MIKE POTOSKY WIN E SERIES RACE AT TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY; JEREMIAH SHINGLEDECKER, MAX BLAIR, JASON REAGLE AND CODY MANNERS ARE REPEAT WINNERS
by Brian Spaid

June 1, 2008

   FRANKLIN, PA  ... Mike Potosky was the big winner on Sunday night at Tri-City Speedway as he captured the 20-lap Welding Technologies E Series race for the E Mods to start the annual four-race series for the RPM Auto Sales/Shawgo Real Estate E Mods at the Venango County half-mile oval.

   Run under warm, sunny and windy conditions, the races also produced exciting action in other divisions as Jeremiah Shingledecker (Engles Trucking DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds), Max Blair (4 Your Car Connection FASTRAK Late Models), Jason Reagle (E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks), and Cody Manners (Klapec Auto Body Thundercars) captured feature victories on Armstrong Cable Night.

   Mike Potosky of Guys Mills, Pa., ended an excellent two-win weekend with a victory in the 20-lap E Series E Mod feature in his Tool City Welding/Tech Precision Molded Plastics Pierce No. M20. Potosky, who won Friday night at Raceway 7, led every lap of the main event to capture his first win of the season and the ninth of his career at Tri-City.

   “This was a good weekend,” smiled Potosky in victory lane. “The top groove was the place to be tonight. I know we could have held off all challengers tonight. I have to thank all the division and series sponsors, the track and all the fans.”

   Chip Mahood and Butch Lambert started on the front row after a redraw following the heat races, but Potosky blasted around both of them to lead the race entering turn three on the first circuit. At first, Lambert tried to challenge Potosky, but he was unable to muster a charge. On the fifth lap, Justin Carlson moved into second and tried to run down Potosky to no avail. On the 11^th circuit, Todd Roncaglione took second from Carlson and the fourth and final caution of the race waved immediately thereafter. On the restart, Roncaglione charged under Potosky in turn two and took a shot to pass the leader. Yet, Potosky would not be denied. He held off Roncaglione and raced away from the pack.

   At the finish, Potosky was the winner over Roncaglione, Carlson and teammates Carl McKinney and Al Cressley. McKinney, the defending E Series champion, made a charge late in the race to get into fourth. Potosky and Roncaglione won the E Mod heats.

   Jeremiah Shingledecker of Polk, Pa., came of age in the 20-lap DIRTcar Big Block Modified feature. Holding off the hard charging Kevin Bolland and Andy Priest, Shingledecker proved that his name belongs in the annals of Tri-City history as a top runner. From slide jobs to restart challenges, the two former track champions threw the book at Shingledecker. In the end, he held on for his second win of the season and the 10^th of his career at Tri-City.

   “Those were great battles,” said Shingledecker. “Andy made an awesome pass. I hope I didn’t pinch him too bad in turn two to take back the lead. Then, on that restart, the car stuttered and Bolland got by me. I was glad when that caution came out. This was an awesome race for our team. I’d also like to thank Tri-City for keeping the big blocks here. We all have a lot of fun.”

   Starting on the pole position, Shingledecker took the early lead. On the second circuit, Priest made a bonsai run in turn four pulling off a slide job on Shingledecker to lead. Then, Shingledecker made the same move on Priest in turn two on the same lap. Shingledecker drifted in front of Priest just enough to take the lead and prevent any contact. The move left the fans in awe.

   Two laps later, Bolland drove under Priest in turn four to take second. The two veterans exchanged the position three times before Bolland secured it and he started to chase down Shingledecker. After a caution on the 11^th circuit, Shingledecker’s car stuttered on a restart, and Bolland drove under the leader in turn two to take the lead. Just as Shingledecker raced to the high side in turn three to try to take back the front spot, rookie Kyle Fink spun in turn one causing a caution that nullified Bolland’s pass.

   On the final restart, Shingledecker would not make the same error and he blasted away from Bolland. Behind the duo, Priest held third while Dave Schrader, Joe Crawford and Skip Moore dueled for fourth. Their battle occupied the fans over the final distance. At the line, Shingledecker was the winner over Bolland, Priest, Schrader and Crawford. Bolland and Crawford won the DIRTcar Big Block Modified heats.

   Max Blair of Titusville, Pa., proved that his win one week earlier was no fluke as the third generation racer slaughtered the competition in the 20-lap FASTRAK Late Model feature. Driving his Bossard’s Auto Parts/Donovan & Bauer Auto Group/Specialty Products Rocket No. 111, Blair was so dominant that he beat Carl McKinney by 4.246 seconds.

   “I guess I didn’t have to push that hard,” said Blair in victory lane where he celebrated with his father and famed Late Model star Robbie Blair. “The high groove was excellent. I have to hand it to the track crew tonight.”

   Blair and McKinney started on the front row. After two quick cautions, the race was caution-free for the last 19 circuits. As Blair and McKinney pulled away from the field, Bobby Powell, Bobby Whitling and Butch Lambert battled for third. Whitling, who returned from a bad flip the week before, ran third by the third circuit. Powell and Lambert dueled for fourth for several circuits exchanging the position a total of five times. On the 19^th circuit, Lambert managed to find racing room under Whitling to snag third. At the finish, Blair won over McKinney, Lambert, Whitling and Powell. Blair and McKinney captured the FASTRAK Late Model heats.

   Similar to Shingledecker, Jason Reagle of Oil City, Pa., captured his second Pro Stock feature win of the season and the 10^th of his career. Driving his R.K. Virgile Scrap Metal Dodge Charge No.Triple 8, Reagle held off the hard charging Jason Johns for the win in the 16-lap affair.

   “I didn’t know that Jason was back there until he passed me,” said Reagle. “We had a good run. I got back by him, but I didn’t want that last caution with two turns to go. On the last restart, I gave Jason enough room to race me, but I was running great tonight.”

   Reagle eclipsed Gerry Bruce and Johns for the lead off turn four on the opening lap of the race. Once out front, Reagle pulled away from Bruce, who tried to hold off Johns. On the seventh circuit, Johns finally got by Bruce and set his sights on Reagle. With no cautions after the fifth circuit, Johns ran down Reagle in lapped traffic. Using the high groove on the 11^th circuit, Johns took command of the race off turn four. Reagle only realized Johns was behind him after Johns passed him. Reagle quickly mustered the speed in his racer to charge back under Johns in turn three on the 13^th circuit. Coming around for the finish, caution flew for frontstretch debris. As a result, an additional circuit was tagged onto the event by track rules. Johns was no match for Reagle after the final restart. Johns finished second over Rod Laskey, Jackson Humanic and Bruce. Reagle and Andy Buckley won the Pro Stock heats.

   Cody Manners of Cherrytree, Pa., inherited the win in the 12-lap Thundercar feature after apparent winner Curtis J. Bish was disqualified for a technical violation. At the scales, track officials noticed that the rear tires on Bish’s car included offset rims. As a result, Bish was sent to the pit area, and Manners drove to victory lane for his second win in a row and his fourth career victory at Tri-City. Bish led the entire race, but will not receive credit for any of the laps lead.

   “That’s too bad for Curt, but rules are rules,” said Manners, whose name is merely taped on the top of his father’s former racer, the Tarr Motorsports/Jerry’s Auto Chevrolet No. 16. “I think we may dress up the car a little bit. That was fun tonight.”

   Disregarding Bish’s lead, at the start of the race, Greg Myers was actually pacing the field while running second on the track. Two red flag periods delayed the race’s early laps after Joe Sloss and Scott Kilgore both rolled their cars in separate incidents. Neither driver suffered injuries. After Kilgore’s rollover, Manners took second from Myers, but was the actual leader. He gradually caught up to Bish, but just did not have the horses to make a challenge to pass the leader on the track. Behind him, defending track champion Bill Myers was running third on the track, but the two young guns at the front had more than enough handling and power to hold him off. In the end, the official finish showed Manners the winner over Myers, Regina Deloe, point leader Chadd Uber and Don Blake Jr. Manners and Dave Baker won the Thundercar heats.

   On Sunday June 8^th, Tri-City Speedway is back in action with as WDDH 97.5 “The Hound” Presents Five-Star Racing featuring 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. Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Adult grandstand admission will remain at $11 with students (13-15) at $5 and children 12 and under admitted free. 

   DIRTcar BIG BLOCK MODIFIEDS (20 Laps): 1. JEREMIAH SHINGLEDECKER, 2. Kevin Bolland, 3. Andy Priest, 4. Dave Schrader, 5. Joe Crawford, 6. Skip Moore, 7. Kevin Hoffman, 8. Gary Smoker, 9. Brad Rapp, 10. Tommy Kristyak, 11. Mike Turner, 12. Dean Pearson, 13. Mark Frankhouser, 14. Carl Murdick, 15. Jimmy Holden, 16. Brian Sadler, 17. Kyle Fink, 18. John Whitney, 19. Del Rougeux Jr.

   FASTRAK LATE MODELS (20 Laps): 1. MAX BLAIR, 2. Carl McKinney, 3. Butch Lambert, 4. Bobby Whitling, 5. Bobby Powell, 6. Chris Haines, 7. Steve Hollabaugh, 8. Dave Lyon, 9. Jim Frank, 10. Dereck Frank, 11. Chad Myers, 12. Dave Airgood Jr., 13. Kyle Zimmerman, 14. Dave Osterberg.

   E SERIES FOR E MODS (20 Laps): 1. MIKE POTOSKY, 2. Todd Roncaglione, 3. Justin Carlson, 4. Carl McKinney, 5. Al Cressley, 6. Shawn Shingledecker, 7. Butch Lambert, 8. Jim Frontz, 9. Evan Taylor, 10. Bruce Powell, 11. David Atkinson, 12. Chip Mahood, 13. Gary Sullivan, 14. Tim Engles, 15. Jeff Deeter, 16. Jonathan Taylor, 17. Rick Pratschler, 18. Randy Beck, 19. Jared Domhoff.

   PRO STOCKS (16 Laps): 1. JASON REAGLE, 2. Jason Johns, 3. Rod Laskey, 4. Jackson Humanic, 5. Gerry Bruce, 6. Andy Buckley, 7. Bobby Sutley, 8. Randy Wyant, 9. Dave Ferringer, 10. Ronnie Davis, 11. Terry Wheeler, 12. Arthur Edwards, 13. Matt Thomas, 14. Josh Seippel, 15. Russ Coyne, 16. A.J. MacQuarrie, 17. James Keith, 18. Kevin Carson, 19. Don Kramer, 20. Chris Haines. DNS: Jeff Manners, Ray Virgile.

   THUNDERCARS (12 Laps): 1. CODY MANNERS, 2. Bill Myers, 3. Regina Deloe, 4. Chadd Uber, 5. Don Blake Jr., 6. Greg Myers, 7. Ed Deloe, 8. Joe Blake, 9. Bill Winters, 10. Kenny Alcorn, 11. Alan Perry, 12. Pat Fielding, 13. Dave Baker, 14. Jason Swartz, 15. Jon Huff, 16. Ed Roberts, 17. Bill Baker, 18. Scott Kilgore, 19. Joe Sloss. DISQ: Curtis J. Bish. DNS: Mike Dobrick, Cody Carson, Charlie McMillen.

   UPCOMING EVENTS 

   June 8 – WDDH 97.5 WDDH “The Hound” Presents DIRTcar Big Block Modified, FASTRAK Late Models, E Mods, Pro Stocks, Thundercars and One-on-One Spectator Races

   June 15 – Cranberry Pennzoil 10 Minute Oil Change Presents DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, FASTRAK Late Models, E Mods, Pro Stocks, Thundercars and PPC Violence Network Ladies Charity Ladies Only Mid-Sized Car Demo Derby

   June 22 – McDonald’s Presents DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, FASTRAK Late Models, E Mods, Pro Stocks (William R. Karns Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Detroit Iron Pro Stock Series) and Thundercars (Kids Night Bike Races)

   June 29 – Edward Jones Presents Fireworks Extravaganza with DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, FASTRAK Late Models, E Mods, Pro Stocks and Thundercars