Past Press Releases & Results for September, 2000
- September 16, 2000
- Lynch wins $5,000 in Marsh Memorial for Sprints; Pearson wins second in Mercer Modifieds
- September 9, 2000
- Kent becomes 13th different Sprint Car winner; Blaney now at 11 Mercer Modified wins
Lynch wins $5,000 in Marsh Memorial for Sprints; Pearson wins second in Mercer Modifieds
By Mike Leone
September 16, 2000
Mercer (PA)...Mercer Raceway Park completed action on Saturday night for the 21st time in 2000. Picking up wins on the Grove City Paving 4th Annual Chuck Marsh Memorial night were Ed Lynch, Jr.-Axa Advisors 410 Sprint Cars, Dean Pearson-Bolland Machine Big-Block Modifieds, and Gary Robinson-Butterfield’s Pub Stock Cars.
Ed Lynch, Jr. of Apollo, Pa. survived the 40-lap Grove City Paving 4th Annual Chuck Marsh Memorial for his second straight win in the event. "This race means a lot to me," said Lynch following the $5,000 win. "Charlie (Marsh) and I were friends and he was a mechanic for my dad when he drove for Frank Crash. Charlie would have loved tonight. It was a physical track. You had to attack the track and we did it."
Troy Preston took the initial lead from his pole position. Second and third starters, Brian Ellenberger and Terry Young, began a battle for second that lasted the first seven laps. Young took the spot from Ellenberger on lap three until Ellenberger regained second two laps later. Lynch, who started eighth, cracked the top five on lap five passing the number five of Jamie Smith. On lap seven, Ellenberger slid off the backstretch allowing Young back in second. Tom Quarterson and Lynch also got by to move into third and fourth. Ellenberger later dropped from the event.
Scott Priester brought out the first caution with eight laps completed when his mount came to a stop. When racing resumed, Quarterson was on the charge racing by Young for second on lap 10 before Brad Ellenberger brought out the second and final caution with 12 laps completed.
The last 28 laps went green-to-checker in a furious pace. Lynch moved into third on lap 15 after getting by Young. Young then dropped from the event giving fourth now to Smith and fifth to Mike Kekich. The focus shifted to the front as Quarterson ran down Preston and got alongside him on lap 17. The following lap saw Quarterson take charge of the event going to the inside of Preston off turn two.
Lynch reeled in the front two and took runner-up from Preston on lap 21. Smith followed in third on the same lap before Preston dropped from the event. This moved 10th starter, Tommy Burns, Jr., into fourth and Kekich still fifth.
Lynch closed in on Quarterson on lap 25 and began to set up the winning move. On lap 28, Quarterson struggled to clear the lapped car of Jack Sodeman, Jr. as Lynch drove by in the middle of turn two for the lead. Once in front, Lynch dominated the last 12 laps and pulled away for the 1/2-lap win over Quarterson. The win was Lynch’s first of the season at Mercer and became the 14th different winner in 19 races this season. Lynch’s sixth Mercer win since 1994 came aboard the Ed Lynch, Sr.-owned, Indy Equipment/Howard Concrete/Chip Ganassi Racing-sponsored, Kistler-powered, J&J, and Hoosier tire-shod #2L.
"The #00 car got sideways and got into me, we made contact with the #70 car on the restart, and the car almost went up on its nose and came back down," said Lynch. "After all of those problems, I thought under yellow ‘the luck might be going my way. I better stand up in the seat.’ It made a good race for the fans. I hope they enjoyed it-that’s what dirt track racing is all about. It’s not follow the leader-it’s racing!"
Quarterson was subbing for Gary Edwards in the Dick Schuller-owned #61 and earned $2,500 for second. Smith was a distant third over Burns, who was the last car on the lead lap. Arnie Kent came from 15th to pass Kekich on lap 31 for fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Kekich, Rob Eyler, Jack Sodeman, Jr., Todd Bauer, and New York’s Craig Keel. Heat winners over the season-high 36-car field were won by Smith, Young, Quarterson, and Lynch. Brad Ellenberger won the B main.
Dean Pearson led all 25 laps of the Bolland Machine Big-Block Modified Feature for his second win. "I’ve got to thank the good Lord for making this all possible," said the Harrisville, Pa. winner. "The car was awesome. Jim Courson is building me a terrific motor and I couldn’t ask for anything more."
Pearson took the top spot from Dave Murdick on the opening lap, while Dave Schrader passed Skip Moore, Kevin Bolland, and Bill Dorman all on lap one for third. Pearson opened up a decent lead despite four caution periods, while Murdick and Schrader went at it the entire race for second.
Lou Blaney, who started ninth, made his typical late race charge. He cracked the top five when Andy Priest dropped from the event on lap 14, then passed Rob Curtis for fourth on lap 17. The final caution was for J.R. McGinley with 24 laps completed. Pearson survived the last-lap restart and went to the win for the $1,200 win in his #8J. Pearson’s only two career Mercer wins have come this year on both of the $1,200 to-win specials.
Murdick was a strong second in the Tim Temple #35 for his first Mercer top five since April 10, 1999. Blaney got by Schrader on the final lap for third. Rookie big-block driver, Don McKnight, came from 14th to finish fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Curtis, Carl Weatherby, Kevin Hoffman, Lou Gentile, and, Rodney Beltz. Heat victors over the 33-car field were Hoffman, McGinley, and Frank Guidace. Beltz won the B main.
After crashing hard shy of the checkers last week, Gary Robinson returned to victory lane for only the second time this season in the 20-lap Butterfield’s Pub Stock Car Feature. Gary Miller, Jr. took the early lead from Brian Booher, while Robinson raced by Leigh Wheeler, Brian Miller, and Shaun Hooks for third all on the opening lap. On lap three, Robinson moved into runner-up past Booher for third. Robinson caught Miller and the two put on a good race from laps seven on. It wasn’t until lap 12 when Robinson made the winning move on the backstretch. Once in front, Robinson went on for the $500 win in the Cresswell’s Auto Align/Speir Homes/Turnaround Tavern-sponsored #44R. Miller was second. After winning his heat, Mike Aley came from 11th to pass champion Brian Miller for third on lap 19 for a career best finish. Miller fell to fourth over Booher. Heat winners over the season-high 44-car field went to Rick Anthony, Brian Miller, Jim Riffenberrick, and Aley. The two B mains were won by Tim Zuschlag and Bob Sloss.
4th Annual Chuck Marsh Memorial 410 Sprint Car Feature Finish (40 laps): 1. ED LYNCH, JR. ($5,000) 2. Tom Quarterson ($2,500) 3. Jamie Smith ($1,200) 4. Tommy Burns, Jr. ($800) 5. Arnie Kent ($650) 6. Mike Kekich ($500) 7. Rob Eyler ($475) 8. Jack Sodeman, Jr. ($450) 9. Todd Bauer ($425) 10. Craig Keel ($425) 11. Kevin Schaeffer ($350) 12. Roger Bennett ($325) 13. Tim Farr ($325) 14. Brent Matus ($315) 15. Troy Preston ($280) 16. Joe McEwen ($270) 17. Terry Young ($260) 18. Brad Ellenberger ($275) 19. Kenny Hardy ($235) 20. Mike McCool ($250) 21. Brian Ellenberger ($225) 22. Scott Priester ($225) 23. Jason Jacoby ($225) 24. Skip Dougherty ($225) DNQ-Bruce Robenalt ($100), Gary Rankin ($100), John Toth III ($100), Gary McCollum ($100), Buddy Cochran ($100), Bill Kiley ($100), Sheila Rankin ($100), Chad Hill ($100), Mark Murphy ($100), Jim Kennedy ($100), Mike Marano II ($100), Jim Chappel ($100).
Bolland Machine Big-Block Modified Feature Finish (25 laps): 1. DEAN PEARSON ($1,200) 2. Dave Murdick 3. Lou Blaney 4. Dave Schrader 5. Don McKnight 6. Rob Curtis 7. Carl Weatherby 8. Kevin Hoffman 9. Lou Gentile 10. Rodney Beltz 11. Skip Moore 12. Steve Barr 13. Rich Ferguson 14. J.R. McGinley 15. Dave Reges 16. Mark Sevin 17. Gregg McCandless 18. Chris Schiffer 19. Andy Priest 20. Bill Dorman 21. Steve Young 22. Jim Rasey 23. Kevin Bolland 24. Frank Guidace DNQ-Jerry Bickel, Tom Mattocks, Carl Murdick, Jerry Bowser, Ron Sasse, Ed Alcorn, Tommy Kristyak, George Davis, Harold Michaels.
Butterfield’s Pub Stock Car Feature Finish (20 laps): 1. GARY ROBINSON ($500) 2. Gary Miller, Jr. 3. Mike Aley 4. Brian Miller 5. Brian Booher 6. Jim Hooks 7. Bobby Whitling 8. Shaun Hooks 9. Rick Norco 10. Kevin Thompson 11. Jim Brunson 12. Gary Norman 13. Jeff Kravec 14. Rick Anthony 15. Tim Deutsch 16. Leigh Wheeler 17. Joe Drusko 18. Bob Sloss 19. Willie Aley 20. Jim Riffenberrick 21. Dan Fedorchak 22. Tim Zuschlag 23. Ray Bailey, Jr. 24. Ed Cornell DNQ-Tommy Dembowski, Greg Beach, Mike Turner, Dave Wagner, Jr., Steve Keith, Mike Miller (#72), Dan Michaud, Ed Hays, Bill Haas, Bobby Wagner, Andy Buckley, Tom Vincent, Dave Ferringer, Matt Lux, John Fox, Fred McClenahan, Chris Schneider, Jim Davis, Kevin Miller, Mike Miller (#15).
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Return to Top of Page for June Kent becomes 13th different Sprint Car winner; Blaney now at 11 Mercer Modified wins
By Mike Leone
September 9, 2000
Mercer (PA)...The final regular show of the 2000 season was completed on Saturday night at Mercer Raceway Park. The following drivers recorded wins: Arnie Kent-Axa Advisors 410 Sprint Cars, Lou Blaney-Bolland Machine Big-Block Modifieds, Kenny Hardy-Miller Lite Six-Cylinder Modifieds, Andy Priest-New Castle School of Trades Sportsman Modifieds, and Matt Lux-Butterfield’s Pub Stock Cars.
Arnie Kent went wire-to-wire to win his first 20-lap Axa Advisors 410 Sprint Car Feature of the season. "I knew if I started up front I’d have a really good chance," said the New Castle, Pa. driver from victory lane. "The car has been running real good."
Kent raced into the lead at the wave of the green as Troy Preston and Mike Kekich fell into second and third. Kekich went to the outside of Preston to take second on lap five just as Preston slowed and dropped out with magneto problems. Terry Young, who started eighth, had just passed Jason Jacoby for fourth, then inherited third from Preston’s dropout. This occurred prior to the caution for newcomer, Jeff Kasbee, who came to rest with five laps completed.
When racing resumed, Young put a slider on Kekich in turns three and four. The two made slight contact with Young coming out in second on lap six. Tom Quarterson, who started ninth, passed Jacoby for fourth, then got by Kekich for third at the line on lap six, while Kekich was recovering from the contact.
Young and Quarterson closed on Kent to make it a three-car race at the halfway mark. Joe McEwen lost a wheel to bring out the second caution with 12 laps completed. Under yellow, Young exited, yielding second to Quarterson and third to Kekich. The race was stopped for the third and final time when Rob Eyler caught the guardrail and flipped into the catch fence in turns one and two with 16 laps completed.
The last four laps saw Quarterson look low on Kent and was right there, but Kent was able to hold on for his second career Mercer win in his Dr. Martello Dentistry/McElwain Chevrolet-Olds-sponsored #18. "I figured if I got a good jump I’d be alright," said the winner. "Then I seen Tommy dive underneath me and I couldn’t let this one slip away."
Quarterson was second over Kekich’s best finish of the season in third. Gary Edwards came from 10th to place fourth. Jim Chappel got by Jacoby on lap 17 to finish fifth in his first top five of the season. Rounding out the top 10 were Jacoby, Todd Bauer, Kenny Hardy, Mark Murphy, and Chris Matthews. Heat winners over the 20-car field were Quarterson and Chappel.
By the luck of the draw, Lou Blaney started second, passed Bill Dorman on the opening lap, and led all 20 laps of the Bolland Machine Big-Block Modified Feature for his 11th win. "The race track was really, really nice," said the Hartford, Ohio veteran from victory lane. "Frank (Benic) and crew did a great job on the track tonight."
Blaney took command on the opening lap, while Dean Pearson got by Dorman for second. Carl Weatherby, who started eighth, raced to the front and was already in third on lap two when he passed Dorman. Weatherby drove by Pearson on the outside coming off turn four for second on lap four.
Weatherby put the pressure on Blaney using the outside, but was unable to get by as Blaney drove on for his 22nd overall win of 2000 in the Carpenter’s Towing/Troy-Alan Chevrolet/Colonial Metal Products-sponsored #10. Weatherby continued his strong rookie big-block season with a runner-up over Pearson. Tommy Kristyak was fourth for his first top five since July 8. Steve Young rounded out the first five. Sixth through tenth were Rodney Beltz, Carl Murdick, Andy Priest, Frank Guidace, and Don McKnight. Scoring heat wins over the 22-car field were Pearson and Blaney.
After struggling to finish for most of the season, Kenny Hardy won his second straight 15-lap Miller Lite Six-Cylinder Modified Feature win. The Wampum, Pa. driver passed Conny Allen on the first lap and led all the way for his fifth win of the season in the Hardy Trucking #85B. Harold Michaels passed Gregg McCandless on lap three for third, then took second from Allen on lap five to finish second. McCandless was third after passing Allen on lap 13 making his first start of the season in the Rod Daye-owned #8. Allen fell to fourth over Jerry Schaffer. Michaels won the heat over the 11-car field.
Andy Priest won his seventh 20-lap New Castle School of Trades Sportsman Modified Feature. Priest started fourth and passed Gary Bollinger and Randy Rodemoyer on the opening lap for second. Priest caught race-long leader, Rick Ryder, and made the winning move on lap six when he drove around him in turn two on the outside. Priest survived three cautions for his 19th career Mercer sportsman win to become the division’s all-time winner in the Ted Hull-owned, MPR Lumber/Griffin-sponsored #41. Gary Smoker started ninth and got by Tom Mattocks for third on lap 10, then passed Ryder on lap 12 to finish second. Gary Bollinger’s third place finish was his best performance of the season. Bill Adams was fourth over Ryder. Heat victors were Allen Ferry and Priest over the 22-car field.
Matt Lux of Franklin, Pa. was declared the winner of the 15-lap Butterfield’s Pub Stock Car Feature after a last lap crash between Gary Robinson and Bobby Whitling. Whitling started the event from the pole as Robinson passed Jim Riffenberrick, Greg Beach, and Rick Anthony for second on the opening. Robinson chased Whitling until making the pass for the lead on lap six by going to the outside racing off turn four. The two put on quite a battle, while Matt Lux, who started seventh, passed Riffenberrick for third on lap 11, then ran down the front two. Lux caught Whitling and Robinson with the white flag waving. Rounding the final turn, Whitling got a good run off the bottom. The two made contact with Robinson going hard into the wall just shy of the finish line. Whitling crossed the line first, but was moved to the tail of the running order for rough driving. This gave Lux the win in his Dulaney’s Garage/Jez Heating & Cooling-sponsored #21. Riffenberrick was second over Brian Miller, Gary Miller, Jr., and Anthony. Taking heat wins over the season-high 40-car field were Robinson, Brian Miller, Riffenberrick, and Kevin Thompson. Andy Buckley and Bob Sloss won the two B mains.
Axa Advisors 410 Sprint Car Feature Finish: 1. ARNIE KENT 2. Tom Quarterson 3. Mike Kekich 4. Gary Edwards 5. Jim Chappel 6. Jason Jacoby 7. Todd Bauer 8. Kenny Hardy 9. Mark Murphy 10. Chris Matthews 11. Buddy Cochran 12. John Toth III 13. Rob Eyler 14. Joe McEwen 15. Terry Young 16. Troy Preston 17. Jeff Kasbee 18. Kevin Andrusky 19. Gary McCollum 20. Brad Ellenberger-DNS.
Bolland Machine Big-Block Modified Feature Finish: 1. LOU BLANEY 2. Carl Weatherby 3. Dean Pearson 4. Tommy Kristyak 5. Steve Young 6. Rodney Beltz 7. Carl Murdick 8. Andy Priest 9. Frank Guidace 10. Don McKnight 11. Bill Dorman 12. Mark Sevin 13. Jerry Bickel 14. Rich Ferguson 15. Skip Moore 16. Rick Hall 17. Dave Harbaugh 18. John Braymer 19. Steve Barr 20. Rob Curtis 21. George Davis 22. Ed Alcorn-DNS.
Miller Lite Six-Cylinder Modified Feature Finish: 1. KENNY HARDY 2. Harold Michaels 3. Gregg McCandless 4. Conny Allen 5. Jerry Schaffer 6. Jerry Bowser 7. Mark McEwen 8. Lou Gentile 9. Randy Ferguson 10. Rick Kress 11. Stan Bell-DNS.
New Castle School of Trades Sportsman Modified Feature Finish: 1. ANDY PRIEST 2. Gary Smoker 3. Gary Bollinger 4. Bill Adams 5. Rick Ryder 6. J.D. Whitman 7. Greg Unrue 8. Andy Paden 9. Chanda Reitz 10. Scott Kay 11. Fred Sasse 12. Dave Shook 13. Leroy Johnson, Jr. 14. Tom Mattocks 15. Barry Bulfone 16. Dave Cogswell 17. Allen Ferry 18. Randy Rodemoyer 19. Curt Matthews 20. John Buchanan 21. Ron Eperthener, Jr.-DNS 22. Doug Ehrenberg-DNS.
Butterfield’s Pub Stock Car Feature Finish: 1. MATT LUX 2. Jim Riffenberrick 3. Brian Miller 4. Gary Miller, Jr. 5. Rick Anthony 6. Kevin Thompson 7. Mike Aley 8. Jim Brunson 9. Ed Hays 10. Bob Sloss 11. Jeff Kravec 12. Jim Davis 13. Greg Beach 14. Carl Davis 15. Tim Deutsch 16. John Reiser 17. Dave Wagner, Jr. 18. Bob Garris 19. Dave Ferringer 20. Bobby Whitling 21. Gary Robinson 22. John Beniston 23. Terry Wheeler 24. Andy Buckley DNQ-Willie Aley, Rich Howell, Tim Zuschlag, Tom Vincent, Dan Fedorchak, Bill Fox, Chuck Kerr, Bill Haas, Ray Bailey, Jr., Bill Kirschner, Sr., Kevin Miller, Dan Michaud, Don Greenlee, Glenn Pupino, Shaun Hooks, Gary Norman.
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