Kokindo would to battle for the third spot on lap ten. Lagenback would grab fourth on lap eleven. Kokindo and Robbie Speed would make contact with the turn two wall on lap 13, both would continue after losing several spots.
. Duzlak would take the third spot on lap 14.The final five laps saw a great battle for the top four positions as they ran bumper to bumper on the high banks. Sanchez tried everything to get around the front-running Brownell to no avail as Brownell held on for the victory. Sanchez came home in the runner-up position with Duzlak third, Lagenback fourth and Ray Hall rounded out the top five.
Next Saturday night is Ken Goewey Dodge night with Modifieds, Street Stocks and Pure Stocks all in racing action. An added bonus will be another cannonball run. Racing kicks off at 6:15. Lebanon Valley Speedway is located 20 miles east of Albany on U.S. Rt. 20 in West Lebanon NY. For more information on our great 1999 season contact the speedway at (518) 794-9606 or check us out on the web at www.lebanonvalley.com
L&M MOTORS, MANE ATTRACTION MODIFIED SUMMARY (30 LAPS)--Kenny Tremont Jr, Donnie Corellis, Guy Sheldon, Jason Goff, Dickie Larkin, Mike King, J.R. Heffner, Jody Tornabene, Brian Berger, Tim Dwyer, Chris Kokosa, John Hewitt, Stan Jablonka, Ronnie Johnson, Steve Devine, Chip Mitchell, Russ Reckner, Dave Mosher, Lorne Browe, Chris Moore, Maynard Forrette, Billy Decker, Mike Ricci, Sparky Lowe, John Lutes Jr, Mike Benson, Eddie Marshall, Todd Wilkinson, Chris Soltis, Ron Blake, Rich Ricci Jr, Dave Leckonby
STREET STOCK FEATURE (20 LAPS)--Steve Brownell, Danny Sanchez, Bob Duzlak, Jim Langenback, Ray Hall, Butch Irwin, Bob Miller, Bobby Blackburn, Scott Govertsen, Chris Morris, Robbie Speed, Doug Bell, Dave Kokindo, Mike Halachick, Ricky Duzlak, Tom Bortle, Kirk Stanaway, Paul Rogers
ROOKIE STREET STOCK FEATURE (8 LAPS)--Mike Halachick, Kirk Stanaway, Steve Kastner, Don Collins, Joe Humet, Phil Moffit, Mike Bungay, Earl Mellan, Earl Farley, Brian Keough, John Denue
PURE STOCK "A" FINISH (8 LAPS)--Scott Kilmer, George Miles Jr, Dan Burl, Tom Sanchez Jr, William Hammell, Bruce Moffit, Mark Houston, Henry Warner, Jonathan Coon, Geo. Stalker Jr, Ray Pierre Jr, Lee Gallant, David Stickles, Tony Gale, Ryan Crellin, Danny Ensign
PURE STOCK "B" FINISH (8 LAPS)--Jacob Coons, Bob Palmer, Ron Tritchler, Peter De Figlio, Tim Drumm, Anthony Cotugno, Steve Hatch, Guy Hughes, Jim Hankey, Joe Hallenbeck, Rich. Schumann, Dave Colwell, Ramon Perry, Ted Mulberry, Jon Trudeau, Kevin Denue