ALAN DELLINGER DOUBLES DOWN AT TRI-CITY WINNING FASTRAK LATE MODEL AND E MOD FEATURES; KEVIN BOLLAND, JASON REAGLE, AND CHADD UBER ALSO WIN
by Brian Spaid

May 4, 2008

   FRANKLIN, PA  ... Tri-City Speedway hosted its second show of the 2008 racing season on Sunday night with 106 cars in the pit area, and the night proved to be historical as Alan Dellinger captured two feature wins in the FASTRAK Late Models and E Mods. This was the first time the feat was achieved in the track’s modern era, which began in 1996. The last time it occurred was in the 1970s when the legendary Ed Lynch pulled the trick several times while racing Super Sprints and DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds. 

   On a sunny and cool night, the feature winners included Kevin Bolland (Engles Trucking DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds), Alan Dellinger (4 Your Car Connection FASTRAK Late Models and RPM Auto Sales/Sherry Shawgo Real Estate E Mods), Jason Reagle (E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks) and Chadd Uber (Klapec Auto Body Thundercars).

   Kevin Bolland of New Brighton, Pa., started his weekend by crashing his car heavily on Thursday night in an Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series race at Virginia Motor Speedway. Bolland and his crew toiled throughout the weekend to get their Northland Ford/Cintas Uniform Bicknell No. 777 ready to race. Their hard work paid off in spades as Bolland rolled to his first win of the season and his 30^th career win at Tri-City.

   “I’d like to thank my crew,” said Bolland, who is a three-time track champion. “Without their hard work, we wouldn’t be here tonight. This win means a lot to our team after our crash in Virginia. We spent a lot of time on the road and in the shop.”

   After early leader Jim Rasey crashed into the end of the third turn wall at the entrance to the pit area, Dave Schrader took command of the race. He only led one circuit before Bolland took the outside lane past Schrader for the lead on the third lap. Once out front, Bolland was peerless. He pulled out to a large advantage over Rex King. Towards the end of the race, lapped traffic caused some havoc for Bolland, but he was able to maintain his lead with no difficulties. King finished second over Joe Crawford, who finished third for the second week in a row. Del Rougeux Jr. and Schrader rounded out the top five. Jeremiah Shingledecker and Andy Priest won the DIRTcar Big Block Modified heats for the 21-car field.

   Alan Dellinger of Hermitage, Pa., started the night with his first win at Tri-City in the FASTRAK Late Model 20-lap main. With the win, Dellinger became the first driver in the modern era to win in three different divisions at the track. His other victories came in the DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds and the E Mods. This night, Dellinger drove the Bob Williams Motorsports Bullitt No. 8 to victory by leading every circuit from the outside pole position. It was the first race this season for the chassis, which Dellinger and Williams won for their 2007 FASTRAK Northeast Touring Series championship.

   “I like this track,” said Dellinger in victory lane. “Bob put a great car together.  This was the first night out with it, so we did pretty good. I love to run any car with tires and a racing engine in it.”

   Two crashes slowed the start of the race, but failed to stop Dellinger’s dominance. Tom Snyder Jr. gave chase after Dellinger over the first five circuits. Third generation star Max Blair moved into second on the sixth circuit. At first, it appeared as if Blair had the horses to challenge Dellinger. However, Blair seemed to fade over the final half of the race. In the end, Dellinger topped Blair. Mike Pegher Jr. finished third in a car owned by Late Model legend Lynn Geisler. Pegher made a three-wide move at the halfway mark of the race to take the show position, which he held to the end of the race. Butch Lambert and former E Mod track champion Bobby Powell rounded out the top five. Powell took fifth from Snyder with four laps remaining in the event. Former Thundercar champion Chad Myers and Snyder won the FASTRAK Late Model heat races for the 21-car field.

   Dellinger continued his historical night in the 15-lap E Mod feature also leading every circuit, this time driving Dwayne Clay’s Clay Trucking Jetcar No. 008. Similar to the FASTRAK Late Model main, Dellinger started on the outside pole position. Taking the lead at the start, Dellinger held off local favorite Shawn Shingledecker through three late-race restarts to win his ninth career E Mod feature at Tri-City. It was Dellinger’s first win in the class at the track since September 21, 2002.

   “I’d like to thank Dwayne for giving me a chance to race his car this year,” said Dellinger. “This car has the same rear tires and wheels on it that I ran in the CSOnline Applefest 100 two years ago (when Dellinger was disqualified after a win for an engine violation). It was fun tonight. We had a good run.”

   For the entire race, Dellinger and Shingledecker were the class of the field. The 12^th lap was about all Shingledecker had to work with to try to defeat Dellinger. Three cautions slowed the race for that single circuit starting with debris and followed by two multi-car crashes. On the final restart, Shingledecker had his best chance of the race to catch Dellinger. He drove his car to the inside lane at each end of the half-mile, but Dellinger was undaunted on the high side. At the finish, Dellinger topped Shingledecker, Jim Frontz, Mike Potosky and Evan Taylor. Frontz and Mike Potosky captured the E Mod heats over the 19-car field.

   Jason Reagle of Oil City, Pa., copied Dellinger’s efforts in the 15-lap Pro Stock feature. Driving his R.K. Virgile Scrap Metals No. 888, Reagle drove a steady race using the low-to-middle groove around the half-mile track to capture his first win of the season and the ninth of his career at Tri-City tying him with Matt Lux on the Pro Stock win list.

   “I’d like to thank the crew for a great job,” said Reagle. “I didn’t know if anyone was behind me. I just wanted to hold my line each lap.”

   Jason Johns chased Reagle the entire race. Johns, who traded his E Mod for a Pro Stock during the off-season, thereby moving back into the division where he started his racing career, tried mightily to make the outside cushion work to his advantage. However, Johns came up just short in the setup department, and was forced to settle for runner-up honors. Meanwhile, last week’s winner Chris Haines and Rod Laskey traded third five times over the final five circuits putting on a great battle for the fans. At the line, Reagle was the winner over Johns, Haines, Laskey and Gerry Bruce. Bobby Sutley and Don Kramer won the Pro Stock heats for the 24-car field.

   Chadd Uber of Franklin, Pa., captured his first career Thundercar feature win. Leading every circuit of the 12-lap event, Uber was undaunted as he faced challenges from track champion Bill Myers and teenage star Cody Manners. Uber showed he has the stuff to be a contender for the point championship beating Manners by a half car length at the finish line.

   “It’s been a long time trying to get here,” said a smiling Uber next to his Lowry Auto Wrecking Chevrolet No. 8 in victory lane. “I went high with one to go off turn four and it almost cost me in the end. I’d especially like to thank my crew and my father for all his help to get me here.”

   Uber parlayed his outside pole position into the lead at the start of the race. Myers immediately moved into second and applied heavy pressure on Uber. On the fourth lap, Manners raced under Myers for second and nearly passed Uber in the same move. Uber continued to run hard in the outside lane, and he held off Manners’ advances. With one lap to go, Uber drifted high in turn four, which allowed Manners to close the gap. On the final turn, Manners made one last ditch effort. Charging to the line, Uber beat Manners by about three feet. Curtis E. Bish finished third followed by Myers and Ed Deloe. Bill Winters and Uber garnered wins in the Thundercar heat races for the 22-car field. Rookie Ed Roberts rolled his Thundercar in the second heat, but was uninjured.

   On Sunday May 11^th, Tri-City Speedway celebrates Mother’s Day as Red Express Presents Five-Star Racing that features the Engles Trucking DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, 4 Your Car Connection FASTRAK Late Models, RPM Auto Sales/Sherry Shawgo Real Estate E Mods, E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks and Klapec Auto Body Thundercars on the half-mile dirt track. The annual Mother’s Day Powder Puff Race will also be run featuring a combined class of Pro Stocks and Thundercars. Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Adult grandstand admission will be a family friendly $11. 

   DIRTcar BIG BLOCK MODIFIEDS (20 Laps): 1. KEVIN BOLLAND, 2. Rex King, 3. Joe Crawford, 4. Del Rougeux Jr., 5. Dave Schrader, 6. Andy Priest, 7. Jeremiah Shingledecker, 8. Eric Gabany, 9. Kevin Hoffman, 10. Brad Rapp, 11. Skip Moore, 12. Carl Murdick, 13. Jim Rasey, 14. Dean Pearson, 15. Mike Turner, 16. Tommy Kristyak, 17. Kyle Fink, 18. Brian Sadler, 19. Steve Feder, 20. Dave Murdick. DISQ: Rex King Jr. (failed to weigh after race).

   FASTRAK LATE MODELS (20 Laps): 1. ALAN DELLINGER, 2. Max Blair, 3. Mike Pegher Jr., 4. Butch Lambert, 5. Bobby Powell, 6. Tom Snyder Jr., 7. Carl McKinney, 8. Jim Frank, 9. Chad Myers, 10. Justin Kann, 11. Dave Lyon, 12. Scott Myers, 13. Bobby Whitling, 14. Dereck Frank, 15. Dave Airgood Jr., 16. Wayne Mohawk, 17. Chris Haines, 18. Steve Hollabaugh, 19. Rick Robinson, 20. Tyler Dietz, 21. Drew Koteles.

   E MODS (15 Laps): 1. ALAN DELLINGER, 2. Shawn Shingledecker, 3. Jim Frontz, 4. Mike Potosky, 5. Evan Taylor, 6. Russ Dunn, 7. Ron Roncaglione, 8. Butch Lambert, 9. Bruce Powell, 10. Justin Carlson, 11. Chip Mahood, 12. Carl McKinney, 13. Jeff Deeter, 14. Jonathan Taylor, 15. Andy Buckley, 16. Tim Engles, 17. Gary Sullivan, 18. Troy Carr. DNS: Dana Wellington.

   PRO STOCKS (15 Laps): 1. JASON REAGLE, 2. Jason Johns, 3. Chris Haines, 4. Rod Laskey, 5. Gerry Bruce, 6. Dave Ferringer, 7. Jackson Humanic, 8. Bobby Sutley, 9. Matt Thomas, 10. Terry Wheeler, 11. Russ Coyne, 12. Arthur Edwards, 13. Ronnie Davis, 14. Jake Huppenthal, 15. Josh Seippel, 16. Adam Kostelnik, 17. Russ Byler, 18. Don Kramer, 19. James Keith, 20. Cody Carson, 21. Steve Prichard, 22. Mitch Wattelet, 23. Kevin Carson. DNS: Jeff Manners.

   THUNDERCARS (12 Laps): 1. CHADD UBER, 2. Cody Manners, 3. Curtis E. Bish, 4. Bill Myers, 5. Ed Deloe, 6. Greg Myers, 7. Joe Sloss, 8. Bill Baker, 9. Bill Winters, 10. Patrick Fielding, 11. Scott Kilgore, 12. Joe Blake, 13. Alan Perry, 14. Dave Baker, 15. Kenny Alcorn, 16. Leroy Trauterman, 17. Don Blake Jr., 18. John K. Miller, 19. Charlie McMillen. DNS: Ed Roberts, Mike Dobrick, Jon Huff. 

   UPCOMING EVENTS

   May 11 – Red Express Presents DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, FASTRAK Late Models, E Mods, Pro Stocks, Thundercars and Mother’s Day Powder Puff Pro Stock and Thundercar Race

   May 18 – Fisher & Father Presents DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, FASTRAK Late Models, E Mods, Pro Stocks and Thundercars (Armed Forces Day: All persons with a valid military identification card receive free grandstand admission)

   May 25 – Rankin & Sons Excavating Presents 5th Annual Dick Rankin Memorial Featuring BRP Modified Tour 2008 (DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds), FASTRAK Late Models, E Mods, Pro Stocks and Thundercars

   June 1 – Armstrong Cable Presents DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, FASTRAK Late Models, E Mods (Welding Technologies E Series), Pro Stocks and Thundercars (Little League Night: All Little Leaguers in uniform receive free grandstand admission)