CHANEY AND BLANEY IN SHARON SPRINTS AND MODIFIEDS
by Mike Leone
Hartford(OH)...The fifth night of racing in the 70th anniversary of racing at Sharon Speedway saw Rob Chaney (Sprint Cars) and Lou Blaney (DIRT Modifieds) garner headlining wins. Other winners were Bob McCann (E-Mods) and Rick Prosser, Jr. (Stock Cars).
Its been the same old song and dance for Rob Chaney the last three weeks. The Millersburg, Ohio Sprint Car driver won for the third straight time this year and has won the last four regular shows he has participated in, and has pretty much erased all the bad luck he suffered in the past few years. Chaney relayed, "We're pretty happy to come here and run on a track like this. I think as much bad luck as we had before, maybe things are turning around and we are getting some luck in a row."
Gary Edwards had the pole for the 20-lap feature, but had the front-end go out on the start moving Jarod Larson to the pole with Chaney alongside. Three more cautions waved before five laps could be completed. Chaney passed Larson on the lap five restart and held him off in a caution-plagued event that was slowed eight times. Larson tried on several occasions to slide under the young charger, especially on lap seven and on the final restart, but the driver of the Superior Tank & Trailer #42 had enough run off the top side of the speedway to hold on. "Yeah he (Larson) was pretty fast. My car was a little bit tight early on so I was having some troubles. He gave me a run there at the end still so that was a pretty good race," said Chaney.
Larson continues to be the bridesmaid as the defending two-time champion has finished second in all four events run this year. Troy Preston ran out of fuel during a caution with 19 laps completed moving Tommy Burns, Jr. to third at the finish up from his 12th starting spot. Mike Kekich backed his fourth place finish at Mercer Raceway Park on Saturday night with another fourth. Marty Ling completed the top five. Sixth through tenth were Arnie Kent, Jeff Schrum, Jack Sodeman, Jr., Bob Lime, and C.W. Harshman. Scoring heat wins were Preston and Chaney.
Lou Blaney won his second 20-lap Sharon DIRT Modified Feature and also his second race of the weekend after winning Saturday night at Mercer. Blaney used his typical outside groove to race to the victory. "Tonight it was the best (outside of the track). The bottom got a little slick and it (the outside) was something to lean on. The track was pretty nice, real nice really," said the veteran Blaney from victory lane.
On lap one, Kevin Bolland, Blaney, and Tim Doran passed Randy Snider for the first three spots. Bolland held down the lead until lap three when his #777 went up in smoke giving the lead to Blaney with Doran, and Dave Murdick trailing.
The only caution of the race was for a Pete Simpson spin with eight laps completed. On the restart, Murdick drove by Doran for second. The top four cars of Blaney, Murdick, Doran, and Rex King distanced themselves from the field. Murdick closed on Blaney on several occasions but the Hartford, Ohio driver had enough in his son Dave's Colonial Metals/Troy Alan Chevrolet #10 to win his fifth overall race of the 1999. To the approval of the cheering crowd, Blaney commented, "Yeah, there may not be too many more. You got to take them when you can get them."
Murdick ran another great race to finish second. King passed Doran for third on lap 18 and was running down Murdick, but ran out of laps and finished third after starting ninth. Doran and Guy Griffin were fourth and fifth. Sixth through tenth were Rodney Beltz, Jim Rasey, Bill Dorman, Mike Sutton, and Carl Murdick. Heats went to Dave Murdick and Blaney.
Bob McCann won his first 15-lap E-Mod Feature in a survival race that saw only seven cars finish. McCann started fifth and inherited the lead on lap seven when Jeff Sharp slowed. Sharp's teammate, Jeff Rudrick, was running second and slowed as well moving Bootie Petsko into second and Jim White, Jr. to third on lap nine. Alan Dellinger worked his way back through the field after a changing a tire as he passed White for third on lap 10 and drove by Petsko on the final lap for runner-up. McCann of New Castle, Pa. held on in his McConnell's Sunoco/Edward's Restaurant and Lounge #94 for the win as Dellinger settled for second. Third through fifth were Petsko, Jeff Johnson, and White. Heat winners were Petsko and Dellinger.
Rick Prosser, Jr. won his fourth straight 15-lap Stock Car Feature. The Geneva, Ohio driver started ninth and raced by Nathan Miller for third on lap five. One lap later, Prosser moved into second taking Larry Keener. The winning move came on the seventh circuit when Prosser disposed of Joe Porter. Gary Robinson and Tom Miller worked through the field. The two passed Porter for second and third on lap eight. On lap nine, Miller got around Robinson for runner-up. Miller closed on Prosser, but the Geneva Storage/Big "M" Motors #A1 had enough for the win. Robinson edged Dwayne Clay for third. Mark Felicetty was fifth. Clay and Robinson were heat victors.
Sprint Car Feature Finish: 1. ROB CHANEY 2. Jarod Larson 3. Tommy Burns, Jr. 4. Mike Kekich 5. Marty Ling 6. Arnie Kent 7. Jeff Schrum 8. Jack Sodeman, Jr. 9. Bob Lime 10. C.W. Harshman 11. Troy Preston 12. Troy Cochran 13. Terry Young 14. Ralph Spithaler, Jr. 15. Gary Kriess, Jr. 16. Doug Kekich 17. Sheila Rankin 18. Dave Murdick 19. Jamie McKinney 20. Gary Edwards.
DIRT Modified Feature Finish: 1. LOU BLANEY 2. Dave Murdick 3. Rex King 4. Tim Doran 5. Guy Griffin 6. Rodney Beltz 7. Jim Rasey 8. Bill Dorman 9. Mike Sutton 10. Carl Murdick 11. Pete Simpson 12. George Hobaugh 13. Rick Kress 14. Randy Snider 15. Randy Chronister 16. Kevin Bolland 17. Sheila Rankin-DNS.
E-Mod Feature Finish: 1. BOB MCCANN 2. Alan Dellinger 3. Bootie Petsko 4. Jeff Johnson 5. Jim White, Jr. 6. Arlan Coy 7. Bill Taylor 8. Ron Jaeger 9. Jeff Rudrick 10. Bob Williams 11. Bob Diver 12. Gary Miller, Jr. 13. Jr. Mechling 14. Jim Marino 15. Scott Stiffler 16. Jeff Sharp 17. Dave McLaughlin 18. Ricci Betts-DNS 19. Mike Lesky-DNS.
Stock Car Feature Finish: 1. RICK PROSSER, JR. 2. Tom Miller 3. Gary Robinson 4. Dwayne Clay 5. Mark Felicetty 6. Glen Pupino 7. Carl Pasternack 8. Paul Gabrielson 9. Dave Wagner 10. Robert Kutsch 11. Larry Keener 12. Bill McMurray 13. Ralph Blackson 14. John Jackson 15. Eric Gibson 16. Joe Porter 17. Jim Davis 18. Jason Longwell 19. Nathan Miller 20. Ben Elser.
Upcoming show:
June 13 Bicknell Racing Products DIRT Modified Tour ‘99 race #3 plus Sprint Cars, E-Mods, and Stock Cars.
June 20 Regular show. Fathers day-all dads receive $2 off general admission.
June 27 Regular show. Kids bike races.
July 01 Ohio All Star Sprint Speedweek for Sprint Cars plus York Triathlon Series E-Mods and Stock Cars.
July 04 Sprint Cars, DIRT Modifieds, and Stock Cars. Kids bike races.
Gates open at 4:30 p.m. with racing at 6:30 p.m.
Media Contact: Mike Leone, 53 East Glenora Drive, Grove City, PA 16127. Phone/Fax: 724-748-3358. E-mail: mleone@infonline.net
Sharon Speedway is north of Interstate 80 on Route 7 to Route 305, then east on Custer-Orangeville Road in Hartford, Oh. For more information call (330) 652-5030 or the speedway on race day at (330) 772-5481. The fax number is (330) 772-7704. The mailing address is P.O. Box 403, Mineral Ridge, OH 44440.