EYLER ENDS BAD LUCK WITH 2ND SPRINT WIN; KRISTYAK PADS POINT LEAD & WIN TOTAL IN THE MODIFIEDS; REITZ & NORMAN KEEP ON WINNING IN SPORTSMAN & STOCKS AT MERCER
By Mike Leone
August 23, 2003
Mercer, PA…Mercer Raceway Park wrapped up the month of August and the final regular show of the season on Saturday night. Scoring exciting victories were Rob Eyler-Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Cars, Tommy Kristyak-Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf Big-Block Modifieds, Chad Reitz-New Castle School of Trades Sportsman Modifieds, and Gary Norman-Butterfield’s Pub Stock Cars.
Zambelli Internationale put on a memorable fireworks presentation that won’t soon be forgotten. “In Honor of the Red, White, & Blue” – A Salute to America honored all of the brave men and women, who have defended our great nation- both past and present. The show was presented by Armstrong.
Rob Eyler put a halt to a season of frustration and bad luck by capturing his second Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Car feature win of the season. Using a former Mike Woodring car, Eyler bounced back from a collision with the spun car of Jeff Kasbee after leading the feature on August 2 to run a great race through lapped traffic and score a much-needed win. “I think I’m out of fuel,” revealed the Franklin, Pa. driver, who did not fill his tank. “That would have made the year if I would have run out.”
On the initial start, Jeff Kasbee got high in turn one and took a series of tumbles. Gary Kriess, Jr. clipped Kasbee and also rolled over. Arnie Kent and Vaughn Nystrom were also caught up in the melee. All drivers were okay and Kent and Nystrom would restart the event from the tail.
When racing resumed, Eyler would take the lead from Chris Matthews and began to take charge. Rod George, who started seventh, quickly made his way through the field taking third away from Jeff Banyas on lap two. George then ran down Matthews and the two put on quite a battle between laps four through nine, while Eyler dealt with traffic. On lap nine, George made a breathtaking move off the outside of turn four to sneak past Matthews for second. Eyler had opened up a straightaway lead as he continued to work the lapped cars.
Jamie Smith, who started ninth, quietly made his way to the front. Smith raced ahead of Ralph Spithaler, Jr. for fourth on lap 15 and was just about to pass Matthews for third when the caution was displayed for Banyas and Butch Beasley, who spun with 17 laps completed.
On the restart, Eyler had the lapped cars of Nick Fratto, Jimmy Barill, and Brian Woodhall in between himself and second place George. When green flag racing resumed, George tried to go on the outside of all three lapped cars in turns one and two, but got sideways and allowed Smith and Matthews to get by.
With a clear track in front, Eyler led the final four laps to collect his fourth career win in his White Heating/Bahama Breeze/J.I. McCall Construction/World of Wheels-sponsored #5. Smith rode home second for his fourth runner-up placing in the past seven events. Matthews was an impressive third for his career best 410 finish. George held on to fourth over Spithaler, who recorded his 12th straight top 10 finish. Sixth through tenth were Jason Dolick, Kent, Gary Edwards, point leader Troy Preston, and newcomer John Karklin of Freehold, Ny. Heat winners over the 27-car field, which included drivers from five different states, were Mark Murphy, Banyas, and Edwards. Kent won the B-main.
For the third time this year, Matthews of Kennerdell, Pa. was the highest placing 360, earned the $150 bonus, and added to his point lead. Dolick, Empire Super Sprint regular Karklin, and Banyas also received bonus monies.
Tommy Kristyak came out on top of another wild 20-lap Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf Big-Block Modified feature that had four different leaders, eight cautions, and just 11 cars finished of which only seven were on the lead lap. Kristyak’s fourth win of the season puts him just one shy of the magic 100 for his career at Mercer and padded his point lead heading into the last night of points on Labor Day. “That was a heck of a race- a typical Saturday night at Mercer and we kicked their butt,” exclaimed the Stoneboro, Pa. winner. “In order to win the championship, the first thing I had to do was come here and kick their butt- I did and I’m happy!”
Brian Fink raced ahead of Lee Miller on the start into the lead with fourth starting Frank Guidace trailing in second, sixth starting Lonny Riggs in third, and eighth starting Carl Weatherby in fourth. On lap three, it was three-wide for the lead racing off turn two as Guidace took charge and brought along Weatherby and Riggs in second and third.
Guidace ran the bottom, while Weatherby powered around the top. Guidace continued to maintain the small advantage until Riggs brought out the caution with a flat tire on lap 13. On the ensuing restart, Weatherby charged ahead of Guidace on the outside for the top spot. Dave Murdick and Kristyak went ahead of Andy Priest for third and fourth on lap 14.
As Weatherby continued to lead, a raging four-car battle ensued for second between Guidace, Murdick, Priest, and Kristyak. Murdick edged ahead of Guidace on the inside for second on lap 17. Weatherby may have pulled off the victory if it were not for five cautions that would slow action in the final four laps. Following the restart for Chris Dye’s spin, a 13-car pileup occurred, which began on the frontstretch and ended in turn one.
Between the cautions, Kristyak was able to get by Guidace on a restart then went ahead of Murdick for second off turn four on lap 18. On the final restart, Kristyak was able to get by Weatherby for the lead just before Weatherby got tangled up with Priest, Steve Barr, and Jeremiah Shingledecker.
Finally the last two laps were run off and Kristyak went on for his 46th career big-block win in his Hine-powered, Teo, Fred Elder Excavating/MeMe’s Italian Restaurant/Hot Diggety Dogs-sponsored #26z. Dave Murdick was second for his fourth straight top three finish. Father Carl Murdick was third after getting past Guidace on lap 19. His best finish of the season prior was an eighth; it was his first top five since May 4, 2002 and his best finish since a runner-up on July 8, 2000. Rick Hall also got past Guidace to finish fourth. Guidace crossed the line with a flat tire in fifth. Completing the top 10 were Priest, Barr, Rodney Beltz, newcomer Dave George, and Tom Shaffer. Winning the heat races over the 26-car field were Kristyak, Dave Murdick, and Guidace. Beltz won the B main.
Chad Reitz put on another strong performance in the Sportsman Modifieds for his fifth win of the season and became the track’s top winner of 2003. The victory came in the 20-lap New Castle School of Trades feature event. “This feels pretty good,” expressed the Franklin, Pa. winner. “This is the best it’s been all year. I knew the track was going to be good. Three weeks ago I found a set up I really like. I brought the same thing this week and probably the same thing next week.”
Matt Reeher was the early leader from the pole position with Morgan Sasse trailing in second and Reitz up to third on the opening lap from his eighth starting position. Reeher would loop his mount off turn four on lap two as Reitz powered by to take the lead.
Andy Paden, who started 12th, quickly moved up through the pack. Paden passed Kevin Green for third on lap three then took over runner-up from Sasse on lap four. Only two cautions would slow the event, which gave Paden a couple shots at Reitz. Reitz’s key to victory was clearing heavy lapped traffic between laps 12-15 as he would go on to win by a straightaway for his eighth career victory in his World of Wheels/Schwab Ford/Moore’s Auto Body-sponsored #9.
Paden rode home second and continued his strong second-half season surge, which has included eight top four finishes in nine races. Rick Hall passed Ron Eperthener, Jr. on the final lap to finish third. Eperthener was fourth for his fourth straight top four finish and 11th straight top 10. Gary Smoker completed the top five. Jim Rombold, Jr., Hall, and Eperthener won the heat races over the 28-car field. Jeff Schaffer won the B main.
Gary Norman led from start to finish in the 15-lap Butterfield’s Pub Stock Car feature for his fourth win of the year and remains the only Stock Car driver with more than a pair of victories. “As long as I can keep it on the track and keep from getting wrecked, it’s been pretty good,” stated the New Castle, Pa. driver.
Norman assumed the lead from the pole position as Rick Norco passed Rick Anthony for second. Shaun Hooks, who started seventh, worked his way to the front and edged ahead of Norco for second on lap eight. Hooks pressured Norman for the entire second-half of the event, but Norman had just enough to hold on for his 11th career win in his Ken Neely Lumber/Triple-S Auto Sales-sponsored #9N.
Norco gave the New Castle drivers a clean sweep of the top three spots and matched his best finish since June 16, 2001. Bobby Whitling came home fourth and took over the point lead from sixth finishing Rusty Moore, who refused a post-race tech inspection. John Reiser was fifth. Scoring heat race victories were Norman, Booher, and Andy Buckley over the 27-car field. Doug Iorio won the B main.
Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Cars: 1. ROB EYLER 2. Jamie Smith 3. Chris Matthews 4. Rod George 5. Ralph Spithaler, Jr. 6. Jason Dolick 7. Arnie Kent 8. Gary Edwards 9. Troy Preston 10. John Karklin, Jr. 11. Jeff Banyas 12. Brian Woodhall 13. Jimmy Barill 14. Vaughn Nystrom 15. Gale Ruth, Jr. 16. Jeremy Cook 17. Nick Fratto 18. Jamie Martin 19. Butch Beasley 20. Chris Shuttleworth 21. Mark Murphy 22. Jeff Kasbee 23. Gary Kriess, Jr. 24. Mary Anne Williams 25. Gary McCollum-DNS DNQ: Pup Nystrom, Charlie Holben.
Campbell-Peterson Trail & Turf Big-Block Modifieds: 1. TOMMY KRISTYAK 2. Dave Murdick 3. Carl Murdick 4. Rick Hall 5. Frank Guidace 6. Andy Priest 7. Steve Barr 8. Rodney Beltz 9. Dave George 10. Tom Shaffer 11. Carl Weatherby 12. Jeremiah Shingledecker 13. Rick Kress 14. Bob Dorman 15. Brian Fink 16. Dean Pearson 17. Steve Young 18. Lonny Riggs 19. Adam Sigel 20. Lee Miller 21. Chris Dye 22. Travis Shingledecker 23. Ed Alcorn 24. Jeremy Paup DNQ: John Friede, Randy Snider, Greg Unrue, Jr.
New Castle School of Trades Sportsman Modifieds: 1. CHAD REITZ 2. Andy Paden 3. Rick Hall 4. Ron Eperthener, Jr. 5. Gary Smoker 6. Jim Rombold, Jr. 7. Les Myers 8. Jerry Schaffer 9. Todd Daniels 10. Kevin Thompson 11. Jeff Schaffer 12. Bill Adams 13. Kevin Latshaw 14. Dave Cogswell 15. Matt Reeher 16. Rich Ferguson 17. Morgan Sasse 18. Barry Bulfone 19. Kristin Jordan 20. Kevin Green 21. Fred Sasse 22. Steve Toth 23. Zack Moran 24. Rob Russell DNQ: Alex Anderson, Mike Gibson, Jerry O’Rock, Jr., Rick Ryder.
Butterfield’s Pub Stock Cars: 1. GARY NORMAN 2. Shaun Hooks 3. Rick Norco 4. Bobby Whitling 5. John Reiser 6. Terry Kroner 7. Doug Iorio 8. Andy Thompson 9. Bill Schall, Jr. 10. Tony Bruno 11. Tim Zuschlag 12. Shaun McElhinny 13. Terry Wheeler 14. Carmen DePinto 15. Rick Anthony 16. Andy Buckley 17. Bill Lanigan 18. Brian Booher 19. Bill Banick, Jr. 20. Clyde Roberts 21. Ken Hunt 22. William Smiley 23. Rusty Moore-DSQ 24. Rick Lanigan-DNS DNQ: Ray Bailey, Jr., Don Greenlee, Joe Updegraff.