JIMMY HAWLEY COMPLETES $5,300 WEEKEND AT TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY;
CHRIS SCHIFFER AND MATT LUX ALSO VICTORIOUS
by Brian Spaid
FRANKLIN, PA …. Sunny skies and comfortable temperatures greeted a capacity crowd Sunday night at Tri-City Speedway as Jimmy Hawley (CarMate Trailer Super Sprints), Chris Schiffer (Titusville Motor & Auction Co. DIRT Modifieds) and Matt Lux (Knox Auto Supply Pure Stocks) captured feature event wins on Selker Bros./Pennzoil/Sears Night. Each of the feature victors earned a Sears Craftsman Tool Set as part of their winnings.
Jimmy Hawley collected $2,100 for winning the 21-lap Super Sprint main and wrapped up a superb weekend behind the wheel of Dr. John Crawford’s J&J No. CIII. After victories Friday at Lernerville Speedway and Saturday at Mercer Raceway Park, the West Middlesex, PA native completed a $5,300 weekend sweep. The win was Hawley’s fifth of the season and the 11th of his career at Tri-City.
"This team is the best," said Hawley in victory lane. "I’m glad this weekend’s over because the competition was tough and we managed to get to victory lane all three nights. I can't say enough about my crew. They worked hard on this car after we missed the setup in the heat race and they came through once again."
By the luck of the draw, Hawley started outside of Todd Bauer on the front row and immediately took command of the race. Yet, before four laps could be completed, three accidents slowed the pace. In the first incident, Charlie Holben rolled his car after James Wray and Bruce Powell spun out in turn three on the first lap. One lap later, a skirmish off turn four found Skip Dougherty’s left rear tire bouncing atop the front wall. Then, on the fourth lap, Jack Sodeman Jr. spun in turn three and Gale Ruth Jr. slammed into him. None of the drivers were injured in any of the incidents.
Hawley was clearly in command of the race from start to finish. Central Pennsylvania star Mike Wagner moved into second on the fifth circuit and was slowly closing on Hawley in lapped traffic. With 16 laps in the books, however, Wagner blew a left rear tire and spun off turn two ruining a fine run.
The best battle on the track was among Craig Rankin, Tommy Quarterson and Jamie Smith. Before Wagner dropped out, they exchanged third place six times. After Wagner’s incident, Quarterson was running second over Rankin and Smith. With one lap remaining, Phil Mott spun in turn two setting up a two-lap dash to the checkered flag and increasing the race distance to 21 laps for the second week in a row.
On the restart, Quarterson made a bonzai move by the lapped car of Rob Eyler in turn two and almost slipped under Hawley. Rankin, however, took advantage of Quarterson and moved to the outside groove after passing Eyler. On the last lap, Rankin sped around Quarterson down the backstretch for second. Smith finished fourth ahead of Kevin Andrusky.
The Super Sprint special was run in conjunction with Mercer Raceway Park and attracted 22 cars to Tri-City. Both tracks paid $2,000 to the winner of the feature, although CarMate Trailers distributed an extra $100 for the victor at Tri-City. CarMate also awarded $50 each to the Tri-City heat race winners, who were Wagner, Quarterson and Rankin.
Chris Schiffer of Franklin, PA wound up the beneficiary of a lucky yellow flag that allowed him to earn his second victory of the season and the sixth win of his career at Tri-City. After two initial start incidents, Randy Myers led the field into turn one. Last week’s winner Jim Weller grabbed the lead from Myers before the end of the first lap and Schiffer and Jeff Hoffman quickly followed behind. On the third lap, Schiffer used the outside cushion off turn four to take command leaving Weller and Hoffman to battle for second. They exchanged the spot twice before Hoffman rocketed around Weller on the 16th lap. Then, an apparent engine malfunction forced Hoffman to stop in turn two.
After Hoffman’s car was pushed off the track and the race was restarted, Schiffer slipped wide in turn two and Weller moved underneath for first place. The pass was nullified, however, due to an accident between Scott Gurdak and Steve Barr causing the yellow flag to wave before completion of the 17th lap. Scoring rules placed Schiffer back in the lead. On the next restart, Schiffer maintained command of the race to score the popular win in his Schiffer Excavating Troyer No. 7S. Weller finished second over Brian Swartzlander, who was able to increase his point lead after Hoffman dropped out. Gurdak, who was piloting a new car after his primary racer was bent in an accident at Mercer, raced back to fourth at the finish over Rick Hoctor. Weller and Hoffman won the heats.
Once again, Rocky Grove, PA’s Matt Lux and Bobby Whitling had a stirring battle for the win in the 15-lap Pure Stock main. Dan Speer led the first lap of the race before giving way to rookie driver Billy Beiter. Beiter ran out front for four laps before Lux moved into the lead due to a collision between Beiter and Barry Wilson in turn three.
On the restart, Lux was the leader over Tom Scott, but Whitling quickly dispatched Scott to third and set his sights on Lux. Over the final nine circuits, Whitling challenged Lux on numerous occasions. With two laps to go, Whitling worked underneath Lux in turn three and nearly completed the pass for the lead, but Lux fended him off . Whitling made the same move on the final circuit. Lux used his momentum in the high groove to power away from Whitling off turn four and score his third win of the season and his career at Tri-City. Scott finished third followed by Dave Ferringer and Dave Harbaugh. Lux, Whitling and Scott won the heats.
Next Sunday night August 22, the Super Sprints, DIRT Modifieds and Pure Stocks will be in action once again with only two point nights remaining to determine the 1999 Tri-City Speedway Champions. In addition, the third Sligo Auto Salvage Demolition Derby of the season will be held. Gates open at 4:00 p.m. and racing starts at 6:00 p.m.
SUPER SPRINTS (21 Laps): 1. JIMMY HAWLEY, 2. Craig Rankin, 3. Tommy Quarterson, 4. Jamie Smith, 5. Kevin Andrusky, 6. Mike Marano II, 7. Eric Smith, 8. Rob Eyler, 9. Todd Bauer, 10. Mike Roxberry, 11. Rod Jones, 12. James Wray, 13. Jeff Weaver, 14. Phil Mott, 15. Mike Wagner, 16. Mike McCool, 17. Bruce Powell, 18. Brent Matus, 19. Jack Sodeman Jr., 20. Gale Ruth Jr., 21. Skip Dougherty, 22. Charlie Holben.
DIRT MODIFIEDS (20 Laps): 1. CHRIS SCHIFFER, 2. Jim Weller, 3. Brian Swartzlander, 4. Scott Gurdak, 5. Rick Hoctor, 6. Dean Pearson, 7. Joe Crawford, 8. Del Rougeaux Jr., 9. Bobby Hoffman, 10. Steve Barr, 11. Jeff Hoffman, 12. Randy Myers, 13. Kevin Hoffman, 14. Josh Skarzenski, 15. Andy Priest, 16. George Hobaugh, 17. J.R. McGinley. DNS: Dan Campbell, Merle Mealy Jr.
PURE STOCKS (15 Laps): 1. MATT LUX, 2. Bobby Whitling, 3. Tom Scott, 4. Dave Ferringer, 5. Dave Harbaugh, 6. Matt Cummings, 7. Jay Feely, 8. Bruce Smith, 9. Billy Beiter, 10. Ben Blake, 11. Barry Wilson, 12. Mike Dolecki, 13. Arthur Edwards, 14. Craig McGinnis, 15. Rick Hughes, 16. John K. Miller II, 17. Dan Speer, 18. Jamie Shetler, 19. Doug Calvert, 20. Greg Sanford, 21. Tom Vincent, 22. Joe Drusko, 23. Dale McGinnis Sr.. DNS: Jerry Huff, David Atkinson, Craig Curfman, Russ Dempsey.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Aug. 22 - Super Sprints, DIRT Modifieds, Pure Stocks and Demo Derby
Aug. 29 - Super Sprints, DIRT Modifieds and Pure Stocks (Points End) and CarMate Trailers and Bortner Tours NASCAR Trip Giveaways
Sept. 5 - Mod Madness III (DIRT Modifieds (50 Laps, $2,000-to-win), York Triathlon Stahl E Mod Series, Sportsman Modifieds and 6 Cylinder Modifieds)
Sept. 11 - USAC Sprint Car Series Pennzoil Oil Region Classic, York Triathlon Stahl E Mods Series and Sportsman Modifieds (Saturday Night Event)
Sept. 18 - ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series, Pure Stocks Applefest 100 Qualifier and Back-to-School Bus Races (Saturday Night Event)
Oct. 2 - Pure Stocks Applefest 100 and Demo Derby (Saturday Afternoon Event)