Strada Wins War At Moc-A-Tek; Bests Kellogg For 358-Mod Win
By BRETT DEYO
LAKEVILLE, PA - It wasn't pretty, but Ed Strada Jr. got the job done.
Overcoming a 13th starting position and a slam-bang battle with Allan Kellogg late in the going, the South Canaan, Pa., talent picked up the 358-Modified win last Saturday night at Lake Moc-A-Tek Speedway.
A determined drive in the final circuits of the 25-lap affair catapulted the defending champion to the $1,000 triumph.
"I thought I was going to have to settle for fourth after starting so far back," a visibly enthused Strada remarked. "I actually surprised myself at the end there."
By luck of the draw, opening night winner Allan Kellogg started on the outside pole and scooted into the lead on the start. After a disastrous second lap that included a pair of multi-car incidents, the Mt. Cobb, Pa., chauffeur checked out on the field, opening up nearly a straightaway advantage.
A long stretch of green flag racing allowed Kellogg to catch the tail end of the field by lap 10. Kellogg was mired in a large pack of lapped traffic when, on lap 17, a spin by Keith Nonnemacher necessitated a caution.
That gave Strada, who had climbed to fourth, the break he needed. Heading into the first turn, he moved by third-running Buddy Altemose, then muscled past Tommy Hager for the runner-up spot in turn four.
"This thing fires on restarts," the 39-year-old said of his Wally Fiehl-powered Bicknell. "I timed it right on the start and got them both right away. That worked out - they (Hager and Altemose) both were pretty fast."
Strada caught Kellogg on lap 20 and that's when it got interesting.
Entering turn one, he dove hard to the inside. The duo made heavy contact, sending Kellogg's No. 99 momentarily skyward and handing Strada the lead.
"I caught the rut in one and bounced up into him the first time I got by," Strada admitted. "I think I caught him by surprise when I got under him."
Exiting turn four, Kellogg got into Strada's left quarter panel, turning his No. 42 almost completely sideways on the frontstretch. That gave the top spot back to Kellogg, but Strada wasn't backing down.
"He was mad more than anything when I passed him," Strada analyzed.
"He was running down across the track every lap, so the bottom was open. We got together in one, then he had me pretty sideways out of four. It was close to going around on me; I was waiting for two or three guys to go by both of us."
With two laps remaining, the crafty veteran put his Goldleaf Financial mount to the inside of Kellogg in turn one. Again they banged together, sending Kellogg up the track.
This time, the move stuck and Strada went on to record his first win of the season.
How did he pull off the final maneuver?
"He slid up a little," Strada said with a smile. "And I moved him up some more."
After a dominant start, Kellogg was forced to settle for a second place finish.
"Lapped traffic really did us in," said Kellogg, whose Bicknell car sustained a pair of bent radius rods while running with the slower cars.
"I got together with somebody, I think it may have been the 3 car (Ricky Yetter) on the backstretch. After that I was really tight."
As for the battle with Strada, he attributed it to hard racing.
"He gave me the iron and I gave it right back," he said. "In one and two, he got into me pretty good, so I returned the favor coming out of four. That was just racing."
Buddy Altemose of Pocono Pines, Pa., rallied to a third place finish, besting a returning Tommy Hager and Brian Malcolm.
In just his second career Sportsman start, Cresco, Pa.'s Eric Palmer topped the time-shortened 13-lap feature.
The 250cc Micro-Sprint graduate, piloting a Dave Van Horn-powered Bicknell, outdistanced multi-time champion Joey Grammes to record the win, one week after finishing third in his debut.
"Who would believe it?" the 30-year-old exclaimed. "When I was a kid, I sat in the stands at Nazareth (Pa.) every week and dreamed of racing a Modified someday. This is just overwhelming."
Grammes, of Kunkletown, Pa., charged from 16th to finish second, ahead of Don Hildebrant, Ricky Rutt and Mike Mondak.
With three drivers vying for the lead on the final lap, Nick Petrilak of Greenfield Township, Pa., bested Bill Trego by a half car-length to win the 20-lap Street Stock feature.
Heading down the backstretch, Trego looked to the inside, while Dan Pompey tried the outside of Petrilak. Pompey slid high entering turn three, leaving it to Petrilak and Trego. Petrilak, the defending champion, held Trego to the extreme inside and narrowly won the drag race to the stripe.
Pompey, Dave Luff and Adam Jones rounded out the top five.
Joe Smith pulled off a lap seven pass of Frank Venezia, then fought off the late-race advances of Jay Hartman to win the 20-lap 250cc Micro-Sprint main. For Smith, it was his second trip to victory lane of the season. He was also victorious in the heldover feature contested on April 10.
Hartman, Ralph Utter Jr., Kevin Nolf and Tim Manieri trailed at the finish.
In the regularly scheduled 15-lap Pure Stock/Four Cylinder feature, Todd Buskirk of Hecktown, Pa., took the win over Mike Spinks, Frank Bush, Mike Toothman and John Richards.
Jason Walsh of Oxford, N.J., bested brother Jon Walsh to win the curfew-postponed 15-lap Pure Stock/Four Cylinder feature from April 17. Frank Bush, Ted Mills Jr. and Bobby Melovitz rounded out the top five.
The massive field of 124 cars forced the use of the infield for pit parking.
Racing resumes at the Thrill Track on May 1 with a full show of 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Street Stocks, Pure Stock/Four Cylinders and 250cc Micro-Sprints plus Powder Puff Races. Gates open at 3 p.m. with hot laps at 5 p.m. and racing promptly at 6 p.m.
For more information, contact the track office at (570) 676-8665 or check out the website: www.lakemocatekspeedway.com. The race day phone is (570) 226-5602.
NOTABLE: With the Friday night cancellation of Accord (N.Y.) Speedway, invaders Jeff Hulseapple (Sportsman), Jeremy Markle and Scott Ferrier (358-Mod) joined the fray. Markle, ironically, tangled with Joey Grammes in the third heat race, sending Grammes into the turn three yuke tire.
The incident occurred one week after the pair clashed at Accord in the opener….
Grammes said his car's damage was mostly cosmetic: a crushed inner hoop, muffler and door resulted from the impact…
Dom Roselli relinquished a qualifying spot in the third heat race when the torsion arm slipped off the roller on his No. 80. He was forced to take a provisional to get in the field and climbed to ninth at the finish….
Tom Solderich survived a scary moment in the second qualifier. The drive shaft broke in his No. 28s small-block and took out the battery….
Following a second lap tangle in the 358-Mod main, John Leiby's team made quick repairs to their Teo-Pro car, rejoining the field with a single radius rod on the right front…
Mike Mammana, the 22-year-old nephew of 358-Modified journeyman Tom Hager, made his Sporstman debut. Mammana, a WKA Go-Kart champion from Nazareth, Pa., was only at LMS for a visit; he will join the Rookie Sportsman ranks at Bridgeport (N.J.) Speedway on May 1…
358-Modified Feature Finish: ED STRADA JR., Allan Kellogg, Buddy Altemose, Tom Hager, Brian Malcolm, Tom Oleski, Barry White, Bryant Brown, Dom Roselli, Gary Griffin, Joey Grammes, Carl Pittenger, Troy Weisenfluh, Scott Frack, John Leiby, Joe Eisenhauer, Jesse Kline, Keith Nonnemacher, Ricky Yetter, Jeremy Markle, George Hildebrant, Ryan Taylor.
Did Not Qualify: Brian Cobb, Tom Gervasi, Kevin Nolf, Tom Solderich, Scott Ferrier, Bernie Kelly, Joe Uliana.
Sportsman Feature Finish: ERIC PALMER, Joey Grammes, Don Hildebrant, Ricky Rutt, Mike Mondak, Rick Raisner, Bill Moyer, Brad Grim, John Bush, John Micek, Ted Stout, Archie Myers III, Ryan Olsommer, John Leiby Jr., Chris Riddle, Greg Morgan, Archie Myers IV, Mike McCollum, Tommy Laner, Keith Fleming, Rick Beavers, Andy Stout.
Did Not Qualify: Jeff Hulseapple, Kevin Heafy, Bob Grasic, Mike Van Tassel, Matt Kaminskas, Kyle Pickering, Chad Hadlick, Mike Mammana, Scott Merritt, Willard Knecht.
Street Stock Feature Finish: NICK PETRILAK, Bill Trego, Dan Pompey, Dave Luff, Adam Jones, Clark Bradford, Neil DiBlasi, Greg Buchanan, Ken Taugher, Bill Saxe, Jim Sykes, Randy Tyler, Brian Petrilak, Tony Ferri, Les Gillette, Paul Tannura, Billy Price Jr., Tom Cilurso, Carl Heater, Jimmy Hughes Jr.
Did Not Start: Keith Villano, Eric Moon, Kevin Mandic.
Pure Stock/Four Cylinder Feature Finish: TODD BUSKIRK, Mike Spinks, Frank Bush, Mike Toothman, John Richards, Jay Martin, Jon Walsh, Randy Richards, Ron Blake, Jay Smith, Kyle Moon, Serafino Raggi, Allen Metzgar, Bobby Melovitz, Gary Druhl.
Did Not Start: Jason Walsh, Ted Mills Jr.
Pure Stock/Four Cylinder Heldover Feature Finish: JASON WALSH, Jon Walsh, Frank Bush, Ted Mills Jr., Bobby Melovitz, Mike Toothman, Randy Richards, Allen Metzgar, John Richards, Todd Buskirk, Serafino Raggi.
Did Not Start: Kyle Moon, Alan Wheeler.
250cc Micro-Sprint Feature Finish: JOE SMITH, Jay Hartman, Ralph Utter Jr., Kevin Nolf, Tim Manieri, Frank Venezia, Lex Burritt, Matt Mountz, Patrick Milikowski, Stephanie Stevens, Scott Dech, Jay Sisco, Darrell Cobb, Chris Weiss, Joe Buchanan, Angela Caruso, Michael Storms, Jeff Hartman, Greg Stevens, Nicole Morgillo.
Did Not Qualify: Derek Ramstrom, Ken Wismer Jr., Marty Reinsmith.