Category: Featured Other Series

Featured Other Series

Two Weeks, Two Wins: Poole Leads 77 of 80 to Win on New Pocono Surface

[media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”269″][/media-credit](LONG POND, Pa.) – New conditions require adaptability, especially in racing, and Brennan Poole and Venturini Motorsports proved to be the best at handling a revamped Pocono Raceway in the track’s first ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards event since an offseason paving project.

Poole (No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Toyota) led 77 of 80 laps, including the final 60, to win the Pocono ARCA 200 over Chad Hackenbracht (No. 58 CGH Motorsports Chevrolet). Alex Bowman (No. 22 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Dodge) finished third.

The win was Poole’s second in a row after triumphing seven days ago at 0.375-mile Elko Speedway. Poole showed his ability to adapt not only by translating his success to one of ARCA’s largest tracks at 2.5 miles, but also by so cleanly dominating on the new Pocono asphalt.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am,” Poole said. “It’s a great feeling to win here. It’s a historic track, and being the first winner on the new paved asphalt is pretty awesome. I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Poole credited his Venturini Motorsports team and an engine from Joe Gibbs Racing in his victory.

“I can’t be thankful enough to be a part of their family, and I’m proud to say I drive a car that’s powered by Joe Gibbs Racing,” Poole said. “I can’t thank Venturini Motorsports enough. Billy Venturini, my crew chief, did an incredible job and set up an awesome race car for us and it carried over in the race.”

Ever a team player, Poole recognized his crew for their work in the pits.

“They got us out front and got us into clean air and that’s what it seemed to be all about throughout the day,” he said. If you could have clean air, you could run quicker. With the tapered spacer, you really had to keep your momentum up.”

Poole set a new track qualifying record on Friday, breaking Kyle Busch’s 2003 mark with a fast lap of 173.554 mph, nearly a quarter of a second faster than second starter and teammate Kevin Swindell (No. 55 Curb Records/Venturini Motorsports Toyota)

Poole kept a consistent lead under one second through the first six laps, but started to dominate over the next four, increasing his advantage by more than 3.5 seconds in that time. Hackenbracht, who had used the inside line to move from third to second on the first lap, stayed there, as Swindell and Frank Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota) battled for the third spot.

Swindell pitted from third place on Lap 13 with a shredded front left tire. Increased heat and wear in tires had been a concern for ARCA officials and teams throughout the weekend, and Swindell’s early damage justified those thoughts. As Poole finished Lap 15 with a seven-second lead on Hackenbracht, the caution flag flew, allowing teams to enter pit road and check tire wear.

Chris Buescher (No. 17 BeavEx/Reliance Tool Ford) and Roulo Brothers Racing teammate Brandon Davis (No. 99 Ford) each took just two tires to come out first and third, respectively, with Poole emerging second after taking four.

The green flag flew at Lap 21 with Buescher leading on the outside line, near the wall. Poole passed him on the inside entering Turn 3, taking a 0.132-second lead at the start/finish line.

Soon after that, though, Bobby Gerhart and Michael Leavine collided entering the first turn, collecting George Cushman along the way. Swindell, who had fallen from the lead lap with his green flag pit stop, earned the Aaron’s Lucky Dog to get back onto the lead lap in 20th place.

Lap 33 brought another green flag with Poole leading Buescher, Davis, Josh Williams, and Hackenbracht. Poole could not get away as easily. Buescher trailed Poole by just over one second before Hackenbracht passed him on Lap 36. Then, Hackenbracht shortened the gap to Poole to under a second and kept it there as the field sorted out past the halfway point. While Buescher dropped four seconds behind Poole in third, Poole only led Hackenbracht by 0.948 second after Lap 40, the halfway point.

Buescher stayed in third, and Swindell moved to fourth after recovering from his earlier lap-down misfortune. He had been 12th at Lap 34, 10th one lap later, eighth on Lap 37, and fifth on Lap 43 before moving into fourth on Lap 44. All of that improvement, though, did damage to Swindell’s left front tire – again – and he drove to pit road on Lap 45. Davis then improved to fourth, but had to pit just the same.

Poole and Hackenbracht started to make the race a two-car duel at Lap 47. While Poole led by just 1.27 second, Buescher fell more than 11 seconds off the pace. Five laps later, Buescher was 13 seconds behind, with new fourth- and fifth-place drivers Matt Lofton and Tom Hessert more than 30 seconds behind Poole. Up front, the leaders were driving 53-second laps and only 12 cars remained on the lead lap.

Poole’s exceptional lead was not permanent, though, as the caution flag came out at Lap 59 and promised to tighten the field as cars entered pit road for the final time. Poole led Hackenbracht and had to drive all the way to the last spot before the exit line. He emerged first as Hackenbracht’s crew had trouble raising the car’s right side. Buescher’s crew also took more time than previously, taking four tires instead of two. Ryan Reed, who had entered eighth, emerged second from the pits behind teammate Poole, as Hackenbracht, Buescher, and Corr filled the top five.

The race started again at Lap 64. Bowman, who had risen to fourth on the previous green flag run but fell to eighth on pit road, was resurgent. He drove by Buescher and into third on Lap 65. Poole extended his lead over Hackenbracht back to a second, as Reed fell out of the top five.

With 10 laps to go, Poole led Hackenbracht by 1.808 second and Bowman by 2.062, as Bowman continued to pressure for the second position. Lofton and Buescher drove just behind the lead trio, just under 10 seconds behind Poole.

Dominant all weekend after winning the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell and leading final practice, Poole was not to be denied in pursuit of his third career win in just 11 starts. He won by a final margin of 5.164 seconds over Hackenbracht and 5.952 seconds over Bowman, with Lofton over 14 seconds behind.

The race started in an unusual manner, as Aleks Gregory crashed alone on a pace lap before the first green flag even flew. Drivers making the first lap under green then had to drive through a light cloud of asphalt-drying powder on the Long Pond Straightaway between Turns 1 and 2.

Kimmel finished sixth, with Jared Marks seventh, A.J. Henriksen eighth, Reed ninth, and Williams 10th. Unofficially, Poole leads the series standings by 60 points over Buescher, with Hackenbracht 80 points behind in third.

The race finished in one hour, 34 minutes, and 10 seconds, at an average speed of 127.436 mph. The full results are available below.

2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Event #7 Pocono Raceway, Long Pond Pennsylvania, 6-9-12 Pocono ARCA 200 FINSTRNODRIVER/HOMETOWNLAPS STATUS 1125Brennan Poole/The Woodlands TX80Running 2358Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadelphia OH80Running 3722Alex Bowman/Tucson AZ80Running 4416Matt Lofton/Roxboro NC80Running 5917Chris Buescher/Prosper TX80Running 6544Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN80Running 7812Jared Marks/Napoleon OH80Running 81266A.J. Henriksen/Elgin IL80Running 9615Ryan Reed/Bakersfield CA80Running 101102Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL80Running 111852Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ80Running 121482Sean Corr/Goshen NY80Running 131323Spencer Gallagher/Las Vegas NV80Running 141035Nelson Canache/Caracas Venezuela79Running 15213Steve Fox/Hazleton PA78Running 162088Buster Graham/Lafayette LA76Running 172404Larry Barford Jr./Denton MD76Running 182810Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY76Running 19255Kevin Swindell/Germantown TN76Running 202607Brian Kaltreider/Orangeville PA76Running 211599Brandon Davis/Huntington Beach CA75Running 223148James Hylton/Inman SC73Running 232706Tommy O’Leary/Cygnet OH47Running 242534Darrell Basham/Henryville IN32Engine 25225Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA21Accident 261695Michael Leavine/Bullard TX21Accident 271913George Cushman/Waterville NY21Accident 28300Don Thompson/Carlisle PA12Running 292969Korbin Forrister/Cedartown GA4Vibration 30237Brent Cross/Cortland NY2Suspnsn 313497Nick Tucker/Bremerton WA2Rear End 323340Roger Carter/Sunfield MI2Transmssn 331732Aleks Gregory/Baton Rouge LA0Accident 68Will Kimmel/Sellersburg INDNS Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell: Brennan Poole 51.857 (173.554 mph) *NTR Margin of Victory: 5.164 seconds Time of Race: 1:34:10 Lap Leaders: Poole 1-17, 21-80 (77); Buescher 18-20 (3)

Michigan International Speedway is the next stop for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards in just six days, in the RainEater Wiper Blades 200. SPEED will air Friday’s race live – the 31st for ARCA at the two-mile oval since 1980 – at 5 p.m., one of 10 broadcasts for the series on the network this season. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring of all on-track events Thursday and Friday.

2012 is the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards’ 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 26 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.375 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series visited Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota’s Elko Speedway for the first time.

Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local weekly events.

June 9, 2012
Kraig Kinser Notches First Win of Season at Kokomo

[media-credit id=30 align=”alignright” width=”211″][/media-credit]Tonight the World of Outlaw Sprints were back in Kokomo, Indiana for the third round of the Kasey Kahne Challenge. The Outlaws are returning to Kokomo for the first time since 2007.

Steve Kinser, who leads the current championship standings, has claimed a series-best six feature wins at the quarter-mile oval. However, there has been a different winner in each of the past six World of Outlaws events at Kokomo Speedway dating back to 1993.

Kokomo Speedway is a fast, 1/4 mile semi-banked clay oval. Over the years the track has played host to virtually a who’s who in racing history. A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Lloyd Ruby, Troy Ruttman, Johnny Parsons, Parnelli Jones, Bill Vuckovich, Pancho Carter, John Andretti, Steve Butler, J.J. Yeley, Steve Kinser, Jack Hewitt, Rich Vogler, Tom Bigelow, Tony Stewart and Mike Groff are among those who have both raced at the track as well as in the Indianapolis 500.

Sprint Cup standouts like Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Ken Schrader, Kasey Kahne, Yeley, Stewart and Dave Blaney are just a few who have visited the track over the years.

A record setting crowd for Kokomo Speedway would see a new track record set by Sammy Swindell in qualifying, with a lap of 10.950 or 82.192 mph shattering the old record of 11.021 set in September of 2006 by Jeremy Campbell.

The 31 car field ran 3 heat races that each transferred 6 to the A Main and 2 to the Dash. The first heat was red flagged for repairs to the catch fence in turns 1 and 2 when Geoff Dodge got up into the wall and damaged the catch fence with his right rear tire. Dodge would retire until the B Main. The first heat would be won by Joey Saldana with Sammy Swindell coming home second. Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet, Brady Bacon and Brian Paulus would also transfer to the A Main.

The second heat race would see Daryn Pittman coming home first with Lucas Wolfe a very close 2nd. Craig Dollansky, Dale Blaney, Cap Henry and Steve Kinser would round out the transfer list.

The third heat would see 4 time champion Donny Schatz leading the way across the stripe with Kerry Madsen close behind. Bill Rose had a great night coming home third. Kraig Kinser, Cody Darrah and Sheldon Haudenschild would round out the transfer list.

The Dash inversion was drawn by fast time holder Sammy Swindell. The inversion was a 6 putting Swindell on the outside of the 3rd row to start the 10 lap dash. In the end, it would be Joey Saldana on the pole of the A Main with team mate, Brad Sweet to the outside.

The B Main was a fast moving highly contested event that would see Chad Kemenah come home in the lead. Transfering the top 6 with the top 4 getting their time back and the last 2 starting tail of the A Main, Kody Kinser, Austen Wheatly, Randy Hannagan, Logan Schuchart and Danny Smith would transfer to the A.

With the field set it was time to determine the king of Kokomo. The A Main took 3 tries to get going. Red Flagged on the first lap for Brian Paulus’ wild roll in turn 3 and then under yellow for a 3 car spin out of 4 that would collect Brady Bacon, Sheldon Haudenschild and Cody Darrah. The 40 lap feature proved to be one of the most exciting of the year with Kraig Kinser taking the lead just before lap 20 and holding off a hard charging Craig Dollansky in tight traffic for his first win of the 2012 season. Dale Blaney would advance from 17th to 4th to win the KSE Hard Charger award. Points leader Steve Kinser would come home 7th and second place points man Donny Schatz would finish in 6th.

Kokomo proved to be another difficult night for Sammy Swindell who ended up on his roof before half way in the A Main while racing with Brad Sweet for 4th.

Kokomo reassured us that big things do indeed come in small packages and small packages should never be under estimated. The mighty wings of the outlaws once again put on a show that was second to none. And although the king of Kokomo remains the King of the Outlaws it obviously runs in the blood. Congratulations to Kraig Kinser and everyone at Steve Kinser Racing on their first win of the season.

Qualifying Results. 1) Sammy Swindell with a New Track Record of 10.950 or 82.192 mph. 2) Craig Dollansky 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Brad Sweet 5) Kody Kinser 6) Bill Rose 7) Joey Saldana 8) Daryn Pittman 9) Kerry Madsen 10) Geoff Dodge 11) Lucas Wolfe 12) Donny Schatz 13) Chad Kemenah 14) Cole Duncan 15) Cody Darrah 16) Kyle Larson 17) Dale Blaney 18) Shane Stewat 19) Brian Paulus 20) Steve Kinser 21) Sheldon Haudenschild 22) Brady Bacon 23) Cap Henry 24) Randy Hannagan 25) Austen Wheatly 26) Greg Wilson 27) Logan Schuchart 28) Danny Smith 29) Justin Grant 30) Stuart Willaims 31) Wes McIntrye.

Heat Race #1 Results: ‎1)Joey Saldana 2) Sammy Swindell transfer to the dash 3) Kyle Larson 4) Brad Sweet 5) Brady Bacon 6) Brian Paulus 7) Austen Wheatly 8) Chad Kemenah 9) Wes McIntyre 10) Geoff Dodge.

Heat Race #2 Results: ‎1) Daryn Pittman 2) Lucas Wolfe transfer to dash 3) Craig Dollansky 4) Dale Blaney 5) Cap Henry 6) Steve Kinser transfer to A Main 7) Kody Kinser 8) Greg Wilson 9) Justin Grant 10) Cole Duncan

‎Heat Race #3 Results: 1) Donny Schatz 2) Kerry Madsen 3) Bill Rose 4) Kraig Kinser 5) Cody Darrah 6) Sheldon Haudenschild 7) Shane Stewart 8) Randy Hannagan 9) Logan Schuchart 10) Stuart Willaims

Dash Results: ‎1) Joey Saldana 2) Brad Sweet 3) Kraig Kinser 4) Bill Rose 5) Sammy Swindell 6) Craig Dollansky 7) Daryn Pittman 8) Donny Schatz 9) Kerry Madsen 10) Lucas Wolfe

B Main Results: ‎1) Chad Kemenah 2) Kody Kinser 3) Austen Wheatly 4) Randy Hannagan 5) Logan Schuchart 6) Danny Smith 7) Geoff Dodge 8) Justin Grant 9) Cole Duncan 10) Wes McIntyre 11) Stuart Willaims 12) Greg Wilson 13) Shane Stewart DNS

A Main Results: 1) Kraig Kinser 2) Craig Dollansky 3) Joey Saldana 4) Dale Blaney (KSE Hard Charger) 5) Brad Sweet 6) Donny Schatz 7) Steve Kinser 8) Daryn Pittman 9) Kerry Madsen 10) Cody Darrah 11) Kyle Larson 12) Lucas Wolfe 13) Austen Wheatly 14) Danny Smith 15) Chad Kemenah 16) Bill Rose 17) Logan Schuchart 18) Kody Kinser 19) Randy Harragan 20) Sammy Swindell 21) Brady Bacon 22) Sheldon Haudenschild 23) Cap Henry 24) Brian Paulus.

Top 10 in Outlaw Point Standings:
Steve Kinser- 3409
Donny Schatz- -28
Craig Dollansky- -57
Sammy Swindell- -67
Joey Saldana- -69
Kraig Kinser- -114
Chad Kemenah- -281
Cody Darrah- -310
Kerry Madsen- -413
Lucas Wolf- -487

June 6, 2012

Andrew Ranger Survives Green-White-Checkered to win at Circuit ICAR

[media-credit name=”Matthew Manor/NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”350″][/media-credit]Two-time series champion Andrew Ranger held off J.R. Fitzpatrick and Scott Steckly in a green-white-checkered finish to win the ICAR Lucas Oil Grand Prix presented by Budweiser Sunday at Circuit ICAR. It marked his first win of the season and 17th Canadian Tire Series win overall. It marks his 12th road course win.

“Really proud to win here at Mirabel,” Ranger says. “It’s been an awesome weekend.”

Ranger took the lead from D.J. Kennington on lap seven and led the rest of the way in his home province of Quebec.

“I really surprised to be at the front on the sixth lap at the beginning,” Ranger adds. “The car was really, really good, really fast. I was able to go everywhere on the track.”

A caution would come out on lap 27 to set-up a green-white-checkered finish, which resulted in a side-by-side battle between Ranger and Fitzpatrick.

“On the final lap, when Fitzpatrick was trying to pass me, he had a really good car,” Ranger says. “I knew I was a little bit better than him on the long run. He tried hard, he pushed me a little bit in the hairpin, but this is racing. I was able to keep my car inside and pass him after.”

This year, Ranger made the choice to come back to the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series full-time after spending some years in the states. The last time he ran the series full-time was in 2009 when he won his second championship.

“What we wanna do is win another championship,” Ranger says. “It’s fun to win definately, but we need to think about the championship. We don’t want to have mistakes. We’re here to finish in the top five every weekend and this is our goal. I think we have the team and the car to do it.”

Fitzpatrick, who won last week at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, finished second, 0.507 seconds behind Ranger. Defending series champion Scott Steckly came back to finish third after a early penalty for rough driving. Louis-Philipee Dumoulin and Kennington rounded out the top five.

Alex Labbe finished sixth in his series debut, followed by Jean-Francois Dumoulin, Jeff Lapcevich, Ron Beauchamp Jr. and rookie Martin Roy.

The race was slowed due to caution four times for 10 laps.

The first caution came out on lap three for Isabelle Tremblay being stopped in turn 10. She would fail to finish the race due to a broken rear end.

The second caution came out on lap nine for Dexter Stacy being stopped in turn six. He would also fail to finish the race.

The third caution came out on lap 24 for Kerry Micks making contact with the wall in turn two. He would get the lucky dog under the final caution and finish 21st.

The final caution came out on lap 27 for Mike Scholz being stopped in turn two.

Fitzpatrick remains the points leader, now one point over Ranger. Kennington and Steckly both sit seven points back heading to the first oval race of 2012 on June 16 at the Speedway at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

NCATS 6/3/12 ICAR Unofficial Results

Fin	Str	Car	Driver	Team	Laps	Points	B/Points	Status
1	16	27	Andrew Ranger	Dodge/GC Motorsports Dodge	31	48	5	Running
2	3	84	JR Fitzpatrick	Equipment Express Chevrolet	31	42		Running
3	1	22	Scott Steckly	Canadian Tire Dodge	31	41		Running
4	12	47	Louis-Philippe Dumoulin	WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge	31	40		Running
5	2	17	DJ Kennington	Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge	31	40	1	Running
6	25	36	Alex Labbe *	VR Victoriaville Dodge	31	38		Running
7	26	4	J.F. Dumoulin	ACASS/Bellemare/Marac Dodge	31	37		Running
8	9	23	Jeff Lapcevich	Tim Hortons Dodge	31	36		Running
9	5	60	Ron Beauchamp, Jr.	Mopar/Mobil 1 Dodge	31	35		Running
10	21	90	Martin Roy *	Veloce/Gamache Truck Center Dodge	31	34		Running
11	13	99	Steve Cote *	White Motorsports Chevrolet	31	33		Running
12	20	81	Larry Jackson *	B&B Decals/Speedy Auto Service Dodge	31	32		Running
13	6	21	Jason White	A&W/Bower&Wilkins Dodge	31	31		Running
14	19	94	Dave Coursol *	Carquest Canada Dodge	31	30		Running
15	24	29	Ray Courtemanche Jr. *	Construction Danam Bonzai Dodge	31	29		Running
16	17	56	Howie Scannell Jr.	Trailers by Jim Bray Dodge	31	28		Running
17	14	97	Hugo Vannini	VTI Motorsports Ford	31	27		Running
18	10	5	Noel Dowler	EMCO-Kohler/Rheem Dodge	31	26		Running
19	29	85	Michel Pilon	Aquacoupe Technologie Chevrolet	31	25		Running
20	22	44	Jarrad Whissell	SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford	31	24		Running
21	4	2	Kerry Micks	Leland/BDI/PartSource Ford	30	23		Running
22	23	11	Mike Scholz *	Jiffy Car Wash/Watchfinder.ca Chevrolet	29	22		Off Track
23	7	3	Jason Hathaway	Snap-on Tools/Vortex Brake Pads Dodge	24	21		Running
24	18	10	Derek White	Burger Barn Chevrolet	23	20		Off Track
25	11	7	Isabelle Tremblay	Frank Lyman Design Dodge	15	19		Rear End
26	15	66	Robin Buck	Quaker State Dodge	6	18		Off Track
27	8	55	Dexter Stacey	WJS Motorsports Dodge	5	17		Off Track
28	27	3	Elie Arseneau *	Prime Racing/Circuit ICAR Chevrolet	4	16		Suspension
29	28	82	Dave Connelly	Schneider’s/Metro Dodge	1	15		Suspension

June 3, 2012

Jason Hathaway: It’s a roller coaster season once the year starts

[media-credit name=”Ashley McCubbin” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]For NASCAR Canadian Tire (NCAT) Series driver Jason Hathaway, his roller coaster season began two weeks ago with the Vortex Brake Pads 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). The driver of the No. 3 Snap on Tools/Rockstar Energy Drink/Vortex Brake Pads Dodge started the race in sixth and came home with a sixth place finish.

“It was a great weekend last weekend, as far as fans, the racing goes and Canadian Tire,” Hathway says. “With Vortex being the title sponsor, it was good for us. we had a good finish. We qualified sixth and finish sixth so that was a good start for us as well.”

During the off-season, the track went under new ownership and went through some changes. Hathaway says the improvements they made were great and can’t wait to see what else they got planned.

“They’re also talking about another NASCAR series racing there so excited to see if that happens,” he adds.

Hathaway is looking for a solid season after finishing ninth last year in points. Hathaway raced the majority of the year with a broken arm as he broke it in the first race of the season last year at CTMP. He says for this year, he is hoping to finish top three in points while winning a couple races.

“I haven’t won since 2008 so I’m due for a win for sure,” he says.

This weekend, the series heads to Circuit ICAR, which will mark the second race at the track in Quebec for the NCAT series. Last year, Hathaway finished 15th, though that was due to the arm injury. In 2010, he was able to score five top 10s in six road course starts.

Following ICAR, the series switches gears as they will have their first oval race of 2012.

I know some guys are looking forward to that,” Hathaway says. “We’re ready to go. The car just got decalled the other day; it’s going to match the road course car, look the same. I know we got a lot of comments – looked sharp last weekend. Can’t wait to get started.”

Hathaway got started in racing as a kid racing go-karts.

“I used to run around D.J’s track at his truck shop in St. Thomas when I was a kid,” he says. “So started there and worked our way up.”

He started with Delaware’s Enduro class, before moving up to the Super Stock class where he won a division championship. He then moved up to Late Model and began traveling across the country to different tracks.

“Got a lot of seat experience, met a lot of people, kind of got the media attention to get hired by Ed Hakinson Racing,” Hathaway says.

[media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”266″][/media-credit]Hathaway got back to his Late Model roots last week as he competed in round one of the McColl Racing Enterprises Pro Series at Sunset Speedway. While he did score a qualifying race win, the race didn’t go well as Hathaway got wrecked on lap 42 by Jesse Kennedy.

The driver from Appin, Ontario calls Jeff Gordon his racing hero due to Gordon’s success, among other things.

“When he started, he started winning, drove a chev, had a cool paint scheme and had a cool mustache for a 22-year-old,” Hathaway comments.

For getting through a roller coaster season, it’s all about taking it easy even when frustration sets in.

“Don’t get too hard on yourself when something happens and takes the highs and the lows and average them throughout the year,” he says.

Hathaway adds there’s a lot of traveling with the different tracks they go to so it’s all about figuring where you are.

“Keep the team focused, keep myself focused and just have one goal and aim for it,” he says.

May 31, 2012
Jeff Lapcevich Looks Forward To First Full NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Season

[media-credit id=4 align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]With the first race of 12 in the books for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, the season is off and running. Jeff Lapcevich was one of the drivers who ran the Vortex Brake Pads 200 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and was able to come home with an eighth place finish after pit road problems.

Before the race started, Lapcevich was looking forward to running CTMP as it has always been his favourite track. In his three previous starts on the 2.36 mile road course, he had finished in the top 10. Outside of NASCAR, success had come to Lapcevich at CTMP as he won a 24-hour race there in 1995.

“We’re a little off the pace right now, but it’s a long race and we usually race well better than we qualify so looking forward to it,” he said before the race.

Once the race started, Lapcevich would keep himself in the midst of contention, till a mid-race pit stop would set him back. On the stop, the gas man wouldn’t get the gas can out of the back of the car and Lapcevich would drive the No. 23 Tim Hortons, Cathcart Trucking and Castrol Dodge off pit road with the can still in hand. The gas can would fall out in turn five and result in NASCAR calling Lapcevich back down pit road for a stop and go penalty.

A caution would allow Lapcevich to make up the lost time and was battling amongst the top five, before having to make a last-race pit stop under a late race caution due to a flat tire. Lapcevich was able to drive from where he started near the back to eighth before the 51-lap race was over.

Moving forward towards the rest of this year, this will mark Lapcevich’s first time running the full NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule, after missing the races out west the last three years. Lapcevich says he’s excited about going out to tracks that he has never raced at before out west.

“I’m excited about it,” he says. “We’ve changed a lot of things this year. We’ve revamped both the road course and oval car, a lot of new crew members.”

The goal this season is this year for the Grimsby, Ontario driver is simple – win the championship.

“If we didn’t think we could, I wouldn’t bother putting in the effort, the money that it takes to do this,” he says. “That’s what we set the goal at.”

He also adds that he would like to win some races, noting that he has a good chance to pick some wins on the road courses.

“I think we have as good a chance as anybody to win those ones,” he comments. “We’ve been decent on the ovals in the past. If we finish the season without a win, I will consider the year a disappointment.”

[media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”266″][/media-credit]Lapcevich got started in racing through his father as his dad raced at Speedway Park, a dirt track up in the Hamilton area in the 1960s. When Lapcevich was about 12 years old, his dad got back behind the wheel.

“He got back in it at Flamboro and he raced there for a few years,” he says. “Then he got into road racing, as I became 15 or 16. I started working on his crew.”

Soon after, his dad hung up the helmet and allowed Lapcevich to drive. Lapcevich has had a successful road racing career as competed in the Camel Lights, World Sport Car, Players/GM Series, US Firehawk, Grand-Am Cup, Motorola Cup and Magna Enduro Series, while winning Canadian Road Racer of the Year in 2003 & 2004.

When the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series was known as the CASCAR series, Lapcevich picked up six road course victories.

Keeping him from competiting the full schedule in past years has been the focus he has put on his son Cayden’s career. Since Cayden was a little kid, Jeff has been traveling all over the U.S with him, racing in quarter midget events. Cayden, who is 12 years old now, has been success as he has won multiple championships.

“Cayden never ceases to amaze me,” Jeff says of his son. “He’s always been a really hard racer. I’ve seen him win from the back, win from the front; I’ve seen barrel roll out of the park, land in the hot dog stand and come back and win. He’s relentless, he doesn’t give up. He’s got a huge passion that I’ve never seen anywhere else. He doesn’t like to lose, but he’s just an amazing feel.”

This year, Cayden moved up to the Super Stock division at Sunset International Speedway in Innisfil, Ontario. Cayden marks the youngest competitor to run the division at the age of 12 as most drivers don’t start till they are 14 to 16 years old. This past Saturday, Cayden led 27 laps of the 30 lap feature, before contact with Shawn Chenoworth sent him for a spin.

As Cayden continues to move up the ranks, Lapcevich sees Cayden racing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series once he is old enough.

“We’re going to stick it out for a couple more years before Cayden is able to drive here and you’ll probably see a different driver behind the wheel of the car,” he says.

One of the biggest lessons that Jeff has learned behind the wheel and will certainly pass down to Cayden is patience.

“You can’t win them all,” he says. “You can’t take a 10^th place car and win. The guy that has a 10^th place car, maybe he can get an eighth place run out of it, maybe seventh. You got to take what you got and make the best out of what you got and be there at the end.”

May 23, 2012
THE LEFT COAST RACE SCENE: KWASNIEWSKI IS POWERING HIS WAY THROUGH THE MONTH OF MAY

Las Vegas Nevada’s Dylan Kwasniewski is off to another potentially great season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and, for that matter, every other racing series he chooses to visit. He’s now in his second season driving the #03 Rockstar Energy Drink/Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Ford for Gene Price Motorsports.

In his 2011 series debut season, Kwasniewski became the youngest driver in series history to win a race, win a pole position and the youngest driver to win the Rookie of the Year title. He created these stats at the age of 16. However, the fact of the matter is: he’s already a racing veteran with 12 years experience.

His stats, so far this year, clearly indicates that he’s going to be a major force to be reckoned with. In the still early portion of the 2012 season, he has five series starts, two wins, five top five, and top ten, finishes along with an astounding average finish ratio of 2.2. He’s also leading the championship points.

However if you break down Kwasniewski’s stats, in and out of the West Series, so far this year it appears that he’s powering his way through the month of May and the performance levels have been most impressive. Kwasniewski’s first May day came on the fifth of the month at the Stockton 99 Speedway, the site of the Pick-N-Pull 150 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race. After setting fast time in qualifying, he roared off of the front row to lead the first lap. He followed that up with leading the remaining 149 laps to score his first win of the season. That first win also locked up a starting spot in the prestigious UNOH Battle At The Beach which will be held at Daytona during the 2013 annual Speedweeks.

One week later, May 12th, Kwasniewski was at his home away from home: the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Bullring. On this night he was driving his family owned car in a 40 lap feature for the speedway’s NASCAR Super Late Model division. It took Kwasniewski all of eleven circuits, around the Bullring’s three-eighths of a mile oval, to make his winning move. During a victory lane interview, he said “I’m pumped, I want to go out and win the next one.”

He didn’t have to wait very long for his next race that night. While he was celebrating in victory lane, his crew was rolling out his open wheel modified. The driver had to literally make a mad dash to the starting grid and strap himself in for the General Tire 75 for the Lucas Oil Modified Racing Series, presented by 1 800 Loan Mart. After leading the first 16 laps of this race, Kwasniewski would eventually finish fourth. All in all, it was a very good night at his home track.

Another week later, May 19th, Dylan Kwasniewski was in the state of Iowa, with his Gene Price Motorsports team, for the running of the Graham Tire 150 on the Iowa Speedway’s seven-eighths of a mile oval. This race was a combined event for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West Series. The 48 car entry list for this race was heavily stacked by the presence of East Series teams that made the competition very stiff for their West Series counterparts.

Kwasniewski finished eighth at Iowa but, because this was a NASCAR series race within a race, he was the highest finisher among the West Series teams. That earned him first place, and the championship points that comes with it, for the West Series. He left Iowa with his second series win of the season and is now the new points leader.

Kwasniewski has one more opportunity to power his way through the month of May. That’s coming up on May 26th in Brainerd-Minnesota where the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will be making its debut at the Brainerd International Raceway. This race might turn out to be one of the biggest challenges of the season for Kwasneiwski and his West Series colleagues. They will be driving 50 laps/125 miles around the raceway’s mammoth 2.5 mile, 13 turns, road course. A win in Minnesota would make a nice birthday present for the young driver who turns 17 on May 31st.

All through the history of motorsports there has been the existence of an old saying that goes: “he’s a real deal.” Essentially that means that the talent of an up and coming driver, with the right sponsorship packages behind him, could create a racing career filled with wins and championships. “Real Deal” is a title that should never be taken lightly.

However, in this case, it certainly applies to Dylan Kwasniewski. He is indeed a real deal and a driver we should all be paying attention to.

May 22, 2012

NCATS: J.R. Fitzpatrick Opens The Season With a Victory at CTMP

[media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”150″][/media-credit]After a battle with Scott Steckly and D.J. Kennington in the last 10 laps, J.R. Fizpatrick would come home with his third win at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in the Vortex Brake Pads 200. It’d mark his first Canadian Tire Series victory since winning on July 25, 2010.

“That must have been a great race for the fans,” he says. “Great to see a full-house, full-crowd. Really great to see Canadian Tire promoting this place the way they should ‘cause that was great. A great job by them so we’re just going to keep on rolling, keep on getting podiums. They don’t always have to be wins, but I wanted that one bad.”

Fitzpatrick would start the race from the fourth position and made his way to the lead by the end of lap one around the 2.459 mile road course. He would lead all the way till lap 44, when Kennington would take the lead for the first time during the day.

Fizpatrick would put the block on Steckly and find his way back by Kennington to have the lead by the end of the next lap. He would then lead the final seven laps for his seventh NCATs win.

“Obviously, I was glad DJ was behind me those last few laps,” he says. “He and I are friends so I have a lot of trust that when I block him, he won’t wreck me. I’m sure Steckly is a little upset with me, but I had to do what I had to do to win that race. I’m sure (Steckly’s sponsor) Canadian Tire isn’t happy either, but we’re a part of this Canadian Tire Series too and we want to win so that’s what we’re going for.”

The last few years, Fizpatrick has had strong cars in the series, though has yet to capitalize and pick up the season end championship.

“A lot of that may had been my attitude; I had a really bad attitude the last couple of years,” the Cambridge, Ontario native says. “That got all fine tuned over the winter with Donny being back, I think. He’s not shy; he’s put me in my place real quick.”

He brought in series veteran Don Thomson Jr. to be his crew chief and the result has been them jelling really well, despite some tension at the beginning.

“I think it was more just younger brother-older brother; I look like him that way,” Fitzpatrick says.

Last year’s race winner D.J. Kennington would come in second.

“I’ll take a top-three finish on a road course anytime,” Kennington says. “That was really a great race. Who wouldn’t like that one? It was hard-fought battle all day long.”

Meanwhile, defending series champion Scott Steckly was disappointed with his third place finish.

“We should be happy with a third-place finish, but it’s really not what we were looking for after having the fastest car all weekend,” he says. “It was good, hard racing. We just can’t seem to get a win on a road course.”

Andrew Ranger finished fourth with Louis-Philippe Dumoulin fifth to round out the top five. Jason Hathaway would finish sixth, followed by Kerry Micks, Jeff Lapcevich, Robin Buck and Peter Klutt.

There’d be three cautions for 11 laps throughout the day.

The first happened on lap four for Joey McColm getting off the racing surface.

The second happened on lap 18 for debris in turn two.

The final caution came out on lap 33 for McColm getting into the turn two wall after blowing a brake line. He would be taken to hospital for precautionary evaluation, though would be checked out fine.

Steve Cote would also have a hard wreck in turn seven, though would be fine and it would only bring out a local caution.

The Vortex Brake Pads 200 will air on TSN on Sunday, May 27 at 4:30 p.m. ET and Wednesday, June 13 at 10 p.m. ET on RDS2.

The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will be back in action on June 2-3 for the Lucas Oil Grand Prix at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Quebec.

Fin	Str	Car	Driver	Team	Laps	Points	B/Points	Status
1	2	84	JR Fitzpatrick	Equipment Express Chevrolet	51	48	5	Running
2	4	17	DJ Kennington	Castrol Edge/Mahindra Tractors Dodge	51	43	1	Running
3	1	22	Scott Steckly	Canadian Tire Dodge	51	42	1	Running
4	3	27	Andrew Ranger	Dodge/GC Motorsports Dodge	51	41	1	Running
5	10	47	Louis-Philippe Dumoulin	WeatherTech Canada/Bellemare Dodge	51	39		Running
6	6	3	Jason Hathaway	Snap-on Tools/Vortex Brake Pads Dodge	51	38		Running
7	7	02	Kerry Micks	Leland/BDI/PartSource Ford	51	37		Running
8	9	23	Jeff Lapcevich	Tim Hortons Dodge	51	36		Running
9	11	66	Robin Buck	Quaker State Dodge	51	36	1	Running
10	8	42	Peter Klutt	Legendary Motorcar Chevrolet	51	34		Running
11	5	60	Ron Beauchamp, Jr.	Mopar/Mobil 1 Dodge	51	34	1	Running
12	13	21	Jason White	A&W/Bower & Wilkins Dodge	51	32		Running
13	17	56	Howie Scannell Jr.	Trailers by Jim Bray Dodge	51	31		Running
14	22	10	Derek White	Burger Barn Chevrolet	51	30		Running
15	23	94	Dave Coursol *	Carquest Canada Dodge	51	29		Running
16	20	81	Larry Jackson *	B&B Decals/Speedy Auto Service Dodge	51	28		Running
17	26	67	David Thorndyke	Thorsons EVT Chevrolet	50	27		Running
18	16	90	Martin Roy *	Veloce/Gamache Truck Center Dodge	50	26		Running
19	14	44	Jarrad Whissell	SMS Equipment/Komatsu Ford	48	25		Running
20	18	15	Steven Mathews	Bill Mathews Motors Ford	43	24		Off Track
21	19	07	Isabelle Tremblay	Frank Lyman Design Dodge	28	23		Rear End
22	12	99	Steve Cote *	White Motorsports Chevrolet	24	22		Off Track
23	27	97	Hugo Vannini	Vannini Motorsports Ford	24	21		Running
24	24	11	Michael Scholz *	Jiffy Car Wash/Watchfinder.ca Chevrolet	21	20		Running
25	25	50	Joey McColm	@JoeyMcColm Dodge	17	19		Off Track
26	15	5	Noel Dowler	EMCO-Kohler/Rheem Dodge	14	18		Off Track
27	21	29	Ray Courtemanche Jr. *	Construction Danam Bonzai Dodge	1	17		Off Track

May 21, 2012

ARCA Racing Series Driver Ryan Reed Kicks Off “Ryan’s Mission Wristband Drive”

[media-credit name=”Venturini Motorsports” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]While 18-year-old rookie Ryan Reed continues to improve on track, he is spreading word about Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). This weekend at Toledo Speedway, Reed will kick off the Ryan’s Mission Wristband Drive.

“We have developed some great partnerships within the past month with companies like PacificHealth Labs, Accelerade, Logitech, RaceHard.com, PlaySeat, iRacing, and IRP,” Reed says. “This entire drive really relies on all of the commitment that they have given me and Ryan’s Mission.”

The wristbands came about through a partnership between RaceHard.com, PacificHealth Labs, Accelerade and Ryan’s Mission. The goal is to raise $150,000 by the end of the year to benefit JDRF. JDRF is the world’s largest funding provider for research towards curing, treating and preventing T1D and its complications.

“It’s a really neat idea – each wristband will have Ryan’s Mission on it along with the participating partner’s logo,” Reed continues. “So if you are a big advocate of Accelerade drinks like I am, then you can sport it with a Ryan’s Mission/Accelerade wristband and all for a good cause. Win Win.”

In February 2011, Ryan Reed was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and was told that he would never be able to race again. However, after getting in contact with a doctor through IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball, he was told that it was possible.

Now a year and three months later, Reed finds himself sitting fourth in the ARCA Racing Series Championship standings after four races this season.

Reed formed Ryan’s Mission shortly after finding out that he’d be able to race to inspire others.

“I know other kids are being told that they won’t be able to do things and only some are lucky enough to find doctors that are as supportive as mine and able to still chase their dreams,” he says. “So Ryan’s Mission was formed almost immediately and I just wanted to show kids and spread that message and not be held back.”

Behind the mission, there’s a dedicated team of individuals who are doing events while Reed is racing to help spread the word.

“I really have to thank my parents for creating the infrastructure of my team that makes all of this happen,” Reed says. “From offices in California to offices in North Carolina; I’m not really sure how they make all of this come together – but they do. It’s pretty amazing.”

The wristbands can currently be purchased for a $5.00 donation through Ryan’s Mission (www.ryansmission.org), RaceHard.com (www.racehard.com/jdrf) and PacificHealth Labs / Accelerade (www.pacifichealthlabs.com).

May 19, 2012
McMahan takes Opening Night in Empire State!

[media-credit id=30 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The Greatest Show on Dirt brought their magic to Rolling Hills Raceway aka “The Fast Track” was one of three founding-member speedways when DIRT Motorsports was established in 1976, Rolling Wheels has matured into one of the most respected ovals on the entire circuit. The big 5/8-mile banked layout was first mapped out by the late Bob Petrocci, once a competitor himself at neighboring Weedsport Speedway. This is the largest track the WoO drivers will compete on this year.

The only glitch in the evenings action seemed to be when The New York State Liquor Authority didn’t come through on the liquor license in time for tonight’s race. Fans were allowed to bring beer in stadium size coolers, but no glass bottles were allowed.

Although a late afternoon rain shower cooled the temperature off considerably with the temperature at race time being 58 degrees. But the racing was red hot from qualifying all the way through to the final lap of the A Main.

Quick Time would be set by last years WoO ROTY and Kasey Kahne Racing driver Cody Darrah, who turned a lap of 16.257 or138.402 mph. The top 15 qualifiers were separated by just .547 of a second.

The first heat race saw a strong front row with last weeks winner at Williams Grove, Freddie Rahmer starting on the pole with Volusia Park winner and former Outlaws champion Danny Lasoski on the outside. The heat race was a fast hard charging race that Lasoski would win in dominate style over Cody Darrah and Freddie Rahmer. Lasoski and Darrah would advance to the Dash and Rahmer Kerry Madsen, Lance Dewease, and David Gravel would all advance to the A Main.

The second heat race would find the 20 time WoO champion Steve Kinser on the pole with Jac Haudenschild starting outside. The race would be a high speed ballet of position switches and tip toeing around a very narrow and slick track. Joey Saldana would come from 4^th to take the victory while Steve Kinser would finish a solid second to advance to the dash. Haudenschild would lead Daryn Pittman, Paul McMahan, and Michael Parent to the A Main.

The 3^rd Heat race was more of the same with 4 time champion and current points leader Sammy Swindell starting on the pole and to his outside a familiar sight in the STP/Tony Stewart Racing number 15 of Donny Schatz. Schatz and Swindell traded the points lead back and forth until last week when Steve Kinser took over the 2^nd spot leaving Schatz just 12 points back. Swindell would dominate until the final lap when his car began smoking heavily on the back stretch. But Swindell would hold on to win the heat with Schatz closing fast. Both Swindell and Schatz would advance to dash. But Swindell would make the first of 2 engines changes on the night. Also advancing to the A Main were Chad Kemenah, Craig Dollansky, Logan Schuchart and Kraig Kinser.

The Dash inversion was a 6 putting Cody Darrah in the 3^rd row to start. In the end, it would be Paul McMahan on the pole of the A Main followed by Chad Kemenah, Craig Dollansky, David Gravel and Donny Schatz. The Dash would find Sammy Swindell with another engine letting go and relegating him to the tenth spot on the start of the A.

The Last Chance Showdown was scheduled to start 8 cars and transfer 6 to the A Main with 4 getting their time back and the last two taking the tail of the field. But Lucas Wolfe would scratch for the night after losing an engine in the heats as would Blake Breen. That pared the field to 6. Jessica Zemken would lead for the majority of the race before losing an engine and catching on fire between turns 1 and 2. She climbed from the car quickly and was unhurt. The race would be won by Justin Barger, followed by Glen Styres, George Suprick, Chuck Hebing, April Wilson and Zemken would be credited with 6^th.

When the mighty wings of the greatest show on dirt took the track for the A Main, the top 5 rows were a who’s who of racing. Tough competition all the way through. It was hard to pick a winner even for the staunchest of dirt racing fans. With 30 championships starting in the top 10 there was little doubt that this was going to be a hard fought race and the winner would have earned his $10,000 winner’s purse tonight.

Paul McMahan would take the early lead and never look back. Leading all 25 laps despite hard charges and challenges from David Gravel early and Craig Dollansky late. But through the top 10 it was a show worth twice the price of admission amongst some of the greatest drivers of our time. Danny Lasoski was in championship form cutting his way up to 4^th. Steve Kinser would come home 5^th. And even after changing 2 engines Sammy Swindell would come home in the seventh position. Interestingly enough all 30 of those championships would finish in the top 10. The Hard Charger award would go to Jessica Zemken who climbed 11 positions in the A main after blowing an engine in the B Main.

The points closed up almost as tight as the racing with Steve Kinser closing to within 4 points of Sammy Swindell and Kinser well he can’t breathe too much because team mate Donny Schatz is right there just 10 points back.

At the end of the night, fans and media alike had to sit back and take a breath. They had just witnessed racing at it’s finest. They had witnessed the unique and beautiful joining of man and machine in a display of skill that simply can not be matched else where. The graceful ballet of the masters of dirt had once again played out in front of an eager and excited crowd and they had not disappointed.

As the crowd gathered at the entrance of the pits, the masters prepared to meet their supporters, sign their names, pose for pictures, and answer questions both easy and hard. To the casual observer it was hard to tell which group was more excited the legions of fans or the master’s that thrilled them.

The World of Outlaws will run again on Saturday the 19^th at the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York. Good tickets are still available. If you are in the area treat yourself to the Greatest Show on Dirt. You will never be sorry.

May 17, 2012

Posse 1, Outlaws 0: Dietrich Claims The Gettysburg Clash

[media-credit name=”Lincoln Speedway” align=”alignright” width=”210″]

[/media-credit]

The Pennsylvanian collects his first career World of Outlaws victory at Lincoln

ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. — May 10, 2012 — The flash bulbs kept popping, the confetti kept falling and the celebration kept intensifying.

It wasn’t a normal Victory Lane. Then again, Danny Dietrich isn’t a normal winner and the World of Outlaws vs. Pennsylvania Posse rivalry isn’t a normal matchup.

Dietrich, a native Pennsylvanian whose 24^th birthday is a week and a half away, picked up his first career World of Outlaws victory on Thursday in The Gettysburg Clash at Lincoln Speedway.

“Words can’t express,” a beaming Dietrich said. “I’m ready to go drink a few beers.”

Dietrich was dominant in the first World of Outlaws event at the semi-banked, 3/8-mile oval since 1998. After starting seventh, he was up to fourth place within the first three laps. Following a caution on lap four for Alan Krimes, who spun in turn one, Dietrich took little time finding the lead.

He passed Danny Lasoski for third on the backstretch of lap four and then blew by polesitter Lance Dewease for the runner-up position on the ensuing lap. Dietrich edged Sam Hafetertepe Jr. for the lead as the duo cross the finish line on lap six and quickly checked out.

“When he drove around us on the outside I knew that there was nobody going to beat him tonight,” Hafertepe Jr. said. “That’s the most dominant car that’s been out here in a long time.”

Dietrich had to survive four cautions, including the final three for drivers who had trouble while running in the top 10. Lasoski slowed dramatically on the backstretch on lap 18 and Adam Wilt hit the wall in turn two on lap 24. The final caution came on the restart for fifth-running Doug Esh, who came to a stop in turn two after colliding with another driver.

Despite double-file restarts, Dietrich rocketed to the lead every time and never faced a stiff challenge once he found the top spot.

“All about knowing the track and getting the setup right,” he said. “I felt like we hit it perfect from the drop of the green and hopefully we can do that the rest of the weekend.

“This is pretty much a normal Saturday night for us. We’ve been fast. We just had to clear up a few issues. Luckily we put it all together tonight.”

It was the third win of the season for Dietrich, which comes as no surprise to Dewease.

“Danny deserves to win,” he said after finishing second. “He’s been the best race car in Central PA all year and definitely the best race car here all year.

“He started seventh so he must have been pretty good to get up through there that quick. I’m sure he got to the top before a lot of people did, but he can run anywhere at this race track.”

Hafertepe Jr. was third with Cory Haas charging from 17^th to finish fourth. Lucas Wolfe, who hails from nearby Mechanicsburg, was the top World of Outlaws driver as he placed fifth.

Kevin Nouse earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after maneuvering from 23^rd to sixth. Donny Schatz finished seventh and is the new World of Outlaws points leader. It marks the sixth consecutive race the top spot has changed.

Fred Rahmer drove from 22^nd to eighth, Daryn Pittman finished ninth and Gerard McIntyre rounded out the top 10.

Sammy Swindell, who entered the event with the World of Outlaws points lead, set quick time with a lap of 14.501 seconds. Wolfe, Chad Kemenah, McIntyre and Esh each claimed a heat race, with Bill Stine winning the C Main and Brad McClelland the Last Chance Showdown.

The World of Outlaws face the Posse at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg on Friday and Saturday.

“We’re strong,” Dietrich said of the Posse. “I think we’re always fast when the Outlaws come to town. Hopefully we can keep it up.”

The Gettysburg Clash Notebook

CONTINGENCY WINNERS – Penske Shocks ($100 certificate): Brian Montieth; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; Comp Cams ($50 certificate): Cory Haas; Armor All (case of product): Cory Haas; STP ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; UNOH ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; Gravely Tractors ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; VP Racing Fuel ($50 cash): Alan Krimes; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Gerard McIntyre; JE Pistons (set of rings): Alan Krimes; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Cody Darrah; Wix Filters ($50 cash): Stevie Smith; Superflow ($50 cash): Chad Kemenah; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Brad McClelland; JE Pistons (set of rings): Craig Dollansky; MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Kraig Kinser; Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash): Brad McClelland.

WINNERS – Sammy Swindell – 4 (Eldora Speedway on May 5, Knoxville Raceway on April 28, Missouri State Fair Speedway on April 20 and Merced Speedway on March 30); Donny Schatz – 3 (Farmer City Raceway on April 25, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Craig Dollansky – 2 (Tri-State Speedway on April 21 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Tim Kaeding – 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 8); Joey Saldana – 2 (Paducah International Raceway on April 13 and Perris Auto Speedway on March 10); Danny Dietrich – 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 10); Chad Kemenah – 1 (Eldora Speedway on May 4); Danny Lasoski – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18).

TIME TRIALS – Sammy Swindell was the fastest qualifier around the 3/8-mile oval with a time of 14.501 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Donny Schatz (4 points), Adam Wilt (3), Daryn Pittman (2) and Jac Haudenschild (1).

The Gettysburg Clash Statistical Report; Lincoln Speedway; Abbottstown, Pa.; May 10, 2012

A-Main – (30 Laps) – 1. 48-Danny Dietrich [7] [$6,000]; 2. 30C-Lance Dewease [1] [$3,500]; 3. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr [2] [$2,000]; 4. 11C-Cory Haas [17] [$1,800]; 5. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [5] [$1,500]; 6. 14-Kevin Nouse [23] [$1,400]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [6] [$1,350]; 8. 51-Fred Rahmer [22] [$1,300]; 9. 27-Daryn Pittman [12] [$1,250]; 10. 85-Gerard McIntyre [10] [$1,200]; 11. 87-Alan Krimes [26] [$400]; 12. 4-Cody Darrah [27] [$300]; 13. 19-Stevie Smith [19] [$700]; 14. 11-Steve Kinser [20] [$650]; 15. 63-Chad Kemenah [9] [$600]; 16. 21-Brian Montieth [24] [$550]; 17. 6B-Brad McClelland [16] [$500]; 18. 1-Sammy Swindell [11] [$500]; 19. 9-Joey Saldana [21] [$500]; 20. 5-Jac Haudenschild [13] [$500]; 21. 69-Tim Glatfelter [18] [$500]; 22. 7-Craig Dollansky [15] [$500]; 23. 30-Doug Esh [8] [$500]; 24. 11K-Kraig Kinser [25] [$]; 25. 15A-Adam Wilt [4] [$500]; 26. 98-Danny Lasoski [3] [$500]; 27. 19M-Brent Marks [14] [$500]; 28. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr. [28] [$]. Lap Leaders: Sam Hafertepe Jr. 1-5, Danny Dietrich 6-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 14-Kevin Nouse [+17].

Qualifying – 1. 1-Sammy Swindell, 14.501; 2. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.765; 3. 15A-Adam Wilt, 14.828; 4. 27-Daryn Pittman, 14.856; 5. 5-Jac Haudenschild, 14.908; 6. 98-Danny Lasoski, 14.911; 7. 19M-Brent Marks, 14.913; 8. 7-Craig Dollansky, 14.930; 9. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 14.954; 10. 6B-Brad McClelland, 14.959; 11. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 15.061; 12. 30C-Lance Dewease, 15.069; 13. 48-Danny Dietrich, 15.078; 14. 63-Chad Kemenah, 15.080; 15. 85-Gerard McIntyre, 15.092; 16. 30-Doug Esh, 15.109; 17. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.115; 18. 11C-Cory Haas, 15.138; 19. 69-Tim Glatfelter, 15.150; 20. 29-Kerry Madsen, 15.152; 21. 19-Stevie Smith, 15.160; 22. 11-Steve Kinser, 15.163; 23. 9-Joey Saldana, 15.173; 24. 51-Fred Rahmer, 15.186; 25. 92-Niki Young, 15.206; 26. 13-Paul McMahan, 15.217; 27. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 15.254; 28. 4-Cody Darrah, 15.316; 29. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr., 15.348; 30. 77-Aaron Ott, 15.350; 31. 14-Kevin Nouse, 15.377; 32. 87-Alan Krimes, 15.386; 33. 21-Brian Montieth, 15.450; 34. 2-Ryan Bohlke, 15.485; 35. 71X-Bill Stine, 15.486; 36. 3B-Randy Baughman, 15.501; 37. 59-Jim Siegel, 15.535; 38. 54-Cap Henry, 15.565; 39. 65-Johnny Mackison, 15.640; 40. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe, 15.666; 41. 95-Hunter Mackison, 15.673; 42. 70-Sam Schlosberg, 15.750; 43. 20S-Derek Sell, 15.796; 44. 6-Bill Rose, 15.838; 45. 23-Todd Zinn, 16.282.

Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [2]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [1]; 3. 5-Jac Haudenschild [3]; 4. 19-Stevie Smith [6]; 5. 21-Brian Montieth [9]; 6. 1-Sammy Swindell [4]; 7. 92-Niki Young [7]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 9. 59-Jim Siegel [10]; 10. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr. [8]; 11. 95-Hunter Mackison [11]; 12. 23-Todd Zinn [12].

Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 63-Chad Kemenah [1]; 2. 98-Danny Lasoski [3]; 3. 11C-Cory Haas [5]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 5. 11-Steve Kinser [6]; 6. 77-Aaron Ott [8]; 7. 2-Ryan Bohlke [9]; 8. 54-Cap Henry [10]; 9. 6B-Brad McClelland [2]; 10. 70-Sam Schlosberg [11]; 11. 13-Paul McMahan [7].

Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 85-Gerard McIntyre [1]; 2. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr [2]; 3. 19M-Brent Marks [3]; 4. 15A-Adam Wilt [4]; 5. 9-Joey Saldana [6]; 6. 69-Tim Glatfelter [5]; 7. 14-Kevin Nouse [8]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [7]; 9. 71X-Bill Stine [9]; 10. 65-Johnny Mackison [10]; 11. 20S-Derek Sell [11].

Heat 4 – (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 30-Doug Esh [1]; 2. 30C-Lance Dewease [2]; 3. 7-Craig Dollansky [3]; 4. 27-Daryn Pittman [4]; 5. 51-Fred Rahmer [6]; 6. 4-Cody Darrah [7]; 7. 87-Alan Krimes [8]; 8. 29-Kerry Madsen [5]; 9. 3B-Randy Baughman [9]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [11]; 11. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe [10].

Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) – 1. 30C-Lance Dewease [1]; 2. 1Z-Sam Hafertepe Jr [2]; 3. 98-Danny Lasoski [4]; 4. 15A-Adam Wilt [5]; 5. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [3]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 7. 48-Danny Dietrich [7]; 8. 30-Doug Esh [10]; 9. 63-Chad Kemenah [8]; 10. 85-Gerard McIntyre [9].

C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature) – 1. 71X-Bill Stine [1] [-]; 2. 65-Johnny Mackison [4] [-]; 3. 59-Jim Siegel [3] [$150]; 4. 70-Sam Schlosberg [7] [$125]; 5. 5T-Glenndon Forsythe [5] [$125]; 6. 3B-Randy Baughman [2] [$100]; 7. 95-Hunter Mackison [6] [$100]; 8. 23-Todd Zinn [9] [$100]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [8] [$100]; 10. 54-Cap Henry [10] [$100]; 11. 20S-Derek Sell [11] [$100].

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 6B-Brad McClelland [2] [-]; 2. 69-Tim Glatfelter [4] [-]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [1] [-]; 4. 14-Kevin Nouse [12] [-]; 5. 4-Cody Darrah [9] [$200]; 6. 87-Alan Krimes [13] [$180]; 7. 38N-Nick Schlauch Jr. [10] [$175]; 8. 71X-Bill Stine [15] [$160]; 9. 65-Johnny Mackison [16] [$150]; 10. 29-Kerry Madsen [5] [$150]; 11. 13-Paul McMahan [7] [$150]; 12. 2-Ryan Bohlke [14] [$150]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser [8] [$150]; 14. 92-Niki Young [6] [$150]; 15. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3] [$150]; 16. 77-Aaron Ott [11] [$150].

World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Top 20 Championship Standings

Pos.	Driver	Total	Diff	Wins	T5s	T10s	QT
1	Donny Schatz	2223	0	3	7	14	0
2	Sammy Swindell	2213	-10	4	9	12	3
3	Joey Saldana	2166	-57	2	7	12	2
4	Steve Kinser	2152	-71	0	6	11	0
5	Kraig Kinser	2100	-123	0	4	11	2
6	Craig Dollansky	2069	-154	2	6	8	1
7	Cody Darrah	1986	-237	0	3	5	0
8	Chad Kemenah	1976	-247	1	2	6	2
9	Jason Sides	1974	-249	0	5	9	0
10	Lucas Wolfe	1914	-309	0	1	4	0

May 11, 2012