HOFFMAN EDGES BLANEY FOR MOD MADNESS 50 WIN AT TRI-CITY
WATSON, PEARSON AND GENTILE ALSO SCORE VICTORIES
by Brian Spaid
FRANKLIN, PA .... As autumn descends on Western Pennsylvania, Tri-City Speedway was graced with beautiful sunny weather on Saturday night for Mod Madness III as Jeff Hoffman (Titusville Motor & Auction Co. DIRT Modifieds), Bill Watson (York Triathlon E Mods), Dean Pearson (Sportsman Modifieds) and Lou Gentile (6 Cylinder Modifieds) captured feature wins on the lightning quick half-mile dirt oval. A total of 136 cars were in the pit area for the third annual event that was rain-delayed from September 5.
Jeff Hoffman of Franklin, Pa., continued to cement his name in the DIRT Modified record book at Tri-City with his 15th career win as he barely defeated Lou Blaney to snare his second consecutive 50-lap Mod Madness victory. On the final lap, Hoffman was trying to weave through lapped traffic when Blaney took advantage of the situation. Racing into turn three, Blaney dashed underneath Hoffman. They raced side-by-side through turn four, but Hoffman managed to find the necessary bite to defeat the veteran racer by a foot in his Hoffman Door/Hepler Transport Troyer No. 00
"When I got by Brian (Swartzlander), I looked up on the board and saw that Lou followed me through," said Hoffman in victory lane after collecting his $2,000 payday. "Then, near the end, I came up on the lapped cars and I knew the No. 10 would be back there. I just tried to race through the pack and hoped everyone came out still racing. We're thrilled to be back in victory lane."
Kevin Bolland and three-time track champion Brian Swartzlander started on the front row of the 25-car field. After an aborted start for Bill Dorman's stalled car, Swartzlander took the lead, but Bolland suffered a mechanical breakdown and stalled in turn three bringing out another yellow after one lap.
For the first half of the race, Swartzlander was the show as he dueled with Chris Schiffer for the number one spot. With Swartzlander on the low groove and Schiffer up high, the two engaged in a crowd pleasing duel. Behind them, Hoffman was moving through the pack from his 11th starting spot with Blaney right behind. By the 16th lap, Swartzlander was leading Schiffer, Hoffman, Dave Murdick, Blaney and Tim Doran, who ran in the top five for the first 14 laps. Jim Weller also looked strong as he slipped by Doran for sixth on the 19th circuit. Scott Gurdak also passed Doran on the 22nd lap. Murdick suffered more bad luck in Mod Madness race when he dropped out one lap later.
At the halfway point, Swartzlander still held the advantage over Schiffer, Hoffman, Blaney and Weller. Hoffman continued to try to find the right groove to pass Schiffer, and he finally succeeded on the 30th lap with an inside move off turn two. Blaney quickly followed suit and moved by Schiffer on the 32nd lap before Weller stopped on the track ending a fine run and moving Scott Gurdak to fifth. Gurdak slipped by Schiffer for fourth on the restart following the caution for Weller.
On the 34th lap, Hoffman used the inside cushion off the second corner to rocket past Swartzlander down the backstretch and take command of the race. Blaney was right there to also take advantage of Hoffman's move as he stuck his car under Swartzlander off turn three two laps later. Gurdak was next to move by Swartzlander as he took third on a 39th lap restart following a caution for a turn four spin by Tim Engles.
Hoffman continued to pace the field and opened up a five-car length lead over Blaney during the final 10 laps. It wasn't until two laps were left when Blaney caught Hoffman as he tried to lap Merle Mealy Jr. As noted above, Hoffman withstood the last lap charge of Blaney to score the win. Gurdak finished third followed by Swartzlander and Schiffer. Doran, Kevin Hoffman, Rodney Beltz, Josh Skarzenski and Danny Perrett rounded out the top ten. Doran, Blaney, Beltz and Bolland won the heat races sweeping the events for the DIRT Modified racers from Sharon Speedway. Engles won the consolation for the 35-car field.
Bill Watson of Conneaut, Ohio, captured his first career York Triathlon Stahl E Mod victory and his first career feature win at Tri-City in his General Aluminum/Biscotti's No. 2 in the 20-lap E Mod feature. The Raceway 7 regular ended up being the star of the show after zipping by Jeff Taylor for the lead on the 13th lap.
"The track was excellent tonight and the car just hooked up on the inside of Jeff in turn two," said Watson. "We build our own cars and motors and we're real proud to finally win one of these events."
Jack Young and Taylor started on the front row by virtue of their one-two finish in the Coy Bros. Trucking Dash. Taylor immediately took command of the race at the start while Young tried to fend off two-time 1999 Tri-City E Mod winner Alan Dellinger. On the fourth lap, however, Dellinger got into the back of Young in turn one spinning him out. In an unselfish display of sportsmanship, Dellinger voluntarily joined Young at the back of the field under caution. The incident left Taylor in the lead over Watson, Chuck Kennedy, Jim Frantz, Bob McCann and Jeff Rudrick. On the restart, McCann and Rudrick went by Frantz for fourth and fifth.
The top five remained unchanged until the 12th lap when Jeff Sharp spun in turn four bringing out the third and final caution of the night. It was on that restart that Watson slipped by Taylor in turn two. Once out front, Watson was untouchable as he raced home the winner over Taylor, Kennedy, McCann and Rudrick. Watson, Dellinger, Larry Kugel, Young, Taylor and Frantz won the heats for the 58-car field. Hugo Litwiler, Tommy Beck and Sharp won the consolations.
Dean Pearson of Harrisville, Pa., made a shambles of the 20-lap Sportsman Modified main. After starting on the pole in his Daryl Dickey-owned, Gajda Trucking/Hawk Crane & Equip. Olsen Eagle No. 66, Pearson led every lap and at one point stretched his advantage to a full straightaway.
"I want to dedicate this win to my mother-in-law, who passed away this week," said Pearson following his second consecutive Sportsman Modified win at Tri-City. "This season has been excellent and this is an unbelievable way to end it."
Although Pearson was never challenged, the racing behind him was thrilling. Don McKnight, Tommy Marshall III, Gary Smoker and Chanda Reitz diced for second over the first 10 laps. On the eighth circuit, Marshall raced around McKnight for the position. Smoker and Reitz grabbed third and fourth from McKnight on the 12th circuit. Scott Kay flew through the field after starting at the rear and was running fifth by the15th lap. After Marshall pulled into the infield on the 17th lap, Kay raced under Reitz in turn three as they tried to complete the 18th lap. The two collided knocking them both out of contention for good finishes. That incident left Pearson the leader over Smoker, McKnight, Allen Ferry and Scott Mealy. During the final two laps, Pearson drove away from Smoker for the win. Ferry moved by McKnight for third on the restart and Mealy held off Dave Myers for fifth. Reitz, Smoker and Pearson won the heats for the 28-car field.
In the 20-lap 6 Cylinder Modified feature, Lou Gentile of Pulaski, Pa., and Carl Weatherby made it appear as if it was a regular Saturday night at Mercer Raceway Park as they dueled for the win. In the end, Gentile parked his Emig Racing Bicknell No. 1 in victory lane for the second year in a row.
"I'd like to thank Vicki (Emig) for giving us the money to run this car," said the cordial Gentile following the win. "It's a pleasure to win here again and Carl is really good to race."
Kenny Hardy stated on the pole for the feature and had an interesting adventure, as did Weatherby. On the third lap, Weatherby spun in turn three and collected Gregg McCandless. Weatherby started at the rear of the field and raced back to the front. Meanwhile, Hardy's lead ended on the fifth lap when he spun in turn two. This moved Gentile into first over Jerry Schaffer and Weatherby, who flew through the field in just three laps. Hardy managed to work his way all the way back to third by the 13th lap, but one lap later he spun in turn four and the front end collapsed on his car putting him behind the wall. Weatherby worked by Schaffer on the sixth lap after Hardy's first spin. Weatherby tried every move in his book of tricks to work past Gentile, but the veteran outsmarted Weatherby the rest of the race to grab the popular win. Harold Michaels wound up third over Jim Bickel and Mark McEwen. Hardy and Bickel won the heats for the 15-car field.
This coming Saturday afternoon October 2, Tri-City Speedway presents the final race of the 1999 season as the Knox Auto Supply Pure Stocks compete in the 3rd Annual Applefest 100. The prestigious event should draw many of the top Pure Stock racers from Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio to the Venango County track with $1,000 on the line for the winner. In addition, the final Sligo Auto Salvage Demolition Derby will take place at the end of the evening. Gates open at 2:00 p.m. and racing starts at 4:00 p.m.
DIRT MODIFIEDS (50 Laps): 1. JEFF HOFFMAN, 2. Lou Blaney, 3. Scott Gurdak, 4. Brian Swartzlander, 5. Chris Schiffer, 6. Tim Doran, 7. Kevin Hoffman, 8. Rodney Beltz, 9. Josh Skarzenski, 10. Danny Perrett, 11. Andy Priest, 12. Joe Crawford, 13. Rick Hall, 14. Tom Winkle, 15. Merle Mealy Jr., 16. Jeremiah Shingledecker, 17. Jeff Schaffer, 18. Tim Engles, 19. Jim Weller, 20. George Hobaugh, 21. Dave Murdick, 22. Bobby Hoffman, 23. Jason Engles, 24. Bill Dorman, 25. Kevin Bolland, 26. Skip Moore (DNS). DNQ: Mark Sevin, Steve Barr, Dave Reges, Carl Murdick, Jeff Miller, Doug Duncan, Bruce Tepsil, Todd McManus, Fred Heiss.
E MODS (20 Laps): 1. BILL WATSON, 2. Jeff Taylor, 3. Chuck Kennedy, 4. Bob McCann, 5. Jeff Rudrick, 6. Russ Dunn, 7. Hugo Litwiler, 8. Mike Hess, 9. Bill Hanna, 10. Jack Young, 11. Tommy Beck, 12. Larry Kugel, 13. Jim Frantz, 14. Junior Green, 15. Scott Stiffler, 16. Bobby Powell, 17. Rich Logan, 18. Mike Anderson, 19. Jeff Sharp, 20. Matt Swanson, 21. Vince DeStefano, 22. Carl McKinney, 23. Todd Roncaglione, 24. Jim Bertges, 25. Alan Dellinger, 26. Mike Petosky. DNQ: Kari Petrosky, Ron Roncaglione, John Strickler, Rich Stiffler, Shawn Domhoff, Kasey Allen, Jeff Haefke, Herm Myers, Mark Willison, Chuck List Sr., Bill Taylor, Jim Myers, Jim Abbott, Ron Jaeger, Jim White, Adam Beck, Chuck Schell, Bruce Steadman, Tom Congdon, Ryan Snow, Steve Haefke, Dale Fuller, Jack Andrew, Jay Watson, Holly Nelson, Gary Eicher, Bob Diver, Dale Charlier, Gerry Schimp, Wayne Tessean, Pat Otteni, Randy Brooks.
SPORTSMAN MODIFIEDS (20 Laps): 1. DEAN PEARSON, 2. Gary Smoker, 3. Allen Ferry, 4. Don McKnight, 5. Scott Mealy, 6. Dave Myers, 7. Andy Paden, 8. George Slaney, 9. Dave Schrader, 10. Joe Gibson, 11. Ron Sasse, 12. Scott Kay, 13. Darrell Combs, 14. Jeff Miller, 15. Chanda Reitz, 16. Tommy Marshall III, 17. John Buchanan, 18. Tom Mattocks Jr., 19. Greg Unrue, 20. J.D. Whitman, 21. John Confer, 22. Marty Kristyak, 23. Tim Shepard, 24. Boyd Johnston Jr., 25. Skinny Hall (DNS). DNQ: Fred Sasse, Buck Buchanan, Bob Young.
6 CYLINDER MODIFIEDS (20 Laps): 1. LOU GENTILE, 2. Carl Weatherby, 3. Harold Michaels, 4. Jim Bickel, 5. Mark McEwen, 6. Marvin Williams, 7. Bill Adams, 8. Scott Lucas, 9. Kenny Hardy, 10. Jerry Schaffer, 11. Jerry Bowser, 12. Troy Willoughby, 13. Mark Spence, 14. Gregg McCandless. DNQ: Rick Kress.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Oct. 2 - Pure Stocks Applefest 100 III and Demo Derby (Saturday Afternoon Event)
Oct. 16 - 5th Annual Automotive & Racer's Flea Market (Gates Open at 9:00 a.m.)
Jan. 8, 2000 - 4th Annual Tri-City Speedway Banquet (Cross Creek Resort