CHANEY AGAIN IN SPRINTS DORAN WINS FIRST SINCE '96' IN DIRT MODIFIEDS AT SHARON

by Mike Leone

Hartford(OH) Highlighting wins on the third night of the 70th anniversary season were Rob Chaney (Sprint Cars) and Tim Doran (DIRT Modifieds). Other winners were Alan Dellinger (E-Mods) and Rick Prosser, Jr. (Stock Cars).

Rob Chaney is taking a liking to Sharon Speedway. The Millersburg, Ohio native made it two-in-a-row scoring the 20-lap Sprint Car Feature win. "The track was a little more slick than last week. We put on used tires," said the driver of the Superior Tank and Trailer #42. "The car seems to keep getting better and better."

With brother-in-law Dale Blaney helping out in the pits, Doug Kekich shot into the lead at the drop of the green passing Terry Young. Chaney and Jarod Larson both drove by Young for second and third on the opening lap. By lap five, Chaney was all over Kekich as the two both ran the top of the speedway. Following a restart with five laps completed, Chaney drove by Kekich on the outside of turn two for the lead. Following a lap eight restart for a spin by Dave Wagner, Kekich again lost a position as Jarod Larson moved under for runner-up. As Chaney began to pull away, Kekich and Larson continued to battle as the two swapped positions. Kekich got back by on lap 10, but lost the spot for good on lap 15.

Meanwhile, Chaney motored on by lap traffic for the easy win. Chaney has now won the last three regular shows he has competed in at Sharon. Larson was second for the third time out of three nights this year. Kekich was third and Gary Kriess, Jr. was fourth for two great runs by the young drivers. Tommy Burns, Jr. completed the top five. Sixth through tenth were Young, Gary Edwards, Brad Ellenberger, Jeff Schrum, and C.W. Harshman. Heats for the 23-car field were won by Larson and Chaney.

After two straight years of being the track champion without a win, Tim Doran returned to victory lane for the first time since 1996. Randy Snider jumped into the lead at the start of the 20-lap DIRT Modified Feature. Rex King, who started fourth, grabbed second from Doran on lap two. On lap three, King took over the top spot from Snider passing him in turns one and two. Doran and Guy Griffin also passed Snider for second and third on laps four and five.

King appeared to have the race under control as he continued to build his lead toward the half-way point. During a caution for a Mike Sutton spin with 11 laps completed, King exited to the pits with overheating problems. This gave the lead to Doran with Griffin, Snider, Steve Young, and Jim Rasey trailing. When racing resumed, Doran edged by Griffin on the start. After working on Snider for many laps, Young drove by on the outside for third on lap 14. The final caution was for a Pete Simpson spin with 16 laps completed.

The last four laps saw a four-car breakaway with Doran, Griffin, Young, and Kevin Bolland leading the pack. Doran of New Castle, Pa. pulled away to record the win in the Richard Smith Construction/Book and Book Well Drilling #12. Young had a great run coming from 10th to pass Griffin in turn three of the final lap to record his best career Sharon finish after winning his first-ever at Lernerville Speedway on Friday. Griffin dropped to third at the finish. Bolland came from 16th to finish fourth in his season debut, while Snider fell to fifth. Sixth through tenth were Bill Dorman, Skip Moore, Carl Murdick, Sutton, and Simpson. Taking heat wins were King and Doran.

Niles, Ohio's Alan Dellinger won his second 15-lap E-Mod Feature of the year. Dellinger started sixth and cracked the top three passing Mike Hess on lap three. On lap five, Dellinger moved into second with a pass of Jeff Covelli. Two laps later, Dellinger drove to the inside of Jeff Sharp and took the lead. Bob McCann started ninth and worked his way up to challenger Dellinger after passing Sharp on lap 10 The last five laps saw McCann all over Dellinger, but the Ralph's RV Center/Boardman Engines #19 had enough for his 13th Sharon E-Mod win in the last 14 races. Finishing third through fifth were Sharp, Bob Williams from 15th, and Gary Miller, Jr. Winning heats over the 29-car field were Dellinger, Scott Jones, and Hess. Bootie Petsko won the B main.

Geneva, Ohio's Rick Prosser, Jr. won his second straight 15-lap Stock Car Feature. Prosser started 10th and worked with Gary Robinson to get to the front. The two passed Joe Porter on lap four for second and third. Dwayne Clay was the early leader holding off Prosser and Robinson, who were side-by side, until lap six when both Prosser and Robinson got by. Prosser edged ahead of Robinson despite a severe push in the turns. At the finish, Prosser's Big "M" Motors/Geneva Storage #A1 held on for a three car-length win over Robinson. Clay held off Doug Iorio for third. Tom Miller was fifth. Heats were won by Miller, Robinson, and Prosser.

Sprint Car Feature Finish: 1. ROB CHANEY 2. Jarod Larson 3. Doug Kekich 4. Gary Kriess, Jr. 5. Tommy Burns, Jr. 6. Terry Young 7. Gary Edwards 8. Brad Ellenberger 9. Jeff Schrum 10. C.W. Harshman 11. Goob Schuller 12. Bob Lime 13. Troy Cochran 14. Marty Ling 15. Buddy Cochran 16. Jamie McKinney 17. Mike Kekich 18. Dave Wagner 19. Jack Sodeman, Jr. 20. Barry Ruble 21. Dave Murdick 22. J.B. Scarbrough 23. Troy Preston-DNS.

DIRT Modified Feature Finish: 1. TIM DORAN 2. Steve Young 3. Guy Griffin 4. Kevin Bolland 5. Randy Snider 6. Bill Dorman 7. Skip Moore 8. Carl Murdick 9. Mike Sutton 10. Pete Simpson 11. Rick Kress 12. Jim Rasey 13. Rex King 14. Dave Murdick 15. George Hobaugh 16. Lonny Riggs.

E-Mod Feature Finish: 1. ALAN DELLINGER 2. Bob McCann 3. Jeff Sharp 4. Bob Williams 5. Gary Miller, Jr. 6. Scott Stiffler 7. Jeff Johnson 8. Vince DeStefano 9. Jeff Rudrick 10. Craig Douglas 11. Bootie Petsko 12. Scott Jones 13. Rick Robinson 14. Jerry Hassay 15. Skip Moore 16. Dennis Niegerritui 17. Jeff Haefke 18. Jeff Covelli 19. Chuck List, Sr. 20. Bill Taylor 21. Arlan Coy 22. Chuck Schell 23. John Strickler DNQ-Bob Diver, Bob Bongorni, Ron Jaeger, Rick Prosser, Jr., Jack Young, Jim White, Jr.

Stock Car Feature Finish: 1. RICK PROSSER, JR. 2. Gary Robinson 3. Dwayne Clay 4. Doug Iorio 5. Tom Miller 6. Joe Porter 7. Carl Pasternack 8. Mark Felicetty 9. Larry Keener 10. Ben Elser 11. Jim Davis 12. John Jackson 13. Ralph Blackson 14. Nathan Miller 15. Charlie Baptiste 16. Mike Sohm 17. Glenn Pupino 18. Delmis Nestor 19. Scott Molesy 20. Patty McCann 21. Eric Gibson 22. Tom Martin 23. Eric Ulbricht 24. Sammy Wheat 25. Sam Ritenour-DNS 26. Russell Stanke-DNS 27. George Kafantaris.

STARS Late Models at Sharon this Sunday

The STARS National DirtCar League Late Models will be at Sharon Speedway this Sunday, May 30 for the first of two 1999 scheduled appearances. A $22,000 purse will be posted with $5,000 going to the winner of the "Steel Valley 40". Going into the STARS event this Saturday, may 29 at Muskinghum County Speedway in Zainesville, Ohio Donnie Moran of Dresden, Ohio is the current point leader. Completing the top ten in points are Mike Balzano, Chub Frank, R.J. Conley, Rick Aukland, Tim Hitt, Gary Stuhler, Todd Andrews, Steve Shaver, and Bart Hartman. STARS has appeared at Sharon Speedway eleven previous times with six different drivers scoring wins. Davey Johnson has five triumphs at the Hartford, Ohio oval. Donnie Moran has picked up two wins, while single victories have gone to defending event winner Steve Francis and to Mike Balzano, Freddy Smith and Steve Shaver. Also on the racing card will be the E-Mods and Stock Cars. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. with warm-ups at 6:00 p.m., time trials at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 7:00 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.