ED LYNCH JR., REX KING, KEVIN BOLLAND, BRENT RHEBERGEN, BRUCE SMITH, DON BLAKE JR. AND ROBBY SWITZER ALL WIN ON BUSY NIGHT AT TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY
by Brian Spaid

July 13, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

   FRANKLIN, PA  … After battling rain and fog last week, track officials at Tri-City Speedway were blessed with a warm and sunny Sunday evening for racing as Ed Lynch Jr. (Northpointe Automotive Super Sprints), Rex King and Kevin Bolland (Schwab’s Ford DIRT Modifieds), Brent Rhebergen (RE/MAX 1^st Oil Country E Mods), Bruce Smith (E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks), and Don Blake Jr. and Robby Switzer (Victory Lane Graphics Thundercars) captured feature wins on a busy Northpointe Automotive Night at the Venango County half-mile dirt oval.

   Ed Lynch Jr. of Apollo, Pa., put on another driving clinic as he passed Brent Matus on the 14^th lap of the 20-lap Super Sprint feature and cruised to his fifth win of the season in his Indy Equipment/Commercial Truck & Trailer J&J No. 2L. The win was also Lynch’s 20^th career win at Tri-City, the most by any driver since the track reopened in 1996. It also provided some added momentum for his efforts in the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway this coming weekend.

   “Brent ran a good line tonight, but the outside lane was the place to be,” said Lynch in victory lane. “The top worked a lot better for me. I know Rod (George) and I are winning a lot here, but there are going to be some other winners soon.”

   Northpointe Automotive owner Paul Eredatario, who sponsors the Super Sprint division at Tri-City, provided some added incentive for the rest of the field to beat Lynch and George, who have won every feature at the track since May 19, 2002. He announced in victory lane that a progressive $100 bounty is in place starting next week. For the rest of the regular season, if any driver defeats either Lynch or George while either of them is running on the track at the finish, that driver will earn the additional money. Every week that goes by with Lynch or George as the winner of the feature will add another $100 to the bounty until it is collected.

   Matus was poised to score the upset in Sunday’s race. He started on the pole position and led the first 13 laps. Andy McKisson tried to unseat Matus in the first five laps of the race before 2001 track champion Scott Bonnell passed him. Five laps later, Matus still paced the field over Bonnell, McKisson, Lynch and Rob Eyler. Within the next three laps, as the leaders dodged in and out of lapped traffic, Lynch used the outside lane to work into second. Following Joey Sanger’s second spin of the race on the 13^th lap, Lynch used the same outside groove to ride around Matus into the lead off turn four after the restart. Matus hung on for a career-best second place finish over Bonnell, Eyler and Jason Jacoby. Lynch and Rod George captured the Super Sprint heats. George, who came into the night as the point leader, broke his wing in the heat race. Forced to use a substitute wing from Bonnell in the feature, George could not get the setup right on his car and finished seventh.

   Rex King of Bristolville, Ohio, led every lap of the first 20-lap DIRT Modified feature, which was fog-delayed from July 6^th. Starting on the pole position in only his third race of 2003 following off-season back surgery, King cruised to his third career win at Tri-City, and his first since May 13, 2001, in his King Bros. Feed & Supply Bicknell No. 65.

   “We sold a lot of equipment after I decided to have surgery,” said the popular King. “This is a new Bicknell DIRT Modified out-of-the-box. It ran well. After the first start, I adjusted the setup in the car, and I was able to hold off Jim (Rasey) going into turn one.”

   King and Rasey led the field at the start, and Rasey used the outside groove to jump into the early lead. Behind them, however, Nick Ritchey spun off turn two and collected five other cars in a wild melee. On the restart, King vaulted in front of Rasey entering the first turn cutting off the outside charge. With the proper setup under him, King stretched his advantage throughout the rest of the race, which ran caution-free. Rasey held onto second for the entire race. Jim Weller climbed to third followed by Joe Crawford and Kevin Bolland.

   Bolland, who hails from New Brighton, Pa., turned the same trick as King in the second 20-lap DIRT Modified feature. Starting on the pole position, Bolland led every lap in his Cintas Uniform/Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe Bicknell No. 777 to score his fifth win of the season. It was Bolland’s 14^th career win at Tri-City as the team prepares for a late-season run, which will likely include the Eckerd Syracuse 200 given the guaranteed starting spot he won with his April victory at The Dirt Track at Loew’s (NC) Motor Speedway

   “The track had some slick spots,” noted the 1985 and 2000 DIRT Modified track champion. “We didn’t run well on the tackier track early in the night. The lapped traffic was tricky in this race, but we’re all just trying to run through it without making any major mistakes. The crew did their job to get us this one.”

   Two early cautions were the only interruption in Bolland’s win. Behind him, Rasey spent most of the race running in second as he tried to maintain his point lead in the chase for the track title. Crawford, his main nemesis, was running fifth early in the race when he nearly crashed on a restart, but maintained control enough to salvage a 10th place finish. Nevertheless, Rasey could not stop Weller. The Ohio driver worked by Rasey on the fourth lap, but did not have the setup to catch Bolland despite late-race lapped traffic that allowed him to close slightly. In the end, Bolland won by almost a full straight over Weller, Rasey, Mark Flick and Brian Swartzlander. Del Rougeux Jr., Flick and Weller won the DIRT Modified heats. Tom Winkle won the B Main.

   Brent Rhebergen of Clymer, NY, captured his sixth 15-lap E Mod feature win of the season and the 29^th victory of his career at Tri-City. Despite a second row starting spot, Rhebergen quickly passed polesitter and point leader Jim Frontz on the opening lap to lead every circuit in Bruce Steadman’s Sharp Tool & Die Pierce No. 69.

   “This is unbelievable,” said Rhebergen. “Two weeks ago, we were short on motor on that tacky track and Jeff Taylor beat us. Tonight, with the dry, slick surface, this car was right on. I’d like to congratulate all the guys in the pit area with Pierce chassis. These cars are running well throughout the region right now.”

   The race was relatively uneventful. While Rhebergen paced the field, Frontz ran a comfortable second the whole race, which was slowed by one early caution. Russ Dempsey finished third while Taylor out dueled Mike Potosky for fifth over the final three laps in the best battle of the race. Taylor and Rhebergen triumphed in the E Mod heat races.

   Bruce Smith of Franklin, Pa., won the wild 15-lap Pro Stock feature as he topped a battle among the top six point leaders aboard his D/B&S Cabinets/Lowry Auto Body Pontiac No. 36. Gary Norman and point leader Darrell Bossard paced the field for the first five circuits. On the sixth lap, while Norman and Bossard dueled side-by-side, Smith used the outside lane in a powerful three-wide move off turn two to execute the winning pass. One out front, Smith pulled away slightly while Norman and Bossard continued their battle for second. They reeled in Smith over the final circuits, but Smith managed to hold them off for his fifth career win at Tri-City.

   “I’ve got to thank my dad for a great engine and the entire crew for all their work,” said Smith. “Racing with guys like Gary and Darrell is great because they always race clean. (Flagman) Greg Wheeling does a good job making everyone run clean at Tri-City.”

   Norman barely held off Bossard at the line for second. Dave Ferringer survived a race-long duel with Doug Iorio Sr. and Bobby Whitling. Ferringer finished fourth followed by Iorio and Whitling. Ferringer, Smith and Bossard won the Pro Stock heats.

   In the Thundercars, Don Blake Jr. of Titusville, Pa., and Robby Switzer of Kennerdell, Pa., each won in the double feature events. Blake captured his first Thundercar victory in the fog-delayed event from July 6^th while Switzer won his fourth feature of the season in the nightcap.

   In the opening race of the night, Blake and Switzer battled for the win in the 12-lap main held over from last week. On an eighth lap restart, Blake used the outside lane to blast around Switzer, who led the first seven laps. Once in front, the former Pro Stock racer went on to capture the victory in the unsponsored Pontiac No. 9 normally driven by his son, Joe. Switzer finished second over Dave Phillips, Curt Bish Jr. and point leader Jeff Manners.

   “Joe’s done a lot of work on the car all season,” said Blake in victory lane. “It was tough to win because it was a little slippery out there.”

   Switzer survived a wild 13-lap Thundercar feature at the end of the night. Leading every lap in is Switzer Pisa Pizza/Carbaugh’s Garage Chevrolet No. 97, Switzer avoided all the mayhem behind him, which included two separate rollovers by Dave Gottschalk and Bish. In addition, Manners lost a right rear tire battling for the win, and Joe Blake nearly crashed with Switzer entering the final lap. In the end, Switzer defeated Phillips, Blake, Kevin Cooper and John K. Miller II. None of the crash victims was injured.

   “That was a tough race because everyone was really battling hard,” said Switzer. “I got a little nervous on the last lap when I got high out of turn four because I didn’t know where the second place car was. Luckily, I pulled it out.”

   This coming Sunday July 20^th, the point races continue to tighten as Tri-City Speedway hosts another five-star racing program featuring the NorthPointe Automotive Super Sprints, Schwab’s Ford DIRT Modifieds, RE/MAX 1^st Oil Country E Mods, E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks and Victory Lane Graphics Thundercars on Cranberry Pennzoil 10 Minute Oil Change Night. It will also be Scout Night at the track and all Boy and Girl Scouts in uniform will be receive free grandstand admission. Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Adult grandstand admission will be $10.

  SUPER SPRINTS (20 Laps): 1. ED LYNCH JR., 2. Brent Matus, 3. Scott Bonnell, 4. Rob Eyler, 5. Jason Jacoby, 6. Andy McKisson, 7. Rod George, 8. Jarod Larson, 9. Scott Priester, 10. Todd Bauer, 11. Phil Mott, 12. Butch Beasley, 13. Scott Barris, 14. Sheila Rankin, 15. Scott Groves, 16. Gary Rankin, 17. Joe Sanger, 18. Bill Kiley, 19. Gale Ruth Jr. DNS: Mel Straley.

   DIRT MODIFIEDS #1 (Fog Delayed from 7/6/2003) (20 Laps): 1. REX KING, 2. Jim Rasey, 3. Jim Weller, 4. Joe Crawford, 5. Kevin Bolland, 6. Tommy Kristyak, 7. Del Rougeux Jr., 8. Mark Flick, 9. Skip Moore, 10. Chanda Reitz, 11. Andy Priest, 12. Pete Simpson, 13. Carl Murdick, 14. Chad Reitz, 15. Jay Priest, 16. Lenny Leibold Jr., 17. Les Myers, 18. Matt Baker, 19. Dan Weaver, 20. Jeff Hoffman, 21. Nick Ritchey, 22. Dave Schrader, 23. Tom Mattocks Jr., 24. Jimmy Weller III.

   DIRT MODIFIEDS #2 (20 Laps): 1. KEVIN BOLLAND, 2. Jim Weller, 3. Jim Rasey, 4. Mark Flick, 5. Brian Swartzlander, 6. Del Rougeux Jr., 7. Skip Moore, 8. Andy Priest, 9. Chanda Reitz, 10. Joe Crawford, 11. Jeff Hoffman, 12. Rex King, 13. Pete Simpson, 14. Nick Ritchey, 15. Jimmy Weller III, 16. Tom Winkle, 17. Tommy Kristyak, 18. Lenny Leibold Jr., 19. Dave Schrader, 20. Tom Mattocks Jr., 21. Dave Reges, 22. Carl Murdick, 23. Dave Willoughby, 24. Chad Reitz. DNQ: Jay Priest, Matt Baker, Gary Risch Jr., Dan Weaver, Allen Ferry, Gary Risch Sr., Kyle Ripper, Garrett Krummert, Jeremy Paup.

   E MODS (15 Laps): 1. BRENT RHEBERGEN, 2. Jim Frontz, 3. Russ Dempsey, 4. Jeff Taylor, 5. Mike Potosky, 6. Kari Gasser, 7. Shawn Domhoff, 8. Mike Samuelson, 9. Butch Lambert, 10. Jamie Shetler, 11. Brett Porter, 12. Jay Blum, 13. Rick Robinson, 14. Shawn Shingledecker, 15. Matt Swanson. DNS: Bruce Powell, Bruce Crouch.

   PRO STOCKS (15 Laps): 1. BRUCE SMITH, 2. Gary Norman, 3. Darrell Bossard, 4. Dave Ferringer, 5. Doug Iorio Sr., 6. Bobby Whitling, 7. Jason Johns, 8. Ben Blake, 9. Scott Myers, 10. Doug Calvert, 11. Matt Thomas, 12. Rusty Kellogg, 13. Lonny Blair, 14. Dick Pascorell, 15. Arthur Edwards, 16. Russ Coyne, 17. Rod Laskey, 18. Bud Shontz, 19. Mike Dolecki, 20. Chadd Uber, 21. Bob Bean, 22. Joe Lockhart, 23. Bret McCarthy. DNS: Joe Drusko. DNQ: Ron Iorio, Bill McMurray, Bill Exley Jr.

   THUNDERCARS #1 (Fog Delayed from 7/6/2003) (12 Laps): 1. DON BLAKE JR., 2. Robby Switzer, 3. Dave Phillips, 4. Curt Bish Jr., 5. Jeff Manners, 6. Wearne Cook, 7. Branden King, 8. Kevin Cooper, 9. Kenny Alcorn, 10. John K. Miller II, 11. Dave Gottschalk

   THUNDERCARS #2 (13 Laps): 1. ROBBY SWITZER, 2. Dave Phillips, 3. Joe Blake, 4. Kevin Cooper, 5. John K. Miller II, 6. Mark Lannigan, 7. Rick Miller Jr., 8. Jeff Manners, 9. Curt Bish Jr., 10. Dave Gottschalk, 11. Branden King, 12. Kenny Alcorn, 13. Wearne Cook.

    UPCOMING EVENTS

    July 20 – Super Sprints, DIRT Modifieds, E Mods, Pro Stocks and Thundercars (Cranberry Pennzoil 10 Minute Oil Change Night) (Scout Night – All Scouts in Uniform Admitted Free)

   July 26 – DIRT Driving Experience

   July 27 – Super Sprints, DIRT Modifieds, E Mods, Pro Stocks, Thundercars and Lowry Auto Wrecking Compact Car Demo Derby (Buyer’s Fair/Pennzoil Night)

   Aug. 3 – Super Sprints, DIRT Modifieds, E Mods, Pro Stocks and Thundercars (Lincoln Electric/Racers for Tots/Kids Night)