Weaver Tops Tittle In Penn Can Thriller
Susquehanna, Pa.- Fans at the Penn Can Speedway were treated to the best race of the
season to date at the Susquehanna, Pa. oval as former track champions
Brian Weaver and Butch Tittle locked up in a wild battle for victory in
the 30 lap Modified feature. The two veteran drives had he Penn Can fans
on their feet the entire second half of the 30 lap event, with Weaver
ultimately recording his first victory of the season. Chris poiasecki
stopped Jamie Shea's winning streak in the Super Stocks with Mike Smith
winning in the IMCA Modifieds. Gene Sharpsteen won his second straight
Late Model feature with Nate Evans picking up the Pure Stock victory.
The 30 lap Modified feature saw Marty Bunker and Mike Negel lead the
field down to Glenn O'Laughlin's green flag. Bunker led the early stages
with Kirk Horton working past to take the top spot in the early stages.
The Modified drivers ran an excellent feature as the first 17 laps were
run caution free. Just prior to the halfway point, Tittle advanaced from
his 11th starting postion to take the top spot away from Horton.
Racing resumed with Tittle leading and Weaver not yet showing in the
top five. Off the restart, Weaver took his brand new Decker's Logging
Bicknell 2001x #9R to the high side, advancing several positions to move
into a contending position. Weaver continued to work the extreme outside
groove around the race track and advanced to challenge Tittle. The
closing laps of the event featured several lead changes between Tittle
and Weaver as they battled for the victory. Tittle continued to work the
low groove with Weaver all the way up top. The final lap saw Tittle
attempt a slide job in the third turn, but Weaver was already alongside
which prevented Tittle from making the move work. Rather than rist a
crash that would have eliminated both, Tittle aborted the move and
settled for a runner-up finish in a simply incredible feature. Alan
Rudalavage worked past Kirk Horton for third late with Horton holding on
for fourth. Mike Colsten completed the top five. Bill Huff, Chris
Schupp, Marty Bunker, Rick Virkitis, and Tom MaGurrin completed the top
ten.
Brian Weaver, George Kostelansky, Kirk Horton, and Jeff Bronson won
Modified heat races. Rick Whitney won the consolation event.
Mike Smith picked up his first win of the season in the IMCA
Modified feature. The pilot of the Arkport Cycle #96 held off a
determined charge from previous week winner Steve Hartman to score the
win. Larry Robbins finished third with Frank Bonham and John Conway
completing the top five. Jaosn Moncosky, Charlie Gilbert, Kevin Cole,
Billy House, and Steve Welsh completed the top ten. IMCA Modified heats
were won by Conway and Hartman.
Waverrly, Ny's Gene Sharpsteen picked up the victory in the Late
Model feature. Sharpsteen started eighth on the field and picked his way
steadily toward the front of the field, assuming command just prior to
the halfway point. Longtime veteran Jim Sherman attempted to track Gene
down, but Sharpsteen was too strong. And picked up his second
consecutive Penn Can feature win. Al Whittaker, Jason Carmen, and Joe
Damiano completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten were Jamie
Griffiths, Lou Sparks, Jim O'Hara, Keith Mudge, and Rich King. Al Coy
and Randall Paxton won Late Model heats.
Chris Piasecki ended Jamie Shea's two race winning streak as he
picked up the win in the Super Stock feature. Glenn Wilcox finished
second to Piasecki trailed by Brett Spoor. Shea recovered from a
mid-race flat tire and rebounded for a fourth place finish with Dan
Vauter also earning a top five finish. Duane Robbins, Ken Sparks, Mark
Hanichak, Tony Nalachi, and Nick Petrilak made up the second half of the
top ten. Heat wins ent to Spoor and Wilcox.
Nate Evans picked up his first win of the season in Pure Stock
action. Evans scored a narrow victory over Chad Stone as Chad pressured
Nate all the way but was not able to find a way past. Bob Tyriw finished
third with Keith Wilkinds andShane Wolf making up the top five. Tyriw
and Everett Cass won Pure Stock heats.
Racing resumes this Friday night at Penn Can with a regular five
division card of racing action. The first heat takes the green flag at
7:15 PM. An added attraction this week will be the first area appearance
in several season of Speedo The Racing Clown. Speedo brings his unique
brand of family suitable entertainment to Penn Can this Friday night
along with a full racing card.
PENN CAN SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY:
MODIFIED : 1. BRIAN WEAVER 2. Butch Tittle 3. Aslan Rudalavage 4. Kirk
Horton 5. Mike Colsten 6. Bill Huff 7. Chris Schupp 8. Marty Bunker 9.
Rick Virkitis 10. Tom McGurrin 11. Carl Nagel 12. Mike Nagel 13. John
Gurnsey 14. Brian Franko 15. Alan Shiffler 16. Jeff Bronson 17. Mike
Decker 18. Garth Tonkin 19. Harry Marvin Jr. 20. Dave Zona 21. Rick
Whitney 22. Mike Frederick 23. Billy Thornton 24. George Kostelansky
IMCA MODIFIED: 1. MIKE SMITH 2. Steve Hartman 3. Larry Robbins 4. Frank
Bonham 5. John Conway 6. Jason Makosky 7. Charlie Gilbert 8. Kevin Cole
9. Billy House 10. Steve Welch 11. Bob Chapman
LATE MODEL: 1. GENE SHARPSTEEN 2. Jim Sherman 3. Al Whittaker 4. Jason
Carmen 5. Joe Damiano 6. Jamie Griffiths 7. Lou Sparks 8. Jim O'Hara 9.
Keith Mudge 10. Rich King 11. Jade Brewer 12. Al Coy 13. Randy Brokaw 14.
Randall Paxton 15. Clint Kauffman 16. Tim Paxton
SUPER STOCK: 1. CHRIS PIASECKI 2. Glenn Wilcox 3. Brett Spoor 4. Jamie
Shea 5. Dan Vauter 6. Dwayne Robbins 7. Ken Sparks 8. Mark Hanichak 9.
Tony Nalachi 10. Nick Petrilak 11. Chris Hunsinger 12. Rick Brown 13.
Paul Rooney 14. Craig Tralla 15. Pete Gullick
PURE STOCK: 1. NATE EVANS 2. Chad Stone 3. Bob Tyriw 4. Keith Wilkins 5.
Shane Wolf 6. Chris Lord 7. Harry Marvin III 8. Craig Decker 10. Jim
Ortiz 11. Everett Cass 12. Danny Bagg 13. Nate Shay 14. Andy Cowell DNS:
Rob Warner, Archie Ellsworth, Michael Lartz