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BOB FELMLEE,
KEVIN BOLLAND, JIM FRONTZ, DOUG IORIO II AND CHARLIE McMILLEN CAPTURE
FEATURE WINS AT TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY May 6, 2007 FRANKLIN, PA ... Tri-City Speedway was back in action Sunday night under sunny, windy and cool conditions as Bob Felmlee (4 Your Car Connection Super Sprints), Kevin Bolland (Schwab's Ford DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds), Jim Frontz, (RPM Auto Sales/Shawgo Real Estate E Mods), Doug Iorio II (E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks) and Charlie McMillen (Klapec Auto Body Thundercars) captured feature wins at the Venango County half-mile oval. Taking the lead from last week’s winner Rod George at the halfway mark of the 20-lap Super Sprint feature, defending track champion Bob Felmlee of Franklin, Pa., captured his first win of the season at Tri-City. For Felmlee, it was his 28th career win tying him with Lou Blaney for the second most Super Sprint wins on Tri-City’s half-mile. It was also his second win of the weekend in his World of Wheels Maxim No. 6 as Felmlee won on Saturday night at Sharon Speedway. “It was good to follow Rod to figure out his line,” said Felmlee. “I knew he was there the rest of the way. This new Hoosier tire worked well tonight. We’ve run it the last few weeks, which gives us a little advantage. The tire looks like it still has a lot of laps left in it, which is why they went to this harder compound.” George beat Cory Good off turn two on the first circuit of the race to take the early lead from the outside pole position. Felmlee moved into third on the fourth lap and set his sights on George. The action slowed on the fifth circuit when Brent Covell spun in turn four and collected John Schuyler, who flipped onto his side. He was uninjured. Once action resumed, Felmlee used the low groove to perfection. Racing under George off turn four to complete the 10th circuit, Felmlee assumed command of the race. George tried several times to drive around the outside of Felmlee to no avail. In the end, Felmlee was the winner over George. Good finished a career best third. Bryan Grove and Covell rounded out the top five after fourth place runner Todd Bauer spun in turn four on the last lap. Good and George won the Super Sprint heats. Kevin Bolland of New Brighton, Pa., captured his first regional DIRTcar Big Block Modified feature of the season barely holding off point leader Jeremiah Shingledecker in the 20-lap event. The racing was so close, Bolland and Shingledecker made contact in the backchute on the last lap, which caused Shingledecker to hit the outside wall. Shingledecker charged hard enough off turn four at the finish that he hit Bolland’s rear bumper, but could not make the winning pass as Bolland stole the outside line in his Northland Ford/Cintas Uniform Bicknell No. 777. “The sun was in my eyes through turns three and four, and it made it hard to see out there,” said Bolland, who won his 27th career feature at Tri-City and was met with a chorus of boos in victory lane. “You don’t know where those guys are behind you when you’re racing out there, especially with these new mufflers. We’ve been trying to get this new car to work, and it’s finally starting to come around.” Bolland used his pole position to perfection as he outgunned Rex King at the start of the race. Behind Bolland, Andy Priest and Del Rougeux Jr. battled feverishly for second. Russell King joined the fray to take third from Rougeux on the ninth circuit. Two laps later, Priest blew a tire and Rougeux slowed quickly to avoid contact. That allowed Russell King and Shingledecker to slip into second and third. Shingledecker disposed of the younger King on the 16th circuit. Shingledecker then closed quickly on Bolland setting up the wild finish. In the end, Bolland led every lap and Shingledecker finished second. Russell King, Rougeux and Rex King rounded out the top five. Shingledecker and Rougeux captured the DIRTcar Big Block Modified heats. Jim Frontz of Cambridge Springs, Pa., took the lead on the fifth circuit of the 15-lap E Mod feature and raced on to his first win at Tri-City since May 29, 2005. Driving his Finck Tire/French Creek Valley Tool Pierce No. 3J, Frontz held off Carl McKinney to snare his fourth career feature win at Tri-City. “It’s been a long time,” said Frontz. “We’ve just had mechanical problems over the last two years. I also got rid of all the green paint on my car. This is my backup motor and it has two wins on it. I guess it’s trying to tell me something.” The competitive event featured numerous passes for position. Polesitter Chip Mahood led the first two circuits before Jeff Walters took command. Walters led the third circuit, then Mike Potosky drove around the outside of him for the lead off turn two. Potosky led the fourth circuit, but Frontz dove under Potosky in turn one to take the lead on the fifth lap. Once out front, Frontz was able to hold off Potosky, who tried to take the lead back with several attempts on the outside cushion. McKinney entered the mix on the eighth circuit. He drove under Potosky for second and chased down Frontz. McKinney nearly closed on Frontz before he hit the inside berm in turn one and lost ground on the 11th circuit. A late caution closed the field, but Frontz was peerless to the end. McKinney finished second over Potosky. On the final lap, defending Pro Stock track champion Bobby Whitling passed last week’s winner Shawn Shingledecker at the line for fourth. Shingledecker and Whitling won the E Mod heat races. Doug Iorio II of Kennerdell, Pa., won his first Pro Stock feature of the season. Battling with Mercer Raceway Park’s top runner Andy Buckley, Iorio took the lead from Buckley on the 14th circuit. A late caution added an extra circuit to the 16-lap feature, but Buckley was unable to defeat Iorio’s Dahlstrom Iron & Metal Chevrolet No. 28. For Iorio, it was his ninth career win at Tri-City. “I’ve learned a lot and matured as a driver,” said Iorio. “I saw the (DIRTcar Big Block) Modified guys running up high, and I knew if I saved my tires my car would work up there. Andy’s a tough racer and I knew I had to get him up high to beat him. He worked that low groove the whole race.” Buckley started on the outside pole position and took command of the race at the start. Former track champion Gerry Bruce, who is driving a Pro Stock owned by Tim Engles, took second and kept pace with Buckley the entire race. Behind the lead duo, Iorio was slicing his way to the front and was running third by the sixth circuit. At the halfway mark, Iorio slipped under the hard charging Bruce for second. Terry Wheeler then battled Bruce for third, but the battle was up front. Iorio at first tried to race under Buckley for the lead. He then switched to the outside cushion. His tires bit, and Iorio led Buckley off turn four to complete the 14th lap. As the lead cars came around for the final lap, a crash in turn two involving Bobby Sutley and Jackson Humanic brought out the final caution and added the extra circuit. In the end, Iorio held off Buckley for the win. Bruce finished third over Danny Exley and Wheeler. Exley used the final restart to make a fast move into the top five. Iorio II and Exley won the Pro Stock heats. Charlie McMillen of Oil City, Pa., was the only repeat winner of the night as he captured his second Thundercar feature in a row. The non-stop, 12-lap main event featured a nearly identical finish to the week before as Regina Deloe was unable to beat McMillen’s R.K. Virgile Scrap Metal/Quig’s Garage Chevrolet No. 61M. It was McMillen’s second career win at Tri-City. “The track was a little slick compared to last week, but it was excellent to race on,” said McMillen, who actually swept wins in his heat and the feature to score maximum points the second week in a row. “I knew Regina was there. I just hope we can keep this up the rest of the season.” Joe Blake and Josh Seippel battled side-by-side for the lead at the start of the race. Blake led the first circuit before Seippel assumed command one lap later. McMillen worked under Seippel on the fourth lap to take the lead. Blake charged into second one circuit later. Deloe entered the battle on the sixth circuit when she moved into third. Biding her time, Deloe waited for a mistake by Blake, which occurred in turn two on the ninth circuit. Deloe took second and closed on McMillen. She nearly drove under him on the final circuit in turn two, but a lapped car slowed her pace entering the last two corners. At the finish, McMillen was victorious over Deloe, Blake, Seippel and Cody Manners. McMillen and Bill Myers captured the Thundercar heats. Tri-City Speedway will return to racing next Sunday May 13th with a five-star racing program of action that includes the 4 Your Car Connection Super Sprints, Schwab's Ford DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, RPM Auto Sales/Shawgo Real Estate E Mods, E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks and Klapec Auto Body Thundercars. The annual Mother’s Day Powder Puff race will be held with a combination 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.
SUPER
SPRINTS (20 Laps): 1. BOB FELMLEE, 2. Rod George, 3. Cory Good, 4. Bryan
Grove, 5. Brent Covell, 6. Russ Sansosti, 7. Todd Bauer, 8. Scott
Rodgers, 9. John Schuyler. E MODS (15 Laps): 1. JIM FRONTZ, 2. Carl McKinney, 3. Mike Potosky, 4. Bobby Whitling, 5. Shawn Shingledecker, 6. Jeff Walters, 7. Butch Lambert, 8. Chip Mahood, 9. Tim Engles, 10. Steve Haefke, 11. Arthur Edwards, 12. Jeff Deeter, 13. Gary Sullivan, 14. Jonathan Taylor, 15. Robert Double, 16. Jason Johns, 17. Dana Wellington. PRO STOCKS (16 Laps): 1. DOUG IORIO II, 2. Andy Buckley, 3. Gerry Bruce, 4. Danny Exley, 5. Terry Wheeler, 6. Jeff Lockhart, 7. Matt Thomas, 8. Denny Crawford, 9. Joe Lockhart, 10. Rod Laskey, 11. Russ Coyne, 12. Chris Haines, 13. John Winters, 14. Matt Keith, 15. Don Kramer, 16. Dick Pascorell, 17. Dave Ferringer, 18. Randy Wyant, 19. Bobby Sutley, 20. Jackson Humanic. DNS: Jeff Manners, A.J. MacQuarrie. THUNDERCARS (12 Laps): 1. CHARLIE McMILLEN, 2. Regina Deloe, 3. Joe Blake, 4. Josh Seippel, 5. Cody Manners, 6. Bill Myers, 7. Curtis E. Bish, 8. Greg Myers, 9. Bill Winters, 10. Dan Baker, 11. Chad Ubber, 12. Kenny Alcorn, 13. John K. Miller, 14. Fred Schultz, 15. Ed Deloe, 16. Patrick Fielding. DNS: Curt Bish Sr., Jon Huff.
UPCOMING
EVENTS May 20 – Super Sprints, DIRT Modifieds, E Mods, Pro Stocks (William R. Karns Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Detroit Iron Pro Stock Series) and Thundercars May 27 – Rankin & Sons Excavating Presents 4th Annual Dick Rankin Memorial (Super Sprints, BRP Modified Tour 2007/Schwab’s Ford Big Block Modified Challenge Series, E Mods, Pro Stocks, Thundercars) June 3 – Super Sprints, DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, E Mods (Allegheny Toyota E Series), Pro Stocks and Thundercars (Little League Night – Leaguers in Uniform Admitted Free of Charge) |