KEVIN BOLLAND WINS HIS SECOND OF THE SEASON
by Brian Spaid
FRANKLIN, PA ... Beautiful sunshine and warm weather graced Tri-City Speedway on Sunday evening as race fans celebrated Father's Day with Rod George (NorthPointe Automotive Super Sprints), Kevin Bolland (Schwab's Ford DIRT Modifieds), Brent Rhebergen (RE/MAX 1st Oil Country E Mods), Doug Iorio Sr. (E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks) and Ian Tomei (Victory Lane Graphics Thundercars) in the winner's circle at the Venango County half-mile oval.
Rod George of Kittanning, Pa., grabbed his fourth win of the season in the 20-lap Super Sprint feature. For a short time, however, it appeared as if Scott Barris would end the stranglehold that Rod George and Ed Lynch Jr. have on the Super Sprint class at Tri-City.
Barris led the first 10 circuits of the 20-lap feature while George and Lynch started near the back of the field. The two veterans moved through the pack into second and third by the halfway point. Then, Lynch uncharacteristically spun in turn two. On the restart, George zipped by Barris off turn four ending an improbable upset bid. George raced on to win his 20th career win at Tri-City.
"This division is getting tougher," said George, who is the defending track champion in his Kittanning Dairy Queen/United Specialities/Rodeway Inn Gambler No. 4. "Scotty did a nice job tonight. I don't think I would have caught him without the caution."
With the win, George also received the added bonus of a poor outing by Lynch. Not only did Lynch loop his racer on the 10th circuit, he did it again on the 14th circuit. Lynch wound up ninth at the finish. With heat and feature wins, George assumed command of the point chase.
Jason Jacoby climbed to second by the end of the race with Jarod Larson, Andy McKisson and Barris rounding out the top five. McKisson and George picked up wins in the Super Sprint heats.
In the 20-lap DIRT Modified main, Kevin Bolland of New Brighton, Pa., used a brilliant restart move on the 14th lap to secure the lead and his second win of the season at Tri-City.
The race was a wild affair. Skip Moore led the first two laps before Andy Priest took command. While Priest and Moore dueled for the lead, Del Rougeux Jr. and Joe Crawford battled for third with Bolland close behind. Following a restart on the fifth lap, Rougeux and Crawford touched wheels in the backstretch, which sent Crawford into the fence, but he merely lost five spots.
After watching Rougeux and Moore battle for a few laps, Bolland kicked his car into gear. By the halfway point, he was second behind Priest and closing in on him. On the 14th lap, Rougeux slid off turn two and hit the outside retaining guard rail. On the restart, Bolland immediately dove under Priest on the frontstretch heading into turn one. Priest drifted wide and allowed Bolland past him. From there, Bolland cruised to his 11th career win at Tri-City in his Cintas Uniform/Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe/Bolland Machine Bicknell No. 777.
"We've struggled a little this season because we're working on our 467 cubic-inch, big block motor program to compete on the Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series," said Bolland. "It's always good to get a win here. That pass down low was the only way I was going to get by Andy. The top side of the track was a little slick and I got caught up there once."
When Bolland made his winning move, he carried Moore past Priest too. Priest tried the high side of turn one on the next circuit to move back around Moore, but Priest slid off the track and careened into the outside rail like Rougeux eliminating him from the race.
In the end, Moore finished second over point leader Jim Rasey, who ran a quiet race from his 10th starting position. Crawford survived his early-race incident and finished fourth over Brian Swartzlander, who competed for the first time in the DIRT Modified owned by Butch and Lisa Rapp. Rougeux and Priest won the DIRT Modified heats.
Brent Rhebergen of Clymer, NY, continued his winning ways in the 15-lap E Mod feature. Starting from the outside pole position in Bruce Steadman's Sharp Tool & Die Pierce No. 69, Rhebergen led every circuit for an eight-second victory over Mike Potosky. The win was Rhebergen's fourth of the season and his 27th career E Mod win at Tri-City.
"I'd like to thank Bruce and Kathy Steadman for all that they do for this team," said Rhebergen. "It was a great night for the car once again, and the track was perfect."
Potosky finished a fine second while point leader Jim Frontz maintained an edge over the rest of the field by finishing third. Frontz was out of the top five by the fifth circuit, but he steadily climbed through the pack using inside passes the entire way. Bruce Powell finished fourth over Jeff Taylor. Bootie Petsko and Rhebergen captured the E Mod heats.
Doug Iorio Sr. of New Castle, Pa., and defending track champion Bobby Whitling battled for every circuit of the 15-lap Pro Stock feature as each driver wanted to end his winless streak at Tri-City. At the finish, Iorio scored his first win since May 6, 2001, as he barely held off Whitling for his fourth career feature win at Tri-City.
Whitling and Iorio paced the field to the start of the Pro Stock feature. Whitling led the first five laps before Iorio used an outside pass off turn two to secure first place. Although Whitling tried several times to steal away the lead, Iorio could not be stopped in his first win of the season aboard his Gabany's Performance Engines/Pizza Joe's Pontiac No. 48.
"I've got to thank Bobby for everything," said Iorio. "He built this car, and we had some trouble a couple weeks ago when he spun and I lost the brakes on the car. We always race clean, and I can't believe how this car hooked up on the outside lane."
Whitling finished second as he barely held off Gary Norman for the position. Whitling, who has 29 career Pro Stock wins at Tri-City, has not won at the track since July 7, 2002. Point leader Darrell Bossard finished fourth over Bruce Smith. Norman, Smith and Bossard won the Pro Stock heats. Russ Coyne won the B Main.
Ian Tomei of McKees Rocks, Pa., parlayed his first-ever visit to Tri-City into his first win in the 12-lap Thundercar feature. Tomei passed John Schreck, who was the substitute driver for three-time winner Robby Switzer, on the third lap and was never headed. Although Schreck tried several times, he was unable to catch the Tomei's Texaco & Towing Chevrolet No. 21.
"I've got to thank my wife for letting me come here on Father's Day," said Tomei. "This one's for her and our son. This track was smooth and I'm glad I could come here with my teammate Robby Torrens and steal some of his glory."
Torrens chased Tomei and Schreck to line in third followed by point leader Jeff Manners and Curt Bish.
Eric Gourley of Cranberry, Pa., captured the 30-car Lowry's Auto Wrecking Demolition Derby at the end of the night.
This coming Sunday June 22nd, Tri-City Speedway hosts another five-star show of the NorthPointe Automotive Super Sprints, Schwab's Ford DIRT Modifieds, RE/MAX 1st Oil Country E Mods, E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks and Victory Lane Graphics Thundercars. In addition, the season's first One-on-One Spectator Races will be held. Race fans will compete in a one-on-one, round-robin tournament in their passenger cars and trucks to determine the fastest car or truck as well as the most daring drivers. Cars and trucks must be registered, inspected and insured, and the drivers must each have a valid driver's license. Registration will occur at the pit gate throughout the evening. Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Adult grandstand admission will be $10.
SUPER SPRINTS (20 Laps): 1. ROD GEORGE, 2. Jason Jacoby, 3. Jarod Larson, 4. Andy McKisson, 5. Scott Barris, 6. Gary Rankin, 7. Chris Matthews, 8. Brent Matus, 9. Ed Lynch Jr., 10. Butch Beasley, 11. Paul Kish, 12. Scott Groves, 13. Sheila Rankin, 14. Mel Straley.
DIRT MODIFIEDS (20 Laps): 1. KEVIN BOLLAND, 2. Skip Moore, 3. Jim Rasey, 4. Joe Crawford, 5. Brian Swartzlander, 6. John Braymer, 7. Lenny Leibold Jr., 8. Dave Schrader, 9. Nick Ritchey, 10. George Hobaugh, 11. Garrett Krummert, 12. Carl Murdick, 13. Dan Weaver, 14. Andy Priest, 15. Del Rougeux Jr., 16. Lou Gentile, 17. Dave Reges, 18. Jeremiah Shingledecker, 19. Jay Priest. DNS: Chanda Reitz.
E MODS (15 Laps): 1. BRENT RHEBERGEN, 2. Mike Potosky, 3. Jim Frontz, 4. Bruce Powell, 5. Jeff Taylor, 6. Mike Samuelson, 7. Shawn Domhoff, 8. Russ Dempsey, 9. Kari Gasser, 10. Rick Robinson, 11. Jamie Shetler, 12. Butch Lambert, 13. Jeff Hassay, 14. Bootie Petsko.
PRO STOCKS (15 Laps): 1. DOUG IORIO SR., 2. Bobby Whitling, 3. Gary Norman, 4. Darrell Bossard, 5. Bruce Smith, 6. Ron Iorio, 7. Dave Ferringer, 8. Terry Wheeler, 9. Joe Drusko, 10. Jason Johns, 11. Scott Myers, 12. Ben Blake, 13. Mike Miller, 14. Rod Urey, 15. Doug Calvert, 16. Dick Pascorell, 17. Rick Lanigan, 18. Rick Hughes, 19. Bret McCarthy, 20. Rusty Kellogg, 21. Joe Lockhart, 22. Russ Coyne, 23. John Sutley, 24. Ray Bailey. DNQ: Bud Shontz, Matt Thomas, Dave Gadley, Bob Bean, Rod Laskey, Dave Shook.
THUNDERCARS (12 Laps): 1. IAN TOMEI, 2. John Schreck, 3. Robby Torrens, 4. Jeff Manners, 5. Curt Bish, 6. Jay Blum, 7. Kevin Cooper, 8. Matt Keith, 9. Branden King, 10. Wearne Cook, 11. Joe Blake, 12. Dave Gottschalk.