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DALE BLANEY
WINS ALL STAR SPRINT FEATURE AT TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY; GUY GRIFFIN AND JEFF
MANNERS ALSO CAPTURE WINS July 3, 2007 FRANKLIN, PA ... Tri-City Speedway hosted the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Series on Tuesday night, and Dale Blaney of Fowler, Ohio, triumphed over a stellar field of cars in the Independence Day special. In other action, Guy Griffin (Limited Sprints) and Jeff Manners (Thundercars) scored feature wins on The Freedom Fifty Night at the Venango County half-mile oval. Taking the lead with five laps to go, Dale Blaney won his fifth All Star race of 2007 in the non-stop 30-lap A main. Driving George Fisher’s Berlin Natural Bakery/Kemp Insurance Agency Schnee No. 2, Blaney earned $5,000 for his fourth career win at Tri-City. He last win at the track came in a surprise Sunday appearance in May, 2001. “We’ve watched a lot of races over the years here at Tri-City,” said Blaney, whose father, Lou, has 53 career wins in the Super Sprints and DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds at the track. “We’ve had pretty good success here. I just wish that tonight’s win was last week.” Blaney won three out of seven races last week during the 25th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek. He lost out on a $50,000 bonus when he failed to win Saturday night at Eldora Speedway in a race won by area favorite Ed Lynch Jr. Rob Eyler and Jody Keegan started on the front row of the 24-car field at the start of the A main. Eyler took command at the drop of the green flag, and 2006 All Star champion Greg Wilson quickly moved into second. Blaney was running third. As Eyler entered lapped traffic, Wilson drove under him in the fourth turn on the eighth circuit to take the lead. Blaney was hot on Wilson’s tail and moved into second on the 10th circuit. Eyler then lost third to George on the next circuit. Danny Smith followed through into fourth on the 13th circuit and Brian Paulus was in fifth by the 15th circuit. Out front, Wilson ran a steady pace, but Blaney gradually closed in. As the two drivers diced in lapped traffic to the amazement of the crowd, Blaney waited for the right moment. Using the outside cushion on the 25th circuit, Blaney raced around Wilson entering the third corner to snare the lead. Once in front, Blaney raced home the winner over Wilson. George held off the late charges of Smith to finish third. Smith and Lynch rounded out the top five. Lynch passed Brian Paulus for the fifth spot off turn four on the final lap. The race ran caution free in 9:45. Wilson was pleased with his runner-up finish. “I gave Dale a little bit of room on the top side, and he found it,” said Wilson. “After our horrible luck last week, coming out of here with second place is like a win.” George, who set fast time earlier in the night, was a little disappointed with third, but he kept a smile on his face nonetheless after the race. “We made it into the lapped traffic, and we just couldn’t get it done tonight,” said George, who has five wins this season at Tri-City. “Our crew did a great job thrashing to get this car together after Sunday night. Third place is not too bad.” George’s fast time was 16.574 seconds, which translated into a 108.604 mph lap. George, Smith and Eyler won the All Star heat races. Wilson captured the dash. Bill Rose advanced into the A main with a win in the B main. During time trials, Terry Bowser clouted the wall and flipped in turn two. Scott Rodgers then tumbled in the frontstretch in the first hear. Neither driver was injured. Guy Griffin of Greenville, Pa., scored his first career feature win at Tri-City in the first-ever Limited Sprint feature at the track. Sharon Speedway’s perennial winner in the Limited Sprints took the lead on the second lap and never looked back in his Osborne Funeral Home/Chatfield Drilling J&J No. 11. “I was looking for shadows back there, but didn’t see any,” said Griffin in reference to his big lead throughout the race. “I’d like to thank Mike Graham and Roger Crick for letting us have a race here at Tri-City. This was awesome.” Nick Miller took the early lead before Griffin attacked. Taking the low line through turns three and four, Griffin assumed command of the race and jumped out to a big lead. Behind him, Miller held off Nate Stein for most of the race. On the 14th circuit, Stein raced under Miller off turn four to take second. Stein then tried to chase down Griffin, who ran the fastest laps of the race at the end. Stein finished second. Brandon Spithaler passed Miller for third on the final circuit. Miller and Jim Morris rounded out the top five. The race was caution free and lasted 6:45. Stein won the lone heat race. Jeff Manners of Cherrytree, Pa., returned to his roots as he took the reins of the Thundercar normally driven by his son, Cody. Piloting the Tarr’s Motorsports/Jerry’s Auto Chevrolet No. 16, Manners took the lead on the eighth circuit of the 12-lap feature and raced to his first win of the season. It was the 12th career Thundercar feature win for the 2003 and 2006 track champion, who now races in the Pro Stock division. “I’d like to thank Cody for letting me race this car tonight,” said Manners. “I found some bite on the bottom groove and made it work. This was a great win tonight.” Joe Blake took the lead at the start of the event. Point leader Bill Myers moved into second and hounded Blake until he managed to squeeze past him on the third circuit. Manners flew through the field and he was running second by the fifth circuit. One lap later, the first and only caution flag in all three features occurred for a spin involving Blake and Josh Seippel in turn three. On the restart, Manners sized up Myers for a lap and then drove under him off turn four to complete the eighth circuit. Once out front, Manners was gone. He earned $100 for the win with some special purse money posted by Four Star Pizza of Franklin and Oil City, Pa., and Myers, who finished second. Curt Bish Jr. returned to his home track and finished third over Dave Shook and Ed Deloe. Shook drove as a substitute driver for Charlie McMillen. Bish and Manners won the heat races. Jim’s Super Market of Cooperstown, Pa., hosted a unique event for the Thundercars called “The Hoagie Haul.” Featuring the top six drivers in points, each driver was paired with a fan, who had to eat a six-inch hoagie followed by the driver drinking a 12-ounce soda in a preliminary event. The winning team earned the pole for the race, which ended up being Shook in substitution for McMillen. In the four-lap dash, Seippel scored the win and collected $100 for his efforts. Tri-City Speedway returns to weekly action on Sunday July 8th with another five-star show featuring 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. It will be Scout Night at the track as all Boy and Girl Scouts in uniform will receive free grandstand admission. Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Adult grandstand admission will be a family friendly $11. ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS SPRINT SERIES (30 Laps): 1. DALE BLANEY, 2. Greg Wilson, 3. Rod George, 4. Danny Smith, 5. Ed Lynch Jr., 6. Brian Paulus, 7. Rob Eyler, 8. Dean Jacobs, 9. Bob Felmlee, 10. Jody Keegan, 11. Bill Rose, 12. Brandon Martin, 13. Kevin Schaeffer, 14. Scott Priester, 15. Paul May, 16. Andy McKisson, 17. Chad Blonde, 18. Craig Mintz, 19. Brock Mayes, 20. Brian Ellenberger, 21. Brent Covell, 22. Todd Bauer, 23. David Doherty, 24. Arnie Kent. DNQ: Carl Bowser, Gale Ruth Jr., Lee Stark, Terry Bowser, Scott Rodgers. LIMITED SPRINTS (20 Laps): 1. GUY GRIFFIN, 2. Nate Stein, 3. Brandon Spithaler, 4. Nick Miller, 5. Jim Morris, 6. Rob Freyvogel. DNS: Eric Williams. THUNDERCARS (12 Laps): 1. JEFF MANNERS, 2. Bill Myers, 3. Curt Bish Jr., 4. Dave Shook, 5. Ed Deloe, 6. Regina Deloe, 7. Greg Myers, 8. Bill Winters, 9. Josh Seippel, 10. Russ Coyne, 11. Patrick Fielding, 12. Matt Thomas, 13. Bill Hale, 14. Bill Baker, 15. Joe Blake, 16. Jason Swatz, 17. Curtis E. Bish.
UPCOMING
EVENTS July 15 – Super Sprints, DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds (BRP Modified Tour 2007/Schwab’s Ford Big Block Modified Challenge Series 15th Annual Kodiak Memorial), E Mods, Pro Stocks and Thundercars (Atkinson Fire Safety Equipment Night) July 22 – Super Sprints, DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, E Mods, Pro Stocks, Thundercars and Lowry Auto Wrecking Compact Car Demo Derby (Joy Employee Fund Night) July 29 – Speedway Closed – No Races |