ROD GEORGE BREAKS RECORDS WITH TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY SPRINT WIN;
JOE CRAWFORD WINS EMOTIONAL DIRT MODIFIED MAIN;
BRENT RHEBERGEN AND DANNY EXLEY REPEAT WINNERS IN E MODS AND STOCKS
by Brian Spaid
FRANKLIN, PA ... Summer heat baked the crowd and the racers at Tri-City Speedway on Sunday night as Rod George (NorthPointe Automotive Super Sprints), Joe Crawford (Schwab's Ford DIRT Modifieds), Brent Rhebergen (RE/MAX E Mods) and Danny Exley (E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Stock Cars) picked up feature wins at the half-mile Venango County oval on Selker Bros./Pennzoil Night.
Rod George of Kittanning, Pa., set new records in the 20-lap Super Sprint feature with his fourth consecutive win and seventh of the season. With the win, George broke Bobby Clark's record of six wins in a season since the track reopened in 1996. He also broke Clark and Bob Felmlee's record of three wins in a row in the modern era.
In one of the finest races of the year, George had a stirring duel with Ed Lynch Jr. Both men started in the fourth row and worked their way to the front past early leader Brian Ellenberger by the sixth lap. George led that lap before Lynch went by him.
With Lynch high and George low, the two veterans raced side-by-side for many laps. Dodging lapped traffic, George finally regained command at the line on the 17th lap. On the next circuit, Lynch zipped by again off turn two before George made a brave move between two slower cars off turn four to take the lead for the third and final time.
"It was good, clean racing," said George following his 16th career win at Tri-City in his Delp Family Powder Coating/Kittanning Dairy Queen Gambler No. 4. "It was a good battle with Ed, but I'm sure he didn't like finishing second."
Behind them, Daryl Stimeling climbed into third on the 12th circuit and held that position to the checkered flag. Chad Hill then passed Ellenberger for fourth with three laps left in the race. Ellenberger wound up fifth. George and Lynch won the Super Sprint heats.
Although the battle between George and Lynch was hard to top, the best story of the night was Joe Crawford of Polk, Pa. In an emotional scene, Crawford used a last lap pass to win the 20-lap DIRT Modified main in honor of his father, Richard, who died this past winter following a battle with cancer. After his win, Crawford completed a Polish victory lap in his Crawford Chiropractic/R.K. Virgile Scrap Metal Bicknell No. 25. He drove around the speedway clockwise and stopped in victory lane with his brother, Denny, who races a Stock Car. Emotions overcame Crawford and his family and friends in a memorable moment in Tri-City history.
"I said we wouldn't be back if we couldn't get the car to run tonight," said Crawford after his second career win at Tri-City, and his first since June 22, 1997. "I wanted to wait for a late pass on (John) Braymer and Dave (Murdick) made it tough. I'd like to thank my mom for letting me do this."
Crawford's mother, Wanda, simply smiled with tears in her eyes and said, "His dad would be proud."
Braymer led the first 19 circuits of the race from the pole position. Crawford managed to grab second from Skip Moore on the eighth circuit while Murdick moved into third one lap later. Murdick put significant pressure on Crawford, who did not back down. Over the last half of the race, Braymer held off the valiant charge of both men. In the final laps, Del Rougeux Jr. closed on Murdick and battled him for third, which freed Crawford to make a move. Using the top groove of the half-mile oval, Crawford swept around Braymer in turn two on the final lap. As they crossed the line, Crawford defeated Braymer for a popular win. Murdick, Rougeux and Kevin Bolland rounded out the top five. Bolland drove a Sportsman Modified owned by Doug Fleeger after his regular ride was sidelined with mechanical problems over the weekend. Andy Priest and Murdick won the heat races.
Brent Rhebergen of Clymer, N.Y., overcame adversity to win his seventh consecutive 15-lap E Mod feature. The rear end gears in the Bruce Steadman-owned Sharp Tool & Die/Yellow Freight Pierce No. 69 broke in Rhebergen's heat race. With the help of other competitors, his team worked to fix the car for the feature. Starting 16th, Rhebergen led by the ninth lap and raced on to his eighth win of the season and the 20th of his career.
"We dug ourselves a hole at the start of the night, and it didn't look good because there are so many good cars here," said Rhebergen. "I'd like to thank all the teams that helped us get this car fixed. I don't know what to say."
With Rhebergen mired back in the field, Bruce Powell and Jim Frontz were the lead cars at the start of the race. Both drivers dueled for the front spot and appeared to be in a position to finally defeat Rhebergen. Then, on the fifth lap, Powell spun in turn two, and Frontz could not avoid him. Although Frontz continued to race, Powell was out.
On the restart, Rick Robinson was the new leader with Rhebergen in sixth. It took Rhebergen one lap to climb to third. He then passed Matt Swanson for second on the seventh lap. Two laps later, using the fast outside groove, Rhebergen cruised by Robinson for a lead he would not relinquish. Robinson finished second over Swanson, Fred Bratchie and Shawn Shingledecker. Kari Petrosky and Frontz won the E Mod heats.
Danny Exley of Rocky Grove, Pa., captured his second win of the season in the 15-lap Stock Car feature. Taking command on the third circuit, Exley held off the late race challenges of point leader Bobby Whitling to earn his second career win at Tri-City in his Gil E. Dahlstrom Iron & Metal/Wooden Nickel Chevrolet No. 23H.
"I came here with $20 in my pocket for fuel," smiled Exley. "We put the engine back in it last night, so I've got a lot of people to thank for this one. I saw Bobby make a move on the restart, and I figured if I could beat him down the backstretch I was going to stay low to keep ahead of him."
Rookie Rick Lanigan paced the first two circuits of the race. Exley zipped under Lanigan in the third corner on the third lap to snare the lead. As Exley opened ground on the rest of the field, Whitling and Jason Reagle moved by Lanigan three laps later. Whitling and Reagle diced for second for several laps before Whitling secured the spot amidst lapped traffic and set his sights on Exley. On the 13th lap, Dick Pascorell spun in turn two setting up an exciting finish.
On the restart, Exley led Whitling into the first turn, but Whitling put his wheels under Exley heading into turn two. Exley found a good bite off the corner and maintained command. He then blocked Whitling's move down low and raced home the winner. Whitling finished second over Bruce Smith, who rode the outside wall across the line for third. Reagle and Darrell Bossard rounded the top five. Whitling, Smith and Reagle won the Stock Car heats. Andy Thompson won the B Main.
Bill Winters captured the Lowry Auto Wrecking Demolition Derby at the end of the night.
Next Sunday July 28th, Tri-City Speedway celebrates Fan Appreciation Night with the NorthPointe Automotive Super Sprints, Schwab's Ford DIRT Modifieds, RE/MAX E Mods and E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Stock Cars. Racers for Tots will collect toys from race fans as the track celebrates Christmas in July. Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Adult grandstand admission will be reduced to $5 and students and children ages 17 and under will be admitted free of charge.
SUPER SPRINTS (20 Laps): 1. ROD GEORGE, 2. Ed Lynch Jr., 3. Daryl Stimeling, 4. Chad Hill, 5. Brian Ellenberger, 6. Jason Jacoby, 7. Gregg McCandless, 8. Andy McKisson, 9. Kevin Andrusky, 10. Brent Matus, 11. Gary McCollum, 12. Bob Altmeyer, 13. Ed Etzel, 14. Brian Hartzell, 15. Butch Beasley, 16. Gale Ruth, 17. Andy Hillenburg, 18. Rob Eyler, 19. Scott Bonnell. DNS: Paul Kish.
DIRT MODIFIEDS (20 Laps): 1. JOE CRAWFORD, 2. John Braymer, 3. Dave Murdick, 4. Del Rougeux Jr., 5. Kevin Bolland, 6. Andy Priest, 7. Skip Moore, 8. Josh Skarzenski, 9. Nick Ritchey, 10. Chris Schiffer, 11. Les Myers, 12. Carl Murdick, 13. Jeremiah Shingledecker, 14. Dave Schrader, 15. Chanda Reitz, 16. Kevin Hoffman, 17. Dave Shook, 18. George Hobaugh, 19. Dan Weaver. DNS: Jim Rasey.
E MODS (15 Laps): 1. BRENT RHEBERGEN, 2. Rick Robinson, 3. Matt Swanson, 4. Fred Bratchie, 5. Shawn Shingledecker, 6. Mike Potosky, 7. Mike Samuelson, 8. Jim Frontz, 9. Russ Dempsey, 10. Kari Petrosky, 11. Butch Lambert, 12. Herm Myers, 13. Mike Anderson, 14. Frank Brocious, 15. Jim Abbott, 16. Shawn Domhoff, 17. Bruce Powell.
STOCK CARS (15 Laps): 1. DANNY EXLEY, 2. Bobby Whitling, 3. Bruce Smith, 4. Jason Reagle, 5. Darrell Bossard, 6. Rick Lanigan, 7. Ben Blake, 8. Jamie Shetler, 9. Rod Laskey, 10. Scotty Carbaugh, 11. Jason Johns, 12. Gary Norman, 13. Andy Thompson, 14. Bret McCarthy, 15. Denny Crawford, 16. Mike Miller, 17. Lonny Blair, 18. John Shetler, 19. Dave Gadley, 20. Doug Calvert, 21. Joe Lockhart, 22. Dick Pascorell, 23. David Atkinson, 24. Dave Ferringer. DNQ: John Sutley, Rusty Kellogg, Raymond Beasley, Bill Lanigan, Arthur Edwards, Robert Caszatt Jr., Tom Scott, Brian Hurt.