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REPEAT
WINNERS DOMINATE TRI-CITY SPEEDWAY AS BOB FELMLEE, REX KING, BRENT
RHEBERGEN, BOBBY WHITLING AND JEFF MANNERS SCORE VICTORIES July 30, 2006 FRANKLIN, PA ... Despite hot and humid conditions, Tri-City Speedway beat the threat of thunderstorms and the action was lightning quick on the track Sunday night as Bob Felmlee (4 Your Car Connection Super Sprints), Rex King (Schwab’s Ford DIRT Modifieds), Brent Rhebergen (RPM Auto Sales/Shawgo Real Estate E Mods), Bobby Whitling (E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks), and Jeff Manners (Klapec Auto Body Thundercars) captured feature wins on Goss Gas/Lincoln Electric Armed Forces Night at the half-mile Venango County oval. Bob Felmlee of Franklin, Pa., scored his third win of the season in the 20-lap Super Sprint feature. Driving his World of Wheels Maxim No. 6, Felmlee took the lead from early pacesetter Rod George on the 12th circuit. Once out front, Felmlee survived a late race restart to capture his 24th career win over last week’s winner, Rob Eyler. It was Felmlee’s 24th career feature win, which tied Ed Lynch Jr. and former star Buddy Cochran. “It’s been a long time since we went to victory lane,” said Felmlee. “We’ve struggled, but I think we have it now. We went back to setups we used in 1999. I was worried about Rob on that final restart. He’s been real quick.” Last week, George lost an engine and the point lead. This week, George was able to borrow the Martha Dionese No. 15 normally driven by Arnie Kent at Lernerville Speedway. With a traditional silver No. 4 wing mounted on top, George blasted into the early lead of the Super Sprint feature. A total of six cautions marred the event, and allowed Felmlee to challenge George several times. During the first half of the race, George and Felmlee raced out front with Jody Keegan and Gary Rankin giving chase. Those two drivers fell by the wayside before the halfway point as Rankin made contact with a lapped car and Keegan suddenly lost power. With eight laps to go, Felmlee took the lead and it became obvious that George’s right rear tire was deflating. It came apart on the 15th circuit, which moved Eyler into second. Rookie Scott Rodgers was running a superb race in third, but that came to an end with three circuits left when Rodgers pulled off the track with mechanical issues. In the end, Felmlee beat Eyler to the line. Todd Bauer passed Andy McKisson on the final circuit to finish third and moved into second in the point chase. McKisson, who spun on the second lap, recovered to finish fourth over Cory Good, who earned his best career finish at Tri-City. Bauer and Brent Covell won the Super Sprint heats. Dale Blaney was on hand with the Dave Blaney-built experimental sprint car. Blaney finished second in his heat race, but spun twice in the feature and finished last. The 20-lap DIRT Modified feature was a benefit race for Rex King of Bristolville, Ohio. Starting his King Bros./Alltell/Cortland Banks Bicknell No. 65 on the outside pole position, King took command of the race at the outset and easily distanced himself from point leader Kevin Bolland. King captured his third win of the season and the ninth victory of his career at Tri-City. “This is a lot better than last week,” said King in reference to last Sunday night when his sons, Russell and Rex Jr., nearly totaled their cars in a first lap wreck. “We were loading scrap on the trailer that night. I saw Kevin’s number on the scoreboard and you always know that he runs fast. I just stuck in the outside groove and raced hard tonight.” As King jumped into the early lead, Bolland and Joe Crawford battled for second. After Bolland secured the second position early in the race, everyone’s attention shifted to the latter half of the top five. Russell King and Jeremiah Shingledecker engaged in a battle for fourth, and Shingledecker earned the spot by the eighth circuit. The race ran for 18 circuits without a caution, which allowed the pack to spread out around the big half-mile. Two spins on the 18th circuit did nothing to slow King. He was peerless on the restarts and captured the win over Bolland, Crawford, Shingledecker and his son, Russell King. Dave Schrader and Bolland won the DIRT Modified heat races. Brent Rhebergen of Clymer, N.Y., added to his win total in the E Mod division as he captured the 15-lap feature event. It was Rhebergen’s fourth win of the season driving Shawn Shingledecker’s Lucky Hills Golf Course/Madara Equipment Pierce No. 45S. Ironically, the car number foretold of his success as he captured his 45th career E Mod victory at Tri-City. “This track and division have been very good to me,” said Rhebergen. “We tried different things tonight and the car worked well on the bottom groove. I’m not used to that.” Veteran Aurie Weaver took the lead on the first lap from second generation driver Evan Taylor. Rhebergen quickly moved into second and raced after Weaver. Rhebergen and Weaver dueled for a couple of laps before Rhebergen squeezed inside Weaver off turn two and came away the leader on the seventh circuit. Immediately thereafter, a caution waved for a spin. The restart allowed Matt Lux and Jeff Taylor to both race by Weaver. At first, Taylor grabbed second, but he slid high in turn one and allowed Lux and Weaver past him. Taylor recovered to not only get third from Weaver. He also raced around Lux with two laps to go to steal second. He chased down Rhebergen, but simply ran out of laps before he could mount a serious challenge for the win. Thus, at the finish, Rhebergen won over Taylor, Lux, Dave Willoughby and Weaver. Shawn Shingledecker and Rhebergen won the E Mod heats. Bobby Whitling of Seneca, Pa., continued his mastery of the Pro Stock division as he won the 15-lap feature event aboard his E&K Equipment/Dulaney’s Garage Chevrolet No. 7W. Taking the lead from Matt Thomas on the eighth circuit, Whitling went on to win his fourth feature of the season, all of which have occurred in the last five races. He also snared his 41st career Pro Stock win at Tri-City. “The car is running real well,” said Whitling. “I owe this to my entire team. Matt is a young racer and he’s getting real tough. Pretty soon, he’s gonna be up here and make a name for himself.” Thomas took command from pole position at the start of the race leading Jeff Lockhart. Whitling started the race in the seventh position, and quickly worked to the front. On the fourth circuit, Rod Laskey and Whitling both passed Lockhart for second and third. Two laps later, Whitling used the inside groove to move under Laskey for second at the start-finish line. Whitling’s car was superior off turn two and that was clearly where Thomas could not get any bite on the tacky surface. On the eighth circuit, Whitling shot under Thomas off turn two and cruised to the victory from there. Laskey finished second over Thomas, Rusty Kellogg and Dave Ferringer. Ferringer and Whitling won the Pro Stock heats. Doug Iorio II fell further behind Whitling in the point chase due to mechanical problems in his heat race and the feature. Jeff Manners of Cherrytree, Pa., established a record in the Thundercar division with his fifth win in a row. Driving his Jerry’s Auto Repair/Cherrytree General Store Buick No. 16, Manners took the lead on the third circuit from rookie Bill Kluck Jr. and never looked back defeating Josh Seippel. It was his sixth win of the season and the 11th feature win of his career. “I saw Josh back there a couple of times,” said Manners. “We had problems with the engine in this car last week. The team got it put back together and they get a lot of credit for this win.” After an aborted start when Charlie McMillen lost the driveshaft in his car, Kluck beat Curt Bish Sr. into the first turn on the opening circuit. Manners quickly moved under Bish before the first lap was complete. Two laps later, using the inside cushion in turn two, Manners drove under Kluck and completed his winning pass in turn three. Seippel then drove under Kluck on the next circuit and gave chase to Manners. However, while Seippel tried to run down Manners, he could not shake Kluck and another rookie, Bill Myers. The trio dueled for several circuits, but no one was able to match Manners record-setting pace. At the checkered flag, Manners was the victor over Seippel, Myers, Kluck and Bish. Myers and Seippel won the Thundercar heat races. At the conclusion of the oval track action, the fans enjoyed the final One-on-One Spectator Races of 2006. Chuck Heffern of Chapmanville, Pa., won the car division and “Captain Midnight” of Cranberry, Pa., won the truck division. Tri-City Speedway will be in action next Sunday August 6th with another five-star show featuring the 4 Your Car Connection Super Sprints, Schwab’s Ford DIRT Modifieds, RPM Auto Sales/Shawgo Real Estate E Mods, E.F. Rogers Plumbing & Heating Pro Stocks, and Klapec Auto Body Thundercars on Coors Brewing Bonus Bucks Night. The DIRT Modifieds will compete in the final Schwab’s Ford Big Block Modified Challenge Series race of the season and the series champion will be crowned. The 30-lap, $2,000-to-win event is expected to attract the stars of the Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series on their way from Eldora (Ohio) Speedway to Merrittville (Ont.) Speedway. In all divisions, if the feature winner carries a Coors or Coors Light sticker on the right side of the winning car, then the race team will receive an extra $100. Gates open at 4 p.m. and racing starts at 6 p.m. Adult grandstand admission is a family friendly $11. SUPER SPRINTS (20 Laps): 1. BOB FELMLEE, 2. Rob Eyler, 3. Todd Bauer, 4. Andy McKisson, 5. Cory Good, 6. John Schuyler, 7. Brent Covell, 8. Russ Sansosti, 9. Sheila Rankin, 10. Paul Kish, 11. Brent Matus, 12. Bud Watt, 13. Scott Rodgers, 14. Gale Ruth, 15. Rod George, 16. Jody Keegan, 17. Gary Rankin, 18. Jason Jacoby, 19. Dale Blaney. DIRT MODIFIEDS (20 Laps): 1. REX KING, 2. Kevin Bolland, 3. Joe Crawford, 4. Jeremiah Shingledecker, 5. Russell King, 6. Del Rougeux Jr., 7. Chris Schiffer, 8. Dave Schrader, 9. Travis Shingledecker, 10. Chanda Reitz, 11. Dave Murdick, 12. Skip Moore, 13. Jeremy Paup, 14. Andy Priest, 15. Rex King Jr., 16. Rodney Beltz, 17. Mike Turner, 18. Dave Walters, 19. Dean Pearson. E MODS (15 Laps): 1. BRENT RHEBERGEN, 2. Jeff Taylor, 3. Matt Lux, 4. Dave Willoughby, 5. Aurie Weaver, 6. Shawn Shingledecker, 7. Butch Lambert, 8. Russ Dempsey, 9. Mike Samuelson, 10. Bruce Powell, 11. David Atkinson, 12. Jason Johns, 13. Evan Taylor, 14. Jamie Shetler, 15. Tim Engles, 16. Bill Henry, 17. Josh Rhoades, 18. Dustin Fraley, 19. Arthur Edwards, 20. Josh Butler, 21. Jim Frontz, 22. Chip Mahood, 23. Carl McKinney. PRO STOCKS (15 Laps): 1. BOBBY WHITLING, 2. Rod Laskey, 3. Matt Thomas, 4. Rusty Kellogg, 5. Dave Ferringer, 6. Jeff Lockhart, 7. Jackson Humanic, 8. Chad Myers, 9. Jason Engles, 10. Denny Crawford, 11. Ronnie Davis, 12. Les Myers, 13. Gary Proper, 14. Jason Reagle, 15. Scott Myers, 16. Matt Keith, 17. Doug Iorio II. DNS: Randy Wyant. THUNDERCARS (12 Laps): 1. JEFF MANNERS, 2. Josh Seippel, 3. Bill Myers, 4. Bill Kluck Jr., 5. Curt Bish Sr., 6. Joe Blake, 7. Cody Manners, 8. Bill Hale, 9. Jon Huff, 10. John K. Miller II, 11. Ed Deloe, 12. John K. Miller, 13. Patrick Fielding, 14. Regina Deloe, 15. Greg Myers, 16. Dave Baker, 17. Bill Winters, 18. Charlie McMillen.
UPCOMING
EVENTS Aug. 13 – Super Sprints, DIRT Modifieds, E Mods, Pro Stocks and Thundercars (McDonald’s Kids Night Bike Races & Racers for Tots) Aug. 20 – Super Sprints, DIRT Modifieds, E Mods (Fame RV Center E Series), Pro Stocks and Thundercars (Fan Appreciation Night – Reduced Grandstand Admission) (Maurer’s Trading Post Rifle Dash) (Pittsburgh Circle Track Club and Twin State Auto Racing Fan Club Night) Aug. 27 – Super Sprints, DIRT Modifieds, E Mods, Pro Stocks and Thundercars (Points End) |