TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY CROWNS ROD GEORGE, JOSH SKARZENSKI AND BOBBY WHITLING AS TRACK CHAMPIONS

WHILE LYNCH, BOLLAND, RHEBERGEN AND SMITH REPEAT AS WINNERS

by Brian Spaid

FRANKLIN, PA ... Track champions were declared Sunday night at Tri-City Speedway in the final four-star show of the season as Ed Lynch Jr. (NorthPointe Automotive Super Sprints), Kevin Bolland (Schwab's Ford DIRT Modifieds), Brent Rhebergen (RE/MAX 1st Oil Country E Mods) and Bruce Smith (E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Stock Cars) won feature events on Buyer's Fair/Pennzoil Night at the half-mile Venango County oval.

Rod George of Kittanning, Pa. earned his first career Super Sprint track title at Tri-City. He clinched it after a second place finish in his heat race. It is George's second championship in the region this season. On Friday night, he also won the Lernerville Speedway title.

Josh Skarzenski of Erie, Pa., nailed down his first career DIRT Modified championship. Running a conservative race, Skarzenski finished seventh while his main challenger Dave Murdick placed fourth. As a result, Skarzenski, who was the 1999 DIRT Modified Rookie-of-the-Year, won the title by eight points.

Finally, Bobby Whitling of Seneca, Pa., collected his second career Stock Car title at Tri-City. He also won the championship in 1999. Like George, Whitling clinched the title with a second place finish in the first heat race, which proved to be lucky. In the feature, Whitling broke a ball joint on the right front of his Stock Car and was relegated to 18th. He finished ahead of Bruce Smith and Gary Norman, who tied for second, by 26 points.

In the 20-lap Super Sprint feature, Ed Lynch Jr. of Apollo, Pa., started on the outside pole and blasted into the lead. He led every circuit to defeat Rod George for his third consecutive win and fifth win of the season in his Indy Recycling J&J No. 2L. As a result, Lynch and George won every regular Super Sprint feature at Tri-City in 2002. Only Jeff Shepard defeated them by winning the All Star Circuit of Champions race in May.

"Our team has really clicked here lately, and we've got a chance to win some big races late in the year," noted Lynch after his 15th career win at Tri-City. "Congratulations to Rod George. I've chased him all year and he won the title here and Lernerville. He's had a great season and he deserves it."

While Lynch jumped into the lead at the start over polesitter Andy Priest, George immediately grabbed second off turn two when Priest started to lose control of his car. By turn three, Priest spun causing the first of two cautions. Lynch simply dominated the race. Although George slowly reeled him in over the final circuits in lapped traffic, Lynch would maintain an advantage the rest of the way. Defending track champion Scott Bonnell finished third for the second week in a row. Andy McKisson passed Scott Priester on the final circuit to round out the top five.

"It would be better if I was in victory lane tonight," deadpanned George after the race. " We're real happy to win the title though. Before this weekend, I only ever won one title in my life. We've had a great season and I'd like to thank the fans for all their support."

On the final lap, as Lynch crossed the line for the win, Jack Sodeman Jr. flipped violently in turn three. He complained of pain and was assisted from his bent racer by safety personnel. Sodeman was transported to UPMC Northwest in Franklin, Pa., where he was treated and released.

Priest and Lynch collected heat race wins for the 18-car field. In the first heat race, Jason Jacoby blew his engine off turn four causing him to suddenly slow. John Ivy, who is the 2002 Fremont Speedway and 2001 Attica Raceway Park champion, hopped Jacoby's wheel and tumbled several times in the frontstretch. Although he complained of shortness of breath, Ivy was otherwise uninjured.

Kevin Bolland of New Brighton, Pa., dominated the 20-lap DIRT Modified feature. Starting 10th in his Brighton Hot Dog Shoppes/Cintas Uniform Bicknell No. 777, Bolland blasted into the lead on the fifth circuit and was unchallenged for his fourth win of the season.

"The track was ours tonight," said Bolland, who won his eighth career feature at Tri-City. "Bolland Machine built us a strong motor and our Bicknell chassis worked perfect. Our team's worked hard to get to this point. We're coming on strong for the BRP Modified Tour races in September."

Rookie Rich Landgraf led the first circuit before Andy Priest marched to the front the next time around the track. Chris Schiffer and Alan Dellinger quickly jumped to second and third with Bolland chasing them into fourth. After a fifth lap restart following a multi-car spin in turn one, Bolland rocketed to the outside lane. With Schiffer the new leader, coming off turn two Bolland raced into second past Priest and Dellinger. At the other end of the track, Bolland used a slide job to perfection drifting in front of Schiffer off turn four and taking the lead. Bolland was peerless once out front and withstood six more cautions before he collected the winner's trophy.

Behind him, Dellinger and Priest mashed tires and crash bars several times over the final three circuits. In the end, Dellinger withstood Priest's onslaught for the runnerup position. Dave Murdick wound up fourth over Schiffer, Del Rougeux Jr. and Josh Skarzenski. In the end, Murdick's run was not enough to overcome Skarzenski for the track title.

"This title means a lot," said Skarzenski. "Our car ran better than it looked. We huddled as a team before the race and decided that I would just keep Murdick's bumper in sight the whole race. There are so many people to thank for this championship, including Bicknell Racing Products and my dad. I'd like to dedicate this title and our whole season to my good friend, Adam Protzman, who died on January 1st. He was like a little brother to me. This one's for him."

Bolland, Skarzenski and Murdick won the DIRT Modified heats for the 27-car field.

Brent Rhebergen of Clymer, N.Y., put an exclamation point on his championship season winning his 10th E Mod feature of 2002 in Bruce Steadman's Sharp Tool & Die Pierce No. 69. Last week, Rhebergen clinched the track title with a rare runnerup finish behind Matt Swanson. This time, he resumed his dominance in the 15-lap feature despite a hard charging Alan Dellinger.

"We really thought last week kind of stunk finishing second," said Rhebergen after his 22nd career win at Tri-City. "We changed the setup in our car for tonight, and it worked perfect. I wasn't worried about Dellinger at all."

Russ Dempsey started on the pole and led the first seven laps of the race. Rhebergen moved into the top five on the second circuit, then sliced through the leaders. On the eighth lap, he worked outside Dempsey through turns three and four to take command.

Behind Rhebergen, all eyes were on Dellinger. Starting Scott Stiffler's car at the rear of the field, the E Mod master charged through the pack. By the eighth lap, Dellinger was running fifth. It took him three more laps to get into second, however, he ran out of time in his run to catch Rhebergen. For the second time of the night, Dellinger finished second. Dempsey finished a career best third over Mike Samuelson and Jim Frontz. Chuck Kennedy, Rich Stiffler and Jeff Taylor won the E Mod heats for a 33-car field. Butch Lambert won the B Main.

Bruce Smith of Franklin, Pa., ended up the ultimate survivor in an attrition-filled 15-lap Stock Car main in his DB&S Cabinets Pontiac No. 36. On the final lap, an oil line broke in Smith's car, but he managed to nurse it home for his second win in three weeks and the third feature win of his career at Tri-City.

"This feels real good," said Smith. "I guess I've been the sleeper all season and we've really come alive late in the year. The oil pressure was a high at the end, but it still ran to the finish."

Although Smith jumped to an early lead, Darrell Bossard took command on the second circuit. When Bossard's axle broke on the sixth circuit, he lost the right rear tire entering the third turn. Smith moved back out front again for a lead he would not relinquish, even with the engine problem on the final lap.

Behind Smith, Whitling ran second for seven laps before his right front ball joint broke on the 13th lap. Then, with Smith's car spreading oil on the track over the final lap, a wild scramble behind him allowed Jason Reagle to finish second over Gary Norman, Dave Ferringer and Scotty Carbaugh. Smith, Bossard and Ferringer captured the Stock Car heats for the 36-car field. Bob Bean won the B Main.

Tri-City Speedway will now be dark for two weeks and return to action on Saturday September 14th with the Mod Madness VI 100. The BRP Modified Tour will run its final event at Tri-City this season in the 6th Annual Kodiak Memorial 40. In addition, the York Triathlon E Mod Series will compete in a 30-lap event and the Sportsman Modifieds will run at Tri-City for the first time this season in a special 30-lap event. Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Adult grandstand admission will be $15. The raindate is Sunday September 15th.

SUPER SPRINTS (20 Laps): 1. ED LYNCH JR., 2. Rod George, 3. Scott Bonnell, 4. Andy McKisson, 5. Scott Priester, 6. Daryl Stimeling, 7. Andy Priest, 8. Gregg McCandless, 9. Bob Altmeyer, 10. Butch Beasley, 11. Jamie McKinney, 12. Sheila Rankin, 13. Brent Matus, 14. Jack Sodeman Jr., 15. Chad Hill, 16. Gale Ruth Jr. DNS: Jason Jacoby, John Ivy.

DIRT MODIFIEDS (20 Laps): 1. KEVIN BOLLAND, 2. Alan Dellinger, 3. Andy Priest, 4. Dave Murdick, 5. Chris Schiffer, 6. Del Rougeux Jr., 7. Josh Skarzenski, 8. Lou Blaney, 9. Skip Moore, 10. Lenny Leibold Jr., 11. Chanda Reitz, 12. Joe Crawford, 13. Rich Brown, 14. Steve Barr, 15. Carl Murdick, 16. Jake Braymer, 17. Lee Miller, 18. Dave Shook, 19. Brian May, 20. Ken Schaffer, 21. Dave Reges, 22. Rich Landgraf. DNS: George Hobaugh, Adam Kozar, Kevin Hoffman, Scott Kay, Scott Ferry.

E MODS (15 Laps): 1. BRENT RHEBERGEN, 2. Alan Dellinger, 3. Russ Dempsey, 4. Mike Samuelson, 5. Jim Frontz, 6. Shawn Domhoff, 7. Shawn Shingledecker, 8. Dale Fuller, 9. Mike Potosky, 10. Rick Robinson, 11. Rich Stiffler, 12. Tim Rhoades, 13. Butch Lambert, 14. Chuck Kennedy, 15. Fred Bratchie, 16. Jeff Sharp, 17. Carl McKinney, 18. Matt Swanson, 19. Arlan Coy, 20. Mike Anderson, 21. Jr. Mechling, 22. Jeff Taylor, 23. Ron Jaeger, 24. Randy Hall. DNQ: Bob Williams, Jim Abbott, Kari Petrosky, Ron Eward, Bud Williamson, Jim Long, Bruce Powell, Chad Wise.

STOCK CARS (15 Laps): 1. BRUCE SMITH, 2. Jason Reagle, 3. Gary Norman, 4. Dave Ferringer, 5. Scotty Carbaugh, 6. Tom Scott, 7. Ben Blake, 8. Andy Thompson, 9. Scott Peterson, 10. David Atkinson, 11. Gary Miller Jr., 12. Dave Myers, 13. Jason Johns, 14. Arthur Edwards, 15. Randy Riffe, 16. Dick Pascorell, 17. Danny Exley, 18. Bobby Whitling, 19. Mike Miller, 20. Lonny Blair, 21. Doug Calvert, 22. Bob Bean, 23. Darrell Bossard, 24. Rod Laskey. DNQ: Denny Crawford, Jamie Shetler, Bret McCarthy, Rusty Kellogg, Tim Balach, Robert Bohrer, Scott Malone, Joe Lockhart, John Sutley, Andy Miller, John Shetler, Matt Thomas

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sept. 14 - Mod Madness VI 100 (BRP Modified Tour Kodiak Memorial 40, York Triathlon E Mod Series 30, Sportsman Modified 30) (Raindate Sept. 15)

Sept. 21 - ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series R.N. Goss Gas Products 50, York Triathlon E Mod Series Myrgo All Star 50, Anderson Bldg. Detroit Iron Stock Car Series and One-on-One Spectator Races

Sept. 28 - CSOnline Applefest 100 (Anderson Bldg. Detroit Iron Stock Car Series), T/USA Mod Lites Dwarf Cars and Lowry Auto Wrecking Demo Derby (Raindate Sept. 29)