BRIAN WEAVER, BRIAN DECKER CAPTURE "HOT SUMMER NIGHT" VICTORIES AT PENN
CAN ON TUESDAY
(Susquehanna, Pa.) In what may have been the most appropriately named
special of the season, Brian Weaver and Brian Decker led Decker Logging
Racing Team sweep of Penn Can's Speedway's "Hot Summer Night" special.
A hot and humid evening greeted race fans who turned out for the final
major mid-week special of the season at Penn Can which was sponsored by
Binghamton Pepsi Cola and BPG Racing, and action on the track was plenty
hot as well. Current Kings Royal series point leader Brian Weaver
piloted his Decker Logging sponsored entry to his sixth win of the
season in the 40 lap Gary's U-Pull It King's Royal Modified Series event,
collecting the $2,500 winner's share of the purse. Brian Decker won his
third Sportsman event of the season, collecting $750 for his efforts.
The luck of the draw found Mike Decker and Butch Tittle pacing the
field to the green flag for the start of the fourth race on the six race
Gary's U-Pull-It King's Royal Modified Series. Mike Decker was able to
grab the lead from Tittle at the drop of the green to lead the early
laps of the event, but the action behind Decker was hot and heavy. Eighth
place starter Jeff Rudalavage was the man on the move in the early
stages as worked his way forward to run second behind Decker. A lap twelve
restart provided an opportunity for Rudalavage to take over the lead as
he drove around the outside of Decker entering the first turn to take
over the lead.
While Rudalavage was leading the event, eventual winner Brian
Weaver was also making a charge from his tenth starting spot. Brian spent many
laps battling with teammate Mike Decker for the runner-up position
before he was able to clear Decker and set off in pursuit of leader Rudalavage.
Brian closed the gap quickly on Rudalavage which set up several laps of
intense competition at the head of the field. Weaver worked both the
high and low grooves but was having a tough time getting around
Rudalavage, who held off Weaver for several laps.
The decisive moment of this race came on lap 31 as the two leaders
entered the first turn. Rudalavage got into the turn a bit hot, pushing
the front end up the track. This opened the bottom groove for Weaver,
who immediately dropped underneath Rudalavage. Exiting the second turn,
Weaver was able to complete what would be the winning pass as the two
raced down the backstretch. Once out front, Brian was able to open up a
bit of a lead on Rudalavage, who appeared to be having brake problems
developing aboard his #112. Rudalavage was not able to challenge Weaver
over the final laps as Brian sprinted to victory by about 10 lengths
over Rudalavage. Early race leader Mike Decker finished third ahead of Butch
Tittle and current Penn Can Speedway point leader Mike Colsten completed
the top five finishing order. Brian Franko, Paul Jensen, Tom McGurrin,
George Kostelansky, and Mike Nagel completed the top ten finishers.
The 38 Modifieds in attendance took part in four heat races which
were won by Mike Colsten, Rick Virkitis, Jeff Rudalavage, and Paul
Jensen. George Kostelansky and JR Hurlburt won the twin Modified
consolation events.
In the Sportsman division, the draw for starting positions found
Bill Deckelman and Brian Decker sharing the front row at the start of
The 25 lap Sportsman event. Decker was able to utilize the outside groove
To grab the lead at the start of the event, but he was under heavy pressure
from Deckelman, who was looking to collect the $250 bonus posted for any
outsider who could beat the Penn Can regulars in this special event.
While Decker was in control of the event as he would lead all 25
laps enroute to picking up the victory, there was plenty of action
behind him. Current Penn Can Speedway point leader Craig Terrell had to
qualify via the consolation after being involved in an incident in his heat
race.
Craig won the consolation and started the feature back in 21st starting
position. After bringing out a new Bicknell car a couple of weeks back
for weekly competition, Terrell chose to go with the team's older but
proven Troyer car for this event. It proved to be the right choice as
Terrell was easily the fastest car on the track in the early stages of
the event as he drove from 21st starting spot into a contending position
in the first ten laps of the event.
Terrell's charge eventually found him moving past Deckelman and
setting his sights on Decker for the top spot. Terrell was able to
close up on Decker, at one point closing right on Brian's rear bumper but was
not able to make the pass. Craig would later explain "That caution flag
on lap 18 just killed us. The car was running good, but the tires must
have cooled down too much. My car was fast on longer runs, but it took
a few laps for the tires to get hot and start to work, and there just
wasn't enough laps left after that caution." A caution flag on lap 24
set up a one lap dash to the finish. Decker controlled the restart and
completed a strong drive with his third win of the season at Penn Can.
Craig Terrell chased Decker across the line for a runner-up finish.
Chad Cook pulled off a last lap pass of Bill Deckelman to finish third
with Deckelman fourth. Rick Holgate rounded out the top five finishing
order. George Kostelansky picked up the ride in the Kevin Timinski #92
and brought it home for a sixth place finish ahead of invaders Tim
French and Craig Whitmoyer. Kevin Jordan and Jamie Shea completed the top ten
finishing order.
The 35 Sportsman tams in attendance took part in four heat races
with Rick Holgate, Mike Marold, Chad Cook, and George Kostelansky
picking up wins. Craig Terrell and Kevin Jordan won the consolation events.
The Gary's U-Pull It King's Royal Series continues on Friday,
September 19th at the Penn Can Speedway with the annual running of the
Tim Olenski Memorial, which this season will be a part of the King's
Royal Series. The Modified feature on that evening will pay $5.000 to
win, and the winner will also receive a guaranteed starting spot in the
All Star Challenge event at the Fulton Speedway during Victoria 200
Weekend. The series concludes the next night at the Thunder Mountain
Speedway on Saturday, September 20th where the champion of the series
will be determined.
BINGHAMTON PEPSI COLA/BPG RACING HOT SUMMER NIGHTS RACE SUMMARY:
MODIFIEDS: (40 laps)1. BRIAN WEAVER 2. Jeff Rudalavage 3. Mike Decker 4.
Butch Tittle 5. Mike Colsten 6. Brian Franko 7. Paul Jensen 8. Tom
McGurrin 9. George Kostelansky 10. Mike Nagel 11. J.R. Hurlburt 12. Joey
Grammes 13. Tom Hager 14. Sean Collins 15. Dave Jenkins 16. Alan
Shiffler 17. Alan Rudalavage 18. Jim Crawn 19. Jeff Bronson 20. Rick Virkitis 21.
Jim Mahaney 22. Mike Clapperton 23. Carl Nagel 24. Arnie Slade 25. Brent
Wilcox 26. Doug Worthing
Heat 1 : Colsten, Weaver, Decker, Mahaney, Crawn
Heat 2 : Virkitis, Tittle, M Nagel, Grammes, C Nagel
Heat 3 : J Rudalavage, Worthing, Wilcox, A Rudalavage, Clapperton
Heat 4 : Jensen, Collins, Bronson, Franko, Shiffler
Consi 1 : Kostelansky, Jenkins, Hager
Consi 2 : Hurlburt, McGurrin, Slade
DNQ: Rick Whitney, Brain Malcolm, Ralph Mele, Steve Babicek, Colin
Jackson, Chris Shupp, Rich Keehle, John Gurnsey, Mike Frost, Bob Hamm,
Josh Beierle
SPORTSMAN : (25 laps) 1. BRIAN DECKER 2. Craig Terrell 3. Chad Cook 4.
Bill Deckelman Jr. 5. Rick Holgate 6. George Kostelansky 7. Tim French
8. Craig Whitmoyer 9. Kevin Jordan 10. Jamie Shea 11. Brett Tonkin 12.
Brett Boyer 13. Ken Titus 14. Mike Loney 15. Mike Marold 16. Kevin Bates 17.
Bob Lane 18. Bob Lineman Jr. 19. Matt Smith 20. Rick Whitney 21. Dan
Vauter 22. Bill Williams 23. Gary Gallerie 24. Ray Pursell 25. Garth
Tonkin Jr.
Heat 1: Holgate, Whitmoyer, G Tonkin, Vauter, Lineman
Heat 2 : Marold, Deckelman, Decker, Shea, Boyer
Heat 3 : Cook, Pursell, Gallerie, Bates, B. Tonkin
Heat 4 : Kostelansky, Smith, French, Whitney, Williams
Consi 1 : Terrell, Titus
Consi 2 : Jordan, Loney
Provisional Starter : Lane
DNQ: Brian White, Rocky Rosetti, Tom Gervasi, Bruce Evans Jr., Bob
Grasic, Alex Konopka, Chris VanBuren, Pete Gardner, Randy Thomas, Dan
Buchannon, Cliff Pierce