STEVE PAINE WINS SUPER DIRT MODIFIED SERIES RACE AT TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY; BRENT RHEBERGEN WINS NO. 9 IN A ROW OVER YORK TRIAHTLON E MODS
by Brian Spaid
FRANKLIN, PA ... Hot and sunny conditions dominated Tri-City Speedway on Sunday evening as the crowd watched Steve Paine of Waterloo, N.Y., earn $6,000 for winning the A. Crivelli Chevrolet/GMC 100 for the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Modified Series (SDS) while Brent Rhebergen of Clymer, N.Y., captured the 25-lap York Triathlon E Mod Series event.
Using a softer compound tire on his Terrell's Potato Chips/Tallmadge Tire Teo Pro Car No. 7x, Steve Paine slipped under Brett Hearn in turn two on the 41st circuit. Once out front, the 2000 Mr. DIRT Modified Champion opened an advantage over the field that he maintained for the rest of the race. It was his fifth Super DIRT Modified Series victory of the season.
"Tires were the difference tonight," said Paine in victory lane. "I told the crew to pick the tires, and I trusted their judgment. We've run five races on tracks we've struggled on and suffered through some bad finishes. This should put us back on track the rest of the year."
Hearn looked to be the driver to beat in the first third of the race. The Sussex, N.J., driver assumed the Super DIRT Modified Series point lead after a win Thursday at Lebanon Valley (N.Y.) Speedway. He opened a lead of nearly four seconds after passing early pacesetter Jack Johnson on the ninth circuit. After Paine passed him, however, Hearn slowly faded to a sixth place finish, which put Paine back atop the point standings.
Hearn actually ran second to Paine until the final 25 laps of the race. After some midrace restarts, Hearn challenged Paine for the lead. The 1998 race winner could not make the move stick. On the 77th circuit, Tim McCreadie raced under Hearn in turn two to grab second. Over the next 10 laps, Hearn fell though the field to his eventual sixth place position.
McCreadie finished second, even though he nearly challenged for the win when Paine entered lapped traffic at the end of the race. At the finish, Paine's lead of nearly four seconds decreased to just over one second. It was the second Super DIRT Modified Series race in a row at Tri-City in which McCreadie was the runnerup. The second generation star started the race in the 11th position.
Danny Johnson finished third over Tim Fuller and Alan Johnson. Ron Smoker of South Boston, N.Y., who finished seventh, earned the guaranteed starting spot for the Eckerd Syracuse 200 to be held in October at the New York State Fairgrounds.
The top finishing local racers were Brian Swartzlander and Dave Murdick. They placed 12th and 13th in the 30-car field. They were the last two cars on the lead lap at the end of the race, which featured seven cautions. Only 12 laps were run under caution.
Danny Johnson, Billy Decker, Pat Ward and Fuller won the heats. Jeff Hoffman and Joe Crawford were the B Main winners. Doug Hoffman set the fast time of the evening at 18.999 seconds, which translates into an average speed of 83.941 mph. With that time, Hoffman set a new track record at Tri-City.
The Exiss Dash was won by Jack Johnson. The 25-lap York Triathlon Series race proved to be the best show of the night as Brent Rhebergen dueled with Alan Dellinger over the last five laps.
After leading from the start, Dellinger was poised to win his first feature of the season. On the last lap, Rhebergen used a stirring inside-to-outside pass in turn four to take the lead. He then opened some ground away from Dellinger to take the popular win, which was his ninth in a row in the RE/MAX E Mod division. "I can't believe this!" exclaimed Rhebergen after his 10th win of the season. "I kept trying and trying to get to Alan. He had the traction off turn four and I knew I had to get under him there and take the outside lane.
What a great race!" Dellinger finished a disappointed second. Behind the two combatants, Larry Kugel, Kari Petrosky, Dale Applebee and Todd Roncaglione engaged in a classic battle for third. Petrosky held second until Rhebergen passed her on the 14th lap. She then fended off Kugel until the 23rd circuit when the veteran driver drafted past her. Roncaglione, who raced a backup car normally driven by his brother, Ron, held fifth for most of the race.
Applebee managed to work his way around Roncaglione in the final laps as they both tried to get around Petrosky.
At the line, Rhebergen was the winner over Dellinger, Kugel, Petrosky and Applebee. Jeff Rudrick, Dellinger, Applebee, Kugel, Roncaglione and Petrosky captured the E Mod heats. Dellinger, also known as Jim Dandy Jr., then won the Coy Bros. Trucking Dash. The E Mod B Mains were won by Shawn Domhoff and Jeff Taylor.
This coming Sunday August 12th, Tri-City Speedway returns to weekly four-star racing action with the Allegheny Land & Lumber Super Sprints, Titusville Motor & Auction Co. DIRT Modifieds, RE/MAX E Mods and E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Stock Cars. In addition, the track hosts the Venango County 4-H Fair One-on-One Spectator Races, which allows the fans to pilot their passenger cars and trucks in a round robin tournament on the half-mile oval as part of Titusville Motor & Auction Co. Night. Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m.
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS SUPER DIRT MODIFIED SERIES (100 Laps): 1. STEVE PAINE, 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Danny Johnson, 4. Tim Fuller, 5. Alan Johnson, 6. Brett Hearn, 7. Ron Smoker, 8. Jack Johnson, 9. Vic Coffey, 10. Billy Decker, 11. Doug Hoffman, 12. Brian Swartzlander, 13. Dave Murdick, 14. Pat Ward, 15. Chuck Bower, 16. Jim Weller, 17. Kevin Bolland, 18. Jeff Schaffer, 19. Jim Rasey, 20. Del Rougeux Jr., 21. Carl Murdick, 22. Butch Tittle, 23. J.R. McGinley, 24. Lou Blaney, 25. Dave Schrader, 26. Jeff Hoffman, 27. Kevin Hoffman, 28. Scott Grudak, 29. Joe Crawford, 30. Kenny Brightbill. DNQ: Rex King, Rob Kristyak, George Hobaugh, Skip Moore, Eddie Fuller, Josh Skarzenski, Dean Pearson, Nick Ritchey, Jeremiah Shingledecker.
YORK TRIATHLON E MOD SERIES (25 Laps): 1. BRENT RHEBERGEN, 2. Alan Dellinger, 3. Larry Kugel, 4. Kari Petrosky, 5. Dale Applebee, 6. Todd Roncaglione, 7. Russ Dunn, 8. Jeff Taylor, 9. Jeff Rudrick, 10. Ron Jaeger, 11. Mike Samuelson, 12. Butch Lambert, 13. Jeff Sharp, 14. Ron Roncaglione, 15. Mike Hess, 16. Shawn Shingledecker, 17. Bob Craig, 18. Larry Walters, 19. Jim Frontz, 20. Fred Bratchie, 21. Bob McCann, 22. Kevin Decker, 23. Shane Applebee, 24. Rick Robinson, 25. Bill Taylor, 26. Shawn Domhoff. DNQ: Steve Haefke, Rich Jaeger, Jim Abbott, Herm Myers, Brian Taft, Shawn Uhler, Rich Stiffler, J.R. Mechling, Jim Mechling, Steve Artrip, Dean Ruth, Russ Dempsey, Dave Hess Jr., Dale Fuller, Bruce Powell, J.B. Dandy, John Kellogg, Mike Potosky, Arlan Coy.